TULSA, Okla. — A man confined to a wheelchair due to his struggles with cerebral palsy gave a face-to-face warning to ‘faith healer’ Todd Bentley this past Thursday in front of a live audience that had gathered for Bentley’s healing crusade.
Justin Peters, who runs Justin Peters Ministries in Oklahoma, attended the event to rebuke Bentley over what he believes are deceptive healing practices. Not knowing that he was about to be excoriated, Bentley handed the microphone over to Peters.
Peters then began to quote from Matthew 7, which speaks of those who do wonders in God’s name but live lawless lives, in presenting the rebuke to Bentley.
“And Jesus will look at them and he [will say], ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity,” he declared. “This man is a worker of iniquity.”
“Which man?” Bentley asked, standing adjacent to Peters.
“You,” Peters answered, who continued preaching until he was escorted off stage.
Peters is certainly not the first to chastise Bentley, who is plastered in tattoos, facial piercings and various pieces of jewelry. Over a decade ago, reports began circulating that Bentley was becoming violent on stage and claiming that the Lord told him to do it.
“And I’m thinking, why is the power of God not moving? And He said, ‘Because you haven’t kicked that woman in the face,’” he explained during a meeting, which was captured on video. “And there is this old lady worshipping right in front of the platform and the Holy Spirit spoke to me. The gift of faith comes on me. He said, ‘Kick her in the face with your biker boot.’”
“I inched closer and I went bam! And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell under the power of God,” Bentley stated to the laughing crowd.
The woman he referred to was a senior citizen that was fighting cancer.
In another instance, Bentley spoke of a “Chinese guy” that he “hit so hard that a tooth popped out of his mouth.”
He has also reportedly placed attendees in chokeholds and has boasted of “grounding and pounding” the sick — all in the name of God. At times, he refers to discussions with an angel named Emma.
In 2009, Bentley divorced his wife Shonnah after admitting to having an affair with intern Jessa Hasbrook, who also served as a nanny at the Bentley residence.
“Todd admits to being 100 percent responsible for the divorce,” members of the board of directors of Fresh Fire Ministries wrote in a public letter. “With the development of more friction in his marriage relationship, Todd began to make irrational decisions. Alcohol, movies and leisure time spent with a few of the younger, more impressionable members of his staff and road-crew began to replace the hours of soaking in the presence of God in which Todd had engaged during the early days of the Outpouring.”
“We believe that there are currently no Biblical grounds for Todd to leave his wife and children,” the letter continued.
Rick Joyner, Jack Deere and Bill Johnson were appointed to help reconcile the marriage, but all efforts failed. Bentley later married Hasbrook and travels with her today.
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