1 Peter (Program #24) – The Elders’ Shepherding and Its Reward (1)

Peter, we all know was one of the original disciples of the Lord Jesus.   He also became an apostle and was very much used by the Lord to bring the church into being in both the Jewish world and the gentile world.  But in addition, he was the elder in Jerusalem.  It was on this basis that he wrote personally to all the elders in various churches in chapter 5 of his first epistle.  His words of exhortation surely were helpful in instructing the elders of various matters concerning how to govern the church.  But if you consider his own life and experience, they are also words of tremendous inspiration as well.

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James (Program #11) – A Life Not Fully According to and for God’s New Testament Economy (2)

The book of James has many wonderful expressions and utterances that many Christians love to quote.  His exhortation on bridling an evil tongue for example, and on other various Christian virtues are the stuff of many good Sunday school lessons.  In chapter 4, we have another admirable example of the practical Christian perfection that James espoused.   He says in verse 13 “Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit; Whereas you do not know the matter of tomorrow, what your life will be; for you are a vapor, which appears for a little while and then disappears. Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will both live and do this or that. ”  Who could argue or take issue that such an expression “if the Lord wills”?  But by comparison we must consider another angle, another perspective. It’s the perspective of the dominant New Testament writer, the apostle Paul, who did not exhort the believers simply to follow God’s will in an objective outward way, but rather to be those that live moment by moment under the influence and direction of the indwelling Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:14, “or as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.“

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Deuteronomy (Program #25) – The Final Exhortation and Charges, The Blessing of Moses

Deuteronomy, the mysterious little book with a very strange name. Actually it means re-speaking or second speaking as we have seen over the past weeks and this is the an account of Moses re-speaking the law with all of the statues and all the ordinances to a new generation of the children of Israel as they were about to enter into the land of Israel, the good land. But incorporated into this book were page after page of serious warnings of the curses that were befall Israel if they were to not listen to the word of Jehovah.

Near the end of the book, there is a long section, chapter 33, called the song of Moses that accounts in poetic form many incorporated in this book and it concludes this way, a very fitting conclusion to the entire book of Deuteronomy.  “So Israel dwelt securely, The fountain of Jacob in solitude, On a land of grain and new wine; And the heavens over him drop their dew. Happy are you, O Israel; who is like you? A people saved by Jehovah, The shield of your help And He who is the sword of your majesty! So your enemies shall come cringing to you, And you shall tread upon their high places.”

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1 Timothy (Program #8) – A Good Minister of Christ

The apostle Paul reached the highest peak in his letter to young Timothy when he wrote at the end of Chapter 3:16 ” And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.”

Surely godliness is a great mystery but in Christ this mystery become manifested. Following this marvelous revelation to Timothy, Paul goes on to warn him of the degradation that was about to befall the church. And then Paul gives Timothy a direct and personal exhortation with some very clear speaking that would equip Timothy to be a genuine minister of the New Testament Economy.

4:6 “If you lay these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, being nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have closely followed.“

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1 Thessalonians (Program #12) – An Exhortation Concerning a Holy Life for the Church Life

Every parent can learn a lot about how to properly care for and raise your children by observing how the apostle Paul care for his spiritual children in 1 & 2 Thessalonians. By the time he comes to Chapter 4 he has a strong and sober warning related to the danger and damage of fornication and immorality. But he does so only after having first nurtured, encouraged and nourished these precious young believers fostering them in the growth of the divine life.  Then as a faithful and exhorting father he brings to them these critical points in these chapters.

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Exodus (Program #171) – Moses Stay With God

After 40 days and 40 nights with God on Mount Sinai, Moses was instructed on how to begin building the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place with man.  But twice in Exodus chapter 24 and again in chapter 35 the Lord cautions even warns Moses and the people not to begin working for Him without first enjoying the Sabbath rest.  Is this just an oddity of the Old Testament dispensation or is this a real and meaningful exhortation for us, God’s New Testament believers?  We will explore the real Sabbath today.

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Philippians (Program #6b) – Magnifying Christ by Living Him (2)

In Philippians 1:20 the Apostle Paul says, “according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be put to shame but with all boldness as always even now Christ shall be magnified in my body whether through life or through death.”  The apostle Paul wrote these words as he was in prison in a Roman jail and his exhortation to the Philippines was to follow his pattern of experiencing and enjoying even magnifying Christ regardless of his outward situation.

As we continue our fellowship from yesterday, another message covering Paul’s experience, magnified Christ by experience Him even through sufferings. There are much more here as we are able to cover a message of remarkable depth and incredible insight and so much encouragement for us.

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2 Corinthians (Program #55) – Final Exhortations, Greetings, and Blessings (2)

The book of 2 Corinthians has a wonderful conclusions.  Paul after unveiling so many aspects of his own living and his own experience of Christ in this book, concludes with this 3-fold blessing.  2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  But this is not a blessing given in a merely religious way.  It’s a blessing that brings us into the very Triune God that Paul himself experienced, enjoyed and even lived out in his daily life.  Grace, love and fellowship were his portion and daily enjoyment of the very Triune God.  May we have Him as such a portion as well.

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2 Corinthians (Program #54) – Final Exhortations, Greetings, and Blessings

The apostle Paul concludes the two long letters to the church in Corinth in a most wonderful, sweet and loving way.  “finally, brothers” he writes in verse 11 of chapter 13, “rejoice, be perfected, be comforted, think the same thing, be at peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  Actually these concluding words, especially verse 11 gives us a marvelous summary or recap of all the crucial points of the whole book of 2 Corinthians.

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