Kris Vallotton -- Claims God Takes Scripture Verses Out of Context - Reverend Anthony Wade

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Our take-no-prisoners "pastor" expends 2449 of his own words (not including his quotes of Vallotton or any Bible verses) blasting Vallotton. 

As is typical for the author, he will never quote the Bible. He will never document any of his claims. He simply spews verbiage.

Regarding his primary claim, found in the title of his screed, it is false. Vallotton says, and the author quotes him, "Sometimes, it may even seem as if God is taking a Scripture verse out of context." 

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But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." -- Exodus 33:20 (ESV)

https://krisvallotton.com/8-biblical-ways-to-hear-gods-voice

(...) Deleted long, irrelevant rant.

"God is always speaking! Did you know that Jesus died on the Cross not just to forgive your sins, but ultimately to bring you into a relationship with Himself? Communication is probably the single greatest vehicle of any relationship. Although some people have a problem believing that God wants to talk to everybody, most believers understand that true prayer is not just petitioning Heaven with a list of requests, but it is communicating with our Father in Heaven as a true friend. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice"" (John 10:27). Prophecy, in its simplest form, is merely hearing from the Holy Spirit and repeating what He said. Paul put it this way, "For you can all prophesy one by one"" (1 Corinthians 14:31). "-- Kris Vallotton

Vallotton starts with the traditional sloppy agape teaching of relationship over religion. The truth is that nowhere does the bible state that Jesus died so we can be in relationship with Him. (Well, how about

Ro. 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

"Reconciled" is καταλλαγῆναι τῷ Θεῷ, to be restored to the favor of God, to recover God's favor, Romans 5:10

Ro. 8:15-17 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

How can we be sons without relationship? How can we call Him "father" without relationship? 

Ac. 17:27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

1Pe. 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 

"Bring" is προσάγω, to lead towards, i.e. (transitively) to conduct near (summon, present), or (intransitively) to approach -- bring, draw near.

Jn 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

Rev 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

As we have repeatedly observed, the author never backs up his assertions. All too frequently, he is wrong.)

The Spiritual Gifts - sermon text

4513

Scripture Reading

1Co. 12:4-30

Ro. 12:4-9
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Introduction

This morning I’d like to discuss something we Christians frequently talk about, but maybe don’t really study or understand too well: The spiritual gifts. The reason I’m bringing this to you is because I think it is becoming more and more crucial for us. Father is about to take us to encounters and situations we haven’t been to before, and we are going to need a greater filling of His Holy Spirit and His power working in us.

Our doctrinal statement says, "We believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit with His gifts available in the church today." This is what our church believes. So, we need to understand, embrace, and properly express the spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts are some of the primary tools Father equips us with to carry out personal and corporate ministry.

This speaks to where Father wants to take this church. So I’m here to prepare the way for what I think the next thing Holy Spirit intends to release in us.

Perhaps when I mention the spiritual gifts, it might bring to your mind the biggies, like tongues, prophecy, or healing. While these are certainly important, there are many other gifts listed in the NT, and they all are by definition supernatural. It’s easy enough to overlook or minimize certain spiritual gifts while exalting others. But according to the Bible, every part of the Body is important, and every gift we have is crucial.

Also when we think of the spiritual gifts, for some of us it might seem mystical. After all, How does one verify or quantify a supernatural thing? How do I know? The chance of fraud and abuse seems like a risk, and this might dissuade us from considering the biblical case and how it all might apply to our lives.

That’s a justifiable concern. But if you can accept the premise that we are no longer natural people because of our salvation and the infilling by Holy Spirit, then to me it doesn’t seem like such a long step to accept the truth of the supernatural nature of the spiritual gifts.

Communion - what is it really?

Our next Doctrinal Rethink is communion.

Communion is a well-established sacrament of the Church, practiced in way that is very similar in most every denomination. Typically it is expressed as a ritual, with carefully-designed procedures.

We have long wondered at how the traditional communion service came about, because the biblical descriptions seem to be at odds with these practices. We suspect that the early development of the Romanist church with its propensity for structure and rituals contributed to how communion began to change from the biblical model.

Some have suggested that the excesses chronicled in First Corinthians caused a backlash, which caused the early church to overcompensate by limiting and ritualizing the practice. In any case, the biblical practice gave way to the ceremonial sacrament as practiced today.

Lisa Bevere Twists the Scriptures on Fasting, Says You Can Fast from Anything Other Than Food to “Indulge in God” - by Jeff Maples

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The acerbic author has appeared in these pages before, and continues his myopia.

The title claims Ms. Bevere twists Scripture, but the author will never tell us which Scripture is being twisted, or explain the correct interpretation. In fact, he will never quote or even allude to a single Scripture.

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No, God Did Not Speak to You Through, Dreams, Visions, Voices in Your Head, or Divine Impressions - by Ed Dingess

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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This is a long and frustrating article. The author makes numerous undocumented claims, including the title of his article. He never demonstrates any part of his thesis from Scripture. In fact, he barely quotes any Scripture at all.
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Making claims about God, but not sourcing those claims - FB conversation

Barb, a FB friend, made a post. One of her friends, Dezri, goes off on a tangent. I tried to get a simple question answered:

What’s being missed with the ‘waking’ of Olive at Bethel Church, Redding - by Holly Pivec

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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Piling on the tragedy of a little girl's death even more, the Doctrinal Police commit doctrinal errors of their own.

We are not intending to defend Bethel church, we are interested in the author's presentation. And that presentation, ostensibly to correct Bethel's error, neither quotes not cites any Scripture. 

In fact, the author makes no biblical presentation at all. She explains no doctrine, affirms no stance, and advocates for nothing. She simply disagrees with Bethel, and apparently that is sufficient.
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