Saturday 28 May 2011

Ryan Rufus on Asking Forgiveness for Sin

"As a New Covenant born again believer, to now go and ask forgiveness after you have sinned - is a sin. It is the sin of unbelief. You don't believe in the finished work of the Cross. You are trying to do something and don't realise it is already done!".

Ryan Rufus - "Totally Forgiven! Totally United! Totally Filled!" - Grace and Glory Conference - The Philippines - Tuesday 26th April 2011.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Ben White on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

"So what of baptism in (or with) the Holy Spirit? To me, it is a work of God distinct from the new birth by which we are empowered for service and endowed with spiritual gifts".

Ben White - "A Taste of Revival" - Kingsway Publishing, Eastbourne (1997) - p20.

David Holden on Relational Apostles

"To be "amongst the churches” and not just with the elders, makes apostolic ministry a lot more accessible and meaningful. May apostles never become distant figures at conferences or too busy to relate. We need to find creative and workable ways to ensure that apostolic input stays close, real, ongoing and non-professional".

Dave Holden - "Relational Apostolic Input" - Dave Holden's Blog - 5th February 2010.

Thursday 19 May 2011

Gordon Fee on the Radical Balance of Glossolalia

"Paul does not damn tongues with faint praise (as some have said) nor does he stand in awe of the phenomenon as apparently the Corinthians had done and some later Pentecostals/charismatics as well".

Gordon Fee - "A Theology of Glossolalia" - Regent College, Vancouver.

Monday 16 May 2011

Rob Rufus on the Cross and the Power of the Gospel

"When the Cross of Christ is not central to all we preach, the power of God stops moving in the church and through the church".

Rob Rufus - "Glory and Grace Conference - Session 2" - Glory and Grace Conference, Hong Kong - Sunday 23rd October 2010.

Terry Virgo on the Recovery of Word and Spirit

"How I long for a recovery of true biblical Christianity, where the apostle Paul, who wrote the book of Romans, also raised the dead! It seems that profound theology and great signs and wonders happily cohabited in Paul’s life and ministry".

Rob Rufus on Encounters with God and Mission

"You will not make it unless you regularly encounter God. We are so much about mission - and I believe in mission! We are on a mission. You cannot get just one in-breaking of the power of God on you and then run on mission for the rest of your life. You won't make five years - you will dry up and get disillusioned. The power of God is not enough - you have got to know the Person of God, the glory of God - Who God is. Everyone of you who is a New Covenant believer ought to hear the inward audible voice of God yourself!".

Rob Rufus - "Mobilise Main Session" - Together on a Mission 2007.

Terry Virgo on the danger of Word over Spirit

"Sadly, some Christians have developed such a love and respect for the word itself that simply to hear it faithfully expounded can become an end in itself. Delighting in “sitting under” good teaching, we can be in danger of becoming like Ezekiel’s hearers – that is, those who love to hear a love song sung well, or an instrument played well (Ezekiel 33:32). The fact is that Paul’s gospel was with word and power. He reminded the Corinthians, “my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4–5)".

Sunday 15 May 2011

Gordon Fee on the Vital Presence of the Spirit

"Whatever else the Spirit was experienced in the Pauline churches".

So why isn't He today in cessationist churches (and many so-called charismatic churches)?

Gordon Fee - "The Theology of Glossolalia" - Regents College, Vancouver.

Gordon Fee (and the apostle Paul's) answer to Cessationism!

"The evidence for example from 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 and 1 Corinthians 12-14 and Romans 12:6 and especially Galatians 3:2-5 - with it's matter of fact appeal to the continuing presence of miracles in the churches - makes it certain that Pauline churches were charismatic in the sense that a dynamic Presence of the Spirit was manifested in their gatherings".

Gordon Fee - "The Theology of Glossolalia" - Regents College, Vancouver.

Matthew Hosier on Grace-Approach to Sin

"By staying in the course of grace, we can build churches that are a witness to the world. We can be theologically conservative while culturally liberal, yet radical in our pursuit of holiness. We can be that apparently paradoxical thing - a community intolerant of sin, but so breathtakingly honest that sin is confessed and lovingly dealt with".

Matthew Hosier - "Grace based purity in the church" - Newfrontiers Magazine - January to March 2011.

Thursday 12 May 2011

Stef Liston on Fighting for the Charismatic

"We need to challenge the missional movements such as Acts 29. Our gatherings are not primarily for the unbeliever - they are for the Lord. It is not good enough - rather it is insulting - to be simply "open" to the gifts". We need, want, desire, long for the Presence of the Holy Spirit with His gifts. If you as a leader communicate one element of caution about the gifts of the Spirit, you will kill in a moment what has taken years to build. What is the church without the activity of the Holy Spirit? Simply Acts 1".

Stef Liston - "Fighting for the Charismatic in our Churches" - Training Track - Together on a Mission 2010 - Newfrontiers Brighton

Stef Liston on Being Charismatic

"The big deal about this is not that we are charismatic but that we are biblical".

Stef Liston - "Fighting for Charismatic Life in the Churches" - Together on a Mission 2010 - Newfrontiers Brighton.

Rob Rufus on Disappointment and Theology

"I want to say today that disappointment is a very dangerous and disastrous father of theology. If we develop our theology out of our disappointments, we will lower the Word of God down to the level of our current experience of the supernatural rather than allowing God to elevate our experience up to the levels in His Word".

Rob Rufus - "Main Session" - Together on a Mission 2006 - Newfrontiers Conference Brighton.