Apostolic Identity

Welcome

Introduce everyone.

Give opportunity to speak.

Explain the goal of this bible study: “To consume and learn from teaching, to have constructive discussion - to ultimately go deeper and GROW.”

While I will guide us, this is a DISCUSSIONAL study.

And today what we’re going to talk about is Apostolic Identity. What is it? Why is it? Why is this important?

What Does It Mean To Be “Apostolic”?

Definition

Let’s talk about the term “Apostolic”.

Can anyone give me a definition of the word “Apostolic”?

Apostolic = “like the apostles”

So, for someone to say, “I am Apostolic,” is to say that they are doing as the apostles did.

I had someone at work ask me this week: “What type of church do you go to?” And I said, “Apostolic.” I like to say that often, because most people have a semi-understanding of Pentecostal… but a true Pentecostal is Apostolic. And not everyone who claims to be Pentecostal is truly Apostolic (living for God as the Apostles did). So, the guy asked, “What is Apostolic?” Now I’ve started a conversation! I explained it, and then went on to mention that truly, I am an Apostolic Pentecostal. He immediately asked if I believe in speaking in tongues. I said, “100%.” Then he sort of cringed. And he said he hadn’t been to any church at all in over 13 years. He said he went to a Pentecostal church once when he was younger and it freaked him out with the tongues because he was raised Baptist and taught against it. I said, “You know what’s fascinating? Tongues were a common part of the New Testament church in the Bible. Paul taught on tongues and it was a very normal thing.” He said, “REALLY?” I said, “Oh yes! It’s just that many people avoid of the scriptures that mention it… but it’s still there.”

And what he was realizing - what we all need to realize and be aware of - is that HE was merely following a denomination that was denying truth, instead of making every effort to live an Apostolic life.

Deep inside, we need to have a desire to get this thing right.

“If I’m going to live for God, I’m going to be Apostolic and do it the way He intended!”

Who Were the Apostles?

Who were the Apostles? Any of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus to spread the gospel, or the first successful missionary to a region.

Those 12 were the start of the church.

Great Commission

Matthew 28:16–20 NKJV

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Mark 16:15–18 NKJV

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Acts 1:4–8 NKJV

4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This is God giving direction to His people who are about to be established as the church.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If we want to BE Apostolic and we want to BE the Church as God intended, then we need to go back to the start of the Church, which is in the Book of Acts. The Church DID NOT come before that.

To answer the questions...

What is the Church supposed to do?

What is normal for Church?

How did the Church operate?

How did people receive salvation in the Church?

…we have to look to the Book of Acts.

We don’t look for those things in mainstream Christianity.

We SURE don’t look for those things in Hollywood.

We don’t look for these VERY IMPORTANT answers in some person who has a television ministry but doesn’t have enough Holy Ghost anointing to blow fuzz off a peach!

“When it comes to truth, ‘Somebody said it,’ is not good enough. Only ‘God said it,’ is good enough.”

- Unknown

Remember - we want to be grounded in scripture. And that means finding Apostolic Identity where the Apostles are found in the Word. Our foundation is the Word.

Had a Mind to Fully Follow God’s Instruction

This is the mindset that the Apostles had. “I’m going to do this just as God intended me to.”

This was a successful way of doing things that is evidenced throughout our Bible. (Noah with the Ark, Moses with the Tabernacle, Abraham with Isaac)

It doesn’t always make sense in our minds, especially with a world that has tried to teach us what to think. But OBEDIENCE to God will absolutely NEVER steer you wrong. For example: Speaking in tongues is quite odd and scary to many, but once it happens, it is no longer odd and scary, it’s now POWER and ANOINTING!

History of Pentecostalism

The Day of Pentecost

The Falling Away

The Great Awakening

Today

Apostolic Distinctives

The Oneness of God

God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are ONE. There is not three or a committee, there is only ONE.

Deuteronomy 6:4 NKJV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!

Book of Acts Salvation

There is no truth to a “sinner’s prayer” salvation.

What we find in scripture is that people would REPENT of their sins, they would be BAPTIZED, and that inevitably, the HOLY GHOST would come on to them, and it would show through speaking in another tongue.

These three things (repent, baptism, Holy Ghost) are the death, burial, and resurrection at work in our lives.

Holiness + Separation

Attaining salvation is not the end of the road in our transformation process. We are to continue to take on the characteristics of God as the Word and the Spirit changes us.

We are also to be separate (or set apart) from the world, because God requires it and He has always had a chosen people who were set apart.

Gifts of the Spirit

God chooses to operate and perform things through people by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Dreams, visions, prophecies, miracles, signs, and wonders are not just things of the Bible. THEY ARE THINGS OF THE CHURCH!

Expressive Worship

Worship is not something that should constantly be restrained or gotten ahold of. There is a freedom to worship in God that is available to us all.

Others

If you have some other things that, in your mind, are distinctly Apostolic, you may add them, as well.

Conclusion

What this Means for Us

Within us, there ought to be something that cries out: “I want to be EXACTLY what God intended me to be as the Church.”

And even if that means changing ourselves - it has to be done!