Sunday sermon
Zechariah
6:12
And
speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and
he shall build the temple of the Lord:
Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post-
https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html
Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/
Sunday sermon videos-
https://youtu.be/HpIagRuUkvA
https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10204597525096291/
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhm--pYOWdKJZWvWO
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ynzj9weidp2y0y/7-22-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0
ON VIDEO [Teaching below]
.Pastors
.Five
fold ministry
.Rethinking
leadership in the local church
.Avoid
self preservation mentality
.How
are the sheep divided?
.Plurality
of leadership in the New testament
.Avoid
the cult of personality
.Brief
overview of church history
.Church
triumphant
.Law
versus grace
.Trinity
and unity
.Arius
and Athanasius
Colossians 2:14
Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
In
Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
.
TEACHING-
This Sunday I spoke on the verses for the Mass readings [All verses at the bottom of this post].
There is always a common theme to the verses and I try and tie those together-
Basically
all the readings spoke about the theme of the shepherd.
From
Jeremiah we read-
Jeremiah
23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
Jeremiah
23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon
you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah
23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and
increase.
Jeremiah
23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah
23:5 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.
Jeremiah
23:6 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.
This
obviously is a tough word- I tried to give a broader view of how sheep- God’s people- have been scattered- even by good men.
The history of the church shows us many different groups of believers [denominations] who over time- as their movements/churches spread- they began to see themselves as either the most ‘right’ group- or as the ONLY true group.
I mentioned just a brief overview of a few good Christian churches- and tried to give an example of how seeing your church as the only true church- does indeed divide God’s
people.
Because
over time- many of the christian movements view the other church down the block- as not being part of the ‘true’ church.
Now there are of course varying degrees to this dynamic- but it shows us how even good men- good pastors- and good churches- can unknowingly divide the flock.
Because over time the whole Body of Christ is not seen as a corporate church- but as many divided churches – who often show their loyalty to their own group- and very rarely interact with other believers.
Of course this does not apply to all the denominations to the same degree- and many have seen these errors and have made good attempts to bring their denominations into fellowship with the other churches.
I also spoke on the ministry of the Pastor- being this was the word used in the Jeremiah reading-
and
covered a brief history of how this particular office formed over time- and how the modern way we normally view this office- is actually not in keeping with the way the New Testament speaks about
it.
This also can play a role in the divisions we see in the Body of Christ- because over time many believers see their role as attending church on Sunday- supporting ‘the Pastor’- hearing him speak-
teach- putting in the offering-
And
then -going home and not interacting again until the Next Sunday roles around.
We refer to this as the ‘spectator mentality’.
Now- there are many good men- pastors- as well as good christians- who seem to be caught up in this one aspect of doing church.
And
my point is to not condemn them- but to show us how this is a very limited view of New Testament church- and this too scatters the sheep- because ‘the sheep’ are only together- on Sunday.
Ok- overall I think I covered it in a more ‘gentle’ way then the actual readings\ words from Jeremiah when he spoke about it.
For those who want the ‘tougher’ word- just read the passage again for yourself.
If you watch the video- you will see me teach on all the readings for this Sunday and how I tried to show you the Shepherd theme from all of them.
Ok-
that’s it for this brief intro- for those who want to study more in depth I’ll add my past teachings below as well as my past teachings on the verses that Pastor Bil spoke on at Church
Unlimited.
Thanks- John
Real quick- see how all the readings fit the same theme-
Woe to the shepherds
who
mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
You
have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You
have not cared for them,
but
I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I
myself will gather the remnant of my flock
Jeremiah
2
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm
23
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have
become near by the blood of Christ.
that
he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus
establishing peace,
and
might reconcile both with God,
Ephesians
2
My
sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I
know them, and they follow me.
John
10:27 [I taught more on this on the video]
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his
heart was moved with pity for them,
for
they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and
he began to teach them many things.
Mark
6
These verses above are parts of the readings [I will paste all of the readings below in the verses section].
But
you see the theme of the sheep being scattered- and how the Good Shepherd will gather them together- back to their fold- into one fold.
Even in the redemption spoke about in Ephesians- it speaks of both Jew and Gentile being made into one fold- ONE NEW MAN.
Jesus actually uses this language of both Jew and Gentile as ‘sheep from another fold’
John 10:16
And other sheep I
have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
So the common theme was God’s people being scattered- and thru Christ’s work of redemption we are not only brought back to God- but also brought back into right relationship with one another.
On the video I explained this more in depth when I talked about the Ephesians passage.
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
PAST POSTS [These are links and parts of my past teachings that relate in some way to today’s post- verses below]
https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/
https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/
https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/
https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/colossians-links/
These are links to some of the chapters that pastor Bil used verses from in the Sunday meeting at Church Unlimited- the links are my past teachings on the entire bible
chapters-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2018/02/08/ephesians-5/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/03/acts-15/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/john-15/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2018/03/20/colossians-1/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/
EPHESIANS 2
Ephesians
2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Ephesians
2 https://youtu.be/nILDsbbHiok
Friends- https://youtu.be/yn-q0HwTPhM
Andy-
GPL- https://youtu.be/9NqGwEClF3g
I
made these videos yesterday and needed a post to tag them to-
I
felt this day was meant to hang out with some of the guys- to be honest- I was cold but it was meant to be.
You
only catch a small glimpse of the day- I have known these guys for many years.
Many
of the friends I have met the last few years are really new friends- not part of the community that have been around for years.
When
I spent about 4 hours with Andy and Art- we did talk about the old days- but to be honest- Art shared in a way I have never heard him open up before- you don’t catch this on video- but after
knowing him for around 20 years- it was one of the first times we had some real honest discussion.
The
whole day was indeed ministry- honest evaluation of our lives- some of the guys told me they never thought they would wind up where they ‘wound up’.
Many
of the guys have skills- education- and are very talented- and they have had to deal with the reality of the choices they have made- they were telling me this during our talks-
And
how they took responsibility for being where they are.
To
be honest- they were the ones actually ‘doing ministry’ this day- I was just there as a friend.
Zechariah
8:6
Thus
saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in
mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.
ON
VIDEO- [Ephesian 2]
.Phone
school
.The
course
.True
spiritual warfare
.Our
time
.The
snow came- 12-8-17
.We
are his work
.Created
for good works
.Troy
barks
.Men
reconciled to one another
.Seated
with him
.Not
a culture- But God’s promise
.There
is one God
.Objective
truth
.My
talk with a Muslim at the Kingsville Fire Department
.Texas
A and I [now A and M] university
.God
will bless all the children of Abraham
NEW-
The
ultimate victory over satan- is seen in the first few verses-
Ephesians
2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Ephesians
2:2 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:
Ephesians
2:3 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.
God
made us alive- we have been raised with Christ- and it is in this act of redemption that delivers us from the ‘course of this world’- the course that unbelievers walk- and give expression to the
‘prince of the air’-
Satan
deceives lost man- and when man walks in the flesh- this is the primary way satan manifests himself in the world-
Later
in this study we will look at spiritual warfare- but for now- we see it is thru the Resurrection that satan has been dealt a death blow.
Now
the ‘famous’ passage-
Ephesians
2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Ephesians
2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians
2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians
2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Ephesians
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians
2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Yes-
we are indeed saved by faith- not by works-
We
were dead in sin- unable to save ourselves- but because of God’s choice- his mercy and love- he raised us up from the dead and we are now positionally seated with Christ in heavenly
places.
Yet-
there are works that are involved here- works that God himself predestined for us-
Ephesians
2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
That’s
the new course- we have left the old one and the Spirit of God himself lives in us-
and
these good works of the Spirit were the plan of God for us before time- ahead of time- pre-planned if you will- our purpose and destiny in God.
The
work of Christ not only reconciles us to God- but also to each other
Ephesians
2:11 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;
Ephesians
2:12 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:
Ephesians
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians
2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Ephesians
2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Yes-
the law in the first century [10 commandments and the law and the prophets] also played a role in division between Jew and Gentile-
The
law is good- yet in the hands of the first century religious leadership- it devolved into a sort of barrier-
We
see this in the interaction of Jesus and the religious leaders in the gospels.
It
created a class of people- who looked down on ‘the other’-
Yet
now in Christ- he took this out of the way by nailing it to his Cross-
Colossians
2:14
Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
And
not only brought man back to God-
But
man back to a right relationship with his fellow man.
We
are now ONE NEW MAN and the middle wall of partition is broken down-
and
hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
The
separation is gone-
And
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And
it is this redeemed community that God dwells- we are the people of God-
The
Church of God- a temple of people that God dwells in-
It
is no longer about natural land and temple- or holy sites in the middle east-
No-
it’s about us- you and me- all who have embraced the love that God has shown to us-
Yes-
we are that spiritual community representing God to our fellow man-
And
this reconciliation to each other thru Christ- has enabled a people to become the actual dwelling of the living God-
Ephesians
2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Ephesians
2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Ephesians
2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
The
answers to the problems we see in the world today will never be found in any political leader- in any human agenda- though well meaning- these do not have the ability to truly reconcile man with
his neighbor.
But
God has accomplished this thru his Son- as we have been redeemed thru the Cross-
We
are now the Holy dwelling place where God dwells-
This
spiritual temple has no earthly boundaries- it is found all over the earth right now-
Africans
sing the praises of our God- Europeans are worshiping the king as I type-
Asians
are meeting as brothers in Christ at this moment-
Some
in Muslim lands are embracing this great God and fully comprehending Jesus as the Prophet sent from God-
As
the Son of God-
Yes-
all nations are being brought together because this was the plan of God from the start-
And
this is the only plan that will ever work.
PAST
POSTS-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/
http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-2015-video-links-included-romans.html
http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-study.html
http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html
http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/study-galatiansjohns-gospel.html
https://ccoutreach87.com/justification-by-faith/
https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/
https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/islam/
VERSES-
Ephesians
2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Ephesians
2:2 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:
Ephesians
2:3 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.
Ephesians
2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Ephesians
2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians
2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians
2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Ephesians
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians
2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians
2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians
2:11 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;
Ephesians
2:12 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:
Ephesians
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians
2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Ephesians
2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Ephesians
2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Ephesians
2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Ephesians
2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Ephesians
2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Ephesians
2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Ephesians
2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Ephesians
2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
MY
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Note-
Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links [Wordpress- Vimeo] make complete copies of
my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet-
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all free-
Thanks-
John.
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Related
Ephesians
2
Colossians
3
Ephesians
4
)1ST CORINTHIANS
12:1-6 ‘There are different gifts, ministries and out workings of the Spirit’ [my paraphrase]. In this section we see an idea that I feel gets lost in the current paradigm of ‘doing church’. When
Paul addresses a church [community of believers] he is speaking to all the believers in the city. When we think ‘church’ we assume it means ‘church’ as ‘going to the church [building] on Sunday’.
Therefore we tend to read these types of verses as ‘there are different gifts and functions in ‘the church’- the Sunday school teacher, nursery worker, door greeter’ well you get it. The better
reading would be ‘there are various expressions and ways the Spirit works and administers thru/in the community’. For instance, those who labor in ‘Para-church’ ministries are often considered
noble, but not ‘a church’. But according to this passage, they would be just as much ‘church’, a legitimate part of the local body, as the home meeting [of course we know in Paul’s day there were
no church buildings]. So the broader view of church as community would see these verses saying ‘where you live there are a variety of gifted ones whom the Spirit of God lives and operates thru.
These saints all express the community of the Spirit in various ways. All these expressions are just as legitimate as the other, it is one Spirit manifesting himself in diverse ways for the
overall benefit of all the believers in your city’. When we label what the Spirit is doing thru other ‘administrations’ as ‘Para-church’ we violate this passage of scripture. When we limit the
various expressions and gifts to ‘the Sunday church meeting’ we actually are violating the intent of these verses. In your city you have doctors, lawyers, and all types of trades. While it is
fine for them to operate out of a building and to keep regular business hours. Yet you wouldn’t describe them as separate, individual little ‘cities’ who all operate out of your town. You would
see all of them as various gifted people who ‘operate out of your city’. So this is the broader view of what I think Paul is saying. Now he will also give directions on how these various gifts
work in the meeting, this of course is part of it. But we need to see the broader view of what the Spirit is saying. Jesus expected his disciples to go out into the highways and hedges and
‘compel them to come in’ [not into the church building for heavens sake! But into the Kingdom] Paul taught that the Spirit accomplishes this in many different ways thru ‘the church’ [people of
God].
(985)1ST CORINTHIANS
12:7 ‘But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to EVERY MAN to profit EVERY BODY’. I want to share a criticism that sometimes gets made against me. I know ‘the critics’ mean well, and are
actually sincere men. It’s just they have been ‘shaped’ by the present system of ‘church’. The criticism goes like this ‘sure John has an effective teaching ministry [blog/radio] but if you need
someone to come pray for you, lets see if he will come’. The idea is that the true legitimate ‘elders’ are those you can ‘call for’. James says ‘if any one is sick among you, let him call for the
elders of ‘the church’. They see ‘the church’ as the actual 501c3, building, Sunday meeting [storehouse] type thing – they are simply seeing thru their ‘lens’. What James is simply saying is ‘if
someone is sick in your community/local body of believers, call for the elders [more spiritually mature ones] and let them pray for you and anoint you with oil’. Now, I have personally spent many
thousands [yes thousands!] of actual man hours on the streets helping people. I have helped and given to some of the local homeless population who attend some of these ‘churches’, out of my own
pocket. Yet these same homeless brothers are encouraged to give ten percent of their money to ‘their church’. What am I saying here? I know the men who level this type of accusation are often
intimidated by peer pressure and stuff. But the verse above says ‘the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every believer to profit every one around them’. The biblical view of ‘church’ would
simply require all believers to ‘administer the gift’ in a way that would profit all those around them. There is no need to make these types of distinctions between ‘the elders of our church’ or
‘the spiritual leaders in our region’. They mean the same thing. So see your gift as a freely received charism that should be used unselfishly for the benefit of others. Also some Pastors do seem
to come around to ‘my view’ after many years of hearing us. They might then try and do some city wide ministry, open to all the body. Then if the results are not good, they can become discouraged
also. Understand, many of these men took many years before they could really see what we were saying, don’t expect a majority of local believers to see things that took you years to see! The
paradigms don’t come down that easily.
(986)CORINTHIANS
12: 8-10 this section deals with the various gifts of the Spirit. The list is not exhaustive, Paul speaks in Romans and Ephesians about other ones as well. Instead of diving into a definition for
each gift, lets look a little at the various ‘modes’ and characteristics of the Spirit of God. In revelation we have a scripture that many seem to stumble over, it says ‘the 7 spirits of God that
are before his throne’. Some associate Isaiah 11 with this. In Isaiah 11 you can find 6 distinct characteristics of the Spirit of God, some see 7. Or you could say ‘God has 7 actual Spirits’.
Does God have 7 spirits? Or 25 or 10,000? God is the creator of all spirits. He is the Father of lights! In revelation you have Jesus holding the ‘7 stars’ in his hand, which are said to be
angels. Then you have the ‘7 angels of the 7 churches’. I showed you before why these angels are not ‘Pastors’ they are angels! [You can find the post somewhere under END TIMES STUFF]. Revelation
has 7 seals, bowls, candlesticks. The book is a prophetic book that has angels revealing and operating and functioning. The 7 spirits before God’s throne are probably the 7 angels spoken about in
the book. Hebrews says the angels are ‘ministering spirits’. Well let’s get off the rabbit trail. In Isaiah 61 we have the famous verses that Jesus read and applied to himself in the New
Testament [Luke 4]. Jesus opens the scroll and reads about the Spirit of God upon him, the eyes of everyone in that place were fixated on him. Notice how both in Isaiah 11 and 61, one of the main
purposes of the anointing was to administer justice to the poor and oppressed. Much of Evangelicalism has opted out of this responsibility. There was an overreaction to the social gospel of the
late 19th, early 20th century. The social gospel had a tendency to overemphasize good deeds, without focusing on conversion. But the Fundamentalist movement of the 20th century
neglected the social justice aspect of the kingdom, thank God for the Catholics who picked up the torch. The point today is the purpose of the gifts, which we will get into tomorrow, is not
simply for self glory and edification. Or should I say the purpose of the anointing. Jesus made it very clear that his mission involved justice for the poor and oppressed, he did not limit his
ministry to ‘the church’.
(991)1ST CORINTHIANS
12: 8-11 Instead of giving you my definition for each one of the gifts of the Spirit, let me just give you a sense of where I’m coming from. Over the years I have learned the normal Pentecostal
understanding of these gifts. I also have learned the ‘anti-Pentecostal’ view. I take a little from each camp. The strong Pentecostal view usually sees all the gifts as ‘supernatural’ I do too!
But to them this means the gifts of Wisdom and Knowledge can’t be ‘regular wisdom or knowledge’. Okay, so what are they? Some teach that the ‘word of wisdom’ is simply a prophetic word about
future stuff. The ‘word of knowledge’ is simply prophetic insight into ‘past stuff’. To be honest I have no idea how people come up with stuff like this [well, actually I do have an idea]. I see
Paul as operating in a strong gift of knowledge, though Paul was trained and had a good education, the Spirit took all of his ‘head knowledge’ and quickened it. I see James as having a strong
gift of wisdom, his epistle is the only New Testament work considered to be part of the corpus of wisdom literature. Of course the gifts of healing[s] and prophecy are supernatural, but wisdom
and knowledge can be ‘supernatural’ without having to fall into some prophetic type category. If it’s wisdom and knowledge from God, then it is supernatural! I have known Pastors who had the gift
of wisdom, sometimes they would come to the same conclusions as me, but they took a different route to get there! They might not have ‘seen’ all the knowledge portions of scripture that I saw,
but the wisdom they operated in caused them to arrive at the same place. Some teach that after the Spirit fell on the church at Pentecost [Acts 2] that you no loner had miracles, dreams and
visions or angelic visitations. Why is this wrong? The book that records more miracles and angels and visions than any other book [except for the gospels] is the book of Acts. In essence, one of
the major New Testament books on these manifestations shows them to be a result of the Spirits outpouring! The point being these things didn’t end after Pentecost. I realize both camps
[Pentecostal- non Pentecostal] have had their wars over this stuff. I find that both sides can be just as legalistic and judgmental in their views. I think one of the major ‘signs’ of being
‘Spirit filled’ is a life based on free grace. When people grasp the gospel and are filled with the Spirit, they should be free from living their lives out of a state of condemnation and guilt.
Many ‘Spirit filled’ churches operate in the gifts [their view of them] but are just as legalistic as the non Pentecostals. To me this is not what it means to be ‘Spirit filled’. Overall we
should be open to the working of the Spirit in supernatural ways. We should avoid making this the goal or identity of our Christian walk, but we should not reject or despise
prophetic/supernatural things. They are available and necessary at times for completion of the mission.
(994)1ST CORINTHIANS
12: 12-26 Paul uses the analogy of a body to describe the church. Keep in mind that the ‘church’ in Paul’s writings mean ‘all Gods people in the region/city’. Not just the gathered assembly! It’s
important to make this distinction because much of the talk on the restoration of the organic church versus the institutional church focuses too much on the way believers meet. Here Paul is
saying ‘you are all individual distinct members in the local community, you express Christ in various ways, though you have unique gifts you also are part of one corporate expression of Christ in
your city’. The distinct gifts function in your community, not just in the meeting! [Whether it be the Sunday building type thing or the living room!] Paul also tells them to be on the guard for
the ‘one member dominating the group’ expression of church. If everyone is centered on one particular gift then the corporate expression of the Body of Christ is diminished. Or if everyone saw
‘full time ministry’ as being a modern Pastor then you would have too many sincere believers all seeking to serve God in a limited way ‘if all were an eye, ear, mouth [speaking gift]’ then where
would the Body be? I find this chapter to be a key chapter in the current reformation of modern church practices. As Gods people strive for a more scriptural expression of ‘being the church’ we
need to keep this chapter in mind. Now, a word for the strong organic church brothers. The fact that Paul encourages a corporate expression in the church does not mean the gatherings of Gods
people must be leaderless. Paul includes the concept of Elders in his writings. To be sure these men were not to dominate the meetings, or be the weekly speaker on an ongoing basis. But some hold
to a type of idea that the way the church is supposed to testify of the ‘headship of Christ’ is by demonstrating a human leaderless church. That is God ordained the local bodies of believers to
have no functioning human leaders in order to show forth Christ’s headship. To be honest I don’t see this in scripture. I see leaders in plurality [never a one man show] and Paul was not afraid
to tell Titus and Timothy to ‘ordain’ [recognize!] Elders in the church. But the overall instruction in this chapter is God wants all of his people to function on a regular basis in the Body of
Christ. This of course includes the gatherings, but it is not limited to them. The primary way we ‘show’ the world the Lordship of Jesus is by the selfless love we have one for another. When we
daily live charitable, sacrificial lives, this demonstrates the ‘headship of Jesus’ over the church. The way believers meet has some effect on this, but most of Jesus instructions to the
disciples was on how they would go out into the world and bring the great message of the kingdom to society. The primary ‘battlefield’ of the church militant is the world, not the meeting
place!
(996)1ST CORINTHIANS
12:27-31 Lets talk about ‘the fivefold ministry’ [some say four]. In the 90’s there was a real interest in this subject. It comes from this portion of scripture [and Ephesians 4]. The basic
teaching is/was that God was restoring all these ministries [Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers- some see this as one combined gift] and that this restoration was one of the
final things to happen before Christ’s return. I read and bought lots of books on church planting and how Apostles are gifted to ‘plant churches’. This teaching really wasn’t a new thing. Back in
the 1800’s you had Edward Irving head up an apostolic movement called ‘the apostolic catholic church’ [Irvingites]. You had interesting folk like John Alexander Dowie who would start a modern
city of God called ‘Zion’ in Illinois. Brother Dowie saw himself as an apostle and felt the Lord led him to start an apostolic city. You can still visit the city today. It was also common for
many ‘up and coming’ preachers to begin seeing themselves as ‘apostles/prophets’ and actually advertise their callings in this way. Well of course the old time brothers who reject the gifts all
together, saw this as another sign of the end time apostasy. You also had a strange phenomenon take place. It was common for ‘apostolic/prophetic’ people to be taught ‘the missing ingredient is
covering and authority’- the churches are weak because they are under pastoral authority, they don’t have apostles ‘covering them’ [ouch!]. So it was not uncommon to have respected men kind of
stepping over the normal boundaries of relating to churches and to say things like ‘you need to do this’ ‘you over there, be quiet. I don’t give you permission to speak’ and stuff like this.
These sincere men thought it their responsibility to act this way. They felt this was a part of the restoration of apostles. Now, do apostles exist today [and prophets]? To be honest with you,
yes. If you read this section along with Ephesians chapter 4, it is next to impossible to teach that they passed away in the first century. These scriptures make it clear that after Jesus
ascended he gave ‘some apostles, others prophets’ they are included in the list of evangelists, pastors and teachers. If you lose one gift, then you lose them all. Also the timing of their
ministries is given ‘till we all come to the unity of the faith unto a perfect man’. These gifts are all given to build Gods people up until we come to fall maturity. We aint there yet! So it’s
pretty obvious that these gifts exist. Those who believe they don’t exist usually refer to the fact that the apostles of the Lamb [a category unto itself] did pass away. They will show you the
truth of these apostles having to have been witnesses of Jesus actual resurrection. But these are a different category of apostles. The ones in this chapter were not even ‘made’ until after Jesus
ascended on high. The same for the prophets. So, what do these strange fellows do? In all the books and stuff I have read on these movements, I feel some have been too limited in their
definitions. Some taught that they were primarily itinerant men [traveling church planters]. Of course Paul was the master at this. But you find James as a stable pillar of the church at
Jerusalem. Peter did travel, but he was no Gentile church planter like Paul! And Timothy in the New Testament had an apostolic type gifting, yet he was a protégée under Paul. So for the most part
apostles do carry a special ability to ground Gods people in truth. Those who are called to ‘plant churches’ need to be more in tune with the example of Paul. Many modern day ‘apostles’ see
church planting as going to a region and organizing Christians to meet in certain ways. I have heard it said ‘I have planted an organic church’ ‘I have planted a home group’ or of course the
standard ‘I have planted a building based church’. The main ‘church planting’ of Paul was bringing the gospel to UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS and evangelizing those groups. Now of course he did give
instructions to them on ‘how to meet’ [like in this book we are reading!] But don’t confuse ‘church planting’ with organizing believers around a new way to meet. All in all God gave us these
gifts to build each other up and bring us to maturity, a place where we are no longer dependent on these gifts to function. I feel one of the greatest dangers was the strong authoritarian mindset
that some of the apostolic brothers had, they meant well, but they stepped over their boundaries at times.
(998)CORINTHIANS
‘DO ALL SPEAK WITH TONGUES’? – Before we leave chapter 12, let me overview a little. Paul mentions ‘do all speak with tongues’ and the presumed answer is ‘no’. I love my Pentecostal brothers, but
some have developed an interesting doctrine that says ‘God wants all to speak with tongues’ though here it is obvious that all don’t! I am familiar with the classic defense of this. It says that
in the beginning of the chapter the gifts are individual gifts that all believers can have [true enough] but that later in the chapter the ‘tongues’ that all don’t operate in is speaking of some
sort of ministry gift of tongues. That Paul is basically saying ‘you can all prophesy, speak with tongues, etc..’ but you are not all going to have public ‘ministry gifts’ in these things. Okay,
I got it. What’s the problem with this defense? Simply that when your done making the case, the brothers usually wind up saying ‘therefore, we should all speak with tongues’! Any argument [case]
made from scripture, needs to use the plain language/thought flow to interpret that which is not plain. I believe all the gifts are for today [though I would disagree on certain Pentecostal
definitions of them] but I also believe we violate the New Testament when we teach that certain gifts are supposed to operate in every person. Sure, you can find tongues and other gifts as signs
in the book of Acts that believers were filled with the Spirit. But this doesn’t mean that those who don’t speak in tongues are not filled with the Spirit. Paul’s teaching here is that we are all
baptized into Christ by the Spirit and we are all ‘drinking in the one Spirit’ but yet he empathically says ‘you all will not have the same gifts operating’. I think it is a violation of
scripture to develop a doctrine that says ‘unless you function in a certain gift, you are not Spirit filled’. I do not see the classic Pentecostal division between ‘public tongues’ [that everyone
doesn’t do] and ‘private tongues’ that you must have in order to have proof of being baptized in the Spirit. I do see the division to a degree, but I feel the Pentecostal brothers are being
legalistic when they make this case.
POSTED
BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ JANUARY 25, 2018 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
EPHESIANS
4
Testing
links below- all should be Ephesians 4-
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMa9oOLIoJHhLVQi8
https://hubic.com/home/browser/stream/?uri=default/1-18-18%20Ephesians%204.mp4&X_TOKEN=9873aa7dd9c974f15fe5c9760e0ddfc2
Psalm
68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
ON
VIDEO
.Austin
[Texas] The Ark
.5
[4] fold ministry
.Lectio
Devina http://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/what-lectio-divina
.Didache http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/didache.html
.
‘That bird has my wings’- prison poem
.Unity
among reconciled people groups
.Gifts
for the sinner too [rebellious also]
.Restoration
churches
.Church
history
.The
purpose of the gifts- to build you up- for the work of ministry
.What
does the N.T. teach about giving?
.The
nature of local church
.The
intent of seeing ‘new truth’
.What
is ‘apostolic’ doctrine?
.Jesus-
the Christ of God
Psalm
90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
Psalm
90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly
away.
OTHER
VIDEOS
Bob-
White Castle [North Bergen- NYC area] https://youtu.be/wt2P8yESN04
John
8 https://vimeo.com/252085857
Rest
in peace https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZaPnH7ZifplvvcxOI47y6sc46vefBuKlFBy
Romans
8-10 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uEOXe1ummR3SO8GSBvqj0w-OUKrByua3/view?usp=sharing
Lexington https://vimeo.com/252258518
Hudson
County Park- New Jersey https://youtu.be/ilToGO65Ivk
Boys
of Sudan https://vimeo.com/252434055
Bringing
in the sheaves https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZXvlH7Zji1kJcwm6Eb5VcQ4ArLw2kmKApyV
Free
among the dead https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jmAC8HuaEyvOWvMzFgtIOKkmvXZihgzg/view?usp=sharing
News-
Ruth
Bader Ginsburg- media- they do it for cash https://youtu.be/UlTs6ciSAEI
50,000
missing FBI texts and the corporate cash media https://youtu.be/wMQztoNU5Tk
Update-
1-24-18 https://youtu.be/i3Y9BI-t1K0
The
problem [news- Trump- FBI- JFK] https://youtu.be/CWfoixcGZwA
Here
are some links about stuff I mentioned in recent news talks-
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/23/congress-fbi-russia-republicans-escalate-probes-364616
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/01/trey-gowdy-strzok-page-fbi-texts-today-say-text-not-keeping-texts-video/
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/370204-sessions-says-he-will-leave-no-stone-unturned-to-find-why-fbi-text
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/01/23/fbis-strzok-and-page-spoke-secret-society-after-trump-election-lawmakers-say.html
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/01/24/fox-news-first-new-info-on-alleged-secret-society-anti-trumpers-samsung-blamed-for-missing-fbi-texts.html
https://nypost.com/2018/01/23/evidence-suggests-a-massive-scandal-is-brewing-at-the-fbi/
[NEW
TEACHING BELOW- NEWS NOTE BELOW THAT]
Psalm
90:16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
Psalm
90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
NEW-
Paul teaches us about the primary purpose of the gifts that God has deposited in the church-
Ephesians
4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians
4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
Some
refer to these gifts [Apostles- prophets- etc.] as the 5 fold ministry- others see the last 2 offices as one calling [the pastor/teacher]
Ephesians
4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Meaning
it would be the ‘4-fold’ ministry gifts.
Much
has been written the last few years about these various gifted ones- and in some movements of the church they believed that the restoration of these gifts were the answer to the problems in the
church.
When
we read about apostles in the New Testament- and how they functioned [Like my recent study on the book of Acts]-
We
do not see the emphasis on the people themselves- meaning the apostles in the bible [or prophets] did not focus on their callings-
Or
view their callings as the primary thing.
But
the purpose of their callings was to bring the people of God to maturity- and the people of God would do the actual ‘work of the ministry’-
Ephesians
4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
If
the teachings on the gifts- or any other subject we find in the bible- is used to divide Christians-
Then
the main purpose of the gifts themselves has been subverted.
If
the focus on the gifts exalts the personalities of people-
Then
it is the wrong focus.
In
the last few chapters I have already taught- we saw the reconciliation of man- with each other- as well as being reconciled [brought back] to God thru Christ.
When
we read about the unity of the people of God- in this context it is a broader concept than simply the people ‘in my church’- or the people of God in your particular
denomination.
But
the unity we strive for is a unity among all the people that God has redeemed.
God’s
ultimate Salvation looks forward to the redeeming of all things- in heaven and upon earth.
As
the apostle stated in this chapter- we are one body- with one God ruling over us- as well as being in us-
Ephesians
4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Ephesians
4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Ephesians
4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
The
development of the church over the centuries has expressed itself in many different church expressions.
Some
see this as ok- others see it as being divided.
Many
of these good expressions of the church do see themselves as the only true church.
The
apostle does speak to this issue here-
Ephesians
4:3 Endeavouring to KEEP the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
All
the people of God already are united in unity- the outward expression of it is not always seen.
But
truly there is one God- and one Spirit that unites as the church.
God
has placed gifted leaders in the church- and when the gifts function properly- they bring the people to maturity in Christ-
Ephesians
4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians
4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
They
do not draw people after their particular gift- no matter how noble the gift might be.
It
is important that we see that these gifts [5- 4 fold] do indeed exist in the church today.
Paul
teaches us that these ministers were made after the ascension of Jesus-
Ephesians
4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Meaning
these were not Old testament prophets he was speaking about-
Or
even the 12 apostles of the Lamb-
But
these apostles and prophets and pastors were ‘made’ after Jesus ascended to the right hand of God.
So
yes- these gifts still function in our day.
And
when they function the right way- the people of God become mature functioning members of the Body of Christ.
That
was [is] the purpose of these gifts.
NEWS
NOTE- Right before I post this- I want to just make a few points about the news videos I did this week. This past year I heard/read some media figures call for treason charges against Trump- and
his family. This same person said it was possible that Trump- and some his his family members should be executed [no joke] if they were found guilty of treason. While I realize all do not hold
this position- some do.
Where
they also speaking about his 12 year old son?
Now-
these last few weeks we have seen evidence of FBI officials using language like ‘secret society- putting Andy’s plan in place’- Language that more than likely is talking about the removal of a
U.S. president- by illegal manipulation of their powers.
These
2 people- Peter Strzok and Carter Page https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/01/24/sara_carter_fbi_agents_want_to_know_why_strzok_and_page_are_still_there.html were having
possible criminal conversations about the removal of a U.S. president- were also having an ongoing sexual affair- and used their authority to sway political charges- on both sides of the
aisle.
Just
the texts alone- of which it seems like the FBI has now illegally deleted about 50,000 of them- Samsung is denying the texts were missing because of a ‘glitch’- but the messages we do have- could
at least merit the firing of the agents. Then possible criminal charges [this would be a sort of treason charge] then to possible jail time. I know of no one who is actively calling for their
executions [like some in the media spoke about while talking about Trumps family].
So-
we- [or me?] the American people call for the immediate firing of Strzok and Page- for them to still be within the department with their ability to continue to obstruct justice- have ‘secret
society’ meetings- and to possibly put ‘Andy’s plan’ in place- well- that would be a crime indeed.
Last
note- By the way- the local paper of our small town has played the media manipulation game for many years now- these last few years they had to merge with the USA today network because they are
possibly on the verge of bankruptcy- which is a good thing in my view.
They
are part of the paid corporate media- and are not to be trusted to ever speak truth to you. So- I would call for a boycott of the Caller Times [I will read it still- just so I can critique them]
and I would recommend reading the San Antonio paper [which I also read] they do a much better job at covering south Texas issues- more in depth coverage.
PAST
POSTS I either quoted or taught from these bible books on today’s video- Ephesians 4- below are my past studies on those books-
https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/
https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/
I
mentioned the Didache on the video- I talked about it in this book I wrote years ago-
https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/
Mentioned
Pentecost- here’s my link to the chapter-
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/
Here’s
my complete study on Acts https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/
https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/
I
talked about the nature of the church and the 5 fold ministry- here’s a book I wrote on the subject-
https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/
https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/
https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/
EPHESIANS-
LINKS
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/13/ephesians-2/
https://ccoutreach87.com/2018/01/09/ephesians-3/
Ephesians
4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Ephesians
4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Ephesians
4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
POSTED
BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ JULY 14, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT
MARK
12
Mark
12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have
ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but
the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
https://youtu.be/VJBAPuroAUY Mark 12
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/7-6-17-mark-12.zip
https://ccoutreach87.com/7-6-17-mark-12/
ON
VIDEO-
.Sandia
.Storehouse
wisdom
.Kingdom
to the gentiles [church]