Epaggelia

It takes time to become a soldier. If you are recruited by the Department of Defense, it will take MONTHS to get your first active post. Before you become a fully fledged soldier, you must first be qualified, taking an oath.  Secondly you must be trained in basic protocol.  Thirdly, you must be educated in your particular assignment.  Fourthly you must be transported to your first base of operation.  Then your able to be a soldier and help defend the freedoms and liberties of the Nation you serve.  Christians are enlisted into an Army, which has Jesus Christ as our Captain. His Spirit gives Christians nourishment and training to become an active soldier, to help defend His fellow citizens in the Kingdom of God. Why? To accomplish the mission of saving souls from the schemes of Satan, our arch enemy in this life, helping them become members of God’s secure eternal city, the New Jerusalem. Christians have their own citizenship in Heaven,(Philippians 3:20). 

Now where is your oath? Jesus said if you confess me before men, I will confess you before my Father in Heaven.  (Matthew 10:32)

Where is your training & education? The word of God. Sharpen your sword and exercise it’s use daily, (Ephesians 6:17)

Where is your base of operation? Wherever God gives you the opportunity to share or show the good news of Christ! Therein lay the power to be a fully fledged soldier of Christ, do not get entangled in the affairs of this world and it’s distractions away from the good news of Christ. Keep growing in His grace and knowledge, so that we can continue to keep sharing our faith, which is a shield to protect us from all the fiery darts of temptation that are fired against us every day.  Fight the good fight of overcoming evil with the good you can do, and you will taste the victory over temptation in your daily life, while helping someone else get recruited into the most glorious and victorious Army ever built. (Romans 12:21). One of the best tactics of the Army of Christ, is that we never kill the soldiers of the evil one, we simply attempt to recruit them, but at the end of every day, it’s up to them to volunteer or not. Our Captain is the Lord of love and it’s hard to kick against the goads of Christ, no matter how vicious an enemy we face. We win in Him!

To call someone “Lord” doesn’t mean much today, as Festus called Agrippa “lord”, is the way the word is used flippantly in politics, Acts 25:26. But as Jews and Christians use the word “Lord”, it should be used only in reference to our God of omnipotent rule.

            Jesus is Lord over terrestrial forces, he proved this first in the making of wine from water, Jn. 2:1-12. And in instantly creating loaves & fishes for over 9,000 people in different occasions, Jn. 6:1-4, Mk.8:1-10, and also for instantly withering the fig tree, he proved his sovereign judgment in nature, Mt.21:18-22. And over celestial forces, proving this when he walked on water, Mk. 6:45-52, Jn.6:15-21. And over our climate, he proved it when he stilled the storm & sea, Mk. 4:35-41, Mt. 8:23-25.  He holds everything together, Col. 1:17, Heb. 11:3.  And over animals, showing instant control in riding the young colt of a donkey, never trained nor ridden on before, during the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Lk. 19:28-40. And of the sabbath, fulfilling the old law of Moses with it’s prophecies and making null & void all of it’s commandments against us on the cross, Lk. 6:1-5, Col. 2:14.  And over the demons, proving this when demons cried out for mercy in His presence, and He showed them none, Luke 8:26-39, 11:24. Jesus is also Lord over the human body, the most complicated and amazing of His creations, He proves this in the many marvellous healings of human weaknesses and deformities in His miracles, Mat. 4:24 & Jn. 21:25.  He is the firstfruit of the Resurrection in overcoming death, Jn. 11:25-26.

            Is Jesus Lord over our life?  One day He will be Lord over EVERYONE in judgment, 2^nd Ths. 1:7-10.  It is wise to be in submission to His Lordship now, before He arrives. Both Paul & Thomas showed their submission to Jesus as Lord.

Paul the Apostle knew that to call Jesus his Lord meant sacrifice, Php. 3:8.  If we make Jesus our personal Lord, we submit everything we are and everything we have beneath His control, for then will we truly know how great and merciful a Lord He really is, Ps 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. Ps 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.  Ps 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;  Ps 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.  Ps 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Thomas the Apostle knew Jesus as The Lord and expressed his personal and public dedication to Him as offering his own life, Jn. 11:15-16, but The Lord Jesus was not truly his own Lord, until he saw Jesus resurrected, THEN, Thomas said, “My Lord, My God”, Jn. 20:28.  Secular history records Thomas as a lifelong faithful apostle and left this earth as a martyr for his Lord.  We may not physically see Jesus, but we do have the mind of Christ in His word, 1Cor. 2:16, and the Spirit of Christ in our heart, Rom. 8:9.  If you are looking you can see His Lordship.  This can only be seen with the eyes of your understanding from your inner being, which Paul talks about in Eph. 1:18, 3:16.  His Lordship can create a new life in us, if we will accept his gift and entry terms into the Kingdom, Ac. 2:38-39, 22:16. Repentance and baptism is not done simply to show the world that Jesus is Lord.  Obeying the commands of Jesus in repentance, confession and baptism are simply demonstrations of our faith in the promises the Lord Jesus makes.  What is His promise?  He will remove your sins and give Himself to you.  Acts 2:36-39

 The Lordship of Jesus can be seen today in His…

…Supper and Cup, 1^st Cor. 10:21 & 11:20

 … Day, Revelation 1:10.

And in our conversation, Romans 10:9, 1^st Corinthians 12:3.

 His Lordship is seen in the fact that He has been appointed HEAD over His body. What He wants done, should be at least attempted by us. Today in the USA, many see Christianity as an enterprising business, an organization that uses a message to make money.  This is sad, because whenever a “body” is turned into a business it is usually referred to as prostitution. Let us make Jesus and His will, the command of our heart, and try to give everything that is His, freely. Freely we received, freely we must give.

The Apostle Paul struggled with this subject, and teaches us that our only problem is our mortal weakness of ignorance. The fact that we are human, means that we can not know the future for certain. We therefore can not know clearly what we should pray for in every circumstance.  Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”.  But this is only true, if we are solely leaning upon our own humanity, experience and knowledge. What if we lean on God, His word and what we have learned from Him? Then we can indeed know what His will is and pray accordingly. Whatever areas of our life which are not commented on in Scriptures, indeed leave us ignorant of His will, but when the Scriptures speak about God’s will for our lifestyle, work and attitude, then we know what to pray for with certainty and can pray with clarity and confidence. The Hebrew writer proclaimed this in Heb. 4:15-16 & 10:19-22. Confidence in prayer, can only come, when we understand what the blood of Jesus does for us, and what the will of God is for our daily lives.  God wants us each to have confidence. How do we get this? A clean & clear heart, as well as a lifestyle that is pleasing and obedient to God. Read 1^st John 3:21-22.

Here are subjects every Christian should have confidence in praying about:

 1. God’s Strength & Wisdom, Ephesians 3:14-16, James 1:5.  Saint’s perseverance and requests, to grow in The Spirit, 2^nd Cor. 1:21-22, Acts 8:14-16,  Eph. 6:17-18 & Jn. 17:11-16.  Saint’s love and holiness to grow, and the Father’s name is sanctified,“hallowed”,  1^st Ths. 3:11-13, Jn. 17:22-26, Mt. 6:9.   Saint’s thankfulness to grow, 1^st Thes. 5:18-19.

2. Evangelists message to have boldness & open doors, so that God may grant  repentance, Eph. 6:19, Col. 4:3. Rom. 15:30 &  2^nd Cor. 1:10-11, 2^nd Tim. 2:25.    Harvest laborers, sowers & reapers, to perform God’s work, His kingdom’s will be  done, Mat. 6:10,13, 9:36-38 & Jn. 4:33-35.

3. People in Government to use authority for the promotion of peace, godliness &  honesty, 1^st Tim. 2:1-2, Rom. 13:4, Psa. 46:9.

4. Persecuted Saints, Hebrews 13:3.

5. Enemies of The Church, Mat. 5:44.

6. Forgiveness for ourself the sinner, and the salvation of your neighbor, Rom. 10:1,  Heb. 7:24-25 and also the sinning saint,  Mt. 6:12, Ac.10:4, 8:21-24, Luke 23:34  & 17:1-5.  Personal deliverance from Satan’s temptations, Mt. 6:13. Luke 23:46,  Prayer is to be used, to place ourselves into His care & direction. We know our souls are located in Christ, but do we put our events, behaviour and interests into the Father’s hands? This is linked to the growth of sanctification. 2^nd Peter 3:18. Helping us make ourselves available for His deliverance from Satan.

7.  Personal daily necessities, Casting your care upon Him, Mt. 6:11. Matthew 27:46 &  1^st Peter 5:7

The Spirit of Christ says through the apostle Paul, that there is “a new order of existence, and on all who are guided by this rule, be peace and mercy on the Israel of God. (Galatians 6:15-16). Who exactly is the Israel of God? Whoever they are, they have access to the peace and mercy of God. Paul proclaimed that Christians had God’s peace. That is to say, God was not only their God in Jesus, but also their friend. He is merciful to them, in giving them every reason to praise Him and be thankful for the blessings of forgiveness and the hope of a victorious life in Heaven. This was planned for you and me before the earth was created. The ancient prophet Ezekiel prophesied that God’s people would be united under one King forever. Read Ezekiel 37:15-22. He promises that divided Israel and Judah would be reunited as the house of Joseph. Paul calls Christians “the true circumcision” (Philippians 3:3) and the Israel of God, because he knows what Jesus has given us.

The life of Joseph is prophetic, God was foretelling how the Messiah would lead all his children out of Eygpt/Sin.  This wasn’t something Moses did all by himself. It was Joseph who made his descendants promise to carry his bones back to the promised land. After 400 years, Moses kept the promise by the instigation of God, and led the house of Joseph back home! You can see Jesus in Joseph when you look at this story in Genesis, prophetically.

Why is Joseph and Jesus so attractive and essential ? The character of Joseph and his lifestory has many uncanny parallels with the life of Jesus. Without Joseph living the way he lived, he could have died and never had descendants, however his success ensured life and a future for Israel. Joseph cheated death at least 3 times in his life, 1-in the pit from his brothers. 2-in lies of Potiphers wife & prison. 3-in the court foretelling dreams of the Pharoah, if Joseph’s explanation proved false, Pharoah could have killed him. Here is a list of similarities which bring the lives of Joseph and Jesus into an analogy of a Savior.

They both had amazing births, Gen. 30:22-24 & Mat. 1:18-23

… were taken into Egypt to escape death, Gen. 37:28 & Mat. 2:13

… saved lives from Egypt, Hosea 11:1 & Mat. 2:15

… became servants, Gen. 39:4 & Php. 2:7

… began ministry at about age 30, Gen. 41:46 & Lk. 3:23

… were full of the Spirit of God, Gen. 41:38 & Lk. 4:1

… returned good for evil, Gen. 50:20 & Mat. 5:44

… were taught by God, Gen. 41:16 & Jn. 5:19

… loved people freely, Gen. 45:15 & Jn. 13:34

… gained the confidence of people quickly, Gen. 39:3 & Mt. 8:8

… gave bread to the hungry, Gen. 41:57 & Mk. 6:41

… resisted difficult temptations, Gen. 39:8-9 & Heb. 4:15

… had his own brothers reject him, Gen. 37:5-8 & Jn. 7:5

… had visions into the future, Gen. 37:6 & Mt. 24:3

… tested people to reveal their true nature, Gen. 42:25 & Mk. 11:30

… were hated for their words, Gen. 37:8 & Jn. 7:7, and his followers too. Ac. 5:17, 7:9-14, 13:45.

… were sold for the price of a slave, Gen. 37:28 & Mat. 26:15

… were silent before false-accusers, Gen. 39:20 & Mk. 15:4

… were condemned between two prisoners, Gen. 40:2-3 & Lk. 23:32

… were pronounced dead before their fathers, Gen. 37:33 & Lk. 23:46

… rose to reign in a new life as a Lord, Gen. 41:41 – 45:8, & Mk. 16:6 – Rev. 19:16.

 Lastly it is interesting to note that Pharoah said the same words of Joseph, as Mary said of Jesus, “Do whatever He tells you”, Gen.41:55 & Jn. 2:5. One for bread, the other for wine. We must come to church with the priority of seeing Jesus, and we will if we desire to. The Communion is a spiritual feast wherein we proclaim a risen Savior from the dead, in his flesh/bread and blood/wine. We can see Jesus in eachother’s physical fellowship too. Joseph was not physically recognized by his own brothers when they came to him starving in Egypt, Gen. 42:8, and neither did the nationalistic brothers of Jesus recognize Him for who He really was, Jn. 8:19, “You know neither Me nor my Father, if you knew me, you would also know my Father.” Do we really know who Jesus is, and do we desire to see Him? Our life depends on believing He is who he says he is.

Once upon a time there was a Hen and a Pig that decided to make an escape from Old MacDonald’s Farm. Their timing was awkward because it was Sunday morning and a church was right across the road, so they waited till everyone was singing and they could run away unnoticed. As they passed the chapel, the church sign was now in view, which they never saw from inside the Farm. It read “Today’s Sermon: What Shall We Do For The Poor?” . The Hen told the Pig, “Now that we are free, we can do what we want,…what about giving the ‘Poor’ a Ham & Egg Breakfast?” The pig replied, “That may be a nice contribution for you, but a sacrifice for me”.  Many Christians realize that giving is easy when it’s only from our abundance, but when do Christians realize that giving can also be a sacrifice?  The problem we have, is that we see giving as the Hen & Pig see it. Is giving what we want to do, or is it what God wants us to do? When Jesus realized His Father had the Cross in mind, how did He react? Prayerfully ! The question of contribution or sacrifice can only be answered from fervent prayer. There are many ways Christians make sacrifices. Jesus taught graphically about them in Matthew 18:1-10, cutting off feet if they made you stumble and plucking out eyes if they caused you to sin. But that is not what Christians do, is it? No we seem to never take our fight against sin so seriously.  The truth is, God isn’t interested in our sacrifices that maim ourself, but He is desiring us to do whatever we can to kill off our fleshly desires that lead us into sin.  Read Colossians 3:5.  

Some Christians live with sin, others fight with it, but none of us obliterate it, until Jesus comes again. So does that mean we give up? No. God has always called us to recognize His own superiority and guidance over sin. In Jesus he defeated it. The Old Testament shows us His attitude he wants us to adopt concerning sin. In the Templegrounds, the burnt offerings for sin was always OUTSIDE the Temple itself. The offerings inside the Temple were Oil, Bread and Incense. None of these were about sin, they were about our expressions of holiness and thankfulness, grattitude. But in the Holy of Holies, blood was brought from the outside and offered on the mercy seat inside. The blood went through the place of offerings, sanctifying them all.  The apostle Peter entitled all Christians with the following description: (1^st Peter 2:9) “But, ye, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a peculiar treasure, that the excellences, ye may tell forth, of him who, out of darkness, hath called you into his marvellous light” 

What is a priesthood all about? Making sacrifices.  Christians should make sacrifices for our King. The sacrifices we make, should give credit and glory to Jesus, not ourselves.  Why?  To Mediate between the Lost and a Holy God. If we do not have a priesthood, no one gets access to God. What qualifies the priesthood to sacrifice & mediate? The royalty and holiness of Jesus. Without Him, we are unqualified as a priesthood, It is His Power in his royalty and his Purity in His holiness that qualifies us.  The apostle Paul called all Christians to live like they themselves were sacrifices, (Rom. 12:1)

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, through the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living, holy sacrifice, unto God acceptable,—your rational divine service;”

 Sacrifices to God were burnt, this means they smelt.  There were also the offerings of incense, resulting in an aroma.  Paul spoke of this very effect in our lives as Christians.  Ephesians 5:2.  And walk in love—even as, the Christ also, loved you, and delivered himself up in your behalf, an offering and sacrifice unto God, for a fragrance of sweet smell.” We are priveleged by Christ to be the reality of Temple offerings shadowed from the old covenant. Why? Because we (Christians in the Church) are a Temple!   1st Cor. 6:19-20. See Philippians 4:18, also. Even our praise of God is a sacrifice,  Hebrews 13:15.  What  a  privilege to be a Sacrifice and make sacrifices!

The notion many people have of holiness, seems to be a pious purity that everyone finds illusive.  Many people think you touch it on Sundays and can’t seem to see it again through the week, till Sunday comes around again. But that is not true holiness. There is a good example of true holiness in the life of Daniel. We see firstly, that Daniel, “purposed in his heart not to defile himself” (Dan.1:8). That is the best purpose anyone could put in their heart. Daniel refused to indulge in the King’s fancy food and wine.  Why? Because Daniel knew whatever the world found great and exhalted, the Lord found despicable and an abomination (Luke 16:15), so to keep his heart’s purpose true, he wouldn’t let the world’s great food and drink, pull him down into degradation of morals, afterall, the first bite was fun, what would other things the world highly exalts do for Daniel? Daniel also refused to turn his back on God’s word, (Dan. 1:9-13). What was the result? The Lord God gave him knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom”, (Dan. 1:17). What a success story! Who wouldn’t want that? The truth is, God gives holiness, Daniel just lived like he was thankful for it. That’s true holiness.

Christians can lose track of what God’s purpose is in our daily life, and end up losing all sight of His holiness. To grow it, appreciate it and show holiness is something Peter said we NEED. “Be holy because God is holy” (1st Pet. 1:16).  Our life is full of attempts to achieve so many different things. How often do we conscientiously try to express grattitude for God’s gift of holiness in our heart. We can win at many goals in our life, but they are very temporary. Take for example the extreme atheletes amongst us.   36 years ago Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the famous tennis match that acclaimed Billie Jean King globally in the world of sports. She is now at the official age of retirement hitting 65 and still promoting women’s rights around the globe. But what has she won? Lots of medals, titles and money! That is what she loves and that is her reward. Sadly, she has missed the most

important victories in this life. She lost her marriage to divorce, she lost her baby to an abortion and she lost her integrity before God to her perversion of her gender. Famous people are notorious for winning the world and losing their own soul. Look at the best of them, Elvis, Sinatra and Jackson, the list goes on and on and on. Are you shocked at my presumption that these people will not be saved and end up in hell? Do not forget that God says, “ For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Lk. 16:15) What are we really trying to win in this life? 

Jesus wants us to win at the battle of overcoming evil with good. That can only be won with the righteousness of God, not our own. Do you have the righteousness of God? No one can get to Heaven without His righteousness. (Mt. 5:20). His righteousness makes us holy in God’s sight. If we believe this, we should want to show our appreciation for this grace. If we do, we bless God and our self with grattitude.  However you serve God to do what is right is holiness, it can be something as simple as giving a cup of cold water to the least of God’s children. Whatever way you are able to show thanks in service, don’t let it stop. Multiply that talent you are sharing! God is pleased, you please yourself and others are blessed by it too.

To make a public display of God’s wisdom, Eph. 3:10. The early church first demonstrated this by the power of God’s Spirit, recorded in Acts 2:42. There are four ways they did it, and we can emulate the same powerful purposes of God. Firstly, the “Apostle’s Teaching”, encompasses preaching and teaching from Christ’s Spirit. The Apostles wrote out the mind of Christ, and we have it with clarity in the New Testament. God’s purpose in the Apostle’s Teaching is to fill every listener with the grace and knowledge of Christ’s mind (1st Cor. 2:16). Secondly, the “Fellowship” Christians have is precious and maintains the unity God gave us in His Spirit. This should be a practical demonstration of the love of God (Jn. 13:34-35). Without genuine godly fellowship between Christians, God’s purpose in sharing His love is not met. We are obligated by His love that is poured out into our hearts, to share Him. Romans 5:5. The church in Thessalonica was told that life as a Christian essentially involves comforting and encouraging eachother, 1st Ths. 5:9-11. Thirdly, the purpose of God in the church is to proclaim the Lord’s Death until He comes. We do this by sharing the Lord’s Supper. God fulfills His purpose of sanctifying our hearts in His love by giving us a place to remember what Jesus did and promises to do for us. The Communion of unleavened bread and the cup is a public proclamation of the price Jesus paid for you and me. (1st Cor. 11:26). God’s purpose in it, is to empower us to love Him for what he has done for us on the cross for our sins. Releasing us from the consequences of our sin. Fourthly, the purpose of the church is prayer. Prayer is a tool God gave us, so that we can be interceding for the world, 1st Tim. 2:1-2. We are to be devoted to prayer, Col. 4:2 and we are to never stop praying, 1st Ths. 5:17-18. Jesus and His Spirit is our mediator to the Father’s Throne of Grace, but the world lost in sin, can not approach His holiness and enjoy the benefits of direct communication with Him. But God’s purpose in the church (Christians) is to help the world come before God with their needs and anxieties for help. Why? Because He cares for us and them, Jn. 3:16 & 1st Peter 5:7.