1 Corinthians (Program #38) – Dealing with Eating of Sacrifices to Idols (3)

1 Corinthians chapter 9 shows us two very significant factors in the ministry of the apostle Paul. First we see how pure he was. Pure in a sense that he had only one motive to be wholly in Christ and for Christ. He sought nothing for his personal gain. Second Paul was also faithful. Faithful because he saw his commission from the Lord in the gospel is a kind of stewardship with which he had been entrusted. Listen to these verses in 1 Corinthians

9:16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have no boast, for necessity is laid upon me; for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. If I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a stewardship.”

To read words such as these can’t help but convict us because we all become keenly aware of the impurity of our motives when we receive light from God’s word. But rather be discouraged we should take heart. For in other of Paul’s writing he opens the door to help all of God’s children to as such pure living and in such a faithful serving.

In Galatians
2:20 “I am crucified with Christ;”

and in this book 1 Corinthians chapter

6:17 “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.”

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1 Corinthians (Program #9) – The Fellowship of Christ

A superficial reading of 1 Corinthians often leads to the conclusion that is a book focus mostly on outward problems and situations. Actually this book is one of the riches in the New Testament with marvelous passages touching the profound aspects of Christ, the Spirit and the church. The first 3 chapters are particularly profound with a number of unique and significant terms employ by the apostle Paul as he ministered the riches of Christ to a church that surely was in need of an infusion of the divine life. Such a ministry is found in verse  1:9, where Paul says “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.“

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Acts (Program #63) – The Propagation in Asia Minor and Europe through the Ministry of Paul’s Company (29)

The Apostle Paul, God’s righteous servant, finds himself in a kind of courtroom being accused before the Roman governor by a professional orator, an attorney of great skill. Yet, Paul again seizes the opportunity to stand against corrupt politics and the hypocrisy of the day’s religion. Stay with us today as we see a faithful and sure word from the book of Acts that has a piercing relevance to the situation today on the life study of the Bible.

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Acts (Program #38) – The Propagation in Asia Minor and Europe through the Ministry of Paul’s Company (4)

Acts 13:34 is a verse that has troubled many Bible scholars and translators over the years. In it, Paul says that God will give us the holy and faithful things of David. What are these things? And, how do we receive these holy and faithful things that God desires to give us? Stay with us today for an enlightening life study of the Bible.

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Luke (Program #21) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in Galilee (12)

The gospel of Luke reveals the Jubilee prophesied in the Old Testament; the release of the oppressed from their bondage and captivity and the return of God’s people to their rightful portion of the enjoyment of God.  Yet even as He proclaimed the Jubilee to His disciples and began to apply it to the oppressed people, it was clear that they themselves were far from it in their own experience.  likely we also may rejoice at the hearing of such a word but are we living in its reality?  Well, take heart.  For just as the Lord was patient and faithful with the disciples to lead them step by step into the Jubilee, He is doing the same with us.

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Lamentations (Program #2) – The Third Lamentations

The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah after he had witnessed the devastation that had befallen on the nation and people of Israel.  Altogether he includes five lamentations in this short book.   The third of which is perhaps the most important for us, God’s New Testament people because this lamentation is one of the prophets being identified with the rebellious people of God, the apostate nation of Israel.  Even though Jeremiah himself had remained utterly faithful to the Lord.  Yet because he still was an Israelite, God was demonstrating to him that every true prophet must identify with God’s people even in their chastisement and suffering.  But another striking element of this lamentation bears a uniquely New Testament quality and even hints of God’s desire to restore His chosen people, even to impart Himself to the deepest part of their being.

With that in view, now listen closely to Jeremiah’s own words in this third lamentation. “It is Jehovah’s loving-kindness that we are not consumed, For His compassions do not fail;They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; Therefore I hope in Him. Jehovah is good to those who wait on Him, To the soul that seeks Him.“

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Jeremiah (Program #11) – A Word concerning Israel’s History

On Mount Sinai, Israel was in the dawning of a divine revelation. God had revealed the law to them as a portrait, a picture of Himself. And opened His heart’s desire to them that He would be everything to them, even a Husband that they would be a people to Him and eventually become even His duplication. But the history of Israel reveals how quickly they have departed from this revelation and this sunrise soon became a sunset, leaving Israel in darkness and under the chastising hand of Jehovah. This was the situation when God had to call a young boy to be a prophet for Him. Jeremiah was raised up by the Lord because Jehovah found no one among His kings, princes or even His priests that would be faithful to Him and speak His word to the people. To see Israel in the sunset of the divine revelation becomes a sober warning to us today – never to forsake Him, the fountain of living waters.

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2 John (Program #1) – The Walk in Truth and Love

The apostle John in his gospel and first epistle inoculated the believers with the mending ministry concerning the person of Christ against the heresies regarding Christ’s deity and humanity.  Because of such an inoculating truth, we see in 2 and 3 John that he and all those who had known this truth love those who were faithful to this truth.

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1 & 2 Chronicles (Program #9) – A Concluding Word to the Supplement to the History of the Kings of Judah

The kings of Judah were faithful to Jehovah, at least in part they held on to Jerusalem, the ground that God had given them for their worship.  They also kept allegiance at least outwardly to the word of God, which was His law.  The law of Mose, in two sections was God’s way in the Old Testament of both exposing man as well as revealing the divine plan for man to express God, bear His image and be His testimony.  In the end, God’s people, Israel were unable to keep either the moral law of God, the ten commandments or the ceremonials of God.  And the result was that they eventually lost the good land entirely and lost their enjoyment of God’s portion.  This is a strong warning to us but also as we look into these two aspects of the law, there is a great hope and we hope to bring that out in today’s program.

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1 John (Program #16) – Conditions of the Divine Fellowship (9)

John first epistle as a continuation of his gospel stresses the eternal life. And specifically the fellowship or flow of this divine life that is available for all of us as His children to experience.

But though our salvation is unconditional there are conditions for us to stay in the fellowship of life experimentally. The first of this condition is found in chapter one and this is a basic requirement for every believer to maintain their enjoyment of Christ as life.

1 John 1:7, 9
7 “But if we walk in the light as He 1is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.”

9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Keeping sure account by confessing our sins before God is vitally important. But John brings us another important condition for maintaining the fellowship of life and that is to love the brothers.

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