3:00 PM – 3:45 PM Session # 14
The New Testament Church in
Action
1Cor 12:12 ¶ For as the
body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body: so also is Christ.
Paul’s
confirms what we have already stated.
The human body, and the body of Christ as His church, should function
alike.
1cor 12:14 For the
body is not one member,
but many. The Greek makes use of the “absolute
negative” for the word “not”. Literally
defined, we are told that under
no circumstance, should a congregation be made up of a few active
members. This argument hits at the very
core of “a great church deception.” My beloved brethren, one pastors that literally controls the
governing life of a church, makes for all intents and purposes, the body of
Christ into a “non body”. Like
wise, parishioners who fail to discern, and fulfill their ministries, forcing
pastors and ministers into positions of control, do just the same.
1Cor
12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I
am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
v
Deception in the church; an independent spirit.
1Cor12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not
the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? What an incredible dependency we must have
for each other. An independent spirit
towards the Lord Jesus, or towards one other, will stunt our process of
growth. Every member is called to
sharpen each other, through their callings and ministries.
1Cor 12:17 If the whole
body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were
the smelling? The fewer the number of
members serving and ministering within a local body, the fewer will be the
giftings available to it. This
particular congregation will be greatly hindered in its discernment of demonic
infiltration. There will be a
deficiency in the prophetic that administers guidance, exhortation, and
encouragement, and the confirmation of God’s will.
1Cor14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
If the apostolic
ministries are deficient, how will the right foundation be laid? A church without the revelation of Jesus
through the apostolic witness of the risen Christ will build lopsided.
Acts 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great
grace was upon them all
1Cor3:10 According to the grace of God which is given
unto me, as a wise masterbuilder( ARCHITECT), I
have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man
take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
v
Every church that I have attended in the last twenty years, for the exception of the one that I go to now, has been unable to
discern the presence of wolves, gross sin, and major doctrinal error, blatantly
obvious in its midst. In due time God
always exposed these forces. Considerable damage had been done to the flock
however, or God finally closed the congregations down. Much of this has to do with the lack of
commitment and participation of the church’s members or the prohibition of
spiritual gifts by the elders.
1Cor12:
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the
body, as it hath pleased him..
The
pastoral staff shares in the function of overseeing, for example
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves,
and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
This favorite word of mine
for “overseeing” is “episkopos” .
Literally, it comes from two words meaning, “standing above, in order
to examine into, and scope out needs and problems.” My brethren, this
remains a true function of any eldership staff.
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have
no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
Literally
the Greek admonishes us, that not even of the weakest member can we say “I
have no need of you” and not be lying!
The superior members are in desperate need of the inferior
22Nay, much more those members of the body,
which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.
The weakest members are indispensable.
23And those members of the body, which
we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely
parts have more abundant comeliness.
Literally “we place a wreath of superabundant honor upon the weaker
or more unseemly members”, says the Greek. .. Our deformed, indecent, and unseemly parts
always require special care. That same
care should be given to all weaker members within our congregations.
24For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having
given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: “To temper” means That God has
caused each part of His body
to be melted and hammered together into an organic whole.
Mat 10:5 ¶ These
twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the
Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
9 9 Provide (To acquire, procure, or possess) neither gold, nor
silver, nor brass(coins
or brass, or money) in your purses,
10 Nor scrip(a traveling bag for
provisions) for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves:
for the workman is worthy of his meat.
v
Personal testimony: The vision of the hand sweeping the
coins
v
Guaranteed finances for ever
v
The pot of manna
v
The rhema word of God as our guarantee in
life!
v The restoration of the apostolic walk
must come forth in this country, at least amongst prophets and apostles. Called
apostles, cannot operate as apostles if they do not have an experiential
understanding of Matthew chapter ten. I
personally would like to have a lot more money than what I currently have. Our intentions, for one, are to give freely
into Native American ministries who desperately need it. However, if the need is to continue to
operate in the walk depicted in Matthew chapter ten, though considerably more
difficult and not always enjoyable, we must continue to do so. This walk is one
which full of the miracle working power of God and which amply displays the
ways of God.
Koinonia
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him.
·
First John two and fifteen
is an example of what I call a “proportional scripture.” In other words, to the proportion that the
love for the things of this world fills the limited space of our heart, is to
the same proportion that the love of God has no more room within that limited
space, and must leave.
·
If we see the importance of
our ministry as greater than that of being simple slaves of Christ Jesus
without any rights, save the right to obey, the things of this world will not
have been taken to the cross, and our ministry will take place in the bondage
of vainglory, jealousy, bitterness and the likes. True ministry is never about
numbers, money, fame, glory or recognition.
It is simple moment-to-moment obedience to the Lord as He tells us where
to go and what to do, whether it would be to the small or the great, the
exciting or the mundane.
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
·
Greek: You cannot be a
slave to two lords… You will hate one, and love the other one
unconditionally…you will embrace one; and think little of the other…Ye cannot
be a slave to God and to material acquisitions.
·
Matthew six and twenty four
is another one of those “famous” proportional scriptures. To the extent that we embrace material gain
for the wrong motives is to the same extent that we will think little of, and
hate the Lord. By hating the Lord, I
mean to say that we will hate what He requires from us that regard the yielding
up of the material wealth that we dearly embrace. Our ability to obey the Lord,
as Lord, will be restricted likewise to the extent that we are submitted to the
lordship of material gain.
q
New Testament fellowship must supercede
religious tithing! This is a very important truth!
Act
2:42 ¶ And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship,
and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many
wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had
all things common;
45
And
sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had
need.
v Possessions; property, land and estates:
Goods; possessions, good, wealth
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord(Homothymadon) in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, {from…: or, at home}
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the
people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
·
Today, we hear more and
more what I consider as sound doctrinal arguments regarding that tithing is not
taught by the Lord Jesus. I believe
that there is soundness in tithes and offerings. For twenty-two years I have tithed and have never lacked anything. Today, I still usually tithe and find that
there is strong spiritual safety in doing it. However I find myself being
governed much more by the law of fellowship.
In other words at any, and in all occasions, I must be ready to impart
great or small, from all my possessions whether physical, emotional, or
spiritual as led by the Holy Spirit, knowing that nothing belongs to me, and
that God loves and wants to bless everyone equally to me.
q My wife, Mary, has a wonderful story
that has made a substantial impact upon my life. When she was a missionary with Youth With a Mission in England,
there were many young people that virtually had to pray in their soap,
toothpaste, and the expenses for the school.
Mary came into the organization with a trust fund that paid her monthly
expenses. The Lord had prior to this revealed to her that everything belonged
to Him. Everyone that was attending the
school was just the same as Mary; God loved then equally, and wanted to bless
them in the just same way as Mary had been blessed. She was simply the steward of the trust fund as the Holy Spirit
directed. This my friends is the
meaning of “New Testament” fellowship.”
2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also
bountifully.
·
He which soweth
bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Greek: “He that soweth upon a blessing shall reap
upon a blessing.”
·
What the apostle Paul has
in mind when he tells us to sow bountifully is that our sowing must be of such
quality and in such quantity that it will reach to produce a real blessing upon
someone else. Such a man or woman will
reap a blessing back from the Lord.
Mother Teresa said, “We must love until it hurts.”
1 Tim 6:18
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute,
willing to communicate;
v Ready or free to impart
1Tim 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the
time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
· Greek:
Treasuring up for themselves a beautiful foundation into the future so
that they may be
free in the present time to grasp and make their own eternal life.
The Gideon Principle or That of the Over Comers
v Watchman Nee
stated that since the church at large has failed to obey God, God has attained
and completed His work always through out all generations with a few
people. It is supremely important that
these few will hear and obey the rhema word without hesitation. They must always move forward, never doubting
or hesitating. God will do great things
and accomplish His plans through these few in each and every local body.
Basically the work leaving Egypt and entering into the Promised Land was in the
hands of Moses, Joshua, and Caleb; the three over comers.
Abram
¶ Gen 12:1 Now the
LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,
and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2
And
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Moses
Exodus 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside
to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses,
Moses. And he said, Here am I.
7 ¶ And the LORD said,
I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have
heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
4 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large,
unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and
the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the
Jebusites.
Gideon
Jude 7:5And the LORD
said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and
deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every
man unto his place.
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM Break
4:00 PM – 4:45PM Session # 15 Saturday
Church Growth Not By Programs But By the Spirit #1
Matthew
26:28 For this is my blood of the new (the freshness of something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.
·
Testament
In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the word for testament
is more correctly translated as covenant. The idea of a covenant as defined by W.E.
Vine in “An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words” is a “mutual undertaking between two parties or
more, each binding himself to fulfill obligation.”
· New :
This is a most interesting word.
It is defines as the freshness of something brand new, as is the case of
a new car. The New Covenant has the
ability to convert all things and make them brand new in quality, if we fulfill
our obligations in keeping covenant with the Lord through obedience.
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation):
old (archaic)
things are passed away
; behold, all things are become new
·
Second Corinthians five and
seventeen utilizes this exact word for “new”. At the instance of our becoming born
again, every thing that was within us of the old creation passed away. At that same moment, the Lord made all
things fresh and brand new. Of course,
we all get old and die, but everything that pertains to our spiritual life has
become like the brand new car.
·
Paul uses the perfect verb tense to describe all things as
becoming new. The perfect tense
describes an event that has occurred in time but its results and impact goes on
forevermore.
·
Being in Christ has caused
all, which is not of Him to be abolished forever and to be replaced with a
fresh newness, which will never get old again.
·
Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new (the freshness of something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.
·
Shed Means to pour out lavishly and
abundantly. The blood of Christ is poured out for us in this way. I say, is poured out, rather than saying was
poured out, because the verb tense is in the present. In Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20, the Lord, likewise, uses this same
present tense. What was going through
the mind of Jesus when He described a future event in the present? The New Covenant can only maintain its
eternal “newness” through the blood, which is eternally poured out to keep it
new. The question for you and me is,
what happens when we start to disobey and fail to keep covenant with the
Lord? The blood of Christ is found only
in the New Covenant. If we willfully
move out from the confines of the New Covenant in disobedience, the blood is
not available and we will remain in the archaic condition of bondages and sins.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship
( sharing
in common) one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
·
Greek (my paraphrase): But if we
should conduct our life in the light, in the same manner as He (conducts
Himself) in the light, we associate one with the other. This association allows for the Lord and us
to participate and share with one another.
This sharing in common allows us to obtain the things of God as the
blood of Jesus Christ His Son continuously cleanses us (so that
we can obtain)
·
In
the measure that we order our lives in obedience to the Lord is to the same
extent that we will have fellowship with the Lord. Fellowship, or the sharing in common, allows us to participate in
the things of God so that we can obtain from Him. The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us in proportion to our obedience and we obtain proportionally to the
cleansing by the blood. Conduct,
association, participation, obtaining, and the blood of the New Covenant
present with ever act of obedience so that we may obtain.
Matthew
26:28 For this is my blood of the new (the freshness of something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
·
Remission – Remission is defined as the sending away
of something. The blood belonging to the New Covenant constantly sends away
sins as we fulfill our obligations with the covenant through obedience. Wherever we step out of covenant, “the blood
that sends away,” will not be present.
2 Timothy 2:26
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who
are taken captive by him at his will.
· Greek:
That they may return to soberness out of the snare of the devil, having being
hunted down and caught alive by him, in order to do his will.
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted
(charming and
lovely) in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption (the ransom payment of slaves that has
freed us) through his blood, the forgiveness (sending away) of sins, according to the riches of his
grace;
Greek
( my paraphrase) In whom we have the liberation of
slaves brought about by the Lord Jesus’ satisfactory ransom payment. This ransom payment is His blood. The blood serves as God’s ransom payment
because it has the ability to send our sins away.
·
Verse six and seven of Ephesians chapter one
tells us that because the blood of the Lord has sent away our sins away, we are
now (“accepted”) charming, and lovely, in the eyes of the Father.
8 Wherein(Greek: which) he hath abounded (caused
us to abound) toward
( into) us in all wisdom and prudence;
·
I am uncertain in verse
eight if what the Lord caused us to receive in abundance is His grace and the riches
that make it up, or if it is His redemption.
It matters not much at this point.
The importance of verse eight is that the abundance of the Lord’s
blessings to us is limited by wisdom and prudence. Wisdom is our understanding of the will and the ways of God, and
our submission of every part of our lives to that will. Prudence is our step-by-step, daily
execution of this will, as we are guided by the voice of the Holy Spirit. The
abundance of God’s riches and blessings are released in proportion to how much
we conform our daily conduct to God’s wisdom and prudence.
·
Toward is a wonderful word. In
reality it is the word “into.” The saints who have become charming and lovely
to God are now the receptacles “into” which God desires to funnel all that He
is, and all that He has. The more
obedience, the more funneling!
·
The devil knows that the
more passive and complacent that he can keep us in our study of the Word, the
less that we will know of God’s wisdom and prudence, and the reduction will be
in the abundance of the blessings of the Lord to us. Remember, it is not what we think that we are performing of the
word of God but in reality are not, that releases the riches of God. The Lord’s blessings are only funneled upon
what we do in accordance to accurate reality of the Word in His wisdom and
prudence. This is why we witness so
many ministries and churches that sow much and reap little. The Lord will not bless the doctrines of
men, which is our continuous and inaccurate performance of the Word of God; no
matter how good they sound or look.
·
Likewise, the devil will
take us alive and keep us complacent and lazy in our prayer life. He knows quite well that only what is
accomplished through intercession in God’s dwelling place (in the third
heaven) that will have any eternal effect for us (in the first
heaven.)
·
Finally, a successful
Christian life that is a threat to the devil is one of spiritual athletic agony
and wearisome labor. Such a life is
accomplished by violent spiritual believers who take the kingdom of God by
violence; never passivity!
Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying,
This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God;
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will:
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion ( “a” communion, not “the”
communion)of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
·
·
Marvin
Vincent, the Greek scholar translates the first part of First Corinthians ten and
sixteen in the following way. “ The cup over which the familiar formula of
blessing is pronounced.”
·
· The communion
of the blood Communion is the word for fellowship. As we have discussed in
First John one and seven, fellowship is defined as an association, participation, and a
sharing in common. In this case, the
cup represents our spiritual participation and sharing in all the benefits that
the blood of Christ has in store for us.
·
· 1 Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup,
when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
·
· We are told that that the cup is
likewise the New Covenant of the Lord.
Let us see why.
21 For as often as
ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come
v Greek: For at
any time that you choose to eat this bread and drink this cup, you publicly
proclaim and declare with thoroughness all that the death of the Lord Jesus
signifies, until the time that He chooses to come.·
The New Covenant located in the blood
of Jesus is inaugurated with the death of the Lord Jesus by the shedding of the
same. Our partaking of the cup becomes a
spiritual display of the New Covenant and the death of Christ, which it fully
declares. · We must
receive all of these things by faith. The importance of this can be found in two
scriptures that we studied;
Romans 3:25 and 1 Cor.10: 16. Our faith in the blood of Christ releases
our communion with it and allows us to obtain from it in proportion to our
faith.
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made
nigh by the blood of Christ
·
Greek paraphrase; you were
once far off, not only in distance but alienated from God and without access to
the things that belong to Him. Now by
His blood, you have become close to Him and enjoy full access to Him and His
things.
·
This
scripture is a good example of how we must commune with the blood of Jesus in
order to receive by faith its benefits.
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of
his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say,
whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Greek ( paraphrase) He brought about the state of
freshness and newness to
the whole universe
through the blood of His cross. He is
able to harmonize all things back to Himself whether upon the earth or in
heaven through the blood
of His cross.
·
·
By
“harmony” I mean that the all that pertains to the universe is subjected to
Christ, under His headship, and can now be restored to its original condition
and purpose, which God had for them prior to the fall. Christ shed His blood for the whole universe,
partially in preparation for the eternal ages to come. We can therefore confess before Satan, that
Jesus has harmonized everything in us to His original plan and state. Satan, therefore, cannot touch us.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained ( to find, discover, or to meet upon) eternal redemption( loosening) for us.
Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and
the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of
the flesh:
Hebrews 9:14 How much
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
without spot (to be
without moral stain or blemish.) to
God, purge your conscience from dead works ( corpse like works) to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
· Greek: And almost all things
with blood are cleansed according to the law.
Apart from the blood shedding (through the giving up of a life) can
there be the sending away of sins.
Heb 9:23 ¶ It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be
purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these.
· Greek: It is
necessary that the earthly copy of the things which are in the
heavens themselves be purified with the blood of bulls and goats, but
the heavenly original with more excellent sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
· Greek: Christ did not enter into the holies made with human hands
which is merely a copy resembling the authentic. He entered into heaven itself to make Him visible before the face
of the God on our behalf.
v For one,
Christ has done exceedingly above what the earthly high priest could do. The
high priest could only enter into an imperfect earthly copy of the tabernacle
that dwells in heaven. There, he could present the blood before the glory of
God, which dwelt on the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus, however, when into heavens itself,
into the authentic tabernacle, and presented Himself before the very face of
God, not just His earthly glory.·
v This has insured us with an absolute
purging of our sins and an assurance of a completely thorough salvation. As we live in this imperfect world, we can
still believe for total freedom in every part of our lives, or at least our continual progress towards it.
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost ( completely, perfectly, utterly) that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them
Heb 9:23 ¶ It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be
purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these.
·In verse twenty-three we observe that
the earthly tabernacle was cleansed with the blood of bulls and goats so that
priestly ministry could take place. How
much more effective can our ministries be if the authentic heavenly tabernacle
has been cleansed with the blood of Jesus?
There is no excuse for each of us to be powerfully used by the Lord if
we serve the living God and not dead works.
Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk ( military steps in rank and order)
in the Spirit.
Greek: If we
are living in the Spirit, let us march in the steps of a soldier with the
Spirit’s wishes.
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Greek: We have
at all times therefore a fearless confidence before God that gives
us an entrance into the holies by the blood of Jesus.
·
Boldness is one of my
favorite New Testament words. It simply
means, “ to tell it like it is.” Because the blood of Christ has made us charming and lovely
before the eyes of God we now have boldness with Him.
·
Boldness urges us to come before God, having nothing to hide from
Him, without shame or guilt, fully confident and assured, and with the ability
to speak intimately, frankly and with reverential bluntness.
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and
our bodies washed with pure water.
Greek: Let us continuously approach God with a heart that is
genuine and real (not religious) because we are fully confident. This confidence comes through our faith in
all that Christ has done for us. We
base this faith on the fact that our hearts were once in the past sprinkled
from an evil conscience, but the impact of this event has a lasting and eternal
impact. Likewise, our bodies were once
in the past washed with pure water (the blood of Christ), but the impact of
this event has a lasting and eternal impact.
v We see the
perfect tense used in Hebrews ten and twenty two. The salvation of the Lord
accomplished for us two thousand years ago continues effective now and
forevermore.
Hebrews 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the
sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Greek: By faith he Moses performed the Passover and the pouring
of the blood lest the destroyer of the firstborn might do them violence and
cause them injury.
· This is a very important scripture in
spiritual warfare. Our claiming of the blood of Jesus towards Satan will stop
in part the violence and injury that he would cause to our loved ones and us.
·However we must not forget to perform
the Passover in conjunction with claiming the blood of Jesus so that our
protection will be complete.
· For us to day, the Passover signifies our complete exiting from
the land of sin; our eating of the unleavened bread, which is a holy life
before God; our not fearing man or Satan, but stepping out instead into a life
of faith and obedience, which will take us into the promised land of freedom
and our spiritual vocation.
1 Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not
redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
· Greek: Knowing that with things which perish such as silver and
gold (which cannot pay the sufficient ransom payment to liberate slaves) you were bought, from your empty manner
of life handed down to you from your ancestors.
19 But with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish
(internal purity)
and without spot.(external
staining by sin)
· Greek: But by the precious and highly honored blood as of a lamb
void of internal blemishes and thus unspotted externally by the world and Satan.
· This is the costly price of our
deliverance that is ever before God and allows us to have boldness with
Him. Likewise this must be our
confession before the devil.
The Full Armor of God
·
The full
armor of God comes from a Greek word that in reality means the “full array of
the weapons that belong to God.”
·
My
experience as a believer concerning the putting on of the armor of God has been
one where I have been taught to every day by prayer or “positive confession”
put on the armor piece by piece. Though
these things are not wrong in themselves, I believe that there is a great deal
more to effectively and correctly put on the full armor of God.
·
I would
like to make a comment concerning “positive confessions.” The scriptural
definition of “confession” is the outward testimony or evidence that our mouths
give as to the reality of what is happening inwardly with us. Confession is the outward act that our
mouths give in agreement to our spiritual state with the Lord.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
·
The
word of our testimony that causes us to overcome the enemy is more than a
simple spouting off of scriptures and prayers at the devil. The devil must see
the testimony or evidence of our lives before him. A believer’s life that is pure and free because it has gone
through the cross of Christ and has been raised up to manifest His glory, is
the word of our testimony or evidence that will overcome the devil because he
sees the presence of the Lord in our lives and flees.
·
Yes, it
is supremely importance to confess who we are in Christ, but it will not be
enough to overcome the Evil One if the confession of our position in Christ
does not agree with our obstinate disobedience and bondages inwardly in our
lives. The devil sees, laughs, and will
leave us alone so that we may continue blinded and rebellious. He has no fear of us, he only fears the
revealed Lord.
·
We can confess scriptures at the enemy until
we are blue in the face. However if we have unrepentant sin in our lives, right
at that very spot, the enemy will have a claw dug deep into us until the time
that we repent or until the time we die in our unrepentance.
·
The
same thread of thought can be found in the concept of binding and loosing. I am not against verbal binding and
loosing. I use it all the time in
spiritual warfare and deliverance and see the powerful effect of it. However the completion of binding and
loosing has to do with forbidding and permitting. Absolute binding of the enemy can only come through a life that
is whole and free in the Lord and permits not part of the enemy’s methods to
touch it.
·
Please
look with me at the one example of true binding as found in John 14:30
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for
the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
·
As I
did this study I was amazed to find that almost every instance in which Paul
commands us to take a step of action in putting on the full armor of God, it
occurs in the Greek aorist tense.
·
By
steps of action I am talking about such instances as “ putting on”, “to stand”,
“take unto you” and “having done all to stand” to name a few.
·
A while
back we had studied the Greek aorist tense. This Greek verbal tense is similar
to the English past tense, but it is actually stronger. The aorist tense is called the tense of
punticular action, which is fancy word for a “punctuation mark.”
·
The
aorist tense is an event that produces a punctuation mark on history’s time
line. It is one such as the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. At one set instance of time in history, the
Lord said “ it is finished” bowed down his head, and gave up the Ghost. This event is a punctuation time on the face
of history, forever more marked, and recorded.
·
Our
putting on the full array of the Lord’s weaponry must be done as a once and for
all putting on which produces a historical punctuation mark, and then never
taking it off again. Sounds
confusing? I will explain.
·
Let it
suffice at this moment to say that if we through our prayers and positive
confession are to put on the full array of God’s weaponry daily, then Paul
could not have used the aorist tense.
He should have said, “Continue to put on daily the full armor of God.”
·
Secondly,
the weaponry of God put on by daily prayer and positive confession will only be
partially effective in a believer’s life that has unrepentant sin and
significant bondage. The word of our
testimony won’t line up right in the eyes of the devil.
·
It is
my belief that the absolute and complete putting on of the Lord’s armor can
only be progressively accomplished as we attain to the maturity of the stature
of Christ by becoming as free and holy as He is and conformed to His image.
·
The
full armor of God is nothing else then the fullness of the revelation of the
Son of God in our lives. This is why
Paul tells us in Romans 13:14…
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
·
For us
to begin our study on the armor of God we must first look back to Ephesians
3:16 & 17.
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
·
We have
taught before that the glory of the Lord is the invisible God made visible.
·
Whenever
the Lord is made visible there are riches that belong to the glory or to His
visibility.
·
It is
the riches that make the Lord visible that likewise inwardly strengthen us with
the dunamis power of the Lord. This is
because the glory of the Lord contains within it the dunamis power of God.
·
The
dunamis power of God is the vehicle that transports the riches of the glory of
God from the spiritual realm, and manifests them out into a lost and dying
world through us.
·
Verse
seventeen tells us that this same dunamis power working in us reveals the
Person of Christ within us. In other
words, God’s dunamis power manifests the Person of Christ to us through
revelation. Dunamis power is God’s great transporter from the spiritual to the
physical.
·
The
fullness of the revelation of Christ in our lives is “the Christ that dwells in our hearts.” There is a
difference between living in a house and dwelling in a home. The person that dwells within a home has
taken residence and settled down in that home.
She or he feel welcomed in their home, they have absolute control over
the home, and do as they please within it.
Conversely speaking, as we allow the Lord Jesus to dwell and have full
sway in out hearts, He will reveal Himself fully.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will
love him, and will manifest
myself to him.
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man
love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come
unto him, and make our abode
with him.
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,
and in the power of his might.
·
Ephesians
chapter six and ten commands us to continuously receive this dunamis power of
the Lord so that He can be progressively revealed in our lives as the Christ
that dwells in our hearts. This is the fullness of revelation.
·
The dunamis power of the Lord in verse 10 is
defined as the display of the Lord’s outward dominion brought about by His
inward strength. This is what it means
by “ the power of his might.” This is sort of what happens to Pop Eye when
he eats the can of spinach. The
tremendous inward strength that is multiplied within him at the eating of the
can of spinach is translated into a manifestation of outward strength which
caused him to dominate and conquer all, even Bluto the bad man who ran after
beautiful Olive Oil.
·
This
domination of external circumstances is called “dominion” and is in indeed the
same as Lord’s dominion over all His creation.
·
The
Lord’s dominion or manifested expression of the strength that resides within
Him is found in His dunamis power. The extent of the Lord’s dominion that is
transported by his dunamis power is His ability to subdue all things unto
Himself.
Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may
be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself.
·
The
amount of God’s dunamis power working in us is measured as to how much are we
allowing the Lord to subdue or bring the dominion of all things unto Himself.
The fullness of revelation of the Son is the fullness of the Lord’s power. The fullness of revelation is the Christ
dwelling, and not struggling, or competing with something else in our hearts.
·
The
more that we live out of the dunamis power of the Lord because we have yielded
our life in all meekness to the Lord the more that we shall see the Lord subdue
all things underneath our feet. This is
the reality of our taking up the full armor of God.
1 Corinthians
1:24 But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
·
The
apostle Paul tells us in First Corinthians one and twenty-four that Christ is
the dunamis power of God. Christ does
not give us the power of God. THE LORD
IS THE POWER OF GOD! Therefore the
more that Christ is revealed within us the more that the dominion of God to
subdue all things under our feet becomes an automatic and effortless reality
that is assimilated into our being.
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
·
We seen
therefore that this is the key to our putting on the full armor of God
·
The full armor of God is the revelation of
the Lord Jesus Christ brought to us by his dunamis power as an expression of
the outward dominion of His inner strength.
·
·
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
· “That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil” is defined in verse eleven as having enough of God’s dunamis
power manifested inwardly so as to allow us to hold our ground against the
“methods” of the enemy and to never to lose it again.
· My friends, we can never accomplish this
by putting on a daily armor through prayer and positive confession. This is the result of the revelation of the
Lord that subdues every part of our lives into submission to His will.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.
·
We can translate verse
thirteen like this. Take (aorist
tense) therefore the fullness of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ into
your lives so that you will have the dunamis power to stand face to face
against (the whole of the demonic hierarchy) in the evil day…
· “And having done all, to stand.” Do you remember the cartoons of the
Coyote and the Road Runner? These guys
would get into a tizzy of a fight and kick up a ball of dust so big that they
would be lost within it. When the dust finally cleared up the coyote was on the
ground and the roadrunner was always left standing.
· This is exactly what it means to “and
having done all, to stand”. Simply speaking in every spiritual dust
ball that is kicked up in our lives, as we struggle against sin, Satan, and the
world, we must remain standing at the end of every contest, and our spiritual
foes must be found powerless at our feet. We can only attain this through the
revelation of the Son of God.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt
about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
·
In verse fourteen, the
apostle Paul begins his step-by-step explanation on putting on the armor of
God.
·
“Having your loins
girt about with truth”. A belt is used to keep our clothing
intact. When we put our shirt our
blouse inside our pants or skirt, and place some type of belt around our waist,
the belt itself keeps these articles of clothing in place.
·
Truth is what is genuine,
accurate, and in accordance to fact. It
is not what we believe from error or in misunderstanding of the word of God
that will set us free, but what be believe about the Word which is its essence,
reality, and accuracy.
·
Understanding and living out the word of God in truth will keep
the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ intact in our lives. There are no shortcuts to knowing the Word
of God in truth. It takes time in the
research and study of the Word, and an intimate walk with the Lord that will
bring forth revelation knowledge of His Word.
·
The breastplate of
righteousness is a breastplate made purely out of righteousness. Now, I know,
that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, but this alone is not
sufficient for us to come face to face against the devil and leave him limp on
the ground before our feet. Our hearts must be purified to become as righteous
as the Lord Himself. The pure in heart
will have the Lord Jesus revealed in their lives. Revelation takes purity, and
purity is the result of a very intimate walk with the Lord. Intimacy allows us
to dwell frequently in the presence of the Lord. It is His presence that sets us free.
2 Thessalonians
2:8 And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
·
Greek; He shall render
the Wicked one useless and non-operational with the manifestation of His
presence.
15 And your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace;
· Greek:
Having your feet undergirded (aorist tense) so as to walk with the readiness of
the good news that brings peace.
· Paul tells us here that the conducting
of our lives in this world among believers and non-believers must be
accomplished by our being ready or prepared to offer the good news that brings
peace to them.
· Peace is the same word as “shalom” in
the Hebrew, and talks about the wholeness and freedom of the Lord worked into
our lives through His revelation that finally brings us into a state of
tranquility and peace. This peace is
the result of the Lord having subdued all things, which are not of Him
underneath our feet and settings us free.
· We can only preach the gospel prepared
in such a way that it will bring others into this same state of “shalom” only
when we first experience it. We can
only give to others what we have inside of us.
· Secondly, Paul’s definition of the gospel that brings peace
teaches us that the gospel that bring cannot be mere words, but it must include
our discipling and mentoring people and setting them free so that they may do
the work of the ministry.
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
· Literally it is a shield that is made up
purely of faith.
· As we have discussed before, the
standard of God’s faith for us is found in His rhema word, or the voice of His
Spirit.
· We must not walk in accordance with our own flimsy faith but with
the Lord’s faith.
· Therefore taking the shield, which is
made up of God’s faith, is a command for us to walk by the voice of the Holy
Spirit from moment to moment. The rhema word of God not only has resident
within it God’s measure of faith and power to make it come to pass, but God’s
rhema word also reveals the Person Lord Jesus Christ into every situation in
which it is spoken.
John 17:8 For I have given unto them the rhema words which thou gavest me;
and they have received them, and have known surely that I came
out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
·
·
Diversities of
operations as found
in 1 Corinthians 12:6 tells us that the Lord will manifest Himself through the rhema
word in accordance with how the circumstances warrant it and in accordance to
the personality and the giftings of the human vessel that He manifests Himself
through. Every rhema word will manifest the Lord through the diversities
of operations.
1 Cor 12:6 And
there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all
in all.
·
When we walk taking the
shield of God’s faith, we operate by His rhema word, and the faith, power, and
the revelation of the Son of God will subdue all the “methods” of the enemy
against us, thus quenching all of his fiery darts.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
· The sword of the Spirit is defined in
the Greek as the “rhema word” of God and not the logos word. I believe that this is self-explanatory to
all of us.
18 Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;
·
Greek: Using all general prayers and specific petitions at all
times in the Spirit to accomplish the state of being awake and attentively
guarding all saints. This guarding in
the Spirit for all saints is executed through the means of a constant steadfast
devotion and individual petitions for them.
· My friends, I will be the first one to confess right here
that I am not too close to fulfilling the requirements of verse eighteen.
· Selfishness is nothing else than our attentive indulgence
upon ourselves because we are still bound up with hurts, fears and sin. Selfishness is introspective self-absorption
because we are hurting, and still need to become free, and we focus upon
ourselves so as to make ourselves free.
As we become free in the Lord our attention starts to become diverted to
others needs rather than ours, and we become “selfless” instead of selfish.
· The result of having put on the full armor of God, which
is the full revelation of Christ, is that our prayers are now so “others centered”
that through our constant devotion to individual petitions for many Christian
brethren, we keep them spiritually guarded.
It takes a person that is really, really, free in the Lord by His
revelation to do something like this!
19 ¶ And for me, that utterance may be
given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of
the gospel,
·
· Greek:
( paraphrase)And for me that words may be given so
that when I open my mouth to proclaim the mystery of the gospel I will do it
without fear, embarrassment, intimidation, or hindrances. In other words I will tell is as it is.
·
There are two points of
importance in this scripture. First,
the result of conducting our lives in the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ
is that His revelation subdues and conforms us to the image of His liberty and
wholeness. His Person has no fear, or
embarrassment, or hindrance associated with it. This is the definition of scriptural “boldness” and only a
believer that is approaching wholeness in the Lord can preach the word of God
with “boldness.”
·
Secondly, we cannot, and
must never preach the gospel, with the dry and crusty words of religion, but in
the power of the rhema word of God.
20
For which I
am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
4:45 PM – 7:00 PM End of the Day’s Seminar, Dinner, and Evening
Break
7: 00 PM A prophetical
time ministry is available to those that feel led to come back after the last
session of Saturday’s seminar. Ministry
time is not part of the seminar. Those
that wish to come are welcomed to do so, at the individual leading of the Holy
Spirit, and their own discretion.
Please do not feel obligated to attend.
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM Session # 16 Sunday
Church Growth Not By Programs
But By the Spirit #2
·
Intercessory Prayer
·
The kingdom of God and
the believer as the land where the kingdom operates.
·
The supreme importance
of being free and whole in the Lord.
Intercessory Prayer
1Tim 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving
of thanks,be made for all men;
2 Corinthians 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years
ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot
tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
Ephesians
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.·
·
The second heaven is what Paul refers to as “spiritual
wickedness in high places” This is the area of demonic activity. For us to
get into a place of holding sustained and intimate conversations with the Lord
we must break through the first heaven of our earthly circumstances, and the
second heavens of demonic activity, into the third heaven of God’s glory.
·
Breaking
forth into the Spirit realm takes physical time and labor in the Lord.
Spiritual labors are such things as speaking in tongues, worship, spiritual
warfare, and waiting on the Lord. Time
is the most important factor in breaking into the third heaven. We live in the Burger King culture of the
fast food life. One of the greatest attacks by the devil on believers living in
Western societies is to tempt them into attempting the same fast food approach
with the Lord. Brother and sister in
the Lord, God is not the God of the fast foods. Breaking into the third heaven
is founded on time and that time on many occasions takes hours a day with the
Lord.
·
Intercession
is the most important and the most difficult ministry in the world. There is
nothing that the devil will attempt to hinder most than the time that the
believer plans to spend in intercession.
We must understand what true intercession is. Let us look at the following scriptures.
Romans 8:26 ¶ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the rhema word of God:
1Cor 2:10But God hath revealed them( taking the lid off) unto us
by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth(sounds
out like a sonar sounds out the deep things in the ocean.) all things,
yea, the deep things of God.
·
Let us look at First
Corinthians 2:10. The rhema word of God reveals the things of God. It also
sounds out, in the same way that a sonar on a ship sounds the bottom of the
ocean floor, the deep things of God. The Lord never deals with the symptoms of
problems. That is the work of the devil. The evil one has the world riding on a merry
go round of psychology, symptoms, syndromes, and disorders. The Lord on the other hand always drives
straight to the root of the problem.
·
It has been my experience that in most cases of serious diseases
amongst Christians there is a spiritual, family, generational, or sin root
associated with it.
·
The purpose of intercession
is to sound out the depths of God so that He reveals and isolates the specific
roots of the malady, and we destroy it in prayer with the same sword of the
Spirit all while in the same time of intercession. Intercession is the revelation of the ungodly roots of a problem.
We pray back in accordance to the specifics of what the Lord shows us warrants
the situation. In all situations, and
especially serious ones, the surgical work must be done in the Spirit and the
results in the physical will always follow. The devil keeps us locked in the
physical and psychological, and the roots continue to bear bad fruit.
·
True intercession is
usually most successful through a human vessel that has gone through the cross
so that the believer’s emotions and will have been healed and stilled and are
now submitted to the voice of the Holy Spirit. A believer that has his or her
soul life healed and stilled can hear the voice of the Spirit clearly.
Secondly, their state of quietness and submission is enough to allow the Lord
to intercede through them. Deep intercession, many a time, is not the believer
interceding, but the Lord interceding through the believer. This believer is the clean vessel for the
Lord to move within.
·
As we discussed earlier on,
it is only when the Lord intercedes that He knows how to hit with perfect
accuracy the bull’s eye of the roots of any problem that we bring before Him.
He reveals it to us in the third heaven and we use this revelation as the sword
of the Spirit to pierce, destroy, sever, and deliver.
·
·
Luke 11:21 When a strong
man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22But when a stronger than he shall come
upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his
spoils.
·
The evil one is the strong
man. The Lord is the stronger one.
During the Lord’s intercessory ministry as He wields His rhema word as the
sword of the Spirit the strong man’s armor is taken away piece by piece and his
spoils of disease, sin, bondage and so forth are distributed to God as His
victories.
1 Tim 2:2 For kings, and for all that are
in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness
and honesty.
·
· The result of
an active prayer line by Christians changes the face of outward circumstances;
· Quiet
Quiet, is the result of freedom from disturbances and problems that barrage
us from the external world. Prayer
changes the outward condition of the world so that Christians can live a “quite
life”
· Peaceable: This is the tranquility that is developed
from within a person as Christ heals and delivers.
· Godliness: Comes
from two words, which mean to render devotion, worship, and reverence to the
Lord in a fashion that is pleasing to Him.
· Honesty; The dignity and godliness of the man and
woman of God that incites reverence from others.
·
Let us look at the order of verse
two. A healthy prayer life changes the
outward circumstances of our life and frees us from within. This allows us to
maximize our relationship with the Lord and transforms us into men and women of
God that incites reverence and respect in the world, bringing glory to the
Lord.
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and
to come unto the knowledge
)Greek:
“epiginosko”
of the truth.
Greek: Who continuously desires for men
to be saved and to come into a full, precise and thorough knowledge that can
grasp what is genuine and accurate about Him, His Word, His Will, and every
good thing, which He has deposited in each.
·
This is the goal of our
prayers. God is never satisfied with having
Christians get saved so that they can go to heaven one day. He desires all men and women to come into
the four types of a full, precise, and thorough knowledge that I have listed
below from a previous study. It is the
duty of every believer to mature in spiritual knowledge if they are to be truly
effective for the Lord.
Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently (agonizing
with athletic zeal) for you in
prayers, that ye may stand perfect
(to the very maturity of Christ’s
character) and complete (fulfilling every aspect of Christ
will, will so that you have total confidence and assurance in everything that He wants from you)
in all the will of God.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
The prayers of
a righteous person carry much inner strength and punch to exert a mighty flurry
of activity and efficiency before the eyes of God.
The Mind
The Intellectual Focus or what we are absorbed with.
Rom
8:4 That the righteousness of the law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5
For
they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that
are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
v They that are according to the flesh are
absorbed with working in the flesh.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
v It is in active opposition to the Holy
Spirit.
v The law of God, which is the working of
the Holy Spirit, it absolutely does not submit to it in the military fashion
that our walk with the Lord are supposed to.
v Neither does it have the dunamis power
to do so.
Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding( Thoughts) being enlightened( Perfect tense); that ye may know( saber) what is the hope of
his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
2Peter 3:1 ¶ This second epistle,
beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure(
Heilikrines) minds (Thoughts) by way of remembrance:
The Nous- The totality of the mind
Titus 1:15
Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and
unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The Kingdom of God
·
The
Kingdom of God can be defined simply, as any physical, emotional, and spiritual
territory where the Lord Jesus Christ governs uncontested and
unchallenged.
·
The Lord is always in need of space or
domain upon the earth where He can set Himself down to govern and reign. This
is the reign of God in His kingdom.
·
Any earthly government that is plagued with debt,
opposition, unrighteous rule and so forth will be crippled and paralyzed.
·
God did
all of this so that could obtain for Himself a people and a land, which He
could call His kingdom, at least here on earth. The execution of His kingdom
must take place unchallenged and uncontested from foes. This is why the Lord God used such stringent
measures to clean out the land of Canaan of all enemies. This would be the Old Testament
establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth
·
The great Chinese apostle, Watchman Nee
explained the concept of the kingdom as one which describes our God as being in
need of a land.” Brother Nee goes on to
explain that the Lord God summoned Abraham out of his father’s house. Through Abraham’s seed God raised up Isaac,
then Jacob and the patriarchs, and finally summoned Moses to deliver Israel out
of the hands of its oppressors. Finally
God led them into the land of Canaan.
Deuteronomy 7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into
the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before
thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites,
and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater
and mightier than thou
·
Through
this godly nation in a godly land God would desire to provoke all other nations
to want to know and follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
.“ The Land In The Days of the New
Testament”
·
Even now
that the Lord Jesus Christ has established the New Testament, God’s need for a
land has still not changed. It is still a necessity for God to have an
undisputed and free earthly territory from where He can rule, display His
kingdom, bring His glory and draw all men unto Himself
·
Let us
first define God’s kingdom. What is a
kingdom? A kingdom is the undisputed
and uncontested rule and domain of a king.
We know that God is a king.
·
We can now
ask ourselves the following question. What kind of a kingdom does God rule
over? Matthew 10:7-8. The
kingdom of God consists of the preaching of the good news of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the healing of the sick, casting out of devils and so forth. Here we see a God that is so loving and good
that He has invested His whole kingdom and time into the “people business.” God’s kingdom is made up of setting people
free, blessing them, and taking them to heaven.
Luke
17:21 “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
q
In the Old
Testament, God made use of a physical country to establish His kingdom. In the New Testament God utilizes Christians
to bring forth His kingdom. God today uses people. We are God’s land; we are God’s domain.
q Further research will show us how the
Old Testament land of Canaan is now very symbolic of the New Testament
believer. In the book of Joshua we observe how God commands the Israelites to
fight the enemies of Israel
q The Lord commands the Israelites to
posses engage and destroy the enemy and then possess the land for the Lord’s
sake. In the New Testament we see Jesus commanding believers to posses their souls
instead of possessing land
Joshua
1:14 Your wives, your little ones, and
your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan;
but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and
help them;
Luke 21:19 In
your patience possess
ye your souls.
Clearing Out The Land
q
We have established the fact then that it is most imperative
that God as any good and powerful must have an undisputed and unchallenged
territory from which to reign. All presence of foes that would oppose, divide,
and scatter would only serve to cripple the kingdom. There is no earthly king that enjoys contention of any kind that
would compete with his rule and administration. Neither does the Lord God desire for this to happen in His kingdom. In the Old Testament we saw God’s most
exacting laws as to the treatment of enemies and for the relationship of the
Jews to Him. All of this was set up by God to maintain rule and order in His
kingdom.
q
Suddenly we find out in the New Testament that God has
substituted physical land for people.
These people are we Christians!
The believer has now become God’s terrain through which He now preaches
the gospel, heals the sick, casts out devils, makes Himself visible through His
glory, and draws all men unto Himself through the agency of revival! Wow! What
an awesome responsibility!
q
The rules of the land however are still the same at they
were thousands of years ago. Whether it is soil and dirt, or people, God needs
a cleared out, weeded, cultivated, and fertilized area through which He can
move to and fro, rule, administer, and make Himself visible and known. In reality nothing has changed. The Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites,
Canaanites, and the Perizzites of today’s land, are the believers’ sins, hurts,
bondages, demonic oppression, and love of the world.
Deuteronomy 20:17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them;
namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the
Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
q
The rules of engagement also remain the same. God requires that the name of all idols,
sin, bondages, demonic oppression and the likes to be utterly obliterated from
the Christian’s life? Why? These things
remaining in our lives will hinder the free operation of God within us, cripple
His kingdom, and stifle His glory consequently limiting the number of people
that the Lord can draw unto Himself. Today we find that many believers that do
not comprehend, or even know that they are God’s little space of territory in a
huge land of sin. They do not know that
God can only make Himself visible to this world through them. Most believers live and die in bondage, sin,
a hurt being indeed a poor specimen of land for their God and King.
q
Consequently in the last two thousand years since the
foundation of the church, the manifestation of God’s kingdom and His glory has
been very poor at best.
1 Cor 15:24 Then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall
have put down all rule and all authority and power.
q
In First Corinthians 15:24, we see the Lord Jesus handing over
the kingdom to the Father for His use.
Notice with me though, the Jesus was only able to deliver the kingdom to
God the Father after all rule, and authority, and power had been “put down” by
Him.
q
By the way you will be interested in knowing, that the word “to
put down” is the very same word to render inactive, useless and inoperative by
breaking down something. Thus the kingdom of God within the lives of believers
or churches can only be delivered back to the Father for His use in proportion
to the breaking down of all ungodly rule, power and authority in them by the
Lord Jesus Christ.
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM Break
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM Session # 17
Sunday
Church Growth Not By Programs But By the Spirit # 3
o
Hindrances to walking in
the Spirit and hearing the voice of the Spirit.
o
Spiritual Warfare The fundamentals of discipleship.
o .
Casting out the
Enemy through our Devotion and Martyrdom
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
·
The true Greek
interpretation; we have overcome Satan by means of the blood of the
lamb and by means of the word
of our martyrdom.
· The word for testimony in our New
Testament is repeatedly found to be our English word, “martyrdom.”
·
Indeed, Christians through
out the ages have suffered physical death on account of their faith. I would like to say that for most of us
living in modern day year 2000, our occasions for martyrdom is a spiritual/
emotional one. The cross of Christ,
through our obedience to the Lord, is activated to put or sinful self-life to
death.
·
Satan and his minions will
forever grasp, cling, torment, and torture us as long as he finds unrepented of
sin, and lingering bondages and hurts from our past. Only the cross of Christ, through the death of our sinful self,
will free us from all of this. This in
turn will cause Satan to lose his deceptive hold upon us.
·
The activity of the cross
works in direct proportion to our obedience to the voice of God, and the Word
of God.
·
The word of our testimony is
not a simple spewing out of scriptural verses upon the enemy. It is a confession of what the cross has
done and doing in our lives. Only then,
will our words be backed up with the authority of a resurrected life that
emerged from martyrdom. The devil cannot touch resurrection life and will back
away from us.
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once:
but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
·
In our American churches,
we tread upon a very treacherous course.
We have stopped preaching on, and have little value or grasp for the
cross of Christ.
·
We do not posses the authoritative word of our
testimony/martyrdom, as part of our warfare against the enemy.
·
On the other hand, we are
preaching a message of blessings, prosperity and comfort without having our
lives purified by the cross of Christ.
We want resurrection without death and the enemy laughs at us.
·
Because we are not
experiencing resurrection life the works of death continue to have dominion over us.
·
I guarantee you that enemy observes this with keenness and great
satisfaction.
·
He is no way obligated to back away from us. It was the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
which defeated him. Hence the weak
state of the American church at large.
·
“and they loved not their lives unto the death”. For we do not love or cling to
our lives even when faced with death.”
We must hold our lives cheap before the Lord.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him.
o
First John 2: 15 is a verse
which contains a reciprocal principle. This
can be defined as: To the very degree
or proportion that we have the love of the world in us, is to the exact degree
or proportion that we are void of the love of the Father, and visa versa.
·
The devil knows this, and
will continue to harrass us. Why? The devil is well aware, that it is only the
presence of Christ Jesus, and His power, that can cast him out.
Mat 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What
have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to
torment us before the time?
·
Therefore Satan will always
tempt and incite us with a host of varied loves for the world and the flesh and
so forth. These various loves will
cancel out our devotion to God, and keep our sinful and selfish self-life very
much alive.
·
If our self-life is not
effectively put to death, the presence of Christ will not be revealed in us,
and the devil will not be cast out from our lives. .
·
The word that Jesus uses
for “serve” in Mat 4:10
is a very interesting one. It is
literally defined as, to render religious service to the Lord but in the form
of one who has been hired.. This
vocabulary for “serve,” was used interchangeably of service rendered by those
who were free, as well as those whom were slaves. There was no distinction!
There is no dignity, glory, or ministry, in this type of service to
God. It is the simple act of serving or
working for some one else, God included.
·
Only those then who can
serve God with a mindset of humbling himself or herself to utterly obey Him at
the expense of death to self, will become a real threat to the enemy
·
At every point that there
remains uncrucified flesh in us, there remains an automatic stronghold for
Satan.
Casting out the Enemy by the Sunrays
of a Pure Life
1
Cor 5:8 Therefore let us keep the
feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness;
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
2Cor
1:12 ¶ For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
simplicity and godly sincerity,
not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation
in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
2 Cor 2:17
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God,
in the sight of God speak we in Christ
·
In the above-mentioned
three verses, we see that the word sincerity contains within its root the word for “sun” in the Greek
. Only a life of purity before the Lord
will make us into a clear windowpane by which the rays of the sun or “The Son”
can shine through. An impure life will
make us into a dirty piece of glass through which the image of the Lord can
hardly be seen.·
If the enemy cannot see the
sunlight of the Son of God, he shall not leave us alone until the day and the
time that he does, and if he does.
Remember our enemy, the devil, is the greatest legal lawyer that this
universe will ever see, apart from God Himself. He will claw and cleave for every inch of us that has not pass by
death into resurrection. · Secondly, part of our responsibility for generating
purity before God, is found in our consciences. Our conscience contains one of the most powerful manifestations
of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Its
purpose is to either defend or reprove each, and every action of our lives.
, we will
serve God simply by His voice in our spirit and conscience; No more and no less. This is true
sonship.Hebrews
9:14 How much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?
·
·
Simple concerning
evil, is our being
harmless, and being matured into a Christian life that eventually becomes
unmixed with evil. It is as the purity
of a wine that has no sediment in it, and of a fine metal that has no admixture
of alloys and so forth. The simple person concerning evil
is one whom is free from guile, deceit and lives in innocence before
the Lord.
·
·
What is the promise of God
for this type of a believer? God
Himself will bruise Satan
underneath such a person’s feet.
·
·
The promise of God is
greater in the Greek than in our English.
To bruise Satan, is to shatter and crush him to pieces
underneath our feet. What an
encouragement for us to continue to purify ourselves before our God!
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly
beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.
· Notwithstanding, it is the Lord who purifies out. However, we must work out our salvation with
fear and trembling.
· The “let us cleanse ourselves” is in the subjunctive
mood. This fancy grammatical word
structure simply tells us this. Our
failure, or success, in purifying ourselves through obedience, and the work of
the Holy Spirit, is strictly tied up to the action of our will. The subjunctive always warns us that the
action is not automatic, but conditional upon something else.
·
· God will not automatically purify us. Through our own volition and will, we shall obey
Mark 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on
his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not
the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan:
for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve.
·
Oh, how I love the Greek
New Testament. It gives to us so much
more a powerful and accurate translation of the Word of God. I encourage all of you to take it up!
·
What Jesus here commands
Satan and his minions is the following?
“Get so far behind my back that I wont be able to see you
anymore!”. Out of sight, out of mind!!
·
We have this authority my dear friends. Let us begin to “meet it out” upon the devil through a pure and
obedient life.
·
Many of us mistakenly
believe that to cast out the enemy simply requires us to hurl a bunch of words
at the devil in admonition of his departure.
·
To effectively cast out the
enemy, our self-lives must be dead, and the presence of the Lord must permeate
our being. An authentic casting out of
the enemy is only completely executed when he finds no more places within, or
without us, to touch us, or to afflict us.
·
Please observe below that
Jesus claimed that the devil had nothing in Him. This is an authentic situation where the devil has been cast out!
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing
in me.
·
Binding the enemy is very
similar in nature.
·
Once again we err in part, when we think that our binding of the
enemy has to do solely with hurling scriptural phrases at him.
·
Yes, there is power in
this, but the enemy is never completely bound. Absolute binding of the enemy can only occur,when each and every
part of our lives have come into conformity with the will of the Lord, and the
enemy is forbidden a place or space where he can afflict us
Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
·
Let us look at Matthew
16:19.
·
In actuality Jesus tells us the following. The word for bind is “is to forbid”. The word for loose is “to permit”
. What ever we forbid or bind upon the earth shall come to pass, if it
is of the Lord. This is because God
will honor our obedience and count it as forbidden in the heavenly realm. He will then execute His righteousness to
cause us to successfully carry out the binding on earth, which He decreed in
the heavenly realm through our obedience.
·
The same is true of our
loosing, or our permitting. God will
bless our obedience and will loose or permit in the heavenly realm, when we
loose upon the earth. He then sends
forth His power to cause us to execute the act of loosing as was decreed in the
heavenlies.
·
Please remember, that anything,
which God does on earth, must first be executed in the heavenlies.
John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive
nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
·
It goes without saying
then, that for us to effectively bind the enemy to the point where he is no
longer permitted into our lives; our actions must be more than simple
words.
·
Our whole lives must come
to a point where the enemy is forbidden from touching us any longer.
Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot,
and take him away, and cast
him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Acts 27:38 And when they had eaten enough, they
lightened the ship, and
cast out the wheat into the sea.
Acts 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and
honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against
Paul and Barnabas, and
expelled them out of their coasts.
Acts 7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses
laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
Ephesians 6:10 ¶
Finally, my brethren, be
strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
·
·
Ephesians 6:10 tells
us “ Be empowered in the
Lord and in the outward strength or dominion, of His inner strength.
· Do you older folks remember the episodes of Popeye and
Olive Oil? This scripture is a perfect
representation of what always happened to Popeye. Popeye in himself was a fairly weak guy. When he ate the can of spinach however, he
became inwardly strong; his external arm muscles popped out, he then rang
Bluto’s neck, and took the lovely Olive Oil as his priced possession. Right?
· God’s might is His inner strength. Because God is inwardly strong, His strength
is then exercised outwardly in what is called dominion. God exercises dominion over His creation
because of this inward strength! Let us
say that for the matter of simplicity, that the inner effect of the spinach on
Popeye is the same as the inward strength that God possesses. Popeye’s bulging muscles, by which he
clobbered Bluto, is God’s outward and bulging dominion over all of His
creation.
· So what is Paul commanding us to us? His exhortation is for us to be empowered
with this powerful combo of God’s inward strength and outward dominion. What for? The following scripture tells us.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
·
Paul knew, that only in our
being filled with the Lord, could we overcome the wiles or methodologies of the
enemy.
·
The full armor of God
automatically becomes our reality through our infilling with the Spirit of God,
and our obedience to Him. The armor is
assimilated by revelation, as well as put on through our obedience.
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his
power to us-ward who believe, according
to the working of his mighty power
·
“In accordance to the energy that is galvanized through the
outward strength or dominion of his inner strength.” This is how God wants us to
operate. There is no other way for us
to be energized with the life of Lord Jesus, than for us to experience the
cycle of death and resurrection through the cross of Christ.
·
The cross in turn can only
function (the law of the cross) through, and by, our explicit obedience to the
Lord.
I John 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye
have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong,
and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
devil will attack.
1 Peter 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right
hand of God; angels and authorities
and powers being made subject unto him.
·
Made subject unto Him: This phrase is a military
term, defined as “being arranged under”. By the victory that Jesus obtained over all
of his enemies, they have now been all arranged in a military hierarchy of
subordination unto Him.
· It is important for us to comprehend
that authorities and powers
are simply not demonic entities.
· For example, let us examine the word powers.
· The word for power, is translated in the
Greek as dunamis. Dunamis
is the inherent or resident power particular to every thing created in the universe. When the Lord created all beings, He gave
them each a power or dunamis, which is specific and influential to their
wellness and the promotion of their activities.
· Animals, therefore, have an inherent power or dunamis, which
differ vastly from the dunamis of the oceans.
The dunamis or inherent power of the ocean is vastly different to that
of the air. Disease and sicknesses
likewise have a dunamis of their own, and so forth.
· Thus in accordance with 1 Peter 3:22, we
see that all inherent powers residing in all of God’s creation coexist in
military subordination to the Lord Jesus.
· This includes the name of demons,
diseases sicknesses and all circumstances.
Can you see the awesome victory wielded by our Lord Jesus?
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and
might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but
also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and
gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
· More impressive is what the Apostle Paul
has to tell us in Ephesians 1:21-22.
· Please notice the host of hierarchy of
names, which he lists.
· Once again we can observe demonic
principalities, dominions, inherent powers, and every name that is named, in
all the worlds, and in all ages present, and those to come.
· The significance of these scriptures is
several fold.
· The demonic realm resides in absolute
military subordination to the Lord.
· Lordships and kingships whether human,
angelic, or demonic are in likewise subordination.
· Every being and circumstance, whether
physical, angelic or demonic, is subordinated to the Lord, in that their
inherent makeup or dunamis powers lie subordinated to the Lord.
· All dominions, or forces that rule by
external force to bring bondage or servitude, are also subordinated to the
Lord.
· The most amazing fact is, that this Lord
Jesus has been given as a gift by God the Father, (“to be the head, and
the head of all things”), to the church!
· As Christ becomes revealed in our
personal lives, and or within our churches, we automatically enter into this
reality, through our spiritual assimilation of His very being in our
spirits. Remember, all victories,
blessings and wisdom are hid in Him.
They have been deposited with His very being.
· The Christ that is “the head over
all things,” resides within the person of Christ Himself. Christ lives within us. Therefore, what resides in Him, resides in
us. We obtain it, and assimilate it, through revelation!
· His reality in subordinating all things
becomes our reality through death and resurrection.
· This is why I have always stressed, and
will always continue to stress, that the capstone and foundation of
Christianity, lies in not in our asking God for things, but in our obtaining
the revelation of the person of Christ who lies hid within us.
John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive
nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
·
It goes without saying
then, that for us to effectively bind the enemy to the point where he is no
longer permitted into our lives; our actions must be more than simple
words.
·
Our whole lives must come to
a point where the enemy is forbidden from touching us any longer.
Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot,
and take him away, and cast
him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Acts 27:38 And when they had eaten enough, they
lightened the ship, and
cast out the wheat into the sea.
Acts 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and
honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against
Paul and Barnabas, and
expelled them out of their coasts.
Acts 7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses
laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
·
not enter
into the fullness of our spiritual vocation and will have missed our calling.
Discipleship
Gal 6:14 But God forbid (May it never happen to me) that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, ( The effect of the world on Paul is
nothing; it is dead to Him. It stands crucified
to him, and its effects on Paul will never change, they are permanent. It is a past action with permanent
results. This is the meaning
of the perfect tense in the which this verb is found.) and I unto the
world.
Gal6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision availeth(inward strength and force, to have strength to
overcome health, ability, capacity) any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
·
Only
Christ being formed and birthed in us is of any capacity or ability for us to
overcome and get the victory.
·
Ga 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in
birth again until Christ be
formed in you,(as a baby being formed in the womb)
Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you,
always labouring (always agonizing in an athletic
struggle, fervently) for
you in prayers, that
ye may stand
perfect and
complete in all the will of God.
1)
Brought to a place of spiritual maturity in
ever aspect of our lives; and having a full assurance and understanding of
everything that God has willed for our lives.
2)
Knowing and understanding every aspect of
what God has called us to do and willed for us, and perform it with all
spiritual maturity)
3)To the
limit of the very maturity of Christ’s character so that we can fulfill every
aspect of Christ will through it.
Mt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Reach the same stage of maturity as the Father is in
possession of every aspect of our lives. This is the Father’s perfect will.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Much inward strength and capacity has the prayers of a righteous man to
show itself efficient, active, capable and full of energy possessing everything
that the Father has willed.
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto
myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I
have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Of no account do I make
my life or hold my life in honor, so that I may complete my course on the horse
track on which I am racing upon with joy, and the ministry that I received from
the Lord to testify fully and thoroughly of the glad tidings of the grace of
God.
Matt 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
(To have real weight or clout with
Jesus. The word for love in this
scripture is affection for Jesus above that of anything else. Having a greater affection for anything in
this life makes a believer unfit and unprepared to follow Jesus. He is unable to adequately respond to the
life and the call of Jesus. There will
be a lack of balance between the believer and Jesus himself. He will not deserve Jesus.)
Luke 5:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of
Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not;
from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to
land, they forsook all,
and followed him.
These disciples literally
sent off, gave up, left behind all. It
is an attitude of the heart. To follow
Jesus is to follow Him and live the
same life, which He lives. It means to
travel with Him on the same path that He travels on. It is symbolic of an exterior call, but with an absolute
commitment to one exclusive Master, Jesus, whether by life and even by death,
if necessary. The believer participates
not only not only in salvation but in suffering as well.
Mat
10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it:
and he that loseth his
life for my sake shall find it.
.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh <657> not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. If
we are not separated and set apart from all that we have in our hearts for the
sake of Christ, we will not have the dunamis to be a learner of Jesus. We must take leave of, or bid farewell
renounce an all that is not the Lord.
Fourth is the notion of “our ability to be
a disciple”.
Luke 14:26 If any
man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot <1410> be my disciple.
Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and
come after me, cannot <1410> be my disciple.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that
forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot <1410> be my disciple.
If you notice, I highlighted the word “cannot”, Strong’s
# 1410. The root of this word is
the word “dunamis”. We all know that
dunamis is the dynamite power of God, that we as believers seek to obtain. In addition dunamis is an enabling
power. God’s dunamis enables the
casting out of demons and the operation of spiritual gifts. These scriptures inform us that the
Christian who does not bear the cross, forsake all that he has, and put his
family and his life behind the Lord, will not have the “dunamis “ or the
enabling power to be a disciple of our Lord.
The inherent power that He needs to change will not be there. The “cannot”
is also constructed in a fancy grammatical phrase called an “absolute
negative”. Simply expressed it tells us
that “under no circumstances”, or, “Never”, or, “it is impossible” for the
Christian who is not willing to to do these things to ever be disciple of Jesus.
Whew!! I have included two other
scriptures with the same Strong’s #1410 for your further understanding and
feeling of this word.
.
11:45 AM – 3:00 PM Lunch &
Afternoon Break
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM Session # 18 Sunday
Open Discussion and Brainstorming
#1
o Understanding the church at
Antioch and home churches.
o When ye come together.
o Wolves in the midst.
o Let it by two or at the most three.
o Let the prophets speak two or three
o Open discussion on how to build NT churches throughout
the world.
Acts
15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas
had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul
and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders
about this question.
Acts
15:4 And when they were come to
Jerusalem, they were
received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things
that God had done with them.
Acts
15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to
consider of this matter.
Acts
15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole
church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the
brethren:
Acts
15:23 And they wrote letters by them
after this manner; The
apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the
Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Acts
16:4 And as they went through the
cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders
which were at Jerusalem.
The House Church and The Perfecting of the Saints
Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Acts 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he
came to the house of Mary
the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
Acts
20:20 And how I kept back nothing that
was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,
1
Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia
salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their
house.
Colossians
4:15 Salute the brethren which are in
Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the
church which is in his house.
Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my
wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
The Church
Coming Together
1
Cor 14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one
place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are
unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
24
But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned,
he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
26 ¶ How is it then,
brethren? when ye come
together, every
one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation,
hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let
it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one
interpret. {two…:
by two or three sentences separately}
28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep
silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let
the other judge.
30 If any thing be revealed to another that
sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all
may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject
to the prophets.
Acts
13:1 ¶ Now there were in
the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. }
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted,
the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I
have called them.
Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto
Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with
the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians
first in Antioch.
27 ¶ And in these days came prophets from
Jerusalem unto Antioch.
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the
Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came
to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
29 Then
the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief
unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
1 Corinthians
14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye
come together, every one
of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an
interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
Greek: What is
it brethren? Whenever the time may be
that you assemble yourselves, each of you a psalm (hymns; a means of putting OT
psalms to music) has, a teaching has, a tongue has, a revelation has, an
interpretation has. All things for
building up let it be done.
q
q Notice the
body ministry of the early church versus our present “models” which have a few
people ministering.
)
26 If
any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three,
and that by course; and let one interpret.
q Greek: If anyone speak with a tongue let it be in
two (sentences) or at the most in three (sentences) done in
succession, and one interpret.
27 But
if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him
speak to himself, and to God.
q
The person is commanded to
keep silent and speak to him or herself and to God if there is no one that can
interpret.
1 Corinthians
14:29 Let the prophets speak two or
three, and let the other judge. (Discern)
q q Two or three prophets can prophecy in succession and the
rest of the church must discern the spirit of the prophets. Many churches to day
have totally closed down the gift of prophecy, but the Word of God teaches us
otherwise.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be
comforted.
q
q
Greek:
You are all able to
prophesy one by one, that you may all learn, and that all may be
exhorted.
q
q
Some
of the most memorable church services that I have ever been to, have been the
very few in which the pastor turned the service and microphone over to the
congregation and allow those which wanted to minister to come up one by one to
the front. Let me tell you, I was
greatly edified because the church in this instance, was operating in the way
that it was intended to, as a body.
1 Chronicles 25:1 ¶
Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the
sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy(were prophesying)
with harps, with psalteries(guitars),
and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen( men or persons in general,
involved in their respective occupations according to their ministry)according
to their service
(religious ministry) was:
q
God centered instead of people centered songs. Talk about the harp, guitar, flute and
cymbals.
q
Services of devoted to strict worship to bring forth the glory of
the Lord and the fellowship of the mystery.
q
The open microphone service.
q
The apostle’s doctrine in the main services.
q
Pastors in the cell groups.
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Break
4:00 PM – 4:45PM Session # 19
v People centered
music stops the glory of the Lord and the fellowship of the mystery.
v The purpose of
music is a means to take people to the presence of God where the focus becomes
the Lord and not the song.
Open Discussion and Brainstorming # 2
o
Open discussion on how to build NT churches throughout the
world.
© 2001 Jose
Alvarez
(Protected
by copyright law)