The Danger of Sacrificing Apostolic Revival at the Altar of Relevance

There is a lot of talk these days about the Church's NEED to be "relevant to the culture." The problem with that is that many are sacrificing Apostolic Revival at the Altar of Relevance!

Since things really haven't changed much since the beginning (humanity is still the same and Truth is still the same), why does so many think that the Church has to change? When you read the Book of Acts, we see over and over again where the Church was threatened and persecuted because they would NOT CHANGE! They weren't concerned with being "relevant" they're only concern was having REVIVAL! After all the early church went through to defend, contend, preach and teach, we've got "some" who feel like we need to change and be more "relevant!" Are you kiddin me?

I've got news for some who claim they're having an "identity crisis, "God's Church knows exactly WHO and WHAT she IS, and the Church is still the same Church that was born in the Book of Acts! We STILL believe there's ONLY ONE GOD and His name is Jesus! We still believe in the necessity of being Born Again (of water and of Spirit)! We still preach the Biblical plan of Salvation: ACTS 2:38! Contrary to some, the Apostolic Church actually STILL believes in HOLINESS and SEPARATION from the world and the things of the world! I can't answer for anybody but me and the local church I pastor, but we are NOT suffering from an "identity crisis!" We know WHO we are, WHAT we are, and WHY we are!

Another word that's being passed around as necessary to being "relevant to the culture" is "progressive." It's almost presented as a given that if you're not "progressive," it's impossible to build a church in the 21st Century. Of course, like so many other things out there, it probably depends on your definition of "progressive." So let me just say it like this, if you're being "progressive" just for the sake of saying you're "progressive," without "preserving" your core values such as Apostolic Doctrine and Holiness will eventually give way to carnality, complacency and compromise!

I just recently read a book by Kevin Deyoung and Ted Kluck titled, "Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be)." This book really helped me in understanding what's going on with this "emergent, conversational, epic, relevant" movement, especially since it's crept its way into some Apostolic circles.

Obviously, I can't answer for anyone but me, so let me tell you "my" story. I was raised in the Church of God (a trinitarian pentecostal organization) for 18 years, and in the early 90's things changed. Up until the 90's the Church of God was known as a Holiness Organization with certain Standards of dress, etc. But things started changing and it started with people compromising Holiness, but it wasn't long until Doctrine was compromised. It was sad for me even then and even more so now, to have witnessed people disregarding what had been passed down from generation to generation. But history has shown us time and time again that Holiness is the first thing that is compromised, but never the last. Sooner or later the Doctrine will be watered down and compromised as well.

This is NOT a story that I read out of a book or current magazine, I saw this happen with my own eyes, and that's why I'm so passionate about what I believe and why I believe it! I've seen "some" of my friends lean in this direction, evidently expecting different results, but it's impossible! Like Paul was in (Acts 17), my "spirit is stirred" because I'm seeing people that I love sacrifice Apostolic Revival at the "Altar of Relevance!"

What I learned from "my" story and have seen so clearly lately is that we can NOT separate Doctrine and Holiness. The Assemblies of God tried it and fell! The Church of God tried it and fell! We are NO different! If we think we can be Apostolic in Doctrine, while compromising Holiness, the ONLY people we're fooling is ourselves. If we're NOT careful, we're going to end up just like others before us...carnal, complacent, unidentifiable, powerless, eventually irrelevant and ultimately lost!

The Bible is the foundation of TRUTH for the CHURCH, not a book written by Rob Bell, Donald Miller or Erwin McManus. The men who were anointed to write the Bible were just ordinary men who grew, changed, and learned, yet they never hesitated to write about what they knew and were convinced of. God spoke to patriarchs, prophets, and priests, and when the words God spoke were written down, the people treated those words as the sacred oracles of God. The written revelation at first was simply called the Law, then it was known as the Law and the Prophets; them the Gospels were added, and then the Epistles, until we finally have what we call the Bible (the foundation of TRUTH for the Church). At each of these stages what was written was considered by God's people to be authoritative and demanding of our obedience, because the words written down came from the very mouth of God. But now I've lived long enough to see the day where "preachers" will admit that they'll "preach" and not even use the Bible! That bothers me.

Loving people and ministering to people should always be a priority, but I don't think we need to, let alone have to change church to fit the culture. The world doesn't NEED the Church to be "relevant," they need the Church to have REVIVAL! (John 3:16) said that because God LOVED the world, He gave His only begotten son, so that whoever would believe in Him they could have everlasting life. (Luke 19:10) said that Jesus had come to seek and SAVE that which was lost! Jesus, himself, said (out of LOVE) that we MUST be Born Again (John 3:1-8)! Offering clear DOCTRINE, not a muddy, indefinite "dialogue" IS the LOVING thing to do.

So, what is the solution to getting caught up in being "relevant" and the pressure to be "progressive" just for the sake of saying you're "progressive:" PREACH THE WORD!

The danger is real and the pressure is strong but we do NOT have to sacrifice Apostolic Revival at the Altar of Relevance!"

Can God Trust You As A Father?

(Genesis 18:18-19/ KJV) says, “Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”


There is a lot of pressure placed on fathers to fulfill their responsibilities. As a father we are responsible to provide for our families: food, shelter, clothing, education, etc. We are responsible for the protection of our families. But probably the most important responsibility that is also the most underestimated responsibility we have as fathers is to simply LEAD! God has entrusted us as Fathers to LEAD our families and in these last days, if we’ve ever needed Godly leaders, it’s TODAY!

Thankfully, the Bible gives us a few examples of the kind of Father that God desires us to be. Here are three men who were not just great leaders, they were Godly Fathers who lead their families in the right direction. These Fathers include:

1). Joshua – (Joshua 24:15/ KJV) says, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua was telling them I can’t change what the fathers did before me, and I can’t make any of you fathers make the right choices for your family today. Every Father has to decide whether he will lead his family in the “fear of the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth!” Every Father has to choose which God he’s going to point his family toward. Joshua was simply declaring what every other Godly Father had proclaimed before him, “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

It might not always be popular. It might not always be easy. But doing the RIGHT THING will always be RIGHT! The bottom line for every Father here today to realize is we ARE RESPONSIBLE for OUR FAMILY, and it’s URGENT that we ACT RESPONSIBLE!

I can’t make “the choice” for my next door neighbor. I can’t make the choice for anybody else’s HOUSE but my own. So, I’ve decided to join the Godly Fathers who’ve paved the way before me and make the declaration today, that “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”


2). Noah— (Genesis 7:1, 4-5, 7, 23/ KJV) says, “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation…4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him…7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood…23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.”


COMPROMISING would have been so much EASIER for Noah, but it would have ultimately killed his whole family! Noah did what was RIGHT and because Noah built the Ark exactly how God had commanded, he was able to SAVE his family! Don’t you know when the Door of the Ark shut and Noah looked around to see his family SAVED, he realized then that EVERY SACRIFICE, EVERY CONVICTION, EVERYTHING he’d gone through to get right there, was worth it…because though he couldn’t SAVE EVERYBODY, he SAVED HIS FAMILY!

Fathers, our children may NOT like everything we ask them to do! They might NOT understand YET, every conviction we hold on to; every line we draw, every boundary we put in place. They might NOT like some of the SACRIFICES we make, or STANDARDS we live by. They might NOT understand why we make some of the CONSECRATIONS we make unto God. But I guarantee, when the FLOOD COMES and it’s going to come, and they’re on the ARK—SAVED…EVERY SACRIFICE, EVERY CONSECRATION, EVERY SERVICE you made them get ready for, EVERY PRAYER MEETING you dragged them to, EVERY Wednesday Night BIBLE STUDY you brought them to, EVERY STANDARD you made them live by will be worth it!


3). Abraham — (Genesis 18:18-19/ KJV) says, “Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

The whole reason why God could make such a Covenant with Abraham was because He could TRUST Abraham! God knew that Abraham would LEAD his family after God! The reason WHY God would make the Covenant with Abraham that he would “become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him,” is found in (verse 19) where it says, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD...”

So, the question that’s been running through my mind for the last day or two is can God trust me like he did Abraham and Noah? If I were to have been alive in that day, could God have TRUSTED ME with that much responsibility?

Thank God for Godly Fathers who will make the tough decisions, who will earnestly contend for the Faith, who will refuse to compromise, who will hold the standard, who will defend the Truth, who will be the example to his Family in PRAYER, in WORSHIP, in GIVING, in SERVICE, in SUBMISSION, in OBEDIENCE, and in FAITHFULNESS to God!

“Can God Trust You As A Father?”

Will you be a modern day Joshua will boldly declare that “as for ME and MY HOUSE, we WILL serve the Lord?” Will you be a modern Noah who will do exactly as the Lord has commanded, and SAVE YOUR FAMILY? Will you be a modern Abraham that the Lord can make a Covenant of Blessing with, simply because he “knows” that YOU WILL LEAD YOUR FAMILY in the right direction?

“Can God Trust You As a Father?”