Waking Jonah

[Part 60 of a 60-Part series. Click here for Part 1.]

This is the final episode in the series “Why I Am a Pentecostal“… I hope it has been thought provoking for you!

I will provide my own personal testimony about this in the near future, but in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions. Also, I highly recommend the following messages for further study on the distinctives of Pentecostal doctrine…

(*All messages can be found in the New Life Church Sermon Archive.)

05/19/10 | “The Oneness of God,” Pastor Bernard
05/26/10 | “The Identity of Jesus Christ,” Pastor Bernard
06/02/10 | “The New Birth,” Pastor Shaw
06/09/10 | “Speaking in Tongues: Initial Evidence of Spirit Baptism,” Pastor Shaw
08/08/10 | “Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 1,” Pastor Shaw
08/08/10 | “Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 2,” Pastor Shaw

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: Restoring the Apostles’ Doctrine
Date: 5/5/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: The hermeneutical spiral – constant interaction with the text; What’s unique about Pentecostals and restorationists is that we bring something a little different–we bring an experience of the Spirit of God; Not only are we gaining understanding, but we are also gaining experience; Then we bring that experience/spiritual encounter with God back to the text; The role of history–History documents the extent to which people have been faithful to the Word of God; If we lifted up 2,000 years of history and set it aside, and then took your experience and your belief and put it side by side with only the New Testament… does it fit? Does it match?; Like the Apostle Paul asked the Ephesians, we can feel very confident asking… have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? That’s not a question we get from 2,000 years of church history, it’s a question we get from the New Testament (see Acts 19:1-7)

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 59 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: Restoring the Apostles’ Doctrine
Date: 5/5/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: In Acts 2:37 they ask the big question… “What do we have to do?”; If the Apostles understood this the way moderns understand it, they would have said “Repeat the prayer after me, and say with your mouth Jesus Christ is Lord, and you’re done”; But in Acts 2:38 Peter said that to call on the name of the Lord and be saved you must repent of your sins, get baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and then you will receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost; The “whoever will call on the name of the Lord” is not a formula for salvation, it’s a statement of the availability of God’s salvation–whoever calls on the name of the Lord is going to be saved; Romans 10:12 – “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”; If you come with an 18th Century Calvinist understanding of this, you get a doctrine that says conversion is you confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Savior, therefore you’re saved; But if you have a restorationist hermeneutic and say “what did the Apostles do?…”; The passage in Romans is written to people that are already saved–Paul isn’t walking them through conversion, but pointing them back to the assurance of their conversion; We actually see such a conversion in Acts 2, with the same verse being quoted; We take the Apostles’ example and understand Romans 10 through the lens of how the Apostles preached those very same verses when they preached to sinners

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 58 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: Restoring the Apostles’ Doctrine
Date: 5/5/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: Romans 10:1-13; Often used as a formula for salvation… if you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord with your mouth then you’re saved; The question is, how did the Apostles do this?; Paul is quoting several passages from the Old Testament; Romans 10:13 – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved“; Scholars believe Paul is specifically referring to a baptismal confession (in the waters of baptism, people are calling on the name of Jesus Christ, affirming Him as their Savior); Paul quotes from the Old Testament prophet Joel – “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (quotation from Joel 2); We also see this in Acts 2–Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost, tells them that these people speaking with tongues is the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that God is going to pour out His Spirit on all flesh… and that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 51 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: Restoring the Apostles’ Doctrine
Date: 5/5/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: There are many versions of baptism today–submersion, immersion, sprinkling, pouring, infant baptism, trine baptism, Matthew 28:19, etc.; How far can you go changing the model until the model is no longer the model?; Restorationists say it’s better if you don’t tweak the model at all–it’s better if you just obey the model you have in Scripture, because we don’t have the authority to change the model; To what degree can you change the model and still have authentic Christianity?; Speaking in tongues as the initial evidence of people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit–If you throw that out the window, on what authority can you claim anyone has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?; If you’re going to tweak the model, on what/who’s authority do you get to change it?; Protestant Reformation; Catholic Church; Martin Luther; Reformation inside the Catholic Church; If the church today looked exactly like it did when Luther stepped on the scene, to what extent would that sort of Christianity be authentic?; Common tradition of Christianity vs. a primitive/restorationist model that leapfrogs over history back into the New Testament

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 50 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: Restoring the Apostles’ Doctrine
Date: 5/5/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: Restorationists would say the model for the “new birth” and Christian living is in the New Testament, and that’s what we should follow; If you don’t embrace that teaching, on what authority do you get to say that the normative experiences of the New Testament are no longer valid?; Speaking in tongues is a normative experience in the book of Acts, and seems to be linked with the reception of the Holy Spirit; If you say that speaking in tongues was for the apostles but not for today, on what authority can you say that?; Epistemology – How can you know something is true and on what authority?; Those questions go away when you simply lift up the New Testament as your model and follow it obediently; To what degree can you change the model and still have authentic Christianity?; Scholars admit that the New Testament pattern/model of baptism is submersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ–to what extent can you change the model and it still be authentic Christian experience?

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 44 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: The Pentecostal Movement
Date: 4/28/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: Frank Ewart said the apostles’ practice (of baptizing in Jesus’ name) was linked to their understanding that Jesus Christ was God manifested in flesh, not just one person of God manifested in flesh; Ewart claimed that the name of Jesus Christ was invoked in baptism by the apostles in full obedience to Matthew 28:19–they knew exactly what they were doing; We only have record of people being baptized in the New Testament in the name of Jesus; On April 15th, 1914, Ewart preached his first message on Acts 2:38, declaring that repentance, baptism in Jesus’ name, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues is New Testament salvation; He also associated the name of Jesus in baptism with the “oneness” of God; Divergence in Pentecostal history between trinitarian Pentecostals and oneness Pentecostals; Ewart and his fellow minister, Glen Cook, re-baptized each other in Jesus’ name; Standing against an established tradition–the Anabaptists got killed for doing this stuff; 300 years earlier in Europe, Frank Ewart and Glen Cook would have been killed

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 41 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: The Pentecostal Movement
Date: 4/28/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: William Durham began preaching what he called the “finished work of Calvary”; Said that sanctification (holiness) is actually part of the “new birth” experience–there is no second experience of sanctification; Challenged the entire Holiness movement establishment and theology by saying there is no “saved and sanctified”; Believed that you get saved, and the power of God’s grace in that saving act is power to sanctify you; Durham said that what Jesus purchased for us in salvation is enough, there’s nothing else we can get except the salvation that Jesus brings; Durham collapses sanctification back into the “new birth”, but he still keeps Spirit baptism as a second experience; Went from three works of grace down to two; Still affirmed Acts 2:38 as the fullest sense of salvation–said that a person who was really living for God wouldn’t just be saved, but would go on to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost; Theological division in the Pentecostal movement–denominations that went with Durham’s theology think of the Holy Ghost as an “added blessing” (not essential for salvation); Practical outcomes of theology about the baptism of the Spirit; The average United Pentecostal Church has around 90% of teens and adults filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 40 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: The Pentecostal Movement
Date: 4/28/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: William Durham was a Baptist minister–came from the Baptist tradition; He receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Azusa Street; Durham comes to three conclusions after receiving the baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of tongues: 1) The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a different kind of experience–unlike anything he had experienced before, 2) He couldn’t claim the baptism of the Spirit, he had to wait until He came, 3) Speaking in tongues was the sign of this experience

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 39 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: The Pentecostal Movement
Date: 4/28/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: Azusa Street; William Seymour; Started in 1906 and lasted until 1909; Services every single day; Mixed congregation; Holiness churches; People from all around the world heard about the Azusa Street Revival; Missionaries came, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and took the message back to their countries; The Pentecostal message spread around the world from Azusa Street; Charles Parham was arguably the “father” of the Pentecostal movement, but the work at Azusa Street under William Seymour propelled it into a global, world-wide movement; The baptism of the Spirit became the normal, accepted experience of those who came seeking it–it became normalized; “Saved/Sanctified/Filled with the Spirit” message about to change; First controversy in the Pentecostal movement; Trying to get back to what the Bible says; Jesus’ name baptism

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 38 of an ongoing series. Click here for Part 1.]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: The Pentecostal Movement
Date: 4/28/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: Parham began traveling and preaching a “saved-sanctified-filled with the Spirit” message; No objective criteria for getting sanctified; William Seymour–holiness preacher, grandson of slaves; Parham agreed to allow Seymour to sit out in the hallway of his Bible college in Houston; Seymour heard and embraced the doctrine of being able to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost with tongues, but he had not received it; He made a trip to Los Angeles and began preaching this message; They had prayer meetings in various houses and then moved to the Azusa Street Mission; One of the owners of the houses received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and it sparked the great Azusa Street revival

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 37 of an ongoing series]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: The Pentecostal Movement
Date: 4/28/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: Holiness movement started using “Pentecostal” as an adjective (Pentecostal experience, etc.); Rallying cry of “Back to Pentecost”; Speaking with other tongues; Experiences with God; Baptism of the Holy Spirit language; Sanctification; Charles Parham – holiness preacher; Parham looked at scripture and felt like there was a distinct experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit; He asked his bible college students to determine what is the New Testament evidence that a person is filled/baptized with the Holy Spirit; After study and prayer, they came to the conclusion that it was speaking with other tongues; They began to pray and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues; Parham began to travel and teach this–there were notable revivals in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Houston, etc.

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 33 of an ongoing series]

Ministry: New Life Church of Austin, TX
Full Podcast: Early American Christianity to the Holiness Movement
Date: 4/21/10
Speaker: Rodney Shaw
Topics: Early Pentecostal movement emerged from the Holiness movement; Charles Finney; Baptism in the Spirit; Holiness preachers; Charles Parham; Attempt to get back to Scripture and away from tradition; What is the New Testament evidence that someone has been filled/baptized with the Holy Spirit?… speaking with other tongues; They began seeking after (and receiving) the baptism of the Spirit; Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ; Strong cry that began at the Reformation of getting back to Scripture, back to the Word of God; Claims of orthodoxy: Who is right?; Authentic, genuine Christianity has to start and end with the New Testament; Pushing back against tradition and history, and getting back to what the Apostles preached; Severe and harsh reaction by the established churches against people who are simply trying to ask, “What does the Bible teach?”

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Rodney Shaw

Happy New Year everyone!!!

May you be filled with the incomparable power of the Spirit of God in 2010…

Show: Preemption Broadcast
Full Podcast: Daniel Chapter 4
Host: Russ Dizdar
Topics: 1 John 4 – greater is the one who lives is in you than the one who lives in the world; Ephesians 5 – be filled with the Spirit of God; Acts 1 – you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; Luke 24 – you shall be clothed with power from on high; That should be the evidence of all believers; Just be surrendered to Jesus–ask Him to clothe you, fill you, saturate you with the power of the Spirit of God; Every single person that was “Spirit filled” in the Book of Acts was an effective soul-winner; The presence, power, radiance, love, and the fire of God was on them; Ephesians 1; Know the incomparably great power for us who believe–the same kind of power that raised Jesus from the dead; What you receive by faith can be manifested when you’re living out in obedience

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Russ Dizdar

Frank Lordi from the Frank & Chris Show discusses being comforted by the Holy Spirit in the face of WHATEVER lies ahead…

Show: The Frank & Chris Show
Full Podcast: The Frank and Chris Show- Episode 85
Date: 12/23/09
Host: Frank Lordi
Topics: God has led a lot of us to a peaceful place; Look back in the past and see what other people have gone through for Him; People who overcame by giving their lives for Jesus Christ; He’s not going to strand us in our moment of need–He’s not going to leave us; The Holy Spirit is THE Comforter; Blessed to have come to grips with whatever it is that’s coming; He’s there for us–we’re never alone in anything we have to face; It’s an awesome feeling once that sinks in; If this stuff keeps you up at night, just be praying that He’ll be there and will comfort you; He will make Himself known to you; Through God we find a comfort unlike anything we have known before

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