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This book of the bible is frequently and erroneously referred to
as the start of "The Church, The Body of Christ". 99.44% of
fundamental, bible-believing teachers and pastors embrace this
falsity as truth! The fact is, The
Book of Acts
is primarily about the unbelief of Israel and God's postponement
of her program.
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For though I
preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid
upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I
do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a
dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward
then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of
Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. - 1
Corinthians 9:16-18
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REMEMBER,
THE FOUR SYNOPTIC GOSPEL ACCOUNTS OF THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS
CHRIST WERE WRITTEN
TO
ISRAEL UNDER THE LAW:
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 SINCE
PROPHECY IS SUCH A HOT TOPIC THESE DAYS, DID YOU EVER WONDER WHAT THE
TRIBULATION SAINTS WILL STUDY AFTER THE BODY OF CHRIST IS RAPTURED?
Doctrine
for
The
Tribulation Saints after the rapture of the Body of Christ:
Here Israel is now back at the forefront under the law against the
imminent judgment and earthly return of The Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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Creation from a "grace"
perspective Part I ....
I have always been
fascinated with the creation story recorded on the pages of
Genesis. In Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul mentions
something specifically for today's grace-age saints. The passage
in verses 1 through 6; (especially verse 4) may prompt us towards
further study as we learn about the richness of God's grace
which was planned before the creation account:
PART I
1 Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which
are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be
to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved.
With
so many things to focus our study on, I decided to investigate
what God was up to prior to Genesis 1 based on scripture. Please
note that I am basing parts of my study on the notes and audio
files of two pastor's who called out Old Testament verses to
help make sense of God's plan for mankind.
Friends, we must understand how blessed we are to have something
that many saints before us did not have. Not only do we live in
this glorious dispensing of God's grace which was committed to
the apostle Paul on our behalf, but we also have the entire 66
books of the bible! We are privileged to be able to read and
study about man's failure and God's greatness culminated by the
all-sufficient, completed work of God The Son , the Lord Jesus
Christ! No saint could ever read or understand about their
perfect position in Christ as Paul describes!
But
with this blessing comes great responsibility as we "strive" to
"press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus". With this framework in mind it is my
prayer that the reader will be edified and comforted with this
study as we study scripture together.
"Friends, we must understand how blessed we are to have
something that many saints before us did not have. Not only do
we live in this glorious dispensing of God's grace which was
committed to the apostle Paul on our behalf, but we also have
the entire 66 books of the bible!"
Many
people debate the age of planet earth. Most Christians subscribe
to a 6,000 year old earth while other believers embrace a form
of secular teaching into the creation account such as God
creating the earth and evolution taking place shortly
thereafter.
Other
people subscribe to the "billions upon
billions of years ago" creation account and the fact is that it
takes more faith to believe that then anything I have describe
so far!
Let's
make one thing clear, God is infinite, He has existed, does and
exist and will exist forever!
1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made. - John 1:1-3
With the
above verses in mind, the earth in and of itself could have
existed as a domain, city hall or hall of justice if God o
desired. God The Father, God The Son and God The Holy Spirit has
existed, is existing and will exist forever! The Godhead is
equal in nature but distinct in personality and office. In His
love and desire to love, He created angelic beings to rule and
reign with Him in order to share in His greatness. God's perfect
demonstration of love, knowledge, power and presence would
provoke all those around Him to worship Him for He is worthy!
I believe
scripture supports this pre-earth, perfect, celestial world in
Ezekiel 28:13,14 as Eden is described before the creation
account in Genesis 1:1 as well as His highest ranking angel
Lucifer:
"Thou hast been in Eden the
garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the
sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the
jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:
the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in
thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed
cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the
holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst
of the stones of fire."
- Ezekiel 28:13,14
GRIEVE NOT THE SPIRIT
by Cornelius
R. Stam
The first
lesson each believer in Christ should learn is that immediately upon
believing he is given everlasting life. Referring to this fact
Ephesians 1:13,14 says:
"In whom
ye also trusted, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also having believed, ye were sealed with that
Holy Spirit of promise."
Mark
well, the believer is not sealed by the Holy Spirit, but "with" the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit Himself is the seal. Every sincere believer
in Christ, then, should rejoice in an accomplished redemption and
rest in the fact that the Holy Spirit will keep him eternally safe.
But while
we cannot lose the Holy Spirit we can, and often do, grieve the Holy
Spirit, as we read in Eph. 4:30. This is why we are told in Rom.
8:26 that the Spirit "helpeth our infirmities" and makes
intercession for us, that we might live lives which please and honor
God.
The
wonderful fact is, however, that "nothing," not even an aggrieved
Spirit shall "separate us from the love of God" (Rom. 8:38,39). Thus
in the same breath with which the Apostle exhorts us not to grieve
the Spirit he again reassures us that this same Spirit keeps us
eternally safe:
"And
grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30).
Does this
encourage careless living? Those who think so have missed the whole
point of Paul’s appeal. The Apostle does not warn the believer that
if he grieves the Spirit he will be lost. Rather, in grace he
exhorts: "Do not grieve the very Spirit who in mercy and love has
sealed you as forever His own. Do not repay such love with such
ingratitude."
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Today's World News
The Book of Acts: It's not about was
it commonly believed and taught in Christendom!
Who wrote
Acts, and who was it to? Written by Luke “To Theophilus” who
further continues his gospel account of the person, work and ministry of
Jesus Christ in the very beginning, but immediately transitions into
what should accurately be described as the
 fall
of Israel. It was dually written “to” kingdom saints and “for” grace
believers to serve as a transition book from “law” to “grace” (please
see “What is this book about”?)
When was Acts written? The events of Acts span between 33
A.D. through 62 A.D. and the book itself was penned by Luke around 62
A.D. It should be noted that Luke was one of the few followers of Christ
who were exposed to God’s dispensing of law and grace (after it was
revealed to Paul)! While not being one of the twelve apostles, Luke
wrote the Gospel of Luke and continued his account in Acts beginning at
the ascension of Jesus Christ and concluding at Paul’s statement
concerning his distinctive ministry to the Gentiles.
What is this book about? It was dually written
“to” kingdom saints and “for” grace believers to serve as a transition
book to show the origination of the conclusion of God’s dispensing of
law and soon “shelving” of His program to Israel (Romans 9
through 11) as demonstrated by:
-
Jesus Christ’s ascension into
heaven after His glorious resurrection
and revealing to the masses of people concerning His victory over death
itself.
-
Christ’s specific instruction to
the apostles
to continue His ministry in Jerusalem and Judea and then to the
uttermost parts of the world.
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The stoning of
Stephen
even after his sermon to the leadership of Israel as a nation in Acts 7.
Please remember that Stephen’s sermon was on the heals of Peter’s
message to that same faction of religious rulers as recorded in Acts 2
and 3. Both messages were rejected culminating in the death of Stephen
(who was filled with the Holy Ghost while accusing Israel of rejecting
The Third Member of the Godhead as well).
-
Three Strikes and Your Out!
Department:
In summary, Israel had rejected the warning of each member of the
Godhead:
1.
The rejection of God The Father
at the beheading of John
the Baptist.
2. The rejection
of God The Son
through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.
3. The rejection
of God The Holy Spirit
at the stoning death of
Stephen (after he provided a “Readers Digest” version of the nation of
Israel and its rebellion against God!
Take special note that
after the stoning of Stephen, before he died he saw Jesus Christ
standing at the right hand of God!
Jesus standing was
not to give Stephen an
ovation but was instead a picture of Him coming ready to judge the
planet, to usher in the Great Tribulation for on the prophetic calendar
this was next! The
Greek word “histemi” for “standing” in Acts 7 depicts one who stands for
a cause, one who stands for authority or for one who stands ready or
prepared.
The risen Christ is The
One who fits all of these including several Old Testament verses that
show God ready to defend or judge when “standing”.
Psalms 82:1 -
God standeth in the congregation of
the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
Psalms 109:26
- Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover
themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. I will greatly
praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the
multitude. For he shall stand at the right hand of
the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
In addition,
the
following events had already taken place:
†
The “Nations” or Gentiles had repeatedly rejected God (Romans 1 through
3) and were strangers and aliens to the commonwealth of Israel
“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” – Ephesians 2:12
†
The Gentile “estrangement” started back in
Genesis 11, while
being of one language, the
nations collaborated to build a tower unto to God to reach Him. God
wanted them scattered abroad but they did not want to be scattered
abroad!
Because of this continued disobedience, God judged the Gentiles through
the confounding or confusion of their language. Please note that the
catastrophic events of the judgment of the flood were only several
generations old but the Gentiles had still rebelled again. In fact, they
had fallen into grave idolatry in response to God’s desires for them
(Joshua 24:2).
The Gospel of the
Grace of God:
-
God’s Son Jesus Christ died
on the cross for all
of your sin (past, present and future), He was buried, and
gloriously rose again for your justification (1 Cor. 15:1-4)!
-
Not only did Christ die for
the debt and penalty of your sin but at the moment you take God The
Father at His Word concerning the finished and all-sufficient
cross-work of Christ His Son, you take on
His (Christ’s) very righteousness
(justification) Rom. 3:21-26!
-
As a result of just
simply believing the above (1 Cor. 15), God The Holy
Spirit tabernacles in you,
forever (Eph.1:13) until we die (to be with Christ) or
meet Him in the air (1 Thes 4:16-20).
-
No strings attached, no
outward expression of faith, no
incremental forgiveness since
it was taken care of all
up front, no kidding!
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COFFEE
CORNER
Psalm 127: 3-5 Lo,
children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of
the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a
mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the
man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be
ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the
gate.
What cost???
(as
received in an email and even if this is not totally
true, its principles still applies!)
This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something
absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen
the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this
is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this
way. It's nice.
A government finding recently calculated the cost of
raising
a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140
for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock!
That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down as it
translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That's a mere $24.24 a day,
* Just over a dollar an hour !
Still, you might think the best financial advice is
don't have
children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just
the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants,
clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with
jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles
* A partner for flying kites
For $160,140 you never have to grow up and get
to: finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek and
catch lightning bugs!
* Keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* Watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* Going to Disney movies, and
* Wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under
refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted
noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay
for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for
Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your
buck.
You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs,*
coaching a baseball team that never wins but always
gets treated to
ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
* first step (awesome)
* first word (so cute)
* first bra (yikes)
* first date (lock and load) and
* first time behind the wheel (help me.....)
You get to be immortal! You get another branch added to
your family
tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your
obituary called
grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an
education in psychology,
nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human
sexuality that no
college can match!
 In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under
God. You have
all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters
under the bed,
patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground
them forever, and love them without limits!
So ..... one day they will, like you, love without
counting the
cost.
That is quite a deal for the price !
Love & enjoy your children and your grandchildren, and
all the
little ones in your life !!!
The Book
of Acts:(con't)
God knew that “nothing would be restrained from them” so He
scattered them and closed the chapter on them! At the end of
Genesis 11 and beginning in Genesis 12 Abram, a Gentile,
would now be the father of Israel. He then received His
calling from God which signified a change in His dealings,
house rules or dispensings with man.
†
In Peter’s
dissertation in Acts 2, the apostle quoted the prophet Joel
when he described events leading up to the coming judgment
of Messiah.
And
it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young
men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon
the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I
will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood,
and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and
terrible day of the LORD come.-
Joel 2:28-31
Peter correctly expected judgment to come shortly!
...Take special note that after the stoning
of Stephen, before he died he saw Jesus Christ standing at
the right hand of God! Jesus standing was not to give
Stephen an ovation but was instead a picture of Him coming
ready to judge the planet, to usher in the Great Tribulation
for on the prophetic calendar this was next!
In summary,
the purpose of Acts has erroneously been taught in
many
Christian circles as the birth of the church, The Body of
Christ.
In fact, the
book of Acts’ primary focus is about the failure of God’s
chosen nation and not about the growth of the church (don’t
be mislead by the mention of new converts in early Acts
chapters as many pastors are today concerning the growth of
their ministries)! The Book of Acts serves as a “transition”
from law to grace without definitively being to kingdom
saints or to grace age believers since its message to some
degree speaks to both factions! The most significant part
for saints today under God’s marvelous dispensing of grace
is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus in chapter 9. Up until
that point Saul, who would become Paul, The Apostle to the
Gentiles, was as wretched and murderous as Adolph Hitler!
But after receiving the first of several revelations of the
risen, glorified Jesus Christ he became our loving
ambassador of grace of whom the Holy Spirit says that ‘we
should follow as he follows Christ’!
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been revoked".
Joe
knew that this could be a major problem in that he would not be able
to get his work completed without access to area XYZ! However, after
further review of the e-mail, the man quickly discovered that he was
not the intended recipient but instead "copied" or "cc'd" as a
reference only! As it turns out, a collogue of his was the man who lost
his access! Joe, as the superintendent of area XYZ, simply needed to
be aware of this. For a brief moment, Joe confused his TO
mail with his CC mail. Not understanding that distinction for
those brief seconds after reading the message caused severe anxiety for
Joe until he realized the message was indeed TO someone else!
In a much similar example, when
we
read the bible, identifying our TO
mail is very important lest
we make the same fundamental mistake as the person above. Without
understanding the distinction between our "to" mail and our
"cc" or our "reference only" mail, believers inadvertently
"read themselves" into areas of the bible that God did not intend.
The result when this happens: confusion!
(see
