The Days After The Day of Pentecost (Sunday Morning Jan 5, 2025)

Learning from the early church

The lessons of the first days since the church was formed are instructive in what we should be doing as a congregation of believers in this new year

“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.”

Acts 2:42-43

Acts chapter 2 records the birth of the church on the day of Pentecost. 10 days after Jesus ascended on Mount Olives, about 120 disciples join together in prayer in the upper room of a building in Jerusalem. They were in there in one accord in one place. The Holy Spirit descended on them with the sound of a rushing wind and what looked like tongues of fire on each of them. And the disciples started speaking in different languages. People from across the world who came in to see the commotion heard the disciples who were all from their speak in their languages in a miraculous occurrence. Peter rose up and shared a powerful message that led the hearers to respond by asking how they could be saved. 3000 people were added to the church that day. I want to speak about the next few verses of what happened after the first day of that revival meeting.  

1. Apostolic teaching

Apostolic teaching or as some translations call it, the apostle’s doctrine. It's basically what the apostles taught the early disciples. And today we have it in written form. The instructions for life and living that came to them in the form of spiritual concepts and practical instructions for life. The apostles taught that the prophecies of God about the Messiah were fulfilled in Christ and what the Kingdom of God meant and how our lives out to be. These teachings are recorded in the writings of the new testament: the historical books: the gospels and The Acts, the letters and the book of prophecy — Revelation. We need to have a zeal for the word of God. Read more, study more, and meditate on it more.

2. Fellowship (communion or koinonia)

What is described next is true fellowship; the true sharing of lives. Not saying "hi" or having a rushed cup of coffee together. Not a 10 min chat and a smile. True sharing of lives. Does your fellow brothers know of your struggles? Do you know theirs? Do they know your challenges? Do they know your desires? Do they know what the Lord is speaking to you about? Do they know enough about you to pray accurately for your biggest needs? Do they know enough about you to provide any help you may need appropriately? Do you know details about their lives and their walk with God?

When we grow in fellowship with one another, we will know all this and more. Our lives will be deeply intertwined. We have different personalities and these are easier for some than for others. However, as we grow in relationship with God, he desires that we grow in deep relationship with one another as well. Let us continue meeting one another and spurring them on in the faith. Let us recognize the body of Christ as being made of all blood-bought children of God, not those from this church alone. 

3. Breaking of bread

This probably meant both sharing a meal with your brother and sisters and the spiritual partaking of the Lord's Supper. It is a deeper level of the sharing of lives between Christian believers. When we come together in a simple meal together, it becomes a blessing. Don't wait till there is an opportunity to put together a major feast. Invite other believers to share in whatever you'd eat. Spend time praising God over your table. This glorifies God. 

4. Prayers

Since the Bible specifically mentioned this in plural. Many types of prayers are recorded in the Bible: supplications, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving. 

“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,”

1 Timothy 2:1

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”

Ephesians 6:18

Our Christian life and ministry is built on the foundation of prayer. What we need is more love and more power in our life. Without prayer we become loveless and without love we become a clashing symbol or a sounding gong: we make sounds, but there will be no life in us. God wants us to pray with prayers of confession, prayers of consecration, prayers for healing, prayers for others (intercession), prayers of adoration, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers for specific requests. We ought to pray more and pray more deeply. This year, we will be encouraging everyone to pray more, first individually and then as a body.

5. Sharing and Charity

“And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”

Acts 2:44-45

This part of scripture speaks about the early church in Jerusalem selling all they had, believing the Lord's coming was imminent, and sharing with those that were in need. The Jerusalem church that followed this soon ended up being the poorest among believers and the worldwide church at that time was encouraged to make collections on behalf of those in Jerusalem, clearly showing us that God wants us to be wiser. He does not expect us to share everything we have and give to the poor in this age. 

What we should learn from this incident is that we ought to also be aware of the needs of our fellow saints and share with them, helping them as God enables us. Do not close your eyes to those that are in lack, especially your brother or sister in the Lord. This is pleasing to God.

6. Unity

“Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,”

Acts 2:46

They continued with one mind in the temple. They broke bread from house to house.

It is very important that we be of one mind. It also seems to be very difficult in practice since people are different; they have different priorities, preferences, and personalities. The way to accomplish this is to have the same mind that was in Christ, who humbled Himself and did not seek His own. (Phil 2:5 onwards). Often we divide ourselves with minor doctrinal differences. God wants us to focus on His bigger plan, His purposes, His commission while being charitable to one another. That will help us move forward in unity.

7. Outreach

“praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Acts 2:47

They maintained connection with one another, without breaking their relationship with those outside the body of Christ. Seeing the love in their lives, the joy in the midst of suffering, the peace in the midst of trouble, chaos, and persecution, those outside wanted to be a part of it. Our purpose is to reach out to those outside. Maintain connection with those outside Christ's body and seek to reach out to them.

This new year, let us commit to these goals. To grow in the study of the Word of God, fellowship, prayer, sharing and charity, unity, and reaching out. May that help initiate a fresh move of the LORD in our midst. Praise the Lord!

Redemptive Names of God in Christ - 2 (SUNDAY MORNING Dec 29, 2024)

God’s redemptive names are fulfilled in Christ!

He Himself is our peace, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our ever present God.

We are continuing our study on the redemptive names of God in Christ. In the previous session we looked at the following names of God:

• Jehovah Rohi - The LORD is our Shepherd

• Jehovah Rapha - The LORD our Healer

• Jehovah Nissi - The LORD our banner of victory

• Jehovah Jireh - The LORD our Provider

We are going to be looking at 4 more names of God.

5 - JEHOVAH SHALOM - THE LORD MY PEACE

The book of Judges in the Bible records the time in Israel's history after the time of Moses and before the time of the kings in the Bible. This period is characterized by a constant cycle:

• The people of Israel rebel against God

• God allows them to be oppressed by foreign enemies

• God raises a judge

• God delivers them from the oppressors

At a time like that, Israel was oppressed by the Midianites, who were so numerous and came with an uncountable number of camels. They would ravage Israel and leave no crops, no produce, no food in all the land. At a time like that, Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to perhaps hide a little food from the marauding Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him and called him, "O valiant warrior. The Lord is with you." The salutation was strange; Gideon was hiding and was not showing a lot of valor. And Gideon objected, saying that if the Lord was with Israel, they wouldn't be so oppressed. The Angel of the Lord comforted Gideon and promised to deliver Israel using him. When Gideon offered an offering of food to the Angel, the Angel consumed the offering by sending fire, an indication that the Angel was a revelation of God, because only God accepts worship. Gideon built an altar unto the Lord and worshipped God.

“Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”

Judges 6:24

This revelation of God is also fulfilled in Christ. Christ not only brought peace vertically between man and God, but also horizontally between man and fellow men.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," 

Rom 5:1

“For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,”

Ephesians 2:14

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6 NASB1995

In Gideon's weakness, God promised to use him, for His strength is made perfect in weakness. Also, it is heartening to note that God doesn’t look at Gideon’s current condition, but at what God is able to make him through His power to fulfill His purpose. Hallelujah!

6 - JEHOVAH TSIDKENU – THE LORD MY RIGHTEOUSNESS

In the time of king Zedekiah, God delivered a prophecy to Israel through Prophet Jeremiah, which he incidentally restated almost identically. 

The name Zedekiah itself means God is my righteousness. However, he wasn't a good king and did not live like God was his righteousness. In response to this, God assured His people that the Lord will raise a righteous Branch, a prophecy about Jesus. And He will be called by the name, "Jehovah Tsidkenu, or God our Righteousness."

“In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."

Jeremiah 23:6

“In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’”

Jeremiah 33:16

 Here in an almost identical prophecy we see that the name of the city (or people) will be called "Jehovah Tsidkenu" a remarkable assurance that God will place His name upon the people that please Him. The church as the bride of Christ, takes upon ourselves the name of Christ. Hallelujah!

This promise is of course fulfilled in Christ as we see in the following verses.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”

1 Corinthians 1:30

Praise be to God our Righteousness!

7 - JEHOVAH M'KKADESH – THE LORD SANCTIFIES ME

The entire book of Leviticus is dedicated to holiness, that is through consecration. It's ceremonial purity, which is a shadow of true holiness. The word "holy" itself means "set apart unto God."  

“You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

Leviticus 20:7-8

God is a holy God and requires us to be holy. But we do not become holy on our own, but by the continued work of sanctification in our life. When we become God's children when we repent and put our faith in Christ, we are instantly justified, or in other words "made righteous." Sanctification is a lifelong activity as God enables us to walk in obedience to His word, by the power of His Holy Spirit. 

Sanctification speaks both about the cleansing of the effects of our sin and removal of sin. In the former sense, it is an instantaneous result occurring at the time of conversion, in the latter sense, it is a continuous, ongoing activity. 

 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”

1 Corinthians 1:30

 “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

 Hebrews 9:13-14 NASB1995

“but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:7-9

 8 - JEHOVAH SHAMMAH – THE LORD IS THERE FOR ME

The prophet Ezekiel, after prophesying about the ruin of Jerusalem and surrounding nations, calls for repentance and prophesies about a restoration of Israel and her future glory. This prophecy speaks about God's new covenant relationship with His people and the glory of the future temple and city of God. The final verse of the book of Ezekiel prophesies the presence of God in the city.

“The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The Lord is there.’ ”

Ezekiel 48:35

God is always there with us. Jesus Christ promised that He will be with us. In every place at every time. The Lord is ever present with us, including during the darkest hours in our life. He never once departs from our side, even though we might not always acknowledge or are conscious of His presence. 

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.””

Matthew 1:21-23 NASB1995

 “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

Matthew 28:20

 As we meditate on these names of God that are fulfilled in Christ, may we experience the restorative, redemptive nature of God. In Christ, God restores and rebuilds in our life what is lost or broken. He is Yehovah, the one Who was, Who is, Who will be. Praise be to God.

Redemptive Names of God in Christ - 1 (SUNDAY MORNING Dec 22, 2024)

God gives great importance to names in general. We read about people whose names changed, such as Abram to Abraham and so on. God's name is also very special and important. Understanding the meaning of God's name gives us a very deep insight into the nature of God, His attributes, His person, His power, His greatness. His character is revealed through His name. Studying the names of God is a wonderful and enriching activity; we ought to spend time trying to learn about God's name investigating the rich meaning behind each of God's names.

 Many names are used in the scriptures to speak about God. Some of these names are descriptive names of God. They show His character and self-sufficiency. There are certain names that are known as "redemptive names" of God. These are names that God uses to describe the redemptive work that God performs in the lives of His people. These names of God in Hebrew associates a redemptive action of God with the only proper name associated with God in the Bible: "Jehovah" or "Yahweh."

 JEHOVAH

“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ (Exodus 3:14) ”

 All of the redemptive names of God and associated with the word, Jehovah, Yehovah, or Yahweh. Even though we use such names to call , it is not clear what the actual pronunciation of this name is. In the Hebrew language, it is written with the consonants Y-H-W-H, but the word itself was seldom pronounced. So we do not know how it was to be pronounced. Bible scholars assigned the consonants of the generic name Adonai: "A," "O," and "A" to pronounce Y-H-W-H as Jehovah.

The name Jehovah speaks about God's eternal nature and self-existence. "I AM WHO I AM" or "I AM THAT I AM." 

In this study, in addition to introducing everyone to the Jehovah names of God, I want to point out their fulfilment in Jesus. As the Bible says,

"For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form (Col 2:9)"

 1 - JEHOVAH ROHI – THE LORD MY SHEPHERD

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1)

David was a shepherd boy who became the second king of Israel. He saw his role of king of Israel being one of shepherding a nation. He saw himself as Israel's shepherd and wrote about God also being the Shepherd of the people of Israel.

 Shepherds lead sheep to places with good food and water, provide protection from wild animals, and offer affection to the sheep. We need all of that from God.

This name of God is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus said: 

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,” (John 10:11, 14)

God in Christ will be our Shepherd and lead us to green pastures and protect us in the face of evil. Hallelujah!

 2 - JEHOVAH RAPHA – THE LORD MY HEALER

After the LORD led the children of Israel through the Red Sea and defeated Pharoah's armies by drowning them in the same sea, the people rejoiced in God singing songs and praising Him in the wilderness. Soon they reached Marah and the cries of a thirsty population were raised. There was water in Marah, but as the name "Marah" suggests, the water was bitter and undrinkable. God asked Moses to put a nearby tree into the water. On doing that the water became sweet. A miracle! Along with that God gave them a promise and a commandment to obey. 

“Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer. (Exodus 15:25-26)”

This promise too is fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ. He went around healing people and delivering those that were oppressed with evil spirits. 

“When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.””

Matthew 8:16-17

 God's plan is to help us walk in good health. Will we fall sick? Yes, of course. It is a fallen world. There are germs, there are conditions of the body, there will be accidents that happen.

However, my personal belief is that God's perfect plan is to heal us. Sometimes He does that instantly. Often He does that over time. Sometimes He will heal us through the use of medicines. At other times without the use of medicines. Whatever is the situation we go through, we are to cry out to Him and He promises that He will heal us. He is Jehovah Rapha. 

3 - JEHOVAH NISSI – THE LORD MY BANNER

When the Israelites fought the Amalekites in Exodus 17 under the leadership of Joshua, everytime Moses had his arms lifted up, they were winning. When Moses lowered his hands, they began losing. Seeing this the children of Israel placed a rock on which Moses sat and Aaron and Hur held up each hand. Thus God gave Israel a great victory over the Amalekites. 

 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner; and he said, “The Lord has sworn; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:14-16)”  

This prophetic name is also fulfilled spectaculary in Jesus Christ, who gives us the victory in all situations and makes us more than conquerors.

 “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)”

God makes us more than conquerors by fighting the battle on our behalf and because of the victory that He has already wrought in Christ on Calvary's cross. What He expects us to do in each situation is to profess and confess the victory of God through our words. By proclaiming words of faith and victory, He gives us the power to transform the situations we are in and be transformed as we go through them, no matter how challenging they are. 

4 - JEHOVAH JIREH – THE LORD MY PROVIDER

When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, he obediently started moving to Mount Moriah with the little boy Isaac, his servant, and the donkey. He had the wood and everything needed for the sacrifice, except a sacrificial animal. But seeing that there was no sacrificial animal, Isaac asked his father about it and Abraham said “God will provide.” We read in Genesis 22 that Abraham was not just pretending to kill Isaac, but he was actually going to sacrifice Isaac. We read in Hebrews 11 that Abraham believed that even if Isaac was killed, that God was able to raise Him from the dead.  That was Abraham's confidence that showed the true, deep, and unwavering faith that pleased God. 

"And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. (Genesis 22:14)"

 Jesus showed his ability to provide for His people in several examples, when He spoke to them about giving them the bread and living water and His peace and eternal life. He fed thousands at multiple occasions. Ultimately He gave of Himself. The righteous for the unrighteous.

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19"

God is looking for us to trust Him completely, believing that even if a situation is dead that God is able to raise it again as Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead. He wants to be Jehovah Jireh in our lives; the One who will provide for all our needs.

Note: We will continue this study in the coming week with 4 more redemptive names of God that are fulfilled in Christ.