The Doctrine (2)

17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

Acts 20:

He Survived Among Them

Acts 20:17 ESV

17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

He Served Beside Them

2. He

He Struggled In-Front of Them

He Spoke With Them

The Uncommon Detention

Constrained by the Spirit

Confined by the State

Commissioned by the Savior

The Uncommon Departure

A Thoughtful Departure

A Testimonied Departure

A Thorough Departure

A Trusted Departure

The Uncommon Danger - Acts 20:29-30

Foreseen Wolves

Oppressive Wolves

Infiltrating Wolves

Relentless Wolves

Homegrown Wolves

Divergent Wolves

Condemning Wolves

The Uncommon Disclosure - Real Life Dangers

NT. Wright

Paul continues now with bad news. “…after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock...” Now this is bad news. Paul is promising that there will be attacks from outside the church and they are live wolves seeking to devour and kill. But the following warning is far worse and far more heart-breaking. “…and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them...”

N.T. Wright is a British theologian who wrote a great book on the resurrection of Christ. He defended the traditional and biblical understanding of the resurrection of Jesus and the work is known and heralded as a great and wonderful apologetic for the resurrection. Which it is. In the latest book he wrote “The Day the Revolution Began” he wrote this: “WE have paganized our understanding of salvation, substituting the idea of God killing Jesus to satisfy his wrath for the genuinely biblical notion we are about to explore.” N.T. Wright said that the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement, paganism. He calls propitiation, paganism. Apostasy. We are saved by no other means than the forensic justification of Christ’s substitutionary payment for our transgressions.

Kari Job

I’ve mentioned before about Philips Craig and Dean. But Recently, Kari Job, Hillsong, Rend Collective, and even Chris Tomlin have found their way into the den of the wicked. Kari Job in song and through public teachings is re-introducing the heresy that Jesus went to hell when he died and defeated satan there and set the lost people that were there free. You might think, yeah but I’m not so sure I understand that text very well about those three days. Well I understand them and I’ll tell you in a moment. The point where this is not merely a view but actual heresy is in the fact that Job as well as Kenneth Coapland and many other word of faith’ers say this is why Jesus died. Denying the atonement in replace for this odd theology. Jesus died after experiencing the wrath of God in my place. When He said it was finished it was paid in full. Jesus went to the Old Covenant Captives, those who were believing in the messiah yet having not known who he was. He went into what Luke calls “Abraham’s Bosom” and takes them from “Sheol” or death, and brings them with Him to heaven. I can prove that from simple and conspicuous passages of Scripture. But that’s not what this time is about right now.

Christ Tomlin

Chris Tomlin often times posts quotes from famous teachers and preachers. Most often it’s AW Tozer. I love Tozer’s writing and his unique take on things. He and G. Campbell Morgan began the AME churches on some great doctrinal principles that have slowly drifted into the background of that denomination. Yesterday though Chris Tomlin revealed more of those people he reads and believes to be a good bible teacher, TD. Jakes. Jakes is a proponent of the positive thinking dogma, the prosperity gospel, and worst of all his heretical view of the trinity. The only time I’ve ever quoted Jakes is when I quoted him as saying the following; “Jesus is big business in America… I think that Jesus is the product… When the product is excellent, it doesn't require a big sales pitch.” Tomlin found that Jake’s teaching on unity was worth sharing.

Ravi Zacharias

Here’s one that hurt more than I could have imagined. I saw this video clip Friday night as I was about to go to bed and it kept me up. Ravi Zacharias. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Here are a few of his book titiles; Why Jesus. Why Suffering, Jesus Among Secular Gods. Can Man Live Without God. The End of Reason. Has Christianity Failed You? Recapture the Wonder. The Grand Weaver. The Real Face of Atheism. Beyond Opinon. New Birth or ReBirth. Light in the Shadow of Jihad. The Lotus and the Cross. The Lostness of Man…

Ravi held the mystery of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility beautifully in tension as or holds it. But in a recent interaction with Louie Giglio here’s what Ravi has come out with when trying to give a theodicy. A theodicy is an answer for the age old question; If God is omnibenevolent and omnipotents, why then is there evil in the world. Let me just play that clip for you. It’s this important.

http://daytonafaith.com/the-doctrine/

“He will never violate the sovereignty of your will...” Blasphemy!

Vince Vitale (Oxford PhD) Likens God’s foreknowledge with human intuition. Heresy

Local Trouble

But this concept of those who are rising up from among us hits even closer to home than I would have wanted to imagine. I will maintain the anonymity of the person but I can tell you that I have a dear friend. A friend that I have had for 9 to 10 years that for all their learning, for all their knowledge they have abandoned the Word of God and are no longer routinely calling people to repent and believe, they are instead calling people to realize their full potential. They are replacing the inherent infallible Word of God with psychiatry and touchy stories. From among the midst of those who would be thought to have a firm and solid grasp on truth, they have turned away.

There is a war being waged against the truth. The war is being fought vehemently by the enemy and the church is beginning to stumble. We must fight now more than ever for the ministry of the Word of God. We must hold leaders, friends, other churches in our area, everyone who names the name of Christ accountable for what they are believing. And here. This church. This local expression of God’s Church, His universal Bride, we must not succumb to the squabbling over trivialities. We must not feel some urge to surrender to the spirit of the age. We must press on. We must not vanish from this stage, from this location, from this corner of the world without a full and bombastic fight. We must take up the mantle of the cross and stand against every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ!

You, yes you are a soldier in the Lord’s army. You are not fighting with flesh and blood, you are fighting a thought war. You are fighting a war of ideas. You cannot, you must not think that you are not savvy enough or learned enough. You are too tired at the end of the day. You have too much on your plate. Ladies and gentlemen there is a war outside our doors, just outside these doors and you are the defense that this town needs. You have the truth. (Esther Moment) You may not engage. You may not be apart fo this fight and if you don’t engage then God will bring victory some other way. But maybe, you and I, maybe just maybe we have been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this. (Paul was an Uncommon common Disciple , you should be too.)

And how? How would we do this? We will do this the same what that Paul encouraged those elders in Ephesus.

The Uncommon Doctrine

Be Alert

This is a “staying awake” a “vigilance” a watchfulness.

Be Admonished - to counsel, to urge, to instruct.

Be Admonished

To counsel, to urge, to instruct.

Be Assigned

Be Assigned - Paul commended which is to be assigned or delivered over to God’s care.

Paul commended which is to be assigned or delivered over to God’s care.

Be Assisting

Be Assisting - The Word of Grace is able to build you up.

The Word of Grace is able to build you up.

Be Active - “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me...” While working diligently in order to provide for his physical needs, Paul was deeply engaged in the spiritual health of all he came in contact with.

Be Active

“You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me...” While working diligently in order to provide for his physical needs, Paul was deeply engaged in the spiritual health of all he came in contact with.

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