But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

The demonstration of the Kingdom of Heaven is in power.  With respect to those who have gone before, who have had only their level of revelation from the scriptures, remembering that we, too, only see the portion of the words of Jesus that have been entrusted to us, unless the Kingdom of God is demonstrated with power, we have not fully preached the Gospel (Romans 15:19).

And this power is founded upon a Kingdom, whose throne is righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14).  It is always in the context of exercising authority, while being under the authority of another (Matthew 8:9).  A servant that is proven unfaithful to the will of the master, who goes around saying, “In the name of my master, whom I serve”, while not serving Him, will have that power taken away, and given to another.

Read more…

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Matthew 7:15

Everyone knows that false prophets come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  Cult watch pages abound with calling this or that minister a false prophet, and often simply serve to spark fear in everything of God.  Many of these are either completely cessationist (believing that all the miraculous power of God has ceased), or at least non-Spirit-filled.  They all generally deny basic doctrines such as speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:4) for the church today, and should generally be ignored (2 Timothy 3:5).  They do not enter the Kingdom themselves, and shut the door in the faces of those who are trying (Matthew 23:13).

What is the mark of a false prophet?  They present themselves as something they are not.  Moreover, Jesus called them ravenous.  Not every reference to “wolves” in the Bible is an evil reference.  When Jacob blessed his sons, he called his son Benjamin a ravenous wolf  as well (see Genesis 49:27 and surrounding chapter).

Jesus also cautioned about the yeast of the Pharisees, which in Luke 12:1 He identified as hypocrisy.

Read more…

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:42

After the day of Pentecost, after the outpouring of the Spirit, and after the 3000 who were saved in an afternoon through Peter’s stand and preaching, this short verse describes what they considered important.

This verse has several similar to it in the New Testament, as a word study on such words as “devoted” demonstrates, but it is the first, listing four parts that were what they “devoted themselves to”.  Whether it was an exhaustive list is not the point, but simply that these four were important enough to be mentioned.

Read more…