A Peculiar People

January 8, 2012

A Peculiar People I: The Nation Israel
by Shawn Brasseaux – arcministries@gmail.com
[8 January 2012]

The opening verse of the Bible reads, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 KJV). According to Colossians 1:16,17, God the Son (Jesus Christ) also created governments in both realms: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” In addition, God created beings to assume those governmental positions—He placed angels in heaven and He placed mankind on earth.

When God placed Adam on earth, His goal for mankind was (as He told Adam): “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Genesis 2:15 KJV says, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Adam was to prepare earth, to make it ready, so that God could come down and dwell with mankind on earth. That was before sin entered.

An angelic-like creature, Lucifer, rebelled against God, and polluted the heaven (Isaiah 14:11-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19). A number of angels followed Lucifer (now called Satan) in that rebellion. Satan then came to earth, where God had just placed mankind. Unfortunately, Satan enticed mankind to sin, and Adam willfully disobeyed God by eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16,17; Genesis 3:1-21).

Now that sin was present, the governments of the heaven and the earth were polluted. In response, God promised to send “the seed of the woman,” a man who would undo the damage that Adam had inflicted (Genesis 3:15).

The Bible is the record of the struggle between God (the Creator) and Satan (the creature who wants to usurp his Creator’s authority), the testimony of God’s plan to restore the governments of the heaven and the earth to Himself. Thus begins our two-part Bible study.

THE NATION ISRAEL

God’s original plan for mankind was for it to rule earth for His glory. However, for the first 2,000 years of human history, mankind only brought God heartache and frustration. Eventually, in Noah’s day, God poured out His wrath on that wicked world in the form a global flood (Genesis 6-8). Even after the Great Deluge, mankind still refused to cooperate with God, reached the pinnacle of its rebellion when the people of the earth assembled around the Tower of Babel in pagan religious worship (Genesis 11:1-9).

So, God would take one man, a Syrian named Abram, and use him in order to accomplish what Adam had failed to do two millennia earlier.

After choosing Abram in Genesis chapter 12, God allowed the rest of mankind (henceforth known as “Gentiles”) to slip further into pagan idolatry and spiritual ignorance. For the 20 centuries previous to Abram, mankind wanted nothing to do with God, so once He chose Abram, He was fair in blinding the Gentiles.

We read, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened… wherefore God also gave them up… for this cause God gave them up…God gave them over…” (Romans 1:19-32 KJV). “[God] who in time past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:16 KJV). “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30 KJV).

Here is the Bible’s record of when God selected Abram (Genesis 12:1-3 KJV):

“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:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Notice that God will make a nation of people using Abraham’s bloodline (this is the Jewish race). Now, the “seed of the woman” promised in Genesis 3:15 has become “the seed of Abraham,” which will ultimately be Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16). The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 2 KJV:

“11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”

This was the lot of the Gentiles while God dealt with Israel.

From Abraham to Christ’s earthly ministry— the 2,000-year period that we call the “Old Testament”—God deals almost exclusively with Abraham’s descendents (Jews). Beginning with Abraham, God made a distinction between Jew and Gentile by setting up “the middle wall of partition” (Ephesians 2:14). God will deal with mankind on the basis of physical circumcision (Jews) and physical uncircumcision (Gentiles). As quoted above, the Bible calls this time period “time past.” Romans 9:4,5 KJV describe Israel’s relationship with God in time past:

“4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”

Abraham begat a son Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob sired 12 men, who became the 12 tribes of Israel (Acts 7:8). From the time of Abraham to Jesus Christ, God gave to Israel only various covenants—the Gentiles were “strangers from the covenants” (Ephesians 2:12). Two of these covenants were the Old/Mosaic Covenant (the Law, including the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20:1-17, but also various other precepts and instructions) and the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Israel was unique in that God only made these promises to her, not to the Gentiles.

During the lifetime of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, the Jewish race, due to famine, had migrated from Canaan (present-day Israel) to Egypt. Eventually, the Jews became enslaved to the Egyptians. After Israel spent centuries in Egyptian bondage, which was God’s punishment for their rebelliousness, He delivered them…. but not until after He had judged Egypt for Pharaoh’s sin.

While the Egyptians suffered the plagues of the wrath of God, as found in Exodus chapters 7-12, not one Jew dwelling in Egypt perished. As Egypt endured darkness for three days, Israel had continuous light (Exodus 10:23). We read that, on the night God destroyed Egypt’s firstborn, “against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Exodus 11:7 KJV).

Once God delivered them from Egypt, God told Moses, who then relayed the message to Israel (Exodus 19:4-6 KJV):

“4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”

Deuteronomy 14:2 says about Israel: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (cf. Deuteronomy 26:18). “For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel his peculiar treasure” (Psalm 135:4).

Indeed, compared to the heathen Gentiles (the world), Israel was “peculiar” (strange). The Jews ate different foods (Deuteronomy 14:3-21), they had different religious practices (Leviticus 16), and they acted differently (Leviticus chapter 15; Leviticus chapter 19; et al.). Signs, miracles, and wonders followed them wherever they went. God dwelt with Israel in the form a pillar of fire and a cloud. Gentiles never enjoyed these privileges that the Jews had (and took for granted).

Romans 2:17-20 KJV affirms Israel’s elevated status in “time past:”

“17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.”

While God dealt with Israel, in time past, the Gentiles (non-Jews) had no knowledge of the one true God. They did not know God’s will. They were blind fools who worshipped pagan idols of wood and stone. Galatians 4:8 reads: “Howbeit then, when ye [Gentiles] knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.”

As we read earlier in Romans 9:4,5, Israel had the Law of Moses, the holy commandments of God. They had the priesthood, the covenants, the blessings, the salvation, the wisdom, and the protection of JEHOVAH. The Gentiles had none of that. How the Gentiles marveled at Israel. This people sojourned from Egypt to Canaan, defeating nation after nation. Rahab, a pagan Gentile who dwelt in Jericho, best described the attitude of the Gentiles toward the Jews. Notice Joshua 2:9-11:

“9 And she [Rahab] said unto the men [two Jewish spies], I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”

Gentiles feared Israel, and rightly so. Her God was living and powerful, while their dumb idols were “nothing.” Psalm 115:4-8 explains: “Their [the heathens’/Gentiles’] idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: they have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: they have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat” (cf. Deuteronomy 4:28; Psalm 135:15-18; Isaiah 37:19; Isaiah 44:9,10; Jeremiah 10:5).

The Jews, although sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were sinful because they were also sons of Adam. Israel disliked her chosen status. Israel came to hate her privileged position. She rebelled against God, and wanted to be like everyone else. The Jews deliberately strayed from JEHOVAH’s commands and precepts. Gentiles mocked God because of the Jews’ wicked lifestyle (Romans 2:23,24). She broke God’s covenants, committing spiritual fornication by worshipping the Gentiles’ gods (documented especially in the books of Hosea and Judges).

Israel rejected God’s rule over them and told God’s prophet Samuel: “Now make us a king to judge us like all nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). Israel wanted to be like everyone else—that is, “we do not want God any more than anyone else wants Him!”

One of the covenants God made with Israel was the Davidic Covenant, given to Jewish King David about 1000 B.C. God promised that a King of David’s lineage would rule Israel (and planet earth) forever and ever. Thus, Israel is God’s earthly (kingdom) people. When this King (Jesus Christ) appeared in Israel, the Jews mostly rejected Him. The Jews were now “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6; Matthew 15:24). They were just as anti-God as the pagan Gentiles were! Sadly, the Jews sided with the pagan Romans, demanding that Rome crucify their Messiah Jesus!

Today, in this the Dispensation of Grace, Israel has lost her privileged position of time past. Romans chapter 11 KJV reads:

“25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

The day is coming, after our Dispensation of Grace is finished, when God will restore Israel. Then, she will finally become “the kingdom of priests” spoken of in Exodus 19:5,6 (cf. 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). For now, Israel is “cast away,” “fallen,” and “spiritually blinded” (Romans 11:11,12,15,25)… and as we will learn next week, that is good news for us!

A Peculiar People II: The Church the Body of Christ
by Shawn Brasseaux – arcministries@gmail.com
[15 January 2012]

Last week, in part I, we discussed that not only did God the Son Jesus Christ create the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1), but He also created governments within those realms (Colossians 1:16,17). When God placed angelic creatures in the heaven, they were to rule this realm for God’s glory. Likewise, when God placed mankind on the earth, mankind was to rule that realm for God’s glory (Genesis 1:28).

Alas, we understand that sin has polluted both the heaven and the earth. Lucifer/Satan has caused rebellion against God in the heaven, and mankind (Adam) has allowed Satan’s rebellion against God to pollute the earth. Thus, Satan “is the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Bible documents God’s war strategy to bring under subjection in Christ the governments of the heaven and the earth (Ephesians 1:9,10).

Also, we discussed last week that God created the nation Israel to be His peculiar people in the earth. Israel was to accomplish what Adam failed to do—see to it that God’s will was performed in the earth for His glory. From Abraham (Genesis chapter 12) to early Acts, God dealt with mankind on the basis of physical circumcision (Jew) and physical uncircumcision (Gentile). During this “time past” period, God formed the nation Israel and allowed the Gentiles to continue in their spiritual ignorance (Ephesians 2:11,12). God determined to eventually use Israel to send salvation and blessing to those Gentiles.

God promised a series of covenants to Israel. One covenant was the Mosaic Law (Old Covenant), God’s civil, religious, and moral laws that governed Israel’s daily living (and thus, making them visibly different from the pagan Gentiles around them). Another covenant was the Davidic Covenant, a promise that God would establish an earthly kingdom with Israel (2 Samuel 7:12-16)—the same earthly kingdom He had intended to establish when He first placed Adam here (Matthew 25:34; cf. Genesis 1:28). In that kingdom, God would use the Jews to send His blessings and salvation to the Gentiles (the rest of the world). Indeed, Israel was God’s peculiar people in the earth.

Satan understood that God was using Israel to accomplish His will in the earth, and that He would eventually use Israel to establish an earthly kingdom. Thus, Satan focused on sending false teachers and prophets to deceive Israel, to draw them away from God’s doctrine and will (2 Peter 2:1-3; cf. Deuteronomy 13:1-18; Jeremiah 6:13; Jeremiah 23:11,16-22; et al.). Finally, when Israel’s King, Jesus Christ, came, Satan increased his attack. The devil used Israel’s apostate religious leaders to persuade Israel to kill their King, Jesus! As we know, they crucified Jesus Christ. Satan figured that since Israel’s King was dead, God’s earthly kingdom would never come to pass.

Jesus Christ resurrected, physically, visibly, literally, but Israel still refused Him and He ascended to His Father’s right hand as a rejected royal exile. Throughout the early Acts period, the lost nation Israel persecuted His apostles. How would the Gentiles be saved now?

The Jews were hindering God’s earthly kingdom, and God’s channel of blessing and salvation to the Gentiles, the nation Israel, was not cooperating with God. Now, God’s wisdom would be manifest.

THE CHURCH THE BODY OF CHRIST

Throughout the Old Testament, God’s holy prophets spoke of His plan to restore the earth unto Himself: the formation of His earthly people, the nation Israel, who would enjoy His earthly kingdom and who would send salvation and blessing to the Gentiles (Acts 3:21). But, God was also withholding a secret—His plan to restore the heaven unto Himself. When God planned His strategy for restoring the earth, He also planned His strategy for restoring the heaven: He just kept His plan for the heaven a secret (1 Corinthians 2:6-8) and He did not make that secret known until revealing it to the Apostle Paul (Romans 16:25,26; Ephesians 3:1-11).

God would use the blood of Israel’s rejected Messiah to form a new body of believers (Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:19,20). Satan, thinking he defeated God at Calvary, had participated in his own demise (Colossians 2:15). Ah, the wisdom of God in keeping that secret!

As Israel continued its ungodly attitude in early Acts, God chose the leader of that rebellion, Saul of Tarsus, and saved him. God would send this man, now called the Apostle Paul, to the whole world (Acts 9:15,16; Acts 22:21; Acts 26:17,18; Galatians 1:16; et al.). God would temporarily suspend Israel’s prophetic program. Through the fall of Israel—not through her rise to kingdom glory—God’s salvation would now be proclaimed to the Gentiles. And so, God began a new dispensation with Paul: “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2). This is the mystery program.

For the past 2,000 years, Israel has been spiritually blinded and fallen. Today, in this dispensation, God is forming a people who will restore His authority in the heaven. This spiritual body is called the Church the Body of Christ, God’s other “peculiar” people. God’s Word says in Titus 2:11-15 KJV:

“11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”

Those of us who have trusted exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we are God’s “peculiar people” in this dispensation (just like Israel was God’s “peculiar people” in her dispensation). God has sanctified us members of the Church the Body of Christ. We have been set apart for God’s purposes (this concept of “setting apart”/sanctifying is etymologically related to the word “saints”). Contrariwise, the rest of the world, lost mankind, cannot be used by God because they are “the children of wrath and disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Just as God wanted Israel to be separated from the evil world system, He wants us, the Church the Body of Christ, to separate from the evil world system too. God is using us Christians to accomplish His will, so that makes us unique. We are Christ’s “ambassadors,” His representatives in this present evil world (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are a “new man” (Ephesians 2:15), a unique species of mankind (whose identity is in Christ, and no longer in Adam [cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17]).

Our Christian life is actually Jesus Christ living His life in and through us (Galatians 2:20). This is why the Bible says our “conversation is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20)—we have lifestyles that reflect that position in Christ. Lost mankind sees the invisible God by watching us, His visible children. The Creator of heaven and earth dwells in us, not in them! The lost world knows nothing about that grace life, and it is our responsibility to tell them all about Jesus Christ and the life that He can live in them too if they would just trust in Him alone as their Saviour!

God tells us that He has created us Christians to have unique lifestyles, manners of living that deviate from the “normal,” godless ways of mankind. Ephesians 5:7-10 KJV explains:

“7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.”

Earlier in that epistle, Paul wrote (Ephesians 4:17-24 KJV):

“17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Moreover, just as God wanted the nation Israel to separate from the world’s religious system, God wants us, the Church Body of Christ, to separate from the world’s religious system too (that includes abandoning the 38,000-plus “Christian” denominations). In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 KJV, we are exhorted to break away from all religious tradition:

“14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

Amazingly, Paul is quoting the same Old Testament passages that God directed to the nation Israel! (Refer to Exodus 25:8, Exodus 29:45-46, Leviticus 26:12, Isaiah 52:10-11, and Ezekiel 37:27.) Just like God dwelt with Israel in time past, making Israel unique, so God dwells in us, the Church the Body of Christ, making us unique. We are a peculiar people because our God is a peculiar God—the gods of the world religions are worthless and mindless. We “serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). As the psalmist declared: “For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” (Psalm 96:4,5 KJV).

In time past, when someone wanted to receive God’s salvation, he or she had to go through Israel. Today, in the “but now,” those who want to receive God’s salvation must become members of the Church the Body of Christ by trusting exclusively in finished crosswork of Jesus Christ (His bloodshed for forgiveness of their sins, His death, His burial, and His resurrection for their justification).

Now, in our dispensation, God has done away with the Jew and Gentile statuses. Both believing Jews and Gentiles “are one in Christ,” and are technically neither Jew nor Gentile in Christ (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:11-18). Thankfully, God turned to us Gentiles through Paul—we would have not received salvation had God not created Paul’s special ministry.

We as members of the Church the Body of Christ are God’s heavenly people, just like Israel is God’s earthly people. When our ministry here on earth is over (the rapture), we will continue our ministry, for all eternity, in the heaven. Ephesians 2:4-7 KJV says:

“4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

In the ages to come, God will use us (the Church the Body of Christ) to accomplish His will in the heaven, just as He will use the nation Israel to accomplish His will in the earth.

* * *
CONCLUSION: THE BIG PICTURE

Our Lord Jesus Christ created two spheres—the heaven and the earth—that need to be governed for His glory (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16). Thus, He has two peculiar peoples in His Word—the nation Israel (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 14:2; Deuteronomy 26:18; Psalm 135:4; 1 Peter 2:9) and the Church the Body of Christ (Titus 2:14).

From Abraham (Genesis chapter 12) to the early Acts (pre-Acts chapter 9), God formed the nation Israel, His earthly people. Upon the Jews’ rejection of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in early Acts, Israel fell and her kingdom program was momentarily paused. In our Dispensation of Grace, God has temporarily stopped dealing with Israel while He forms a new spiritual body that is separate and distinct from Israel. This new spiritual entity is called the Church the Body of Christ, and it consists of Jews and Gentiles who have trusted alone in Christ. Those of us who have trusted exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ are members of the Church the Body of Christ.

In the grand scheme of things, the Church the Body of Christ and the nation Israel, in their respective roles, function for God’s glory (whereas the remainder of creation continues to oppose God and follow Satan in his rebellion). This is what makes them both Israel and the Body of Christ “peculiar” peoples. As the rest of the world continues in spiritual darkness, these two agencies serve as God’s “special weapons” to combat Satan’s rebellion in earth and heaven.

Ultimately, God in His brilliance will use both agencies to eternally destroy Satan’s work.

Romans 11:33-36 KJV:

“33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

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New Year’s 2012 – A Memory and a Reality

December 31, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

Beloved, it is rather difficult to fathom that 2011 is nearly expired and that another new year, 2012, awaits us. This past year has been very prosperous in the ministry, and we anticipate what the Lord will do in and through us in the upcoming year. In this Bible study, we will take time to reflect on the events of the past year, and to discuss some of our ministry goals for the upcoming year.

2011

The year 2011 was very prosperous for arC Ministries—we were able to reach more souls this year than we ever have in our six years of ministry. How we thank our heavenly Father for the opportunities we had to teach, verbally and through writing, the precious truths of His Word to family, friends, acquaintances, professors, classmates, and complete strangers. We can only wonder how many souls were edified and saved worldwide.

During the past year, we saw the “rise” and “fall” of our newspaper ministry. For 22 weeks, from mid-December 2010 to mid-May 2011, we were privileged to write weekly Bible study columns in our local newspaper… my, what controversy arose because of it! Convicted souls lashed out at the newspaper and myself, recommending the column’s cancellation. My critics were so annoyed that they “recruited” two Roman Catholic priests to write weekly columns, hoping to intimidate and silence me. Nevertheless, we continued writing “offensive” Bible studies, undaunted by the measures our critics took. Finally, a desperate newspaper editor—a professing Christian at that!—began to censure and edit (water down) the column. Immediately, I objected to the editing of the column, which led to the column being discontinued.

Nonetheless, we are grateful to our Father God in that He allowed us to write in the newspaper for the short time we did, to minister to many lost and spiritually unlearned souls we would have not otherwise reached. The cancellation of the newspaper ministry was one of the tremendous losses with which we have had to deal this past year.

The same day the newspaper column was cancelled, another certain heartbreaking event happened to us while in the ministry, and thus began my spiral into a severe depression that lasted for the remainder of this year. It was a “two-pronged attack” from the satanic policy of evil, and it struck right down to our soul. The newspaper cancellation was the easier of the two events to get over, but how the other major event has haunted us all these months. Honestly, we are bothered daily by the latter event, some days being unbearable with bittersweet memories.

To Satan’s delight, our newspaper ministry was hindered and eventually destroyed. However, just a few weeks after the newspaper column was cancelled, we launched our daily devotional blog, 333 Words of Grace (www.333wordsofgrace.wordpress.com), which has been one of our primary ministry avenues. That blog “333,” now celebrating its eighth month, is an archive of over 200 grace-oriented devotionals covering a wide range of Bible topics. For God’s glory, the newspaper ministry was cancelled, so that the devotionals blog could begin! Had we continued in the newspaper, our devotionals blog would have never been launched.

Saints, this past year, we faced our darkest days. By the grace of God, and your fervent prayers for us, we were able to endure them.

Despite the great stress, extreme heartache, persecution, and months of severe depression, we rejoice that the Gospel of the Grace of God still went forth for His glory. Consider what our Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:12-14 KJV:

“12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places.
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

While writing his epistle to the Philippians, Paul was in prison in Rome! The apostle’s imprisonment, upon first consideration, seems like a hindrance to God’s will and Paul’s ministry, does it not? If Paul is in prison, he cannot be out ministering abroad in the Roman Empire. Yet, notice what Paul wrote: “the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” In other words, Paul wrote—The devil meant my incarceration for harm, but God allowed me to go to prison so I could preach in jail! So, had Paul not gone to prison, he could not have reached those in that prison.

Had we not gone through those difficult times, the Gospel would not have reached the places it did. God’s Word will be published, especially during difficult times. Indeed, our suffering for the Gospel’s sake was well worth it, just as Paul said. 🙂

Again, dear saints, how we thank God for “your fellowship in the gospel” (Philippians 1:3-5). We are bound to thank you, whose emails and fervent prayers encouraged us during those painful months. It is through your prayer support that we accomplished what we did. Thank you for allowing us the privilege to teach you. Praise the Lord!

In Philippians 3:12-16 KJV, we read:

“12 Not as though I had already attained [unto the resurrection of the dead, verse 11], either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.”

As this passage teaches, we all still have much more spiritual growth! The events of this past year, though painful, were used to strengthen us, to teach to depend more on the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ and less on ourselves. Romans 5:1-5 KJV reaffirms:

“1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

The tribulations through which we went gave us patience, our enduring those difficult circumstances brought about experience, and that experience in those situations gave us hope, for hope makes us confident, since the love of God is “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.” The love of God sustained us, allowing us to endure the struggle, the spiritual war between good and evil, our Christian ambassadorship in this present evil world.

Through the suffering, we have gained great insight into life matters, insight we would not have gained without personally experiencing those matters and applying sound doctrine to those matters.

And so, as Philippians 3:13-14 said, “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Beloved, “we press toward the mark!” We desire to grasp a better understand “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” In order to continue the spiritual growth, and learn more of what God wants us to know, we must endure another year, with its accompanying troubles.

Human nature causes us to shrink away from such suffering, but God’s grace teaches us “bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 KJV).

2012

This upcoming year will be quite strenuous on us, so we ask that you pray for us, and rest assured that we will be praying for you. We have a number of ministry projects that need to be undertaken. There is much writing to be done, much videoing to be recorded, and much speech to be uttered.

Lord willing, this coming year, we hope to contribute hundreds of studies to the advancement of young-earth Biblical creationism as the most plausible scientific viewpoint, to the appreciation for the King James Bible’s authority as God’s preserved Word in English, to make known dispensational Bible study as the key to Bible understanding, and ultimately, to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour and the true God.

How we anticipate the Lord’s coming for us, and while we continue waiting for Him, we have been entrusted with “the ministry of reconciliation” so that we may proclaim “the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)—that Christ Jesus came to die for our sins, be buried, and be raised again for our justification (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This is the wonderful Gospel of the Grace of God that we declare unto you who have never trusted exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Saviour!

As 2011 fades into the recesses of memory, and 2012 becomes a reality, we should keep this sound doctrine in mind: Beloved, like the difficulties of this past year, “the things which [will happen unto us will fall out] rather unto the furtherance of the gospel!” Lord willing, in 2012, we hope to “continue fighting the good fight of faith…” no matter what else it may cost us (1 Timothy 6:12).

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM arC MINISTRIES!

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Christmas 2011 – Emmanuel I & II

December 18, 2011

Christmas 2011 – Emmanuel I
by Shawn Brasseaux
[18 December 2011]

The Christmas Season is the time of year when sincere, religious people get most confused about the Bible. Of the multitudes of people who display the Nativity Scene and say “Merry Christmas,” how many really know who “Christ” even is? The “hustle and bustle” of the commercialized Christmas compounds the confusion already brought on by vain religious tradition. People get so caught up in purchasing the best gifts at the lowest prices that they forget the BEST Gift (eternal life through Jesus Christ) bought with the HIGHEST Price (the life of Jesus Christ). Society focuses on the Christmas tree with its silly trinkets, rather than on the Saviour who hung on the tree of Calvary.

In this two-part Bible study, we want to impart sound Bible doctrine to those whose minds are currently thinking about “spiritual” topics such as God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible. It is our hope and prayer that this collection of brief Christmas Bible studies will give spiritual understanding during this time of year when religious confusion abounds the greatest.

 

GOD WITH US

The Bible gives us information to date the birth of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus (Luke 1:13,24-31). By dating John’s conception and birth, we can then estimate Christ’s conception and birth. John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias, was a priest, “of the course [order] of Abia [Abijah]” (Luke 1:5). Under King David, Israel’s priests were organized into 24 courses (1 Chronicles 24:7-19). A priest from each course served a week in the Temple ministration (and thus served one week twice a year). Israel’s calendar began with Abib/Nisan, whose Gregorian equivalent is March 16-April 15 (Exodus 12:1,2; Exodus 13:4). Passover was observed on April 14, beginning Israel’s religious calendar.

The week following Passover (The Feast of Unleavened Bread) lasted from April 15-21. The first course of priests served in the Temple around this time. Zacharias’ course, Abijah, was the eighth course after Passover (1 Chronicles 24:10), thus placing Zacharias’ service eight weeks after Passover (or June 17-23). This was the time when the angel appeared to Zacharias to announce John’s conception (Luke 1:8-22). Once Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth leave the Temple and go home, Elizabeth conceives John (late June; Luke 1:23-25).

So, Mary conceived Jesus in late December, six months after Elizabeth conceived John (Luke 1:26). Contrary to religious tradition, the birthday of Christ is not December 25. Late December is the time of Christ’s conception! If a perfect human gestation lasts 280 days (9 months), late September/early October estimates the birthday of Christ. At that time, God had Israel observing “The Feast of Tabernacles,” where the Jews would dwell in “booths” (tents, tabernacles) for seven days (Leviticus 23:39-44).

So, while Israel was observing Tabernacles in September/October, God came down, in the form of a man (Jesus Christ), was born of Mary, and dwelt (“tabernacled”) with them! Sadly, very few Jews paid any attention to Jesus, “Emmanuel,” “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). The rest of Israel ignored “God dwelling among them” (John 1:14).

 

Bethlehem Ephratah

According to the Bible, Jesus Christ’s birth in Bethlehem is significant for three reasons. The prophet Micah, speaking of the birthplace of Israel’s Messiah, wrote, circa 700 B.C.: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (5:2).

Interestingly, the Bible does not simply read “Bethlehem,” but “Bethlehem Ephratah.” This is noteworthy because Israel had two towns named “Bethlehem”: Bethlehem of Zebulun (Galilee of northern Israel) and Bethlehem of Judah (Judaea of southern Israel). Obviously, Micah specified the latter, Bethlehem-Judah (cf. Matthew 2:1-6).

According to Micah, Bethlehem is “little among the thousands of Judah.” Bethlehem is a little-known town. It is not famous and it seems insignificant. However, the Bible tells us that Bethlehem Ephratah was the birthplace of King David (1 Samuel 16:1-18). The Bible says in John 7:42 KJV: “Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”

King David was a type/preview of Jesus Christ. In fact, the Bible explains that, one day, Jesus Christ will inherit the throne of David: “JESUS… shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:” (Luke 1:31,32). Thus, David and Jesus share Bethlehem Ephratah as their birthplace (cf. Luke 2:4). In that light, “little” Bethlehem Ephratah is NOTEWORTHY!

Secondly, consider the meaning of the name “Bethlehem.” Recall that Jesus Christ likened Himself to the manna of the Old Testament when He claimed: “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world…. I am that bread of life: I am the bread which came down from heaven…. I am that bread of life” (John 6:33,35,41,48). We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, just as Micah 5:2 prophesied (Matthew 2:1,5,6). “Bethlehem” is Hebrew for “the house of bread.” Thus, the “Bread of Life” was born in the “House of Bread.” Is that not fascinating?

There is a third remarkable facet to the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Joseph (Jesus’ legal father and Mary’s future husband) lived in Nazareth. When Roman emperor Caesar Augustus sent out a decree for taxing the people of the empire (the execution of a census), Joseph was forced to leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem of Judaea (because Joseph was of David’s lineage, Joseph had to return to David’s birthplace). Obviously, Joseph took pregnant Mary with him to Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-5) and Christ was born there in Bethlehem. Some 700 years beforehand, the Bible knew Joseph and Mary would not be in Nazareth for the birth of Christ, but in Bethlehem, thereby fulfilling the prophecy of Micah 5:2.

That is amazing! Here is evidence that the Bible is a supernatural Book—God’s Book.

 

The Virgin Conception of Christ

About 700 B.C. the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (7:14). Matthew 1:21-25 confirms:

“21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

While Christendom speaks of the “virgin birth of Christ,” according to the above Bible verses, a more accurate term would be the “virgin conception of Christ.” There was nothing unusual about Christ’s birth; it was the conception that made all the difference in the world, for the Baby Jesus conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary was of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1:18,20; Luke 1:35).

Interestingly, Isaiah 7:14 has been the point of controversy for over a century (to Satan’s delight!). Some modern Bibles (RSV, NRSV, et al.) translate the Hebrew word for “virgin” as the meaningless “young woman,” thereby leaving room for the blasphemous idea that Joseph was Jesus’ biological father (and denying Christ’s deity)! If someone ever tells you almah (the Hebrew word translated “virgin”) can mean “young woman” or “virgin,” they are right, but point out that the key to choosing the right translation is not up to a translator, but rather the Holy Ghost!

The author of Matthew’s Gospel, filled with the Holy Ghost, knew which translation—“young woman” or “virgin”—was what God had intended in Isaiah 7:14. If we want to know what God meant in Isaiah 7:14, why not ask God? In Matthew 1:23, which quotes Isaiah 7:14, the Greek word translated “virgin,” parthenos, can only mean “virgin,” not “young woman.” Isaiah was prophesying a virgin, indicated by the words “firstborn son” (Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:7) and “Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son” (Matthew 1:25). Isaiah 7:14 meant “virgin,” as indicated by Luke 1:34, for Mary “knew not a man.” Again, the Bible is clear that Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father.

Almah in Isaiah 7:14 did not simply mean a “young woman,” who may or may not be sexually pure, but “a virgin,” a woman who never had any sexual intercourse. Thus, the Holy Ghost, not Joseph, was the Father of Jesus’ body.

 

JECONIAH

Have you ever heard of “Jeconiah?” He, being a descendant of King David, was the king of the southern Israeli kingdom of Judah, reigning around 600 B.C. We find his name in 1 Chronicles 3:16-17. Jeconiah was a wicked king, and it was during his reign that the LORD delivered Israel into the hands of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (Esther 2:6; Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 27:20, Jeremiah 28:4; Jeremiah 29:1-2).

Look at Jeremiah 22:24-30 KJV:

“24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man [Jeconiah] childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.”

According to this passage, the LORD was so righteously angered at Jeconiah’s wickedness that He said that no descendant of Jeconiah/Coniah will ever sit on David’s throne and no son of Jeconiah will ever rule over Israel as king. Notice, in verse 30, that God said to write Coniah “childless.” Now, why is this important?

According to the genealogy listed in Matthew 1:11,12: “And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;…” Verse 16 continues the genealogy: “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Joseph, the husband of Mary Jesus’ mother, is a descendant of Jeconiah, and the Bible says in Jeremiah 22 that no son of Jeconiah will ever sit on David’s throne! Had Jesus been Joseph’s biological son, the Lord Jesus Christ could not sit on David’s throne, and all of the prophetic promises regarding Israel’s kingdom would be destroyed! But, according to the doctrine of the virgin conception of Christ, Jesus is not Joseph’s biological son.

Now, look at Luke 3. This is Mary’s genealogy, and this is Jesus Christ’s literal physical bloodline. It goes through Nathan, another son of David! Since Christ is biologically related to Mary (who is a descendant of Nathan, David’s son; Luke 3:31), then the Lord Jesus Christ can rightfully sit on the throne of David, for through Nathan Jesus inherits David’s royal blood.

One of Satan’s attempts to destroy the Messiah’s royal bloodline was to corrupt Jeconiah, a descendant of David. After all, God promised that Israel’s Messiah would come through David’s lineage (2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16; Luke 1:32). But, through the virgin conception of Christ, God was able to “bypass” Satan’s work of corrupting Jeconiah’s blood, by allowing Jesus to be related to David through Nathan, not through Jeconiah.

*As a side-note, Bible scoffers see Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:23 as contradictory one to another. Matthew 1:16 says “Jacob begat Joseph” and Luke 3:23 says “Joseph, which was the son of Heli.” Who is Joseph’s father? Jacob or Heli? As we stated before, Luke chapter 3 documents Mary’s genealogy, and Matthew 1 is Joseph’s genealogy. Like we stated before, the Bible predicts Jesus will assume David’s throne. Obviously, if Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah, Jesus cannot assume the throne (Jeconiah’s bloodline is cursed, remember?). Jesus’ bloodline is not in Matthew 1 (the bloodline of Jeconiah and Joseph). Jesus’ royal bloodline, from Mary, would be that of Luke chapter 3, through King David’s son Nathan. Heli, Mary’s father, adopted Joseph as his son (as denoted by Luke 3:23), thereby allowing Jesus to have the legal right to David’s throne (through his legal father, Joseph) and Jesus assumes the blood right to David’s throne (through David’s son Nathan). This is the wisdom of God!

 

WISE MEN

When we see depictions of the Nativity Scene, we observe three wise men assembled around Baby Jesus’ manger. Actually, the Bible never indicates how many wise men there were, and they never visited Christ as a baby. According to the Bible, an indeterminate number of wise men from the east (Gentiles) saw the star of Christ in the east, so they travel to Jerusalem, inquiring where to find Christ, the King of Jews (Matthew 2:1,2).

King Herod and Jerusalem are troubled, and Herod summons Israel’s religious leaders to tell him where the Messiah will be born. They tell him, according to Micah 5:2, “Bethlehem of Judaea” (verses 3-6). Herod then sends the wise men to seek Jesus, hoping to find and destroy Him (lest He become king and end Herod’s reign). Upon leaving Herod, the wise men follow the star to Nazareth, where Joseph and Mary live in a “house”—notice this is not the manger scene. “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). Also, take note that Jesus is not a baby here, but a “young child” (verses 9,11). In fact, he is as much as two years old (verse 16). By the way, that star signified the Messiah-King of Israel (Numbers 24:17).

Interestingly, the wise men worship Jesus and bring Him “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (verse 11). Gold is for a King, frankincense is for a Priest, and myrrh is for a Prophet—Jesus is all three (Isaiah 9:6,7; Hebrews 5:6; Deuteronomy 18:15,18). Amazingly, Isaiah 60:6 even prophesied Gentiles would bring gifts of gold and frankincense to God. Sadly, these Gentiles had more respect for Israel’s King than Israel. They recognized fulfilled prophecy… they were wise indeed!

* * *

We will conclude our Christmas lesson next week.

From arC Ministries to you and your family, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Christmas 2011 – Emmanuel II
by Shawn Brasseaux
[25 December 2011]

The Christmas Season is a time of year when spiritual confusion abounds the most.  Currently, many dear, sincere souls are talking about the Baby Jesus and God sending His Son to earth, but how many even know the significance of this Person and that event. Precious few! This time of year is a time of gathering with family and friends, a time for sharing gifts, giving and receiving tokens of appreciation, love, kinship, and companionship. How many are focusing on the best gifts at the lowest price, but totally ignoring the GREATEST gift, salvation through Jesus Christ, at the HIGHEST price, the life of Jesus Christ? Most!

It is quite disturbing to realize that most people who celebrate Christmas have a head knowledge of some spiritual truth, but they have never believed on this truth with the heart. Their church and/or denomination has told them only portions of the “Christmas Story.” What little they are told about Christ’s birth is presented from a denominationally biased viewpoint, something designed to perpetuate church tradition rather than communicate the simple truths of God’s pure Word.

Faith is belief in God’s Word (Romans 10:17), so if they believe something that is not God’s Word, that is not faith, that is unbelief (Romans 10:14). In part II of our Christmas Bible study for this year, we aim to present the dilemma of mankind and God’s solution, the Gospel of the Grace of God. Our goal is to present sound Bible doctrine on which faith can then rest!

* * *

 

We All Deserve Lumps of Coal…

We are all familiar with the Christmas folklore that teaches that naughty children receive lumps of coal in their stockings. (Of course, we know that parents use this an incentive to persuade their children to behave properly.) The truth is, throughout the year, the parents have been just as naughty as their kids: “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)—no exceptions!

Philosophers such as John Locke (1632–1704) promoted the idea of “the innate goodness of man.” Is mankind naturally good, or is this simply “wishful thinking?” In this evil world system that seeks only relative truth, man’s behavior is not subject to one overall standard, just different “norms” unique to various cultures. It is said that what is “right” to me may be “wrong” for you, and/or vice versa. Is truth relative, subjective, varying from person to person, or is it absolute, objective, and applicable to all people?

One of the strongest arguments against atheism (the belief that God does not exist) is the justification of good deeds and the condemnation of evil deeds. While laws expose crimes, they do not explain why those activities are crimes. We can say they are crimes, but, without God, we cannot explain why murder or theft is wrong. There must be some overall standard from which the laws of society have originated, thus enabling us to declare what is right (or what is wrong), and why it is right (or why it is wrong). Surely, there is absolute truth. Any argument to the contrary is not only willfully foolish, but also utterly absurd.

God’s preserved Word in the English language, the King James Bible, is the absolute truth, the only standard we English-speaking people have to evaluate right and wrong. That standard exposes mankind as a devilish sinner… this is quite unfortunate for those who confuse human self-righteousness with God’s righteousness. The Bible exalts God’s righteousness and exposes sinful man by firmly proving that mankind falls short of the Lord Jesus Christ’s righteousness: “For all have sinned, and come short of THE GLORY OF GOD” (Romans 3:23). There is a standard and there is an infallible authority of absolute truth: God’s written Word, the Bible.

The righteousness described in the Bible is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the righteousness we do not have in and of ourselves. It is this standard of righteousness that enables us to determine which actions are right (or wrong), and why are they right (or wrong).

Galatians 5:19-21 exposes man’s sinful heart: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Again, the heart of man is evil (Jeremiah 17:9): “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Our Lord Jesus declared: “That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:20-23 KJV).

Can the Bible be any plainer? Because of Adam, we are all inherently sinners: “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned… For if through the offence of one [Adam] many be dead… for the judgment was by one [Adam] to condemnation… For if by one man’s [Adam’s] offence death reigned by one… Therefore as by the offence of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation… For as by one man’s [Adam’s] disobedience many were mad sinners…” (Romans 5:12,15-19 KJV).

Psalm 14:2,3 KJV reads: “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:3 KJV).

We are sinners, not because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. It is human nature to sin because human nature is sinful. In Psalm 51:5, King David expressed it best: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” No matter how many “good” deeds we do, that does not change our anti-God, sinful nature. We are born “children of disobedience” and “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

The Bible exposes man for what he really is—a vile, rebellious narcissist who readily blasphemes God’s name and eagerly stabs his fellow man in the back. God’s Word being “The Final Authority,” the Standard of Absolute Truth, makes man uncomfortable, so the Bible is extremely unpopular with man.

If man can rid himself of the Bible, then he will not appear sinful—man has been trying to rid himself of the Bible since Adam’s first sin, some 6,000 years ago! In the eyes of a holy, righteous God, that sin and those sins need to be dealt with. God’s justice demands that sin be punished, one way or another.

“[God] Who will render to every man according to his deeds: Unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;” (Romans 2:6,8,9 KJV). We sinners are deserving of God’s wrath. We all deserve lumps of coal. However, there is Good News….

 

…But We Have Been Given God’s Grace

The sinful human race is worthy of our holy Creator God’s wrath. God has created a special place, hell, for Satan and those who follow his sinful rebellion against God (Matthew 25:41). The simple truth is that, because of our sinful nature (and the resulting sinful actions), we all deserve to go to hell, and ultimately, separated from God forever in the lake of fire (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:14,15; Revelation 21:8; et al.). All of the world’s sin “treasures up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5).

Earlier, we saw that the Bible says in Ephesians 2:1-3 KJV:

“1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Mankind’s sin (the sinful nature) and sins (the individual, sinful actions produced by the sinful nature) gender the righteous indignation of God. The sins of the world are great and bountiful, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20b). Something abounds far greater than the sin of mankind—THE GRACE OF GOD!

Ephesians 2:4-9 KJV read:

“4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

God, in His grace, dealt with our sin at Calvary’s cross, and took it out of the way. Through the finished crosswork of God incarnate, Jesus Christ, the riches of God’s grace are manifest. Everything that God can do for us, He already accomplished through His Son Jesus Christ at Calvary’s cross! Romans 1:16-17 says that the Gospel of Christ declares both man’s unrighteousness, and God’s righteousness. It declares God’s wrath against sin (the wrath of God was poured out on His Son at Calvary). But, the Good News is:

Romans 5:17-19 KJV read:

“17 For if by one man’s [Adam’s] offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Jesus Christ] the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s [Adam’s] disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [Jesus Christ] shall many be made righteous.”

Adam plunged the human race into sin, misery, and death. Jesus Christ, “the second/last Adam/man” (1 Corinthians 15:45,47) has restored the human race so that it can now have free and total access to God. In Adam, we are sinners. In Christ, we are saints. In Adam, we die. In Christ, we live.

God left heaven’s glory to become “Emmanuel,” “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Mathew 1:23). Jesus Christ, God the Son, “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Why?

  • To commend God’s love toward us (Romans 5:8).
  • To be our mediator to God and “give his life a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
  • To die, not simply for us, but as us (Romans 6:3-9; Colossians 2:11-15).
  • To undo the damage caused by sinful Adam (Romans 5:12-21; Colossians 1:20-21).
  • To “put away [our] sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).
  • To deliver us from Satan’s policy of evil, and make us sinners saints (Colossians 1:12-14).
  • To “give himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour” (Ephesians 5:2).
  • To give us everlasting life…His life (Galatians 2:20) and thus, do for us what we could not do for ourselves—accomplish our salvation from the second death (spiritual death) (Ephesians 2:1-9)!
  • To give us “peace with God” (Romans 5:1).

Although our world deserves God’s wrath, today, God is not imputing the world’s sins unto it (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). Instead of receiving “coal” (God’s wrath), we have been given the gift of God’s grace to us in Christ Jesus! Everyone, regardless of religion, race, or social standing, can now receive forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ. All they have to do is place their faith/trust exclusively in the Gospel of Grace as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4—“that Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again for our justification!”

Have you trusted exclusively in the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for your sin and sins? I hope and pray that you have.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM arC MINISTRIES!

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

“The Word of God is Not Bound”

December 11, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

Oftentimes, our preaching and teaching the King James Bible rightly divided seems like a waste of time. Most people—even professing Christians—do not want to hear us teach and preach sound Bible doctrine. Furthermore, Satan’s evil world system uses religion to blind their minds, causing lost people to stay unsaved (2 Corinthians 4:3,4) and Christians to remain confused and spiritually immature (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Dear saints and brethren who study the Bible dispensationally, it seems like we are fighting a losing battle, does it not? Is our Christian service really worth it? In this Bible study, we want to search the Holy Scriptures for the answer.

Paul writes of Aristarchus his “fellow-prisoner” (Colossians 4:10). Colossians 4:18 also indicates Paul is in prison while writing this letter: “Remember my bonds.” In Philemon 1:1,9, Paul writes that he is “a prisoner of Jesus Christ.” Epaphras is Paul’s “fellow-prisoner” (Philemon 1:23). Ephesians 3:1 says Paul is “the prisoner of Jesus Christ for [us] Gentiles.” Ephesians 4:1 says Paul is “the prisoner of the Lord.” In Ephesians 6:20, Paul admits that he is “an ambassador in bonds.”

The Apostle Paul, still in prison some years after writing the above epistles, wrote to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith. Let us consider some of the lines from Paul’s final epistle. Notice 2 Timothy 2:8,9 KJV:

“8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.”

Despite his frequent imprisonments and the horrible persecution he endured, our Apostle Paul faithfully preached the Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:24). Was Paul wasting his time? Not at all, for Paul wrote “but the word of God is not bound.” Yes, Paul was physically incarcerated. For several years, he was bound in iron shackles and limited geographically. However, that was unimportant because Satan could not shackle God’s Word. Satan could keep God’s apostle to the Gentiles in physical bonds in an attempt to suppress Paul’s ministry. Nonetheless, try as he might, Satan could never prevent God’s Word from permeating the whole then-known world. According to the Bible, there were three positive outcomes of Paul’s imprisonment.

 

THE PENNING OF PAUL’S PRISON EPISTLES

Firstly, the Lord Jesus Christ allowed Paul to go to prison so he would be allowed time to write his prison epistles—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (some would also include 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus in this list). Had Paul never gone to prison, God would have never been able to slow Paul down so he could write those priceless letters. One positive outcome of Paul’s imprisonment was the penning of his prison epistles! This is one example to show that Satan’s plan had backfired.

 

THE SALVATION OF MEMBERS OF CAESAR’S PALACE

In the first century A.D., there was limited communication. Nevertheless, Paul wrote that the gospel had been preached “to every creature which is under heaven” (Colossians 1:23). While Paul was chained to Roman soldiers, he would preach to them the message of God’s grace to us in Christ Jesus. Once they would individually trust Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, then these soldiers would witness to others within Caesar’s palace. This is a second positive outcome of Paul’s imprisonment.

We pick that up from what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:12,13 KJV:

“12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

As Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians, he writes: “All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household” (4:22).

While in bondage in his miserable Roman prison cell, Paul was comforted by the fruit God’s Word was bearing… in his prison. Pagan Gentiles had been eternally saved in Christ Jesus, and they were beacons of God’s grace in this present evil world to others. God’s Word had transformed people’s lives literally from the inside out! We can only imagine how encouraged the aged Apostle was to see that, indeed, “the word of God is not bound.”

 

THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN BRETHREN

We read of a third positive outcome of Paul’s imprisonment by continuing in Philippians chapter 1: “13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

When saints would hear of the Apostle Paul’s imprisonment, they would “wax confident” and become “much more bold to speak the word without fear.” In other words, these saints reasoned, “Look at Paul in prison! If the grace of God enables him to endure it, let us go forth and boldly preach God’s grace. Even if we are imprisoned like Paul, the Lord will comfort us, as He does Paul. Moreover, God’s Word will spread in the prison where we will be confined.” By confining Paul to a Roman prison, Satan defeated himself! This is the wonderful wisdom of God.

 

THE WORD OF GOD PROSPERS

In Isaiah 55:10,11 KJV, the LORD said: “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Just as rain and snow fall from heaven and water the earth, encouraging vegetation to sprout forth, so God’s Word bears fruit. God designed precipitation to regulate plant growth, and intended His Word to produce spiritual growth. We are sure that no matter how defensive or resistant someone is to hearing God’s Word, the King James Bible has the power to overcome Satan’s opposition and that most hardened heart.

Notice these references to God’s Word prospering during the first half of the first century A.D.:

  • Acts 6:7 KJV: “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
  • Acts 8:14 KJV: “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:”
  • Acts 11:1 KJV: “And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.”
  • Acts 12:24 KJV: “But the word of God grew and multiplied.”
  • Acts 13:44 KJV: “And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.”
  • Acts 19:20 KJV: “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”

Paul wrote: “…The word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth much fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:” (Colossians 1:5,6). Let us never be discouraged when people reject us sharing the Bible with them. God’s Word will take care of itself… it always has, and always will…. prosper!

“God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

 

THE WORD OF GOD (STILL) PROSPERS

Here we are, over a decade into the 21st century and close to two millennia removed from the Apostle Paul and the early days of the Church the Body of Christ. Within the past half-century, there has been a technological explosion in our world, mainly satellite television, the World Wide Web, and cellular phones.

In the Apostle Paul’s day, there may have been some 250 million people in the whole world. Today, the world population is fast approaching seven billion! If Paul and the early Christians could reach the then-known world with such limited communication, how much more could we, considering the advancements in communication technology? Consider the following:

  • Did you know that the two largest satellite television providers in the United States have a combined total of 30 million subscribers? Think of the spiritual harvest of just those two outlets!
  • Think of the myriads of newspapers and magazines circulating all around the world.
  • Text messaging, online video chat rooms, and email have greatly reduced the public’s use of “snail mail.” Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace have become increasing popular in recent years. Facebook has 800 million users!
  • There could be as many as 108 million websites available via the internet! If you have a computer with internet, the entire world is literally “one click away.”

I often think about what Paul would say about today’s modes of communication. Paul and the early Christians never even dreamed of these forms of mass communication.

Every day, an innumerable amount of souls around the world hear bits and pieces of the Holy Scriptures and the Gospel of God’s Grace. The Holy Spirit uses that written Word to mightily work in those people, so they either accept it by faith or reject it in unbelief. Still, God’s Word gets out there, and it is bringing glory and honor to His name.

 

WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO REJECT THE BIBLE?

Why do some reject the Bible? Is it because God’s Word is not effectual? Is it something wrong with God’s Word? Not at all. If someone rejects the Bible in unbelief, or accepts the Bible by faith, God’s Word was effectual in that it caused both people to see their need for salvation. Even if someone rejects the Bible, it still gives God glory because it accomplished what He wanted!

In John 12:48, the Lord Jesus Christ declared, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

If most will never trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, then why preach to them at all? Are we wasting our time by preaching salvation through Christ alone, since most of our audience will ultimately go to the everlasting lake of fire anyway (Matthew 7:13,14)?

Frankly, we know not who will ultimately trust in Christ and who will not. We simply preach the Gospel of the Grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) to everyone, and then let them choose to have faith in Christ or reject Christ. If they reject Christ, and most will, our preaching is still not a waste. As Jesus taught in John 12:48, the salvation message that lost people reject will be that which condemns them to hell at the Great White Throne Judgment!

God knew only eight people would be saved from the Great Flood, yet He still directed Noah to preach (Genesis 7:7; 2 Peter 2:5). Why? So the people who rejected God’s Word would be without excuse and justly condemned.

“Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him” (John 6:64). Jesus knew “from the beginning” that many Jews would completely ignore His preaching, so why did He preach? Firstly, to save anyone who would trust in Him, and secondly, so that He would fair in condemning those who rejected Him. Those who rejected Christ will be condemned by the very words that He preached… the very words they rejected! No one will argue with God, “I did not know” or “I never had a chance.”

The Apostle Paul admitted he would never convert many or most, just “some” (Romans 11:14; cf. 1 Corinthians 9:22). Even though God knew just a few people would believe His written Word, He still preserved it for the benefit of those who would believe it. Furthermore, God’s preserved Word and our preaching it will be used against the lost when they are ultimately judged.

So, even if people reject God’s Word, God’s Word still prospers in that it convicted them and showed them their need for God and His salvation that He has so graciously provided us in Christ Jesus! Whether people reject God’s Word, or accept it by faith, God’s Word still prospers and God’s Word “will stand forever.”

The prophet Isaiah wrote: (40:7-8): “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

The Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:23-25 KJV:

“23 …the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever….”

Proverbs 19:21 KJV explains: “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.” We read in Isaiah 46:9-11 KJV:

“9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”

We read in 2 Corinthians 13:8: “For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” By faith in God’s Word, we can cooperate with God. Or, in unbelief, we can reject God’s Word. Regardless of what we do, the will of God will still be accomplished. We would do well if we placed our faith in God’s Word, showing our gratitude to Him for dying on the cross for us.

Finally, we read 2 Thessalonians 3:1 KJV: “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:” God’s Word “is not bound”—it will have “free course!”

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Thanksgiving 2011 – Thanks Be Unto God

November 20, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

Psalm 50:14 KJV declares: “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:”

This Thanksgiving season, for what do you have to be thankful? In last year’s Thanksgiving Bible study, we looked at the 120 blessings that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord (that Bible study can be read here). Though we lack many of the world’s material possessions, the Bible declares: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:” (Ephesians 1:3 KJV). In Christ Jesus, we have “ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places.”

One of the “becoming” (proper) attributes of a saint of God is the “giving of thanks” (Ephesians 5:3,4). We are taught in Colossians 2:7,8 to be “rooted and built up in him [Christ], and stablished in the faith, as [we] have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Colossians 3:15 says “be ye thankful.” Christian masters (employers) were instructed to “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:1,2).

In this year’s Thanksgiving Bible study, we want to take notice of why our Apostle Paul thanked God and for what he thanked God. By studying the following verses, we should gain understanding as why we should be thankful and for what we should be thankful… year-round!

 

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR THE CHRISTIAN BRETHREN, WHO BELIEVE GOD’S WORD AND ARE WILLING TO BE TESTIMONIES OF GOD’S GRACE

The Christians in Rome were living testimonies of God’s wonderful grace. Thus, the Apostle Paul wrote to them in Romans 1:8 KJV: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” Lost people noticed their lifestyles and the whole then-known world spoke of the believers in Rome. Paul later wrote in the letter (6:17): “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.” These Romans, formerly devil-worshipping pagans, were now members of the Church the Body of Christ. They had believed the Gospel of Grace that was preached unto them, and they went from serving Satan and sin to serving the Lord Jesus Christ!

Once Paul received word of believers in Thessalonica, he wrote (1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV): “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” These former pagans had also trusted in Jesus Christ and abandoned their worthless idols to “serve the living and true God” (1:9). They had believed God’s Word, and Paul thanked God they did!

When Paul heard of the salvation of the Colossians, he wrote to them (Colossians 1:3,4 KJV): “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,” Paul thanked God that the Colossians had trusted in Jesus Christ and their lives exhibited Christian love (the love of Christ) for their brethren.

Paul also addressed the love of the Thessalonian believers by informing them that he thanked God for their faith and hope, and for their love for the brethren: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;” (1 Thessalonians 1:2,3 KJV). In 2 Thessalonians 1:3 KJV, he wrote: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;”

To Philemon, Paul confessed that he “thanked God, making mention of [Philemon] always in [his] prayers, hearing of [his] love and faith, which [he had] toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints” (verses 4,5). Paul wrote to Timothy: “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;… when I call to remembrance of the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded in thee also” (2 Timothy 1:3,5 KJV). Paul thanked God for the faith that was in Timothy and Philemon.

The Bible also says that Paul wrote the Ephesians (1:16): “[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;” In Ephesians 5:20, Paul instructed the Ephesians: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

In Philippians 1:3-7 KJV, we read Paul’s gratefulness for the believers in Philippi:

“3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”

Paul, in Colossians 1:12 KJV, thanked God the Father “which hath made us [all Christians] meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:”

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14 KJV, we read: “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR OUR DELIVERANCE FROM MOSAIC LAW BONDAGE AND OUR FREEDOM TO EAT “NON-KOSHER” FOODS

We can thank God that we are not under the demands of the Mosaic Law today. Thus, we are not limited to the kosher food laws of the Old Testament (the Judaistic diet of Leviticus chapter 11 and Deuteronomy chapter 14). In 1 Timothy 4:3-5 KJV, we read: “…meats [foods], which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” As long as we give God thanks, we can eat all the “non-kosher” foods that we want (cf. Romans 14:6)!

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR OUR VICTORY THROUGH CHRIST JESUS

In Romans chapter 7, the Apostle Paul discusses how he suffers defeat in the Christian life. He tries so hard to live the Christian life, but he fails miserably in sin (verses 14-22). In defeat, Paul admits, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Then, Paul writes in the next verse, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (verse 25).

Paul thanked God that, while he could not live the Christian life, Christ could live His life in and through Paul, thus saving Paul from defeat and discouragement (Romans 8:1-9; cf. Galatians 2:20). We too can thank God that our Christian lives are lived, not by us living them, but by letting Christ Jesus live His life in and through us. Christ will only be able to live His life in and through us if we allow Him to renew our minds by daily Bible study (Romans 12:1,2; Ephesians 4:23): this is the “mind” of which Paul spoke in Romans 7:25.

After discussing the resurrection of Christ and Christians (the rapture), Paul concludes 1 Corinthians 15 by writing, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (verses 57-58). We have the hope that physical and spiritual death will not bind us Christians. Although we have already been delivered from spiritual death (the lake of fire), we await the day (rapture) when our physical bodies are delivered from sickness, decay, and death (Romans 8:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; Ephesians 4:30).

In addition to our victory over death, we have victory over sin, hell and the lake of fire, and Satan. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.”

 

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR GOVERNMENTAL AND CHURCH LEADERS

While many governmental and ecclesiastical leaders are corrupt, the power that God established for them to exercise does provide order, to some extent. Contrary to popular belief, God does not choose our politicians and church leaders (we do). However, the power that they exercise is ordained of God (see Romans 13:1). Government does bring order, thus the Apostle Paul wrote: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1,2 KJV).

 

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR HIS GRACE GIVEN TO US BY JESUS CHRIST AND OUR SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:4-7 KJV):

“4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:”

The grace of God which is given unto us by Jesus Christ is our enablement to understand the things that God wants us to know (the “all utterance” and “all knowledge”). We understand, via the indwelling Holy Spirit and the Bible, the mystery of God’s will (1 Corinthians 2:9-16; Ephesians 1:8-10).

 

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR SAINTS WHO OFFER FINANCIAL AND SPIRITUAL SUPPORT FOR THOSE (ESPECIALLY CHRISTIANS) IN NEED

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:11-15 KJV:

“11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

Paul and Timothy thanked God for the “liberal” (sincere, selfless) giving of the Corinthians. These believers were eager to give to their Christian brethren in need. We should be thankful that God has given believer this capacity to give as He moves them to give.

 

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT THAT WE RECEIVE WHEN THE CHRISTIAN BRETHREN STAND FIRM IN THE LORD, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF DIFFICULTIES

Paul, Silas, and Timothy were experiencing difficulties in the ministry, but the Thessalonians were bringing them joy because the Thessalonians had “faith and charity,” and they had “good remembrance” of Paul, Silas, and Timothy, desiring to see them (1 Thessalonians 3:3-7). “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;” (verses 8,9).

THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR OUR APOSTLE PAUL AND HIS MINISTRY AS GOD’S APOSTLE TO US GENTILES

Paul thanked God that He appointed him to be “the apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). We read in 1 Timothy 1:12,13 KJV: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

God, in His grace, saved the very man (Saul of Tarsus) who was persecuting and murdering Jews who had trusted in Jesus as their Messiah-King. Had God in His grace not selected Saul and made him Paul the Apostle, we would not be enjoying the riches of God’s grace in this the Dispensation of Grace! It was because of Paul’s apostleship and ministry that God had to open our dispensation. Through the fall of Israel and the rise of Paul’s ministry, salvation goes to us Gentiles (Romans 11:11-13).

 

CONCLUSION

While there are many unthankful Christians and lost people (Romans 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:2), let us not be guilty of being unthankful. Our circumstances are not always conducive to thankfulness, but in (during) the good times and the bad, the Bible says that we need to give thanks. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV).

Whenever you pray, always give God thanks for what you do have. Thank God that you can come to Him day or night, in good times and bad, with your prayer and supplication (intense, tearful praying). Thank God that you have His peace “which passeth all understanding,” the peace that will “keep [guard] your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.” The Bible explains in Philippians chapter 4 KJV: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Revelation 7:12 says it best: “Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and THANKSGIVING, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM arC MINISTRIES!

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Two Secret Comings of Christ

November 13, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

We know that Jesus Christ came to planet earth 2,000 years ago to die on Calvary’s cross (His First Coming). Also, we know that He will return to planet earth in the future to set up His earthly kingdom (His Second Coming). As we will see, these comings were clearly predicted in the Old Testament, but they were not delineated to be two comings until the New Testament was written.

Moreover, when we study the Bible dispensationally (“rightly dividing the word of truth;” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV), we learn that there are two secret comings of Christ during the period between the two prophesied comings of Christ. In this Bible study, we want to explain these four comings of Christ, and how it is important that we understand their place in God’s timeline for the ages.

THE TWO PROPHESIED COMINGS OF CHRIST

First, notice what the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:10,11 KJV: “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

The Old Testament prophets foretold of Israel’s coming Messiah. They spoke of Him as suffering and dying (“the sufferings of Christ”), but they also predicted He would fight battles and reign as King (“the glory that should follow”). How could this be? How could one man die and then reign as King? It made no sense to them. Could there be two Messiahs, perhaps? Let us examine some of the Old Testament verses that describe Israel’s coming Messiah.

Isaiah chapter 53, written about 700 B.C., reads: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:… he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed… the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment… he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin… He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities… he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Written about 1000 B.C., Psalm 22:1-21 also describes a suffering and dying Messiah: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?… But I am a worm, and no man: a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn… Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round… I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws: and thou hast brought me into the dust of death… they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.”

Contrariwise, Jeremiah 23:5,6 KJV speak of Israel’s Messiah as a King reigning over them: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Isaiah 9:6,7 KJV also describe the reign of Israel’s Messiah-King: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Zechariah 14:1-4,9 prophesied a Messiah who would win battles for Israel and ultimately be her King:

“1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south….
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

It is not until we come to the New Testament that we learn that the coming of Christ prophesied in the Old Testament was actually two comings. In fact, after the earthly ministry of Christ and His crucifixion (His First Coming), the Apostle Peter tells Israel that Jesus Christ will be returning to earth to reign as King. Acts 3:18-20 KJV explains the Second Coming of Christ:

“18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:”

But, when we come to the ministry of the Apostle Paul, there is further revelation about the coming of Christ. In addition to two prophesied comings of Christ (His earthly ministry and death on Calvary, and His millennial reign as King), there are two secret comings of Christ in Scripture. You only read about these two secret comings of Christ when you come to the ministry of the Apostle Paul and his 13 epistles, Romans through Philemon.

THE TWO SECRET COMINGS OF CHRIST

The Bible explains that, until the ascended Lord Jesus Christ revealed it to Paul, our Dispensation of Grace was kept secret (from the Old Testament prophets). The Old Testament prophets did not know of a time period—our Dispensation of Grace—when God would temporarily set aside Israel and salvation would go to the Gentiles apart from Israel’s kingdom (prophetic) program. The Old Testament prophets did not know that Jesus would actually come twice, not once. Furthermore, God kept it secret that Jesus Christ would return two more times in between those two separate comings.

Read Romans 16:25,26 KJV: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:”

Also notice Ephesians 3:1-6,9 KJV:

“1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:…
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

Colossians 1:25-27 KJV concurs:

“25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

Again, until the ascended Lord Jesus Christ revealed it to the Apostle Paul, God never told anyone of a secret time period between those two prophesied comings of Christ. That secret time period, our Dispensation of Grace, would open and close with two secret comings of Christ. Just like the Dispensation of Grace was not revealed in the Old Testament, the two comings of Christ associated with the Dispensation of Grace were not revealed in the Old Testament either.

God opened our Dispensation of Grace in Acts chapter 9, when the ascended Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Saul (later the Apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus. Paul explains this in Acts 26:13-19 KJV:

“13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:”

Just prior to our Dispensation of Grace opening, Saul (Paul) had persecuted the Jews who had trusted in Jesus as their Messiah-King. Israel had already killed Jesus Christ, and the events of Acts chapter 2 had already occurred. The next event on Israel’s calendar was God’s wrath (see Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:16-21; cf. Psalm 2:1-5). When we come to the prophet Stephen in Acts chapter 7, Israel is still rebellious. Ultimately, the Jews stoned Stephen to death (Acts 7:58–8:1).

Instead of pouring out His wrath, which should have occurred (Acts 7:55,56 cf. Psalm 110:1), God poured out His grace on Saul and saved him! This coming of Christ to open our dispensation, save Saul, and make him Paul the Apostle, was unknown to the Old Testament prophets. Notice how Paul writes that he received his apostleship/ministry by “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). Our Lord Jesus Christ, from His ascended position, personally revealed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-7; Acts 22:6-11; Acts 26:13-19).

There was a secret coming of Christ to open our dispensation and temporarily suspend Israel’s program. Likewise, there is a secret coming of Christ to conclude our dispensation and take us (the Church the Body of Christ) to heaven. The rapture, a “mystery” (secret) unknown to the Old Testament, is only revealed in Paul’s epistles. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,” (1 Corinthians 15:51). Before Jesus Christ can return to earth (His Second Coming in Israel’s program), He must first return “in the clouds” to gather the Church the Body of Christ, the believers in this the Dispensation of Grace (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This dispensation must close via the rapture before God can return to Israel.

Once our Dispensation of Grace closes, God’s program with Israel will resume. The seven-year Tribulation (God’s wrath) will follow the rapture, and the seven years will end with the Second Coming of Christ to regather Israel and establish His kingdom in the earth. You only see these marvelous truths when you study the Bible dispensationally.

CONCLUSION

In hindsight, on this side of Calvary, we understand that there is one Jesus Christ (one Messiah, not two), but His coming described in the Old Testament is actually two comings (when we look at the New Testament). The Lord Jesus Christ came to Israel 2,000 years ago to suffer, die, and resurrect (His First Coming), but He will one day return to Israel as King and Victor (His Second Coming). These two comings of Christ where He literally stands on planet earth are part of the prophetic program (see Acts 3:21).

In addition to those two comings of Christ clearly proclaimed by the Old Testament and explained in the New Testament, we gain further understanding, from Paul’s epistles (alone), that there are two secret comings of Christ between the two prophesied comings of Christ. These two secret comings—Christ appearing to Paul to open the Dispensation of Grace and Christ appearing to the Body of Christ to rapture us out—are kept secret in the Old Testament and Four Gospels.  These two comings of Christ where He remains in the air—not to stand on the earth—are part of the mystery program (see Romans 16:25,26).

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

The Holy Spirit: Person or Force?

November 6, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

Is the Holy Spirit a Person of the Godhead? According to the cults, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Holy Ghost is simply God’s “active force,” not God Himself. In this Bible study, we want to see what God’s Word says regarding the doctrine of the Holy Ghost.

The Bible says in Acts 4:32-37 (cf. Acts 2:44-47) that the believing remnant of Israel had pooled their wealth and possessions, “had all things common,” and “laid [the money] at the apostles’ feet.” In Acts 5:1-3, however, a Jewish man (Ananias) and his wife (Sapphira) withhold a portion of wealth from the apostles. The Apostle Peter says, “Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? … Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:3,4 KJV).

According to the Bible, if someone lies to the Holy Ghost, he or she has “lied to God.” Obviously the Bible makes the Holy Spirit equal to God. Because the names “Holy Ghost” and “God” have been used interchangeably, we conclude that the Holy Ghost is God.

Furthermore, throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit exhibits the characteristics of a Person, not an inanimate force.

1. THE HOLY GHOST SPEAKS, SHOWS, HEARS, AND GUIDES US INTO ALL TRUTH

  • John 16:13 KJV – “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

2. THE HOLY GHOST CAN BE BLASPHEMED/SPOKEN AGAINST

  • Matthew 12:31,32 KJV – “…but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men… but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him.” (cf. Mark 3:29-31; Luke 12:10)

3. THE HOLY GHOST CAN BE GRIEVED/SADDENED

  • Ephesians 4:30 KJV – “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

4. THE HOLY GHOST TEACHES WITH WORDS AND REMINDS

  • John 14:26 KJV – “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
  • 1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV – “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

5. THE HOLY GHOST SPEAKS

  • 2 Samuel 23:2 KJV – “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”
  • 1 Kings 22:24 KJV – “…Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?”
  • 2 Chronicles 18:23 KJV – “…Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?”
  • Ezekiel 11:5 KJV – “And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD….”
  • Matthew 10:20 KJV – “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
  • Mark 13:11 KJV – “…[F]or it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.”
  • Acts 1:16 KJV – “Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.”
  • Acts 8:29 KJV – “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to his chariot.”
  • Acts 10:19 KJV – “While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.”
  • Acts 20:23 KJV – “Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.”
  • Acts 21:11 KJV – “And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”
  • Acts 28:25 KJV – “…Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,”
  • Galatians 4:6 – “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
  • 1 Timothy 4:1 KJV – “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
  • Hebrews 3:7 KJV – “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice,”
  • Revelation 2:7,11,17,29 KJV – “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;… He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;… He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;… He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
  • Revelation 3:6,13,22 KJV – “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches….He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches…. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
  • Revelation 14:13 KJV – “…Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”
  • Revelation 22:17 KJV – “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.”

6. THE HOLY GHOST REVEALS

  • Luke 2:26 KJV – “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
  • Ephesians 3:5 KJV – “Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;”

7.  THE HOLY GHOST LIVES/DWELLS

  • John 14:17 KJV – “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
  • Romans 8:9,11 KJV – “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his…. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
  • 1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV – “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
  • 2 Timothy 1:14 KJV – “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.”

8. THE HOLY GHOST APPOINTS

  • Acts 20:28 KJV – “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.”

9. THE HOLY GHOST INVITES OR REQUESTS

  • Acts 11:12 KJV – “And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:”

10. THE HOLY GHOST BEARS WITNESS/TESTIFIES

  • John 15:26 KJV – “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”
  • Acts 5:32 KJV – “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
  • Acts 20:23 KJV – “Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.”
  • Romans 8:16 KJV – “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
  • Hebrews 10:15 KJV – “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,”
  • 1 John 5:6-8 KJV – “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”

11. THE HOLY GHOST MAKES INTERCESSION FOR US

  • Romans 8:26,27 KJV – “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. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

12. THE HOLY GHOST REASONS/THINKS

  • Acts 15:28 KJV – “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;”

13. THE HOLY GHOST HAS KNOWLEDGE

  • 1 Corinthians 2:10,11 KJV – “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”

14. THE HOLY GHOST CAN BE TEMPTED

  • Acts 5:9 KJV – “Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?”

15. THE HOLY GHOST CAN BE VEXED/TROUBLED

  • Isaiah 63:10 KJV – “But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”

16. THE HOLY GHOST FORBIDS

  • Acts 16:6 KJV – “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,”

17. THE HOLY GHOST CREATED US / GAVE US LIFE

  • Job 33:4 KJV – “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”

18. THE HOLY GHOST SENDS

  • Isaiah 48:16 KJV – “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.”

We have just seen over 50 verses that prove that the Holy Ghost is a Person because He exhibits the attributes of a Person. He is not simply “God’s active force,” as the cults suggest. The Holy Spirit is a living Person, one of the three Persons of the Godhead. Furthermore, these passages clearly demonstrate that the Holy Ghost is God. Will you believe the Word of God? (Will you believe the Word of the Holy Ghost?; 2 Peter 1:20,21) Or, will you believe the worthless, foolish tradition of men?

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Halloween 2011 – Impressionable Minds and Effectual Doctrine

October 30, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

At this time of year, we see young people dressed up in costumes. They portray characters of all sizes, colors, and shapes. There are goblins, witches, zombies, pirates, devils, skeletons, and vampires, to name a few. You even see fictional and real-life celebrities. These kids, meaning no harm, travel from house to house and exclaim, “Trick-or-treat!” They are totally oblivious as to why Halloween celebrations include jack-o’-lanterns, apple bobbing, and door-to-door begging. Their parents, unfortunately, have never bothered to research the origin of the expression, “Trick-or-treat.”

Is it any wonder why the Church the Body of Christ is so ineffective in reaching the lost? Its members unite with the world in its doctrinal error. Professing Christians mingle with that which does not reflect their identity in Christ. Sadly, Christians are viewed as hypocrites because they are so permissive regarding the things that God is clearly against. The Scriptures scream, “Wake up!”

Ephesians 5:14-17 KJV:

“14 Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”

During the past 15 years, young people, including my generation, have been subjected to the “Harry Potter” books and movies. Harry Potter, a young wizard, and his friends attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main antagonist of the series is Lord Voldemort, an evil wizard, whom Harry fights. Just like Halloween, it seems like “innocent child’s play.” But, to the Bible student, this is another attempt to downplay the gravity of devil worship. Call it whatever you want, but if it does not bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ, it is devil worship!

Why is it extremely important that we educate our young people about the topic of witchcraft and the occult? Should we be concerned with Halloween and related matters like the Harry Potter franchise? In this Bible study, we will search the Scriptures for the answers.

 

GOD’S VIEW CONCERNING WITCHCRAFT

In the Old Testament, the LORD made it very clear to the nation Israel that He hated witchcraft. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18 KJV). “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:27 KJV). The LORD instructed Israel before she went into the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 18:9-14 KJV):

“9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination [witchcraft], or an observer of times [astrology], or an enchanter [magician], or a witch,
11 Or a charmer [one who casts spells], or a consulter with familiar spirits , or a wizard, or a necromancer [raises the dead].
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.”

The LORD declared in Micah 5:12 KJV: “And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:” Clearly, God wanted Israel, His earthly people, to have no part in Satan’s policy of evil. He did not want them to mingle with witches, darkness, and so on.

What does God want for us, the Church the Body of Christ, His heavenly people, in this the Dispensation of Grace? Galatians 5:20 refers to witchcraft as a “work of the flesh” (verse 19), something that opposes the “fruit of the [Holy] Spirit” (verses 22 and 23). In Ephesus, the Apostle Paul was able to evangelize many people. Acts 19:19 indicates that these people were formerly pagans who were also Satan worshippers: “Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver [~US$6.4 million!].”

The Ephesians were notable for their magic spells, but once they had trusted in Jesus Christ, the Bible says they literally burned their magic (spell) books! Witchcraft and the occult should have no part in our lives as Christians. God has separated us unto Himself. We should not be fellowshipping with devils (see 1 Corinthians 10:19-23).

There is no law “Thou shalt not celebrate Halloween.” Yet notice 1 Corinthians 10:23 KJV: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” Although they are not explicitly forbidden, we should avoid the activities that are inconsistent with our identity in Christ Jesus.

 

WHAT IS “DEVIL WORSHIP” ANYWAY?

When we think of devil worship, we think of blood drinking, spell chanting, human sacrifices, and bowing down to a horned statue. However, there are much more innocent looking forms of devil worship. In Isaiah 14:14-15, Lucifer (Satan before his fall) professes: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

If any activity does not bring glory, praise, and honor to God Almighty (the Lord Jesus Christ), it is devil worship. Satan wants you to worship something other than the one true God. Devil worship includes materialism (a lover of possessions) and narcissism (lover of self): it is “worshipping and serving the creature, more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:25bc).

Consider this. The Bible uses the title “jealous God” six times for JEHOVAH (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; Deuteronomy 5:9; Deuteronomy 6:15; Joshua 24:19). Jealousy (envy) is a sin when we commit it (Romans 1:29; Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 5:21; et al.). But, just as there is a godly anger (Matthew 5:22; Mark 3:5; Ephesians 4:26), there is a godly jealousy, God’s righteous jealousy. God continually reminded Israel that He was “jealous” over her. “They [Israel] provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee” (Deuteronomy 32:16-18 KJV).

Prior to going into the Promised Land under Joshua, Moses warned Israel of her previous idolatrous ways. Once Israel went into that land, they were to destroy the pagan heathens and their idols (Exodus 34:11-17). Unfortunately, even in God’s Promised Land, the Jews established pagan shrines to the worthless idols of the Gentiles (1 Kings 14:22-24; 2 Kings 17:7-18; Psalm 78:58)! The LORD wanted Israel to Himself, and yet they ignored Him and adored vain, inanimate idols.

In Leviticus 20:26, God explains to Israel why He has instructed her with His laws, including forbidding her to consume unclean animals and teaching her not to pursue wizards and witches (verse 27). “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” God wanted Israel to reflect her special, sanctified status—she was His people in the earth, and He wanted her to be separate from the pagan, Satan-worshipping Gentiles. Sadly, Israel wanted just the opposite!

The Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, warned members of the Body of Christ in Corinth about provoking the Lord to “jealousy” by fellowshipping with devils (1 Corinthians 10:20-22). Paul was “jealous” over the Body of Christ, instructing us to avoid satanic deception by holding to the doctrine in his epistles (2 Corinthians 11:1-4).

Throughout the Holy Scriptures, over a dozen references describe God as “jealous.” God wants His people all to Himself—He does not want us mingling with the world’s idols (crucifixes, statues, religious paintings, selfishness, materialism, et cetera). In His omnipotence and omniscience, God is justified in being jealous over us because He alone deserves our praise, worship, dedication, and honor. After all, He is our Creator and our Saviour (if we have trusted in Him for salvation!). So, how can we honor and praise God by participating in Halloween? We cannot.

 

THE ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN

Halloween is a pagan holy day, a special time for witches. Contrary to its “child-friendly” appearance, it is a holiday that commemorates death and evil. Occult worship reaches it peak on October 31st. This “innocent-looking” child’s holiday turns out to be nothing more than a glorified version of the despicable Celtic festival of Samhain, a day when the Druids sacrificed to their pagan gods and fellowshipped with deceased loved ones.

Jack-o’-lanterns (in America, pumpkins replaced turnips), apple bobbing, trick-or-treating, costume wearing, and black cats are all symbols found in paganism. Halloween’s history abounds with superstitious beliefs and activities Research the dark history of Halloween (try the History Channel’s website http://www.history.com/topics/halloween). How many sincere, misinformed (or uninformed) people allow their children to participate in this?! We lament the fact that some have turned a “blind eye” to this for the sake of compromise.

 

A SILENT BATTLE

Ephesians 6:11,12 KJV says: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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.”

This battle is not fought with flesh and blood weapons such as machine guns and swords, but with supernatural weapons, sound doctrine from God’s Word rightly divided. Ephesians 6:11,13 tell us that we need to “put on the whole armour of God.” In Christ we have this armor, we simply need to put it on! This armor is dependent upon God’s Word, “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). The only way we can fight off Satan’s attacks is to put the sound doctrine of God’s Word into our thinking. We must transform and renew our minds by studying the Holy Scriptures “rightly divided” on daily basis (Romans 12:1,2; Ephesians 4:22-24).

Let us compare Ephesians 6:11-12 with 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV:

“3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Satan’s battle focuses on people’s minds (especially Christians). God wants to provide us with enlightenment, spiritual wisdom, and salvation from Satan’s darkness. Contrariwise, Satan seeks to corrupt our minds. Satan wants to deceive us, blind us, and confuse us. Whenever Satan distracts us away from thinking on God’s Word, then he gets the advantage!

Now, Satan cannot deceive those who are grounded in sound doctrine from God’s Word (Ephesians 4:14). Satan can only prey on those who are uninformed and/or misinformed. The devil will not only focus on Christians who know little to nothing about God’s Word, but he will also focus on the minds of children, the gullible kids! This is why a firm understanding of Halloween (and Harry Potter) is needed.

 

THE FUTURE GENERATIONS

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 KJV).

If ever there were a great Parent, it would be God the Father. He is the greatest Parent, so we would do well if we hearkened unto His wisdom. Young minds are very pliable: they need to be guided in the right direction at the earliest age possible: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture [love, care] and admonition [instruction] of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4 KJV). The greatest gift a parent could ever give his or her child is a firm foundation in God’s Word, the rightly divided King James Bible.

In Deuteronomy chapter 5, Moses taught God’s Law (the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law) to Israel. The LORD commanded the Jews to daily meditate on His Word, memorize it, and write it everywhere in their homes (Deuteronomy 6:8,9). In addition, they were to educate their children in God’s Word (verses 6,7): “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Parents, not preachers and teachers, should be the primary instructors of their children. God has given the father-husband the role of teaching the children (his wife helping him, of course). Remember Ephesians 6:4? Bishops and deacons were to have godly children instructed in God’s Word (1 Timothy 3:4,5,12). Comparing 2 Timothy 1:5,6 with 2 Timothy 3:15, we learn that Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois taught him the Old Testament Scriptures… and just where was his father?!

The local church should then build on the foundation that the parents stored in their children. Older men in the church served as role models for the younger men in the church, and older women served as role models for the younger women in the church (Titus 2:1-8).

 

CONCLUSION

Our young people need to understand the seriousness of witchcraft (Halloween, Harry Potter, et cetera). It is our God-given responsibility to teach them these precious truths found only in God’s Word. When we allow our children to participate in these types of activities, we are sending them confusing messages. We condemn Satan and his evil works, yet we participate in activities that were once used to glorify God’s adversary and downplay God’s hatred for the beliefs underlying these practices?

We desperately need to get our young people to realize the weightiness of sound doctrine, especially regarding the occult (and its most subtle forms like Halloween and Harry Potter). God Almighty instructs us to educate them with sound Bible teaching, and we know that God’s Word will “effectually work also in [them] that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV). God’s Word will reach their minds, we just need to plant and water, sowing it into their minds, and let God take care of the rest.

One day, if the Lord tarries, our generations will pass, and new ones will take over. As adults, we owe it to the future generations to teach and preach God’s Word now, while we still can. Those future generations need a firm foundation in God’s Word so they can pass it on to their future generations.

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Healing on the Sabbath Day

October 9, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

The Law of Moses forbade Jews from working on the Sabbath day, so why did the Lord Jesus heal the sick and cast out devils on the Sabbath? Was it just to anger the Pharisees and the other hypocritical religious leaders of Israel? In this Bible study, we want to examine some of the instances in detail in order to understand why Jesus Christ healed on the Sabbath day. I think you will find the explanation quite fascinating.

 

CHRIST’S SABBATH DAY HEALING

In Matthew 12:10-15, Mark 3:1-6, and Luke 6:6-11, the Lord Jesus heals a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath day. By the way, the Bible says that, because Jesus healed on the Sabbath, the Pharisees “held a council against him, how they might destroy him” (Matthew 12:14; Mark 3:6; Luke 6:11).

Again, in Luke 13:10-16, there is a humpback woman, crippled and unable to stand up straight. Jesus Christ heals her too on the Sabbath day. On another Sabbath day, as documented in Luke 14:1-4, Christ heals a man who suffers from dropsy (edema). We see yet another instance of Jesus Christ healing a lame man on the Sabbath day in John 5:1-16. Let us examine a few of these passages in detail in order to gain a better understanding of why Jesus Christ healed on the Sabbath.

According to Luke 13:10-16, the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching in the synagogues on the Sabbath days. On one Sabbath, He heals a humpback Jewess. Verse 14 says that the ruler of synagogue is angry because Jesus has healed her on the Sabbath day. Jesus Christ responds (verses 15,16): “Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on this sabbath day?”

Notice Jesus refers specifically to Abraham’s children (Jews). Also, recognize that Satan has bound this Jewess, and Jesus Christ is the only one who can free her. He looses her from the bondage on the Sabbath day.

Now, we want to look at John 5:1-16. In Jerusalem, there is a pool where the mute, the crippled, the blind, and other sick people go to be healed. An angel occasionally comes down and stirs the water. The first person to get into the water immediately after will be made whole (healed). Evidently, one man sitting beside the pool has been unable to walk for 38 years (verse 5). The Lord Jesus Christ sees the crippled man waiting by the pool, so the Lord asks the sick man if he wants to be healed. Jesus instantly heals the man (verse 9). This was on the Sabbath day, so Israel’s religious leaders are upset again (verses 9,16,18).

Let us briefly look at why God established the Sabbath day, and then we will come back Christ’s earthly ministry.

 

THE SABBATH DAY ESTABLISHED

The Bible first mentions the Sabbath day in Genesis 2:1-3 (by the way, the Sabbath is Saturday, never Sunday, in Scripture). Then, the Bible does not speak of the Sabbath day again until Moses, some 2,500 years later. In the Mosaic Law, the LORD demanded that Israel “keep the Sabbath holy.” The LORD commanded Israel not to do any work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). They were to rest on the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3). Instead, every Jew was to spend the Sabbath day thinking about God’s purpose in creation and, thus, the nation Israel’s role in His plan for the earth (Exodus 31:13-18; Exodus 35:2,3).

So, what was God’s purpose in creation, when He rested on that first Sabbath back in Genesis 2? Psalm 132:8 reads, “Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.” Verses 13 and 14 tell us: “For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” God’s purpose in creating the earth was to set up an earthly kingdom, which He had planned since He created the world (Matthew 25:34).

Had sin not entered into creation with the fall of Adam and man, God would have come down and lived on planet earth the Sabbath after the Sabbath of Genesis 2:1-3. This is why God referred to the Promised Land as His “rest” (Hebrews 3:11, 18)!

However, we understand that sin interrupted God’s plan, and that earthly kingdom did not come about in Genesis. Instead, beginning with Abram (Abraham) in Genesis chapter 12, God started a new race of people, the nation Israel. God would make Israel His chosen people on earth. Once saved, the Jews would restore God’s authority in the earth (which had been lost when Adam fell, and man’s dominion on the earth was passed to Satan; cf. Genesis 1:28 and 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Ephesians 2:2).

To the nation Israel would God give that earthly kingdom that He planned backed with Adam and creation (Exodus 19:3-6). When the Jews kept the Sabbath holy every week, they were continually reminded of that earthly kingdom and their role in God’s purpose and plan for creating the earth.

Unfortunately, Satan polluted the nation Israel with pagan idolatry: also, he sent false prophets to mislead Israel, and his evil spirits seduced and possessed Jews (Deuteronomy 13:1-18; Jeremiah 6:13; Acts 8:7-24; Acts 13:6-8; 2 Peter 2:1-3; et al.). As long as Satan kept Israel in spiritual bondage, the Jews could not be the vessels that God had intended them to be. This continued throughout the Old Testament, whose prophets emphatically preached of Israel’s coming kingdom. Finally, Jesus Christ, Israel’s King-Redeemer was born, and He came to bring usher in their kingdom.

However, that earthly kingdom was further postponed when the Jews rejected and crucified Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross. Had Israel accepted Jesus as her Messiah-King 2,000 years ago, that earthly kingdom would have been set up. But, that kingdom will not be established until the Second Coming of Christ, some 6,000 years since creation, and a day beyond even our time!

 

CHRIST’S HEALING ON THE SABBATH EXPLAINED

Okay, so getting back to Christ’s earthly ministry, we can begin to understand why He healed on the Sabbath day. When Israel’s Messiah and King (Jesus) came, as documented in the Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there was a spike in the number of devil-possessed and sick Jews. As long as Israel was in spiritual darkness and satanic bondage, God could not use them in their kingdom to evangelize Gentiles.

Do you remember the humpback woman in Luke 13:16, who we briefly discussed earlier? “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” That physically crippled woman was spiritually impotent Israel, firmly bound by Satan’s chains and spiritually blind! The Jews were to be released from that satanic bondage on the Sabbath, the Millennial Reign of Christ, the period of “rest” that the Saturday Sabbath typified.

Notice what Mark 5:10 KJV says: “And he [the unclean spirit] besought him [the Lord Jesus Christ] much that he would not send them away out of the country.” The devils do not want to be cast out of “the country.” They do not want to be cast out of the land of Israel! Furthermore, the devils rightly claim Jesus Christ has come to destroy them by setting up His kingdom and binding them!

The Lord Jesus Christ told the Jews who He healed that their sins are forgiven (Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20; Luke 7:48). Jesus is casting out devils and healing all manners of disease and sickness and preaching “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 9:35). He also sends out the twelve apostles to heal and preach “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 10:1-8). The Lord Jesus is demonstrating to Israel the healing, prosperity, and forgiveness that God would provide for the Jews during their earthly kingdom.

Notice Matthew 12:15, which occurred right after the healing of the man with the withered hand (recall that it was on the Sabbath). “But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.” Here is an example of Jesus healing multitudes of people on the Sabbath. This healed multitude also symbolized Israel being healed in her earthly kingdom.

Jesus Christ is not only healing Israel physically, but spiritually as well. Every time Christ cast out a devil (unclean spirit), He was abolishing Satan’s influence over the nation Israel. Interestingly, the crippled man in John 5:5 had been handicapped for 38 years. Amazingly, Deuteronomy 2:14 said that Israel wandered in the wilderness for 38 years. During that period, the Jews were rebellious and spiritually crippled, unable to enter the Promised Land.

When Jesus healed the man suffering from dropsy in Luke 14:1-4, recall that He healed him too on the Sabbath day. This sick man also symbolized Israel, spiritually impotent and under Satan’s control. Again, by healing the sick, especially on the Sabbath day, Jesus was demonstrating to the Jews that their earthly kingdom would bring spiritual and physical healing. The man whose withered hand was healed on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:10-15; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11) also symbolized Israel’s physical and spiritual healing in her coming kingdom.

Another example of Israel being devil-possessed is the man indwelt by the unclean spirit in Mark 1:21-27 and Luke 4:31-36. Notice that the unclean spirit asked Jesus (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34): “Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” The devil knew exactly what Christ was there to do! Christ was there to destroy Satan’s stronghold on the nation Israel. He was here to bring in the kingdom that the Sabbath day had shadowed for some 1,500 years!

 

CONCLUSION

The Pharisees and scribes had such a formalistic mindset that they completely missed the point of why Jesus Christ was healing on the Sabbath. So, they just condemned Him as a “blasphemer” and a “law-breaker.” They were too preoccupied with keeping the Sabbath (vain religious tradition) that they had lost sight of why God had implemented Sabbath day keeping in the first place! In addition, they completely missed the point that by performing those miracles, Jesus was proving that He was their Messiah.

However, these religious leaders had wicked hearts of unbelief, and they used anything to discredit Jesus Christ, and thus accused Him of Sabbath day breaking. In their hypocrisy, these unbelievers had totally missed the fact that they “broke” the Sabbath when they circumcised a male Jew on the Sabbath when it was the eighth day (John 7:22-24).

While the Sabbath day was important, it was a ceremonial law. Sometimes, the Sabbath day needed to be broken (such as in the case of physical circumcision). Jesus Christ spoke of loosing or helping animals on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:11,12; Luke 14:5). As to not infringe on other aspects of the Mosaic Law, the Sabbath day would need to be broken. Freeing animals under burdens was acceptable on the Sabbath day (see Exodus 23:5; Deuteronomy 22:4)—these laws took preeminence above the Sabbath keeping because they were the right things to do. Yet, the religious leaders of Israel did not want to admit that Jesus healing on the Sabbath was good and acceptable.

So, why did Jesus heal on the Sabbath day? Jesus was healing on the Sabbath in order to demonstrate “the powers of the world to come” (Hebrews 2:3-5; Hebrews 6:4-6). The Old Testament prophesied that when Israel’s God would come, the lame man would leap, the mute would sing, the blind would see, and the deaf would hear (Isaiah 35:4-6). By performing the healing miracles, especially on the Sabbath, Jesus Christ was fulfilling what the Old Testament had predicted!

After all, there will be no sickness or suffering in the kingdom when Christ returns to earth (Isaiah 11:6-9; Isaiah 33:23,24; James 5:14-16). God will cause the evil spirits to pass from the land of Israel (Zechariah 13:2). In fact, during the Millennial Reign of Christ, Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3,7). That is, by performing those miracles, Christ was showing Israel the healing and forgiveness that would take place in His millennial kingdom! Moreover, the Jews needed signs and wonders before they would believe God, and Christ’s miracles taught Israel what He was going to do with them (Exodus 4:1-8; John 4:48; 1 Corinthians 1:22).

Now you know why the Lord Jesus Christ healed on the Sabbath….

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

September 11, 2001: The 10th Anniversary

September 11, 2011

by Shawn Brasseaux

Where were you on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when you heard the news that three hijacked passenger jets had been used to destroy much of the World Trade Center and a portion of the Pentagon, and that courageous passengers prevented the fourth hijacked plane from reaching its intended target? I was in junior high, returning from physical education class, and going to—of all places—American history class. Now, some 10 years later (!), we reflect on the events of that dreadful day by addressing some associated questions in the following Bible study.

WHERE WAS GOD ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001?

Bible critics ask, “Where was God on September 11, 2001?” Usually they do not ask this question in faith; oftentimes, this is a question asked contentiously and smugly. The Bible gives us a clear answer to this question.

Once Jesus Christ had died for our sins, had been buried, and had been raised again the third day, He returned to His heavenly Father in glory. “And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). In Acts 1:11, angels declared: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament promise of Psalm 110:1 by ascending to His heavenly Father’s right hand: “The LORD [God the Father] said unto my Lord [God the Son], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

Today, and for the past 2,000 years, Jesus Christ sits at His Father’s right hand, waiting for the day when His enemies will be made His footstool (Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-43; Acts 2:34-35; Hebrews 1:13). This is when God will pour out His wrath on the unbelieving, wicked world.

“Which he [God the Father] wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 1:20; cf. Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22).

God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ) were in the third heaven on September 11, 2001. God the Holy Spirit was indwelling Christians here on earth (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Galatians 4:6; 2 Timothy 1:14).

God was here on earth. Yes, God allowed 9/11 to happen, but He was not responsible for it. He could have stopped it, but He did not. Until Jesus Christ returns for us the rapture, and ultimately to return at His Second Coming to set up His kingdom on earth, sinful men will continue to operate in this fallen creation, wreaking havoc to Satan’s delight.

 

WAS SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 “GOD’S WRATH” ON AMERICA?

Ten years ago, before I came to understand dispensational Bible study, I was of the persuasion, like most church members, that the events of 9/11 were God’s wrath. Amidst the heartache, I recall many preachers piously screaming, “God’s judgment and wrath has come upon America!” God’s promise to Israel in 2 Chronicles 7:14 was flippantly quoted as though it were God’s message to America. (This is not “rightly dividing the word of truth” like 2 Timothy 2:15 says!!!)

Indeed, the United States abounds with greed, dishonesty, unbelief, violence, and fornication. But, it abounds in every other country too. That being said, God did not “single out” the United States for judgment.  All nations, not just America, deserve God’s wrath. Let us turn to the Holy Scriptures and see what God has to say about it. As we shall see, sinful men, not God, orchestrated the events of 9/11.

In Deuteronomy 28:1,2, the LORD told the nation Israel: “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God….” Verses 3 through 14 speak of God blessing Israel’s harvests, her battles, her physical health, her economy, and so on.

However, in verse 15, the LORD says: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:” From verse 16 to the end of the chapter, God promised to curse Israel’s crops, her economy, her physical health, her battles, and so on.

The LORD and the nation Israel entered into a covenant agreement. We know it as the “Mosaic Law,” or the “Old Covenant.” This contract had conditions. If Israel obeyed God, then God would bless Israel. But, if Israel rebelled and broke God’s laws, then God would curse Israel.

It is important to note that we are not under Israel’s performance-based acceptance system (Judaism, Law-keeping). People are using these Old Testament verses and applying them to us as if they were written to us. God does not punish us when we disobey Him; He does not bless us when we obey Him. Our performance is not the issue today.

When we “rightly divide the word of truth,” as 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV teaches, we understand that God’s dealings with man have changed over time. Israel’s passages belong to Israel, not to us. God tells us something different today. The Apostle Paul writes that we live in “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2). Israel’s “prophetic” program is temporarily suspended as God is forming the Church the Body of Christ in the “mystery” (secret) program (Romans 16;25,26).

Paul writes that we are under grace, not law (Romans 6:14,15; Colossians 2:14; Galatians 5:1; et al.). God has no covenants with us as members of the Church the Body of Christ. In Paul’s epistles, we find no references to God giving any covenant to us (by the way, the New Covenant is not given to us either; Jeremiah 31:31 and Hebrews 8:8 make it very clear the New Covenant will be given to Israel).

Our performance (or lack thereof) is not the issue today. By virtue of the Mosaic Law, God has already proven us sinners, damned from birth. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). However, 2 Corinthians 5:18,19 KJV says: “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

The Bible says that, in this the Dispensation of Grace, God is “not imputing [applying] their trespasses unto them [the world].” Today, God’s attitude toward the world is “grace and peace,” not wrath and war. This is why Paul’s epistles open with the words “grace and peace.”

Currently, God is not condemning the world for their sins. Rather He extends His grace to all the world through Jesus Christ, His shed blood, His death, His burial, and His resurrection (Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of Grace; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Through Christ’s shed blood, God in His grace offers His forgiveness to everyone (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). But, only when we trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour does God apply (“imputes”) His righteousness and salvation to us (see Romans 4:1-8).

This brings us to our final point.

 

WE KNOW NOT OUR LAST DAY

Over 3,000 people never expected September 11, 2001 to be their last day on planet earth. The only individuals who foresaw their death were the 19 hijackers. How many of those people had the assurance of salvation in Christ? While we know not their hearts, we realize that most of those people probably died in their trespasses and sins, and were escorted off to hell. How sad.

We have each been given a limited amount of time on earth. Some are given over a century, others but a few minutes of life. We, from birth, are destined to face God’s wrath, which is brought about by our sin. This includes the ultimate penalty for sin, the lake of fire, eternally tormented and separated from God (Matthew 13:40-42; Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:42-50; 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9; Revelation 20:14,15; et al.).

There comes a point in life where we begin to understand right and wrong, our sin and our need for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. Once we arrive at that point, God expects us believe His Word and what it says about out lost condition and our need for salvation. Today, I want to make you aware of your need for the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is not asking you to join a church, walk an aisle, say a prayer, do good works, give a tithe, speak in tongues, confess your sins, turn over a new leaf, make Jesus Lord of your life, light a candle, partake of the Eucharist, get water baptized, turn from your sins, or live a life of self-denial and self-abasement. What God wants is your faith resting in His Son Jesus Christ. You can do nothing to please God. Faith is the only thing that God’s grace will accept, for faith is not based on what you do for God, but what Jesus Christ did for you!

Do not put off salvation; you are not guaranteed tomorrow. Please trust in Jesus Christ today.

-IN MEMORIAM-
The victims of 9/11/2001

-IN DEDICATION-
All those affected by 9/11/2001

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

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