Who are the ‘super-apostles’?

"I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance. How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!"  2 Corinthians 12:11–13 NIV

The ‘super-apostles’ are Jewish missionaries who have arrived at the church in Corinth since Paul left. On the surface they are knowledgeable, good-looking and eloquent. Underneath, they are devious and domineering.
The ‘super-apostles’ manage to mislead the Corinthians, because the Greeks like their gods to be powerful and perfect. They find it almost impossible to accept a God who gets crucified, and Paul (whom one person described as having a bald head, bandy legs and beetle brows) is a most unlikely apostle!

Although the ‘super-apostles’ present themselves as Christians, they have reworked the gospel for their own ends. The content of their message and the style of their ministry is not at all true to Christ and his gospel.

If all this sounds familiar you may have been watching a little to much Trinity Broadcasting Network.  This television station was founded on the "super apostle" prosperity teaching "Name it Claim it".  They look right, act right, and seemingly preach right, but there is one thing missing, doctrine.

This was the same thing that Paul was writing to the young Corinthian church about.  They had traded solid Biblical teaching in for a Gospel that was more appealing to them.  They supported the "super apostles" financially and followed the false gospel they preached to the point where some had begun to slander their real pastor, Paul.

As a pastor for 15 years I have seen this in the church time and time again.  Men and women who connect with the teaching of a television evangelist, begin following his/her ministry, and then leave the church because their pastor is not that person.  This is not God's plan.  While some teaching on the television is solid (this is the exception) God has intended for his people to be part of a local body of believers.

I commend the spiritual hunger of believers that watch TBN but I want to encourage you to guard your heart and your doctrine closely.  Don't trade the truth for a lie.  Test what the evangelist and even what your pastor is teaching by confirming their words with God's Word as revealed in Scripture.

Food Inc.

Last night I watched a movie that was sincere, eye opening, and a little frightening.  Food Inc., a documentary released last year is now out on DVD.  This film exposes the way food is controlled, produced, and subsidized in the US.

One contributer in the movie is the author of the book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser.  I read this book several years ago and it changed the way I eat.  The book takes the work of Schlosser a step farther examining the impact of the food industry on people, the environment, and the global impact of food production in the US.

I don't make a habit of recommending movies on this blog and I am not starting that habit today.  I believe every Christian should see this movie because it will educate them as to how to become a better steward of their money, body, and the environment.  We are stewards not only of our finances but of our body and environment, all three belong to God and the care of them has been entrusted to us.  We should take care of what we put into this body that is not our own but is dedicated to the worship and service of Christ.

Eyes on Heaven

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self his being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith. Looking into the future we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which stands the celestial city; he sees himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with him, and made to sit together with him on his throne, even as he has overcome and has sat down with the Father on his throne. The thought of this future may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth. Hush, hush, my doubts! death is but a narrow stream, and you shalt soon have forded it. Time, how short—eternity, how long! Death, how brief—immortality, how endless! I believe even now I eat of Eshcol’s clusters, and sip of the well which is within the gate. The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there.

"When the world my heart is rending
With its heaviest storm of care,
My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,
Find a refuge from despair.
Faith’s bright vision shall sustain me
Till life’s pilgrimage is past;
Fears may vex and troubles pain me,
I shall reach my home at last."

Adapted from "Morning and Evening" by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.  I hope you found as much blessing and encouragement in this devotional as I did.

Backsliding

I heard the story of a little girl who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. She cried out and her mother came running to her bedside.

Her mom asked, “What happened?” The little girl replied, “I think I stayed too close to the place where I got in!”

That happens to a lot of us, as well. We fall because, like the little girl, we are staying too close to the place where we got in. After committing ourselves to Christ, we never go forward spiritually. We never make that complete break with the past, and we end up slipping back into our old sinful behavior.

Backsliding is a powerful word, and a misunderstood one. It can happen easier than some people think. Falling away, or backsliding, is something that we, as Christians, need to constantly be aware of. That’s because if we are not moving forward in Christ, we are naturally going backward. There is no standing still, we are either progressing or regressing.

The Lord says “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22).

From the blog of Greg Laurie, http://blog.greglaurie.com

Week of Prayer Devotion for 1/9/2010