Church!

Church!

The House of God is more than just a place where the Gospel is preached and obeyed. (1Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 6:1-7, Acts 2:38) It is more than a place of preaching and instruction. (Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 10:14-16) It is a place of praising the name of Jesus in spiritual songs with thankful hearts, rejoicing in the Lord and the power of His might. (Hebrews 13:15, Colossians 3:16, Philippians 4:4, Psalm 32:11, Zephaniah 3:14)

When King David brought the ark of the Lord into the city of David, he danced before the Lord. He and all the house of Israel brought the ark up with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.

"And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet." - 2 Samuel 6:13-15 KJV

"Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing." - Psalm 107:21-22 KJV

Time for Church!

In Everything

Philippians 4:6-7 KJV - "Be careful [to be anxious; to be troubled with cares] for [about] 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."

We have many cares and concerns that we face each day. It is not the will of God for us to be troubled, anxious, irritated, angry, depressed, discouraged, or down about anything. He wants us to pray about everything, having faith that He can fix anything that we face. 

It is God's will that we walk in joy and peace, trusting He is going to answer our prayers.

Every problem that we face, Jesus can help us through it, giving us the words to say, what to do, and giving us favor with those we need to face.

Every burden that we carry, Jesus can lift it. Jesus brings salvation, deliverance, peace, and healing. He is not only the Mighty God that can move mountains, He is also our Savior that took our place on a cross, because He loves us that much.

With our requests we give Him thanksgiving: thanking Him for the prayers He has already answered in our life and in our loved ones lives, but also thanking Him in advance for what we are requesting, to make sure He gets the praise and the glory, lest we forget to give Him thanks after He has answered our prayers!

When we go to Jesus, we can have peace that the problem is being taken care of.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:7

The Arm of the Lord

The Father is Spirit. Throughout the Old Testament, God used metaphors to describe His power, redemption, salvation, omnipresence, acceptance, mercy, judgement, and authority.

These metaphors include the arm, eyes, ears, nose, face, back, and hand. God used these metaphors so we could better understand and relate to God, as we are physical beings.

God’s arm is a metaphor of His power, redemption, and salvation. The Bible says God redeemed the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage with His arm.

"Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:" - Exodus 6:6 (Deuteronomy 9:29, Psalm 44:3)

All of humanity needed a redeemer. More than redemption from Egyptian bondage, mankind needed redemption from the bondage of sin and death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

The Bible says that God saw there was no man that could redeem mankind from sin. Why? Because all are born in sin. Only God Himself – our Heavenly Father – could step in and redeem mankind from sin and death. Only our Heavenly Father could be our Savior. The Bible describes God’s salvation as His arm.

"And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him." - Isaiah 59:16 

Isaiah prophesied of the revealing of God’s arm. Isaiah begins his prophecy with the statement, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” The rest of the chapter describes in detail in advance of the now familiar life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – foretold through prophecy by Isaiah hundreds of years before Christ’s birth. (John 12:37-41, Romans 10:13-16)

". He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief... 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...." - (Isaiah 53:1, 3, 5, 10-12)

It is clear the arm of the LORD is Christ – the Father in a human body. He is our Savior and Redeemer.

"The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." - Isaiah 52:10 ¹¿j

Forgiveness of sins by the name of Jesus in baptism

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law [old testament] purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. [forgiveness of sins]

Jesus told His disciples:

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

It is through the name of Jesus in water baptism that His blood is applied for the remission [forgiveness] of sins.

Peter preached to the Gentiles:

Acts 10:43 KJV To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. [Acts 10:43 NLT - He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.]

Acts 10:48 - And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.

Jesus told His disciples:

Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Peter preached repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus beginning at Jerusalem to all nations gathered on the Day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter preached to the rulers of the people and the  elders of Israel:

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Lead me Jesus

 Lead me Jesus 

When we turn from sin, take on the name of Jesus in water baptism, and receive the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives us the utterance, we have God’s Spirit within us to lead, and guide us. (Acts 2:38)

The Lord spoke to Abraham, and he listened, the Lord leading him out from his family and homeland to the land God promised him. (Gen.12:1-4, Heb.11:8)

Because Abraham allowed the Lord to lead him, he was greatly blessed.

Joshua 24:3  - And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

When Abraham needed a wife for his son Isaac, Abraham sent his servant on a mission back to his homeland to find a wife from his kindred.

Knowing what a monumental task this was and that he needed God to lead him, the servant prayed.

Genesis 24:13  - Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

Genesis 24:14 - And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

Before he had done speaking, Rebekah came out with her pitcher upon her shoulder. The Lord answered his prayer. Rebekah gave the servant to drink and then told him she would water all his camels. When the servant asked whose daughter she was, she was of the house of Abraham’s brother.

God had led the servant to the wife God had chosen for Isaac. (Gen.24)

Genesis 24:26-27  - And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.

Just like the servant, we can ask God to lead us in all we do. (Philippians 4:6-7)

The Good News

 Why does the devil, the enemy of our souls, want to keep us from obeying the gospel? 

Because when we obey the gospel, we have forgiveness of sins so the devil no longer has the power of death over us.

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." - Hebrews 2:14-15 

By Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection - the gospel, Jesus destroyed the devil and his power of death. (2Tim.1:10-11) 

"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles." - 2 Timothy 1:10-11 

How do we obey the gospel? By faith in Jesus we repent, becoming dead to sin. We are buried in water baptism in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins. We receive the gift of God’s Spirit, the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance, to live a new, holy life. (1Cor.15:1-4, Rom.6:1-4, 1Pet.4:17, 2Th.1:3-10).

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Acts 2:38 

When we are baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins we become justified [made righteous in God’s eyes] by the blood of Jesus through His name. We are redeemed [set free from wrath]. Our sins are forgiven. 

We are sanctified [made holy, separated unto God] by His Spirit when we receive the gift of His Holy Ghost. (1Cor.6:9-11, Col.1:14).

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." - 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 

After we have obeyed the gospel, the devil can no longer accuse us of the sins we have repented of - we are washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1Corinthians 6:11, Acts 2:38).

Walking in the Spirit - Part 2

Walking in the Spirit - Part 2

Now that we have repented of our sins, have been water baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, we need to stay full of the Holy Ghost.

Jesus said we must be born again. We can compare our spiritual birth with our natural birth. 

When a baby is born, there is first water. When the baby emerges from the womb, the baby takes a breath and lets out a cry. 

We can see this being like our spiritual birth – water baptism and Spirit baptism. When we are filled with the Spirit there is a sound – speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance.

"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." - Acts 2:4 KJV

Jesus told Nicodemus,

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." - John 3:8 KJV

While a baby breathes his first breath when he is born, it is necessary that the baby keeps breathing to live.

When we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, it is not a one-time experience. We need to stay full of the Holy Ghost.

When Peter and John taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead, the rulers of the people and elders of Israel threw them in jail. 

The next day, they brought them out. When questioned, Peter, “filled with the Holy Ghost,” preached the gospel to them. (See Acts 4). The council then conferred among themselves.

"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." - Acts 4:18 KJV

"And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them." - Acts 4:23 KJV

"And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord…" - Acts 4:24 KJV

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." - Acts 4:31 KJV