02-27-11 PM - The Principles of Discipleship

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Matthew 16:24-26
No men do more harm to themselves, than they that love themselves more than God.

Matthew 16:24-26
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (25)"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (26)"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself (aparnesastho), and take up his cross, and follow Me (akoloutheitho).

1. The disciple is called to: LAY SOMETHING DOWN– (Deny Himself)
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…”


“deny himself” “to completely disown, to utterly separate oneself from someone.”

•We are to count the old man as being dead.
Rom. 6:11
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

•We are to make no provision for the flesh.
Rom. 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

•We are to follow the example set forth by Jesus Himself in coming to this world.
Phil. 2:5-8
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

•We are to live as  alive to God, but dead to sin. Gal. 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

Craig Giannini. In “Gaining by Losing.”said

“The Disciple is Called to Lay Something Down”.


2. The disciple is called to LIFT SOMETHING UP (Take Up His Cross) - "If anyone desires to come after Me … let him … take up his cross…”

 John 12:26,"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” (NKJV)

3.The Disciple Is Called To LIVE SOMETHING OUT – (Follow Me) - "If anyone desires to come after Me …., let him … follow Me.”
Here Jesus says, literally “let him follow me day by day.”

“The LORD is my
shepherd; I shall not want. (2) He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (3) He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. (4) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (5) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. (6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”

“If anyone wished to be
counted as an adherent of mine, he must once and for all say farewell to self, decisively accept pain and shame and persecution for my sake and in my cause, and must then follow and keep on following me as my disciple.” William Henriksen.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

25"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

02-20-11 AM - The Most Amazing Book

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Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Heb. 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart

2 Timothy 3:16
…and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

A.W. Tozer said “I did not go through the book. The book went through me.”

John R. W. Stott said “The Bible, then, has an essential place in the life of a Christian.
For the revelation of God leads to worship, the warnings of God to repentance, the promises of God to faith, the commands of God to obedience and the truth of God to witness.
It is no exaggeration to say that with out Scripture a Christian life is impossible.”
Hymn: How firm a foundation - George Keith 19th Century                                                                      
1. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?


Isabella D. Bunn In her book “444 Surprising quotes about the Bible” says The Bible is often called the “Book of books” due to its unique standing in history, literature, and religion.
It is also quite literally a Book of books in that it encompasses sixty six distinct works written by scores of authors over a span of centuries.
It contains poetry, songs, celebrations, narratives, genealogies, instructions, parables, prophecies, prayers, war, and romance. It’s a library that is both ancient and yet continually new.

1. THE LIBRARY DIVIDED

A. Old Testament.
The Law: 5 books - Torah
The Prophets: 8 books
The Writings: 11 Books
Luke 24:44   
"These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
B. New Testament.
The Gospels:
The Acts of the Apostles:
The Epistles of Paul:
The General Epistles:
The Book of Revelation:


2. THE WRITTERS

Relationship.
The Bible was written by at least 40 different authors over a period of at least 1500 years.

Kings   Priests   Physicians   Fishermen
Shepherds   Theologian   Statesman
Tax collector   Soldier   Scribe and Butler, and others unknown.

3. THE COMPILING OF SCRIPTURE

“kanon” in Greek means the measuring rod or reed; it signifies a rule, a standard.

I Thess. 5:27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

Rev. 1:11"Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

By the end of the fourth century all twenty seven books were received.


1. Was the book written by an Apostle or one closely associated with the Apostles?

2. Was the book being read in the churches and does its contents prove a means of spiritual edification?

3. Were the contents of the book doctrinally sound?

4. Was the book universally recognized in the churches and was it widely quoted by the Church Fathers?
5. Did it give true evidence of Divine inspiration?


4. THE INERRANCY AND INSPIRATION
Inerrancy – In its original autographs the Bible contains no mistakes.

2 Tim. 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

2 Peter 1:21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Rev. 22:18-19
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

Inspiration – “All scripture is God breathed”

The Verbal Plenary Inspiration View – This view holds that all the words are God breathed.
Verbal – Signifies the words
Plenary – Means full or complete as opposed to partial.

02-13-11 PM - Surviving Suffering God's Way

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SURVIVING SUFFERING GOD’S WAY
1 Peter 3:13-17
13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

1. DO THE RIGHT THING (13-14)

13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

we are to be known as zealous people for the things that are good.

cultural attitudes
1.    The care less attitude:
2.    The selfish attitude:
3.    The surface attitude:

THREE BENEFITS TO DOING GOOD
    We are less likely to suffer.

Hebrews 13:5-6
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
.
Proverbs 3:24
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

    If we suffer we are blessed.

Romans 8:28 (He works on our behalf)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Matthew 6:33 (His provision)
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
1 Peter 4:14 (His Spirit)
 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
2 Cor. 4:11 (His Life)
For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
Matthew 5:11-12 (His Reward)
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
2 Tim 4:18 (His Preservation)
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.



Do not fear or be troubled by terror of persecution.


Deut. 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

2. SET APART CHRIST (15)
Jesus Christ is the only hope any of us have.
And if we are going to endure persecution we must sanctify Christ in our hearts.
That is to set Him up as the one supreme focus of all that we do and are. When that happens we will not want to let Him down by abandoning our faith.


3. DEFEND HOPE WITH MEEKNESS (15)
be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

First: We are to be ready to give an answer to every one who asks.

Second: We are to be ready.

Third: We should be careful how we answer those who ask.

Meekness- controlled strength and courage.

.
Fear – To hold God in high esteem and respect.


4. KEEP A CLEAR CONSCIENCE (16-17)
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

Good conduct produces a clear conscience.


Matthew 5:16
…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
James 3:13
Who is wise and understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness.



1. DO THE RIGHT THING (13-14)

2. SET APART CHRIST (15)

3. DEFEND HOPE WITH MEEKNESS (15)

4. KEEP A CLEAR CONSCIENCE (16-17)

02-13-11 - The If, The And, The Big Bad Butler

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02-06-11 AM - The Return of Christ

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THE RETURN OF CHRIST
1Thess.4:13-18

When He came the first time He came to redeem fallen man back to the Father.

When He comes the second time He will retrieve believers from a very chaotic world.

And then He will come with a great heavenly host another time to wage war at the battle of Armageddon to reign.

www.yeshuatyisrael.com/end1.htm                 

I Thess. 4:13-18
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

1. THE WEIGHT OF SCRIPTURE

more than 300 times in the N.T.
one in every twenty five verses.
There are 8 times more references to the second coming than to His first.

• So important is this subject of the Second Coming that it is connected to the two main ordinances of the church;

The Lord’s Supper
 (1Cor. 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.) and
Water Baptism (Mt. 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”)
These are the two ordinances of the church. And in both of them Christ points us to His return.

• The Lord’s Coming will be a PERSONAL return.

Jn. 14:2b, 3
“I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, and receive you unto MYSELF; that WHERE I AM, there ye may be also.”

Acts 1:11b
“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”.

• It’s clear that the Lord’s Coming will be a visible, bodily coming.

Rev. 1:7
“Behold He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him …”

• His Second Coming provides motivation for practical living.

a) For brotherly love:
1Thes 3:12-13
12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you;
13 so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

b) For faithfully gathering together:
Heb. 10:25
Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

c) For a continued passion for souls:
1Thess. 1:9-10
9 for they themselves concerning us do declare what entrance we had unto you, and how ye did turn unto God from the idols, to serve a living and true God,
10 and to wait for His Son from the heavens, whom He did raise out of the dead--Jesus, who is rescuing us from the anger that is coming.

d) For comfort in bereavement:
1Thess 4:14-18 (our text)
14 for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God those asleep through Jesus he will bring with him,
15 for this to you we say in the word of the Lord, that we who are living--who do remain over to the presence of the Lord--may not precede those asleep,
16 because the Lord himself, in a shout, in the voice of a chief-messenger, and in the trump of God, shall come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first,
17 then we who are living, who are remaining over, together with them shall be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in air, and so always with the Lord we shall be;
18 so, then, comfort ye one another in these words.

BLESSED HOPE.
Titus 2:13
Waiting for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

2. WHAT IS THIS SECOND COMING
a) We know it will be a Literal Return


b) We are uncertainty of its timing
Matthew 24:36
And concerning that day and the hour no one hath known--not even the messengers of the heavens--except my Father only;
Further in the same chapter we read…
Matthew 24:40-44
40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.


“It is the sins of the people which prevent the coming of the Messiah, If Jews would genuinely repent for one day the Messiah would come.”

“If Israel would perfectly keep the Torah for one day the Messiah would come.”


Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

c) We will be caught up to meet Him

1 Thess. 4:17
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Caught up – To seize, to catch (away, up) pluck, pull, take (by force)

3. SIGNS OF HIS RETURN

1.The re-gathering of Israel in Palestine


2.Perilous times

2 Tim 3:1-7
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth


3.The rise of Communist Russia

Ezek prophecies about this in the 38the chapter.
Ezek. 38:2-3
2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him
3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

According to the Hebrew Lexicon:
Meshech- Moscow; Tubal Tobolsk; Rosh- Russia

4. The rise of Communist China

5. Science/Technology and Transportation Increase
Daniel 12:4
But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge."