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The Asbury Revival

The revival at Asbury College is a great example of what God is doing today. God hasn’t retired. Neither is He on vacation as many believe.

The revival fires of the early Church have never ceased. One amazing thing about this revival is that it was at a United Methodist College. It was never called a Charismatic movement. Perhaps the Charismatics don’t hold the copyright on God after all.

I believe God will move wherever invited. Please post your thoughts below. (VIDEO WILL FOLLOW SOON)

Thoughts about the Catholic Church

I sometimes see myself as a uniter of the Christian faith – knocking down religious barriers of all kinds. Indeed, sometimes I live in a fantasy world. Religious factions do not unite at the preaching of the Gospel. At least they didn’t when Christ preached it.

The Catholic Church has recently reasserted itself as the “only” church that Christ established. Protestants, without saying, are less than genuine. How can this be?

Their claim is that only through apostolic succession can one become a leader of the Church. In simple terms, a leader must lay hands on someone to make them leadership material. The Catholic Church is full of religious traditions that sometimes become elevated to the Gospel. The Bible offers no support for this belief. Being Charismatic myself, I more than anyone believe in laying hands on people. In fact. I would like to lay hands on a lot of these people who make false claims of the Gospel. I mean that in a spiritual way, I promise!

Jesus created the Church – an institution upon which, “… the gates of hell shall not prevail…” In Matthew 16:18, Jesus declared:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

There is still debate about the “rock” Jesus spoke about. Was the rock, Peter, or was the rock the revelation that Peter described in Mat 16:16: “… Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”? The “rock” is the revelation of Christ. The Church isn’t built upon any man. If man was the foundation of the Church, the Church would fall flat on its face.

The Catholic Church has a propensity to elevate men above and beyond Scripture. The great thing about the men of the Bible is that they were everyday people like you and I. They were not superheroes. The miracle of Moses and David and so on is that God chose very ordinary men to do extraordinary things. In fact, God could have chosen better men if He wanted super-saints. Moses had a speech impediment and David was a relatively scrawny boy who didn’t know what he was doing. And he had a problem with the ladies.

Every Christian group clings to some movement for identification. It’s not a bad thing, except when it holds us back. The Catholics cling to the traditions of the early Church – at least the way they see them. The reformed Christians cling to a revival in the 16^th century. The Pentecostals cling to a revival that is over 100 years old.

That is all good and fine. But what is God doing today? Did He go on vacation or retire for good this time? I can’t figure out which “side” is more away from God these days. I read the accounts of the early Church. I read of the great revival in John Wesley’s time. But nowadays both– the Catholics and the Protestants, are generally dead as a doornail. Before we bash the Catholic Church, let us Protestants take self-inventory.

Anyone who shares Peter’s revelation – that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of the living God,” is a member of the Church of God. I think that is good theology because one can’t believe without being born again.

What is the Word of God?

It may sound like a silly question, but it is becoming very clear that many people haven’t a clue. Like many of you, I was taught in second-grade Sunday school that the Bible is God’s Word. In the same class I was taught about baby Jesus. We need to revisit these ideas. There is more to Jesus than a baby in a manger; indeed, there is more about the Word than we were taught in elementary Sunday school.

My previous post, “What ever happened to the Gifts of the Spirit?” illustrates how the Church is currently divided into two camps. One camp is the “Word Christians,” the other camp is the “Spirit-Filled Christians.” Such a division is due to a fundamental misunderstanding of Scripture.

Let’s consider John 6:16 (NIV):

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

We simply can’t separate God’s Word from His Spirit. If we claim to have one and not the other, we are deceived. If we elevate one above the other we have a major problem with our Christian worldview. From the above verse, it is plain that God’s Word is (His) Spirit. They are one and in perfect unity.

Maybe it would be easier to explain what God’s Word is not.

• God’s Word isn’t exclusive to a certain translation of Biblical texts.

• God’s Word isn’t simply a book you can purchase at Barns and Noble.

• God’s Word isn’t independent of God’s Spirit

• God’s Word isn’t exclusive to one group of Christians (Cults)

For example, many today seem to think that only the King James Version of the Bible is God’s Word. Such a claim is nearly too silly to debate. Some sites suggest that if you don’t read the KJV, you will go to hell (http://usekjvonly.com). I’m afraid that some of these “King James Version Only“ conspiracy theorists are in need of medication.

The Bible is a vehicle of getting God’s Word into our spirit. Don’t let religious people give you a choice between Word and Spirit camps. Let’s start a new camp: Christians who want both. I want correct theology AND the gifts of the Spirit in operation in the Church.

What ever happened to the Gifts of the Spirit?

In the first century, God preformed many miracles. The lame walked, the blind received their sight and the dead were raised. Twenty percent of the New Testament is devoted to stories of the miraculous. It seemed like you couldn’t get near Jesus without being changed in some way.

What was going on and what was the purpose of such miracles?

This question brings us to the proverbial fork in the road, that, sooner or later, every believer finds himself or herself. Those that believe that God is still a miracle worker go one way, and those that believe such miracles have ceased go the other way.

It shouldn’t be this way. God’s Word is clear. It’s only when we bring in the religious ideas of man that muddies the water. Those that claim that God no longer performs miracles—cessationists– are in error.

Cessationists generally believe the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. They claim cessation began when the last apostle died. To be honest, some cessationists pick and choose which gifts they believe are still in operation. If cessationalism is beginning to sound unorthodox, we are on the same page. The ones who hold this belief must exercise theological gymnastics to prove their point.

Their main claim, in simple terms, is that once the New Testament was written, we no longer need miracles, healing, prophecy — anything from God. All we need is the New Testament. In fact, we no longer need God at all! This religious attitude isn’t new. Jesus dealt with it daily. The Pharisees were the most religious of the Jews. They were steeped in their holiness and perfectionist doctrines. Their religion wasn’t skin deep as many have been taught. They were religious through and through; they were eat up with it. Their God was standing in front of them though they didn’t recognize Him. Make no mistake, the Pharisees could quote from their canon, the Septuagint, as well.

The ones who take the wrong fork in the road always dispute the gift of divine healing, prophecy and tongues. We don’t need an exhaustive study of this doctrine to show it is completely wrong. If their thesis, “the gifts ceased at the end of the apostolic age,” is false, then the whole doctrine must be wrong.

The apostolic age ended near the second century (100 C.E.). If we can show that God has preformed one miracle after 100 C.E., the whole doctrine is suspect. If we can show where God has given one vision or dream after the first century, then the doctrine must be completely false. In St. Augustine’s City of God, the Church father tells about divine healing, raising the dead, and God inspired dreams. St. Augustine is known as one of the greatest Church leaders; his writing spans the fourth and fifth centuries:

The miracle which was wrought at Milan when I was there, and by which blind man was restored to sight, could come to the knowledge of any; for not only is the city a large one, but also the emperor was there at the time, and the occurrence was witnessed by an immense concourse of people that had gathered to the bodies of the martyrs Protasius and Gervasius, which had long lain concealed and unknown, but were now made known to the bishop Ambrose in a dream, and discovered by him. By virtue of these remains the darkness of that blind man was scattered, and he saw the light of day. [1615]

Augustine’s writing was used here because he is sometimes credited for starting the cessation doctrine. Apparently, he changed his mind toward the end of his ministry. He was concerned that the gifts of the Spirit were in decline. Dr. Eddie Hyatt points out that the decline of the miraculous resulted when the Church became an institution of Rome¹. Dr. Hyatt chronicles the gifts of the Spirit in his book, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. He shows that there has never been a time since the first century that the gifts of the Spirit were absent, including tongues. His work includes the Azusa Street and the Zion City revivals of the early 1900’s that started the worldwide Charismatic movement. Other independent Charismatic moments around the same time birthed denominations such as the Worldwide Church of God (Tenn.).

Paul instructed Christians to “covet earnestly the best gifts” (1 Cor 12:31, KJV). Paul’s gospel always included the gifts of the Spirit. Additionally he taught, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8).

Are the gifts of the Spirit for today?

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38-39).

While the frequency of miracles declined after the first century, they never ceased. The best gifts of the Spirit are still to be “coveted.” The early part of the twentieth-century seemed to usher in a move of God that partially restored the church to its former glory. Since the early 1900’s, revival has been sporadic throughout the world. I am hoping that these moves were only the beginning of something that will turn the world on its head.

God’s Word and His Spirit are not in competition. In fairness, both Charismatics and anti-Charismatics sometimes error. It’s not an either/or choice. Christians need both, the Word and the Spirit to be effective.

The New Testament is the revelation of Christ. It’s central theme is the advent of God’s Kingdom which is characterized by God’s will, rule and power. Christ came to initiate His kingdom.

If we insist that God’s power is no longer in operation, we have thrown away the entire message of the Cross – the New Testament. The Gifts of the Spirit have not left the Church. We have left God and His plan for humankind. We have substituted the Gospel with religious ideas such as the cessationism theory.

Let’s again give God the reigns to His Church.

[1] Eddie L. Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity (Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House, 2002), 36.

Which way to Heaven?

A classmate of mine, a religious studies major, proudly told the class his favorite Bible verse. It was “God helps those who help themselves.” This would have been a great example if only it was a bible verse! This type of confusion is magnified in our postmodern age. Postmodernity insists that truth is personal and whatever works for you is The Way. After all, we can’t really know God anyway. This type of thinking has ushered in a hodgepodge of belief systems that are becoming more and more homogeneous.

It’s hard to separate public religious beliefs and God’s Word these days. Even if you attend Church regularly some of you only know the “prosperity gospel,” condemnation, or Psychology 101.

So which way is heaven, anyway?

It’s OK to ask this question; indeed, Christ’s disciples wanted to know the same thing. In John 14:5 (NIV):

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Christ made the claim that He is the only way to God. Christ is the only one who could pay the price for our redemption. Not Mohammad, not Budda, and certainly not our good works. This is a basic Christian truth that we must adopt.

Can’t Islam be another way to heaven? After all, they claim to serve the God of Abraham. The answer is no. There isn’t more than one way to heaven. If the Muslims served God, then they would know Jesus.

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 4:9)

The Character of God

What is God’s character like? Is He an angry God? Is He stewing in a corner with smoke coming from his ears, ready to destroy the next person who sins? If this were the case, everyone on earth would have been flattened by a very large fly-swatter already. God is not mad at you.

God is a God of forgiveness and reconciliation. Maybe you have rejected Him 100 times and feel undeserving. God says, “ask me anyway.” Jesus explained in Luke 5:32 (KJV):

I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Not only is God a God of forgiveness, but He sent Christ to die in your stead. If you are a sinner — even the most rotten person alive, you are exactly the person God is calling today to repent and believe the Gospel. Unlike people, God has the ability to completely forgive and forget. As a human being, sometimes it takes effort to forgive; sometimes I can never really forget. David declared in Psalms 103:12:

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

In plain terms, when God removes our sins they are never to be seen again; they will not come back to haunt us on judgment day. He wants to do that for you. Even if you have tried before and failed, He wants to pick you back up. No matter how many times you have fallen on your face, God is a God of second, third, fourth … chances. He never gives up on us because He loves us.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

When is the last time you have prayed? How many more chances will you have to get everything right with God? It’s a very scary thing to fall into the hands of the Mighty God unprepared. Now is a good time to repent, call on His name and ask for forgiveness. We are not promised tomorrow.