Jesus’ Good News and coming Kingdom, chapter 11
Saturday, January 30th, 2021To: 31,475 subscribers, Church of God teaching. His 11th month, Sh’vat 17, 5,781. 1/30/21
We don’t know God’s whole purpose: to keep His church family, ‘whose foundation is His Prophets, Apostles and Himself the Corner Stone encouraged and keep the faith is one. ‘Jesus revealed, and had His apostle John write about more plagues on disobedient people particularly, but not all believers are exempt. At Revelations 11: He reveals through John that two witnesses will deliver His message to the world, and afterward; (Rev 11:15; Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.) Always study the whole.
Jesus shares how He plans though Matthew, at 1:17; (So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, fourteen generations.)
Jesus gave three apostles a glimpse of His coming kingdom. (Luke 9:28-36; Now about eight days after these sayings, Jesus took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray. As He was praying, the appearance of His face was transformed, and His clothes became very bright, a brilliant white. Then two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Him. They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about His departure that He was about to carry out at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy, but as they became fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with him. Then as the men were starting to leave, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah” — not knowing what he was saying. As he was saying this, a cloud came, overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One. Listen to Him!” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. So they kept silent and told no one at that time anything of what they had seen.)
See Peter’s review of their experience at 2Peter 1:16-21. At Exodus 34: The same Jesus revealed His same glory to Moses. He’s our coming King, Resurrection, Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, Mediator, and He inspired Paul’s writing regarding the resurrection at Corinthians 15.
(1Cor 15:56-58; The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! So then, dear brothers and sisters; be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.)
Believers in Jesus are mindful of being firm to the end; (1Peter 5:8-11; our enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who CALLED you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him belongs the power forever. Amen.)
Jesus had Jeremiah write about leaders who were saying, ‘obeying God was burdensome,’ and tells of their punishment. A major revelation is to know God the Father and God the Son are the same yesterday, today and forever; know weekly and annual Sabbaths are perpetual, know the fleshly mind is vulnerable to divisionary teachers with agendas, who themselves teach what seems right to their fleshly minds, as Catholicism, and most Protestants do regarding a Sabbath change. These use a part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians for support.
(1Cor 16:1-4; With regard to the collection for the Saints, please follow the directions that I gave to the churches of Galatia: to the extent that, On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside some income and save it to the extent God has blessed you, so that a collection will not have to be made when I come. Then, when I arrive, I will send those whom you approve with letters of explanation to carry your gift to Jerusalem. And if it seems advisable that I should go also, they will go with me.)
Why set ASIDE gifts on the first day of the week? Only so, ‘there be no collection when I come.’ NOT to keep the first day holy! NOT to teach on that day more than others! But do work of collecting in advance. Why do fleshly minded unbelievers want to find reasons NOT to be obedient? They teach it’s burdensome. Remember Paul wrote; ‘because of calloused minds people would not understand.’ Why would the God that said, ‘I change not’ authorize a Sabbath change?
We just studied, ‘you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself the cornerstone? ‘In him the whole building, being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.’ Eph 2:20-22)
Consider why the divisionary Satan deceived Moslems into setting aside the sixth day, and Christendom set aside the first day? He had no trouble finding many opponents to Jesus’ truth.
Jesus’ apostles kept the annual Sabbaths.
(1Cor 16:5-9; But I, will come to you after I have gone through Macedonia, for I will be going through Macedonia and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you can send me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, because a door of great opportunity stands wide open for me, but there are many opponents.)
The apostles and Believers had many opponents! and we have more than a few in this age. Why remain in Ephesus until Pentecost? God’s people were mindful of His weekly and annual Sabbaths.
(1Cor 16:12-14; With regard to our brother Apollos; I strongly encouraged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was simply not his intention to come now. He will come when he has the opportunity. Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong. Everything you do should be done in love.) Remember 1Corinthians 13? It’s worth a re-study, and we should obey because we love God.
(1Cor 16:15-21; Now, brothers and sisters, you know about the household of Stephanus, that as the first converts of Achaia they devoted themselves to ministry for the Saints. I urge you also to submit to people like this, and to everyone who cooperates in the work and labors hard. I was glad about the arrival of Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they have supplied the fellowship with you that I lacked. For, they refreshed my spirit and yours. So then, recognize people like this. The churches in the province of Asia send greetings to you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, with the church that meets in their house. All the brothers and sisters send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, send this greeting with my own hand.)
Paul was the most traveled apostle we have on record. Remember ‘God’s Church is where two or three believers are gathered.’
(1Cor 16:22-24; Let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of, the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.)
Unbelievers who attempt to make Christendom their religion, attempt to make it fit their thinking. Call it the Cain syndrome, because he’s the first on record that did what seemed right: probably thinking it to burdensome to obey. Maybe thinking God should yield to his thinking.
Consider Jesus’ prayer to the Father on behalf of His followers.
(John 17:6-8; I have REVEALED Your name to the men you gave Me out of the world. They belonged to You, and You gave them to Me, and they have OBEYED YOUR WORD. Now they understand that everything you have given Me comes from You, because I have given them the Words You have given Me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.)
We should know truth is revealed, gifted from above. We understand and reject people’s fleshly pride, that leads to their boasting. We boast only in Him. Understand, ‘this agnostic age takes pride in saying we know nothing.’ To know spiritual things sounds prideful to them, but people can’t deny what’s revealed. When God’s truth is revealed, believers obey in the spirit of love.
(John 17:9-10; I am praying on behalf of them. I am NOT praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me, because they belong to You. Everything I have belongs to You, and everything You have belongs to Me, and I have been glorified by them.)
Jesus isn’t praying for people who desire being little gods to themselves; ‘those known to be hardened unbelievers.’
(John 17:11; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them safe in Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be ONE just as we are ONE.)
Jesus may have been physically with them at that moment, but spiritually, He was no longer in the world. His followers are One with Him and God the Father; meaning,’ they strive to think as Jesus.’ See Phil 2:3.
(John 17:12-13; When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in Your Name that You have given Me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. But now I am coming to You, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience My joy completed in themselves.)
THAT JOY is experienced when people are gifted to believe IN. Let’s review the difference in, ‘believing that, and believing IN.’ Believers IN are One, accept the whole word of God as His truth, and practice as Jesus did. Unbelievers think, ‘there’s a god who condones divisionary tangents.’
(John 17:14-19; I, have given them Your Word, and the world has HATED them, because they do not BELONG to the world, just as I do NOT belong to the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but that you KEEP them safe from the evil one. They do not BELONG to the world just as I do not belong to the world. Set them apart in the truth; Your Word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I set Myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart)
Believers are in, but not of the world. Their inner mindset and heart’s desire is to live His Way now; while looking forward to His coming kingdom being established. There is no other Truth Way.