"The Elephant In The Room."
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I. Introduction.
I. Introduction.
This evening, I feel as though I need to adress the Elephant in the room...
(Make Joke with Chloe’s stuffed elephant Elephant.)
The elephant in the room is “Peanut.” She is very snuggly on the colder nights, but I refer to another.
And that is the fact that most people who consider themselves Christians do not believe everything that we in the Apostolic faith believe.
Did you realize that? It’s true!
Let me explain:
II. Quick Recap Church History, 30K FT
II. Quick Recap Church History, 30K FT
And we can start by quick recap of church history, from 30K Ft!
The early church had exponential revival!
Pentecost was an Explosion of Grace!!!!
Places like Ephasus and Corinth and others, where a large percentage of the population were born again!
But I want you to notice how many of these people were Gentiles. Large numbers!
Not Jews!
That of course means that they were not raised with the absolute belief in One God!
They were polytheistic!
Their cultures embraced many different Gods!
Assyrian gods, the Greek Pantheon, the Roman pantheon. Such were the religous precedents of the day.
Gods for each occupation, for soldiers, for workers, gods for elements like weather, for sun, for sea, gods of vengeance or debauchery, Many, many gods!
For the first hundred years, things went fairly strong.
But since these Gentiles did not have the foundation of law to build upon, they often got their doctrine mixed up very badly!
Especially as regards the divinity of Christ Jesus.
So much so that by 300 years AD, the church was barely recognizeable!
The gap then between the church and the world began to get smaller and smaller.
Never a good sign folks!
Remember how they Romans would feed the Christians to the lions in the circus?
One Roman Emperor, Constantine, finally decided to stop wasting so much human capitol and proposed a compromise:
“Make me the head of the church as well as government, adjust your teachings to include some of our older pagan doctrines and we can all get along fine!
Let’s compromise!
This was then the birth of the Roman Catholic Faith.
Let me pause for a second and say we are not talking about people.
Not talking about people today.
Some of the finest, most faithful people you’ll ever meet are Roman Catholic! BTW, they also happen to part of our families in many cases, so be kind!!!
And if you’ll love them and pray for them and be wise, Catholic folks make the best Pentecostals!
We have em all over Abounding Grace and all over the UPCI and all over the world and they are doing great exploits for God!
But in terms of the Roman Catholic Church as a legal, historical body, it began as an umbrella organization, including both pagan and Christian ideas in an amalgam mix that could be controlled by the papacy, Constantine being the first “Christian” Pontifex Maximus.
This is where teachings like confession and transubstantiation and Trinity were developed!
Okay! So:No more lions!” We have a compromise.
Makes me think about some old country music, folk making deals with the devil!
Since the 1500’s, Western Christianity is commonly divided into two categories: Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
October the 31st of October, 1517:
A certain German priest, Martin Luther was paying better attention than most!
He looked around and saw some pretty gnarly stuff going on!
Speaking of the historical Roman Catholic Church.
I.e. the sale of indulgences. Purgatory, etc. “When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”
He protested against some of these man made traditions being taught as BIble truth, and the historians tell us that he took his 95 thesis and nailed them to the door of the Cathedral there in Wittenburg and it was the shot fired, heard around the world.
He realized that a lot of stuff just was man made!
Much of it was old pagan traditions dressed up to fit within the Catholic stream and it just was not in the Bible!
Other leaders of the Reformation came about and they threw out a lot of basura.
But not all.
In fact, the the least accurate doctrine and most egregious of all, was missed in the clean up!
And that doctrine had to do with the existance of God. His very identity!
We call it the Trinitarian doctrine.
So again, you had Catholicism, and Protestants.
People say that Catholicism came first. Well yes and now.
Many of the mainline denominational churches were born out of that Protestant stream, Lutherans, Episcopal, Presbyterians, United Methodist, ETC.
Some of those groups were peopled by hungry, Godly folks and perhaps still are in places.
The early Methodists for example, were holiness people!
However, many of those groups slid very far from Biblical absolutes until we arrive at today’s train wreck of political wrangling, where entire denominations are splitting and reforming because large groups simply choose to deny clear Bible truth.
For example, LGBT is okay now, and many hold that somehow God has changed his mind about sin!
Some of that we will discuss later, but this idea that Catholicism came first, is only partially true.
Here’s how: Catholicism came before Protestantism yes, and you might say that we are Protestents, in the sense that we too protest the injustices of the historical Roman Catholic Church.
However, we The Apostolic church, defined as the church that teaches and lives what the Apostles taught and lived, we came first!!!
The Catholic church actually came out of us!!!
We did not come from them, they came from us!
Which means that the most beautiful Cathedrals and the Vatican itself, has less Jesus heritage than this hot little office building next to the freeway in Rohnert Park!
It matters not how high the ceiling!
How beautiful the stained glass!
What matters is the Truth!
Are we teaching and Preaching the Word of God?
Geneaologies? Philosophies? Doctrines of men?
Those do not bring salvation to mankind!!!
Only the Word of God!
“Tu Palabra es Verdad!” Thy Word is truth!”
One last thing and we jump into Truth!
What we now cal the Roman Catholic Church, devised, or created or invented, a teaching that actually contradicts the entire record of Scripture!
This teaching says that God exists in three seperate personalities at the place, at the same time.
They freely admit that Trinity is a fabrication of the church, but how thy pull it off is by saying anything the church greenstamps is as good as Holy Writ!!!
Wrong! Remember that part: “IF any add to the Scripture, if any take away...”
So this teaching is not found in Scripture. Not the concept, not the verbaige! Both are constructs!
Trinity is not in this book one time!
Nowhere!
So they had to put it in church writing which they did, ultimately in the Nicean Creed.
And if you ask any TRinitarian church (that’s most Christian churches BTW) why they baptize in the titles or why they believe this teaching, they cannot refer to Scripture!!!!!
The can only refer you to the Nicean Creed!
Great job throwing out the garbage Protestants! Only you missed a few things!
It does not make sense!
You know what does make sense?
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Makes good sense to me!
You know what else makes sense?
That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.
For thou art great, and doest wondrous things:
Thou art God alone.
I am the Lord: that is my name:
And my glory will I not give to another,
Neither my praise to graven images.
I am the Lord, and there is none else,
There is no God beside me:
I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
And the government shall be upon his shoulder:
And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
We call it the revelation of the Mighty God in Christ!
We don’t have to prove that God is not three, the Bible has said that since day one!
Do you know how blessed you are folks? You don’t have a number friend, you have a Name!!!!!
You took it in Baptism!!!
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
How about the entire boook of Collossians?
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
(Firstfuit, last fruits!)
There’s more folks!!!
The entire BIble is merely a summary of the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
This is the revelation that is going to sweep the world before Jesus comes for His Bride!
And can I tell you that once you get this, once you know that God is Jesus and there is not other, that The Father is Jesus before He was manifest in flesh, that the Holy GHost is God in his role of activity toward man and that there will only ever be one throne and that throne holds Jesus, Everything esle makes perfect sense!
Baptize in Jesus name? Sign me up!
And they will come by the miilllions!!!
All over this world!
Baptize in Jesus name? Of course! That is the Personal name of God!
“He died for me, He will ressurect me, Yes please, I’ll take His name!!!!
Hear me, I will cut this hand off before I baptize anyone in the titles!
Not happening!
The active ingredient is the name!
The authority is in the Name!
We are oneness Apostolics!!!
And NO, we did not come from the church or Rome, they came from us!
Don’t make that mistake!
Don’t get confused and never compromise!
The Onesss of God aughta run in your veins!!!
It’s the only thing that saves us from a burning hell!
I’ll tell you what settles it:
John the revelator transported to the heavens! He sees it! and this is what He says!
And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
III. Conclusion
III. Conclusion
Now don’t take my word for it!
I have a whole list of Scriptures for you to take home and read!
Prove me wrong, or prove me wright!
But search the Scriptures and see for yourself!