Sunday Re-Cap 22 November 2009

Confidence in the Last Days (1 John 2:18-29)
by Ps. Abel Phillips

We believe that, according to Scripture, we are living in the last days.
The Bible says that perilous times are coming, and we need to be prepared.
We need to be ready because of:
i. The intercession factor – we need to be praying for people.
ii. The soul-winning factor – we need to be telling folks about Jesus Christ.
iii. The family preparation factor – as parents and grandparents, we need to be teaching and training our children in the ways and truth of God.
iv. The comfort factor – when we know what the Bible says about coming events, then we don’t have to worry; we understand that Jesus is coming again.

I) THE TIME IS THE LAST DAYS – BE AWAKE (1 John 2:18)
- Be prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ. After the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus, we entered into a period of time called the last time.
- The rapture of the church is imminent; we’re not waiting for the fulfillment of a sign or prophecy. The rapture may occur at any moment.
- We are to be expecting the coming of the Lord Jesus at any moment: Thessalonians 1:10 ; Philippians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 1:7; Hebrews 9:28 & Titus 2:13
- We are not to look for a sign; we’re to be looking for our Lord Jesus.

II) THE TYRANNT IS THE COMING ANTICHRIST – BE AWARE (1 John 2:18-26)
A. The antichrist has many aliases, including the son of perdition, the man of sin, the wicked one, the man of lawlessness, and the beast, 2 Thessalonians 2:3 & Revelation 13:1.
The prefix “anti” has two meanings: “against” and “instead of”. The antichrist will come against Christ by substituting himself for Christ (instead of Christ).

B. Attributes of the antichrist:
1. Devilish - 2 Thessalonians 2:4
2. Divisive –
1 John 2:19 – speaks of other antichrists that have entered the world, many of whom were once a part of the church. This Scripture says that “they were not all of us,” meaning that they were never saved.
1 Timothy 4:1
3. Deceptive
His primary objective is to deceive men about who Jesus is.
1 John 2:20-23; 1 John 2:26; 1 John 4:1-3 & 2 John 7-11
4. Destructive
His objective in deceiving men about Jesus has an ultimate goal of condemning the souls of men.
1 John 2:24-25

III) THE TRUIMPH IS THAT JESUS IS COMING – BE ABIDING (1 John 2:24-29)
We need to abide in the Word of God.
-1 John 2:24
We need to abide in the Spirit of God.
- 1 John 2:20;1 John 2:27;Ephesians 4:11-12;2 Timothy 2:15;John 14:26
We need to abide in the Son of God.
- 1 John 2:28-29

So be abiding that when He appears you will have the confidence and will not be ashamed or alarmed before Him at His coming.

Sunday Re Cap (15th Nov 2009)

Forgiveness

Text: 1 Cor 1-10; James 1:2-4

Quote: Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to drop dead.

It's a matter of ATTITUDE!

Daniel 12:10 "Those who are wise will understand".

Rev 22:11 "and those right with God keep on being right with God".

Holy- AWESOME, BEYOND BELIEF.

Salvation- PRESERVATION FROM DESTRUCTION.

1 Cor 13:13 Above all, LOVE!

Rom 5:1-5 Never give up/live with great expectation.

Paul says-In the future we will BECOME, until then, we OVERCOME! GROW!

James 1:2-4

Time for CHANGE; Time to POSTURE ourselves.

How?

1. Establish the right atmosphere. Mark 6:3,5,6 "Is that the carpenter?"-They took offense.
   
   1. At the cross Jesus took ACTION; NOT OFFENSE.
      
   2. Jesus saw the BIGGER picture.
      
   3. Taking OFFENSE leads to BITTERNESS.
      
   4. Holding on to OFFENSES impedes life's posture for action. Blocks the atmosphere for the INCREDIBLE.
      
   5. Jesus gave up the RIGHT to be RIGHT at the CROSS.
      
2. Posture for the EXTRAORDINARY. Dan 10:12.
   
   1. "I have come because of your WORDS". Why 21 days? Needed to overcome spiritual challenges.
      
3. SERVE only God's Purposes.
   
   1. Extraordinary comes with much prayer.
      
   2. Greatest ministry in the waiting period.
      
   3. Take positive action; NOT OFFENSE!
      
   4. Let LOVE flow through us.
      

Re Connect

Faith to LIVE.

Hope for the LIVING.

Love for the LOST

Grace to our LIVES.

Peace to all.

James 2:14

Are we Citizens or Sojourners? Are we Potted or Planted? Are we Ambassadors or Terrorists?

Angelina Boots

Sunday Re Cap (8th Nov 2009)

Holy Communion (Part I)

The Holy Communion was instituted for the purpose of wholeness and healing. This will be a study that will help God's people to understand the full significance of the HC. To start our study, we need to go back to the Old Testament where it all began. To understand HC we need to fully appreciate the Passover.

Ex 12:1-13; 22-24 The Passover instituted.

V2-The Beginning of months-New Beginnings (The Passover signifies a new year).

V3-a lamb for himself and for his household-the lamb is not just for you but Jesus is for the whole household. When God sent Jesus, he did not only see you but your household. Your household is blessed because of you.

V4-Household too small! The Lamb is not too small. God's provision always exceeds our needs! Jesus is more than enough. God's blessings over our lives are meant to overflow to others. Not just kept for ourselves. JESUS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH. Twelve baskets full! Net breaking boat sinking load of fish. Wonderful to call for help when we are too BLESSED! How many would like to experience such a day? God is extravagant with His love! Don't be jealous with others. Don't be stingy as that doesn't reflect the heart of God.

V5-Lamb without blemish; first year, very sweet and adorable. Purposely not 2 or 3^rd year lamb. It represents Jesus, the one without blemish. "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!".

V6-14^th day, meaning lamb kept for 5 days to bond with the family. Also to see if in the midst of the household if it has any blemishes. To fully appreciate that a sinless animal died on their behalf. Jesus came and dwelt among us, became one of us. Jesus was examined for 5 days faults-John's baptism, paying tax,

V7-the cross! The blood applied outside. Judgment on the outside but mercy on the inside!

V13-The Lord sees the blood and not what's in the heart of the people; not their goodness, charity, contributions. People were also conscious of the blood and not their sins. Even if they were, God's protection was still upon their lives as God only sees the blood. However, they would not be able to enjoy the time while awaiting their deliverance because of they did not receive! The blood on the doors of the Israelites differentiated them from the Egyptians' homes. As we said the last 2 weeks, the Egyptians represent sin. What separates us from the Egyptians? Sin? It's the blood!

Even in the OT the Passover was a picture of God's mercy. Why then do God's people treat the Holy Communion as a place of judgment for their sins? Even in the original Passover God did not judge sin but provided the blood of a lamb without blemish. Who needs to be without blemish? The lamb or the one that is sacrificing the lamb?
To be continued…

Samuel Hari © GROW BM

Sunday Re Cap (1st November 2009)

What REALLY Happened At Baptism/The Cross? Part III

There are 2 significant events in the life of a believer which we saw the parallel in Ex 12 and Ex 14.

The Passover (Exo 12:24-27) is a "type" of The Holy Communion (1Co 11:23-25)

Red Sea Crossing (Exo 14:26-30) is a "type" of The Baptism (Rom 6:6-7 & Rom 6:9-10)

Both events point the believer to the victory of Christ on the cross on behalf of us.

• The Baptism is identification with the cross and the Holy Communion is a remembrance of the cross.
  
• The differences between these 2 events are the identification only occurs once and remembrance is celebrated as often as we can in remembrance of Jesus.
  
• Baptism is also most of all a powerful declaration of the end of the observance of the law and the beginning of the walk of grace. (Rom 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace).
  
• Holy Communion is a continual reminder that we are under grace.
  

What is REPENTANCE?

Acts 2:37. 38.Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins ; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

What is this Repentance that Peter was talking about? Not a repentance of sin; otherwise Peter would have said REPENT FROM SIN!

We get another clue about the true meaning of repentance from Peter's next statement "you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". When did Jesus mention this and under what conditions? John 14:16;26 When Jesus returned to the Father having fulfilled all the requirements of the LAW on our behalf! The Holy Spirit could only be given IN FULL MEASURE when Jesus finished His work on the cross and having fully dealt with sin. The fact that we have the Holy Spirit is a proof that sin has been totally dealt with on the cross! The Father no longer sees us as sinners but fully redeemed by grace! We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. IT IS FINISHED!

So what REPENTANCE is Peter speaking about in Acts 2:38?

Heb 6:1-not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works,

In Acts 2, Peter was laying a foundation of repentance. What is that foundation? Not repentance of sin but repentance from dead works! Dead works speak about the LAW.

Heb 9:11-15 ¹¹  cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ¹⁵ 

We are NOT against repentance. However we need properly understand repentance. There is a difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant REPENTANCE. Repentance that unveils sin is of the LAW! NEW COVENANT repentance unveils CHRIST! The curtain of the law of our hearts is torn and we see Jesus and His finished works on the cross! Notice what Peter what doing right up to the point where they were cut to the heart. Acts 2:36 summarizes everything he was saying, he unveiled Christ to them! Their eyes were opened! Then Peter said "REPENT!" Open your eyes and see JESUS instead of the LAW (DEAD WORKS).

REPENTANCE is allowing the blood of Christ the continuously cleanse our conscience from DEAD WORKS to serve the living God. That is why Judas died (Matt 27:3-4) and Peter lived (JOHN 21:7 It is the LORD!). When it's a repentance that unveils sin, it leads to condemnation and death! When it's a repentance that unveils Christ, it leads to LIFE and LIFE more abundantly!

Let us go unto perfection (Heb 6:1) by not going back to "dead works" to serve the living GOD! This is Bible Repentance.

Samuel Hari © GROW BM