"Kirk would be allot more credible if he didn't associate with John MacArthur.... who is the Hank Hanegraff of the 2000's..... sewing such division with the Charismatics / Pentecostals...
Look at the Revival in Florida... and some documented 35 "raising from the Dead" around the world as a result of those attending and catching the Holy Ghost FIRE!!!!" -anonymous-
I had problems with Dr. MacArthur for awhile before I was presented with a hard-to-oppose teaching on the sufficiency of Scripture. What he said never made sense until he separated himself from just criticizing charismatics and just taught a great teaching on sufficiency. When he finished - without even talking about charisma - his teaching begged the question: if the Bible is everything we need spiritually, what do we do with "words from the Lord?" That really hit me hard. Yes, the apostles had the gift of tongues and prophecy and whatnot, but think hermaneutically for a moment. The apostles had specifically been given the Holy Spirit power. Jesus told them that they would specifically be given that (I'm speaking specifically of those who were physically spoken to by Jesus).
We were never promised these "powers." However, do we need the Holy Spirit? Oh, heavens - yes! So, what were we promised? That the peace of God that comes through knowledge which produces repentance and faith would dwell in our hearts. Does Paul talk about spiritual gifts? Yes. However, he often refers to them as the lesser gifts. I wondered why for a long time. Well, I think Holy Scripture gives us the answer in Acts 20:21, as well as many others.
What is the ONE thing that the apostles had that we don't have? Jesus Himself dwelling physically with us on earth giving us instructions. So, how did the Apostles get along? They were given the Holy Spirit to speak when they didn't have an answer. And, also to perform signs and wonders to substantiate their claims.
Now, here's the issue: what do we have that the apostles never had? The Bible!!! See, the apostles didn't have access to the written word to pull stuff out whenever they needed? All they had (as if that wasn't enough or something) was the Law (old testament). We have the entire Written Word of God with eyewitness accounts, the epistles and the words of Jesus alongside the law to help soften the heart of the unbeliever and lead them to the Cross. As Galatians 3:24 states, "The Law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith." I believe God gave these mighty men of God words to write down because He knows exactly what he's doing.
You might call those times "a dispensation" of the Holy Spirit.
Now, what does that have to do with today's quandary? Well, for starters, guys like Todd Bentley can just go around saying, "I HAVE A WORD FROM THE LORD!" and say whatever they like and people listen. Why? Because they do not have an adequate knowledge of scripture, nor do people understand that Scripture is sufficient enough to meet our spiritual needs. When people get a Word from the Lord and claim to merit equal status with Scripture, we might as well just become Mormon Prophets who posit the same product. Their folks can just change their "holey moley" books on demand whenever their guys receive a "revelation." That's how it works. God claims He is unchangeable. And frankly, why can't people just open up the Bible and say what it already says, as opposed to claim that it's some "new" doctrine that will bring revival to the world? If their "word from the Lord" is really a Scripture, why not say, "I've been searching the Scriptures like the Bereans, and I am lead to quote" such and such Bible verse. What leads us to repentance and faith? Knowing that the cross is not just something done for us, but something done BY us (quoting from Al Mohler).
