Searching for the Truth in the King James Bible;
Finding it, and passing it on to you.

EDITOR:
Steve Van Nattan

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MARVEL MAN
VERSUS MARVELOUS GOD

By Steve Van Nattan

Are you exalting the marvelous God of the Bible, or are you plodding along vomiting up your seminary or Bible college notes? Are you telling cute stories about fornicating preachers (like Jack Hyles or Benny Hinn), making folk heroes of them, or are you lifting up the wonderful Savior?

Dick at once realized he would not take a call to be the pastor of that church. He knew two things about the church. The deacon with the MacArthur tapes was clearly going to be running the church. And, he knew that the first time he preached something that did not agree with John MacArthur's teaching, that deacon would turn against him and try to have him removed as pastor.

We have always had those who lift up men other than Jesus Christ in the Lord's Church. It started long ago in the Apostle Paul's era, and he had to reprimand the churches for it.

1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

This is one of the simplest teachings in the New Testament. But, thousands of Christians don't want to receive this teaching. They have found them a Marvel Man, a virtual guru, and they lift him up and make him the final authority in all matters of faith and doctrine. "I don't agree with you pastor. John MacArthur says Blah Blah Blah about that." Some people reach back a few years and make Schofield's Notes at the bottom of their Bible page the final authority. Others reach all the way back to John Calvin, a murderer from the north of France. These creeps judge every preacher, teacher, and fellow saint by the teachings of their Marvel Man guru.

Who does the Bible tell us is to be exalted?

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Jesus Christ was speaking of his death by crucifixion. Your hero and Savior ended up dying for those he loved. Thus, as you now lift him up, you are asking the saints and the lost to rejoice in a man who got himself killed while serving God.

Preacher, how many of the men whom you exalt in your sermon illustrations died for the saints? I suspect you would much rather exalt perceived winners who lived out their days doing exploits and winning thousands of souls to Christ.

If this is you, my friend, then you are making the marvelous Savior look like the loser, and your favorite guru from Christendom is the real hero.

If you cannot take the heat, why don't you just click out of here right now? GO WATCH REVEREND WONDERFUL

Stan Lee responded,

" Every young person loves fairy tales, witches, wizards, the things that are bigger and more colorful than real life. They're "what if" stories, which we love. Which I think we need. What if a man could fly? What if this, that and the other thing? But we reach an age in our teen years where we're told to stop reading fairy tales, that we're too old for all of the magic and wonder. I don't agree with that.

So the comics I started writing were, basically, comic books for older people, fairy tales for adults- or smart people, anyway. I also really tried to write these characters so that readers believed they were actually alive and doing these things and maybe somehow sharing the world with you and me."

The Marvel Comic era is still lingering, but we have another whole genre of the imagination that is over the edge..... Computer games. We also have intense techno movies which are taking the imaginations of millennials like a storm.

OK, you are a mature, rational and reasoning person, right? When you preach, teach, or read the Bible to you kids, you find all the truths which prove various doctrines. You help people you minister to see that the Bible speaks to their daily lives in the areas of decision making and moral principles. Great, keep it up. But, Jesus did not leave it at that. In fact, the whole Bible is loaded with the most extreme challenges to the human imagination, and if you are a REAL Bible believer, you believe every word of it. I will now show you who is marvelous in the bible. Later in this article I will challenge you to examine your motives and thinking about men who serve God and his Church. Are you REALLY exalting the marvelous Savior, or are you exalting Marvel Man?

MARVEL VERSUS MARVELOUS

Marvel-

In the Old Testament Marvel is found only once.

Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

The meaning is to be astonished or amazed. In this case, we are not to marvel, or be astonished, at the wicked. God is over them and will soon bring justice. This is good advice in the end of the Age of Grace when men wax worse and worse.

In the New Testament nearly all uses of Marvel relate to Jesus or the Apostles dealing with something that startles people which it ought not to do.

John 3:7- Marvel not that you must be born again.
John 5:28- Marvel not at the power Jesus had just shown. The day is coming when God's voice will open the graves.
John 7:21- Marvel not that Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath.
Acts 3:12- Peter healed a lame man, and the people marveled as if he had the power in himself. Peter wanted them to stop being in awe of him.
Galatians 1:6- Paul marveled that the Galatians had so soon left the faith for another gospel.
Revelation 17:7- The angel wondered why John marveled. He then told John the mystery of the woman and the beast.

While there were times when the word Marvel was used in the Bible for a positive thing, it is most commonly used to stop someone from being amazed, confused, or in awe of something they should not be in awe of. Marvel is always a verb in the Bible, though in English it can be a noun. So, beware of coming into awe of things. Especially avoid being in awe of people, no matter how godly they may seem, and no matter what great things they seem to accomplish.

When is the right time to Marvel? Answer: When God is doing a work, not when man is doing something.

John 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

 

Marvellous (KJV spelling)-

In all the Bible Marvellous appears 23 times, and only twice about anyone but God. The first time is of the Antichrist in Daniel 11:36- .....And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods,

The second time is the blind man who was healed and was being interrogated by the Pharisees- John 9:30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a Marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

Here is who is marvelous, and it sure is NOT your guru, Marvel Man.

1 Chronicles 16:12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

1 Chronicles 16:24 Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.

Job 5:9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

Psalms 9:1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

Psalms 17:7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

Psalms 31:21 Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.

Psalms 78:12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

Psalms 98:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand.....

Psalms 105:5 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

Psalms 118:23 This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

Psalms 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works.....
Isaiah 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

Micah 7:15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Revelation 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Revelation 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

I included all of those verses so that you cannot avoid the fact that your Marvel Man preacher, evangelist, missionary, teacher, or college guru is NOT marvelous. If there is anything marvelous happening in the vicinity of your Marvel Man, and if you fail to give God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit ALL the glory, you are a blasphemer, and you ought to be tarred and feathered.

I am sick of hearing all the wonders of men. We had to listen to President Trump reminding us how wonderful he is. Donald Trump won the election by exalting himself as almighty. Did you join the mob who believed he was God's gift to America. God lifts up and puts down ALL world leaders. God was 100% responsible for Barak Obama becoming President. Stop thinking some man will save anything, let alone America. And, at church, we have to listen to long introductions of guest speakers telling of all the marvelous works they have done. What a lot of rubbish. It is nothing but blasphemy when God does not get ALL the credit.

This man tells you exactly how I feel about introductions of Jack Hyles, Clearance Sexton, Lee Roberson, John MacArthur, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, and all the other Marvel Men on the planet.

God is not a Marvel Man, like some freak cross breed of man and god and flying robot. God is Marvelous, and you cannot make him too great and glorious to other people. You sure CAN make another man too glorious, and it is wicked.

I know this lady is a total fraud spiritually after hearing all the buzz words to exalt her in this introduction.

When you introduce another preacher, teacher, or Christian worker, do not talk about what a great privilege it is to you to introduce them. No one cares about how you feel. Learn how the speaker has served the Lord, and tell the group how God was glorified in the speaker's life. Do not exalt the speaker as amazing or successful. Do not give a list of statistics of souls saved and church growth. That distracts the audience from seeing this speaker as a servant and makes a Marvel Man of him. If you know of some very short story of the Lord using the speaker, tell it briefly. Your job is to convince the audience that they will become better prepared to serve the Lord by listening well. And, keep it down to one minute maximum.

Use the rule of John the Baptist when talking about other servants of Christ to friends:

John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

When you introduce a man to speak in any situation, and you exalt him as a Marvel Man, you make that man toxic and deadly to the audience. They will go right on as you have tempted them to do, and mentally exalt that man and totally miss the Marvelous Savior. That is spiritual treason against Christ, and it happened because YOU exalted the man.

SIX STEPS TO A GOOD INTRODUCTION
Just make sure the glory goes to Jesus Christ instead of the speaker.

THE GREATEST EPIC OF ALL HUMAN HISTORY

I am pulling out all the stops in this first study of our Marvelous God. I hope you are encouraged and inspired to renew your zeal to exalt God only, not men.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

There was nothing but God, and he is wherever he parks himself in Glory before there was everything we know about as humans (verb tense disagreement on purpose). Imagine nothing. No air, no space, not even darkness. Right, read this:

Psalms 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Job 38:19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

Psalms 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics, said we have in us a sense of the "what if." What if darkness and light did not exist? What would there be then? Only God knows. The earth and the cosmos came ready for Adam and Eve to move in and get comfortable. They did not know any more than you do what it was like before the week of creation. But, God knows there was something there. So, you want a Marvel Maker, do you? You have found your Marvel Man in Jack Hyles or Lee Roberson of Clearance Sexton, have you. Maybe you followed the antics of Dr. Peter S. Ruckman, and you can tell all his war stories as if they happened to you, right?

Bah. You have a God who CREATED your cut rate Marvel Man. That is Jesus Christ. And, without him was not anything made that was made. You cannot possibly get a hold of that while you are guilty of man worship. So, your war hero is so clever, is he? Can he tell me where God stored the darkness before he created the world. Job was a wise man, and he did not know. Neither do you. It is time you start trying to fathom the Marvelous God you have.

And, here is a list that will boggle your mind as you see how utterly there was nothing before Genesis 1:1.

Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

So, here is a list of things which did not exist before Genesis 1:1, at least in the form we humans know them:

Verse 8 makes it explicitly clear that your Systematic Theology, a discipline invented by heavy thinking men, is a counterfeit in every case. The great doctrines, like righteousness, sin, good and evil, and salvation also came into existence ex nihilo at the command of God.

There was no god beside the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In fact, the God of Genesis 1:1 is still the only God there is. Allah, Buddha, Shiva, Maitraya, and your fetish god are all frauds from the human imagination.

There was no light.

There was no darkness- God had to create darkness for man and the earth. Darkness is NOT the absence of light, as modern science will tell you. Verse 2-5 of Genesis 1 will show that even when God created light, the darkness and light were not distinct from each other.

God makes real peace- All else is a counterfeit invention of fallen men.

There was no evil- God had to create it. When you do evil, it is not something new you thought of. In some way or other, even your evil deeds could not happen if God had not created evil. If that bothers you, read Isaiah 45:7 above again.

And, finally, God is the sole creator of righteousness. In you there is NOTHING good. Anything you get right, God created it. And, pay attention..... anything your human Marvel Man got right was created by God. If Charles Spurgeon, and poster child of many preachers, preached the truth, it did not exist before God created the truth, and Spurgeon was 100% dependent on God to find and preach the truth. How about going right to the source instead of getting truth second hand?

Now, the punch line: God wants all creatures he creates to either love him intensely or hate him violently. This is why he invented righteousness and evil at the same event. Every human being has the total freedom to go one way or the other. Hate God, and he will help you become totally evil and go to Hell. Or, love God on his terms, and he will exalt you to his right hand for eternity.

GOD IS TOO BIG AND MARVELOUS TO LET ANYTHING ABOUT YOU BE DULL.

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The darkness existed BEFORE the light, according to verse 2. Darkness is not preexistent. It was part of the creative process in verse one and did not exist before that. Darkness is not a void. The earth was void, but the darkness was created, as we saw above. Void means empty, but darkness is tangible. If it were not, God would not have to have created it. This tells us that until scientists determine the physical properties of darkness, they have not finished their job in defining the cosmos. We talk about how, "It was so dark I could feel it." Perhaps we are simply feeling the tangibility of the dark. We still have a lot to learn.

Psalms 97:1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

God is right at home in the dark. In fact, we may be closer to God standing outside at midnight on a blustery cold overcast night than at noon. We have no way of knowing the comfort of darkness now because of how God crated us. But, when we are made like Jesus, we may find the darkness in eternity, the new heavens and the new earth, glorious and comforting. After all, even now, the darker you have the room, the better you sleep, the ultimate rest. Also, forget about explaining how God can dwell in the darkness and be the light of the world at the same time. Some things must remain mysteries.

Also, consider how you lived your first nine months of existence..... in the dark. No wonder babies panic when they are born into the bright lights of a delivery room.

Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

This was not a Big Bang. The light may have come into existence in total silence. There was nothing created as yet that would make a bit of noise except God speaking. God can roar, and God can speak softly. Only in verse 9 will we begin to hear the waves on the rocks and the thunder created by weather. It is presumptuous of us Bible believers to make creation a big bang. To do so betrays how the mongrel theories of evolution have affected our imaginations.

Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Until God divided the light from the darkness, they both existed in the same space. Now, you think you are wise in the ways of God and his Word. Tell me, Reverend Doctor, how can light and darkness coexist? Come on, try to explain that for me. That is a great question for your Evolutionist friend.

Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

God took a whole day to invent light and darkness, and that evening, there was no sunset. God did not give the light a source until the fourth day. This means there can be light without having a source. Now, grab that thought, and see if you can explain it.

Have you figured out my motive in all of this? You are in awe of some great preacher, Marvel Man, and you still have not gotten to totally understand your marvelous God and his works. Shame on you.

Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

There were two reservoirs of water on day two. It was a busy day for sure. The upper waters are no longer there. They may have collapsed during Noah's flood to cover the earth with water suddenly. In any case, the atmosphere was created to divide things. That is why it is still there. Man is obsessed with getting on the other side of the heavens and wandering around the the dark.

Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Things got even busier on day three. God divided the land from the sea, and the first appearance of "earth" resulted. It is on the earth that man lives. He may go to sea, but man lives on the earth. It seems that after his mid day siesta God made artichokes and cabbages and red wood trees. All the plants in the garden of God bear seeds. This is how God planned for the growing things to perpetuate themselves. And, there has not been a year since creation week when seeds were not being scattered to the winds and making new life. When we think of reproduction, in our vulgar manner, we think of sex. Sex is there, but the whole point is that LIFE is there, and it will not go away.

This is why the first man was a gardener. Adam went to work every day long before he and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and were cast out of Eden. God made Adam a keeper of his garden, which we will see later, and in this way, Adam was to participate in the perpetuation of all the things God created.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

On day four, God wound up the clock. He made the great time keepers, the sun and moon. Without them we would have no concept of time. In fact, until the fourth day, time did not exist. Adam was the first man to know what time it was. God did not care. He is eternal. God is so good to give us a way to know when to start and when to stop doing something. What if the sun came up a different time every day? What chaos we would have. The sun and moon tell every man when he needs to roll out of the sack and head for work, and they tell every woman when she is most likely to conceive a baby. Can you explain the marvelous God who organized the whole universe so carefully....;. for you? What did Doctor Marvel Man ever do for you to bring such order to your life?

Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Day five is when God answered your kid's question, "Daddy, what KIND of bird is this?" The whole concept of evolution is total blasphemy in the face of God's marvelous order. In fact, I cringe when I use the word "species" or "family." There is no cruciferous family made of cabbages, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Cabbage is cabbage, and it is all to itself in the order of life. Whales are fish because they were brought forth from the waters. The blasphemers tell us that whales are mammals. Bah. Not to God. The Bible has a whale as a "great fish" in the Old Testament, and Jesus called it a "whale." Jesus gave the advanced revelation, and you and I better teach it that way. Even otters and seals leave the water to sleep and rest on the earth.

Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Did Reverend Doctor Marvel Man give you all the creatures of the sea and land? Did he give you dominion over them all? When you walk in the woods, do you rejoice that Marvel Man created all the wonder of life there for you? Of course not. So, why do you keep exalting him because he can chatter and jabber his way through an hour long sermon telling cool stories and parsing Greek verbs?

Did God rest the seventh day because he was tired?

Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?

Exodus 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Don't tell me God took a nap, or he went off to the back side of Betelgeuse and kicked rocks.

I am speculating now, but I believe God laid back and watched Adam and Eve fall in love and play tag with the lions and bears. I suspect God turned to one of his great angels and said, "Michael, what do you think of my garden, and can you imagine anything more beautiful than a man or a woman? One day, Michael, you will see a man make a mighty bridge over a great river. You will see a woman make a baby, and you will see a Man save millions of sinners from damnation in one hour."

I believe God rested also because he wanted to establish the physical law that rest is part of the life of Heaven and earth. The seventh day was later declared to be holy and made for man to rest. The day of rest was not made to give Ellen G White power over thousands of legalizers who were suckered into the terror of tying their shoes on day seven.

This brings up another aspect of your Marvel Man. I have heard Jack Hyles, and many other "great pillars in the faith," boast of their nonstop schedule. They fly here and there, speak ten times a day, and they would like you to believe they never rest. They are liars. If they did not rest they would die. God would kill them. So, they are making themselves greater than God in their legends of perpetual motion, as if this makes them special in some way. To Hell with Marvel Man. I want nothing to do with him. He is a fraud.

I hope I have helped you to see that there is no marvel in Heaven or earth that comes anywhere close to the glory in your God. Oh, I am sure you would agree at once, but how can I be sure you know God when all you chatter about is Marvel Man? How can I trust your teaching when you tell Marvel Man's sermons illustrations and give a sermon I have already heard Marvel Man preach long ago?

David Hume said, "Eloquence, at its greatest pitch, leaves little room for reason."

When you give over you mind to an eloquent man, no matter how special he may seem in his service to Christ, you are blocking your mind to the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot exalt men and Jesus at the same time.

Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

The mind is where you reason. If your mind is fixated on Marvel Man, you are not using reason, you are not examining all things.

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

When you stop reasoning, because Marvel Man has totally obsessed you, you are not able to reason with God. When you stop reasoning, you become very much UNLIKE Jesus Christ. I have met preachers who have become so obsessed with some Marvel Man that I wondered if they were still sane. If I questioned their fixation on their guru, they would lash out at me in white hot hate. I have received email from men who I believe would have killed me if they could for questioning their guru.

So, while you chase Marvel Man, what do you suppose God sees in you.

THIS...................

For this reason, I believe that people who become obsessed with Jack Hyles, Bill Gothard, Peter Ruckman, John MacArthur, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, or any other famous Amos preacher, are possessed with devils. I suggest you stay clear away from these men who are exalted as Marvel Man. Indeed, one of the marks of a pastor who is, in truth, a servant of Satan is that he exalts men, not Jesus Christ. These gurus sell books with plans for Christian maturity, but they do not sell Bibles nor seldom do they teach from them. When they do seem to teach from the Bible, they keep coming up with interpretations patented by them which alienate you from other Bible teachers. When any preacher or Bible teacher accepts the adulation of these suckered Christians, and basks in it, he too is devil possessed. Christendom is full and overflowing these days with gurus and their gullible followers, and you need to keep them and their books out of your home, church, and life.

You are hard wired to follow someone. Very few of us are called to lead. This personality trait which calls us to follow will be satisfied by someone, either other men, or Jesus Christ. There is a war going on between Christ and Satan for your mind and your loyalty. You claim to have submitted to Christ, but you promote Marvel Man. You need a new mind. This is something you cannot expect to happen automatically. God has told you that it is up to YOU to determine whom you will follow, and whom you will serve.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Do you think like Jesus? In the above text God seems to think it is possible. Does Doctor Marvel Man cause you to serve others and humble yourself? No, or course not. You crave the approval and flattery of Marvel Man. You hope that, as you exalt him to others, he will one day bring you into his kingdom and exalt you. He will not. You mean nothing to him. All the flattery is a hoax and designed to conquer your soul to serve him. If you want to be one day exalted by God, you will have to learn to think like Jesus, that is, have his mind in you.

The cult of Marvel Man is really a form of multilevel marketing. Marvel Man seduces you, you seduce other Christians by convincing them to suck up stories about Marvel Man, and these suckers go on to seduce others. Jesus is NOT in your down line, top or bottom. The Christian life is not meant to be a copy of the Amway marketing plan. There is ONE HEAD, JESUS, and there is only one layer below...... all those who think like him.

I need to also mention that schools like Bob Jones University and Pensacola Christian College and Crown College can become guruistic to you and me. We can give them the authority to define the Christian life for us so much that Jesus is left out. For this reason, I burned all my class notes from Bible college long ago. I only need the Bible to learn to think like Jesus.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If you live in the shadow of Marvel Man, you do not have a renewed mind. You cannot prove what is the will of God. You need to understand that you are probably not born again at all. Your instinct is to give your mind to Marvel Man, not to Jesus.

Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

THE SHOCK AND AWE OF YOUR MARVELOUS GOD
IN RESPONSE TO HIS MAN

The shock and awe of the US Military is meant to totally demoralize the enemy. The shock and awe of Alex Jones is meant to terrorize the listener so that he buys preparedness goodies. The shock and awe of Satan is meant to cause the victim to see Satan as bigger than God.

POPE FRANCIS IS A JESUIT, AND JESUITS LIVE IN AWE AND TERROR OF SATAN.

Where does shock and awe take you?

We had a man in a church I pastored in Michigan who had been put into shock and awe by conspiracy people about the horrors about to descend on us as the world collapses economically and the nation goes into chaos. The application of all these conspiracy stories was to prepare. A certain amount of preparedness is always in order for emergencies, but this man took the thing to an extreme. The back wall of his garage, floor to ceiling, was filled with huge cartons of top ramen noodles. No protein, and no flour, beans, sugar, and cooking oil, just ten or twenty years worth of top ramen. I was horrified, but I was not able to talk to him about the practicality of his preparedness. He was too full of his own solution to the shock and awe of the alleged impending crisis.

Ezekiel 22:25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

The lion roars when he has the prey, or the instant before he leaps. This is to create shock and awe so that the animal freezes for an instant. That instant then becomes fatal.

Shock and awe are clearly used in very different ways according to the nature of the one doing the shocking. When God brings shock and awe, it is to encourage his child to trust God and go forward.

Here is the shock and awe God showed David when he was in extreme trouble and called out to God:

2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17 He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

When you go to God in prayer, and you ask for deliverance from evil men, evil spirits, or Satan himself, who, my dear doubter, do you think you are talking to? God casually stands up, commands all of nature to roar and rage in the order of his creative power, shakes the foundations of the world, kindles coals of fire with his breath, and says, "And, what can I do for you, my son?"

Thus, the Apostle, who knew this God better than we do, said,

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do you have ANY idea what you mean to God? You are a marvel in the true meaning of the word. Oh, you had nothing to do with this other than to believe the Gospel, but what God did with you after you believed is beyond the human imagination. You virtually sit in heaven now, not physically, but in the person of Jesus Christ. You are to inherit glory and eternal blessing just as much as Jesus does, or in other words, you are a "joint heir" with Christ. You will be made to be exactly like Jesus when you arrive in heaven, except for one thing-- you will still be Joe Smith, and you will not quite be divine.

So, the next time you bow your head in prayer, understand this.....

God stops everything (he does not live in space of time), and his total attention is on you, and the world shakes, and the angels perk up to see who is talking, and the next thing out of your mouth is, "God, please bless this food to our bodies, and please help me figure out why my car won't start."

God says, "Sure, I will do that, I already did, but can I do anything really big for you? Are you too busy to ask me to stretch my power a little bit?"

So, what has Reverend Doctor Marvel Man done for you lately? Does he even listen when you pray? Dumb question, right? Why are you making a guru of Marvel Man when the Marvelous God wants your full attention? What an insult to God, after he made you so very special to himself through Jesus Christ, for you to go off chasing a man.

I warned you this was not a simple dimple Bible study, sir.

THE EXODUS

Moses was born a Hebrew, but he was raised to be an Egyptian prince in the home of an Egyptian princess. He had the prospect of becoming as powerful as Joseph who was raised to that position before him. Moses was taken out of Egypt by an act of God. Moses had killed an Egyptian who was tormenting his fellow Hebrews, and he had to flee to the wilderness. Moses spent forty years there tending sheep. God used this time to humble Moses and make him depend on God for everything.

When God called Moses to commission him to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt, Moses thought he could not do it. Moses told God he was not mighty with words. God gave him Aaron to keep him company when he stood before Pharaoh. We later see Moses leading about two million Hebrews out of Egypt to head for Canaan and their new home. In the end, Moses was given the gift of mighty words, as we see in the sermon of Stephen in the book of Acts:

Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

While Moses is today held up as a great leader and hero of the old days of Bible history, he was not described that way by the Bible writer.

Numbers 12:3 Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.

Moses did not invent the Law, and he did not become the nanny of Israel. Moses was a very humble timid man who was empowered by God to lead. He was NOT a Marvel Man, yet to this day Jews and Christians exalt him as if he were in the Godhead.

This is also done with any pastor whom God uses to build up a prospering ministry and local church. I read an article exalting Doctor Lee Roberson in extreme praise for the man. Roberson was then quoted as saying, "This great church I built is not because I am special. Any man can do this." That is a lie. Reberson then went on to list all the clever things a pastor can do to build a church just as big as his church. He was very likely self-conscious because of the exaltation men were giving him. So, he came up with the lie that any man can duplicate what he did. The men listening to him had small churches, and they knew they could not duplicate the Roberson model of a church just out of zeal. Roberson failed to give God all the glory and shut his fool mouth. He secretly thrived on the adulation and office of guru which he held.

Nowhere in the Bible will you read any words of Moses talking about what a great work he did or how he rescued the Hebrew people from Egypt. If you are modeling your work for the Lord after Lee Roberson, or any other man, you will become a total failure by and by. Indeed, if your Marvel Man is Moses himself, you will fail just as certainly.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

If you take your eyes off of Jesus as your model in Christian service, you will faint, quit what God gave you to do, and you will end your life selling insurance, or like one pastor I knew, managing a donut shop.

I can assure you, by the Word of God, that God is not with you if you exalt a man as your leader of champion.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

You simply cannot be in the company of God and keep your eyes on Marvel Men.

LUCIFER FALLS FROM HEAVEN

Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

This is not a Marvel Comics event. It really happened. Imagine the greatest of all angels, the choir director who brought forth the most glorious music in heaven and earth from the angelic hosts. This angel had musical pipes build into him somehow, so that he could make fantastic music himself.

Imagine one swift trip from all the Glory around the throne of God down to the earth with all of its physical limitations. Imagine being a real visible being like Gabriel or Michael to become a wandering spirit only able to be physical by entering into animals, like the Serpent. And, imagine knowing that death is coming to this glorious angel, and after eternal death, the Lake of Fire. THAT is an extreme story.

But, this Marvel Angel had a following who chose him over God, just the way you are fixated on your own Marvel Man:

Revelation 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

The Dragon is Satan, or Lucifer, as he fell from Heaven after his rebellion. It seems that he had the allegiance of a third of the angels in Heaven. They now inhabit the earth, along with their master, Satan. They torment humanity and drive evil in many ways, and they resist the work of God in his people.

Now, are we not supposed to be in shock and awe of Satan?

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

The point is, you have no excuse for being in shock and awe of Satan or his devils. Verse 1 indicates that men will come who draw people into damnable heresies. In Verse 3 we see the tactics of these heretics. They tempt their followers to be covetous. Here are your Prosperity Gospel Marvel Men. They also use "feigned words". This means the words are contrived or fictitious. I can promise you this..... Any Marvel Man who has charmed you and swept you into his entourage is using fiction on you. He is making promises God never made. He is boasting of results he never had. He is telling stories of great victories that were supposed to have happened because of him which were not victories for the glory of God. Do you really want to be a clone of Marvel Man, your guru from Hell?

 

We need to have a little chat here about stories told by preachers and Bible teachers.
They come in various styles and flavors:

Why do we tell stories?

Answer: The best way to make friends, teach truth, and persuade people is to use stories.

Why is this?

Answer: When Jesus Christ made all things that were made, he made man last. He give man something the animals do not have..... Imagination..... Contemplation. If you want to grab the imagination of someone you are teaching, you must use stories. It has been proven that men do not learn well without stories. I will prove this later if you are in doubt. So, let us list the kinds of stories you may hear in a sermon:

1. Aren't I cute stories. This story is about me and my clever tricks which I used to accomplish something wonderful. It may be about the story teller's past ministry, about his cute kids and clever wife, or it may be about his amazing giftedness at some skill, like golf or fishing. It teaches nothing. It is 100% a waste of time.

2. Which brings us to the ecclesiastical fish tales. These are about some wretched town drunk or sodomite the story teller won to Christ. Every time he tells the story, the devils he cast out got meaner, and the covert jumped higher when he was baptized. This story exalts the teller.

3. Amusement stories and jokes. These are hunting and fishing stories, or other suspenseful tales, which are great entertainment for the men present, but they have nothing to do with the message being preached. Or, these stories are jokes or a comic routine. I also note that neither Jesus nor any of the Apostles told jokes to "loosen up the audience." Comic relief is not a gift of the Holy Spirit. These stories are filler for a preacher who was too lazy to study.

4. Weeping tales. These stories make the ladies cry. The story teller is a master if he has the men tearing up also. They are to make the audience feel like very special things happen when Marvel Man is around. These stories are told by feminized pansy preachers for feminized men.

5. Fear stories. When you are listening to a story being told by a preacher or teacher, is it running toward fear? Is the story teller informing you, or is he trying to panic you? Jesus told about the wise man and the foolish man. There is something to fear in that story for sure. But, Jesus lead the listeners to a solution and a happy life. Fear is not evil. From fear we can learn much that will point us toward preparation for the future. Fear can also lead us to panic. A story about a man who did not tithe and died young of cancer is an evil attempt to drive you into superstition, not Christian maturity. HERE IS A VIDEO that tells you about your fears and how they can steer you to good life experiences. Ask yourself if your Marvel Man is a fear monger who is trying to coerce you into action without letting you process the fear and decide what it means to your life in Christ. If so, you need to run like mad away from that creep. He will soon have you filling your garage with preparedness rubbish and top ramen until you are bankrupt.

6. Stories that die. The story teller may forget the punch line. He may tell a story that is dull and does not grab anyone's attention. It may ramble on and on too long. He may leave the story midway and tell a second story ad lib which is off topic. This means the preacher or teacher is only human. You have no business exalting such a man to be your Marvel Man. He may be just fine as a servant of God, but he is not so exceptional that he should be followed explicitly.

7. Parables. These are short stories, or word pictures from everyday life, which lead directly back to support the Bible text being taught. These are the only kind Jesus used. You will not find Jesus telling the disciples, "I was at the barber shop last week, and they tell me that there are strange fish showing up in Lake Galilee. Blah blah blah."

Jack Hyles was speaking to a pastor's conference I attended, and every one of his stories were designed to make him look clever, loving, innocent, special to God, or almighty. Even when he told a story about a blunder he made in his early pastoring days, he told it so that you just wanted to cuddle up to him and ask for another Hyles story. This is Marvel Man at his deadliest. It is all about the man, not Jesus.

Also, some of you imagine you are the intellectual type. You have found a Marvel Man who just teaches. He uses alliteration, his sermons are tightly outlined and can be copied down in outline form by the listener, and you have reams of his sermons in notes. He goes to great lengths to prove theological arguments, and he quotes mighty intellectuals from the past. But, he does not tell any stories. I have news for you. This man is a jerk. He studied the Bible, read the parables of Jesus, and he did not catch on to the extremely obvious..... Men must have parables to learn.

That hurt your feelings didn't it. Poor boy. Well, let me prove I am right..... on the condition that I do not become your next Marvel Man.

Matthew 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

If Jesus taught every truth he delivered to the disciples with a parable, your Marvel Man great intellectual is in total variance with Jesus Christ. If he is even born again, he will have very little fruit when he arrives in Heaven before the Bema Seat, the judgment of the believer's works.

The Ethiopian church leaders were reeling from the terror and persecution they were receiving in 1974 from the Marxist Government that had pulled off a coup and had taken over the nation. These church leaders were very troubled about the youth in their churches because the Marxists were recruiting the youth to sell Marxism to the Ethiopian people.

My wife and I had been helping develop a youth camp on a Lake Langano in the Rift Valley. We were some of the first, after the coup, who were asked by our mission to leave the work and go home to the USA or to another nation and serve the Lord. This was being done to prevent the Ethiopian Christians from being associated with Americans rather than associated with Jesus Christ. Over a few weeks the mission down sized from 300 to 12 missionaries.

Just before leaving the country, a mission leader asked me to speak to a gathering of Ethiopian church leaders who were trying to find a plan to help their youth survive the terrors of Marxism.

I had no idea what to tell the men. The Lord gave me a parable for the men. I asked my Ethiopian helper at the camp to find a bee and put it into a jar. I also asked him to borrow a bee hive from an African neighbor. I showed the church leaders the jar with the bee and the beehive which is called a "keufo" in the Ethiopian language. I asked the men what would happen if I opened the jar? They said the bee would fly away, and I opened the jar, and the bee flew off. I told them there was no chance of the bee coming back. I asked them what would happen if a bee came to the beehive. They said it would fly in and out on its own. I then cautioned them to treat the youth in their churches with an open door policy so that they could enter and leave as they needed to.

The leaders were electrified. God had given me the parable that grabbed their imaginations perfectly, and the leader of the mission told me months later that the by-word in church council meetings was, "Remember the Keufo." They did not say, "Remember Steve Van Nattan," praise God.

I chose that true story because it really happened, it showed the power of parables, and you men reading here are now convinced that parables are absolutely essential to preaching and teaching Christian men.

The implication is, my dear intellectual slave, that you are learning nothing from the Bible, from Marvel Man, well enough to change the way you live in Christ. Your glorious teacher is leaving you right where he found you, and he is charming you by flattering your lust to be a great thinker. Well, you cannot live in your head all the time. When you hand out a tract, you have to use your hand. When you try to encourage a depressed friend, you walk on your feet as you talk, right? Or, you sit in a cafe and drink coffee. Your version of Doctor Marvel Man is all about intellect, and Jesus is all about compassion and sacrifice and story telling. If you had to die for the sins of the world, sir, you would never find your way to the Cross because you would be searching for bargains on theology books on BookFinder.com.

Go find yourself a Bible teacher who uses parables before your soul is totally desiccated. You are dying of spiritual dehydration for want of the water of life.

The bottom line on stories is, do this man's stories stay in context with the Bible text he is teaching about? If not, he is a scum bag looking to exalt himself.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

Alternate reading from the Reverse Vision:
And the Samaritan came to the man who fell among thieves, and he said unto him, "Wouldst thou could attend our First Baptist Synagogue of Samaria. We have a program for thee and thy family. We have a food closet where thou mayest get wine and oil for thy wounds. I shall put thee in touch with the Helps Committed of our synagogue, and one of the ladies will seek thee out and decide what help we might give thee. I shall personally seek the prayers of our fourth day of the week prayer meeting for thee, and I will ask the pastor to look in on thee on his fifth day of the week visitation. Please consider visiting our synagogue this next Sabbath."

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Verse 33 tells us the Samaritan looked on the man in trouble and had compassion. Reverend Doctor Marvel Man looks on you, sees you are troubled, and he at once starts preaching about greatness and glory. Once he has your attention, he moves on to teach you that the path to greatness is to follow his plan, give him money, and buy his DVD series on how to be great and happy. Your real problem may be that you have fallen among thieves or among sins and distractions. Rather than pour in the oil and wine of sound Bible teachings, Marvel Man calls you to become his disciple.

Thus, Marvel Man never solves your real problems because he convinces you to look to him for your happy destiny and Christian victory. Or, he may tell you that he has the plan to a happy marriage or successful children. Whatever the message, he does not bring you to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of everything good for the Christian. The Good Samaritan did not make a disciple of the victim. He served him. Does your Marvel Man serve Jesus? When he preachers or teaches, do you feel compelled to follow and imitate Marvel Man. If so, he is a devil.

You need a neighbor like the Samaritan who is a Bible believer. You have been given plain ordinary believers in the local church who will have coffee with you and talk about life. A true brother in Christ will also see your wounds and pour in the wine and oil of human kindness, or he may rebuke you in love. Burn those DVDs and study manuals from Marvel Man. Come home to the Body of Christ:

Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Marvel Man sticketh to his bank account, and you are a fool if you believe he cares for you. When any Christian is enthralled with a man who is thousands of miles away, a man who reaches them with TV, the Internet, or books, that Christian has been brainwashed just as certainly as the gurus of India brainwash their followers.

We had a friend in Michigan who was a pastor, and he decided he needed an elder pastor to be accountable to. So, he chose a wandering prophet from the UK to be his personal pastor. Bah. What nonsense. The man came around once every three or four years. The Samaritan stayed with the injured victim until he was restored to health.

HERE IS THE EXTREME END FOR PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW MEN INSTEAD OF CHRIST

Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

All it takes to go into the ditch spiritually is to start admiring a preacher or Bible teacher instead of Jesus. It is one thing, and a very good thing, to receive truth by the gift of teaching in a man and live that truth, but it is quite another thing to go gaga over the teacher. This is NEVER pleasing to God..... NEVER.

CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST

Jesus did invite his disciples to follow him. But, he was not calling them to be great in this world.

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Jesus was the ultimate example in living this life of ours, but he never promised them the sort of success story and comfort that Joel Osteen and the TBN mob promise their followers.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

In spite of the fact that Jesus Christ is indeed Marvelous, the only one who is, he avoided being lifted up by men in his Messianic ministry. The only time he accepted public worship was in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Otherwise, he pushed back against those who exalted him.

Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

The man gave Jesus a title he did not want..... Good Master. The reason was given. All men must see that only God is good. The man had not confessed faith in Jesus as Messiah and Lord, so the title Good was only flattery in this instance. Jesus pointed the man to the Law of Moses. To you, Jesus says the same thing, but the law for you is another law:

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Keep that law, and stop looking for a Good Master in this world. There are none.

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Jesus is the only one qualified to ask you to follow him. Any Marvel Man who wants you to follow him close is a fraud. He will flatter you, and he will exalt you, but only if you follow him.

NEHEMIAH

Nehamiah was a strong leader. He had to be because the local rulers, who had taken possession of Israel, hated him and wanted to destroy his project of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. He had to visit the King of Persia and settle the mess to drive off his enemies.

But, with all the power he had, and with the backing of the Persian king, Nehemiah was strangely shy about exalting himself during the celebration of the finishing of the wall. He sent the people, half one way and half the other, around the wall and down into the temple courtyard. Nehemiah himself went last in the procession.

Nehemiah 12:37 And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
38 And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;

I once went to a pastor's rally to hear Jack Hyles speak. At lunch time, all the pastors were going to restaurants around the area. As Jack Hyles walked down the steps of the church, to his right was the leader of the local pastors' fellowship, to his left the pastor of the church we met in, and a flying wing went off to the left and right in the order of power the men had in the Baptist fellowship. Jack lead the formation, just like an old fashioned Soviet Union May Day parade. This is why Jack Hyles was a Marvel Man and unfit to be an example of Christian ministry. He anticipated and sought the first place, not the last. What about you, pastor? Are you marvelous in your own eyes?

Nehemiah 6:1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)
2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.
7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.
8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.
9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

THE APOSTLE PAUL

Paul was being demeaned by other alleged prophets and preachers. They claimed to be greater in heritage and in power than Paul, and they seem to have been falsely accusing him of being corrupt. Paul answers by proving to the Corinthian Christians that he was far more qualified to be an Apostle then his accusers. While doing this, Paul debases himself over and over to show the saints that his real spirit to them was one of sincere humility. He did not want them to exalt him. He wanted them to believe he was sincerely serving Christ and keeping himself in a spirit of humility. Thus, a long passage will show you what your Reverend Doctor Marvel Man is NOT. Paul is not trying to convince the Christians to follow him as he defends himself against his critics.

2 Corinthians 11:16 I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.
17 That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.
18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.
21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.
22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.'

2 Corinthians 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.
12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.
13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.
14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
16 But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.
17 Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?
18 I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?
19 Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.
20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:
21 And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

The classic Marvel Man preacher will try to duplicate Paul's humility. I have personally seen Jack Hyles try to be humble, but in the end, he makes himself so special that it is clear that his humility is the worst of his deceptions. Paul was sincerely embarrassed to have to boast of his superior experience and ministry, and he even admitted he spoke in the flesh. God obviously wanted us to see how Paul debased himself because God made sure this book was in the canon of the Bible.

Does your Marvel Man debase himself when he talks about himself? Or, does he use illustrations about himself in sermons which make him appear to be special and powerful?

Here is a classic example of how Marvel Man exalts himself and makes himself appear to be super human:

"I am not sure I will make any sense this morning. I have been going nonstop for a few weeks. I left home and flew to Dubuque and preached five times a day in three churches at the same time. I then flew to Mozambique to a missionary conference and spoke in native churches ten times a day for three weeks. After that, I was in Los Angeles for a week doing seminars all day long for pastors from all over California. The whole time I was suffering from the gout, hay fever, and scurvy. I am just amazed God kept me going. After I leave here, I fly to Hong Kong and speak in a soccer stadium five nights in a row, and in the morning I give Bible lessons to thousands of orphan children. I will not be home again until 2019, and I am already exhausted."

What Marvel Man is saying is, "Am I not a wonderful self-sacrificing grand preacher? Why, I just amaze me!"

And, after reading the credentials of ministry experience of the Apostle Paul above, do you really still think your Marvel Man is that special? And, this 1 Corinthians text came before Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome, and it was before he was a prisoner for Christ in Rome.

Here is how a true minister of Christ speaks of himself.

Paul is speaking: 1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

I am laboring this section on Paul because he is God's true servant..... that is because God had complete control of his temperament and self-image, unlike your Marvel Man.

1 Thessalonians 2:1 For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:
2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.
3 For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
5 For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.
7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.
10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

You will, of course, deceive your fool heart into believing your Marvel Man is just like Paul. That is because Marvel Man has learned to burp up the words of Paul and counterfeit Paul. But, the fact that you are reading this and trying to justify a man in the light of these Bible passages proves you are following a man, not Jesus Christ. If you had a pastor or teacher on the order of the Apostle Paul, you would not even be thinking about your pastor.

Paul makes it very clear what the standard of a Bible believer's self-image should be.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Is your Marvel Man REALLY a servant, or does he simply produce a false front of being a servant? Is he in the homes of the people of your church, or is he much too busy for that? Is he known to help set up chairs for events? Is he found fixing the plumbing because no one is available to do it in an emergency? Does your Marvel Man ever show up in coveralls with dirty fingernails? Stop lying to yourself, and call this idol of yours what he really is.

When Paul showed up to preach he might have smelled of old leather and sheep's fat from mending tents to pay his bills. When he arrived in Rome, Paul smelled of ocean spray and smoky fires of the people on the island of Mylitus. Does your Marvel Man ever smell of tobacco smoke from visiting the sinners in your city? I know from experience about that, and I used to wonder what the members thought if they smelled smoke on me.

And, finally, Paul tells us why God chose him to be, in Paul's estimation anyway, the least of God's servants and the Apostle to the Gentiles:

Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

I hope that if you have a Marvel Man you follow, talk like, joke like, and generally imitate, you will see that you are a fool for exalting a man between you and Jesus Christ.

We need to talk about being an example. These are the texts that every Marvel Man uses to justify being the guru of a group of Christians and enslaving them to himself. We listen to both Peter and Paul in these texts:

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

1 Peter 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

2 Thessalonians 3:8 Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Peter, in the chapter 5 text above, makes it very clear that being an example to the flock of God is not the same as ruling over them. It is also not about making a bunch of little clones just like you, preacher. The true servant of God has NO sense of ruling. He wants to be a servant, feed sheep, and be an example of how to live the Christian life. When it comes time to obey these who lead, as in Hebrews 13 above, you will be obeying a servant, not a tyrant, and not under duress. Marvel Man makes regular reminders in his sermons that you are to obey him and submit to him as the final authority.

The followers of William Marion Branham go to church every Sunday morning and are taught by a tape recorder of DVD player. They listen to the sermons of Branham who has been dead for over fifty years. Aside from all the heresies of Branham, he gave his followers the teaching that he was the last of seven prophets of the Church Age. Thus, his followers still believer there is no preacher of teacher who can replace Branham. Some of his followers meet to listen to a leader read a Bramham sermon out loud. The reader is later examined to determine if he got Branham's diction, tone of voice, and stupid Missouri hick burp grammar just right. The most famous Branhamites are those men who can perfectly replicate the delivery of Bramham.

Don't laugh at them too hard, friend. We have preacher boys fresh out of Hyles Anderson College who do their best to sound like Jack Hyles. They use his sermons, complete with his stupid jokes and sermon illustrations, to allegedly preach the Gospel and teach the Bible. We also have some of the same club of fools who attended Pensacola Bible Institute who try to imitate Doctor Peter Ruckman's cussedness. They drink their coffee like he did, and break their ice cubes like he did. In the case of Ruckman, I do not believe that is what he had in mind for his graduates, but I know Jack Hyles basked in the glory of making his graduates into little jackboot clones of himself.

How does Marvel Man command the mind of his followers?

Marvel Man says something like this: "You follow me, and I will follow Jesus." That is blasphemy and nowhere taught in the Bible. It is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Oh, Marvel Man will twist some Bible text to say this, but in context you will find him wrong.

Finally, who is the example to all the saints, including you, the Apostles, and your pastor or teacher?

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

This is what you are called to..... to be like Jesus.

I knew a pastor in Michigan who was a Famous Amos and Marvel Man to many people. Once every year he went to a missionfield and preached to missionaries, and he did many wondrous works, at least it seemed. He had a conflict with members in his church, and a group of them left and started another church. They told lies about him and his church. That is nothing new to any pastor worth his salt. If you, a pastor, have not been lied about by someone, you are worthless as tits on a boar hog.

So, what did this Famous Amos pastor do? He took an ad out in the local newspaper defending himself and trying to counter the lies of the second group. What a wretched thing to do..... to spread the shame of the Lord's church in that city all over the neighborhood in the newspaper. This sort of thing is what actually proves a pastor or teacher is a fraud and a rebel against the text above in which we are told not to revile those who revile us if we want to be like Jesus.

So, hold your pastor or teacher up for examination using the above Bible texts. If he falls down in any of them, and if he is not exalting himself or covering up his faults, then you may very well have a real servant of a pastor. Follow his example, but STOP EXALTING HIM.

Luke 5:27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.

How does a humble leader relate to men in leadership?

Acts 20:26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
36 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.

FOLLOW JESUS, NOT MARVEL MAN.

WHAT IS THE HERMENEUTIC OF
MARVEL MAN?

Marvel Man draws people, like you, to himself, and you learn that they can never be healed without Marvel Man. Marvel Man exalts himself so that you will see him as the source of your spiritual and worldly success. He helps you to believe that your soul is sick, your method of serving God is sick, and even your mind is sick. Then, he gives you a placebo that he assures you will change your life completely. He does not give you victory in Jesus Christ. He gives you victory in slavery to himself.

Thus, you keep going back for another treatment of the drug of Marvel Man. He may come to you with a four part magic plan for spiritual success. He may come to you with a big red book. Or, he may simply present himself in such a way that you crave just to touch the hem of his garment and be healed. You buy his sermon DVDs, and you repreach them to your own people or to your family.

And, if Marvel Man is healing you (which he is NOT), you are made by him to feel obligated to promote him to your friends, even passing out his DVDs to people who need healing.

This Black preacher arrived at the wrong conclusion. He said African Americans need to go back and drink from African wells. All victims of Marvel Man need to go back to drink from the water of life, Jesus Christ.

WATCH THE VIDEO PLEASE

You DO need to find a different culture. You need the culture of the Word of God. Every aspect of culture is redeemed and rearranged by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the study of the 66 books of the Bible. Marvel Man preaches, teaches, and writes his books in such a way that you believe you cannot find the truth from anyone else but him. This is what makes idiot deacons in hundreds of Baptist churches wear a button on their coat that says, "100% for Hyles." Even after Jack Hyles died and went to his place of torment, his slave preachers have been preaching his sermons and telling his stories and stale jokes. They do not trust anyone else to be the ultimate source of truth. Thus, a culture forms around Marvel Man. There is often even a new language learned. Pastors who are enslaved to Marvel Man learn to tell his jokes, pronounce certain words wrong like he does, and even develop his gestures.

Proverbs 5:15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.

When you disperse waters you got from Marvel Man, you are making the people you reach twice the child of Hell that you are. This is why you rage and attack any of the sheep who question the teachings of Marvel Man. You know in your soul that you are drunk on a man, not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, when any sheep asks a question, you run them off lest they break the magic spell of Marvel Man in the minds of the other sheep.

If this is you, sir, you are possessed of devils. You are preaching another Jesus and another Gospel. For this you will burn in Hell.

2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

1 Corinthians 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

Are your "bearing with" Marvel Man?

Luke 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

The only way you can be sure you are born again and exalting only Jesus Christ is to completely abandon Marvel Man and return to the Captain of your Salvation, Jesus Christ. You THINK you are following Jesus Christ, but you are, in fact, a slave of another man, a slave of Satan. There is only one solution for you now:

Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Jeremiah 9:23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Well, Reverend Simple, it is now your turn..... GET RIGHT!

WHAT ARE SOME CLUES YOU ARE DEALING WITH MARVEL MAN?

1. Marvel Man teaches "Pastoral Authority" with a vengeance and forces it on you. He may even claim he is the highest authority over your wife and kids.

2. He claims that, "I don't know any Bible teacher who ever got this Bible text interpreted correctly up until now."

3. He sells DVDs of himself preaching and brags about them going all over the world. He also boasts about how many "likes" he gets on his Facebook page and on YouTube.

4. He always glows when people flatter him and give him long introductions.

5. He talks about all the "preacher boys" and men he has inspired to do great things (by his definition).

6. He does eccentric things in the pulpit and on the platform to draw attention to himself. He is smart mouthed and arrogant, LIKE THIS.

7. He marginalizes, or even excommunicates, anyone who disagrees with him or asks him to prove some claim he made from the Bible.

8. He is gone most of the time doing conferences and special meetings instead of being in his own pulpit.

9. He implies, in his messages, that if you don't buy his book or DVD you will remain hopelessly ignorant of the truth.

10. He never offers to pay for lunch, implying that you owe him lunch for all the wisdom he dropped on you.

11. In Charismatic cases, he claims to have done fantastic miracles. Fundamental Baptist Marvel Men will make insane claims as to how many souls they win to Christ every week. Curiously, you will never meet any of these souls he won to Christ. They do not exist.

12. In Reformed cases, and in all Fundamental Baptist men, he insists on being addressed with his degrees (such as Doctor), and he wants you to remember he is chairman of the pastor's fellowship. He also wants you to appreciate that he is a world class bombastic blow hard. Meanwhile, the source of his Doctorate was from a diploma mill in the basement of a tax rebel in Colorado.

13. He must always sit on the platform when anything is happening. He also expects a place at the head table. He never gets caught down the line chatting with a loser.

14. During the worship service, he and the guest speaker will be sitting on the platform talking to each other. But, he demands that the kids during the service be quiet and pay attention.

15. He always asks for a discount everywhere he goes on the premise that he is a "minister." He also tells the cop who stops him in traffic that he is a local pastor.

16. He has a smart aleck demeanor in the pulpit, often dropping brash and abrasive one liners. Some Marvel Men have the modus operendi of a thug, as if godliness is promoted by rage and anger. Phil Kidd, at the left in the photo, is an evangelist who has a look of rage on his face as his trademark. If you think this is cute, you do not know the Jesus I know.

17. We are learning in recent years that Marvel Man often rages and teaches boldly against sexual sin. Later, he will be caught hauling a teen age girl to the next state to his cabin where he beds her down regularly. One preacher in Michigan was convicted of sexual activity with boys in his church. He insisted they shower with him to save water. You will also find that most leaders in the Patriarchal Movement not only teach that husbands should lord it over their women, the leaders lord it over teen age girls in their ministries, using them sexually.

18. Marvel man boasts of his success as a teacher, faith healer, money creator, or any number of such claims. He is promoted by his associates, and he is exalted by TBN and other public circuses. This is in direct and morbid contrast to Jesus Christ, even though Marvel Man claims to serve Jesus. Jesus, on purpose, rejected all efforts to exalt him.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Marvel Man absolutely refuses to wait to be exalted until he stands before God. I am talking now about virtually all the famous men in Christendom. By allowing themselves to be exalted and made famous, they are rejecting the life plan Jesus gave us. Jesus MADE HIMSELF of no reputation. That means he went out of his way to become a nobody and to become a servant. Whether it is Benny Hinn or the seemingly more tolerable men like John MacArthur, Bill Gothard, John Piper, or Lee Roberson, and all the rest who ride high in modern American church circles, they are NOT arranging their lives to become of no reputation. They thrive on being consulted and sitting on panels at big conferences and rendering verdicts on Bible topics. When you allow one of these Marvel Men to become the man you follow and emulate, you are helping to exalt them ever further.

Those who follow Marvel Man "evangelize" by telling people, "You should come and visit our church. We have a wonderful Bible teacher, Marvel Man. You will love his teaching." I took a church in Michigan, and after several Sundays of Bible teaching, I learned that one lady was inviting people from other churches to come to our church. She said, "We have a great Bible teacher. Why, he sounds just like John MacArthur." I just about panicked. I soon found a place in a sermon to absolutely order the members to stop trying to steal sheep from other churches and praising my teaching. I told them that I did not want our church to grow by sheep stealing but by winning lost souls to Christ. One mark of a Marvel Man is that he is a sheep rustler.

You will not find all of these qualities of Marvel Man in one man (now that Jack Hyles is dead). But, the more of the above you find in a preacher of teacher, the more obvious that he is a Marvel Man campaigning for you to fall in line as his disciple.

Here is a classic case of flattery of the listener, along with self-exaltation. This is a Marvel Man at work. Look for the qualities we have been discussing above:

Please notice that this financial genius is preaching from the book of "DeuteroMoney." Listen for it.

WHO SHOULD BE A MARVEL MAN?

In your Bible is a story that is seldom preached. I wondered why, but, in preparing this study, I came to the conclusion that this account in the book of Numbers helps answer the question, "Who should be a Marvel Man?"

Numbers 11:24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

God decided to spread around the power of the Holy Spirit upon the elders of Israel, not just on Moses. This tells me that, if you have a New Testament local church the power of God will not be found only in the mighty pastor only. Is that how it is in your church? Is the pastor the only source of communication from God to the people?

Pastor, if you are the only voice of God to your people you are an arrogant ego driven fraud. You have failed to do your job.

The seventy men called out of the camp by Moses were elders. They were on the list of approved elders. They were the men from which the Fundamental Baptist Convention of Sinai would choose "keynote speakers." They were John R. Rice, Curtis Huston, David Otus Fuller, D A Waite, Lee Roberson, and Clarence Sexton. They were certainly speaking the words of God, and they prophesied, and the people were edified.

But, yonder in Podunk, Kentucky, way back up the holler in the coal mining country, in a small clap board church in the hills, there is a man prophesying, and he has the same Holy Ghost any of the greatest preachers in America have..... the same Holy Ghost inspiring the seventy prophets yonder standing around the tabernacle. But, to the finks following Marvel Man, he is no match for those 68 Marvel Men on the approved list at Bob Jones University. Furthermore, he is not from a big place, standing in a big successful tabernacle. We cannot use him as a "keynote speaker."

So, in Verse 27 we see a young man, a follower of the official Marvel Men at the tabernacle, run up to Moses and fink on two elders out prophesying amongst the people. What a slap in the face that brat got. He and Joshua both were rebuked by Moses. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? Moses is slapping down their attempt to turn him against those two Spirit filled elders who were preaching the same message as the other 68 by the tabernacle.

The punch line comes straight from Moses: would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!

Preacher, tell the truth, if you are not a snot nosed spiritual egomaniac. Would you be delighted to see everyone in your assembly receive the power of the Holy Ghost to prophecy just as mightily as you or any of your leading men? If you waffle out of that question, or if you run and hide in "pastoral authority" sir, you are not worthy to be a minister of Jesus Christ. If there is to be a Marvel Man anywhere in your life, it should be every man in your local church. You should be teaching all of your men to prophecy, that is, preach the Gospel and edify one another from the Word of God.

I will show you what Jesus thinks of your jealous spirit:

Mark 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part.

How many times have YOU spoken with the spirit of John in Verse 38? You heard of some preacher, Pastor Eldad, who was teaching the Bible, and you really have no fault with him. You could not prove he is a heretic. Oh, he interprets some Bible text different than you do. But, you cannot prove the Holy Spirit is not using him, in fact, you know he is having fruit unto righteousness. But, you tell your people to stay away from him. You, sir, are in need of a solid slap for whining about the Holy Spirit not getting your permission to bless that pastor as God's servant.

Now, I will show you who got my attention about this. Oh my, you will be very troubled having to take this off of a Church of God In Christ Black bishop. But, this brother is spot on. And, you will see the man using church discipline in a way that gave momentum to the message being preached. If you click out of this because of the altercation up front, you will miss a great blessing.

Preacher..... I dare you to preach on Numbers 11:24-30 next Sunday.

Here is your ending text for the sermon:

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Then, preacher, during the "Invitation Hymn," YOU get down there at the weeping rail, and YOU covenant with God to teach your men to be edifying the saints in the camp.

To all readers here: May I suggest you search your heart and see if there be any Marvel Man in your life? If so, how about trading him in for Jesus Christ ONLY. You mock at the Catholics for putting Mary between man and Jesus Christ, but you have this fetish man, this Famous Amos, between you and Jesus Christ. And, as for your rather ordinary pastor of your small church, Pastor Eldad, how about learning to listen to him and be content that God has put him "in the camp" to edify you and your family?

CONCLUSION

If you stayed with me to this point, good on ya. I realize I have been a bit rough, but I have an excuse.

I do not do an article on a topic for which I have no passion. I do not have time left to waste on banal feel good stuff that does not grab the reader in some way. The passion for this article is based on my observation over my lifetime, at least the part of it when I could watch other people and analyze their actions. Over the years I have known many people who were following another man as their guru.

I think of Art. He was obsessed with some Ph.D. who had a whole plan for life and how to live it. This plan had no room for God, but it had lots of room for the follower to idolize the Ph.D. Art was said to be a master at elocution and logic, and I was counseled by relatives to not ever get into a discussion with him. My friends felt I would be devoured. Well, we had a family gathering, and Art got me aside and threw a couple of statements at me to call me out. I, being naturally restrained and a bit timid (cough), waded straight into it and tore him to shreds with the Word of God. I told him if he kept following his Ph.D. he would end up in Hell. We agreed to break off the discussion just before he took a swing at me.

Art was one of many people I have had to sadly leave behind as hopeless. He was committed. So, here you are, and I know some people reading here have a Reverend Doctor Marvel Man they are following, a man who is their virtual spirit guide. Oh, I am sure he claims to exalt Jesus Christ. All cultists exalt Jesus just long enough to make you drop your guard. But, by now you have seen that my passion is to force you to see that there is only One who is Marvelous..... The Lord Jesus Christ. There is only One Marvel in the whole universe, Heaven and earth.

So, I hope you have caught my passion for making Jesus Christ the ONLY one to follow in this life. If you still traipse along in the footprints of some mere man, it will not be because I did not slap you around and get your attention. I have written this in a way that you cannot have missed the point.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

If you still have someone between you and Jesus, I must ask you seriously, are you really born again?

LINKS

HOG SLOP PREACHING
There are pastors out there who are preaching rubbish.
Are you following close on the heels of one of these?

MARVEL MAN VERSUS MARVELOUS GOD
Are you exalting the marvelous God of the Bible, or are you plodding along vomiting up your seminary or Bible college notes? Are you telling cute stories about fornicating preachers (like Jack Hyles or Benny Hinn), making folk heroes of them, or are you lifting up the wonderful Savior?

HERE ARE YOUR CCM GURUS

AN EXCEPTIONAL USE OF DROLL HUMOR AND STORIES

DONALD TRUMP IS A MAGNET FOR FLATTERY. WATCH ASIAN LEADERS FLATTER HIM.
One of the things Asians understand is the power of flattery. They use it to subdue their enemies and take the high road in world politics and business. Trump seemed to be suckered by them. This tells me that it is a proud man who responds to flatter. Are you sucking up flattery? If so, YOU are a Marvel Man, and you will burn in Hell for using the Lord's Church to feed your ego. You are the kind of alleged preacher I like to destroy in this journal.

FLATTERY AND COMPLIMENTS COMPARED
Marvel Man will flatter you for only one reason..... to take control of you.

THAT MARVEL MAN YOU FOLLOW GETS HIS DRAWING POWER FROM THE SAME SOURCE THAT DYNAMO GETS HIS..... GUESS WHO

MARVEL MAN IN BRISTOL, TENNESSEE
David Gibbs bragged this man up, and the man had been a professor at Hyles Anderson University for many years. This is your Hyles Marvel Man.

"OUR BOSS" JACK HYLES IS BURNING IN HELL

JACK AND DAVID HYLES AND THE MOST EXTREME SEXUAL DEPRAVITY
It is quite clear that David Hyles murdered his baby.
This was the Marvel Man from Hammond, Indiana
You need to consider the fate of men who made Marvel Man of Jack Hyles.

THIS IS THE LAST SERMON SCHAAP PREACHED BEFORE GOING TO PRISON FOR SEXUALLY USING AN UNDER AGE GIRL.
This was the man Jack Hypes picked to replace him.

MARVEL MAN IS FALLING

SOME PASTORS ARE FOOLS
Will you follow a fool like this?

MIA CULPA OF A COWARD
This man knew Jack Schaap was off in some way, but he failed to confront Marvel Man.

THIS IS MARVEL MAN AS HE IS FOUND IN INDIA
Please notice some of the vocabulary similarities with how people defend the exhalation of Marvel Man in Christian circles.

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