Epaggelia

Every time we feel pain, we could choose to think of making a decision, as this: “What will I do with this?” Jesus faced this question in Gethsemane. But his ‘passion’ really began when he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted 40 days, Mt. 1-11, Mk.1:12-13, Lk. 4:1-13. The question He answered when experiencing pain was not “Why Me?”, but perhaps he asked himself this: “How can I use this pain to show my faith in God’s purpose, virtues or word?”

Even John’s unique gospel without the temptation record, still introduces Jesus as “rejected” by his own people he came to, 1:11, and later records both incidences of rejection in the Temple grounds after His rebuke at the beginning of his ministry and the end, 2:13-22 & Mt. 21:12-13. Jesus lived his whole life here as a “Man of Sorrows”, Isa. 53:3.

The suffering Christ endured through his 3 year ministry on earth was not common as we all suffer, and it worsened when he approached Gethsemane. There for the first time, he suffered emotional and physical trauma like he had never experienced in all eternity. “He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities, punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds” (Isa. 53:5.) None of us have felt this, but we all have dealt with some kind of agonizing pain.

What exactly began at Gethsemane? That is where the decision was made. Before Gethsemane, he accepted the teaching, prophecies, warnings, but AT Gethsemane he decided! Jesus formed and sealed an inseparable bond with His Father by prayer. A bond which was threatened by Satan’s sinful presence. When His prayer in Gethsemane was finished, the whole act of His agonizing death was as good as done. That is why there was blood in His sweat. “Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him, for he was in such agony of spirit that he broke into a sweat of blood, with great drops falling to the ground as he prayed more and more earnestly. At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples-only to find them asleep…”. Lk 22:41-45 (TLB)

It took intense physical and emotional strength to overcome the terrifying consequence of His first personal acquaintance with sin. “He bore our sins” (Mt. 8:17 & 1st Pt. 2:24).

The passion of Christ was directed by the Father’s will and resulted in a life whose purpose was the cross (Jn 12:27). Jesus was dedicated to accomplish the requirements foretold by prophecies and the will of the Father. Jesus expected to accomplish the exact plan of the Father. In John 6:14-15, a crowd tried to make Jesus a king by force, but he rejected their attempt because it would have deviated from the cross. The final words of Jesus from the cross were a triumphant proclamation. Like a runner crossing the finish line in agony, yet with great emotion in overcoming obstacles, Jesus says “It is finished!” (Jn 19:30) The passion of Christ originated in love, was directed by the purpose of God and was lived in dependence on the presence of God. Jesus declared that every word that he said was given to him by the Father who commanded him what to say and how to say it (Jn 12:49). In order for this to happen, Jesus lived every moment in the presence of the Father. Every thought, word and action of Jesus was given to him by the Father (Jn 14:31).

The life of Christ has set a pattern of self-sacrifice for living a passionate life for God. Believers in Jesus experience a spiritual birth that results in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:3; 1 Cor. 6:19). Therefore, believers have everything needed to live a passionate life for Christ. Why then are there so few passionate Christians? The answer is in the fact that few Christians really follow the pattern of Christ’s self-sacrificial life. Above everything else is the importance of building a relationship in love with Jesus. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This is a lofty command but one that is critical for believers to attain. The love of Jesus is the most precious, personal and intense of relationships. Believers must learn to live in daily dependence on Jesus, seeking his will and experiencing his presence. This begins with setting thoughts on God. Proverbs 23:7 says that what we think about defines us. God says that we believers are to set our minds on what is pure, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy and God will be with us (Php. 4:8-9). It may not be possible to do this at all times, but the key is to find the places, ways and times where God is presently experienced and build on these. The more God is experienced, the more our mind will dwell on him and with him. This produces ever increasing praise, worship and thoughts of God that translate into actions that express love for Him and produce works of thankfulness towards Him and indeed honors Him.

What was the source of the passion of Christ? (Ac. 1:3) It was his intense love for our relationship to be alive with God. The love of Jesus resulted in his extreme commitment to walk a very narrow path to redeem humanity. For the sake of restoring us to fellowship with God, he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant by being made in human likeness (Php. 2:6-7). His passionate love caused him to leave the glory of heaven and live an obedient life of self-sacrifice required by the holiness of God. Only such a sacrificial life could produce the pure and innocent blood sacrifice, required to cover the sins of those who put their faith in him (Jn. 3:16-17; Eph. 1:7). The passion of Christ was energized by the power of God. Jesus worked many phenomenal miracles through the power of God. Even when he was handed over to the mob led by Judas, he spoke and they fell backwards onto the ground (Jn 18:6). Jesus was always in control of his life. He said that more than twelve legions, or as many as sixty thousand angels, would respond to his commands (Mt. 26:53). Jesus was not just a good man who fell victim to evil circumstances. On the contrary, he predicted the manner of his death, the time and place chosen by the Father (Mt. 26:2). Jesus was not a powerless victim. He grappled & took death on, so that He could accomplish our redemption. Then He rose from the dead in power and majesty!

These are notes from our Congregation’s Bible Discussions.

I. BEGINNING THE NEW LIFE – John 3:1-7

Our Need – Romans 3:23
God’s Holiness ~ Isaiah 6:3
Adam’s Sin ~ Genesis 3:6-7
Our Sin ~ Ecclesiastes 7:20

The WAY – John 14:6
God’s Gift in Christ ~ Romans 6:23 & Colossians 1:22
Our Faith in Christ ~ John 1:12 & Acts 16:31
The Operation of God ~ Colossians 2:11-13 & Romans 6:1-7

The RESULTS – Acts 4:11-12
Everlasting Life ~ John 5:24
Christ’s Righteousness ~ Isaiah 61:10 & 2nd Corinthians 5:21
A New Position in God’s Family ~ 1st John 3:2
Empowered by God ~ Acts 1:8 & 2:38-39, 5:32
Reconciliation Between Enemies ~ Acts 10:14-15

The ASSURANCE – 1st Peter 1:3
The New Creature ~ 1st Corinthians 6:11 & 2nd Corinthians 5:17
The Fruit ~ Galatians 5:22-23
Promises of God ~ Titus 1:2 & 2nd Corinthians 1:20
The Spirit of God ~ 1st John 3:24

II. GROWING IN HIS NEW LIFE ~ 1st Peter 2:2

The WORD ~ Hebrews 4:12
Jesus shows us how to use God’s word, Matthew 4:1-11 & Joshua 1:8

PRAYER ~ Colossians 4:2
The work of God in our prayer is forgiveness, 1st John 1:9 & Mark 1:35

WORSHIP ~ Hebrews 13:15
Loving God is essential, Matthew 22:37 & Hebrews 10:24-25

FELLOWSHIP ~ Galatians 5:13
Sharing our strengths & needs with each other unites our bond in His Spirit
Acts 2:42-47 & Galatians 6:1-5

GIVING ~ 2nd Corinthians 9:6-8
Whether in effort or money, God blesses! Mark 12:41-44 & Acts 20:35

WALKING In The SPIRIT ~ Romans 12:1-2
Obedient small steps turn into big steps, Romans 8:4-5 & Galatians 5:16-25

III. ESTABLISHED IN NEW LIFE ~ Ephesians 4:11-15

Having God’s Strength to Share The Faith
Matthew 28:18-20
1st Corinthians 15:2-4
2nd Timothy 4:1-2

Having A Purpose in Suffering
1st Peter 3:17 & Jeremiah 37:15 ~ God’s will !!!
1st Timothy 5:23 & 2nd Timothy 4:20 & Luke 6:19 ~ God’s will ???
No matter how hopeless or painful our body, soul or mind feels, God claims that it is temporary. There is a victory for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as the God of all comfort. No one can point the finger and accuse the Crucified & Risen Lord of not understanding pain & suffering. 2nd Corinthians 1:3-5

Leadership in God’s Institutions
The Family, Genesis 2:24 & Colossian 3:18-21
Government, Romans 13:1-4 & 1st Peter 2:13
The Church, Acts 7:38 & 1st Timothy 3:1-13

There is a reason why Paul listed “self-control” as the last part of the fruit of God’s Spirit in a Christian’s heart, Galatians 5:23.

Have you begun God’s New Life? Romans 6:7
If you have, are you growing in His New Life?
If you are growing, do you desire to be established and mature?

1. Pray honestly, God knows when we are pretending before we do.
2. We should never give up on prayer, because God never gives up on us.
3. God’s answers to our prayers are always right because his righteousness is eternal.
4. Don’t try to impress God with a college degree vocabulary, He is smarter than that.
5. The love of God is the only reason we should pray for our enemies.
6. If we don’t believe in what we are praying about, How will God trust us with the answer?
7. Don’t argue with God, we can’t fight Him, our arms are too short and our words are too finite in the ears of an infinite God.
8. If we are feeling real pious and try to spend all night in prayer like Jesus, keep it silent so everyone else can sleep, please! The longest recorded prayer in the Bible is a 5 minute reading anyway. (John 17)
9. When we pray for our Nation’s Government, remember, God gave them the power they have before we even voted.
10. If we are hurting & really get angry in prayer, remember even the Psalmist ‘vented’, but be careful before you ‘lose it’, His wrath is bigger than ours and His love is beyond any earthly understanding.

1. The Psalmist had a passion for the word of God, that is a real good place to start (Psalm 119:23-24, 159). The Christian who loves Jesus Christ as The eternal Word is in the best position to really learn the truth from the Scriptures, why? Because Jesus is the Way, the Truth & the Life (Jn. 14:6) Remember, He is the Word of Life (1st Jn. 1:1).

2. Pray for wisdom in the Word, (James 1:5) Please do yourself a favor and read the Bible for more than just knowledge, ask God for wisdom while spending time in the Word, and His Spirit will give it. Jesus taught us to “ask…seek…knock” (Matthew 7:7-11) and it will be given. Really good things from Heaven, come straight out of the Bible, if we pray about what we are reading!

3. Have a spiritual attitude, instead of a physical mindset that says, our IQ is high enough to delve into an ancient manuscript to decipher intrepretations that can be adapted to a modern lifestyle. Yes, we are reading it in a second language written centuries ago, but a spiritual attitude, that says, God’s Spirit relates the point of what I’m reading, better than my own IQ, is going to reveal truth to me. That is better than trying to work it out with my own intellect. Paul taught us to be spiritually minded when reading the Scriptures, Read 2nd Corinthians 2:14 – 3:3 to enjoy this perspective before you dig deep to study God’s word, or else, your time with the Bible can easily turn into nothing but an academic exercise instead of a spiritual one.

4. Have the number one goal in your Bible study to do this: God’s will. When our objective to learn what God wants us to do with His wisdom, is to put it in our behavior, we are really being a disciple of Jesus Christ. This is actually a promise that Jesus makes to all of his disciples in John 7:16-18. If you want to really know the truth, make your goal in learning to obey The Father’s will, not your own desires, but His.

5. Accept it: Some parts of the Bible are deep! So be prepared to read some passages more than twice and compare them with other passages, before you draw a conclusion about what it is really teaching. Peter admits that some things Paul writes are very hard to understand, 2nd Peter 3:15-16. Be thankful that the whole Bible isn’t complicated and realize that the effort you make in comparing Scripture with Scripture in view of what other people say, is a noble-minded approach to learning the truth. When God sees us really persevere with our study, He esteems our mind as beautiful, Acts 17:11.

6. Admit that we all have pre-conceived ideas about Jesus and the Bible. Try to push aside and challenge prior beliefs about The Word, before you make conclusions. Afterall, the biggest mistake the Leaders of Israel made with Jesus, was to ignore the facts of what kind of “King” Jesus was proving to be. John 18:33 – 19:15 is the story of how the preconceived ideas of Jewish Rulers towards the Kingship of Jesus turned Pilate against Jesus, even when he saw Him innocent. We can all be guilty of looking the truth in the face, without realizing the right conclusion, if we do not deny our own pre-conceived ideas.

7. Read & learn from the Bible with complete awareness that the words of Jesus are at the center of God’s eternal good news. Jesus reminded us that if anyone rejects this good news, it will one day be the standard of judgment against people who refuse to accept that His good news can cleanse, empower and enlighten their life. Jesus gives us this warning in John 12:48.

8. Perhaps this last quality is the most important. We must believe that what we are reading is actually God’s word, not of human invention. Paul knew that faith in the divine origin of Scripture, is essential, and if we don’t believe it, we will not grow in true discipleship to the Word of Life, which is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior. Read 2nd Thessalonians 2:13.

In 1st Timothy 3:1-12 is a passage with as much authority as any other in the entire Bible. There are two very important words used by the Apostle Paul from God’s Spirit in these lists describing Elders & Deacons. The word “MUST”, in v2, and also the word “LIKEWISE” in v8. They reflect the seriousness of God’s will in these lists. They make the descriptions actual requirements before the office is appointed to any man. Why are these lists to be used as requirements? Because “must” & “likewise” necessitate accountability. When problems arise in any service, no Elder, Deacon or Evangelist should be able to say, “sorry, but I’m not qualified to do the job, so don’t blame me for at least trying”. If a congregation requires men to meet these descriptions, the congregation has the right to get answers when things go wrong.

You might be asking, ‘but where is the willingness to forgive in all this’? Forgiveness is always desired and indeed can be experienced when anything goes wrong with a ministry, but forgiveness does not mean we do not get answers. When a person says sorry, it’s not genuine unless the person gives admission and at least gives reasonable explanation for trying to prevent it from happening again. The whole reason Jesus teaches forgiveness is for all of us to have an equal footing for growth. We are all sinners and should live a life of repentance. Read Matthew 18:15-22 and ask yourself this question, “Would forgiveness be experienced In the binding and loosening of the conversation between the offender & offended?” Yes indeed, because that conversation is where both people realize their battle against sin needs actions based on promises to prevent it from happening again. No matter how many times it happens, we must always try to reach forgiveness. Seventy times seven means we never stop trying to forgive. Without offering forgiveness, no one can learn to grow in righteousness and overcome evil in our life.

With this determined desire to hold the office of a Deacon, let us hold each description as a requirement.

Deacons are to be of good character, and not two-faced – HONESTY

Not addicted to alcohol – SELF-DISCIPLINED

They are not to use shameful ways to make money – JUST

They have clear consciences about possessing the mystery of the faith – DIVINE PURPOSE

They are to be evaluated with a proven good reputation – EXPERIENCED

Their wives should also be of good character, not gossiping – (EXEMPLARY IN LOVE)
Their wives should control their tempers and be trustworthy in every way. (EXEMPLARY IN SUPPORT)
He has only one wife & manages their children well. (EXEMPLARY IN TRAINING)

Perhaps the most peculiar requirement concerns possessing the mystery of the faith. This is a reference to the whole point of the gospel. The mystery is revealed so clearly in Ephesians 3:4-6. Where God proclaims that both Jew & Gentile are co-heirs in Christ, being equal members of the same body. The gospel of Christ’s forgiveness is to be shown in our work, by treating each person as an equal. This is how the ministry of a Deacon started in Acts 6, when the quarrel between Hebrew & Hellenist Christians began. The fair distribution of God’s grace towards all widows was hard work. Herein we need Deacons, so let us appoint men who want to prove the grace of God in meeting people’s needs regardless of who they are. Never let anyone say of any congregation that there is even a hint of prejudice among us. God is love and let us prove it in our leadership that can set a Biblical example for everyone.