Train Up The Saints

·         Praise

·         Pray

      

Text scripture:

Eph 4:12

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

 *One  separated from the world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by covenant; a believer in Christ.

·         Psalm 16:3    But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

·         Rom 1:7    To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

·         Eph 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

·         My only point here is that the Bible calls  those who believe in and confess Christ as Lord and Savior are saints.

·         Interesting that in the 4^th century, the believer was relegated to a common person and the Biblical term for believer “saint” was made a title of high esteem. (you had to have been an apostle of Jesus, performed miracles or both and be dead)

·         We can then understand our text scripture Eph 4:12 better.  (re-read)

1.    Paul reminds Ephesians who they are and what they are to be doing. (I know – but we can logically surmise that if they are to “perfect the saints” it is implied that they are saints themselves).

2.    Revelation given to Paul regarding building the Church (body of Christ, re-establishing The Kingdom Of God)

3.    We are to teach people, who teach people, who teach people, who teach people – etc.

4.    If we are to be effective in “perfecting the saints” we must 1st realize who we are in Him, and what Christ has done for us.

 

·         Who we are in Christ can be defined by what He has done for us!

·        We must realize – God’s plan to re-establish Kingdom depends on believers in Christ spreading the Church - perfecting the saints

·        We need to realize it will be done with - or without you and I.

Jesus told disciples that the gates of Hades would not withstand The Kingdom Of God – NOTHING WILL STOP THE CHURCH!

Matthew 16:18
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (explain Gate of Hades being a real place real place)

This is a point many Christians lose sight of in a culture of declining morality. They think the Church will be derailed. They don’t know - or forget that all along, God’s plan was to re-establish His Kingdom right over the top of Pagan religions that ran rampant in those days.

·        We will do it because we love Christ – He loved us first

  1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us  -

·         God sent His only Begotten Son to make a sacrifice we can’t imagine on behalf of us

        John 3:16, (read) (father who’s son dies – let alone sending Him to His death)

        

   Col 2  14 Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

·         Christ sacrificed Himself for us – to preserve us, the only way we will be preserved is if the Church is established and The Kingdom is re-established

·         Think of this – Christ entrusted the establishing of His Church on earth to 12 disciples who did not have a clue until that final 3 years of Jesus life.

·         He trusted them and now He trusts you and me

·         If we are His servants – bought and paid for with his blood we must realize a few things:

1.   We have a mission: Great Commission -  Mark 16 -  15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

2.   After He told us what to do He empowered us to do it:

Mark 16 (next verses) 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes

with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

What can I do to do my part in fulfilling The Great Commission?

1.   Know who you are In Christ (all in Christ scriptures are what He has done for you – sometimes said through Christ)

Romans 3:24
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

 

Ephesians 2:13  At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.

2.    Stay in relationship – meditate on scripture, Pray daily

3.    Confess daily (remind yourself) of what God, in Christ, has done for you and who you are in Christ,:

2 Cor. 9:8, 1 John 2:27, Matt 19:26, 2 Cor 5:17, 1 John 4:4, Phil 4:13, 1

Cor 3:16 (the list goes on and on)

4.    Know who God is and wants to be in you and to you -  1 Cor 3:17, Pslams138:5, Eph 3:16      ….  (the list goes on and on)

5.    Remember when you were in grade school you prob. Heard someone say “my dad can whip your dad”? The truth is if you’re in Christ The God Of The Universe wants to be “Abba” to us – Gal 4:4, Rom 8:15

Your Heavenly Father truly is the toughest guy ANYWHERE -  Eph 1:21

6.    Get in a Bible TEACHING church or atmosphere as soon as you can.

Almost all churches believe in the Bible, but not all teach the Bible.

·         This is important so you can know who you are

·         Who God is

·         Know where you are in history

·         Find your gifts

·         Find your place

·         Help you find ministry opportunities

·         Realize that you may think you are over qualified for what you are doing – be faithful, don’t complain, do all the best you can!

The Basis For What We Believe

This Bible study is from 2009.

 There truly is a basis for faith. Everyone, especially myself wonders at one time or another, "is this faith thing a myth or reality?".  For someone who is not a believer this "faith thing" can seem absolutely ridiculous. Let me point out a few reasons we don't need to have "blind faith" - In my opinion, no reasonable person should have blind faith.

 Archeology is one secular "marking post " that we all give credibility.

The Hittite society is but one very compelling piece of the basis puzzle. Critics of the Bible's authenticity used the OT reference as "proof" that the Bible was based on nothing, since there was no independent evidence of the Hittites.

 In 1884 a script on a monument referred to trade with a "Hattusas" people. That script was later confirmed by some hieroglyphics found in northern Syria in 1887.

In 1906 further information was found confirming names and places mentioned in the hieroglyphics. upon excavation of many of those sites in and after 1948 direct references to political as well as everyday life of The Hittite people. Those sites were excavated under the direction of The German Archaeological Society.Thus ending that specific criticism.

Further excavation not only in the Holy Land but also in adjacent lands further document the travels of specific people. People who spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ - they were in the right place at the time the Bible says they were there.

When studying The Word and we find things we don't understand or if we can't find direct evidence, we should always study it out the best we can. If we still don't find the answer we can ask someone likely to know.

If we still can't find the answer we're looking for we can have faith in The Word of God. We know, as reasonable people, our faith is based on solid secular archeology that confirms history

_____________________________________________________________________

Text:, Col 2:13-15, Rom 5:19

Colossians – Freedom from the law, to expose false teaching religious and self-righteousness through ritual

Romans – Explains Christianity

These two verses sum up what God has done for mankind as He re-established His Kingdom.

A.

Col 2:13 new living Translation

You were dead because of your sins and because you’re sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.

1. Dead because of sinful nature – Sinful nature is in mankind because of disobedience by Adam to God.

Gen 3:1 – 7

·         This passage explains why bad thing happen to good people – why bad thing happen in the world

·         You MUST under stand this for anything to make sense

2.    Cut away

a.     circumcision – a ritual God commanded Moses to perform on his people ( his charges ) or oversee it done, in the wilderness.

No law from Adam till Moses

b.    The idea being a setting themselves apart in a way that they will not forget, that

They remember the act of obedience (and disobedience).  – note that obedience is required as He re-establishes His Kingdom.

c.    The ownership was transferred for a time to Satan,  (who had been kicked out of heaven) – God had to do this because this because He is perfect. The Word says – Pslm 138:2 He magnified thy Word above all thy name.  God is a God of perfection. He always does what He says He is going to do – God is CHRACTER

He ALWAYS holds Himself to standards of:

·         Legality

·         Faithfulness – He always does what He says He will do – NEVER forces anything on anybody

3. Made you alive with Christ

a. Made you and I equals – co-laborers – equals – joint heirs

Rom 8:17  -  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.

The idea is that if we accept Christ as God into our hearts, then we have Life as He Has – eternal life with God – forever – Part of His Family

B.

Col 2:14 New Living Translation

He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross

1.     Cancelled the record – KJV says “blotted out the handwriting”. The idea is that the debt we owe is done away with.

Hebrew word for cancelled is interesting because one of it’s definitions is the canceling of a debt owed. That is exactly the meaning here because when we accept Christ, our accountability or debt that must be paid (God is a perfect God), for the sin inherent in man, by the work Christ did at the cross.

C.            Make a show of them openly

·         Crashed party  in hell – Christ Conquers Death – “more than conquerors in Christ”      

·         Matt 16:19

·         Rom 8:37

·         In ancient times returning king – parade spoils of war and leaders upon re-entry of palace or castle walls

·         Christ exposes the devil to us – makes fun of him – give us the keys to life and death

Calls us more than conquerors – of death

·         Tells us we are the head and not the tail

·         Tells us there is no condemnation

·         Makes provision for sins to be forgiven  - on and on

All of these things are because of Christ and only through Him

It is our jobs to stay in Him

·        Bible study

·        Prayer

·        Meditation – read Word - study

Basis For What We Believe

Text:, Col 2:13-15, Rom 5:19

Colossians – Freedom from the law, to expose false teaching religious and self-righteousness through ritual

Romans – Explains Christianity

These two verses sum up what God has done for mankind as He re-established His Kingdom.

A.

Col 2:13 new living Translation

You were dead because of your sins and because you’re sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.

1. Dead because of sinful nature – Sinful nature is in mankind because of disobedience by Adam to God.

Gen 3:1 – 7

·         This passage explains why bad thing happen to good people – why bad thing happen in the world

·         You MUST understand this for anything to make sense

2.      Cut away

a.     circumcision – a ritual God commanded Moses to perform on his people ( his charges ) or oversee it done, in the wilderness.

No law from Adam till Moses

b.    The idea being a setting themselves apart in a way that they will not forget, that

They remember the act of obedience (and disobedience).  – note that obedience is required as He re-establishes His Kingdom.

c.    The ownership was transferred for a time to Satan,  (who had been kicked out of heaven) – God had to do this because this because He is perfect. The Word says – Pslm 138:2 He magnified thy Word above all thy name.  God is a God of perfection. He always does what He says He is going to do – God is CHARACTER

He ALWAYS holds Himself to standards of:

·         Legality

·         Faithfulness – He always does what He says He will do – NEVER forces anything on anybody

3. Made you alive with Christ

a. Made you and I equals – co-laborers – equals – joint heirs

Rom 8:17  -  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.

The idea is that if we accept Christ as God into our hearts, then we have Life as He Has – eternal life with God – forever – Part of His Family

B.

Col 2:14 New Living Translation

He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross

1.     Cancelled the record – KJV says “blotted out the handwriting”. The idea is that the debt we owe is done away with.

Hebrew word for cancelled is interesting because one of it’s definitions is the canceling of a debt owed. That is exactly the meaning here because when we accept Christ, our accountability or debt that must be paid (God is a perfect God), for the sin inherent in man, by the work Christ did at the cross.

C.            Make a show of them openly

·         Crashed party  in hell – Christ Conquers Death – “more than conquerors in Christ”      

·         Matt 16:19

·         Rom 8:37

·         In ancient times returning king – parade spoils of war and leaders upon re-entry of palace or castle walls

·         Christ exposes the devil to us – makes fun of him – give us the keys to life and death

Calls us more than conquerors – of death

·         Tells us we are the head and not the tail

·         Tells us there is no condemnation

·         Makes provision for sins to be forgiven  - on and on

All of these things are because of Christ and only through Him

It is our jobs to stay in Him

·        Bible study

·        Prayer

·        meditation