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 56 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: The Apostles and their associates had a fear that there would be a departing; 2 Timothy 3:13-14 – “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them“; It’s a backwards look–it’s already been established; The New Testament writers have this sense that people will continually be tempted to be led away from the foundational doctrinal principles; 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.“‘; Appeal to teach the word and doctrine that had already been delivered into the church; Cleave to the teachings, resist the change; 2 Peter 3:15-18 – “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.“; The concern is that they will be led away doctrinally; Jude 3 – “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints“; It’s a past tense thing, even for the New Testament writers–it’s not something to be fleshed out, developed, and evolved over the centuries

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 55 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: 2 Peter 1:3 – “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue“; Peter is writing before there is even a recognized New Testament, and he is admonishing the church that the teaching of the Apostles is adequate and sufficient; The early church recognized the danger in departing from the teaching of the Apostles–there is an attempt to look backwards to the doctrine that is already living in the church, not look forward to the ongoing development of new theology; When it comes to basic doctrinal principles, it’s always a look backwards to what was originally taught; Colossians 2:6-10 – “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power“; If you only have the New Testament, and you stop right there and believe that… how in the world can you get what we get out of creeds and councils?–it’s not possible

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 54 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: After Jesus invests them with authority, the Apostles stand up in unison/agreement on the day of Pentecost; Ephesians 2:19-20 – “…built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone“; The Apostles are part of the foundation of the church; You don’t get Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Parham, Seymour, or anybody else in this foundation… you get the apostles, and prophets, and Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone; There is an Apostolic authority–we give preference to the Apostles; The early church themselves had a pattern of appealing to the Apostles; Acts 2:42 – “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…“; The Apostles got their doctrine from Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit; The early church recognized the authority that was vested in the Apostolic community; Jude 17 – “remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ“; Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, appeals to the Apostolic authority in that band of Apostles; The authority for New Testament doctrine lies in the teaching and proclamation of the Apostles

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 53 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: The way we do theology is that we give preference to the Apostles; Justification by faith; Sanctification; New Testament; Apostolic authority – the Apostles had an authority that no other group of ministers had–it was invested in them by Jesus Christ; Matthew 10:40 – “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.“; Accounts of baptism in the New Testament; Matthew 28:19 – Great Commission account; Jesus didn’t write the book of Matthew–you don’t get the choice to believe Jesus or the Apostles… you pretty much get to believe the Apostles; How do we “receive” the Apostles?–We receive their writings; John 17:20 – “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word“; Saving faith in Jesus Christ comes to us through the words of the Apostles, not the words of creeds and church traditions; Acts 2:14-47 – First sermon of the Christian church; Peter stands up authoritatively with the 11 Apostles in full agreement; You can’t pit Peter against other writings in the New Testament; You have the choice to accept or not accept the New Testament

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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 47 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: Challenge to take the Bible prayerfully and ask, “God, what do you want for my life?”; This is not a conversation about you and church history, it’s a conversation about you, the Bible, and God; You don’t seek to be faithful to a tradition, you seek to be faithful to this Revelation; Ask the question, “Is it in this Book, and does God want me to have it?”; If you pray that way, God will lead you exactly to what you need–God will reveal Himself to you; Restorationism – Restoring the Apostles’ doctrine; The Protestant Reformation said “sola scriptura” (Scripture alone) as well, but that’s not what they did; Principles about coming to Scripture and not tainting it by human reasoning or ideas

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 34 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: What does Scripture say?; Does my belief system and experience with God match what is in Scripture?; Go to God prayerfully and ask for yourself; Early American Christianity; Formation of a political and social climate that allowed people to pursue after God/truth in ways that were impossible in Europe; Church history/doctrine; Lutheran churches rely heavily on Martin Luther; Reformed churches rely heavily on John Calvin; Pentecostals try to rely solely on the New Testament; Our objective is to restore, proclaim, and affirm what the apostles believed, taught, and experienced

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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

[Part 32 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: Wesley starts the Methodist movement and it becomes the biggest denomination in the United States; Wesley dies and the Methodist church moves away from his teachings; Revivalist group springs up called the Holiness Movement; Holiness Movement emerges right after the civil war; Sudden sense that we need to live holy lives; Revival of sanctification; The Methodist church puts the group out and it becomes the Holiness Movement; They begin to use terms like “baptism of the Spirit” and “filled with the Spirit”; Reports of people speaking with other tongues; Started using language that moved them back closer to the book of Acts; New Testament baptism of the Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues; People began to think about the baptism of the Holy Ghost; The cry of “Back to Pentecost! Back to Pentecost!”; They knew they needed the power of the Spirit in their lives

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 29 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: Jonathan Edwards; George Whitefield; What’s going on in North America is fundamentally different; Whitefield takes church out of buildings and puts it in parks, meadows, and lawns; The Great Awakening; Reactions against traditions that lead people away from a real encounter and experience with God; Reformers; Second Great Awakening; Charles Finney; Mourner’s bench/anxious bench… people would come and pray and seek after God; Overtones of what happens in Pentecostal churches–people seeking after something that is demonstrable, life-changing, powerful, and effective in their lives

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 25 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: Christianity in America was/is fundamentally different than the forms that preceded it in Europe–it is characteristically democratic; Reversal of what happened in 325 at the Council of Nicaea (merger between the Roman Empire/Constantine and the Church); The state and the church don’t get untangled until you get to the United States of America; This will ultimately get us to the Pentecostal movement; What happened later in the Pentecostal movement was specifically suited for the political and social climate in America

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 24 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: Puritans; Corruption in the Church of England (Anglican Church); Puritans were primarily Calvinistic; Country divided down the middle; Civil war in England because of religion (Puritans vs. Church of England); First migration of Puritans was to Holland, then to Plymouth Rock; Many of the early Puritans thought North America would be the Kingdom of God

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Rodney Shaw

[Part 23 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: Protestant Reformation; Luther; Zwingli; Calvin; 4 threads of Protestantism: Lutheranism, Reformed churches, Anabaptists, Anglicans (Church of England); The English Reformation; King Henry VIII; Puritans; Catholic Church; Division in the church; Mary Tudor; Protestant scholars and pastors

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Rodney Shaw