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THE VISION

 

1.    THE VISION HISTORY

 

The reception of the Vision from God goes back in time. While I was following the courses of the high School in Jibou, a little town of the North-Western part of Romania I felt a need in my heart for a Living, dynamic and strong Church in that town to be a tool in God’s hand to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the power of the holy Spirit in order to bring to Christ the lost souls and to mightily extend the kingdom of God in that area of my country. In the meantime I moved to the city of Cluj, one of the most important university town of Romania. Many times I came back to the area of Jibou to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Jibou and in the surroundings. In 1987 I realized that nobody was involved in training young leaders in the Pentecostal churches in the area. It was such an obvious need in the villages Pentecostal churches of the area for a good and sound Bible teaching.  God put in my heart the desire to cover this need. So I started a Bible Study group where I gathered together 20 young men from the different churches of the area to teach to them Bible courses in order to train young leaders. All of them are today leaders (pastors, elders, deacons, evangelists) in their churches where they serve.  Later, in March 1991, I was invited to be the pastor of a Pentecostal church in the area (in the Church of God denomination), and gladly I accepted thinking that this could be a great opportunity for my Vision. A few months later The Holy Spirit told me that It was not for that work that I was called, but another work was going to start through me, a work that is to grow and to be spread all over in the area. That moment I could not understand the meaning of that announcement from the Holy Spirit. But soon I realized that the traditions of the Romanian Church of God denomination and the remnants of the communist methods and practices of the leaders in the denominational structure were a big hindrance for the realization of the Vision God gave to me. Not accepting the traditions, the methods and the practices (far away from the Bible teachings) that were imposed to me (impossible for me to accept them) I found myself in an inadequate place. All was under human tricks, domination, control and manipulation. Disappointed I left the Church of God denomination in order to go back in Cluj where I lived with my family. But a group of Christians of the church in Jibou asked me to remain with them in order to put into practice my Vision. They told me that they understood my vision and they loved it and they wanted my vision to be put into practice. They wanted to be part of the accomplishment of my vision. As I saw their insistence I realized that God wanted me to stay in Jibou and to put the bases of a work for the accomplishment of the vision I got from God. That was the genesis of the PHILADELPHIA CHRISTIAN CENTRE of Jibou.

Philadelphia Christian Centre of Jibou started on 23^rd of January 1993 with a group of about 35 people and during two months we had the meetings in a family house. Soon the room became too small and we had to find a bigger place. We were amazed how God worked for His people. The single convenient place we found to rent for the meetings of the Philadelphia Church was the former headquarters of the former Securitatea (the political police of the communist regime, the Romanian K.G.B.). As the Securitatea lost its place in the Romanian society after the December 1989 revolution, it’s headquarter building remained void. We rented that building well placed in the central part of the town, and big enough for the beginning of our church. So we rescued that place where people were tortured and many of them were killed, to use it for the salvation of many lost souls and to bring them the Kingdom of God. But soon the growth of our church (we had many baptism services) made the place too small. In 5 years we multiplied ten times. So we had to buy a property in order to build our own church building. In the summer of 1996 we bought a property in the same area of the central part of the town and we made the project for a new building. In the summer of 1997 we started the works of the construction of our church building. It is a project for a church building with an auditorium of a capacity of 600 seats and dependences. By big financial and physical efforts we were able to start our church meetings in the basement of our church building in the month of December 2000. Because of the weak financial potential of our church (economically the area is a disadvantageous area, one of the most poor area of Romania) the works of construction of the church continued very slowly. In the summer of 2003 we put the roof. This due to the fact that besides the construction of our own church building we had to help other churches what we planted in the meanwhile through our church planting activity. During the 14 years of existence the Philadelphia Church became the mother church of other 18 churches what we planted through a very fruitful evangelistic activity in the surroundings of the town of Jibou.

 

2.    THE VISION PHILOSOPHY.

 

The Apostolic Pentecostal Philadelphia Church of Jibou is evangelical in spirit, Pentecostal in testimony and missionary in vision.

Considering the fact that the Church got from Christ the Great Commission (Mat. 28: 19-20), in order to bring lost souls, for whom Christ Jesus died, to the Kingdom of God, the believers of the “Philadelphia” Church of Jibou, gathered together to a living faith through the proclamation of the FULL GOSPEL accompanied with signs and miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit, from an assembly of Christians where many people can find out the Christianity of the apostolic times in all its spontaneity, power and efficiency. 

 The single authority concerning the faith is recognized to be the BIBLE, the inspired Word of God.

 The message we bring to our generation is to remind it that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8), and His too often forgotten words: “if a man loves Me he will keep my words.” (John 14:23); “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” (Mat.24:35) 

Here it is the reason of being and the message of the Pentecostal “Philadelphia” Church of Jibou: to proclaim Jesus Christ, to offer the single true remedy for the evil of the modern man: to come back to a living faith, to be born again, to live in obedience to the Word of God. 

3. THE STATEMENT OF FAITH

We Believe

1.      The Word of God. We believe the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error, unified in their redemptive purpose, yielding a complete revelation of God's will for the salvation of mankind. We hold the Bible to be trustworthy, the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. Scripture is our source of revelation of God, the knowledge of salvation, the origin of all things and of the hereafter-it is the final Court of Appeal on all points of doctrine, life and godliness. (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12) 

2.      The One True God. The triune Godhead consists of one true God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Ghost the third person of the Godhead (John 10:36; 14:26; 20:21-22).

3. Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal returning in power and glory (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23; Luke 1:34-35).
    

4. Special Creation. We believe the triune God created the universe apart from pre-existing materials and without any evolutionary process. We believe in the historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1:1; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 102:25; Acts14:15).
    

5. Satan. We believe that Satan was originally created a perfect being. He rebelled against God. As a result he became depraved, the devil and adversary of God and His people, the leader of a host of angels who fell with him. Satan has been judged and defeated at the cross and awaits his ultimate doom at the conclusion of the Millennial Reign which takes place after the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:2; I Thessalonians 3:5; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9; 20:1-3; 7-10).
    

6. The Fall of Man. Man was created good and upright; for God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness!" However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:6; Romans 5:12-19).
    

7. The Salvation of Man. Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
   a. Conditions to Salvation. Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11, 3:5-7).
   b. The Evidences of Salvation. The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12).
    

8. Sanctification.
   a. Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1-2; I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12).
   b Sanctification is obtainable as a second definite work of grace, received by faith in the blood of Christ.
   c. Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-11,13; 8:1-2,13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12-13; I Peter 1:5).
    

9. The Baptism in the Holy Ghost. All believers are entitled to, should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost is witnessed by the physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance. (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6). This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4; I Corinthians 12:1-31). With the baptism in the Holy Ghost comes such experiences as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:42-43), and a more active love for Christ, for His Word, and for the lost (Mark 16:20).
    

10. The Ordinances and Practices of the Church.
    a. Baptism in Water. The ordinance of baptism by immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is commanded in the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4).
    b. Holy Communion. The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements - bread and fruit of the vine - is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death (I Corinthians 11:26); and a prophecy of His second coming (I Corinthians 11:26); and is enjoined on all believers "until He comes!"
    c. Footwashing. Washing the saints' feet is scripturally sound, but its practice in the local assembly is left optional (John 13:4-17).
    d. Child Dedication. Since water baptism is an outward expression of an inward work of grace, we do not practice infant baptism. However, we do encourage presenting our children to the Lord in child dedication and blessing until they are old enough to make their own choice and decision (Luke 2:27; Mark 10:13-16).
     

11. The Church and Its Mission.
    a. The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointment for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23).
    b. Since God's purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, and to build a body of believers in the image of His Son, the priority reason-for-being of the “Philadelphia” Christian Centre is:
    (1) To be an agency of God for evangelizing Romania and even going into all the world (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16).
    (2) To be a corporate body in which man may worship God (I Corinthians 12:13).
    (3) To be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11-16; I Corinthians 12:28; 14:12).
    c. The “Philadelphia” Christian Centre exists expressly to give continuing emphasis to this reason-for-being in the New Testament apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This experience:
    (1) Enables them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural signs (Mark 16:15-20; Acts 4:29-31; Hebrews 2:3-4).
    (2) Adds a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with God (I Corinthians 2:10-16; 12; 13; and 14).
    (3) Enables them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of fruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the edifying of the body of Christ (Galatians 5:22-26; I Corinthians 12:28; 14:12; Ephesians 4:11-12; Colossians 1:29).
     

12. The Ministry. A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of leading the Church in: (1) Evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20); (2) Worship of God (John 4:23-24); (3) Building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11-16).
     

13. Divine Healing. Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement and is the privilege of all believers (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; James 5:14-16).
     

14. The Blessed Hope. The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the church (I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 15:51-52).
     

15. The Millennial Reign of Christ. The Word of God promises the catching away of the prepared and waiting saints, followed by the great tribulation, and then the return of our Lord with His saints and holy angels in power and great glory to reign on earth a thousand years. This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel (Ezekiel 37:21-22; Zephaniah 3:19-20; Romans 11:26-27) and the establishment of universal peace (Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalms 72:3-8; Micah 4:3-4).
     

16. The Final Judgment. There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, and the beast and false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20; 20:11-15, 21:8).
     

17. The New Heaven and the New Earth. "We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness" (II Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).
     

18. Racism. God created all men equal in value and imputed upon them dignity and the Imago Dei. One is never partially in the Image of God any more than one may be partially alive. Attempts to identify, treat, or view certain people or groups as lesser members of humankind are a blasphemous affront to our Creator. Racism in all its forms is sin, for it grounds the identity and security of human life in self rather than God, in creature rather than the Creator, apart from whom a human being has no identity or value. Self-indulgent pride in “race,” therefore, must be regarded as idolatry in one of its most ugly forms, an attempt to be like God. We believe prejudice to be an attempt to reverse the creative act of God and what God has valued, let no man devalue. Secondly, racism is an attempt to reverse the redemptive act of Christ. In Jesus Christ, God became a Man and so identified Himself fully with every member of the human family in whatever nation or culture they may be found. Jesus Christ has removed all barriers that stand between human beings, giving reconciliation through His cross. Thirdly, through the means of grace, God empowers and commands all Christians “to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against the soul,” including the sin of racism. (Gen. 1:26-27; 9:6; Jn. 13:35, 15:12-13; Acts 17:24-26; 1 Cor. 1:13; Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 2:13-16; 1 Tim. 2:3-6; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 2:9-10)
     

19. Tithes and Offerings. The needs of the New Testament Church, its varied ministries along with its God ordained leadership are to be met by the tithes and offerings of the believers (Matthew 23:23; I Corinthians 16:1; II Corinthians 9:6-7).