August 18, 2013
Morning Service

Because of the stern warnings we have seen in the Scriptures, such as;  Jesus Himself warning His disciples; 

·         (Mat 7:15)  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

·         (Mat 24:11)  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

·         (Mat 24:24)  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

·         (Luk 6:26)  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Peter warned of this;

·         (2Pe 2:1)  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Then recently in our studies;

·         (1Jn 4:1)  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

These types of warnings will lead us to discover Scriptures such as:

·         1Co 3:10-11  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  (11)  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

·         Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

·         Gal 1:8  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

There is certainly a gospel of good news to be preached, and it is found within the pages of our Bible.

There is certainly a church that Jesus built, and it’s structure, and doctrines are found within the pages of our Bible.  This is what we will pursue in our studies in the coming weeks.

 

So we will begin to try the spirits to see if they are of God!  We will begin with a parable that Jesus gave; 

·         Mat 7:21-27  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  (22)  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  (23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  (24)  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  (25)  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  (26)  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  (27)  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

 

After my conversion, I had a unusual desire to study the Scriptures.  So I read from different commentaries.  My main sources were Strongs, and a Pictorial Bible Dictionary.  Strongs, gave the Hebrew, and Greek words for the Bible words.  So, I eventually came to the conclusion, that I knew God was able to write the Bible in words that I could understand, and He did.  So, after that, I leaned heavily upon the Bible Dictionary, which just showed pictures, and gave information concerning the word, or person you wanted to know about. 

·         In essence, the translations we have are what God has divinely given us.  So, we must understand and agree that the Scriptures that we have teaches us the will of God for all mankind.

·         Then after a while I saw there were a lot of different understandings of what the Bible taught.  Even from the early church writers.  Remember we are talking about trying the spirits, or teachings to see if they are of God.  Knowing that there are many false Prophets, and teachers gone out into the world to deceive people. 

 

While studying the Bible I saw where Jesus said, Mat 16:13-19  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  (14)  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  (15)  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  (16)  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  (17)  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  (18)  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  (19)  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

·         Now we see in this passage two very important truths: 

1.       Upon this rock, meaning the statement Peter made of Jesus being the Christ.  Jesus is our Rock. 

2.      Giving Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  Which represents authority.

In which Peter used, for the Jews, on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:38.

Then for the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius, in Acts 10.

Jesus told Peter one time:

Joh_21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.      ( Christians were the lambs. )

Joh_21:16  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.  (Also Christians)

Joh_21:17  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

·         Without the compilation of our Bible this is how the church would be taught in It’s infancy.  It wouldn’t be until the printing press was invented that the Bible would be so available.

·         Mat 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  (19)  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

·         1Pe 5:1  The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 1Pe 5:2  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

·         Act_20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

We can see the way the Apostles were instructed to go and teach, and they did, and we have what they taught.  However God has gone a step farther for the church today.  We have what Jesus taught along with what the Apostles were told to teach.

WHICH GIVES US ACCESS TO THE CHURCH JESUS SAID HE WOULD BUILD, AND IT HAS A SOLID FOUNDATION, WHOSE BUILDER AND MAKER IS GOD.