2/8/14

From Ben Fronczek... Exactly Who is Jesus Anyway (Part 2)


Exactly Who is Jesus Anyway  (Part 2)
 
By Ben Fronczek

Most all of us have read and heard that Jesus is God’s one and only son. Quite frankly there is no other quite like Jesus.

Yes in one sense we are all God’s children in that He created us, and gave us life, but Jesus is so much more than that. Somehow by miracle God’s Spirit impregnated a virgin by the name of Mary. Exactly how that happened no one really knows, but it did happen. It is the only time in history a virgin woman was ever impregnated without the seed of a human male, and it will probably never happen again.

The skeptic may say, ‘Prove it.’   I personally cannot. I can only show you the testimony of eye witness who made these claims in the Holy Scriptures.

I personally believe some of the best evidence is the fact that this whole event of God coming in the flesh was foretold or predicted years earlier.

Centuries before Jesus ever came on the scene the prophet Isaiah wrote down a prophecy that came from God Himself. In Isaiah 7:14 he wrote,  

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”  (or God with us)   

So 700 years before it ever happened God told His people through the prophet Isaiah that one day this miracle would occur – ‘A virgin would conceive and God would come in the flesh.
Through the Old Testament prophets Micah, God lets his people know that He would be born in Bethlehem. (5:2)

The Old Testament is just full of prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus. I read online  that Jesus actually fulfilled some 360 Old Testament prophecies. Either you are going to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, as God incarnate, or our God in the flesh or you’ll choose not to believe in this wonderful glorious event.  I choose to believe. There is too much evidence for me to deny it.
As I thought about this lesson I kept coming back to the question, why? Why was it so important for God to come to us in this manner? Why did He choose to leave all the splendor and majesty of Heaven  behind to come in contact with all the sorrow, and pain, the corruption and evil of this world. I mean, are we really that important, that significant  for Him to leave all that behind and experience poverty, and hunger, and temptation, and arrogant know it all people, as well as the pain and suffering He knew He would have to go through?  Are we really that important to Him?
Apparently we are; even though not one of us is good enough to make to heaven on our own.  He apparently thought it was worth His effort to come to us in person and make things right.
But then the question comes to my mind again, ‘But why? Why couldn’t you just do something from up there? Why expose yourself to all this? You were born in a barn. Not to long after your parents had to take you and flee to Egypt because King Herod wanted kill you and so he killed all the boys 3 years and under. You life was a struggle from the very beginning until they nailed You the crossed which You died on?   WHY go through all that?

Here are a few reasons I came up with; why He chose to come to us in the flesh, as a man.

To begin with it all stems back to His amazing love for each one of us. Simply put, you and I are worth that much to Him. He was willing give it all up and leave it all behind, and endure all  the evil that this world could dish out and experience the pain and suffering, even death on the cross because He loves every one of us that much. So, first and foremost it was because of His unquenchable love for us that He came in the flesh.

But why? Why does He love me, or any of us for that matter? Probably because He created us, He put life in us. We are His. He made us all special and unique. And because He is God it is His choice to love us.

So why come in the flesh; what is the significance?

#1) So that we could come to understand a little more about Him

Last week I read an interesting discussion between Jesus and His disciple Philip in John 14: Where Philip said,  

“Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.””

The point of what He was telling Philip is, ‘you want to know what God the Father is like, just look at me! If you’ve seen Me you’ve see the Father. If you what to know what He is like, how He feels about things, how He acts or reacts to things, if you want to know how much He cares about you just look at me.   

”Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

The letter to the Hebrews starts off by stating,  

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.”

Do you want to learn more about God? Study everything you can about Jesus. Jesus is God but in a human body.

#2. ‘A second reason that God became man was so that He might be able to identify with us. God knows everything about us 

 – even the number of hairs on our heads. It is possible to KNOW a lot about someone but not  UNDERSTAND who that person is or how the feel in a situation.

Jesus understand us and knows what we are going through because He has gone through it all himself. We can’t say, ‘God you don’t know what it like to hurt or feel hungry or cold or lonely or bored. You don’t know what it feels like to hit your thumb with a hammer or stub your little toe in the middle of the night. Or you don’t know what it feels like to be tempted by food or by the opposite sex, or what it feels like to be teased or made fun of or to be falsely accused or have friends and family turn their back on you when you need the most. God knows about those things because He experienced all of them in Jesus. He knows what it is to be tempted, abandoned and mistreated.

The author in Heb 4 wrote,  1

4 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (NLT)

Did you get the last part of that verse? Jesus understand what we go through, He can empathize with us and therefore we don’t have to approach God’s throne with fear. Why? Because He is more incline to show us grace and mercy because He understands.

King James V of Scotland would on occasion lay aside the royal robe of king and dress as a peasant. In disguise, he could move freely about the land, making friends and entering into their difficulties, appreciating their handicaps, sympathizing with them in their sorrow. When as king he sat again upon the throne, he was better able to rule over them with fatherly compassion and mercy. God shared in the human experience and thereby is better able to accept and show us mercy and helps us. Isn’t that wonderful?

#3) God also came in the flesh to save us.

The Word of God makes it abundantly clear that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin. We read in Hebrews 10:4-7 

“It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 That is why, when Christcame into the world, He said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But You have given Me a body to offer. 6 You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. 7 Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do Your will, O God— as is written about Me in the Scriptures.’” NLT

Scripture also declares that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22).  Animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were really not good enough, they were only a temporary fix until God Himself came in the flesh, shed His blood, and died on that cross for us.

He was the perfect Lamb who was sacrifice for us. Listen to what Peter writes in I Peter 1:18-19: 

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began, but He has now revealed Him to you in these last days.” NLT

God, in the state of His eternal glory, cannot die. Therefore it became necessary for God to become a man so that He could put away sin by sacrificing Himself (Hebrews 9:26).
What an honor it is to have a God who loves us so much!

One of the ancient kings of Persia loved to mingle with his people in disguise. Once, dressed as a poor man, he descended the long flight of stairs, dark and damp to the tiny cellar where the fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace.. The king sat down beside him and began to talk. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse black bread and a jug of water and they ate and drank. The king went away but returned again and again for his heart was filled with sympathy for the lonely man. They became very good friends as time passed. At last the king thought, “I’ll tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask.” So he did, but the fireman didn’t ask for a thing. The king was astonished and said, “Don’t you realize that I can give you anything—a city, a throne?” The man gently replied, “I understand your Majesty. But you have already given the greatest gift a man could receive. You left your palace to sit with me here in this dark and lonely place. You could give nothing more precious. You have given yourself and that is far more than I could ever deserve.”  God did the same thing! He came to us in this dark world.

God gave us Himself in Jesus. Because HE loves us, and wanted to He show Himself to us. He got to know us better; what we go through and feel. And then He allowed Himself to become the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our sin. And now He is ready to adopt us as His children and make us His heirs. No cost to us, He just wants our trust, belief, faith, and love. Wow, what a God! He offers us so much and has given us so much. Let us praise and love HIM forever!

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... ETHEL & CASSIE

ETHEL & CASSIE   

Some of you might know that I live with a little Yorkie called Cassie. She’s maybe seven inches tall, eighteen inches long and weighs about seven pounds. I bought her for my Ethel something over seven years ago and the two of them finally got along famously until Ethel went away. She didn’t want to go; she just couldn’t stay. Cassie—we called her after my mother—well, actually, my mother’s name was Catherine and only her peers called her “Cassie”. We called her nothing but “mother”. Well, that’s not exactly what we called her. Our working class speech conventions helped, no doubt, by phonetic laziness, had shortened it to “mor”. Fathers were called “far”. (As in, "Where duz your far work?" or, "I saw your mor at the shop a wee while ago.")

In any case my little dog Cassie—I call her “my” little dog not in the sense of  “ownership” for if either of us owns the other she owns me. She’s bi-lingual, fluent in Dogese and English. Her proficiency in English has grown exponentially in the last four years; her vocabulary is massive and she has mastered the idioms while I’m still a complete dunce in Dogese, despite Cassie’s patient instruction, which I notice has fallen off over this past year and more. I can speak a few Dogese words that I can’t spell—that’s it. Of course I don’t even know if Dogese has an alphabet. As best I can determine, Dogese is only a spoken language. I don't know, maybe that’s a good thing.

I need hardly tell you that it gobsmacked me when I first heard her speak to me. “Do you think we’ll be eating any time soon?” the voice said, “I’m close to starvin’. My ribs are starin’ at each other.” It was a small voice, clear enough but anything but booming and since I don't hear very well I often doubt what I hear or think I hear. In any case, I looked around (I live with our daughter Linda and her family in their basement—she calls it the “first floor,” her husband, Stan, calls it “the dungeon”)—as I said, I looked around and there was no one but Cassie and me. I stared at her for a minute and she finally nodded, “Yes, I know, a bit of a shock. It’s me. So now you know.”

I sat down stunned, she let me chew on it even while I spluttered things like “but…” or “This must be a…” But just then my mind leaped back several years to puzzling experiences that might have made me suspicious if the truth hadn’t seemed so preposterous. Like several times when I walked into the bedroom and Ethel was talking earnestly to Cassie. (Ethel had to spend a lot of time in bed in the last years.) I thought I’d heard two voices and once when I was opening the door I was close to convinced that I heard Ethel say, “Shush, here’s Jim.” Then there was the time when I heard the two of them laughing (I now know it must have been the two of them) at the antics of some characters on the Andy Griffiths Show. By the time I got the door open, though Ethel was still laughing, Cassie had burrowed under the blanket. I ran over, pulled back the blanket and Cassie had that happy but ordinary dog look—you know, tongue out, bright eyes, button black nose and…ordinary.

I looked at the two of them, they glanced at each other, Ethel giggled and Cassie buried her head under Ethel’s arms, her wee body shaking. I now know it wasn’t from effort at snuggling in close to Ethel—the little rascal was muffling her laughter. What a dope I was. As soon as I left the room Ethel began to squeal with laughter, I ducked my head back in and she pointed at the TV—or was it at me since the TV sat right inside beside the door? But how could I have known? As the days went by they must have taken more care and, anyway, the months became more sobering and it was getting near time for Ethel to leave.

The last time I caught a glimpse of anything of that sort was one day I came home, Ethel was in the wheelchair and tearful, Cassie was up on her hind legs on the wee tabletop, front paws on Ethel’s shoulders with her head snuggled into her neck. Perhaps I should have known there was something between them that was beyond special.

It took me several months to come to terms with Cassie’s giftedness that was way beyond just being able to speak, and speak English. To do that she must be able to—well, never mind—there’s more to speaking English than speaking English.

I tried to tell Linda and our younger son George that Cassie spoke English but how can you get people to take you seriously when you say things like that? I brought them in to see Cassie and I asked her to say something, anything, but she’d just put on that ordinary-dog act and scratch her ear or jump up on to their laps, some such thing. Linda and George were only there because I insisted that they come down and listen to her but the humor soon wore off—In her silence Cassie triumphed.
 
Maybe I'll continue this. I'm not sure.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com

From Mark Copeland.... Introduction To The Epistle ( Titus 1:1-4)







                         "THE EPISTLE TO TITUS"

                  Introduction To The Epistle (1:1-4)

INTRODUCTION

1. As the apostles of Christ fulfilled their ministry, it lead to the
   creation of churches...
   a. Initially established by the preaching of the gospel - cf. Ac 14:
      1-21
   b. Further established by following up - cf. Ac 14:21-23

2. From Ac 14:21-22, we learn that the process of follow up involved...
   a. Strengthening the souls of the disciples
   b. Exhorting them to continue in the faith
   c. Appointing elders in the church

3. The apostles did not always do the follow up themselves...
   a. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus - 1Ti 1:1-3
   b. He also left Titus on the island of Crete - Tit 1:5

[By studying such epistles as Titus, we learn what was expected for
churches to becoming established.  With that in mind, we begin this
series of lessons based on Titus, starting with a basic introduction...]

I. THE AUTHOR OF THE EPISTLE  (1:1-3)

   A. PAUL...
      1. Known formerly as Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of the church - Ac 9:1-2
      2. Who became known as the "apostle to the Gentiles" - Ac 9:15
      3. Author of half of the books of the New Testament

   B. HIS SELF-IDENTIFICATION...
      1. A bondservant (slave) of God
         a. So James described himself - Jm 1:1
         b. Also Peter and Jude - 2Pe 1:1; Jude 1:1
         c. Paul normally identified himself as a bondservant of Christ,
            only here does he describe himself as bondservant of God
            - cf. Ro 1:1; Php 1:1
      2. An apostle of Jesus Christ
         a. apostolos - a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with
            orders - Thayer
         b. An apostle chosen by Christ Himself - Ga 1:1
      3. Paul expresses his objective as an apostle - Tit 1:1-3
         a. Proclaim the faith of God's elect (chosen people)
         b. Preach the truth that leads to holy living
         c. Nurture hope for eternal life
            1) Which God promised before time began
            2) And has now made manifest through preaching, as God
               commanded Paul

[The epistle itself was written toward fulfilling Paul's objective as an
apostle.  Assisting him in fulfilling his objective will be the one to
whom the epistle was written...]

II. THE RECIPIENT OF THE EPISTLE (1:4)

   A. TITUS, A TRUE SON IN OUR COMMON FAITH...
      1. Calling him "a true son" suggests he was a convert of Paul
         - cf. 1Co 4:15
      2. There is no mention of Titus by name in the book of Acts
      3. But we can glean some things about him from the epistles of
         Paul

   B. HIS BACKGROUND...
      1. He was a Gentile by birth - Ga 2:3
      2. He accompanied Paul to Jerusalem during the controversy over
         circumcision - Ac 15:1-2; Ga 2:1-5
      3. During Paul's third journey Titus became his personal emissary
         to the church at Corinth
         a. First seeking to learn how they received his first letter
            1) When Titus did not return to Troas as expected, Paul went
               on to Macedonia - 2Co 2:12-13
            2) There Paul and Titus finally connected, much to Paul's
               relief when Titus reported how well he was received by
               the Corinthians - 2Co 7:5-7,13-15
         b. Paul then sent Titus and two others back to Corinth - 2 Co 8:16-9:5
            1) Bearing the letter we call Second Corinthians
            2) Exhorting the brethren to complete their collection for
               the needy saints in Jerusalem

   C. HIS PRESENT AND FUTURE MINISTRY...
      1. At the time of Paul's epistle to Titus - Tit 1:5
         a. He had been left on the island of Crete by Paul
         b. To "set in order the things that are lacking"
      2. If Paul's plans as expressed in this epistle materialized...
         - Tit 3:12
         a. Titus left soon after the arrival of Artemas or Tychicus
         b. He met Paul at Nicopolis in northwest Greece
      3. We last read of Titus that he had gone to Dalmatia (in modern
         Croatia) during the final days of Paul's life - 2Ti 4:10

[Titus proved to be a true son to Paul, also a "partner and fellow
worker" (2Co 8:23).  Now let's consider what we can about...]

III. THE TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING

   A. THE TIME AND PLACE IS UNCERTAIN...
      1. Not all are in agreement as to when and where it was written
      2. It really doesn't matter in the final analysis

   B. ONE POSSIBLE SCENARIO...
      1. Following his first imprisonment in Rome the apostle Paul was
         released and allowed to travel for several years before being
         arrested again
      2. The following itinerary has been proposed by the Ryrie Study
         Bible:
         a. Paul was released from his house arrest in Rome (where we
            find him at the end of Acts - Ac 28:30-31), probably because
            his accusers did not choose to press their charges against
            him before Caesar
         b. Paul visited Ephesus, left Timothy there to supervise the
            churches
         c. He went on to Macedonia (NE Greece) and from there he wrote
            1 Timothy - 1Ti 1:3
         d. He visited Crete, left Titus there to supervise those
            churches, and went to Nicopolis in Achaia (NW Greece) - Ti
            3:12
         e. Either from Macedonia or Nicopolis, he wrote this letter to
            Titus
         f. He visited Troas (2Ti 4:13), where he was suddenly
            arrested, taken to Rome and imprisoned
         g. During this second imprisonment, he wrote 2 Timothy before
            he was finally beheaded
      3. It cannot be established with certainty, but it possible that
         Paul wrote this letter from Corinth, sometime around 63-66 A.D.

[Now let's examine...]

IV. THE PURPOSE AND CONTENT OF THE EPISTLE

   A. THE PURPOSE...
      1. This letter is written to a young preacher assigned a difficult
         task
      2. The churches on the island of Crete were in need of maturation,
         and this letter is designed to assist Titus in that work
      3. Therefore, Paul wrote to encourage Titus:
         a. To see that qualified elders were appointed in every city
            - Tit 1:5-9
         b. To preach things befitting "sound doctrine" - Tit 2:1
         c. To exhort the brethren to be "zealous for good works" - Ti
            2:14; 3:1,8,14

   B. THE CONTENT...
      1. The epistle is unique in that every chapter includes the phrase
         "good work(s)" - Tit 1:16; 2:7,14; 3:1,8,14
      2. Here is a brief outline of the epistle:
         a. Introduction - 1:1-4
         b. Instructions concerning church organization - 1:5-16
            1) Qualifications of elders - 1:5-9
            2) Dealing with the insubordinate - 1:10-16
         c. Instructions concerning Christian conduct - 2:1-3:11
            1) For older men and women - 2:1-3
            2) For younger women and men - 2:4-8
            3) For servants - 2:9-14
            4) For brethren in general - 3:1-11
         d. Conclusion - 3:12-15

CONCLUSION

1. With such an emphasis on good works, an appropriate theme for this
   epistle would be:

                        "Maintain Good Works!"

2. In keeping with such a theme, I offer the following passage as the
   key verse of the epistle:

   "This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm
   constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful
   to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to
   men." - Tit 3:8

3. As we proceed through this epistle, it will be my prayer and aim that
   our study will help...
   a. To "set in order the things that are lacking"
   b. To encourage one another to be "careful to maintain good works"

Note finally Paul's greeting to Titus:  "Grace, mercy, and peace from
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior" (Tit 1:4).  Are you
lacking in that wonderful grace, mercy, and peace...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Gary... The NEWS is...


Good news, Bad news; it seems like every time I see one of these there is a "twist".  Today, our educational system teaches that everyone is right.  I have never understood how this can be; because right is correct and wrong is not.  Must be that "any" standard is acceptable today. But, is that a "new" idea- not at all.  Hundred of years BEFORE the birth of Jesus, these words were recorded....


Isaiah, chapter 44
 6 This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says:
“I am the first, and I am the last;
and besides me there is no God.

  7 Who is like me?
Who will call,
and will declare it,
and set it in order for me,
since I established the ancient people?
Let them declare the things that are coming,
and that will happen.
  8 Don’t fear,
neither be afraid.
Haven’t I declared it to you long ago,
and shown it?
You are my witnesses.
Is there a God besides me?
Indeed, there is not.

I don’t know any other Rock.”


God is exclusive; either you worship HIM or you don't.  He ALONE is GOD!!!  Science is not god, your spouse or your job or that large bank account you just might happen to have.  The one and ONLY GOD is revealed through the Bible.  Anything else is just some whim of someone who rejects the ALMIGHTY.  Today, we all have an opportunity to determine to follow THE ONE TRUE GOD; chose to do it before it is too late.