John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."







Wednesday, September 23, 2015

21th lesson = God's Purpose in loving the Human Being





Perfect Man in Christ is a Fundamental Requirement.



The Stature of Perfect Man in Christ is a fundamental requirement to fulfill our duty here on earth; and not an option.

It is a commandment to walk in Christ as He walked here on earth in His Father. Jesus said: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him”- John 14:20-21. There is an undeniable fact: More and more in our globalized world, the pursuit of excellence in communications and positions of perfection is a challenge for anyone who wants to achieve a higher level of professionalism. In a competitive world where good marketing staff may be the password for success, there is a need of the technical competence; combined with behavioral and emotional competence, including more enriching interpersonal relationships.

Furthermore, in the spiritual world it is no different; for those who are part of God's family, and are part of the Body of Christ, who should be announcing The Good News Of Love Of Our God of salvation for those who had been lost = that is, every human being. How would this professionalism be in the Kingdom of God? I am impressed by the words of Jesus and let them meditate here now. Jesus gives us a tremendous example how to be the best among all. Hallelujahs!! I believe that it is worth to quote the whole text here to obtain an overview of the subject. I marvel how Jesus taught, and we must learn from this from Him.

“1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
2 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi'.
8 "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
9 And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
10 Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.
11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "Matthew 23:1-12.

And... Lk. 22:24-30.

" 24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. (Bold is my emphasis)
28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,
30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. - Lk. 22:24-30.

Through the warnings of Jesus in this passage we see that in Gods' Kingdom, the goal is not to want to be the best in communication and marketing; as it is in the world of commerce in which anyone who makes the best advertisement is the victor. Jesus makes it very clear how the attitude should be in our heart, we are brothers serving the Master; the Christ. God is our Father, and as the apostle says we are ambassadors of the greatest. We are here representing God here on earth, the one who is the Greatest. And there is more, the GREATEST = GOD, lives within us and communicates through us. Jesus as He represented His Father here on earth gave us an example, as how to proceed, he washed the disciples’ feet. And afterward he told them they should serve each other.

“Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” - John 14:23 NIV.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, keep my words: and my Father will love him, and come unto him and make our abode with him" - John. 14:23. KJV.

Let's study this a little bit here:

-       "Jesus spoke to the crowd and saying to his disciples." The teaching that he gives in this text is for the general crowd and his disciples.

-       "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you”.  = Jesus was warning them that there are many people who are looking to have the church leadership, as well as the theological line that they prefer to apply, but he says that we should not be so. We shall obey the commandments of God, instituted in the Church of Christ. And when the servants of God teach us, we should do our best to obey the Word of God.

-       So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; = This it is an alert that we must pay attention to and seek God to help us not err in this regard. When God reminds us that there are leaders within the kingdom of God acting wrong, and we should not do as they do, it is because the matter is serious. The Bible speaks of false prophets, speaks of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Jesus said in John 10 about the thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy. We must be careful whom we place as leaders in our churches. They must be proven as the Word of God says. They need to be approved to perform their functions in the church.

-       they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; = People who love to be served first at the communion, and the chairs of honour in the churches. Chairs that are placed for the elders and deacons and important pastors, should not be a dispute on them. There are people who fight for the best positions in the church. Jesus teaches us that we should not be as such.

-       “They love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi'. "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.” = Many pastors love to receive praises and greetings. Presently at the time of pursuing doctorate in theology and everything else to achieve a PhD, everything revolves around whoever can be best. Jesus draws our attention in this regard.

-       And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

-       Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. = Titles are not sin, provided that they do not cause us to sin against your brethren. Jesus is the Master, and not us; we are his disciples and servants.

-       But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.  Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

-       But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials.

-       And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me. Jesus desires us to be the same as he is. And the Father had conferred the kingdom unto Him, and he was conferring the kingdom unto his disciples. Therefore, we should not strive to be the biggest, but strive to serve one another.

Oh glory, Hallelujahs!! May God, the Eternal Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be praised and exalted!

We are greater than Jesus’ employees; He chose, equipped and prepared us for this work. We are His ambassadors’, we represent Him here now on earth. After Jesus was resurrected He told his disciples: "Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" - Jn. 20:21. Let's analyze this a bit. The same position that Jesus received here on earth by his Father He gave to the Church. He said, As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. It was Jesus who qualified us for the work He has sent us to do. It is not our character nor our skills and neither our knowledge gained in any university that qualifies us; but the Blood of the Lamb does.

No "human being" can be perfect on his own efforts, cannot even reach the stature of a perfect man on his own. It is Jesus who saves us, heals us, prepares us in the right way, leads us, equips us and Jesus uses us in accordance of his goodwill. Jesus sent us to do the same mission he had received to go after those who were lost. But, it is not us that do the work, but He does it through us. Paul writes to the Philippians that the One who began the good work in us will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ; Fl. 1:6,2:13. And also says that He operates both, to will and fulfill according to his good will God works this in the lives of each of us, we only need to accept it.

As you can see God has a purpose too high for each of us to live here on this earth. It starts here on earth and will continue there in glory with Him Eternal life begins here when we invite Jesus to be our Lord and Savior of our lives. J Jesus prepared his disciples so well that he did not forget any detail. Jesus warned the disciples that they would be persecuted like he was, and that none of us is more than the master. If he was persecuted, we will be also.. 

Mt 10:24-25 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! "

§  The disciple is not greater than the master.
§  The servant is not above his master.
§  It is enough for the disciple to be like his master.
§  And it is enough for the servant to be as his Lord.
§  If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household.

Let us pause a bit here in this verse from Matthew 10:24-25. Let's look at these five important points that Jesus pointed out. The disciple is not greater than his teacher, and the servant is not more than his master. Have you ever meditated upon the fact that Jesus said this? If we analyze this situation, it is obvious that a disciple is not greater than the master, and why is it then that Jesus made this observance to his followers?

I truly believe in fact that God used lots of love as He called the human being to do this task of bringing the gospel to the unsaved. The Bible says that the angels desired to proclaim the gospel, but God gave it to the human being, (1 Pet 1:9-12). God had previously experienced a day where his creature wanted to rise above Him.

Isaiah 14:12-18
“12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?"
18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.”


We read in Isaiah 14:12-18, the description how the morning star fell from the heaven. The chapter describes the fall of Lucifer, and according to verse 14 it says: “I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High”. Jesus knew the devil would tempt many of the followers and disciples to boast about the fact that God uses them. Jesus said that whosoever believeth in him would do greater works than he did. Jo. 14:12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father".

I believe that Jesus wanted to warn his disciples that the temptation exists; and it can happen for a person to feel the desire to be a top and high leader over the others, especially when God uses him a lot. When a person is honored a lot here on earth, the opportunity arises for him to become high headed. Jesus teaches us that we must remain humble just as he was.

He taught them also that, if they persecuted Jesus; they will also persecute us. Jesus sent the human being as the Father sent him, and He sent us to preach the gospel to every creation unto the ends of the earth. I believe Jesus was saying that the Church, the Body of Christ, would do greater things than He did when he was here in person. God has an eternal purpose with the human being He created in his image and likeness, hallelujahs.










 
                                                                                                                                In the Lord's Service 
I greet you in His Love
Antonina Penner.
Missionary
Masters inTheology..
 
ISBN- 978-0-9881063-1-4
Copyright 2012/11/26 by: “Ministério Visão de Águias”.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher


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Rev. Billy Graham