Acts 9- The Church
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Monthly Archives: April 2022
Matthew 11- Repent or Perish
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. Matthew 11:20-22
Woe to the Unrepentant Sinner! We live in a world where everyone preaches “Jesus Is Love” but nobody preaches about repentance and obedience. Let’s look at the words of Jesus Christ today, “He began to denounce the cities because they did not repent” As Jesus said “Repent or Perish” (Luke 13:3) Repentance is not an option, it’s a requirement for salvation. Unless we truly repent, we will perish according to Christ
So what does it mean to repent? Repent means to turn away or turn around from your sinful ways. To truly repent means to change, not to be doing or stuck in the same sin as before you became saved. You are either a slave to Sin or a slave to Christ (Romans 6:20)
Jesus said “It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Judgment, than for you” It’s interesting because Tyre and Sidon were pagan nations, who even though they witnessed miracles performed by Christ, the majority of them still rejected Him. It will be worse at the day of Judgment for anyone who doesn’t repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. Matthew 11:23-24
Jesus makes another interesting statement “It would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of Judgment, than for you” Everyone knows the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, God destroyed them with fire and brimstone, Jesus said a worse fate for the unrepentant sinner, of course Christ is referencing Hell
Jesus is giving us a wake up call, a warning, repent of your sins and put your faith in Christ, before it’s too late. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, repent of perish Amen!
Acts 8- Believe
Matthew 11- Greatest Prophet
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:7-11
What would you expect the greatest prophet to look like? Would you expect them with great beauty? Would you expect them with the clothing and authority of a King? Well, our preconceived notions are all wrong! John the Baptist was probably a man most of us wouldn’t want to be seen with in public, we lived in the desert, eating bugs, and wearing camel hair. However Jesus Christ said “John is the greatest of all prophets” (v11)
Just as Jesus identified himself as the Christ, with scripture, Jesus is also identifying who John the Baptist is with scripture. You can’t understand the New Testament until you have a grasp of the Old Testament. If you “unhitch” from the Old Testament, the New Testament would make no sense. Christ is identifying John the Baptist as the “Messenger or Yahweh” to prepare the way for Jesus
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 11:12-15
Jesus makes an interesting statement here “For all The Prophets and Law prophesied until John” A couple things can be taken away from this , John the Baptist was the last of the Prophets as all prophecies are foretelling about Christ. Secondly The Law is fulfilled with Christ (Matthew 5:17) Everything from the Old Testament was pointing to the coming and the fulfillment of Jesus Christ! (Luke 24: 44)
But what happened to John the Baptist? He was rejected and eventually killed by beheading. What happened to Jesus Christ? He was despised and rejected and crucified on a cross (Isaiah 53) As Jesus said “They who have ears, let them hear” Most of the world has no spiritual discernment, even though God foretold about the coming of Christ, most of the world has rejected God’s salvation
If you want to know the real Jesus, read your Bible, pray without ceasing to God, and ask for the Holy Spirit , Amen!
Luke 24- Christ Is Risen
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Luke 24:1-6
The resurrection of Jesus Christ, the greatest day in the history of the world. The day when God defeated sin and death forever and reconciled us back to the Father. This was all accomplished in a way that was beyond our human comprehension. Nobody ever expected God to become a man, in Jesus Christ, and die for the penalty of our sins. Then be risen on the 3rd day abolishing sin and death forever. The mystery of the gospel was fulfilled on this blessed Sunday morning!
As we see the woman came to the tomb on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. This is why the Church traditionally worshiped and gathered on Sunday morning, it had nothing to do with paganism or greek mythology, this was all about the event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire Christian faith is based on this event, as Paul said “If Christ is not risen, then we are faith is useless” ( 1 Corinthians 15:14) Without the resurrection of Christ , there is no Christianity, there is no deliverance from your sin, there is no reconciliation back to our Heavenly Father.
He is not here, He is Risen, this is what the angels declared at the tomb. Remember how he spoke to you when he was at Galilee? Jesus foretold of this moment , however the disciples didn’t understand until the tomb was empty!
Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. Luke 24:7-12
It says “They remembered His words” When the disciples saw the empty tomb, a lightbulb went off in their heads, The Lord prophesied about this moment and now it has been fulfilled. Now when the woman disciples originally ran back to the male disciples, they didn’t believe them. So Peter ran to the tomb to check for himself, it was just as the woman said, the tomb was empty! The Lord has Risen!
The stone has been rolled away, no longer is their a veil, a barrier between us and God. We have now been reconciled back to God, sin and death are defeated because Christ The Lord has Risen today! Hallelujah!
Good Friday- By Jesus Stripes
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed Isaiah 53:3-5
The prophecy of Isaiah was written over 700 years before Christ was born, the accuracy of this prophecy foretelling the crucifixion of Christ and other details and events that took place are amazing. The story of Good “Holy” Friday can be found in this one chapter of Isaiah
Jesus was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, they believed he was cursed by God, however the truth was he took our curse for us. He was wounded and bruised for our sins, the penalty for our sins fell upon Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God. By Jesus stripes, by his sacrifice on the cross, we can now be reconciled back to our Heavenly Father and have the inner peace of the Holy Spirit
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:6-8
God layed his wrath for our sin all upon Jesus at the cross, we are all sinners who have gone astray, Jesus was led like a Lamb to the slaughter, he died for our sins and not his own. He took on the penalty for the sins of the world, so we may be justified before God
And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:9-11
God the Father poured down his wrath on the sinless Lamb of God to be our atonement for our sins. We may inherit eternal life, because Jesus paid it all for us, he is the suffering servant who will justify all those before God who put their faith in Him
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12
Jesus was crucified between two criminals, numbered with the transgressors, Jesus bore the sins and is the intercessor of all those who are Born Again in Christ!
This Good Friday, take a moment to remember what Christ has done for you, the love He demonstrated on the cross Amen!
Acts 6- The Word Spread
Matthew 11- Are You The One?
And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Matthew 11:1-3
Just to set the stage here, John the Baptist is currently in prison. It’s interesting because when we think of John in prison, we usually associate it with the incident with King Herod (Matthew 14:3), however after Jesus left the wilderness and began his ministry, John was put in prison also (Matthew 4:12) It doesn’t explicitly say why John was imprisoned the first time, but we can assume his bold preaching got him in alot of trouble.
John the Baptist asks a very interesting question, and it almost seems puzzling since he was called the greatest of all prophets by Jesus (Matthew 11:11) John asks Jesus “Are you the Messiah, or should we look for someone else”? So if you ever feel bad that you don’t know or understand something from the Bible, just remember John the Baptist had doubts or was unsure at first if Jesus is the Christ!
Now to John’s defense, since he was locked up in prison, he doesn’t really know what works Jesus has performed yet. He was present at the Baptism of Christ when God the Father said “This is my beloved Son” and saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Christ. (Matthew 3) However remember John is just a human like us, he probably doubts himself and wants to be certain he’s following the right man
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. Matthew 11:4-6
Notice how Jesus affirms who He is, he quotes scripture. Case in point, if you want to know the real Jesus, you need to read your Bible. Since John knew the Messianic prophecies from Isaiah (Isaiah 35, 61) John knew Jesus was confirming that He is the Christ. Jesus is also confirming that he is fulfilling scripture, confirming that He is the Christ based on the works he accomplished during his ministry
Jesus then says “Blessed is anyone who is not offended in me” Meaning have faith in Christ you will be saved. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6) Those who reject Jesus as the Christ can’t be saved because there is no atonement for their sins.
If you want to know more about Jesus , read your Bible! Salvation is by faith in Christ alone, Amen!
Acts 5- Obey God
Matthew 10- The Lords Work
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Matthew 10:40-42
Being a disciple of Christ is not an easy task, there will be many people who shun you, many people who will mock you, there maybe alot of people who will persecute you. However it’s important to keep an “Eternal Perspective” on our lives. The tasks you may be doing now for The Lord, might seem pointless at present , but from an Eternal Perspective they are critical. Doing work for The Lord, is building God’s Kingdom , one soul at a time. This work has eternal consequences but also it has eternal satisfaction
You think about your job today , you are assigned tasks or projects that may seem important or relevant today. But a few months from now, a few years from now, nobody even remembers what was accomplished or by whom. With The Lords work, You have an opportunity to make a difference eternally.
As Jesus said “ They that receive you, will receive Christ, and they receive God” Everything that you’re doing is for the glory of God and not yourself. Even the smallest tasks , like picking up the trash at Church or handing out bulletins, are part of God’s work and the overall goal of building God’s Kingdom. If you are a Christian, you are involved in some way , shape or form. You don’t have to be the Pastor or Bishop to be serving The Lord. Every Christian in the Church is vital to doing The Lord’s work and building God’s Kingdom. Everything belongs to God including our ministries and Churches, Christ is the Master and we are his servants! We must make sure we continue to keep that hierarchy and mindset to be obedient to God
When you understand the importance of your work in Christ, you must also understand the responsibility you hold also. We must remain accountable and disciplined in everything we do for God. We see many ministries and Churches, fall away due to misconduct or immorality. As a worker for God, we will be held to a higher standard. Everything you do, big or small, will be scrutinized and under the microscope from the world. We must remain a good representation of Jesus in everything we do, even if its just picking up the trash at Church. If we are immature or unable to handle this responsibility, then we should refrain from being a part of the work until we are ready.
Now if they reject your ministry or work, they are ultimately rejecting Christ , as long as you’re in alignment with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. If you’re doing The Lord’s work and the world rejects you, don’t take it personally, as they are rejecting God. Jesus said “They will hate you, as they hated me (John 15:18) Abide in Christ and Christ will Abide in You, do everything you do for the Glory of God, not for the glory of ourselves
Time is running out, The Lord’s return is near, we must remain alert and busy building God’s Kingdom and doing The Lord’s work, Amen!
Unashamed of Jesus 