8/17/15

From Gary... New beginnings


Things change; this is a fact!!! Clearly, this is not the 1950's or the 1960's or even the 1970's.  Those born today live in a different world than I was exposed to in the 1950's and following.  And some things are better and some NOT!!!  The statement of the picture above is both true and false at the same time. True, from a human perspective; false from a godly one. Our society is in love with technology and that has changed how we do things (and will continue to do so). However, human beings have not changed; they just sin with different tools. 

The way to heaven is not changed!!!

Acts, Chapter 2 (WEB)
 1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.  2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.  4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.  6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.  7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?  8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?  9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,  10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,  11 Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”  12 They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, “What does this mean?”  13 Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.” 

  14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.  15 For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.  16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 

  17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
  18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
  19 I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
  20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
  21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
  22  “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in your midst, even as you yourselves know,  23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;  24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.  25 For David says concerning him, 
‘I saw the Lord always before my face,
For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
  26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
  27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,
neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
  28 You made known to me the ways of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

  29  “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,  31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.  33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.  34 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 

‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
  35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

  36  “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 
  37  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 


  38  Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”  40 With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” 


  41  Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.  42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.  43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common.  45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.  46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,  47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.

 
Truth remains unchanged!!!

Galatians, Chapter 1 (WEB)
1 Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead),  2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:  3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,  4 who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—  5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 

  6  I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;  7 and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.  8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.  9 As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

So, use whatever communication mediums you feel comfortable with... books, audio tapes, digital recordings, videos, facebook, twitter and yes, even one of the thousands upon thousands of websites on the internet. But, when you do, remember to filter whatever you are exposed to through the lens of the truth of God, because that will never change!!!

From Mark Copeland... "FOLLOWING JESUS WITHOUT DENOMINATIONALISM" Maintaining Unity In The Local Congregation



              "FOLLOWING JESUS WITHOUT DENOMINATIONALISM"

              Maintaining Unity In The Local Congregation

INTRODUCTION

1. The challenge of "Following Jesus Without Denominationalism" to a 
   great extent revolves around the problem of religious division that
   begins in the local church
   a. Every denomination today began as a result of religious division
   b. And religious division normally finds it origin with brethren in
      a local congregation unable to resolve their differences

2. While having the same standard of authority is essential to unity in
   religious matters, I also stated that it alone is insufficient, as 
   suggested in this quote by Barton W. Stone:

   "But should all the professors of Christianity reject all their
   various creeds and names, and agree to receive the Bible alone, and
   be called by no other name than Christian, will this unite them?  
   No, we are fully convinced that unless they all possess the spirit
   of that book and name they are far, very far, from Christian union."
   (As quoted by J. M. Powell, The Cause We Plead:  A Story Of The
   Restoration Movement, 20th Century Christian, 1987, p. 56)

3. It is essential that those who seek to allow the Bible, and in 
   particular the New Testament, to be their standard of authority...
   a. Possess the proper Christian attitudes
   b. To apply those attitudes when handling the Word of God
   -- Otherwise, the "sword of the Spirit" (Ep 6:17) will be abused to
      the detriment of all parties involved

[To appreciate what I mean, in this lesson we shall examine how Paul
dealt with the problem of division in the early church, and the 
solution he offered that we might "maintain the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace."

We begin by first noticing what Paul described as...]

I. A MAJOR CAUSE OF DIVISION

   A. THE SITUATION AT CORINTH...
      1. Paul found it necessary to write "that there be no divisions 
         among you" - 1Co 1:10
      2. There were contentions among them, manifested by breaking up 
         into parties and calling themselves after different men - 
         1Co 1:11-12
      -- Sounds a lot like religious division today, doesn't it?

   B. PAUL'S EVALUATION OF THE PROBLEM OF DIVISION...
      1. As Paul wrote to them, he realized he was dealing with "babes
         in Christ", who instead of being "spiritual" were "carnal" - 
         1Co 3:1-3a
      2. Indeed, the root of their envy, strife, and divisions was 
         their carnality - 1Co 3:3b
      -- Conditions today are not really all that much different; where
         division exists, carnality (or spiritual immaturity) is often 
         a major cause of the problem!

[This is not to say that there are never any substantive issues at 
stake when division occurs.  But any hope for resolving differences 
over such issues is stifled when the parties involved are filled with 
envy and strife.

This may help us appreciate why Paul so frequently focused his 
attention on the development of attitudes which increase the likelihood
of overcoming differences so that unity might prevail.  Let's take a 
look at these...]

II. ATTITUDES FOR MAINTAINING UNITY

   A. TO THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS, PAUL TAUGHT THE VIRTUE OF...
      1. "Lowliness" - Ep 4:2
         a. This word means:
            1) The having a humble opinion of one's self
            2) A deep sense of one's (moral) littleness
            3) Modesty, humility, lowliness of mind
         b. Without this virtue, members in the body begin trying to be
            the "head" of the body, a role reserved only for Christ
      2. "Gentleness" - Ep 4:2
         a. This word can be translated as gentleness, mildness, 
            meekness
         b. It is not a quality of weakness, but of power under control
            1) Moses was a meek man (Num 12:3), but capable of great
               strength and boldness
            2) Jesus was "meek and lowly in heart" (Mt 11:29), but we
               see where He drove the money changers out of the temple
         c. Thus it is being gentle, even when there is the potential
            for being harsh, but gentleness is more conducive for 
            maintaining unity
      3. "Long-suffering" - Ep 4:2
         a. The idea here is one of patience, forbearance, 
            longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs
         b. When the body consists of members who are not perfect, and
            often sin against each other, maintaining unity is not 
            possible unless they are willing to endure each other's
            imperfections
      4. "Bearing with one another in love" - Ep 4:2
         a. Similar to longsuffering, "bearing" means to sustain, to 
            bear, to endure
         b. What makes such "longsuffering" and "forbearance" possible
            is another virtue: "love"
         c. As Paul wrote in his chapter on love:  love suffers long...
            is not provoked" - 1Co 13:4-5
         d. Indeed, the virtue of love is the "tie" that binds all 
            these virtues together - Col 3:12-14
      5. "Endeavor" - Ep 4:3
         a. Displaying these virtues does not come naturally nor easy,
            nor does maintaining unity
         b. Thus the need for much effort, as Paul uses a word which
            means "to exert one's self, endeavor, give diligence"
      -- Only by giving diligence to display ALL these virtues, can we
         hope to "keep (maintain) the unity of the Spirit in the bond 
         of peace" - Ep  4:3

   B. TO THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI, PAUL DIRECTED THEM TO...
      1. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit" - Php 2:3
         a. It is necessary to point out those attitudes we should NOT
            have!
         b. For possessing these attitudes will destroy unity
            1) Both involve "self-centered" attitude
            2) Rather than a "Christ-centered" attitude
         c. Therefore, it is required that we rid ourselves of:
            1) The DESIRE FOR EXALTING SELF ("selfish ambition")
            2) The IMPROPER ESTIMATION OF SELF ("conceit")
         d. In place of these, we should substitute...
      2. "in lowliness of mind" - Php 2:3
         a. In other words, humility - cf. Ep 4:2
         b. This will effectively replace the problem of "conceit"
         c. Humility should be easy to maintain if we remember our own faults
      3. "let each esteem others better than himself" - Php 2:3
         a. This should be easy for us to do...
            1) For we are aware of our own defects, but we do not have
               the same clear view of the defects of others
            2) We can only see their OUTWARD conduct; in our case, we 
               can look WITHIN
            3) We see our own hearts, with all its faults; we cannot so
               look into the hearts of others
         b. In writing to the brethren at Rome, Paul exhorted them to
            outdo one another in this regard - "in honor giving 
            preference to one another" - Ro 12:10b
      4. "look out...for the interest of others" - Php 2:4
         a. This attitude eliminates the problem of "selfish ambition"
         b. It is the attitude of MATURITY, and was the attitude of 
            Christ! - Ro 15:1-3
         c. So it should be the attitude of every Christian!
      -- As strongly suggested by Php 2:1-2, these qualities in verses
         3-4 contribute to the unity that produces fullness of joy!

   C. TO THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA, PAUL...
      1. Cautioned against the improper use of our liberty in Christ
         a. While it is true that we must stand fast in our liberty and
            not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage... - Ga 5:1
         b. ...we should use our liberty as an opportunity to serve one
            another in love - Ga 5:13-14
      2. Otherwise, abuse of our liberty gives the flesh opportunity to
         destroy one another! - Ga 5:15

   D. TO THE CHURCH AT ROME, PAUL WROTE...
      1. We should pursue things that lead to peace and edification - 
         Ro 14:19
      2. That the strong should be willing to bear with the scruples of
         the weak - Ro 14:1,13; 15:1-3
      3. That the weak in faith must be careful not to judge (condemn)
         those whom God has received! - Ro 14:3-4
      -- Such attitudes are necessary, are we will not be able "with 
         one mind and one mouth [to] glorify the God and Father of our 
         Lord Jesus Christ!" - cf. Ro 15:5-7

   E. FINALLY, TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH PAUL MADE IT CLEAR...
      1. That knowledge can puff one up, but it is love that edifies 
         ("builds up", in contrast to knowledge which "puffs up") - 
         1Co 8:1
      2. That we who have liberty in Christ should be careful that we 
         don't use it to the destruction of our brethren who are weak 
         - 1Co 8:9-12
      3. That we should therefore be willing to forego our liberties if
         it can help keep a brother from stumbling - cf. 1Co 8:13; 
         10:31-11:1

CONCLUSION

1. From personal experience, I can attest that:
   a. Where members display these attitudes in addition to their 
      devotion to the "apostles' doctrine"...
   b. ...there will be a congregation of Christians in which love and
      unity will prevail

2. That's not to say there will always be perfect understanding and 
   agreement on every subject
   a. When people from every conceivable background come to Christ, we
      should expect some differences
   b. When there will always be brethren at various levels of spiritual
      growth, we can expect some challenges

3. But if we can...
   a. Agree that the teaching of Christ as expounded in the "apostles'
      doctrine" is our standard of authority in religious matters
   b. Inculcate the Christian attitudes described in this lesson into
      the heart of every member
   ...then we shall be able to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
      bond of peace" (Ep 4:3) as we all continue to "grow in the grace
      and knowledge of Jesus Christ" (2Pe 3:18), to the glory of God!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011