Epaggelia

Solomon wrote that before any of us did, (Proverbs 14:), and it’ll inspire more people than any of us ever will.

The USA is now 234 years old! Still a baby brother in the eyes of nations around the globe. But then again, so was David, in the family of Jesse. That little brother grew up to kill a giant and lead a nation to produce the greatest Savior the world has ever known. When Jesus Christ comes again, he has asked the question, “When the Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). The answer to that question lay in the future of the church of Christ as we know it. The USA seems to be where the Lord Jesus Christ may be feeding the majority of his siblings, and if we do not regard righteousness as the number one priority for our nation, we can lose so many opportunities to help other nations grow in righteousness. God’s righteousness is what our nation and other nations need. But what will our nation produce in the coming years? When Jesus comes again, where will the bulk of the church be? The church will be exactly where God wants it to be, and whether that is in China, Africa or the USA should not really matter to us, what should matter most, is that we promote righteousness in everything we do. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied!

– Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:6)

Little children often ask funny questions about Heaven, such as, “when we get to Heaven, won’t we get bored of singing to God all the time?”  There are even some parents that find this question hard to answer! Praising God isn’t something we should be bored with.  Interestingly, the longest book in the Bible is Psalms, and in the New Testament, ‘praising’ God is mentioned often, at least 46 times!

Praising God is a major theme in the Revelation. Considering it was written while undergoing fierce persecution, that speaks volumes!  When Christians sing, it is sometimes joyful, other times mournful, but no matter what the emotion, it is never boring. While early Christians were suffering persecution, the Revelation showed them that praising God was mostly because of God’s power & control, they found so comforting.

Why so much praise from the visions in the Revelation? Let us take a look at the words used in Revelation. They describe the content and purpose of praise to God, even while suffering for doing what is right. 

Rev. 1:6, “GLORY & DOMINION”,   4:11, “GLORY, HONOR & POWER”,   5:12-13, “POWER, RICHES, WISDOM, MIGHT, HONOR, GLORY, BLESSING & DOMINION”,   7:12, “BLESSING, GLORY, WISDOM, THANKSGIVING, HONOR, GLORY & DOMINION”,    19:1, “SALVATION, GLORY & POWER”.

Notice how often Dominion, Power & Might are repeated, and in every verse, the word Glory appears!   God knows that when John and the persecuted Christians read the Revelation, they probably would not feel like praising Him while suffering so much, and that His love wasn’t very obvious when martyrdom threatened them. So He showed them His glory and power. This is the main purpose of praising God, to be empowered from God, not our own feelings.

When Paul and Silas were imprisoned for their faith, they deliberately began praying and singing to God while in chains!  (Acts 16:25)  Why? To gain God’s power, so they could endure the trial faithfully. Do we want to keep faithful to Christ as a Christian?  Praise Him, Pray to Him and keep pointing out to ourselves the promises in His word for power! 

Some people claim the 10 Commandments to be older than Moses, others believe the ancient rules had an effect on civilizations we will never be able to identify even in archeaology. Whatever we believe about the 10 Commandments, one thing is for sure. When Jesus came, he held that the golden rule was around from ancient times and would never be improved upon. Loving God and loving eachother is what being a Christian is all about, and with that in mind, let us look at some New Testament revisions of the 10 Commandments. 

Keep Jesus First, (John 14:6)

Worship Only God, (Mark 12:30)

Use God’s Name Honorably, (Ephesians 5:4 & James 5:12)

Set Apart Time For Rest & Holiness, (Matthew 26:45 & Mark 6:31)

Honor Your Parents (Ephesians 6:2)

Respect Life (Romans 13:9)

Stay Faithful In Marriage (Romans 13:9)

Always Ask Before You Borrow (Romans 13:9)

Be Truthful With Your Neighbor (Colossians 3:9)

Enjoy What God Gave You (Romans 13:9)

Of course, we could list many more, but it may be appropriate to keep in mind that God is love, and necessitates that we learn to hate what is evil. Here is a list of things the world would be alot better off without and that God detests. 

Seven Things God Hates (Proverbs 6:17-20)

1. Arrogant Looks
2. Lying Mouths
3. Violent Hands
4. Wicked Hearts
5. Feet Running For Evil Goals
6. Slander
7. Breaking Up Families

and of course, since we are learning about lists. Here is a list of what the Bible says, God truly loves… 

Seven Things God Loves

1. Everyone in the World  (John 3:16 & Romans 5:8)
2. Anyone Who Loves Jesus (John 14:21 & 16:27)
3. Whoever Accepts God’s Discipline (Hebrews 12:6 & Revelation 3:19)
4. A Cheerful Giver (2^nd Corinthians 9:7)
5. The Church (Ephesians 5:25)
6. Righteousness (Hebrews 1:9)
7. Jesus Christ, (John 17:23-24)

We must come to the Bible, not to have our opinions confirmed, our prejudices reinforced, our pet issues endorsed, or our “proof texts” approved, but to hear the voice of God and learn of his will for our life. We must have a spirit of obedience and submission to the authority of his word each time we read the Bible. The attitude of the Psalmist is one we would do well to imitate:

“Open my eyes,” he says, “that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18)

Paul gives this instruction to Timothy: “Reflect” he says, “on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” (2 Timothy 2:7) And to the community of believers in Philippi he says, “And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” (Philippians 3:15) The use of our mind, along with the guidance of the Spirit, is indispensable in our interpretation of the Bible. His goal is clearly given in Romans 8:28-29, conform to Christ.
“The Bible can mean anything you want it to mean” is a common enough claim and there is a sense in which that is true. The Bible can be made to say anything you want it to say if you approach it with a certain frame of mind that fails to observe some basic rules of interpretation. The existence of cults confirms how a bad interpretation of Scripture produces bad results. And even “mainstream” Christians sometimes have beliefs and practices that owe their existence to a wrong interpretation of Scripture.

So how can we interpret the Bible correctly? When we come to Scripture we must do so in a spirit of humility and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. The author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit and he is its best interpreter. We need to keep the following scriptures ever before us:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” (1 Peter 1:10-11)

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ” (Matthew 23:9-10).  “Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you that you do not know the truth, but that you do know it, and that no lie is of the truth”. (1st John 2:20-21)

His introduction as a Judge is similiar to Samuel. His birth was announced by an angel, Judges 13:3. But Samuel’s birth was ushered in with God’s answer to Hannah’s prayer, 1st Sam.1:20, 2:21. Whenever this happens, be it with Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, Mary or Elizabeth, there is a common theme between them all. A holy child is produced from God’s strength. Luke 1:35, Romans 15:13, 1st Thessalonians 1:5, Revelation 20:6. With holiness, comes power, that is strength to do what God wants us to do, rather than our own self interests.

What is the purpose of a Nazarite vow? Numbers 6:3,21.  It is a way of showing our separation, or consecration for the holiness that God gives to a person’s heart.

Could the diet of Manoah’s wife, as preparation for conception, be evidence for the anti-abortion cause? Why couldn’t baby Samson start the vow as a boy, before he became a man? Why begin the vow in the womb? Jer.1:4-5. How did Samson begin and end his life?

The Angel of the Lord appeared as a man to Manoah’s wife, but had glory which made her feel in awe of his presence. Judges 13:6

Gen. 31:11-13 shows us the true identity of the Angel of the Lord, see also Gen. 32:24-30. When he appeared the second time, his name is called, “WONDERFUL”, Judges 13:18. How can you see a person’s name?  This must be a reference to the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6.

The story of Samson is the longest of the Judges, except for Samuel, who is also called a Judge. 1st Sam. 7:15

Every parent should ask God the same question Manoah asks, see Judges 12:13. What is our rule/standard of life?

What happened when Manoah sacrificed the goat & grain on the rock?

The story of Samson’s parents is the foundation for his success as a Deliverer. God works through prayer. If we want our lives to be powerful, what must we have? If we want our community/society or nation to be godly, what must parents be doing?

Without holiness we will not see God, Hebrews 12:14.

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart —Jeremiah 17:1.  Our heart is affected by the sin we commit. We need help in obtaining a healthy heart.  A bypass or medicine will not do the job, we need a complete transplant!  God says, “ I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart” Jer. 24:7. God knows we need Him and His forgiveness. Jesus claims to be a surgeon/physician for our heart. Matthew, Mark & Luke all record the same claim, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Mt.9:12-13, Mk.2:17, Lk.5:31-32.

Jesus told the parable of the unforgiving servant to teach us that we must forgive from the heart, as God forgives from His heart. Mt. 18:23-35. The fact is, a sinful heart can not forgive like Christ forgives, unless it is born anew.  Forgive each other as Christ has forgiven you, Eph. 4:32
Heb 10:19-23  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Just as surely as the blood of Christ given 2000 years ago can not touch our physical hearts, neither can it purify water in a baptistry or muddy river. But by faith, we trust God’s promise in the blood to cleanse our spiritual heart, renewing us, our WHOLE being. Then, and only then can we be presentable and accepted by God as a new creature.  2Co 5:16-17, From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.  Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him that way no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Today when someone becomes a Christian, they are operated on, Col. 2:11-12, in the operation of God, their heart is circumcised by Christ.  After the work of God initiates a new creation, He then gives himself as a personal trainer, to help us maintain and grow the fruit of the Spirit.

He has come to live with us in the Spirit of Christ, He says through the prophet Jeremiah and the apostle Paul, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. 2nd Corinthians 3:3 & Jeremiah 31:33.

Do you personally believe in this promise?

Grace indeed, is the greatest word in the greatest book, the Bible. If not for God’s grace, we would know nothing of His love for us personally, nor would we ever have even heard about the blood of Jesus. Without God’s grace, there would be no Jesus, no New Testament and no hope of salvation. Our world would be a horrific place in which to live without the grace of God. Read Mark 2:1-12, Did the man DESERVE God’s power to be healed because of his faith, or did God heal him because of his faith in God’s gracious power?

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Does our faith EVOKE God’s blessings, or make demands on Him?

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Grace, Hebrews 10:29.

The apostle Paul instructs us to be strong in God’s grace, 2^nd Tim. 2:1.

Paul believed that Christians stand in the grace of God, Romans 5:2.

The grace of God causes salvation to appear to all of us, Titus 2:11.

By grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is

the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9

…as God has dealt to each person a measure of  faith. Romans 12:3

What does God’s grace teach us?  See Titus 2:11-14.  Can we see God’s grace?  See Acts 11:23.  When we do see God’s grace, do we call it grace, or ignore the giver of all good and perfect gifts, James 1:17.  If we use the word “grace’, as the Bible uses it, we will grow strong in His grace and stand in it firmly. This is good news, it is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!  Do you have those Riches?