GOSPEL MEDITATION # 23

Acts 7:23-43

Stephen’s Speech, part 2

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
7. Stephen turns to Moses now, and like Jesus, he was rejected by his fellow Hebrews. Moses then fled to the land of Midian.
8. Moses lived there for forty years, raised a family; his father-in-law was Jethro. He had two children born there.
9. While in the Sinai desert, via an angel or messenger, Moses encounters a burning bush, and God speaks with Moses. This story is found in Exodus 3. It is unknown why Stephen mentions an angel rather than the Creator God, who reveals His name as Yahweh.
10. God sends Moses back to Egypt for the purpose of leading the Israelites out and into the land promised to them, the land of Canaan.
11. Stephen makes it clear that the one previously rejected, Moses, did in fact lead the people out of slavery in Egypt.
12. Stephen quotes the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 18:15 where the promise that a Messiah would be sent to the people of Israel.
13. Moses, while in the desert, was again rejected by the people who yearned for the false gods of Egypt.
14. Strikingly, God’s response was to turn away and give the people up to the worship of idols.
15. Then Stephen quotes a passage from Amos 5 where God says that the people of the promise turned from Him to follow false gods and the result would be banishment from the land promised to Abraham and his descendants.

The New Apostolic Reformation—The World’s astest Growing Cult

For years now I have ignored the development of what is most often referred to as the New Apostolic Reformation. While I am very much aware of it, I did not fully realize the global extent of this rapidly growing movement. In it we see a biblically, Christian-oriented, cultic group, similar to Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses, grow and prosper. But no more can I sit back and pretend it will go away. It is several decades now in the making, and it goes back to Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena and a professor there, C. Peter Wagner. I knew him, had extensive conversations with him in 1988–89, and was unwittingly helpful to him and the development of his views, none of which I can help now: I did not know that I was contributing to the makings of a cult. At that time I was part of the charismatic/Pentecostal phenomena, from which this movement springs.

I have been to Bethel Church in Redding, the headquarters of Bill Johnson, now semi-retired, with his son Eric taking the lead. I was also there when Randy Clark spoke. Bethel Church in Redding is one of the most influential churches in the NAR along with Rick Joyner at Morningstar and Mike Bickle of the IHOP ministry in Kansas City. The chief strategic idea is that God is establishing ruling apostles and prophets to direct the Church in order to prepare the world for establishing the kingdom of God on earth and the second coming of Christ. They claim to be “off the charts” now, that is, what is transpiring now is not in the Bible, but the apostles and prophets are charting the way, getting direct communication from God. It is a form of post-millennialism, in which the Church takes dominion in preparation for the Lord’s return. This is also known as dominionism.

This is not a cohesive organization; rather it is a network of apostles and prophets and the congregations over which they pastor or have authority. There are several churches in Marin, with more in San Francisco and in the larger Bay Area that are part of it. They consider themselves a fifth branch of Christianity, no longer Protestants, and are guided by prophecy and personal, direct encounters with Jesus and the Father. For instance, Kat Kerr, who claims to visit the Father directly in the “throne room,” is part of this movement. All who oppose them are considered as rejecters of what God is doing here in the last days.

The NAR reaches into many areas of our culture, from politics, to music, film, television (e.g., God TV), and more. They especially emphasize signs and wonders, miracles, especially of healing, and strange phenomenon. One of their chief activities is “soaking prayer” in their 24/7 prayer rooms, where people will lie seemingly unconscious for hours, even days, and enter into altered states of consciousness, experiencing direct contact with angels, Jesus, and other spiritual entities. It is a combination of shamanism, which is common to Santeria and Wicca, and other religious groups who practice going on a “soul journey” while in a trance state. And all this in the name of Jesus, though it is very “gospel lite,” but the champions of the NAR would deny my charge here.

Large crowds attend NAR services—the latest music is often followed by “miraculous” events, the likes of which I witnessed during the 1970s in San Francisco with Jim Jones’ church, The People’s Temple. I did not speak out at that time as I should have. I hope not to make the same mistake again.

My intention is not to offend, but I ask everyone to think, pray, and consider whether this NAR is of God or not.

Beginning July 9, I will be teaching on the NAR during the evening services at Miller Avenue Church. And why will I do this? Many well meaning people are not aware of the nature of the NAR and the churches affiliated with it. It is my job as a pastor to warn the sheep of the approach of the wolf. And I sincerely wish I did not have to engage in this—it is far from pleasant. For too long now I have not spoken up because I have close friends involved in it, and I know they might respond by rejecting me. That is often the cost of speaking out against error. Sadly, some of well meaning Christians are caught up in it.

Kent Philpott

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 22

Acts 7:1-22

Stephen’s Speech part 1

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer.
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
7. Stephen standing on trial before the Council of Israel, the Sanhedrin, is invited by the high priest to explain himself.
8. He gives a summary of the history of the nation, beginning with Abraham (the story begins in Genesis 12), and in this part one of Stephen’s entire speech, we read of the history of God’s people up until the time of Moses.
9. From the account of Abraham, from verses 2 through 8, Stephen speaks of Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob making Joseph Abraham’s great-grandson. Joseph has long been recognized as a type of Christ and thus serves Stephen’s purpose that Israel, God’s chosen people, have continually rejected His purpose.
10. Joseph is envied by his brothers, is sold into slavery in Egypt, falsely accused, put into prison, and is miraculously released via God’s intervention. Then Joseph becomes the second in authority in all of Egypt, which results in the temporal salvation for the entire Abrahamic family.
11. Joseph is rejected, killed (imprisoned), raised from the dead (released from prison), and then is responsible for saving his family and bringing them to Egypt. It is a fore-shadowing, a dramatic historical prophecy, of what Jesus the Messiah would one day accomplish.
12. In Egypt, God’s people were in slavery, and through another type of Christ, Moses, they are freed.

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 21

Acts 6:8-15

Stephen is Seized

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
6. Stephen, a servant in the Church, is a bold preacher. From a Greek culture and a Greek speaker, he boldly begins to enter synagogues in Jerusalem that accommodate Hellenized Jews from various parts of the Roman Empire.
7. And Stephen is “full of grace and power” and though we wish we knew more, it is probable that his preaching was powerful, fearless, with signs and wonders accompanying.
8. The religious authorities are now driven to extremes; Stephen must be stopped. They resort to dishonest means to do so. If more and more are joining with the believers in Jesus, and now from the Hellenized Jews, it can only be trouble.
9. Stephen is arrested (seized) and brought before the Council of Israel, the Sanhedrin. False witnesses are brought in who testify that Stephen is blaspheming Moses and God, charges if proven would allow them to execute Stephen without Roman approval.
10. A second set of charges is that Stephen preached against the Temple and the Law. The Temple in that the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:1-2 were misunderstood or twisted, and the Law in that is was proclaimed that Jesus fulfilled the Law. (see Matthew 7:13-14)
11. These indeed, if true, are revolutionary words. And the idea that Jesus would “destroy this place” clearly put Him and His followers into the category of dangerous traitors.
12. At that very point of false testimony, the face of Stephen was altered so that he looked angelic. What is this?

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 20

Acts 6:1-7

Seven Chosen to Serve

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
7. “The disciples”—the first time Luke uses this term—more than 5000, and they are students, disciplined students.
8. The origin of our four gospels is here, first the oral accounts then written accounts, of the life and ministry of Jesus.
9. And there is, of course, trouble in this early church to the point there are murmurings or complaints making their rounds and to the point it surfaces.
10. The Twelve themselves are responsible for the problem. The Greek cultured widows are being neglected in the daily distribution of food. We do not know the details.
11. Somehow the apostolic band was engaged in actual food distribution and needed to be relieved of this job.
12. Seven men are to be selected from among the congregation to correct the oversight. Was their bias involved?
13. Seven men with good reputations, filled with the Holy Spirit, and wise, are brought forward. They each have Greek names and are likely all “Hellenists” or Jews coming from the Graeco/Roman culture. One of the seven is Nicolaus who is not even Jewish, but a Gentile proselyte to Judaism—this is quite revolutionary.
14. Luke uses this opportunity to introduce Stephen and Philip both of whom will figure large in the fledgling Church.
15. The Twelve lay hands on them, a time honored Jewish practice (see Ex. 18:17-26 & Nu. 27:16-18). This is what will come to referred to as ordination—a setting aside and not an anointing of the Holy Spirit.
16. The result is continued growth in the numbers of disciples.

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 19

Acts 5:33-42

The Apostles Arrested and Freed part 2

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
7. In part 1 we find that the Twelve, due to their refusal to cease preaching Jesus, are arrested and put into prison. By the agency of an angel, they are set free and proceed to the temple to continue their preaching. They are discovered again, re-arrested and brought before the Council. The Apostles again refuse to obey man rather than God.
8. The religious authorities are completely enraged. If the Apostles are right, and Jesus is the Messiah, their lives and work are rendered meaningless and errant.
9. Gamaliel, a respected Pharisee, grandson of the great Hillel, head of the school or which Paul was a student, makes a dramatic and conciliatory presentation.
10. “If” Gamaliel argues, the Twelve have it all wrong, their movement will ‘probably’ fail. The second “if” is not a maybe but a surety, but if the Galileans are right and it is of God, nothing can stop it.
11. This is not the truth of God since many, hundreds plus, false religions exist and their mere existence counts for little or nothing.
12. The council agrees to Gamaliel’s proposal, and the Twelve are set free.
13. The mindset of the Apostles’ is extraordinary, they leave the Council rejoicing. And their rejoicing in that they are counted worth to suffer dishonor because of Jesus-the name.

14.       And again, they refused to stop preaching Jesus as the Christ, meaning they could end up in real trouble.

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 18

Acts 5:17-42

The Apostles Arrested and Freed

1. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
2. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
3. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
4. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
5. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
6. First Peter and John but now the Twelve Apostles are arrested and brought before the Council of Israel—and the trouble is their preaching Jesus as raised from the dead.
7. An angel sets the 12 free, and we see very little of angelic ministry from this point forward. The angel of the Lord instructs that they go to the temple and preach Jesus.
8. Once the Council discovers the 12 missing, they are re-arrested and brought back for an interrogation.
9. How confusing it must have been for the leaders of Israel. If the followers of Jesus were right, then their whole structure and reason for living was nullified and more than that, error.
10. Peter, as spokesperson, will not budge and insists it is their duty to obey God rather the Council. This, understandably, enrages the august body to the point they are ready to kill the Twelve.
11. The bloodshed was prevented by Gamaliel, the chief teaching rabbi of the school of Hillel. Paul, still Saul, is one of his students.
12. The wise cleric counsels moderation. He recalls others who rose up against the established order and were eventually defeated. The idea is that the same would be true with the followers of Jesus the Galilean.
13. There was the possibility that the Council might even be found fighting against their own God. Leave them alone; let the results of the Jesus movement be the proof.
14. The Apostles were beaten (see Dt. 25:1-3) then set free.

These immediately continued preaching Jesus in the temple and from “house to house.” Courage under fire for sure

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 16

Ananias and Sapphira—Acts 5:1-11

(Also see: Lev. 10:1-11; Mt. 6:24, & 1 Peter 5:6-11)

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
7. Now a shift—Ananias and Sapphira connive to sell property but withhold a certain amount for themselves. It would be thought that they brought in the whole amount; perhaps they wanted attention and praise from the Church.
8. First Ananias, after questioning by Peter, drops dead. Probably not due to fright and fear, but by the hand of God. Then, 3 hours later, Sapphira, the wife, has the same thing happen to her. They are buried, no official inquiry is made, no report to authorities is made either. We are not sure of what would have been proper or expected in that situation.
9. This is not the first time something like this appears in Scripture. It is necessary now to study the story of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, found in Leviticus 10:1-11. These two priests offered, drunkenly, worship in an unauthorized manned. They paid for it with their lives.
10. Then there is the story of Achan in Joshua 7:11ff.
11. The account of Ananias and Sapphira shows a shift in the life of the Church; nothing like this ever occurs again in Acts. We are left to wonder why Luke included this event.
12. It is in sharp contrast with Barnabas’ generosity. Notice “But” in 5:1. The “dirty laundry” is not hidden from view.
13. Jesus made it clear we cannot serve God and mammon, and mammon meaning money. (see Mt. 6:24) Money, and power that goes with it, is so often the devil’s tool to corrupt us. We see this in our world and in ourselves.

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 15

Acts 4:32-37 & 5:1-11

They had Everything in Common & Ananias and Sapphira

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
7. Some 5000 new believers in Jerusalem and many of these had homes far away, necessity was laid upon the new born Church and the Holy Spirit was working powerfully.
8. “One heart and soul”—a common saying meaning they experienced homothumadon meaning one mind.
9. The apostles continued to preach Jesus and the resurrection.
10. They operated under two principles: one, they depended upon the apostles to distribute funds, and two, the distribution was based upon need.
11. Luke now introduces the reader to Barnabas, one of the most significant figures in the early Church.
12. Now a shift—Ananias and Sapphira connive to sell property but withhold a certain amount for themselves. It would be thought that they brought in the whole amount; perhaps they wanted the attention and honor of the apostles.
13. First Ananias, after questioning by Peter, drops dead. Probably not due to fright and fear, but by the hand of God. Then, 3 hours later, Sapphira, the wife, has the same thing happen to her. They are buried, no official inquiry is made, no report to authorities is made either. We are not sure of what would have been proper or expected in that situation.
14. This is not the first time something like this appears in Scripture. It is necessary now to study the story of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, found in Leviticus 10:1-11. These two priests offered, drunkenly, worship in an unauthorized manned. They paid for it with their lives.

16.       The account of Ananias and Sapphira shows a shift in the life

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 14

Acts 4:23-31

The Believers Pray for Boldness

1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer.
4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
5. Carefully read the passage of Scripture. Reread it.
6. From memory, determine the central points.
7. Peter and John, arrested by the Council are ordered to stop proclaiming Jesus, but state they must obey God instead.
8. When released they rejoined their “friends” and make a full report to the gathered followers of Jesus.
9. The reaction of those believers was to begin praying to their “Sovereign Lord” the creator of all things, and they also quote from Psalm 2, where David spoke of opposition and persecution that would come to the Lord’s anointed.
10. The list of those who oppose the Gospel is essentially inclusive of all rulers and peoples.
11. The early church is keenly aware of the predestination work of their creator God. Thus they are not shocked or shaken by the forces arrayed against them.
12. The difficulties are not ignored nor minimized but admitted.
13. There is no mention or retreating, going underground, or softening the message; rather the believers pray for boldness to keep on with their commission.
14. The believers also know that by means of signs and wonders their message will be affirmed and confirmed.
15. “Holy servant Jesus” is how those early believers spoke of Jesus, and servant is paida which is Greek for child.
16. The prayer concluded, (it is not clear what form the prayer took nor if all prayed or if there was a leader) the unknown location they were in was “shaken” (wish we had more details on what this was) and the believers were “filled” with the Holy Spirit. Not likely a second Pentecost but an inner renewal and strengthening of those present at the time.