Epaggelia

Key Text:  1st Corinthians 2:1-16.

When our message originates with God, there is no place for disunity on the basis of who or how we preach the gospel. Paul clearly said he spoke “THE TESTIMONY OF GOD”. With precision we need to remember that God’s power is our prime objective, and no other problem should slow us down in delivering God’s message of Christ crucified. Philippians 1:15-18.

2^nd Timothy 1:8 is a good example of what our TESTIMONY OF GOD is. In what ways has the Lordship of Jesus been genuine in the life of Timothy or us?

Ephesians 4:17-25, is Paul’s charge to Christians for sharing God’s TESTIMONY, which is speaking the truth in love.

Paul was determined that neither he nor his fellow preachers would become a source of division, but that every Christian would find a way by the gracious power of God to share their faith in Christ crucified. Our understanding of, and proclamation of the truth comes only from the word of God, John 17:17 & 2^nd Timothy 2:15.

The crucifixion is not an easy subject to talk impressively, or scholarly, or philosophically about. However, the crucifixion is very easy to talk about with common words because it was a graphic way to die.  In Jesus, we have a pure motive of love behind the gory details of his sacrifice for the goriest of sinners. Truly the gospels do not emphasize the gruesome details, but rather the heartfelt impulse of his undying love through pain, death and the resurrection he offers to share with ANYONE. Paul was very aware of academic intellectuals (Acts 17:28), but he knew the power of God was invested and enacted through a message of enduring love, rather than deep knowledge, Romans 1:16.

The message of the cross can easily be directly related to either of two subjects:

1.      Our experience of it. John 17:20-24, Jesus prayed for us to use this!

2.      The Lord’s word on it. A good example from Philip: Acts 8:35 & Isaiah 53.

There is no separation of the two subjects: “Christ Crucified” & “Christ’s Teaching”. They are inseparable in the mind of God and in our daily life, but do we share it?

Paul suffered from ‘fear & trembling’ but his experience didn’t stop the sharing of the cross, because he relied on the power of God, not his own power. He wasn’t afraid of his enemies, but rather he was afraid of God’s wrath toward them, if he didn’t share the good news to the lost souls around him. He had no fear of God’s wrath against himself, but rather the thought of how people would be lost and punished without his sharing!

See 1^st Corinthians 9:16 & 2^nd Corinthians 5:11.  Do we FEEL for our lost friends? If yes, what exactly do we feel for them?  Paul’s words proved to be weighty & powerful, 2^nd Corinthians 10:10. The only way, we will make our words effective, is to use them for directing the purpose of Christ’s Cross towards sin in every day life for other people to die upon with us.

To see the beauty of unity in Christ isn’t easy sometimes, because what we know about each other, usually isn’t our faith in Christ.  The more of Christ we can share, the easier it is to be together, united and loving each other as Christ does. So why do we talk so much about the weather and price of gasoline?  The old adage, “familiarity breeds contempt”, is only true if we are getting more familiar with eachother’s sinfulness, instead of each other’s faithfulness to Christ.

 Jesus prayed, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me”. Jn. 17:20-21. Peter the frontrunner of the Apostles, wrote, All of you have unity of spirit, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind”, 1Pet. 3:8.  Paul the Apostle to us Gentiles wrote, “Let your behavior be worthy of the good news of Christ, so that you…stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the good news…”, Php 1:27-28.

Do we pray for unity as Christ prayed? Do we feed our heart with scripture to have a loving, tender, humble heart? Is the good news of Christ, our prime objective? When we can answer yes to these questions, we are on the fast track to experiencing unity with all who can answer yes with us. There is no force, no person, no law, nothing, that can stop the fruit of His Spirit from growing in our hearts if we pray and feed our hearts with the gospel, Gal. 522-23. Why is this growth so unstoppable? Because of what happened to Christians explained in the very next verse, 24, they “have crucified the flesh with it’s passions and desires, if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. The beauty of unity begins growing with the “crucifixion” of our self. As children we sang the song, J.O.Y., Jesus first, Yourself last, others in between gives J.O.Y..   As we grow older, we should realize the cost of what it means to actually put ourselves last. Paul described it in both hard and soft ways, “But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself…let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”, Php 2:3-5

Psalm 133 uses two objects to describe the beauty of unity.  As twenty first century westerners we cannot appreciate the context they are put in, such as Aaron’s beard and the picture of Mt. Hermon. But the two symbols are indeed mentioned in the New Testament to help us enjoy the beauty of unity.

Oil: This was holy and to be used only on priests, if it was abused, punishment ensued, Ex. 30:22-33. This oil was abundantly poured over (annointed) Aaron the High Priest at joyous festivals, it represented God’s approval, blessings, holiness and healing. All of which Christians find promised and experinced in Christ Jesus.

Dew: From Mt. Hermon (having 3 peaks) drifted clouds of water, which gave life to rivers and flowing down to Jerusalem, blessed Mt. Zion. The obvious beauty is quite a relif in parched Israel. Notice how both oil and water are essential ingredients to life. Oil is essential to spiritual life (holiness), and water is essential to physical life. Hebrews 1:9, 10:22 & 12:14.

What do we really know about eachother to help us view and share the unity God wants us to have? We all have several gifts God has given us. Christ is the annointed and we are in Him. We all have access to the water of life, Jn. 4:10-14. We all have a desire for God’s love, Jn. 13:35. We all have a solution to our sin, his blood. There is so much more, that we have in common, let’s grow in them and discover others…  Once you have learnt the, are they refreshing enough to share? Do we want to share our faith in them? If yes, then we are indeed growing in the beauty of unity.

Key Text: Matthew 13:24-43

The mixed presence of sin and righteousness in the church is a reality Jesus wants us to work with. This has always been and always will be true, till Jesus returns. Unclean animals in the same Ark as the clean animals, as well as obedient and disobedient people, such as Noah and his dishonorable son Ham, Gen. 7:2, 9:22, IPt. 3:20. The goats are in the same field as the sheep, Mt. 25:32. The good & bad fish are in the same net, Mt. 13:47. The wheat & chaff are on the same barn floor, Mt. 3:12. Vessels of honor & dishonor in the same great house, IITm 2:20. In the mind of God, Judas Iscariot is within the same apostleship as the beloved John, but there comes a day, when judgment separates good and bad forever. Until judgment, we must work together. The scriptural work of withdrawal or church discipline is in the hands of Elders, not us. Judgment is for God in Jesus as the Good Shepherd and his Church Shepherds, not the sheep, (you & me). Judging with righteous judgment is for Apostles & Elders, not us. Jn. 7:24.

There are two sides of every coin, and there are two spheres of the Kingdom, Spiritual & human. God’s family is truly both Heavenly and earthly, compare Col. 1:13-18 & Eph. 3:14.

The enemy of Christ is against Him, sowing similar looking plants which grow alongside the real wheat. The enemy is inverted, the weeds are perverted. The good news is that perversions can be straightened, but whatever is inverted is totally opposed, and unwilling to turn. James says the devil believes in God and trembles, not turns, James 2:19. Since weeds represent false Christians, then it is possible, if they want to turn, that they may be straightened in real life, but in the picture of a parable, the message is that God reserves the unique position of judgment to Himself, not us. The act of justification by faith is for people, not plants, Romans 5:1 & 8:1. This is the nature of Christ’s Kingdom seen in the parable of the weeds.Notice the difference between “servants” in v27-29, and the word “reapers” in v30, 39. Angels are the reapers, but the “servants” are not defined, which allows us to conclude with God’s definition of good wheat being Christians, not the servants wanting to prematurely start preparing for an easy harvest. Let’s conclude that when we want to act with impatience in judgment, we are the misguided servants, but when we let patience have her perfect work, we are genuine Christians, that is, good wheat! James 1:3-4 & 5:7-9. When both James and John the sons of Zebedee judged the rejecters of Christ, God had other plans! Luke 9:54-56. What spirit may we be of? 

Why does Jesus tell the parable of the mustard seed & yeast in succession with the parable of the weeds? To give us both the positive and negative truths of how we influence the Kingdom of God on earth.  Genuine Christians are used to help the Kingdom grow from small seeds to great plants, whereas, false Christians can be compared to yeast, growing from within flour, and changing it’s nature. Yeast has a reference to sin in a number of passages. See Leviticus 2:4-13. Offering bread with yeast is equated with rebelling against God in Amos 4:2-5. Paul the apostle used a similar analogy of yeast & sinfulness in 1Cor. 5:6-7. Yeast represents evil doctrine (Mt 16:12) from Pharisees, Mt 23:14,16,28,  Sadducees, Mt. 22:23,29 and Herodians, Mt. 22:16-21. The holiness & goodness of God makes real Christians make up a BIG Kingdom/Church.

Key Text: Jn. 5:1-30
The colonnaded pool of Bethesda is today hard to reach and identify, but one of the three pools near or under the Convent near St. Annes Church in Jerusalem certainly is the pool where Jesus healed the lame man who suffered there for 38 years. The five colonnades are not all intact, but various artefacts attest to them being around the three different pools. The Jews of his day had very strong opinions and faith in angels, and it lingers to this day. This story is to help us restore our faith in God’s powerful mercy, being greater than the demands of any law. We need His word here, to help us enact His mercy in our lives, rather than exacting the demands of God’s law upon our self or others. Once the mercy of God touches our hearts, then the motivation is there, to help us obey the law of Christ. Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13 & Galatians 6:2.

The law of the Sabbath was strict and real. Jesus obeyed it, but not the contemporary interpretation of the Sabbath law. As Christians we need to always have a ready and open mind in applying our lifestyle to the law of Christ. However, we must be ever conscience of what the law of Christ is, and what an interpretation of it is. Understanding Galatians 6:2 is imperative, believing it and living it, is impossible without God’s strength and wisdom. This is exactly where Jesus and the religious leaders of his day came into conflict. Christians can expect the same conflict to arise, when we try to practice the law of Christ. Why does this conflict exist? Because as humans, we all try to please God by our own means, wit, strength and wisdom. It doesn’t come naturally to any of us, to cooperate with God’s word & Spirit. How do we let Him work in and through us, in obeying the law of Christ? Here are some facts about God’s work in Jesus.

1. God desires our cooperation with the words of Jesus. He told the man to get up, pick up his mat and walk. Jesus did NOT tell him to go to the water when the angel stirred it. God simply desires our cooperation with His word and Spirit.

2. God’s commands, when we first hear them, might sound impossible. After being lame for 38 years, which one of us, would actually try to do what Jesus said?

3. God’s work demands our hearts desire to be healed, fixed, helped and strengthened. Do we really want his help to do His work, not our own? This question, is the reason, God proclaims faith as God’s work, not our own. John 6:28-29, Romans 14:20 & 2nd Cor. 9:8.

4. God’s work always supersedes our own work. Notice the lame man, without anyone’s help, actually did try to get to the pool on his own steam, maybe crawling, (v7) but regardless of how hard we try to help our self, it is futile in God’s eyes. We must let him help us in our attempts to do what is right.

5. God’s work takes us into direct conflict with the worlds’ work. If Jesus had told the man to Rise and Walk, that would not have upset the Pharisees. It was the fact that he picked up his mat, that broke their interpretation of the Law on the Sabbath. The healed man would have not been an offence to them. But Jesus working to heal him, would indeed upset the Pharisees, but since the man picked up the mat, he too was in danger of prosecution. The Pharisees ‘let him off”, but ONLY after he confessed that it was Jesus who told him to pick up the mat.

6. God’s work is in searching and finding people who want to do His work and cooperate with His word and Spirit (v14). He will not forsake us, Hebrews 13:5 & John 4:23.

7. God’s work always results in any real damage from the world being done against Him, not necessarily or always our self. (v16-17). Colossians 1:24.

Are we willing to make progress in God’s work in our spiritual healing and helping others to get His work of spiritual healing too?

Key Text: Matthew 12:22-32, Mark 3:20-35, Luke 11:14-23

After immediately healing a man who is both blind and mute, the crowd may be amazed, but they don’t jump to conclusions very easily. The Jews are more sceptical than the Samaritans, the Jews ask, “Could this be the Son of David?”. When the Pharisees see their fellow Jews being attracted to this Triumphal conclusion, they quickly criticize Jesus. Why?
Three reasons:
Jesus…

To understand God’s view of His reign, we must focus on the words of the angel Gabriel. …and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”  Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you… that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:31-36. Many of us  today are just like Mary, we get confused about the physical aspects of God’s Kingdom coming, being enforced and enlarged. Why confusion? Because many of us focus on the physical attributes of God’s reign with Israel and neglect to learn of the spiritual attributes of Kingship, which Jesus had in mind. Jesus talks of his Kingship several times with a spiritual aspect for all his disciples, this should affect you and me.

1. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:  ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”‘?  If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”  And no one was able to answer Him a word… Matthew 22:41-23:1 & Psalm 110:1-2.           

2.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:19-20

3. Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say,’See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”  Luke 17:20-21.

4. “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”  Mark 9:1

5. Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”  Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”. Jesus answered and said, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”  John 18:36-37The points to prove in our daily lives are:

1. Jesus is God, therefore He is worthy to be King of kings and His Kingdom is synonymous with the Kingdom of God.

2. The King demands divine righteousness as inherently required before anyone becomes a citizen of the Kingdom.

3. The Kingdom of Christ is spiritual in nature not physical.

4. People in Christ’s generation saw His Kingdom arrive with physical power, but became martyrs and were brought into a victorious spiritual reign.

5. Christ’s Kingdom originates from Heaven, but is victorious on earth, proving our fight is not physical, but spiritual. See Eph. 6:12 & Col. 1:13-18. As Jesus fulfiled the Psalmist & King David’s prophecy, we rule with Him in the midst of his enemies, Psalm 110:2. Do we pray for the Kingdom’s advance into the hearts of other people and that His reign will increase in our life as we grow in doing His will on earth?  Matthew 6:10.

Four Biblical Lists
Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-16 & Acts 1:13.
Within the apostleship, there were 3 sets of brothers. 1-Peter & Andrew, were sons of Jonah, Mk. 1:16, Jn. 1:42. 2-James & John, were sons of Zebedee. 3-Matthew & Thaddaeus (Simon the Zealot) & James, were sons of Alphaeus. The only safe assumption we can make from this, is that Jesus wanted his leaders to emphasize a love for family within the church, 1Pt. 3:8, 5:3, 2Pt. 1:7, Php. 1:8. Bartholomew in (Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts) is called Nathaniel in John’s gospel. “Iscariot” has a vague meaning, it could mean a district in southern Judea, or it could be his fathers name. If it is a reference to southern Judea, then the betrayer is different in that all the rest are from Galilee in the north. Judas Iscariot was replaced by Matthias, Acts 1:26. James the son of Zebedee was martyred and replaced by Saul named Paul, Acts 12:2, 13:1-3,9. Simon the Cananaean was known as Simon the Zealot. The twelve apostles correspond to the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Matthew 19:28, Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Revelation 21:14, The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Ephesians 2:20, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. This teaches us that they have eternal authority within the church.
Jesus prayed all night before making his apostolic appointments, Luke 6:12. We should follow Jesus’ example of using fervent prayer before we make decisions. Jesus gave them a model prayer and instructed them to be devoted to prayer, but they didn’t always place it as high a priority as God did, Mk. 14:37-40, however after the resurrection, prayer is always prioritised, Ac. 1:14, 2:42, Col. 4:2.
The number 12 is used in various ways to signify delegated divine power. The 12 parts of the Holy Spirit’s fruit describing the new creation He grows in each Christian. As well as the 12 fruits on the tree of life in Revelation 22:2. The leaves of this tree has power to heal pagans. The fruit of it gives life the saints thrive on. 1. Love. 2. Joy, 3. Peace, 4. Patience, 5. Goodness, Gal. 5:22-23, Eph. 5:9. 6. Faithfulness, 7. Kindness, 8. Gentleness, 9. Self-control, and 10. Holiness, Romans 6:22. 11. Righteousness, Ephesians 5:9, Hebrews 12:11, James 3:18, and 12. Truthfulness, Ephesians 5:9. No one can doubt that the apostles were all common Galilean sinners, but they also were great examples of spiritual maturity and power.