Tag Archives: Pentecostal

Christianity, Current events, doctrine, faith, Theology, Uncategorized

I Went Back to the Well

Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love”.

We have all seen followers of Christ that have veered off course, started to follow the money and fame, or even left the faith. Something can happen to cause doubt and wandering in a Christian. Whether its the cares of this world, the money that can be had by fame, or simple a wrong turn. The losing of the first love, the fire and zeal one has for the study and preaching/teaching of Jesus and the only means of salvation, the Cross.

That was where I found myself for about the last year. I didn’t walk away or follow some money scheme.I just lost the fire and zeal of the love of Jesus the Christ. A couple years, I left the Catholic church and set out on what turned out to be a journey. I went from the Catholic church back to my Protestant roots.

I went from Roman Catholic to a local Pentecostal church, the Healing Ministries Church of God of Mountain Assembly. I had been there a few times, saw my oldest son saved and baptized there. But felt it wasn’t for me.

And I ended up being a partial Calvinist. I say partial because I could get behind all of the points of TULIP (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, Preserving Grace). The petal of this flower I had issue with was the Calvinist view of election. I could merge this with the concept of freewill and the words “Whosoever” from verses like John 3:16 and Acts 10:43. So I knew I could no longer be a Calvinist.

Now I was at at point that I tried the Healing Ministries church again. This time it was an older pastor who had been pastor at the church before. He is an old-timey preacher. Everything in his messages leads one back to the cross. I knew people that went there and figured I need a church, so why not. Pastor Wright became a mentor to me. I suppose you could say more of a grandfather to me, although we are only 30 years apart.

But even that, after awhile, I felt like I needed to be there. So I left the board and church and found myself back in the Roman Catholic Church. I think it was more because I knew the mechanics of the faith. By mechanics, I mean the set prayers (Rosary, Magnificat), the procedure of the service (the ups, downs, kneels, etc), and the celebrations (required Holy days, the Eucharist). But after a time, I found myself being pulled to the Eastern Churches (Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox). Having already determined that the Pope is the Bishop of Rome and not the prime ruler over Christendom, I became an Orthodox Catechumen in the Antiochian Church.

It still had the mechanics (although a slightly different style) and the belief were almost the same as the Roman Church. So I traded the Rosary for the Jesus Prayer, which I still recommend people to pray from time to time because it is the prayer that gives all 4 main points of a prayer and is scriptural. “Lord Jesus Christ (name and position on the faith), Son of God (who He is), Have mercy on me (what we seek), A sinner (what we are)”. But in time, I found myself praying for something more than mechanics.

I found myself prayer for the zeal and the fire I had when I gave myself to Jesus in 1996. During my prayer regime (the Orthodox call it a prayer rule), the point of prayers when the Jesus prayer is said, it is 10 prayers followed by a personal prayer. This is done 5 times for a total of 50 Jesus prayers and 5 personal prayers said in a prostate position. For those who don’t know, the prostate position is face to the ground, forehead touching the floor. A position of submission to God’s sovereignty. During the personal prayers I cried out to God to fix in me what was broken so I could have that fire for Christ and the Cross that I had decades before. It consumed me, this longing for the walk I once had. And while there were times over the decades that it would flicker, it never became full flame again.

This last week, before Sunday last, I was told that Pastor Wright was having health issues, so I decided to o to Healing Ministries so that I could check on him after service. Something in me started to make itself known, so to speak, during the sermon. Not much because of the message, although Pastor Wright always had a way preaching that makes one think the message is for them (that’s the prodding of the Holy Spirit).

Those under the umbrella of Pentecostal faith believe in healing. I also do because I have seen it in my own family. At the end of the service I walked down to see how Pastor Wright was doing. I didn’t even get to ask. I got to the point where I said how great the message was and how I felt like I belonged there (at least for that day) and that’s when things took a different turn. The floodgates opened and I found myself unable to talk.

Pastor Wright laid his hand on my shoulder and started praying. I felt a heat inside that I hadn’t felt in almost three decades. By the time he was done, a small group (including a dear friend) were at my side praying jointly with Pastor Wright. I went to check on his health and the Holy Spirit used him to heal my struggling soul.

The stories of well’s in scripture are a metaphor and symbol of the life giving water that is Jesus. “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)   Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:6-14).

I found on that Sunday that sometimes, the best place for a Christian to go is back to the well. For us country folk, going back to the well means going back to the beginning. For me, this meant going back to my Protestant roots to a place and person that are so dear to me. While the fire is still starting to reignite, its no longer smoldering in ash. I had forgotten the Cross and replaced it with church mechanics. I had to be shown the thing that matters in this life. The Cross of Christ, the cleansing blood, and the empty tomb. The Cross and the cleansing blood washes away the sin and the empty tomb is the sign of hope of redemption in Christ. Something I needed reminded of.

People today expect concert style entertainment and a soft message in church. And God may use those (He is Sovereign and does as He wills). But never putdown a grandfatherly Cross/Sin/Hellfire/Need of redemption preacher in a backwoods little throwback church. Because I found that the well in those old country walls has the most refreshing Living Water of Christ one can ever drink.

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Christianity, Current events, doctrine, faith, Theology, Uncategorized

The Cessation of the Apostolic Signs and Wonders

Anyone who has been in a church under the umbrella of Charismatic Christianity (which includes Pentecostal, Assembly of God, etc) has seen the ‘signs and wonders’ which had been seen in the works of the Apostles in the first century of the church. I have already written on tongues, that can be view by going to the main list of articles. This article is going to be a general overview and why the ‘signs following’ as seen in Holy Scripture no longer occur in that manner.

First we must look at the position of Apostle. With the original apostles (the 11), and we will include Justus Matthias as he was chosen by lot to replace Judas. This will also include the Apostle Paul. These 12 men were the only Apostles of Christ. By definition, an Apostle has to have one very specific criteria. Interacted with and chosen by Jesus Christ himself. Matthias is included, because Judas needed to replaced after his apostasy and death. The number was 12 because there were to be 12 main disciples (later Apostles) to correspond with the 12 tribes of Israel. And while Paul started towards the Jews, he was sent to the Gentiles. While others also went out of Israel into the world, we know that Paul was the one for the Gentiles.

From the death of John on Patmos, no other disciple (slave of Christ) meets the requirements to be an Apostle. And I do understand that today we have many self described “apostles”, but they don’t meet the requirements of the first century Apostles. Today’s so called apostles, are so only because of a supposed personal revelation. Revelation tells us not to add or detract from scripture. A personal revelation adds to scripture and would make the Holy Scriptures a continually added to book, not the Inspired Word of God in its finality.

None of those deemed Apostolic Father (those who studied under the Apostles like Clement and Polycarp). The majority of denominations recognize these men because there is proof of their being with the original Apostles. But their writings are not considered Inspired of God and placed in Canon of Scripture. They are considered theologians, but humanly so, meaning their writings could contain errors. But if you read their writings (and I do suggest that you do for theological perspective due to their proximity to the Apostles), you will not see any ‘signs and wonders’ beyond the Apostles.

Nowhere between the death of John and the early 20th century are there any records of ‘signs following’ from any slave of Christ. None. For a great history on the modern Charismatic Umbrella ‘signs and wonders’ check the Strange Fire Conference and the Charismatic history presented by Justin Peters. Both can be found on YouTube. These programs have a very detailed history of the Charismatic Umbrella.

The gifts of the Spirit: tongues (which is a known language according to the Greek word helios), healing, etc were for the Apostles to show the magnificence of God’s glory when the church was first being formed. After that, what the Holy Spirit gives us is listed in Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,   Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” It is these fruits that show a person has the Holy Spirit indwelling in them.

James tells us how healing comes. “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.   Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:   And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5:13-15).

We are told by Paul that even those who come from Satan will show signs. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,   And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.   And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:   That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thess 9-12)

I must make this clear. YES, God still heals. Yes, God still can raise from the dead. Yes, God can do as He wishes. With something like healing, yes its real. Not because a person lays hands on someone, but because God chooses to. Paul himself asked for healing for an eye issue. God told him no. I have seen the power of healing. In my own family, as well as others. But in the Charismatic Umbrella, when someone is not healed, its because the person ‘lacks faith’. NO, its because there are times when God’s glory shines the brightest through the tribulations and trials we have to face.

So be careful and don’t fall into the erroneous assumption that signs and wonders are from God. 1900 years, or so, of history shows that the signs by the Apostles were for that time of the church. Now everything needed to know comes from scripture, not personal revelation. Healing is from God’s sovereignty alone. And as James tells us, comes through prayer. But we have to remember that sometimes, God says NO. Not because you lack faith or that God is mean. But because He will show His glory however he chooses to.

Read Holy Scripture, listen to theologically sound biblical doctrine, and pray. If you are a true believer in Christ and follow his commandments (yes, those two go together as stated in multiple verses), then you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The fruits are the proof, not Apostolic signs and wonders as promoted by the Charismatic umbrella of denominations.

May God keep you blessed.

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Christianity, faith, Uncategorized

Tongues: Language or Not

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.   And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. (Acts 2:1-11).

When we speak of tongues, many automatically think of the Charismatic movement. This term is an umbrella term used to define those that have the doctrines of signs following and Pentecost type of experience. So I want to delve into the concept of ‘speaking in tongues’ starting with an understanding of the Pentecostal message of the Apostles.

We first need to remember that Jews were living all over the known world at the time. Israel was the gateway to three continents (Asia, Europe, and Africa). So in all of that, there would have been dozens, if not a hundred different languages and dialects. This is seen in the understanding of the four languages of Israel at the time. We know Galileans spoke Aramaic. Hebrew was the language of the temple. Greek was the language of civil government and business. And the Romans would have spoken Latin amongst each other. The above passage identifies various areas of the Jewish diaspora.

Looking at the Greek of the New Testament writers, the word translated into the English as tongue is glossia. It simply means tongues of nations, or simply put as known languages of a geographical area. The main point is ‘known languages’. Even when expositing upon this set of verses, theologians and pastors agree that it was known languages spoken at the Pentecost message. So, we will look at the other New Testament uses of the word tongues and its Greek wording and meaning.

One of the most used scriptures for the concept of speaking in tongues is in1 Corinthians 14:2-5, ‘For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.   He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.’The Greek here is still the word glossia, ‘tongues of nations’. It is a known language, unknown by those listening in this case. A couple verses later, it is better to prophecy for the edification of the church.

On top of the misunderstanding of what tongues meant in the Greek writing of the New testament, there are actually a few rules. The first rule is to have an interpreter. Look above at the last verse of the passage.

This is also mentioned in chapter twelve of 1 Corinthians, that tongues is only one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and not mentioned as the defining gift of the Holy Spirit. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:   But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. (1 Cor 12:4-11). Here, diverse tongues simply means multiple languages.

Nowhere in scripture is the ability to speak a non-language tongue (which seems to be the only vocalization during the ‘speaking in tongues’) ever mentioned. I have been to many churches where this vocalization occurs. Never have I seen anyone interpret. Just people being in awe of the action itself. How does that edify the body of believer’s of Jesus Christ.

Sid Roth, a charismatic that has a show ‘Its Supernatural’ that airs on stations like TBN and Daystar. I will include a you tube link of Mr Roth teaching how to speak in tongues. Of course this cancels any validity of the action. https://yout.be/hJl7li1ajKs?si=ZhbuwpSvmKvuCvJk. Or just look up Sid Roth Teaching Tongues.

The history of speaking in tongues, as done within the umbrella of the charismatic movement starts in the 19th century. Two groups are noted to having the non-language tongues. One was the Catholic Apostolic Church and the other were the Mormons. As for the charismatic umbrella of denominations, their start came from two men, Charles Parham and William Seymour. Their view of ‘speaking in tongues’ was an addition to justification and sanctification (biblical truths). They assumed it to be a work of grace. They saw it as the single proof that one had the Holy Spirit. However, biblical teaching show that the Holy Spirit is working in every believer. That it is not a special dispensation.

I understand that this small article will cause discontent of those that adhere to an unbiblical principle. But it must be pointed out that scripture does not speak of this type of tongues, but of known languages whether or not the speaker knows said languages. And how a person lives in relation to God’s will is the determining factor of the Holy Spirit. Yes, there are the gifts. But tongues is a language that is known (even if not known by the speaker) and is the last listed. And has been relegated below the gift of prophecy.

It is dangerous and destructive to a believer if they are convinced that the Holy Spirit does not work in them strictly because they don’t have the gift of ‘speaking in tongues’. It will a least discourage them. At most, it will destroy their faith in God through Christ.

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Christianity, faith, Uncategorized

A Personal Reflection

Having taken a sabbatical prior to Lent, I realized that the call of God was stronger. So I threw myself into Lent, giving up social media and television to focus on reading and studying. It led me to start a diploma course in Divinity studies and strengthened my desire to be in God’s Holy Scriptures.

While I attend Catholic mass and am a confirmed Roman Catholic, the readings and studies have drawn me closer to my Evangelical roots. I was washed by the blood of Christ in 1996 as a Seventh Day Adventist. I was confirmed Catholic in 1999. But for almost 20 years did not attend mass on a regular basis. Because of rules of the church, I was not allowed to take Eucharist. So for that 20 years, I went to various churches.

Since 2019, I was allowed to receive Eucharist again, but from time to time felt the need to step away from the building of the church but not my faith. So I since that time, I have taken a few personal sabbaticals to immerse myself into scripture and prayer.

That leads me to today. At Easter, me and some of my children went to the local Methodist church that my daughter attends. My 22 year old son was to go but had been placed in the hospital with a life threatening issue. At that point, I did what I could do. I opened up payer warriors from everywhere and everyone I could. Having seen the power of miraculous healing before (during my Evangelical years) I knew it was the only way to fix the situation.

My son was born with a congenital heart defect where he was born without the main pump chamber of the heart. He had various surgeries that remedied it but still lives with complications at times. This night, he was admitted for a saddle embolism and clots in the lungs, A saddle embolism is a massive clot that blocks the aortic entry into both lungs.

I knew that only God Himself could deal with the problem. He was transferred to another hospital where he had his surgeries and was the place his cardiologist was. When they took more x-rays and another CT scan the next day, the prayer had worked. There was no sign that he had ever had the clots or embolism. The doctors could not explain it. There was nothing there. He went from an 80% chance of death to a full removal of all clots and the embolism. There will be nobody that will ever tell me it was not a healing of Divine intervention.

That week, he asked something he had never asked. He wanted to go to church that next Sunday. So, we found a church but something led me to take him to one that I had been to a couple times a few years ago. It is a Pentecostal church. We went.

Another prayer was answered this last Sunday. My son, an avowed Odinist was touched and made the altar call. We were both crying. Me from happiness and him from finally understanding God’s love and forgiveness. Why we went there and not my normal Catholic church or the church we had decided on was because at that time on that day, God was going to deliver my son’s soul only a week after delivering his physical need.

Those two acts by Christ Jesus and the pull on me to go back to the well, so to speak, have led me to a point of not only reaffirming my faith in God through the power of Christ’s cleansing blood, but has started to rekindle that fire I once had inside me.

Praise be to God, in Christ, through the Holy Ghost.

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