A Weekly World Wide Word of Encouragement to those in the Ministry
PRAISE GOD IT’S MONDAY!
A WEEKLY ‘WWW (world-wide word) OF ENCOURAGEMENT’
TO THOSE IN MINISTRY
A FREE service, currently connecting with Christian leaders from 3,000 denominations and ministries, in 70 countries.
Issue No: 841 Published: 04 Dec 2017
WHOSE CHURCH IS IT ANYWAY? Part 22
EDWARD IRVING AND THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH
EDWARD IRVING (1792-1834) A Scottish native, he received an MA, aged 16, and was ordained in the Church of Scotland in 1822. A powerful preacher, moving to London, he took the pastorate of the Caledonian Chapel where he attracted large and influential crowds.
GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
In 1827, Irving preached a sermon series on baptism, referring to Acts 2:38 - repent and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was to be for today too! He developed this alongside the doctrine of Incarnation (Christ had taken on human sinfulness but triumphed over it through Holy Spirit power), a doctrine at odds with the church teaching of the time. Commenting on ongoing spiritual gifts he said.....
If they ask for an explanation of the fact that these powers have ceased in the Church, I answer, that they have decayed just as faith and holiness have decayed; but that they have ceased is not a matter so clear. Till the time of the Reformation, this opinion was never mooted in the Church; and to this day the Roman Catholics, and every other portion of the Church but ourselves, maintain the very contrary.
A CHARISMATIC OUTBREAK IN SCOTLAND
At the same time, a charismatic outbreak was occurring in the Gareloch and Port Glasgow regions of western Scotland. In the town of Fernicarry, a young lady, Mary Campbell, lay dying of TB. On March 28, 1830, while praying with her sister and a friend, the Holy Spirit came on her with power, as later quoted by Edward Irving .....
... and constrained her to speak at great length, and with superhuman strength, in an unknown tongue, to the great astonishment of all who heard, and to her own great edification and enjoyment in God.
Concurrently, in the Port Glasgow area, prayer meetings were being held, praying for a restoration of spiritual gifts. In April 1830, James McDonald had a spiritual experience he identified as Holy Spirit baptism. A few moments later, he went to his sister Margaret's room, who was near death, and commanded her to rise from her bed. She did so, miraculously healed!
James then felt led to write a letter to Mary Campbell, with whom he and his family were acquainted. Telling her of Margaret's healing he commanded her to arise as well. Mary did so and later wrote...
...a power which no words can describe; it was felt to be indeed the voice of Christ... I was verily made in a moment to stand upon my feet, leap and walk, sing and rejoice.
A few evenings later, on 18 April, 1830, both James and his brother spoke in tongues for the first time. The next night they again spoke, and interpreted also. The first (and very appropriate) interpretation was.....
"Behold! He cometh—Jesus cometh!"
Stirring the whole area, these events became known far and wide, and people came to visit the McDonald house from England and Ireland, as well as Scotland.
Quoting directly from Hyatt.....
Irving received the reports of these events with a mix of excitement and caution. "I felt it to be a matter of too great concern to yield up my faith to anything but the clearest evidence." He realized that if true, "it would revolutionize the Church and make such an upturning as the world had not seen." After discussing the events with eyewitnesses, including members of his own church, and interviewing the Spirit-baptized ones themselves, Irving concluded that this, indeed, was a genuine work of the Holy Spirit.
EVENTS IN LONDON
Quoting from Strachan, 'The Pentecostal Theology of Edward Irving'.....
Irving began to testify publicly of the events to his congregation, and he encouraged prayer meetings for the purpose of seeking spiritual gifts. As a result, almost a year later on April 31, 1831, Mrs. Cardale, the wife of a prominent London lawyer and a member of Irving's church, spoke in tongues at a home prayer meeting. Six months later, on October 30, Miss Hall spoke in tongues in the vestry of Regent Square Church. The following Sunday, several believers brought forth utterances in tongues and prophecy during the morning worship service. Needless to say, this caused no small stir.
While the majority of the congregation support Irving in his quest for spiritual gifts, inevitably several key leaders opposed him. After 3 months of spiritual manifestations, the trustees of the Regent Square Church appealed to the presbytery of the Church of Scotland to intervene. Following a trial in which he was found guilty of allowing individuals without official appointment or ordination to led public worship, Irving was locked out of his church on May 4 1832. On March 13, 1833, he was also convicted of holding heretical views of concerning the person and humanity of Christ, and excommunicated from the ministry of the Church of Scotland.
A majority of the Regent Square members joined him in forming a new congregation on Newman Street, called the Catholic Apostolic Church. In seeking to restore the gifts, ministries and power of the early church, 12'apostles' were appointed, along with Irving as 'angel' or 'pastor'. Other likeminded churches linked themselves with the movement.
THE STANDING SIGN
Irving then formulated ideas on Spirit baptism as being an endowment of power subsequent to regeneration. Speaking of Spirit baptism, quoting David Dorries, "Edward Irving and the Standing Sign," .....
He also speaks of Spirit baptism "whose standing sign, if we err not, is the speaking with tongues."
Irving himself said.....
Therefore it is nothing to be doubted that tongues are a great instrument for personal edification, however mysterious it may seem to us; and they are on that account greatly to be desired. and "that they may prophesy and edify the Church when they themselves have been edified."
Classic Pentecostal doctrine 70 years before the Pentecostal movement began!
Irving's involvement with the CAC was short lived as, failing in health, he travelled on a horse, back to Glasgow in September 1834. Forming a new congregation, his health rapidly deteriorated and he died of consumption (TB) on December 7 1834, aged 42.
Larry Christenson, a Lutheran charismatic, writes.....
He was a man ahead of his time, pointing to things yet future for the great body of the Church. He was a forerunner not only of the Catholic Apostolic Church in a direct sense, but of the entire pentecostal phenomenon of the twentieth century. The things he said and did, his emphases and concerns, largely rejected in his own day, have become common place in the Pentecostal movement of our time.
CONCLUSION
Much like the first church, the Catholic Apostolic Church appointed no successors and after the last apostle died in 1901, the church, in a practical sense, ended. Interestingly, in the very same year that a group of Bible school students in Topeka, Kansas, experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. The modern Pentecostal/Charismatic movement began. But, in reality, it had already been experienced by Edward Irving, 70 years earlier!
(Continued next week)
Find out more about us here.....
FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Jesus Asks Whose Son The Christ is (Matthew 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-7, Luke 20:41-4)
Of the Pharisees.
“What do you think about the Messiah?” he asked. “Whose son is he?”
The ‘Son of David’ is their reply.
“But how can David under inspiration call him ‘Lord’?” “He says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit down at my right hand until I defeat all your enemies.’ If David called him Lord, how can he be his son?”
Warnings About the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:1-39, Mark 12:38-40, Luke 20:45-7)
The Seven Woes.
“The religious teachers and the Pharisees are responsible as interpreters of the law of Moses, so obey them and do everything they tell you. But don’t follow what they do, because they don’t practice what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens, and place them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves don’t lift a finger to help them. Everything they do is to make sure they get noticed. They make themselves large prayer boxes to wear and long tassels on their clothes. They love to have the places of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect in the market places, and for people to call them ‘Rabbi.
“Don’t let people call you ‘Rabbi.’ Only one is your Master Teacher, and you are all brothers. Don’t call anyone by the title ‘Father’ here on earth. Only one is your Father, who is in heaven. Don’t let people call you ‘Teacher.’ Only one is your Teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. Anyone who makes themselves great will be humbled, and anyone who humbles themselves will be made great.
“But what a disaster is coming on you, religious teachers and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You slam shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves don’t go in, yet you don’t let anyone in who is trying to enter. What a disaster is coming on you, religious teachers and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when you do, you make him twice a son of darkness as you are yourselves. What a disaster is coming on those of you who say, ‘If you swear by the Temple that doesn’t count, but if you swear by the gold of the Temple, then you have to keep your oath.’ How foolish and blind you are! What is greater—the gold, or the Temple that makes the gold holy? You say, ‘If you swear on the altar that doesn’t count, but if you swear on the sacrifice that’s on the altar, then you have to keep your oath.’ How blind you are! What is greater—the sacrifice, or the altar that makes the sacrifice holy? If you swear by the altar, you swear by it and by everything that’s on it. If you swear by the Temple you swear by it and by the One who lives there. If you swear by heaven you swear by the throne of God and the One who sits there.
“What a disaster is coming on you, religious teachers and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay a tithe of mint, aniseed, and cumin, but you neglect the vital aspects of the law—doing right, showing mercy, exercising trust. Yes, you should pay your tithe, but don’t forget these other things. You blind guides—you strain what you drink to keep out a fly but then you swallow a camel!
“What a disaster is coming on you, religious teachers and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you’re full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, so that the outside will also be clean.
“What a disaster is coming on you, religious teachers and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, looking good on the outside, but on the inside full of skeletons and all kinds of rottenness. You’re just the same. On the outside you look like good people to others, but on the inside you’re full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
“What a disaster is coming on you, religious teachers and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs as memorials to the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the good, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the times of our ancestors we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ But by saying this you testify against yourselves, proving that you belong to those who murdered the prophets! So get on with it—finish it all off using your forefathers’ methods! You snakes, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of condemnation?
“That’s why I’m sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers. Some of them you will kill, some of them you will crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, hunting them from town to town. As a result, you will be held accountable for the blood of all the good people that has been poured out on the land— from the blood of Abel, who did what was right, to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the Temple and the altar.
“I’m telling you, the consequences of all this will fall on this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! So often I wanted to gather your children as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings—but you wouldn’t let me. 38Now look—your house is left abandoned, totally empty. I tell you this: you won’t see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
(Continued next week)
You can download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
A 'TRUSS'-TY DAY
PS: Say hi to my finger!
WHAT IS HEALTH AND SAFETY?
Putting up the trusses illustrates the vast differences in Health and Safety regulations here. In this area, at least, there are none! Many of the workers barefoot, 1 hard hat on the whole site, and no scaffolding or safety harnesses!
If you look carefully at the top of the truss, you will see the reason for the slow day. RHS has been reduced. The engineer/contractor decided the pitch of the roof was too steep, so he reduced it by about 1 foot. The guys here are altering the one already raised! A hazardous operation!
INVADERS!
An invader in the fields! Well, two actually! Mother and child moles who have a voracious appetite for anything growing under the ground where they live. Quickly disposed of!
MET SOME KIWIS!
Our stay here has been devoid personal of 'Kiwi' contact.
So it was great to go to a conference in Turbo (Home of the first turbo car in Kenya) and meet Richard Brunton (Photo) and Geof Wicklund, both part of the ministry team there. It is amazing how speaking to someone from your own culture is so easy, for we all, in spite of our differences, share so much in common.
Unfortunately I had little charge in my phone, so no photos, but Mr Google will come to the rescue again!
A couple of fun days and good experiences.
A ROOF ON THE WAY!
An exciting day! Returning from Turbo where we met again in a conference, our New Zealand and Australian friends, to find we had a roof! At least the outline of one! Now we are well on the way! And inside looks bigger too!
***NOW***NINE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!!!
9 BOOKS are now available on Amazon (Kindle)!
All are available worldwide for electronic download on Amazon (Kindle) for $US0.99c . Unfortunately there has to be a charge in order to list.
Your support would be appreciated and they could well change your life!
They are all found at this link.....
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=david+tait+books/
***DAILY EZINE!*** 'DAVID'S DAILY DOODLINGS' Subscribe Today
Receive one of David's sayings in your mailbox each day to inspire, challenge or maybe, amuse. To register today, go down to the bottom of the page link below, click on the subscribe link dd-on@wwj.org.nz (or paste the address in an email yourself and send) Then it's done! If you have an Irish heritage, you will love the background coloring!
Subscription and back issue link is.....
'THE WORDS OF JESUS' REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR PDF DOWNLOAD
Join the many who have downloaded the 'The Words of Jesus'. I am sure you will be blessed by it, as I have been.
One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.
You may be surprised by the different perspective this presentation gives you both in understanding of His life and ministry, and in achieving a closer relationship with Him.
Download the free PDF here.....
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
26. The stairway to great faith is climbed one step at a time. A single leap courts disaster.
27. Our most dearly held beliefs often inhibit God's further revelation to us.
28. The foundation of our spiritual house is to be built upon the solid rock of Jesus, the walls constructed using the insights of the fathers of the faith, while the 'roof of truth' is God's revelation to us today.
29. As we grow in God, what we are to do assumes greater importance, than what we are not to do.
30. A new believer focuses upon the 'thou shalt not's', while a mature disciple develops the 'thou shalt's.' in their life.
31. God's word is a two-edged sword, revealing both love and judgement.
32. To believe in God is good, to hear from God is great, but to obey God reaps the ultimate reward.
33. A man's wisdom is based upon experience, but God's wisdom comes through revelation.
34. It's easy to be wise in theory, but a lot more difficult in practise!
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com
Check it out at...
TUESDAY TEACHINGS
NEXT WEEK: A REVELATION OF....... 3 KINGDOM AGES
For those who have read other of my writings will know that God works in threes. As He manifests Himself in three ways, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, (exactly how depends on whether you are a Oneness, Two-ness or Trinitarian believer!) so He normally operates in patterns of three in His dealings with us, His people. Therefore I have always had a difficulty accepting the two Testaments as reflecting God's pattern as such.
One day however, the Lord showed me that the Old Testament is not really a single entity, but can be split into two at an unexpected but logical place, as we will see shortly.
Today, as I was reading the Word, He started to show me many patterns reflecting the development of His kingdom through these three stages of His Word. It is helping me understand the whole in a way that I have not appreciated previously.
So let's embark on a journey together and see what we can find out about what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do in the future. Each step forms a logical progression in His plan that has been in existence from before time began.
*** ANOTHER DAILY EZINE FROM WWJ!*** 'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES' Subscribe Today
As Christians, if we can't laugh at ourselves, others will! A fun way to start your day. To register today, go down to the bottom of the page link below, click on the subscribe link lao--on@wwj.org.nz (or paste the address in an email yourself and send) Then it's done!
LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
*** Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others. ***
QWIK QWIP: “Now is the most interesting time of all.”
81. Mistaken Identity
"Recently we got a call from that big white church at 11th and Walnut," the paramedic said. "A frantic usher was very concerned that during the sermon an elderly man passed out in a pew and appeared to be dead. The usher could find no pulse and there was no noticeable breathing."
"What was so unusual and demanding about this particular call?" the interviewer asked.
"Well," the paramedic said, "we carried out four guys before we found the one who was dead."
82. Hey Fellas!
Three preachers sat discussing the best positions for prayer while a telephone repairman worked nearby.
"Kneeling is definitely best," claimed one.
"No," another contended. "I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven."
"You're both wrong," the third insisted. "The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate, face down on the floor."
The repairman could contain himself no longer. "Hey, fellas, " he interrupted, "the best prayin' I ever did was hangin' upside down from a telephone pole."
83. Collection Plate
A little child in church for the first time watched as the ushers passed the offering plates. When they neared the pew where he sat, the youngster piped-up so that everyone could hear "Don't pay for me Daddy, I'm under five."
A DAVID MUSING
MONEY, MONEY - LACK OF MONEY!
Along with time keeping, requiring patience, the other major challenge of living here is the emphasis on money, or rather, the lack of it.
Of course, being white, we are assumed to have plenty of it, which will freely be given away! This has grown through years of observing the white man coming and bringing riches with him.
With us, that certainly is not the case, for we live a no assets lifestyle. So it gets a little tiresome explaining that we have no house, no land etc, when many round here have both.
Their problem though, is that the farms are so small, being split amongst the children, generation after generation, that they are completely subsistence, perhaps providing meagre food for the family but with virtually nothing left over for education, medical expenses etc
So the people here aren't starving, except in a drought, but they are chronically poor.
Looking to the West, to us as the only representatives of it in a large area, can be tiresome. We have simply had to learn to say no, or we would never get a hospital built.
In saying that, the people are still happier with nothing, than we are in the West, with all our possessions.
The love of money, as Jesus said, is a harsh taskmaster, wherever we live, in poverty or relative abundance.
Until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Visit us here.....
REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT
Most weeks we get enquiries about reproducing, in electronic or print form, articles contained in 'PGIM!' We welcome and encourage you to utilize this material. Freely received, freely given. We would ask though, that the source be acknowledged as an encouragement to others to subscribe to this newsletter also.CHANGING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS? NEWSLETTER STOPS COMING?
Each week we can lose up to 2% of our readers when they change email addresses without letting us know. Or sometimes, by your server acting strangely and just cutting us off! If you are about to change your address, please advise us of both your old and new addresses here atenquiries@wwj.org.nz and we will happily change our records to ensure ongoing delivery. Thanks.
Please also keep our address in your address book, as sometimes servers will automatically delete your address if there is even a one off problem in delivery. If your newsletter doesn't arrive, please let us know and we will reinstate you.
LINKS
If you would like to link your web site to ours, and ours to yours, please advise us onlinks@wwj.org.nz
ABOUT US
WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Hastings, New Zealand. A ministry dedicated to developing discipleship, fostering unity amongst God's people to achieve the Great Commission, and in doing so, preparing for Christ's return. It is securely based upon the foundational principles of the Apostles Creed while recognising the wide and rich diversity of beliefs amongst Christians in other areas. In accordance with the Lord's direction, materials produced by the ministry are available, free of charge, to genuine enquirers upon request. The ministry is solely funded by donations, as the Lord provides. A list of materials available (plus some fun!) is obtainable and freely downloadable from our websitewwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.
Walking With Jesus Ministries
7 Bull Street
Ahuriri
Napier
New Zealand
Phone: (06) 835 0567 International (+64) 6 835 0567
Email: enquiries@wwj.org.nz
Web: wwj.org.nz
Our role is to bless and encourage those in ministry while promoting co-operation and unity of direction amongst the body of Christ, as emphasised 3 times by Jesus in His longest prayer, immediately prior to His arrest and crucifixion. "... so that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:12, 21, 23-4) Our website is currently being developed to encourage your participation one with another, to share resources, and to enable you to promote events and items of interest to the body as a whole - and have a smile while doing it!
For comments upon and contributions to this service, please contact
david@wwj.org.nz