Epaggelia

Abraham, Noah, Moses, Elijah & David were very efficient conductors of the power of God’s Word. God’s authority was in the message He gave them, and they were motivated to obey God’s message, because of God’s love, wisdom & grace within the message. There is nothing more powerful in our universe than divine love issuing God’s perfect grace, mercy & justice, Psalm 19:7, His word in the Bible is the epitome of authority. But to usher in the New Superior Covenant of His Word, He used Mary. Jesus embodies God’s presence, and after his resurrection, he proclaims that all authority is his, Matthew 28:18-20. From the very beginning of Scripture, God has proclaimed an affinity within Light, Life and His purpose in bringing them into humanity. Jesus knew this put Him in a position of authoritative power. The following passages make a logical conclusion that we dare not reject, or face eternal punishment. His grace gives us life, enlightenment and countless opportunities to accept His wisdom, word and love (Genesis 1:1-3, John 1:1-4 & 12:48-49, Ephesians 3:1-5 & 2nd John 9-11) According to 1st Corinthians 1:24,

the power of God is __ __ __ __ __

The ability to promise, reveal & fulfill, Ephesians 3:1-5 & 5:15-17. According to Acts 3:22-23, the

promising Prophet of God is __ __ __ __ ___

The ability to guide, counsel and deliver a repentant sinner to forgiven salvation, 2nd Timothy 1:5, 3:14-17, Romans 1:16-17. According to

Luke 2:29-30, the Salvation of God is __ __ __ __ __

The ability to instruct, warn and condemn an unrepentant sinner to punishment, 2nd John 9-11 & Revelation 22:18-19, Romans 1:18-2:2. According to 2nd Timothy 4:8,

the righteous Judge is __ __ __ __ __

___________________________________________________________

For in __ __ __ __ __ the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you

have been filled in __ __ __ __ __, who is the head of all rule and authority.  ~ Colossians 2:9-10.

Are you in Jesus Christ?

Do you know of your need for authoritative power?

Jesus did much more praying while here on earth, than he did, singing.  Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would be a “man of sorrows”, Isa. 53:3-4.  Therefore it is not surprising that the only direct reference we have to the Son of God singing is when he was facing his greatest sorrow. This is a lesson for us to learn and put into practice. When we face trials, Christians should look for blessings to rejoice in. God’s word is a great place to start! Jesus set an example of singing with his disciples while facing a crisis! The only time it is recorded is on the night he was betrayed. Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26. We know by Jewish tradition and history during the feast of unleavened bread, what he surely sang, (Psalms 113-118, Psalm 136 & 145:10) but we do not know for sure how he sang it. Most likely it was a solemn chant, rather than a boisterous melody.  The reason God is silent on the melody of Jesus singing is that He obviously does not want Christians to feel led or pressured into practicing Jewish praise. The same mindset was in the writers of the New Testament, which were mainly Jewish. The use of praise while under duress is shown by the apostle Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25, while imprisoned. Which is a clear example of Christ within the disciples of Jesus. From the beginning of the Church’s existence we praised God, Acts 2:47, when we were blessed & growing, but also the mature Christians among us praise God when we suffer for Christ. The instruction of James to sing when we are happy is obvious, (James 5:13), but it shows that no matter what our circumstance, in Christ we are able to find a way to rejoice, Philippians 4:4.

The only other time we know Jesus must have sung, was when he was a boy, at the Feasts in Jerusalem, which we know his parents took him to annually, Luke 2:41. Christian parents should teach their children to sing, and take the opportunity to sing seriously. It is not the harmony of voices which God is pleased with and hears, but rather the melody of the heart. (Eph. 5:19)

Jesus loved the Psalms, they were so much a part of his nature, he quoted them as part of his dying words on the cross, Mat. 27:46 (Psa. 22:1) & Luk. 23:46 (Psa. 31:5).  Therefore, we need to derive God’s strength from using the words, rather than get confused about how to sing them.  It helps to know what they are about and for what purpose they are still with us.   The Psalms were not written for just our reading, they were written to help shape our prayers, they are better described as divine praise, instead of poetical lyrics.  Yet they are educational too, as Jesus used them, Luk. 24:44. The clearest instruction for praise in the midst of suffering as a Christian comes from Peter, 1st Peter 4:12-16. But if we are not prepared to praise Him, and we are not fully convinced of God’s purpose in praise for us, then we will find it very hard to take full advantage of praise in sufferings, this is even included in the finale of the beatitudes of Jesus during his sermon on the mount, Matthew 5:10-12. Just do it!

In and around the second largest city in Iraq is not only a historic site for current events now, but the city of Mosul held thousands of people who had a love for Christ, The city fell to Islamic extremists this past summer. These Christ-loving people feared for their lives and ran away, losing everything but their faith in Christ. In some areas, they were forced to convert to Islam, pay a tax or face death. Well documented stories are emerging of many of them executed for not renouncing their faith in Christ.

Regardless of what the Bible says about the necessity of baptism, and whether or not I believe it, does not change the fact that the majority of these Christ-loving people were slaughtered without ever being baptized into Christ. This fact speaks volumes about how faith in Christ can be very strong before a person is baptized, because had they been told about it, their self-sacrifice proves they would have done it. But instead of writing about hypothetical situations, I propose to you that their cruel deaths speak to us Christians who have been baptized and shy away from even speaking the name of Christ at work. What has happened to our faith after we were baptized? That question is answered by the reason we were baptized, and also what our purpose for being a Christian is today.

If I was baptized (immersed) for the sole reason of having my own spirit washed clean of sins by the blood of Christ, why would my faith grow weak? Because the absence of sin does not produce any fruit or conviction in what I believe in my spirit. There must be something or someone within me, taking the place of sin. Which introduces the whole subject of God’s Spirit being a gift within a Christian’s spirit. Take time to read Acts 2:37-39 carefully and look at the promised gift. Is it spiritual cleanliness, or is it Christ’s Spirit?

The apostle Paul wrote, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:9-10) These words teach us that a Christian’s spirit envelopes the Holy Spirit. Our purpose for being baptized should be to live with him, not with the flesh. This purpose results in God being very pleased with us!

Do we have any idea what the Spirit of Christ feels or where He is when any Christ-loving person takes on cruelty and death for refusing to renounce Christ? Do we know that strength in the churches of Christ? Lots of people in Iraq don’t just believe in the presence of Christ, they know Him. Do you? What exactly is your purpose for becoming a Christian?

There’s a Lamb in all His Glory
Shining light from Zion’s place,
Where we need no earthly Temple
When we see Him face to face.

Taught and guided by His Spirit
We can enter by his Blood
And upon our faces falling
Where we love the Lamb our God.

When we leave this earthly glory
As no longer living here
Partners in a holy story
There in Heaven we appear.

He redeems our souls within us
Now we bless His Holy Name
To instill in us great mercy
And forever write our name.

Here we worship and adore Him
Lifting up His wondrous grace
By the Lamb once slain for sinners
We will see His glorious state.

In 49 B.C., when the Roman Consul Lentulus recruited Roman citizens in Asia Minor for a military exercise over Pompey, the Jews of Ephesus, were Roman citizens but were exempted from military service because he respected their Jewish laws. This Jewish population in Ephesus did not wane through the years, by the time the Apostle Paul came in about 52 A.D., there was possibly no less than 1,000 Jews in Ephesus, as the historian Josephus uses the words “many hundreds” in reference to the region within that time frame for Ephesus. When Paul preached the gospel of Christ in the synagogue of Ephesus during his first visit to that city (Acts 18:19); Apollos, a learned Jew from Alexandria, assisted by Priscilla and Aquila, proclaimed it in the same place (18:24-26). Paul, on his second visit, again preached in the synagogue; but when some Jews rejected his teaching, he continued elsewhere with Tyrannus. So the letter we have today, must be read in the context of Jewish Christians growing to accept Greek & Egyptian Christians with very little or no understanding of their roots in this new Faith. The revelations Paul makes to us in this letter, would be almost shocking to the first readers. So Paul wrote this to help them both understand what God’s eternal purpose was in Jesus Christ. He identified the church as “in Christ”, using the phrase over 22 times in this short letter. Paul wrote this letter about 10-15 years after he first met them, while he was incarcerated in Rome, so it’s probably around 65 A.D. We know it was Paul who wrote it, because even an early critic (Marcion appx 145A.D.) of Jesus admitted that it was written by Paul. Which makes sense, when you consider it was Paul who spent at least 3 years preaching in Ephesus, Acts 20:31. Who knows them better, for God to instruct them on such vital life changing truths, that needs to be accepted? Here are 8 topics which give us the gist of the entire letter.
1. Heavenly Places, 1:3,20.
2. The Church, 1:1 – 5:29
3. The Walk, 2:2 & 5:2-15
4. Salvation, 2:5-8
5. The New Creation, 2:10-15
6. The Mystery Revealed, 3:3-9
7. Unity in Christ, 4:1-6
8. Spiritual Warfare, 6:10-19

The opening lines of Paul’s teaching entitle all Christians as…
Saints, v1
Faithful, v1
Blessed, v3
Choice, v4
Holy, v4
Blameless, v4
Foreordained & Adopted Children v5

WHY?
To Praise His Grace in the Beloved Christ, v6

Do we praise God for how good He is to us in Jesus Christ?

Blessed are…
…the Poor in Spirit, to possess the Kingdom of Christ 5:3
…those that Mourn, to receive the comfort of Christ 5:4
…the Meek, to inherit creation in Christ 5:5
…the Hungry & Thirsting, to be filled with Christ’s righteousness 5:6
…the Merciful, to be forgiven by Christ 5:7
…the Pure in Heart, to fully know God in Christ 5:8
…the Peacemakers, to be known by others as God’s child in Christ 5:9
…the Persecuted & Mocked for Christ, to prove our discipleship 5:10-11
…those not Offended at Christ, to persevere with Him through trials. 11:6
…the Alert & Faithful ‘doers’, to have Christ’s Reign Now. 24:46-47

To be Blessed is to experience a happiness that is always accessible in prayer & never fades with time, it is a joy that exceeds laughter by a mile, yet seats itself deep in our heart to be fed and seldom seen by the world but can always be felt by the Christian & Christ’s Spirit. The fruit of God’s Spirit in the Christian is “Love, Joy…” & much more (Galatians 5:22) Let it grow and share it with anyone outside of Christ. Blessed was Paul & Silas, chained in a jail cell, singing! (Acts 16:25) When we are tempted & tried, do we pray and sing? Where is our ‘BE ATTITUDE’?