Bro. Joel Urshan Preaching

Preaching Bro. Mangun- Book of Acts Church

A message from Bro. Anthony Mangun from 2004...

Studying God’s Word

Many years ago the Sunday school class I was in at that time had a contest for a new Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I do not even remember what the contest was, but I do remember the thrill of winning it. It was my first study Bible. Today it is packed away in a box as one of my most prized possessions. I'm glad I was introduced to Bible Study as a child. The Bible is not just any book, it is THE book. It is the only book that is the infallible Word of God. I fear that far too many Pentecostal Saints do not know that much about the Bible, how to study it, or even understand much of it beyond an elementary level. One of my greatest desires in my ministry is to teach people how to study the Word of God and to equip them with the tools to do so.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is not really one book, but rather a collection of books providing guidelines for our beliefs and our behavior. The Bible is divided up into two major sections, called Testaments or Covenants. The first is the Old Testament, where the primary theme is the Law of God. It is a collection of 39 books and its primary focus is on the nation of Israel. The second division is the New Testament, where the primary focus is that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law. It is a collection of 27 books and its primary focus is on the Church. It is necessary to understand the Old Testament to really grasp the Truths in the New Testament. God intended every Saint to be a student of the Word of God. It doesn't matter if you were never proficient in other subjects, the Bible is not understood with a carnal mind. If you will read and study the Word of God with a Spiritual mind, God will open up your understanding to its glorious Truths. Paul instructs us in his second letter to Timothy, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed." The entire subject of studying the Word of God can fill volumes of books, so I will attempt to give you a beginning that you can pick up and run with.

The first thing that you will need is a good study Bible. There are several available today. The one I will recommend is the Thompson Chain Reference Bible in the King James Version. It would also be beneficial to own a good topical Bible such as Nave's. Whatever Bible you decide to purchase, learn to use the study system in it to get the most out of your study. The second book you will need is a Strongs Concordance. This is a book that lists every word in the Bible and where it is listed. It also gives the word in the Hebrew or Greek that our English word was translated from. This is an essential tool to own for any student of the Word of God. You will also need a good Bible dictionary. I recommend Nelson's Bible Dictionary. It is a comprehensive book that lists all of the subjects, people, places, etc. in the Bible. It is also helpful to own a good commentary on the Bible. A popular choice among Bible students is the Matthew Henry Commentary. One of the most helpful and useful study books I have found is Nelson's Illustrated Book of Bible Facts. I highly recommend any student of the Word to own this book. It is helpful in understanding the culture and customs from the era of Scripture. These are just a few of the basic books needed to study, you will find there are many more that can be useful, but these will give you the ability to skillfully study the Word of God.

One of the things that can be helpful in studying the Bible is to mark in your Bible. Marking in your Bible for study purposes is not disrespectful, but rather adds value to that Bible over time. You may choose to write notes in the margins, or use highlighters marking different subjects with different colors. You may use red for Scriptures on salvation, purple for the deity of Jesus Christ, etc... If you do use highlighters make sure to purchase ones from a Bible book store that are designed for Bibles, regular highlighters may bleed through the thin paper.

It is important to have a good environment for study. Just as with anything you are reading, the Bible is best read in a quiet place with no distractions. Use a table or desk with space to spread your Bible and study books out. In today's world, distractions abound and obligations we must meet press upon us, but if you want to get the most out of the Word of God, you need a place where it is just you and God and His Word. We all need a place where He can speak to us from His Word. There is something wonderful about being alone with Him and Word. Jesus spoke of a prayer closet, a place where you can talk to Him with no one else around. I believe this closet he spoke of can also be used for a place of meditation on His Word.

I'm going to discuss here some of the different methods of Bible Study. The most basic and probably most important is simply reading your Bible. It is at this time that you are reading His Word and he is speaking to your heart from His Word. This is a time for personal relationship with Him. It is not a time for a preacher to find a message or a Sunday School Teacher to search for a lesson. This may happen during that time, but the primary motive is to build our relationship with Him and to draw closer to Him. You can read from anywhere any Scripture you choose, for it is all inspired by God. However, you will find there are certain portions of Scripture you may find more beneficial for your personal growth. For example, the first four books of the New Testament, known as the Gospels, are the life and times of Jesus Christ. You will gleam great truth and inspiration from reading the words of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts is the story and history of the first century Church. The letters in the New Testament, known as the Epistles, are simply letters from ministers to various Churches, and hold equal relevance for our lives today. In the Old Testament the book of Psalms has encouraged and inspired people for thousands of years. The book of Proverbs is God's wisdom for a variety of life's problems. There are exciting and miraculous stories in the books of the Old Testament that demonstrate God's power and His salvation for man. By simply reading the Word of God, great revelation, understanding, power, and anointing can come upon your life.

A second method of studying is to memorize Scriptures. You can choose some of the key doctrinal Scriptures and commit them to memory. This is a helpful tool when witnesses and also when you need a Scripture on a particular subject, you can easily recall it. You may think this is a difficult task, but most people greatly underestimate their own mental ability. If you were to memorize only one Scripture a week, in one year's time you could commit to memory enough Scripture to cover all of the key subjects.

A third method you can use during your study is to study out a topic throughout Scripture. This is where a good topical Bible can really help. You can choose a subject and follow it from Genesis to Revelation. This gives you a good balanced view of what the Bible says about a particular subject. There have been many doctrinal errors made because people have chosen one certain Scripture in the Bible on a certain subject but did not study what the rest of the Bible had to say about that subject. It is important to study out the entire subject to get a good understanding of what God is telling us. All Scripture will work in harmony to give us an understanding of doctrinal truth. An important study rule to follow when studying out a topic is to use the Law of First Mention. This is an important principle when doing a topical study. The Law of First Mention says that in order to properly understand something in the Bible, you must find where it is first mentioned. Examples of this rule could take many pages, but suffice it to say that when you study a topic, you will find this to be true.

Character study is the last method of Bible study I will give you, although there are many more. These will get you started and give you a good foundation for studying the Word. Character study is simply studying a person in Scripture. You can get a lot of encouragement and strength when you study about people in Scripture and find out that they were just like you. The Bible makes no attempt to gloss over peoples mistakes and failures. The Bible is candid and honest. The Thompson Chain Reference Bible has in it several Character studies. The best character study you can do is to study the life and times of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament there are exciting and miraculous stories that are played out in peoples lives. Study David and Moses, Joshua and Elijah. Study Noah and Debra, Samuel and Ruth. You will find similarities in their lives that can give you direction and encouragement, to know that people facing the same struggles as you have found victory through their faith in God.

While the Word of God is always positive and powerful, I do want to warn you of a couple of the most common mistakes that are made when studying the Bible. The first error made is to take Scripture out of context. This is true with anything that you read, but great doctrinal errors have been made when it is done with the Bible. When you read a verse in the Bible, you must read the verses before and after it to properly understand what the author is talking about. The chapter and verses that you see in your Bible were not made by author of that book, they were added later to help give organization to the Scriptures. So look at the chapter before and after the verse also. It helps to understand who wrote the book, what the purpose of the book was (history, a song, a letter to a Church etc…), and to whom it was written. All of these things helped shape the verse and are important to properly understand that verse. A second common error made is to only take one or two verses on any given subject and then form conclusions, or even worse, doctrine, from these verses. You must study every verse on a subject before any conclusion can be drawn. Many false doctrines and misconceptions have been made by people who have made this error.

I want to add a final word on studying the Word of God. This is the greatest book ever written, for although it was penned on paper by man, it is the inspired Word of God. The Bible is God's mind in print. I believe Satan has deceived many by telling them the Bible is boring, it cannot be understood, or it is not relevant for our day. The truth is that the Bible is exciting, it is understood with a Spiritual mind, and it holds complete relevance for our world today. May God richly bless you as you study and learn of His Word.

Pillar #2- Fasting

Jesus said some things don't happen except by prayer and fasting. It is a combined effort of the two. However, in this day of materialism and excess, fasting is something that is often overlooked and neglected. Simply put, fasting is going without food or water for a Spiritual purpose. The very essence of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is being disciplined in our walk with Him. Fasting helps bring this discipline. The statement that has affected me the most about fasting was made by Bro. James Kilgore when he said that "fasting has become a lost art in Pentecost." I remember a preacher telling how when he received the Holy Ghost, his Pastor telling him after service to "immerse your life in prayer and fasting." Let it be said of the last day Church that fasting was a part of our lifestyle.

 

The Bible says that we have a treasure in an earthen vessel. The treasure is the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The earthen vessel is our flesh. There is a constant struggle in our lives between flesh and Spirit. Jesus said the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Don't ever forget that your flesh is weak. No matter how long you live for God, your flesh will always be weak. We have a carnal nature. Fasting mortifies, or kills the flesh, the carnal nature of man.

 

There has been some confusion over the years over the purpose of fasting. You do not fast to see someone saved or to see something accomplished in your life or even in the Kingdom of God. Fasting is for you. It is to discipline you and to draw you closer to God. You will find that after fasting when you are praying or studying His Word that you will be very sensitive to the Holy Ghost. God may reveal things to you in prayer or through His Word during these times that you may not have been able to see any other time. Because fasting does make you more sensitive to Spiritual things, it is vital that you are under the authority of a man of God who can give you direction during these times.

 

There are different types of fasts as well as different lengths of time you will choose to go without food and/or water. The first and most accepted fast is to go without food and water. As the body cannot survive without water for extended periods of time, use wisdom and common sense when choosing this type of fast. You can also go on a three day fast from food only, drinking only water during this time. While the Spiritual benefits are the primary purpose of fasting, there is a physical benefit accepted now by the mainstream medical community, that this type of fast cleanses your body from poisons and can actually increase your level of energy. While this is good, remember that the purpose of fasting is to draw closer to God. I encourage you to read books on fasting. Two very good books written by Pentecostal authors are "Gods Chosen Fast" by Arthur Wallis, and "When ye Fast" by Joy Haney. Both books may be purchased from the Pentecostal Publishing House, worldaflamebookstore.com

It’s Time to be Apostolic

While I do understand that these must be the last days of the Church before the rapture, it is certainly an exciting time to be involved in the Kingdom of God. The darkness of this hour should not discourage us. The state of affairs in our nation today afford us opportunities to minister to hurting people like never before. It's not hard to find someone in need, someone who is searching, looking for the answer to the mess they've made of their life. All God is looking for in our Church is a willing vessel. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to be talented, you just have to be willing to be used and led of the Holy Ghost. I believe we are being led by God into a dimension of the Holy Ghost that we have not been to before, simply because our generation demands more than ever before. In our service last Sunday night was a sovereign move of God, only eternity will tell how lives were changed and affected. This is the time to let God have His way among us. Don't ever let us be guilty of rejecting traditional religious theology while embracing traditional religious procedure in our services. We are unapologetically Apostolic… in doctrine AND in worship. I watched last Sunday night as people worshipped and danced before the Lord, and God manifested Himself mightily. What impressed me the most however was that after a few minutes the shout turned into a deep conviction of the Spirit and people everywhere began to weep and break before God. If we will simply praise him, He will show up every time. Of course we need preaching, there must be a balance, and everything must be done in decency and order. But oh how we need God to direct and control our services. It's time for all of us to determine and commit, "I will be a vessel God can flow through." I don't claim to know exactly where God has us as a local church right now, but I pray that we are entering into a season of reaping the great and final harvest of souls. Times of transition are always a little painful, but I pray God would do whatever it takes to get us to the place where we are seeing the altars tear stained, the baptismal waters troubled, and the pews filled. We've wore a badge of pride for years over being Apostolic in doctrine, "we've got the truth." God didn't give us truth just so we could be right and someone else could be wrong. He gave us this revelation so we could Apostolic in Power. Let's forget those things which are behind, and let's press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus. It is time to be Apostolic.

Seven Pillars of Christian Living

A few years ago I wrote a handbook entitled "The Seven Pillars of Successful Christian Living." I will be posting each chapter over the next few weeks. They were written to be geared toward the new convert, but I think everyone can benefit from making sure our lives are built on a solid foundation. I hope and pray they are a blessing to you.

Pillar #1-Prayer

 

This is it. This is the key. You will not have to read this entire series to discover the key to your success. It is here at the beginning of this handbook that you will find the foundation to your Spiritual success. The challenge that we face in talking about prayer is where to start. This is a subject that spans from the first book of the Bible to the last. There have been countless books written on the subject of prayer. Thousands of sermons have been preached about the power of prayer. There are prayer journeys and prayer seminars, prayer rooms, prayer teams, the list is endless. So as I said in the introduction, I will not attempt to make an entire study on prayer, I will hit on the main points of prayer, the first one being that you practice it consistently and faithfully. I encourage you to make a further study on prayer, both in your Bible and by reading books on Prayer. In many instances we spend more time talking about prayer, reading about prayer, and preaching about prayer than we do actually praying. So let me begin by saying that you need to pray.

 

    I have listened to countless sermons in my life telling me what the key to revival is, the key being a variety of things. The key is unity, the key is faith, the key is Home Bible Studies, you get the picture. I do not disagree with these things, they are all keys. However, we must understand to be successful in our walk with God, and to see our Church grow and mature spiritually, there is more than one key. It is actually a key chain with all of these things comprising a part of our success. However, the master key that opens all of the doors is Prayer. It is the single most important endeavor that a Christian can make. All the rest of what we do in the Church must have a foundation of prayer to be successful. In Scripture, the disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them to heal the sick. They did not ask to learn how to walk on water or raise the dead. In Luke 11, they simply asked Jesus, "Teach us to pray." The disciples understood that prayer was the foundation for all that Jesus said and done. They noticed after Jesus spent the night in the wilderness praying he walked into the city the next day with great power.

 

    What is Prayer? In the simplest of terms it is communication with God. It is you talking to God, and God talking to you. It is important to understand that in our fast-paced world God does not operate on the same timetable. There are no shortcuts in prayer. Prayer is communication with God, this means not only do you talk to Him, but also He talks to you. As you develop a walk with God, you will learn to hear the voice of God. One of the things I ask God for almost every time I pray is to let me be sensitive to the Holy Ghost, and let me learn to hear and know His voice. Paul said in I Corinthians 14, "There are so many kinds of voices in the world." We are hearing so many things today, it is vital that we know how to distinguish the voice of God from all the other voices in this world.

 

    So how do I Pray? One of the best things you can do is pray with people who know how to pray. Attend every prayer meeting, and be in the middle of it. As with anything else, be sincere in your prayers. You don't have to sound like anyone else. There is no prayer language except your own language. God isn't impressed by our vocabulary, he wants to hear from our heart. This being said, you must still vocalize your prayers. There is a law of confession in your tongue. Jesus said we have not because we ask not. There are many things in our walk with God we may desire, but if we stop and think about it, we may have never actually asked God for them. Follow the Lords Prayer as an example of how to pray. Begin with praising Him, and then ask Him to cleanse and forgive you for anything that is not right in your life. After this begin to pray for your Church, your Pastor, your loved ones, the list really is endless. There will come a point in prayer that you find the flow of the Spirit and God will guide and direct you in your prayers. Remember you are not alone in this, God is working with you and is on your side. One of the tremendous things about prayer is that it can be difficult to begin a prayer meeting, and then once you get going, it is difficult to stop. Remember the purpose of prayer isn't to "feel" God. It is to feel after God. Just because you do not feel in your emotions like you want to when you pray does not make that prayer any less powerful. There may be times when you feel like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and falling back into the room, but you are touching Heaven.

 

    One of the things I encourage you to do is to find a prayer closet. This is not an actual location, but rather a time of prayer where it is just you and God and no one else. I am a big believer in this. It is absolutely vital that you pray with others, attend prayer meetings, and pray around others. But there also must be times when you are alone with God. There are some things you need to talk about and vocalize to God that you will not do when others are around. There are battles and struggles in your life that no one else knows about that you wouldn't dare let someone hear you talk to God about. But they need to be discussed with Him. There may be things that you need to confess to Him, that can only be done in your prayer closet.

Jesus said in Matthew 6, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

 

    I would like to give you some final words on prayer. Jesus said that some things don't happen except by prayer and fasting. There are battles that will not be won except by prayer and fasting. There are spiritual strongholds that Satan holds in our cities that will not be defeated unless we pray. There is no amount of singing, no amount of preaching, no amount of giving that will bring us victory in some areas. Prayer must be made always. Paul said "Pray without Ceasing." In other words don't ever stop praying. Pray when you're tired, pray when you're not tired, pray when you're happy, pray when you're sad, but don't ever stop praying. Powerful Churches are praying Churches. Powerful saints are praying saints. People who backslide, or quit living for God are never people who live and walk in the Spirit. The key to your success is walking in the Spirit through prayer.

 

 

Recommended Reading List

In my previous post I talked about the importance of reading. Here are some of my favorite books that have had an impact on my personal life and/or ministry. I realize everyone's interests are different, but these books are in my opinion at the top of the list. Not all of them are by Apostolic authors so I do not endorse any views in these books that may contradict fundamental doctrine. However most of these books written by secular or non-Apostolic authors do not deal with any doctrinal subject matter. I have listed them in no particular order of importance, other than the first book. I will only keep one reading list on this blog, so if I add any books in the future they will appear on this edited post. As always, thanks for reading…

The Family

1. A Father for all Seasons by Bob Welch- This book stands alone to me among all other books besides the Bible. It has impacted my life in ways that I couldn't even describe. My mother bought me this book for Christmas 2001. My son had just turned one year old. I don't know how long it sat on the bookshelf untouched, probably a couple of years. When I started to read it, the book changed my life. There are a lot of parenting books out there that try to teach us how to do it. This book is a man telling us stories about his father and stories about his two sons in a way that only Bob Welch can write. I don't know a lot about the author, other than he is not a preacher but a newspaper columnist from Eugene Oregon. This book is primarily for fathers who are raising their son, but a book that everyone should enjoy reading. I sat in restaurants reading this book and would have to stop reading it because I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Gentlemen, you owe it to yourself to get this book. It may be ordered online at bobwelch.net .
   
2. Bringing up Boys by James Dobson- A true how to book on parenting, I learned a lot from this book that I could apply to my own role as a parent. Any of Dr. Dobson's books on the family are worth reading.
   

   
   

Bible Study Material

1. Thompson Chain Reference Bible- still hard to beat it for pure study.
   
2. PC Study Bible- I've tried Quickverse, but Study Bible has a much better user interface.
   
3. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Facts
   
4. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
   
5. The Tabernacle by William Brown
   
6. The Pentecostal Home Study Course
   
7. Any of Crawford Coon's Christian Development Course, Pastor John McKinnies introduced me to this tremendous material.
   

Christian Living

1. When Ye Pray by Joy Haney
   
2. Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman
   
3. When Ye Fast by Joy Haney
   

   
   

For the Ministry

1. The Flesh of God by J.T. Pugh- if there is a more relevant book to the ministry today I haven't found it. Bro. Pugh gives us what the Church is and what our Purpose is more clearly than anything I've ever read. A true must read book.
   
2. The Wisdom and the Power of the Cross by J.T. Pugh- this was a hard read for me because it was pretty deep, but it is a must read for every preacher. Both of these first two books should be a required reading for young ministers.
   
3. Effective Pastoring by Bill Lawrence- I don't agree with everything he has to say, the Baptist form of church government differs from ours, but plenty of good solid advice to Pastors.
   
4. The Best of Vesta Mangun- A written version of some of her best messages
   
5. Any of David Bernard's books including- The New Birth, The Oneness of God, God's Infallible Word.
   
6. For Preachers Only by J.T. Pugh
   
7. I being in the Way by Harold Kinney- Written by a missionary, one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read.
   

   
   

Publications

1. Perspectives Magazine by Indiana Bible College- Usually a feature story on a Church, plus lots of good articles and insight, my personal favorite Apostolic publication.
   
2. The Pentecostal Herald- I would not list it just on the merits of it being the official organ of the UPCI. It has improved tremendously the last few years, and now has great articles in it every month.
   
3. PC World Magazine- If you own a computer, this one is worth subscribing to, lots of tips and downloads to help you keep running smoothly.
   

Success Literature

1. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey- The standard by which all other success literature should be measured. It is a life changing book if you will apply it. Every leader and preacher should read and reread this book.
   
2. First things First by Stephen Covey- It doesn't do the book justice to call this a time management book, but it gives you an idea of what it is about. An excellent book, I recently had a well known and successful pastor from the South tell me this book changed his life, it was enough of an endorsement for me to go out and buy it.
   
3. Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove- Andy Grove is the former chairman of the board for Intel and was the driving force behind what made Intel what it is today. The book centers around Strategic Inflection Points, which you would have to read to understand. He made me a believer that any leader in order to be successful long term must understand Strategic Inflection Points in their particular field.
   

   
   

   
   

   There are many other books that I have enjoyed, but these are a few that I believe can make a difference in your life…
   

The Power of Reading

I am going to in future posts be reviewing and recommending books that have had a powerful impact on my life, and there are several. Before I begin those posts, I want to talk about the power of simply reading. Some may think that in an age where multimedia, High-Def TV, and interactive websites abound, that reading may well be on its way to becoming obsolete. I seriously doubt if this will ever happen. I don't anything more powerful or enjoying than sitting down in a quiet room and simply reading. How many times have you heard someone say, "Yes I saw the movie, but the book was much better." When you a read a book, especially a novel, your imagination goes to work. I've often thought that 10 people could read the same book and the scenery and characters are all different in each person's mind. I try to always be reading a book. I usually will have the book with me in my car and read it in a restaurant, a waiting room, or wherever I find myself with extra time on my hands.

I highly recommend that you have a variety of books that you read. Everyone will be different, but let me give you examples of the kinds of books that I read. First of all, the Bible must be at the center of all your reading. It is not a book, but THE book. My two favorite parts of the Bible to read are the Epistles in the New Testament and the stories in the Old Testament. But you must read all of the areas of Scriptures at some time. It is important to have balance in your Bible reading. Apart from the Bible, I read books on Apostolic Doctrine, Church history, and Church Leadership. I also read motivational books such as Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I would highly recommend this book, it is life changing. I am currently reading Stephen Covey's book "The Eighth Habit." All of his books are excellent. One of the books on my list to read for this year is Dr. Dobson's book "Bringing up Boys." I will eventually have a post of all my recommended books. Biographies and autobiographies can also be excellent reads. I purchased this week a biography of Andy Grove, who wrote the book "Only the Paranoid Survive", a must read for every leader. I don't read a lot of novels, but have thoroughly enjoyed Louis L'Mour and John Grisham novels.

The thing that I believe makes reading so powerful is that you are tapping into someone elses mind, harnessing and gleaning their wisdom and life experiences. They have thought about what they are going to write, they have revised and edited it many times, and you are awarded the final product of what they consider to be their best. I have tried to listen to books on tape, but have found that my retention rate is much higher when I actually read the book. I believe to be well read is one of the highest achievements of life. It is amazing that if you will simply read the books, how many times in conversation with someone else that you can pull from your mind something that can be added to the conversation. If you are a preacher, this is doubly true. I don't know how many times in my preaching that something will come to me that isn't in my notes that I will use in a message, something that I had in my mind from a book I had read. Starting now, purpose in your mind that you are going to give yourself to much reading. If you have children, encourage and help them to read. It is truly one of life's greatest pleasures.

The Unity of the Apostolic Church

The subject of unity in our local churches is consistently stressed and preached as a key to revival and growth. I wholeheartedly agree. Saints must work in harmony and the pew must be in unity with the pulpit in order for a Church to operate the way God intended. It amazes me that the same preachers who stress this in their pulpits are not as concerned about striving for unity with their ministerial brethren. The Oneness Apostolic Church's all across America need to be united and come together like never before. I realize that are some minimum requirements that most of us will demand in order for us to consider a local church or fellowship part of the Apostolic Church. First of all, the church must believe in the oneness of God, rejecting the doctrine of the trinity. The church will preach the new birth experience as necessary for salvation. This includes repentance, baptism in Jesus Name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. The final component would be living a separated, Godly life, stressing Holiness as part of their daily lifestyle. I know there are many other beliefs and doctrines that will be part of the Apostolic church, but these are the fundamentals that most of us will agree are the trademarks of the Church.

It is imperative that those of us that are part of the church bind together like never before. A quick search on the internet brought up over fifty oneness organizations and fellowships in the United States. I am not so naïve to believe that there will ever be one all encompassing organization that every Apostolic Church belongs to. However, we all need to view all churches, ministers, and saints, regardless of affiliation, as part of the Church and body of Christ, as long as they are truly Apostolic. When the trumpet sounds, and the bride of Christ is raptured, I doubt there will be angels guarding the gate, asking preacher's for their "fellowship card" to see if they qualify for entrance. Whether UPC, A L J C, independent, etc…, God is looking for men and women who are Apostolic.

 

In large towns and cities it is common and no doubt necessary for there to be more than one Apostolic church. Because of the large population of these areas, there is more than enough work to go around. However, in smaller towns where there is more than one Apostolic church, I hope and pray that these churches will work together in harmony with a unified plan and purpose for their community. The rapture is too close for us to have our own agendas. We are not building our own kingdoms, He is the King, and it's His Kingdom. We are simply "laborers together with Him." When you go to witness to the hurting, the lost, the broken, they couldn't care less about what fellowship you belong to or what group you associate with. This will be a blow to our ego, but chances are, they have never heard of any of our organizations, and frankly, they just don't care. They simply want a Church that cares about them. If you can love people while preaching and practicing the Apostles Doctrine, you will be successful, regardless of your affiliation.

 

Do I believe in organization, you better believe I do. They have been the vehicle for tremendous growth, and every preacher needs a system of accountability in his life. I am thankful for every organized effort that has been successful in spreading the gospel. Regardless of your affiliation, bind together with your brethren and let's have Apostolic revival until Jesus comes.

 

The Decisive and Divisive Issue of 07

2007 was an interesting year for the Apostolic Church. The United Pentecostal Church voted in their General Conference to allow Churches to advertise on television. This issue divided many brethren the last few years, and the decision to allow it was celebrated by many and condemned by probably just as many. A quick search on the internet will produce many blogs and message boards from proponents and opponents of this issue. I am not here to celebrate the decision nor speak against it. As with many issues we face today, both sides no doubt had good points in their argument. I want to state up front that I did not vote on the issue, I am a minister in a UPCI Church, but am licensed with another Fellowship. There are those that believe that TV advertising for a local Church will have tremendous results. Only time will truly tell, but they will probably be disappointed. God has never relied on anything man made to spread the gospel, and He wasn’t waiting on an organization to pass a resolution so He could fulfill His purpose on this earth. That being said, if one soul is won to the Lord because they decided to visit a Church they saw on TV, it would be hard to argue with that soul on Judgment Day that it was a bad idea. This is what I mean about there being two sides to the issue. For those that were so against the resolution because it will be detrimental to the Church, I doubt this will happen either. There may be Churches that have already put ads on TV, but I haven’t heard about them. There will probably be very few Churches who utilize TV ads. For a lot of markets it is just too expensive and there are more attractive advertising opportunities for Churches, such as newspapers and mail outs. In my opinion, the opponents are probably more afraid of where this resolution will lead the UPC than the actual resolution itself. The bottom line, TV ads will probably not have a great impact on the Church either way. I do hate to see so many brethren divided so sharply on an issue that in ten years will be mostly forgotten. There is coming a convergence of Television and Internet, so much of what is being discussed will be irrelevant, we just don’t how long that will be. We need to make sure issues like this do not distract the Ministry from our purpose to reach a lost and dying world, but that will be in another post. Now more than ever, let there be Unity among Jesus name, One God, Holiness preachers.

God Bless,