Therefore, we shouldn’t invite people to go to church with us until after we invite them to follow Jesus. The early church was where they went afterward to grow in their newfound faith. But how can we invite friends to follow Jesus today?
Some people find it easy to invite friends to follow Jesus, but many find this a struggle. They don’t know what to say or the best way to say it. They don’t want to drive their friends away, so out of fear of doing it wrong, they do nothing.
Here are three straightforward ways to invite friends to follow Jesus:
Invite Them to a Bible Study
One way to invite friends to follow Jesus is to first invite them to a Bible study. You can do that.
But this shouldn’t be any Bible study. If you invite them to join an existing study with you and five of your Christian friends, they may think you’re ganging up on them. They may be uncomfortable with the Christian language that would normally permeate the discussion.
Instead, invite them to a Bible study with just the two of you. Or structure it as a Bible study with you and a group of unchurched friends. This could make for some robust discussions about Jesus, following him, and faith. Yet it would also be more challenging to do.
Therefore, a Bible study with just you and your friend may be the ideal solution.
But what if you think you’re not ready to lead a Bible study? What if you’re afraid they’ll ask a question you don’t know the answer to?
Yes, it may happen, but don’t worry about it. Pray for Holy Spirit insight before you meet. Trust God to give you the right words at the right time. (Consider what Jesus says in Luke 12:11-12.)
If you come up blank anyway, just say, “That’s a great question. Let me look into it, and we can discuss it next week.”
It’s also okay to say, “I’ve wondered about that, too, and I don’t know the answer.” They may respect you for your honesty.
Also, know that the question they ask may not be a concern to them but merely to divert the discussion away from something that makes them uncomfortable. This is what the Samaritan woman at the well did with Jesus (John 4:19-20).
You don’t need to have a ready answer to any question that may come up. No one could. That’s why we all need to grow in our faith. It’s a process.
For your Bible study you can pick a book in the Bible to read and discuss. The gospel of John is a great start for many people. If John doesn’t click with you, try Luke.
If leading them in a Bible study is too big of a stretch for you or something they’re not interested in, you could invite them to a book discussion.
Again, this should be either just the two of you or you and a group of unchurched friends. This is an even easier way to invite friends to follow Jesus, albeit indirectly.
The book you choose could be either fiction or nonfiction. Just make sure it’s a faith-friendly read. For nonfiction you may want to consider Women of the Bible or The Friends and Foes of Jesus.
Whether you do a Bible study or a book discussion, this will last for several weeks. At the end of the study or discussion, ask what they’d like to cover next. Along the way, encouraged them to invite their friends.
The short-term goal of these should be to forge deeper relationships, with a long-term goal being to invite your friends to follow Jesus. This can either happen through your words or through your actions.
Invite Them to a Service Project
If a Bible study or book discussion makes you uncomfortable (or isn’t of interest to them), consider doing an activity together.
Tell your friend about a service project you’re involved in and ask if they’d like to go with you. This could be at your church, a parachurch organization, or a community nonprofit. Most people are open to help others.
The purpose of this shouldn’t be the overt evangelism of your friend but to serve others. Give your friend space to ask questions. Let them guide your discussions.
This will happen when they’re ready, so it might take time. As you wait, pray for them, be patient, and let God work in their lives. Some label this approach as one way to do friendship evangelism.
As you serve others with your friend, this may provide the opportunity for you to invite them to follow Jesus. Or it may be an opportunity for you to invite them to take the next step, such as a Bible study or a book discussion, as we discussed above.
Moving Forward
You may have the gift of evangelism and find it easy to invite friends to follow Jesus. Yet most of us do not and are gifted in other areas.
But inviting them to a Bible study, book discussion, or service project are all straightforward ways to engage with others and invite friends to follow Jesus.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Discover What the Bible Teaches About Meeting Together
While considering a better New Testament approach to church, we talked about the three key perspectives that Jesus changed: meeting in homes, serving as priests, and helping those in need.
Then we looked at ten more New Testament practices: relying on the Holy Spirit, worship, prayer, fasting, community, eating together, caring for our people, valuing one another, helping others, and informal leadership.
Now we’ll look at five more tangible ideas of church and meeting together from the pages of the New Testament.
1. The Acts 2 Church
Just days after Pentecost, the people who follow Jesus are hanging out. This is the first church. What do they do?
Luke records their activities:
They learn about Jesus. Think of this as a new believer’s class. Remember, they’re mostly all new to their faith in Jesus. This is teaching.
They spend time with each other. This is fellowship.
They share meals. This is community.
They pray. This is connecting with God.
They meet every day at the temple were people outside their group are. This is outreach.
They also meet in homes. This is fellowship.
They share all their possessions. This is generosity.
They praise God. This is worship.
As a result, more people join them every day. This is what the early church does and how God blesses them (Acts 2:42–47).
What significant is what they don’t do. There’s no mention of weekly meetings, sermons, music, or offerings. If we’re serious about church in its purest form, the early church in Acts 2 gives us much to contemplate when we consider how our church should function today.
2. The Acts 4 Example
As the book of Acts unfolds with its historical narrative of the early church, Luke notes two more characteristics of that church: unity and sharing everything (Acts 4:32).
First, the church is of one heart and mind, just as Jesus prayed (John 17:21). Their actions are consistent with his prayer that they would be one then, just as we would be one today. Jesus prayed it, and the early church does it.
Unity describes what everyone of us should pursue and what every church should be. Jesus yearns for us to be united. Over the centuries Jesus’s followers in his church have done a poor job living in unity, as one.
Second, no one claims their possessions as their own. This isn’t a mine-versus-yours mentality. Everything is ours. They have a group perspective and act in the community’s best interest. They do it out of love for each other. They share everything they have. Not some, not half, but all.
This example is hard for many in our first-world churches to follow today, though not as much for congregations in developing countries. Regardless, while we might do well to hold our possessions loosely, this isn’t a command. Later Peter confirms that sharing resources is optional (Acts 5:4).
From Acts 4 we see an example of unity and generosity. This complete generosity, however, is a practice that happens at this snapshot of time for the early church. We will do well to consider how we can apply it today.
3. Paul’s Perspective
Now let’s look at a third passage. In it, Paul instructs the church in Corinth of how their meetings should proceed (1 Corinthians 14:26–31). While Paul writes to the Corinthian church, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t follow his directives as well today.
Paul opens by saying “each of you.” This means everyone should participate. The idea of all those present taking part suggests an egalitarian community gathering, where everyone contributes, and everyone ministers to each other.
This removes the divide between leader and follower, which happens in today’s church services. During a typical church service today a few people lead, while most people watch.
This means that only some are active during the service, while most sit as passive observers, as if going to a concert or attending a lecture.
Instead Paul wants everyone involved, where each person can minister to one another. He lists five activities that should take place.
Sing a Song
First, when we meet, we should sing a hymn or share a song. This could mean playing a musical instrument so that others can sing along. For those who can’t play an instrument or lead others in singing, a modern-day option might be to play a recording of a song.
Anyone can do that. Our singing could also mean—it probably means—launching into a song or chorus a cappella as the Holy Spirit leads.
Teach a Lesson
Second, the same approach applies for giving a word of instruction. We don’t need to preach a half-hour to an hour-long sermon. In this case less is more.
We can often communicate much by speaking little. Saying something concisely in thirty seconds may be more meaningful than droning on for thirty minutes. Again, no preparation required. Everyone who’s present can do this.
All we need is a willingness to share something God taught us or that we learned through studying Scripture. In addition, we can rely on the Holy Spirit to tell us what to share during our meeting. It can build off what someone else has already said, or it may be a new topic.
Share a Revelation
Third, the idea of having a revelation to share will seem normal to some and mystical to others. Think of a revelation as special knowledge that God has given to us. He can do this through what we read or things we see. And it can be through Holy Spirit insight.
Regardless of the source of our revelation, Paul wants us to share our insights with those gathered.
Speak in Tongues
The last two items on the list may, or may not, be a comfortable activity. Speaking in tongues is the first of these two items. The Bible talks about speaking in tongues, and Paul instructs the people in Corinth how to do it. It’s biblical, and we should consider this for our church community.
But it may be optional, because Paul later says, if anyone speaks in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:27). This implies speaking in tongues is not a requirement. But he does give guidelines for when people do speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:27–30). We will do well to follow Paul’s words.
Interpret the Tongue
Fifth, after someone speaks in an unknown language, someone must interpret it. Implicitly, if no one can interpret the message, then the person shouldn’t share it (1 Corinthians 14:28). After all, how can words that no one understands build up the church? (1 Corinthians 14:8-9).
The Holy Spirit’s Role
These five items require no preparation, just a willingness to notice the direction of God’s Spirit. This means listening to the Holy Spirit and responding as he directs. Implicit in this, we will encounter times of silence as we wait and listen. Silence unnerves some people today. But listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit is central to the gatherings of the early church.
Paul says everything we do at our meetings must be for the purpose of building up the church, to strengthen the faith and community of those present. This means not doing or saying anything to elevate ourselves or draw attention to our abilities.
Instead we should humble ourselves and do things for the common good of Jesus’s church. This will best advance the kingdom of God and the good news of Jesus.
4. Don’t Forget Meeting Together
Note that Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church, says when you come together, not if you come together. This reminds us that gathering with other followers of Jesus should be a regular occurrence, not optional (1 Corinthians 14:26).
The book of Hebrews confirms this idea of regular interaction when it warns to not give up meeting together. We do this to encourage others to better love and help each other (Hebrews 10:24–25).
This idea of coming together, of meeting with others, can occur on Sunday morning, or it can happen at any other day or time. The Bible doesn’t tell us when to meet. Gathering Sunday morning is merely a practice that developed over time.
Though many people interpret this instruction to not give up meeting together as a command to attend church, it isn’t. Not really. While meeting together can include going to church on Sunday, it should encompass much more.
It’s a call for intentional interaction with other followers of Jesus. Jesus says anywhere two or three people gather in his name—that is, they get together and place their focus on him—he will join them (Matthew 18:20).
Here are some ideas of how and where we can meet in Jesus’s name.
Meals
Most people enjoy meals with others, and most Christians pray before they eat. Isn’t this gathering in Jesus’s name? While we may eat some meals alone, we potentially have three times each day to connect with others and include Jesus when we eat. But do we make the most of these opportunities?
Coffee Shop
People often meet at coffee shops to hang out. If we include God in our meeting, either explicitly or implicitly, we assemble in his name.
Homes
Do you invite people into your home or see others in theirs? If we both love Jesus, doesn’t this become a get together which includes him? It should.
Outings
What about going on a picnic, to the game, the gym, or shopping? With intentionality, each of these can be another opportunity to meet with others in his name.
Small Groups
Many churches provide opportunities for attendees to form intentional gatherings with a small number of people. This facilitates connection and draws us to God. But this doesn’t need to be the result of a formal small group program in our church.
We can make our own small group whenever we wish, meeting in the name of Jesus.
Church
Yes, church is on this list of places where we can gather in the name of Jesus. I list it last because it might be the least important. This is because when we go to church, we usually do it wrong. Consider the rest of the verse to find out why.
People tend to skip that part. The reason we are to meet is so that we may encourage one another. The Bible says so, but how often do we do this at our church meetings?
If we leave church discouraged or fail to encourage others while we’re there, then we’ve missed the point of meeting together. While some people make a big deal out of going to church, they’re quick to miss that the reason is to provide encouragement. If we’re not doing that, then we might as well stay home.
5. What Jesus Says
Let’s return our discussion to Jesus.
Recall that after Jesus rises from the dead, he tells his followers to stay in Jerusalem, waiting for a surprise Father God has planned for them: the gift of the Holy Spirit to come upon them and give them supernatural power (Acts 1:4–5).
They wait, and the Holy Spirit shows up (Acts 2:1–4). Amazing things happen, and the number of Jesus’s followers explodes (Acts 2:41).
They wait in Jerusalem as instructed, and they receive the gift of Holy Spirit power as promised. But after all that, they remain in Jerusalem.
Instead they’re supposed to spread out and share Jesus’s good news around the world. He told them to do that too (Matthew 28:19–20). But they don’t. They stay put.
They don’t realize that God’s instructions to wait in Jerusalem doesn’t mean they’re supposed to stay there forever. Sometimes what God tells us to do is only for a season.
Then there’s something else for us to do. But if we don’t make that transition, we end up being in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing.
Instead of staying in Jerusalem—something they’re used to and comfortable with—their mission is to go into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19–20).
How well are we doing at going into the world and making disciples today? Are we staying put in our church—what we’re used to doing and where we’re comfortable—or are we looking outside of our church to do what Jesus said to do?
I suspect you know the answer.
Make Disciples
Today’s church falls short of being witnesses and making disciples. To do so requires an outward perspective, yet most all churches have an inward focus. They care for their own to the peril of others. Many churches ignore outsiders completely, sometimes even shunning them.
Yes, God values community and wants us to meet (Hebrews 10:25). And the Bible is packed with commands and examples of worshiping God.
Most churches do the meeting together part, albeit with varying degrees of success. Many of those churches have a time of worship as they meet, though perhaps not always “in the Spirit” or “in truth” as Jesus said to do (John 4:23–24).
Yet few churches look outside their walls to go into their community—let alone the world—to witness and make disciples. Though Jesus said to wait for the Holy Spirit, he didn’t say to wait for people to come to us, to enter our churches so we could witness and disciple them.
No, we’re supposed to leave our Sunday sanctuary to take this Jesus-mandated work to them. We can’t do that in a church building on Sunday morning, safely snug behind closed doors.
If we want to make disciples, we need to go out and find them. This brings us to the second part.
Go into the World
There is a time to come together and a time to worship, but there is also a time to go. And we need to give more attention to the going part.
I know of two churches that sent their congregations out into their community on Sunday mornings, foregoing the church service so they can be a church that serves. One church did it a few times and stopped after they saw little results and received much grumbling.
The other church regularly plans this a few times each year and receives a positive reception from their community.
These were both service initiatives, not outright evangelism. But the best—and easiest—way to talk to people about Jesus is to first serve them in his name.
Every church should make a positive impact on their community. They do this best by entering it. Yet so few do. They’re too focused on meeting together and worshiping instead of going out into the world to make disciples.
Summary
We will do well to reform our church practices to conform to these five biblical concepts.
Follow the early church’s example to learn about Jesus, pursue fellowship and community, pray and worship, meet daily in public and in homes, and practice kindness.
Pursue unity and generosity.
Be ready to rely on the Holy Spirit to sing, teach, share a revelation, speak in tongues, and interpret a tongue.
Refresh our idea of what meeting together means.
Balance our inward efforts on church meetings and worship with an outward focus on going into the world to make disciples.
Pick one change to make and then pursue it.
Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Make Sure Your Faith Community Focuses on the Right Thing
We need to examine the purpose of church. Why do we meet each week? What are our goals when we come together? What should our focus be? Though people will give various answers, the responses fall into two broad categories: ourselves and others.
Church Is for Christians
Some people feel the purpose of church is to serve its members, the saints who’ve been made right through Jesus. Their right standing in him places them on the inside. They expect church to meet their needs and their wants. If the church disappoints them in the slightest, most will go church shopping and leave for another destination that better matches their expectations.
If the purpose of church is to serve its members—and to a lesser extent, its attendees—it has an internal focus. It seeks to serve itself. Some people call this navel gazing.
The church’s initiatives seek to meet the preferences of its members. It does this by feeding the flock each Sunday morning (never mind that we’re supposed to feed ourselves), providing programs that the members want, and having a pastoral team that jumps whenever a member calls.
Churches for the Lost
Others say that the purpose of church is evangelism, to rescue the lost who need Jesus to save them. In this case, these churches have an external focus. They want to reach the world for Jesus, to convert sinners and bring them into the fold.
This fulfills Jesus’s final instruction to his followers to go out into the world and tell people about him (Matthew 28:19-20). We sometimes call this command, the great commission.
Churches Are for Both
Most churches claim to be for both the Christians (the insiders) and the lost (the outsiders). This is a more appropriate position with the implicit intent being to prepare the insiders to go into the world to connect with the outsiders.
Yet this seldom happens. Or if it does only a small minority follow through by going out and telling others about Jesus.
Most churches that claim to have both an inward and outward focus, however, major in meeting the members expectations and minor in telling the world about Jesus.
Though their ideals say one thing, their actions and investments counter that claim.
The Purpose of Church
The purpose of church should be to prepare its people to go into the world. In doing so they serve as a witness for Jesus through their actions and their words.
Though many people worry about the words they will say, their initial concern should be about their actions. This is because few will listen to what we say if what we do turns them off first.
Do our actions honor Jesus by following his commands? If not, this is an ideal place to start.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The Holy Spirit Gives Jesus’s Followers Special Abilities
In the Bible, Paul talks about spiritual gifts, special abilities given to us by the Holy Spirit. These aren’t for our personal use but for the common good of Jesus’s followers, that is, his church.
Some of these supernatural abilities enhance our existing capabilities, while others are new skills we didn’t have before.
Here are the main spiritual gifts we
find in the Bible.
First Corinthians Lists Nine Spiritual Gifts
In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul talks about spiritual gifts. He says they’re given through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). They are:
1. Wisdom: ability to
apply spiritual truth to meet specific needs or situations.
2. Knowledge: provide truth
by revealing critical information, biblical understanding, or supernatural insight.
3. Faith: confidence
in God that he will provide, protect, and answer prayers.
5. Miracles: show God’s
power through supernatural action.
6. Prophecy: guide others
by speaking truth to cause correction or repentance.
7. Discernment: able to
distinguish between truth and error, fact and fiction.
8. Tongues: talk in a
language unknown to the speaker for the purpose of prayer, worship, or for
others.
9. Interpretation: tell
others what someone said in tongues.
Paul Adds Four More Gifts
A bit later in his letter Paul adds four additional items to the list (1 Corinthians 12:28). Though he doesn’t specifically call them gifts, God does assign them. In this list, Paul repeats miracles, healing, and speaking in tongues. But he also includes four more items:
10. Apostleship: oversee and lead a
ministry or missionary effort.
11. Teaching: understand and explain
biblical truth to help others apply it to their lives and grow in faith.
12. Helps/Service: assist a ministry
or person to meet needs and accomplish objectives.
13. Administration: organize and
execute ministry goals.
Romans Lists Four More Spiritual Gifts
In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he talks about God giving us different abilities, that is, spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8). God does this by his grace, granting us what we don’t deserve.
Again we see some repetition with prophecy, faith, serving (helps), and teaching.
In addition, Paul lists another four
spiritual gifts:
14. Exhortation/Encouragement: encourage people through words of comfort, inspiration, and
reassurance.
15. Giving: generously
provide money and resources for ministry.
16. Leadership: cast
vision, motivate, and build teams to advance God’s kingdom.
17. Mercy: provide
compassion to the poor and hurting.
Other Considerations
18. Evangelism: build relationships and engage in spiritual conversations to tell people about Jesus (Ephesians 4:11).
19. Shepherd: nurture, care for, and guide people in their spiritual journey (Ephesians 4:11).
21.Hospitality: offer food, housing, or relationship to provide a comfortable environment (1 Peter 4:9-10).
22. Craftsmanship: creativity to design or build items for ministry (Exodus 31:3).
23. Intercession: pray for others in response to Holy Spirit prompting (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
In listing how many spiritual gifts there are, some people add counseling, exorcism, martyrdom, and voluntary poverty to the list.
Scholars like to debate how many spiritual gifts there are, but since Paul doesn’t provide the same list each time he talks about them, this suggests there isn’t a finite list of these special God-given abilities.
Instead there are some common gifts that recur among a much wider array of possibilities.
Regardless of how many spiritual gifts are on the list, the key point is that when we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives us special abilities for us to use to advance the kingdom of God.
We must learn what spiritual gifts he gave us and then use them for his glory.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Spiritual disciplines are things we do to draw us closer to God or to honor him. But if we do it out of obligation or in response to guilt, we miss the point.
To be of real value a spiritual discipline is something we enter into willingly, with joy and anticipation.
Unlike spiritual gifts, which the Bible lists, scripture doesn’t delineate spiritual disciplines. But it does hint at the practices of certain spiritual disciplines throughout its pages. However, making a list is more a matter of opinion than fact.
Therefore there is little agreement about what constitutes a spiritual discipline.
A quick online search of a half dozen sources revealed the following composite list of seventeen spiritual disciplines. Some people use different labels, so similar items are combined:
Bible Reading
We regularly read the Bible. This is tops on many people’s list of spiritual disciplines.
Bible Study
Reading the Bible is good, but studying its words is even better.
Chastity
Chastity or celibacy is living a life of moral purity.
Community
Hanging out with other Christians (and spiritual seekers) to form spiritual connection. Some people call this fellowship or a soul friendship.
Confession
Confessing our acts of disobedience. This can be to God or to others.
Evangelism
Telling others about Jesus.
Fasting
Going without something, usually food, in order to give more attention to God.
Prayer
Talking with God. Prayer is so much more than sharing our wish list with him.
Sabbath
(take a Sabbath): Follow the Old Testament tradition of a Sabbath rest, be it on Saturday, Sunday, or another day.
Sacrifice
Giving up something to help others or something that keeps us from God.
Secrecy
Do things in secret to benefit others, such as giving gifts or doing things for others without letting anyone know. (Our reward for this comes from God.)
Service
Serving others.
Simplicity
Committing to a life of simple existence. (Some might use the label of poverty, but that seems extreme.)
Solitude
Being still to connect with God or seek him. this can go by various labels: meditation, personal reflection, silence, listening, and seeking guidance.
Stewardship
Using our blessings to bless others. This includes giving and tithing.
In looking at this list I can smugly check off some of these items, while having others confront me. The key thing to remember about spiritual disciplines is that we must pursue them willingly and not out of obligation or guilt.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Warfare Prayer: How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom
By C. Peter Wagner (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)
The subtitle of Warfare Prayer is How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom. The book is the first in Wagner’s trilogy series entitled, The Prayer Warrior.
Wagner’s purpose of the book is to address “strategic-level spiritual warfare and the warfare prayer necessary to engage it,” (p 12).
To set the foundation for his teaching, Wagner identifies three levels of spiritual warfare. The first is “ground-level,” which is essentially “deliverance ministries.”
The second, “occult-level,” takes things beyond “ordinary demons,” stepping things up a notch.
The final level, the most ominous, is “strategic-level,” confronting territorial demons.
This is the focus of the book, (p 16-19). It is these territorial demons that control entire areas, keeping them under bondage and thwarting evangelistic efforts.
To effectively go into the world for Jesus, often the territorial demons must first be identified, confronted, and overcome. “The real battle for effective evangelism,” Wagner notes, “is a spiritual battle,” (p 37).
Although Wagner’s formal training and education did not prepare him for this, time in the mission field did confront him with the reality that the enemy was at work, effectively opposing outreach efforts in many areas.
To elucidate readers, Wagner fills Warfare Prayer with personal experiences regarding the existence and power of territorial spirits, then backing these encounters with scriptural support.
After identifying the reality of territorial demons and providing sound biblical support, the last three chapters of the book offer practical instruction on how to optimally move forward.
First, Wagner teaches how to name and map territorial principalities and powers.
Then Wagner advances six rules to effectively engage in warfare prayer. He concludes by detailing the pitfalls to avoid. Failure to avoid these common traps can have serious and even deadly consequences to the spiritually weak, naive, or careless.
The practice of warfare prayer is not for everyone, but everyone should be aware of it. Warfare Prayer was written in 1992 and has admirably withstood the test of time, proving to be as valuable now as it was then.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering The Power of Signs and Wonders
By C. Peter Wagner (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)
C. Peter Wagner begins The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit by identifying the first two waves: the Pentecostal movement that opened the twentieth century and the wider Charismatic movement that followed it some 50 years later.
The third wave is a moving of the Holy Spirit among evangelical circles in which divine power is used to enhance and speed the spread of the Gospel—succinctly stated, “Miracles help people believe,” (p 92).
Wagner notes that the general lack of supernatural power in many churches, circa 1988, is “due to the pervasive influences of secular humanism through all levels of contemporary American culture” (p 21).
Indeed, the worldview of most non-Westerners’ contains three tiers of thought, with the middle level freely embracing supernatural phenomenon—be it good or bad.
The Western worldview lacks this awareness, persisting in a two-tiered perspective, effectively denying the signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit.
The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit addresses four levels of faith, with the fourth being signs and wonders. This opens the door for “power evangelism,” with performing miracles as a means of attracting people to Jesus.
Wagner goes on to warn that those who experience the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit need to guard against esteeming themselves as super spiritual or viewing others as lower-level Christians.
Wagner continues by teaching on the real and tangible power of the enemy, but confirms that the power of God is greater; followers of Jesus can—and should—cast out evil spirits.
He also addresses specific moves of the Holy Spirit, which are denied by some Christians: healing, deliverance, language, prophecy, and even raising the dead.
Aside from their use to facilitate the spread of the Gospel, these signs and wonders are not an end to themselves, but a means for a deeper walk with God.
Towards this end, Wagner teaches on our response to the three types of death, ministry to the poor, dealing with suffering, and bearing fruit and cultivating intimacy with God.
Although The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit was written in 1988, its truth is timeless and its message is still relevant today.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
As stated in the book’s title, “Spiritual Disciples for the Christian Life,” this work discusses spiritual disciplines for those who follow Jesus.
Spiritual disciplines are willing and intentional actions that promote spiritual growth, making us more like Jesus.
They should not be thought of actions that earn us anything, get God’s attention, or are an attempt to manipulate God into doing what we want, but rather as training that draws us closer to God and prepares us to better serve him.
Donald Whitney discusses ten such spiritual disciplines in this book: Bible “intake” (that is, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible), prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, stewardship, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning.
Each is expertly covered in detail and through practical example.
This book is a great primer for anyone who is serious about more fully following Jesus and being his disciple.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
