Consider the birth of a child; the anticipation and preparation which accompanies the moment. It is an exciting time. Tami and I did not have a gender reveal party, however, we were excited to share the news. Rooms were repainted; beds and closets refitted; and a host of other things shifted in our home during the time of expectancy.

The New Birth experience is a pivot point in every person’s life. Jesus called it being Born Again. It is the plan of Salvation. There is an excitement in that moment and rightly so. Much like the birth of a newborn, we rejoice at the experience of the Gospel in the life of every believer. The Bible states that the angels rejoice over one sinner that repents. Our church body rejoices over the baptisms of Water and the Spirit. This is an exciting time!

However, after the New Birth comes what I call “The Walk.” This is the growing process of the believer. We were never meant to live as a “new born.” We were meant to learn and grow. Peter will press the reader to give 2 Pet 1:5 “…all diligence,” adding to your faith seven key elements for growth: virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, kindness, brotherly kindness and love.

2 Peter 1:8-9 “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

Growth is found in the adding to our faith. Peter submitted that both sight and memory are connected to these necessary additions. After our Born Again experience, the “adding” invokes thankfulness for our new life and the pursuit for our future. Furthermore, when we add to our faith, we become established in The Faith. The Walk matters! New Birth happens once, but growth is found in the daily walk.

Failure to “add” results in a lack of vision and legalism. Forgetting where we have come from causes us to falsely judge one another. Likewise, the failure to add to our faith limits our sight about Kingdom. I urge you, give all diligence and add to your faith. Those seven things are paramount for your life! The Walk is waiting.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

To rehearse, “Counterculture” is simply any idea that opposes the culture. This concept has been widely panned by those who demand conformity to the philosophies of mass consciousness. However, the “resistance” has multiple sides. John wrote against embracing a worldly point of view: 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The church is commanded not to conform to this world or the precepts of godless mandates. In every respect, the Apostolic Pentecostal Church is Counterculture!

However, there is another issue to address: Modern Church Culture. This particular idea is rooted in cultural relativism with tenets of subjectivism and human experiences. Modern Church Cultural-ism embraces lessons of grace, but rejects messages of holiness, i.e., worship without boundaries. It speaks of inclusion, while ignoring the words of Jesus: Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. The modern church parcels out the scripture to fit into a selective view. Yet, this type of theology is contrary to living a set apart life. Moreover, it leaves out the entirety of the Truth which leads to a fleshly lifestyle.

To this end, I submit Modern Church Counterculture. I rise against the modern church thought, which is secular in nature. The Bible is the inherent Word of God. Real Christianity is rooted in the exclusive Doctrine of Jesus Christ, which the Bible calls “The Apostle’s Doctrine.” It is neither validated by popularity or disqualified by the opinions of the majority. When Christians bow to secular beliefs, they are left with a diluted religion that appeals to the vain sensibilities of the American life and not to the scripture.

The Bible promotes self-sacrifice; self-denial; daily dying to the flesh; and being hid in Christ. All of these are contrary to the modern church. Furthermore, the apostles and prophets set the precedent for spiritual living, which was never measured by societal approval. Right and wrong; holy and corrupt… these are not subject to personal opinion.

Peter and John rebuffed the religious council, Acts 4:19-20 Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. Paul wrote: Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

We embrace a Holy God and the purity of the Scripture. It is the only thing that will lead to Eternal Life.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

Consider the two major subjects in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Paul writes of the antichrist; “the son of perdition.” The Lord shall consume the Wicked one with the spirit of His mouth.” The imagery is profound. The day of this moment is quickly approaching. Everything that exalts itself against God shall be torn down. There will be deception in the world with (vs 9) “signs and lying wonders.” It will be a cloudy mix, mirroring the wonders of God.

The subjects are clear: the antichrist and the saints. We see the antichrist from afar but soon he, the man of sin, will be revealed. While the first image is unsettling, the second is far more troubling to my spirit. Paul wrote of believers… (vs 3) “for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first.” Deception, sin, gossip, divisions, false doctrines, angst, and so much more are rising. The day of the Lord’s return is imminent! There will be a falling away and it will happen first.

In the most simplistic terms, people who believed themselves to be Christians will depart from the truth. There will be a dismantling through a “shakening.” Paul told us not to be shaken in mind, or be troubled by things we feel or words we read. His warning reveals that some will be shaken. They will be confused, disenchanted, and altogether separated from the Body; the church.

They will declare themselves saved, all the while living lost. They will justify themselves by their works, past, or internal feelings about God, but they will not be obedient to the written or preached Word or their God given authority. They will be consumed with political positions, offenses, and personal ambitions, while the Great Commission collects dust in their hearts.

The spirit of this age brings confusion and diversions. It speaks to the necessity of UNITY among the Body. The greatest priority is before us: Salvation for ourselves and for the lost. Everything else is immaterial. It is a waste, laid on the heap of human thinking. To be saved or lost is the only thing that matters or will matter. Not your friends or family. Not your job or money. Success or failures; offenses and afflictions; all these things will pale in the light of “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.”

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

The Bible’s own description of our final salvation is often overlooked for more lofty things. While Jesus was not dismissing His message of the Born Again experience found in John 3, Jesus made this overarching statement: Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Endurance is perseverance. It is keeping your head when chaos surrounds you. It is battling through hardships and bewilderment, all of which are now common to our walk of faith. While I hesitate to offer such words, knowing that some would find them adverse, it should be known that our nation has turned her back on God. Secularism and humanism now rule the day. Media, governments, and public educational systems aggressively attach the Church and the name of Jesus. This confrontation will not stop until the Lord returns. So if you are going to make it, you will have to ENDURE.

Perseverance is much more than tolerating something. Jesus was not submitting that we should “hang on” or scrape by until the end. Jesus was telling us to have resolve, determination, and “staying power.”

When I consider the words of the Lord, I am reminded of Paul’s admonition to Timothy: 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

Paul was not talking about the sinner who never knew this Way called Holy. He was writing about believers who reject the boundaries of the scripture; of the exclusivity of the name of Jesus; and of righteous living. Paul wrote that people who were once saved will hire teachers who tell them what they want to hear and not what brings conviction. To that end, conviction is almost extinct. The modern Christian calls all things they do not agree with condemnation so as to remove themselves from the message.

Yet, those who believe in the infallible Word of God know that we must embrace strong preaching that convicts our flesh and brings us to an altar of repentance. In the end, only those who are embracing the unfettered Word will be able to stand. In the last days, our days, we must seek to crucify our flesh and run the race set before us, clinging to “faithful words” (Titus 1:9) so we may be able to reach the world with the

Gospel of Jesus Christ. I submit, Endure.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole