Personal Revival - A Beginning

On New Years Eve I was reading in the first chapter of Genesis when my eyes landed on the words in verse 29.

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. (Genesis 1:29 NIV)

It seemed like that verse was leaping off the page in 3D toward me. I tried to read on but I knew, like really knew that God was saying something to me. What was He saying? I knew with certainty I was being directed, at least to begin with, to eat a plant based diet and forego consuming animal products. How did I know it was God speaking to me? I just knew. I felt a knowing that was deeper than my own thoughts. At times over the years when I have felt assuredly that I had heard a direction from God it was almost always followed with an expectancy that I could accomplish what He was instructing. It was the same on this late December afternoon. I suddenly felt confident that I could change my eating habits drastically and probably permanently. That assuredness has always been a great indicator for me that I am actually hearing from God.

It wasn't that God wanted me to just change the way I eat. I slowly began to realize that He wanted to radically change the way I live. I couldn't have envisioned how much He would change in just a couple of months. Thankfully there is much much more change coming. He is a good God. He loves me so much that He wants me to live both healthy and happy.

To partner with what I believed God was initiating, the past two months I have tried to find out the best sources and information about nutrition and healthy living. My poor family has had to listen to me pontificate ad infinitum about the quality of protein in broccoli, the diets of centenarians in Okinawa, the myriad of places corn shows up stealthily on our supermarket shelves, and the preventability and reversibility of most diseases through proper nutrition.

This journey is both fun and life-giving for me. I feel renewed and invigorated. As a whole person - physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental - I feel like I am having a personal revival.

God did it. I am looking forward to Him doing much much more.


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Location:Lakeview Dr,Monroe,United States

St. Matthew the Writer

I am looking at the first few chapters of Matthew's Gospel this morning. I appreciate the skill and subtleties that he used both as a writer and theologian.

For example, he constructed almost every paragraph between Jesus' genealogy and The Sermon on the Mount around scripture. Without drawing attention he inextricable he forces the readers to inextricably connect Jesus' life and ministry to the sacred writings of the past. It is fitting; Jesus is both the fulfillment of the scriptures and the only possible lens through which they can be understood.
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King James Only?

Last Sunday during church many of our people at Redeemer received literature (from some people not associated with Redeemer) on their windshields comparing other versions of the bible to the King James Version (KJV). As well intentioned as the authors and distributors of that literature may have been, it was full of misinformation. All of the literature is written from the perspective of King James Onlyism, a belief that the KJV is the only true Bible with God's endorsement and all other translations are heretical.

Most of the literature criticized other translations of the bible for their inaccuracies by comparing them to the KJV. Seemingly anywhere a version differs from the KJV that proves it is flawed. Unfortunately, many of the claims made about the KJV were exaggerated or simply incorrect. I hope to briefly shed some light on the intent of the KJV translators and illuminate the history of the translation process.

The KJV was the eighth English Bible to be published. Here is the timeline of English Bibles published from 1525 - 1769.

1525 - Tyndale Bible (Tyndale was martyred in 1536 for this translation)
1535 - Coverdale Bible (first complete English Bible)
1537 - Matthews Bible
1539 - Great Bible (the first Authorized version)
1560 - Geneva Bible
1568 -Bishop's Bible
1582 -Douay-Rheims (1st Catholic version of the New Testament)
1611 - King James Version with apocrypha #1
1611 - King James Version with apocrypha revision
1611-1769 Many revisions and new publishings of The King JamesVersion
1769 - The Oxford Standard Edition King James Version (one still used today)

The KJV was a good version of the Bible for the time it was written. It was necessary for the bible to be put into language that could be read by the masses. The same need exists today. In the original preface of the 1611 version of the KJV the authors wrote, "So the church should always be ready with translations in order to avoid the same kind of emergencies [i.e., the inability to understand because of a language barrier.] Translation is what opens the window, to let the light in. It breaks the shell so we may eat the kernel." I wholeheartedly agree. It seems the authors of the 1611 preface would have been open to updating translations as language and culture changes.






Here are some historical facts about The Kings James Version:

As shown above there were seven English translations of the Bible prior to the KJV being printed.

In 1604 King James I commissioned English university scholars to create a new "authorized" translation of the Bible.

The KJV was finished and first published in 1611.

In order to create the thousands of copies desired, two different printers were used. This resulted in the creation of two separate editions with over 200 differences.

The 1611 KJV had 80 books as it included the Apocrypha, a group of Jewish books accepted by Catholics but not Protestants.

The KJV had many major revisions between 1611 and 1769.

The 1769 version revised by Benjamin Blayney is the one currently in publication.

There are thousands of differences between the 1611 and 1769 KJV editions.

The KJV used the Textus Receptus (Latin for "received text"), a Greek text published in the mid 1500's.

The KJV used some of the best resources available at the time of publication, however, thousands of older Greek and Hebrew manuscripts dating as far back as the second century are now available to modern Bible translators.

I think the KJV is a fine translation for people comfortable with the archaic english of the 17th century. I do not feel it is the best translation since it lacked the thousands of manuscripts and fragments that have been unearthed in the past four centuries.

I am thankful that we live in a time where it is possible to have many translations of the bible in our language. No matter which translation is read, a relationship to the Author is what is essential. May we abide in Him regardless of which acronym is on the binding.



Recommended for further study:
Grasping God's Word by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays
Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by W.W. Klein, C.L. Blomberg, and R.L. Hubbard
The King James Version Debate by D.A. Carson






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Thou Can't Be Serious

The following is one of the worst defenses I have ever heard for the superiority of The King James Version (I think the KJV is a fine translation by the way). Read on if you enjoy the inane. This is from av1611.com:


If we have a perfect Bible in English, don't we need one in every other language?






No. And I find it interesting that the same people who accuse me of putting God's word under a "linguistic padlock" are the same people who believe that God's inspired word only exists in "original autographs" that decayed into dust centuries ago. The same people who accuse me of being ethnocentric believe that only people who study Greek and Hebrew can possibly know what God "really said."

The following is from Sam Gipp's The Answer Book.

QUESTION: If there is a perfect Bible in English, doesn't there also have to be a perfect Bible in French, and German, and Japanese, etc.?

ANSWER: No. God has always given His word to one people in one language to do one job--convert the world. The supposition that there must be a perfect translation in every language is erroneous and inconsistent with God's proven practice.

EXPLANATION: This explanation comes in three parts: the Old Testament, the New Testament, the entire Bible.

(1) The Old Testament:

It is an accepted fact that, with the exception of some portions of Ezra and Daniel, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. It is also accepted that it was divinely given to the Jews.

Thus God initiates His pattern of operation. He gave His words to one people in only one language.

God, apparently unintimidated by modern scholarship, did not feel obligated to supply His words in Egyptian, Chaldean, Syrian, Ethiopian, or any other of the languages in use on the earth at the time the Old Testament was written.

(2) New Testament:

It is also an accepted fact that the New Testament was written in Greek, Koine Greek to be exact. Again, the Lord apparently saw no reason to inspire a perfect original in all of the languages of the world extant at that time.

Only this time, instead of giving His Book to a nation, such as Israel, He simply gave it to the Christians who were told to go out and convert the world (Matthew 28:19). His choice of Greek as the language of the New Testament was obvious in that it was the predominant language of the world at the time.

(3) The Entire Bible:

It is obvious that God now needed to get both His Old Testament and His New Testament welded together in a language that was common to the world. Only English can be considered such a language.

The English language had been developing for many centuries until the late sixteenth century. About that time it finally reached a state of excellence that no language on earth has ever attained. It would seem that God did the rest. He chose this perfect language for the consummation of His perfect Book.

First England and later the United States swept the globe as the most powerful nations on earth, establishing English in all corners of the globe as either a primary or secondary language.

Today nations who do not speak English must still teach English to many of their citizens. Even nations antagonistic to the West such as Russia and Red China must teach English to their business and military personnel.

Thus in choosing English in which to combine His two Testaments, God chose the only language which the world would know. Just as He has shown in His choosing only one language for the Old Testament and only one language for the New Testament, He continued that practice by combining those two testaments in only one language.

But let us not forget the fact that, by choosing the English language, God has given us a mandate to carry out the great commission. He did not give us a perfect Bible to set placidly on the coffee table in our living room to let our guests know that we are "religious." He did not give it to us to press a flower from our first date, or to have a record of our family tree. He gave it to us to read! And to tuck under our arm and share with the lost world the good news of Jesus' payment for sin that is found inside.

Let's get busy!

Really? This mentality encourages one to elevate English as God's chosen language (absurd!) and looks at the world through a tiny peephole rather than from a global perspective.

Someone should let the people slaving over manuscripts at Wycliffe know that they are wasting their life trying to translate the bible into ALL the world's languages. They can stop now. No need to translate the Gospel into the tongues of those who haven't heard in the African bush areas. Rather, the real need is for all people to learn outdated Shakespearean English. Problem solved.
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Counting Sheep

Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted. - Albert Einstein

Each Sunday morning one of our ushers counts approximately how many people are at Redeemer. It's helpful information to have over time so that we can recognize what needs either are arising or may arise soon.

I have come to believe that attendance numbers are not necessarily indicative of a church's health. I don't know of any data that can. Much of what God does in people is like the seed growing secretly, invisibly underground. Then seemingly out of nowhere it pops up exposing the life that was unseen before. There is no way to tabulate and record that kind of growth. I do not know of a measurement that can chart the feeling of vitality in a room when God-filled people express their love to Him with abandon.

I am interested in Redeemer growing; growing more in love with Jesus. I assume that as we do more people will come into the kingdom and our attendance will increase. That will be a byproduct of God moving but not the proof that He has been moving. Attendance growth without God moving sounds horrible to me. That sounds like a curse rather than a blessing. I would rather have 50 people surrounding me that love Jesus with their whole being than 5,000 attendees looking at their watches waiting for noon to rescue them.

Leonard Ravenhill once said that you don't need to advertise a fire. Fires always draw crowds. The 50 Jesus-lovers I mentioned in the last paragraph would multiply even without trying. Real life with God is contagious and attractive. But every time I see a crowd that doesn't mean there is a fire nearby.

Are people abiding in Jesus? Are people being equipped for Kingdom service? Is God pleased with our gatherings? Is He given the praise and adoration He deserves? The answers to those questions count.
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The Highway to Fulfillment

Last week I was in the Toronto area driving on the 401. Traffic was exceptionally heavy and was moving forward intermittently with long pauses in between. Thank God for the Garmin we were using. It was so helpful, not only with navigation, but also with estimating how long it would be before we arrived somewhere.

The Garmin, however, did not foresee the jammed traffic throughout Toronto's downtown and the 401. The Garmin expected us to be driving at posted speeds and would estimate our arrival based on that. When we traveled at way less than posted speeds the device would push back our estimated arrival accordingly. And then push it back again. And again.

After an hour or so of barely moving our 18 minute drive was feeling like Gilligan's three hour tour. We tried alternative routes. The Garmin changed accordingly and kept showing new ways for us to get to our destination. Good ol Garmin never gave up. We never received the "pull over and weep in your failure" instruction I was expecting.

We eventually got to our destination. It took 6 or 7 times longer than was originally anticipated. I am thankful for a few things:
* we never assumed there was no destination just because it was difficult getting to it
* the Garmin didn't care how many weird and wrong turns we made - it kept seeking the consummation of the journey.
* The fact that a wrong turn (or many wrong turns) does not mean that a journey is futile.



The road to fulfillment of God's promises feels much the same to me as the seemingly never-ending day on the 401. I feel like I have some destinations plugged into my life GPS by God, but getting there has not happened on the time table I expected. When my estimated time of arrival on God's promises keeps getting delayed I often feel pangs of discouragement. I am going to get to my destination as long as I don't get discouraged by traffic, wrong turns, and construction delays along the way.


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John Stott 1921-2011

I just read that at age 90 the great John Stott passed away today. He was a great scholar and Christian leader. I have often referred to his commentary on Romans for guidance.

Two brief points to highlight the his global impact:

Billy Graham once said that Stott was the most respected living clergyman in the world.

Time Magazine listed him in 2005 among the 100 most influential people on the planet.

Thank you God for John Stott's life of service to You and the legacy that continues on.

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Remember Egypt

A little but important post from Steven Furtick:

You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:17-18

Nothing can sabotage radical belief in the promises of God quite like calculation.

The Israelites were facing a seemingly insurmountable task. They were about to enter the Promised Land and face not only a multitude of enemies, but enemies who were clearly stronger and more capable than them. God knew what would happen: they would ask the faith-shattering calculative question, how?

And so He preempted their question with an instruction: remember Egypt.
Essentially, don’t try to calculate how I’ll do it…just remember how I did it.

God’s instructions haven’t changed much thousands of years later for those of us facing uncertainty as to how God is going to come through for us. You might be wondering how God is going to provide for your family now that you’ve lost your job. Or how He is going to cover the costs of your education. Or how He is going to do any of the other number of things you need Him to do.

Well, I don’t know how. Neither do you. And the truth is, we don’t have to know how. We just need to know that He can. And the way we know that He can is by calling to mind what He’s done.

And He’s done plenty. Your life is littered with signposts of God’s faithfulness. Regardless of your circumstances, take a moment and take a look at them. Remember Egypt. Remember what God has already overcome in your past as you face your present. Then leave the how to Him.



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Catch The Fire

We worshiped with the Catch the Fire (CTF) ministry school one night this week. They just graduated several students that completed a 3 week leadership intensive.
Formerly Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship,
CTF has been a major catalyst to Rolland and Heidi Baker, Brownsville Assembly, IHOP, Bethel Redding, and many many other influential people and ministries.
It was a nice respite along the journey home.


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Delightful

Undoubtedly the best gelato I've ever had. I had pistachio & coconut. Ashleigh had chocolate if you can't tell.










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Little Italy

Ashleigh taking a break on a hot day in the Little Italy section of Toronto.



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Asking God to Help Me See

Sometimes I find myself feeling numb toward the needs of people I see throughout my day. It concerns me to think that I can become unmoved by people without homes, food, or those in pain either emotionally or physically. Sometimes I try to tell myself that it's because of how common it has become to see people in need that I don't always feel stirred inside. But I don't think that is true.

When someone cuts in front of me in line at the grocery store I am not numb to it emotionally. That has happened numerous times in my life. When I feel slighted by someone (whether perceived or real) I am not numb to it. I may not show it on the outside but I definitely notice it. When the waitstaff at a restaurant gives what I deem poor service I notice it and internally react. Why should those type of things cause reactions in me greater than when another human being is in need?

I will be more like Jesus when I care less about the goings on of my own little kingdom and more about bringing justice to the marginalized. Jesus was moved to tears with great emotion over the needs of the people of Jerusalem. I want eyes that see people the way He does.


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A Sunday to Remember (kind of)

Yesterday morning we went to church in Port Hope. The church we intended on attending started at. 10:30. We ran late so I started looking for any church in the area that began at 11. I found a Presbyterian one close enough to us that we could be there on time.

Upon arrival I noticed a few things:

There were few cars in the parking lot.
Including us there were about 20 people present.
All of the females except one were wearing hats.
All of the males (even those preschool age) were wearing ties.
The only musical instruments on stage were a piano and organ.
All of the bible verses posted were kjv.
The hymnal had hymns and then a separate section of Psalms put to music. I thought that was cool.
Most of the people looked to be over the age of 70 except for two families.
No one spoke to each other before or after service. No one. Zero talking.

The regular pastor was on vacation and a very nice young man from Toronto was shepherding the church while he was away. He was not preaching however. The person preaching that morning was a missionary from The Czech Republic. He stated that he intended to give testimonies of the work God is doing there and then preach the gospel.

He shared mostly about the damage that Baptists and charismatics have done in The Czech Republic by spreading their heresies. The atheists are very bad too, just not as bad as the Baptists and charismatics. As a pastor in a charismatic Baptist church I had to chuckle. I wasn't offended at all but I found it funny. Of all the churches in the little town of Port Hope I have to imagine this is the only one with a missionary giving testimony of how bad charismatics and Baptists are. Unfortunately we never heard what God IS doing there.



Then he shifted into the sermon out of 1 Kings. It was the section where Jeroboam has two golden calfs formed so that people would not have to go to Jerusalem for worship any longer. Using that story as the backdrop he talked about the importance of doing things God's way and not doing what is right in our own eyes. One example was dressing appropriately on The Lord's Day. I was the only guy in the house without a tie on. Modern fashions are not appropriate for God's true people. He talked extensively about the evil of all things contemporary. Then he talked about modern music with drums showing how people have wandered away from God and made the church carnal. At this point I am realizing he may not have enjoyed it as much as i did when one of our worship leaders led playing guitar and wearing a Homer Simpson t-shirt a few weeks ago in church. He also railed against the notion that God is concerned with our hearts more than our external appearance and behaviors.

I was wearing a cross necklace that reminds me of a man named Father Bishoy from Egypt that I met many years ago. He is one of the humblest, gentlest, and most teachable people I have ever met. I wear it sometimes to remind myself to stay low, stay unoffended, and that I have much to learn. I took it out and rubbed it like a rosary. I wasn't offended. I wanted to stay humble and find some meat among the bones I was spitting out.

Several times he mentioned the importance of preaching the real gospel. The word gospel literally means good news. Good News. I don't know if it's a message of good news to say that God's goal for your life is for you to wear clothing that was popular in the 1940's, listen to outdated non-percussive music, and live unconcerned about your true self (your heart). That sounds horrible to me. I think every time we preach the gospel it should sound like good news. I have been so guilty of not letting the goodness of the gospel shine through at times. This world needs the Good News of Jesus.

The missionary had a family of six people there with him. We were a party of five. If you take away the visiting pastor that leaves a total of about 12-13 people from that church in attendance. We were clearly the only ones who missed the hat and necktie memo. He clearly wasn't preaching to the choir if you know what I mean. As he talked about churches that are contemporary being too casual with God our four year old was lying under her chair (we were in the back) coloring. Uh oh.

Now all things considered:
Being contemporary is not important. Being authentic is.
God deserves awe and reverence and He should not be treated whimsically.
Modern worship music is only as valuable as it is pleasing to God.

This isn't me complaining as much as it is me processing. It was a bit surreal. Maybe even more surreal than a costume dog show. Funny thing is that at the end of the dog show someone awkwardly yelled out "Hallelujah!" No one yelled that Sunday morning.










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Are We Pentecostals (pt 2)

"Pentecostalism has not always been linked to glossolalia (speaking in tongues). In fact, it has only been in the past 110 years that the two became linked in American religious thought. Previous to 1901 many churches that believed speaking in tongues passed with the death of the first apostles called themselves Pentecostal.

The dominant factors that we see stemming from what took place on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 are inclusion and unity. When the Holy Spirit touched the community of believers in the upper room He did so in a way that empowered them to communicate with people from diverse locales. The people from different parts of the Roman Empire were then included in mass numbers into this new community. The greatest sign of the Holy Spirit's supernatural empowering was that this new community lived at peace in unity with one another.

Ethnic boundaries were dissolved as this new community of individuals found their identity in Jesus rather than in their ancestral heritage. Social boundaries were also destroyed as the wealthy and the poor lived together as equals. Those who could had more gave of what they had so that those who had less would not be without.

For Pentecostalism to stay true to it's origin it must represent ethnic unity and social equality empowered supernaturally by the Holy Spirit. Glossolalia was one of the instruments used by God to bring those things about but it was not the core of this new community of people. It would be similar to seeing a magnificent house where many previously homeless people lived that was built where once only a vacant lot sat and then focusing all attention on a hammer that was used throughout the building process. The hammer was useful, even necessary for the house to be built but certainly not more significant than the family that dwelled in it.

If being labeled a Pentecostal caused people to think that I was a part of a movement where all human divisions were obliterated by the blood of Jesus I would surely not resist wearing that label. Either the term needs to be redefined or a new one created altogether."

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Regarding Are We Pentecostals (pt2)

About 6 am this past Saturday I wrote and I thought (?!) I published a lengthy post continuing my thoughts on Pentecostalism. It is nowhere to be found. When I finish pouting I will try again.


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Tales from the Dog Show

Yesterday we wandered into downtown Port Hope and found things that were too good to believe. Some kind of festival was taking place and the sidewalks were full of vendors and the locals were friendly. Most importantly a dog show was about to take place. A COSTUME dog show. All of the dog's competing were in costume!

(It must be understood that I have an internal monologue always running that amuses me throughout my days. Sometimes that monologue expands into dialogues with characters and skits. For the people in my head a costume dog show was the type of goldmine that Sarah Palin was for SNL.)




Here is where it gets even better. The pet owners were also in costume. They wore MATCHING COSTUMES! I don't know why it created the reaction in me that it did but I am not sure what I could have enjoyed more than a public competition matching dogs and owners in costumes against each other.

Yet it did get better for me. Way better. There was a catwalk (yes I said catwalk) erected on the street for the event. Right behind the catwalk were




two men sharing a microphone commentating the entire affair via very loud speakers. They reminded me of the two commentators in the movie "Best in Show". Appropriately there were many references to costumes being fetching.

My favorite moment happened when the commentators were announcing the first and second place finishers in one of the divisions. The announcers mentioned that only two people competed so both of them will place. After announcing the 2nd place finisher they announced the winner who put her hand over her mouth and squealed while acting totally surprised. She and her dog both wore matching red hats as part of their costume representing the Red Hat Society.

I took more than 10 minutes of video on my phone that I hope has some "Best in Show" moments on it.
each other.



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Oh Canada

Waking up slowly this morning in a little town about an hour north of Toronto. A few highlights:

Yesterday as the Canadian customs officer at the border was asking where we lived my four year old daughter yelled out "Africa!" as I was giving a very different answer. A furrowed brow and a suspicious look followed as the officer said, "Did she just say Africa?"

I forgot (again) that Tim Horton's in Canada does not accept Visa. Tim Horton's is 50 yards away across the street from our hotel. Their largest coffee is a medium.

We are not in the late 90's anymore. Cashiers treat American money like I just handed them a VHS of Waterworld in barter for goods and services.

Calling Canada Michigan's "Upper Peninsula" isn't as funny here for some reason.

Six of us crammed in the Crown Vic for 7 hours was actually very fun. Elbow room is overrated.



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Are We Pentecostals? (pt 1)

Recently I was asked by a person in our church if we are Pentecostals? That question prompted this post and probably a few more to come.

In Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost there were people in Jerusalem the followers of Jesus were all together in one place. While they were all together a sound filled the entire place that was comparable to a violent wind. They saw what looked like tongues made of fire that would separate from one another and rest on the people sitting in the house. Everyone there was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages (tongues).

There were people in Jerusalem from every area of the Roman Empire. When the masses heard the wind-like sound in the house they crowded around it. The people from various places heard wonderful things about God being spoken in their own languages by the followers of Jesus.

Some mocked the followers of Jesus and accused them of being drunk.

Peter then stood with the other 11 disciples and addressed the crowd. I presume he did that in either aramaic or hebrew. Approximately 3000 people accepted his message of Jesus being the Jewish Messiah.

The label Pentecostal is used for people or religious groups that affiliate their beliefs and practices with the people and the events mentioned above.

I have two questions:

What message is generally intended when a group calls themselves Pentecostals?

What images and ideas should be evoked by the term Pentecostal?

I ask those questions because I feel like the word Pentecostal has become synonymous with speaking in tongues in the minds of many, both in side and outside Pentecostalism. In fact, in my younger years I ignorantly thought all tongues speakers were Pentecostals and all Pentecostals spoke in tongues.

Roberts Liardon, in his book on the Azusa Street revival, poses the question "Who are the Pentecostals?" and answers by saying, "The emphasis on the Holy Spirit is essential to Pentecostal reality, and almost all Pentecostal denominations believe that the 'initial evidence' of Spirit baptism is the manifestation of glossolalia or what s commonly referred to as speaking in tongues...Pentecostal worship is characterized by praying in tongues, prophesying, healings, hand clapping, and dynamic preaching, which are all enjoyed with great zeal and fervency. This worship style divides Pentecostals from other mainline Christian denominations. Pentecostals believe in a separate experience known as the baptism of the Spirit. This experience is evidenced by speaking in tongues and a renewed experience of power in their life."

Liardon's description of Pentecostals feels too narrow. As I look at the details of what happened on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 I am perplexed by the emphasis (mine included) on tongues at the advent of the New Testament church. It feels disproportionate when viewed both historically and biblically (see 1 Corinthians 12-14).

If speaking in tongues is not appropriate to be the definitive and distinctive characteristic of Pentecostalism, then what should define and distinguish Pentecostals?

Coming Next: part 2




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"Preach Faith Till You Have It"

The great preacher John Wesley once considered giving up preaching altogether when he came to grips with his lack of "sufficient" faith in God. He told his friend Peter Boehler of his notion to quit and was advised against it. Boehler told Wesley, "Preach faith till you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith." Thankfully Wesley heeded his friends advice.

Throughout church history there have been many people who have preached on what they have yet to experience. William Seymour ushered in Pentecostalism before he had yet felt the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The great English Vicar A.A. Boddy preached on the availability of speaking in tongues to modern Christians nine months before he ever experienced the gift. Just a few decades ago John Wimber professed healing as a part of normative Christianity well before he saw people being healed in his ministry.

I desire to preach that which is biblical even when I have not personally experienced it yet. I want my faith to precede my expectation. I have heard Christian leaders tell pastors that congregations will experience what they hear preached. I believe that is often true. There is a higher probability that people will pray for healing if it is encouraged from the pulpit regularly. Those that pray for healing more often will probably see more healings than those that don't.

Thinking about this makes me again thankful for Pastor John and Redeemer. Hearing sermons on and studying The Real Jesus the past several years makes me excited for what is being produced in our people.


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Speaking in Tongues

If tongues was the evidence in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then men and women that received the gift of tongues could not believe contrary to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. Since tongues is not the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, men and women can receive it and yet be destitute of the truth. It's one of the signs, not the evidence.
William Seymour

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