1 Timothy 3:16. Part-Two.

An essential Message?

This is how the Apostle Paul is summing up the coming, death, resurrection and return of Jesus, the Messiah and King of Israel and the key events of the Gospel message in these last two letters to Timothy his spiritual son!

We see affection, strong advice that has to be heeded, because being a believer does not get easier, the more so when we are serving Him in anyway, even just talking to our family, handing out the odd tract we will be attacked by Satan!

What else can we pull of of this one verse He was proved, He pleased, He was seen, He was and is being preached and many still come to Him by faith!

But the day of grace is passing and we are now already in the night of apostacy and things are only going to get worse as Satan is to be revealed to the world, we have a greater commission to reach the lost before it is too late?

Matthew 16:20, Mark 1:11, Luke 1:76-77, 16;16, Acts 2:22, Colossians 1:19-20, 23-24, Hebrews 2:2-3, 2 Peter 1:17. Revelation 1:9, 20:4.

1 Timothy 3:16. Part-One.

Not in every Translation?

Some have suggested this is a later add on to the original letter, but we could all be accused of making a footnote to our own letters of encouragement to others!

It is a powerful verse in the New Testament about Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Christ/Messiah came as a human or in human flesh!

The Holy Spirit proved that He pleased God!

He was seen by Angels!

Christ/Messiah was preached to the Nations!

People put their faith in Him!

And He was taken up in Glory!

What is the problem, a miss translation, replacement theology, or down right anti-Semitism in the early Church to Armenian, Roman Catholic and others?

Deuteronomy 31:23, 1 Chronicles 22:13, Psalm 42:2, Jeremiah 10:10, Acts 1:2, Hebrews 3:2-6.

Harvest Time!

From the window box to the plains?

When serving in the inner cities we tend not to see the point of having a harvest festival and yet many members have allotments, gardens, window boxes to sow a few fruit and vegetables so they can count the pennies?

On the other hand the countryside and the small ports have their respective catches of grains and fish and have something to give God the thanks for!

Not many today see a value of the harvest festival, since they associate it only with the material, but Jesus referred to the Spiritual side of all of our callings to witness our faith, share our testimony, speak and pray and then the Angels will reap fields that are white for souls for Eternity?

There are many ways to do these services, giving thanks, involving children, young people and older folks, talking about experience or just a plain service?

The use of the community is important in the role of the food bank and also in growing the wrong crops such as narcotics, showing people a right way and asking them to consider Jesus!

Genesis 8:22, Exodus 23:16, 2 Chronicles 32:28, Matthew 6:26, 13:30, Galatians 6:9, James 3:18.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit!

What are they for?

A great debate rages in the Ekklesia today in relation to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with many claiming that that time in the book of acts is over?

But if we take time and end our doctrinal blind spots we will take note that in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 4 we are told the essential reason, before hitting the juicy bits!

Gifts, service and activity are the essentials of being touched at His will by the Holy Spirit, one who will remain active and effective in the lives of all believers who remain in fellowship with God.

We cannot preach, teach, witness, share, talk about God without the Holy Spirit, we have to be touched and given each individually our gifting, so that we may serve, so that we will remain active no matter what Satan tries to use to draw us down?

Romans 15:17, 2 Corinthians 9:12, Ephesians 4:12, 2 Timothy 4:5, Hebrews 12:28, James 2:22, Revelation 2:19.

The Prodigal Son! Three.

Jealousy?

Infuriation might be a better word for the son who worked away and did not flout his fathers inheritance!

But like many Christians today in Ekklesia they miss the point when a prostitute or a big time criminal gets saved, it makes the place, reputation of good living look dirty?

Because their hearts were blinded to God’s love and mercy on the lost, just as this father took back his son and so we have a powerful evangelism tool with Luke 15 that can be applied in the community and worldwide today?

As believers we are always now with our father who through the good works of Jesus has bought us with blood and when we see the uncomfortable coming in let us rejoice for God has brought another home!

Luke 15:11-32, Romans 15:9-13, Ephesians 2:1-10.

The Prodigal Son! Two.

A picture of Youth?

Sins today consequences tomorrow, it may not be for all misspent youth but for some who inherit early it is a common factor to pain later on?

Here we are shown that young man who perhaps set off out into the world with good intentions, but the riotous living and the lights of the world caught up with him and he fell into those temptations we are told about and so he ends in a place of humiliation, with that final though of returning home!

Many people today have the opportunity to turn to God, they may even be considering Him and yet they refuse for a plethora of reasons not to come home to a loving Father and a heavenly home, but remain in the dross and muck of this world?

Luke 15:12-18, Job 21:13-15, Proverbs 6:26, Romans 13:13-14.

Christian despair & Depression!

‘Not a bed of Roses?

The statement, ‘It is hard to be a believer, should not be under estimated, since many of us who are now long in the faith now the pain and costs that are involved as we progress in that race that the Apostle Paul encourages us with!

Ekklesia has much to answer to when it comes to depression, mental-illness and despair amongst believers? What was at one time referred to for missionaries is now widespread in the body, since many of us live in pluralistic societies that are hostile to Christians?

Nothing much has changed from the times of the pagan world of the early followers of the way to modern times, the world has turned back to the worship of nature and abandoned the God of the Holy Bible and many believers are starting to fall away, as we are told is to happen!

But we have a God who loves us and His son Jesus who died for us, we must run to Him and trust to endure and to press on? It is indeed very hard, but the price for us is too great to know give up or let go? Let us encourage one and another and help, pray, financials and a roof?

2 Corinthians 4:8-11, Psalm 56:2-3, Proverbs 8:10, 1 Peter 1:7, 4:12-14.

The Prodigal Son! One.

The Fathers love for Us?

This story that Jesus told is about the young waster and his failure and his redemption being welcomed back into his family!

The illustration is a lovely one of Gods love for this lost world, the meaning of the story could be applied to each one of us, unless we came to know the Lord as a child?

In this series we will start with the last verse since it is the key of the message that we need to rejoice as we see New believers enter into the Ekklesia the family of God!

Luke 15:11-32, Isaiah 35:10, Hosea 14:9.

The Kingdom of Israel?

Anti-Semitism in the Ekklesia!

We here this time are dealing with some serious facts when it comes to the Christian attitude to Israel being restored as a nation and a Kingdom!

Now for over eighteen hundred years the Gentiles have enjoyed keeping Jewish believers in their Messiah down and part from that justifying slavery, and many other ideals that are to suit their own agenda of oppression?

These ideas have crossed over from the Catholic Churches to the Protestant Reformations and today to the many new Churches, from the Apostolic revival to ecumenical ideas, community types and other revivals that have been overrun by false leadership?

Jesus did not give a time for that question asked 2000 years ago, because He said, ‘He said only the Father knew! We may not accept now that the state of Israel is that restoration, but when Israel is to be restored it will have to be in the same place that it exists now?

Acts 1:6-8.

No Palestine in God’s Plan!

Restored Israel?

The New Testament, if not the Holy Bible makes no mention of a Palestinian State, with its capital in Jerusalem (Al-Khuds), despite the claims of the United Nations and the world community?

The concept of the two state solution and the idea of a road map to peace in the Middle-East all stem from the British and French carve up of the region in 1919 around the time of the fall of the Ottoman Empire, but during this joint European process, the locals were never consulted on the plans!

In 1947 the British gave up on the region, after being caught out doing almost the same thing as the Nazi’s in relation to the Jews who were fleeing the concentration camps of Poland and Germany. Meanwhile the UN gave Tel-Avis the status of an new nation Israel.

God tells us that He will restore the Kingdom of Israel and that the events leading to the false Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple will be for that purpose and the Return of our Lord Jesus Yeshua Ha’ Adonai and the End approaches!

Acts 1:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Ezekiel 28:6-9, 2 Timothy 3:1-3, Revelation 13:6-7.