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Showing posts with label Billy Edwards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Billy Edwards. Show all posts

Wednesday 29 July 2015

What is Jesus Christ Doing Now?

That’s a good question. What would your answer be? If you’re not sure, we hope this brief article helps you understand the moment-by-moment involvement of your living Lord Jesus in your life to the end that you grasp the reality of his presence and are energized by it.
Sad to say, too many Christians have never been taught what Jesus Christ is doing today, and every day since he became the “Lord” and the “Head” of the Church, which is made up of the members of his Body. We all know that he died for us, was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven and is now “seated” at God’s right hand. But does that mean he is “just chillin’”? No way. He is even busier than he was when he lived on the earth, and Mark 5, for example, is a great chapter to illustrate what kind of days he had then. Whew!
Jesus studied the Hebrew Scriptures and understood all the prophecies about his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future kingship of the world. He fulfilled all those prophecies relevant to his first coming on the earth by being obedient all the way to his torturous death on the cross. Because of his obedience to his God and Father, Jesus was highly exalted as Lord of Heaven and Earth, and seated at God’s right hand (Phil. 2:8-11).
In biblical times, the right hand was the hand of blessing, authority, and power, as opposed to the left, which was the hand of cursing. This is where we get our common phrase, “right hand man.” A right hand man does not sit around, but is very vigorous in carrying out the orders of the one he serves. This relationship is typified in the Old Testament account of Joseph and the Egyptian Pharaoh.
Because of what Joseph did to save the people of Egypt, the Pharaoh gave him all authority in the land of Egypt. As Joseph said, “God has made me lord of all Egypt” (Gen. 45:9). Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring (which symbolized his all-encompassing power and authority in Egypt) and had him ride in a chariot as his Second-in-Command. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt” (Gen. 41:44). Pharaoh was still Pharaoh, but he had given all authority to Joseph and fully equipped him with the power to carry out his work, thus making Joseph functionally equal with him.
God has done the same thing with Jesus Christ. He gave Jesus “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18), and made him “Lord” (Acts 2:36). God is still God, but Jesus is now functionally equal with Him, and that was God’s idea. Jesus now has everything he needs in order to carry out his function as second-in-command, God’s “go-to-guy” and right hand man.
So what is the Lord Jesus Christ doing now? Let’s take a look. Where? Not in Peoplemagazine, or even Sports Illustrated. We want to know what the Word of God says.

Jesus Christ is now the Head of the Church.
(20) Which he [God] exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
(21) far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
(22) And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
(23) which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Jesus Christ is building his Church by pouring out the gift of holy spirit to all those who believe.
(46) Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
(47) praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
(32) God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
(33) Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Jesus Christ is interceding for us as our mediator.
(24) but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.
(25) Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede [entugchano] for them.
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died– more than that, who was raised to life— is at the right hand of God and is also interceding [entugchano] for us.
Jesus Christ hears our prayers and responds to us.
(23) So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
(24) Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen
(25) to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”
(26) Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
(59) While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
(60) Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
(8) Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [the “thorn in his flesh”—those who were persecuting him] away from me.
(9) But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Jesus Christ is giving grace to all believers.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
Jesus Christ is strengthening and protecting his people.
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Jesus Christ is giving revelation to the members of his Body.
(11) I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.
(12) I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is giving ministries to Christians.
(11) It was he (Jesus) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
(12) to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
(13) until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
(4) Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
(5) so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
(6) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
(7) If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
(8) if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Jesus Christ is the Commander of the angels.
(4) So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
(5) For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?
(6) God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
(7) and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
Jesus Christ is eagerly anticipating raising all dead Christians and giving them and all living Christians new bodies when we meet him in the air.
(20) But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
(21) who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
(15) According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
(16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
(17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
(18) Therefore encourage each other with these words.


http://www.biblicalunitarian.com/articles/faq/what-is-jesus-christ-doing-now-2

Thursday 23 July 2015

When we serve God, our blessings will be numerous, abundant

Do you know people who like to carry around old baggage everywhere they go? They can't let go of anything. It is as though they just can't let go of the past. They deprive themselves of freedom because they can't forget what someone did to them 10 years ago.

You can't get the most out of today if you are continually rehashing the hurts and disappointments of yesterday. When someone has hurt you, ruined your character in some way or said something to offend you, it is not easy to let go of it.

Our natural tendency is to hang on to it. No one said it is easy, but opening up your heart and letting go of things of the past is the most exhilarating and life-altering things we can do.
Our Lord taught by saying, "Judge not, and you shall not be judged." We have no right to judge others even in the smallest matters. We don't have that right because God didn't give us that right.
James said, "Speak not evil of one another, brethren. He that speaks evil of his brother and judges him, speaks evil of the law, and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge."
He goes on to say, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and destroy: who are you that judge another" (James 4:11-12).

I don't see how it could be any plainer than this. As we don't have the right the judge others, by the same token, others don't have the right to judge us. Some people love to point out other people's faults and short-comings.
We don't have to worry about what others say about us because what they think of us doesn't matter. What matters most in life is the way we live for the Lord Jesus Christ and that do the things that are pleasing to Him. We should treat other people kindly and with respect as the Lord would have us.

Jesus continued in Luke 6:37 by saying, " Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned: forgive, and you shall be forgiven." It's a guarantee! It is a fact! We can count on it. We can stand firmly on this promise and know most assuredly that it is true.
We should be forgivers of those who have wronged us because He has forgiven us.
The greatest way that we can show Christian charity is by letting go of the bitterness and resentment we may harbor in our hearts toward those who have used and taken advantage of us.
In the next verse, He said, "Give, and it shall be given." This is not a maybe. This is not a hope-so kind of thing where you have to believe it is true, but we can know with absolute certainty, beyond the shadow of any doubt that this is true.

It's amazing how things can come back to you. When we do a good deed for someone or say a kind word, it will always come back to us in some way. There are those times when we don't feel like giving times when you feel that it's just not worth it times when you feel like you give and give till you can't do it any more. But what we have to remember is that we are doing it unto the Lord.
When we are in favor with God and doing our best to serve Him, He will bless us in ways which we can't imagine. When we are walking in the ways of God, we should expect the manifestations of God to be on our lives.
Many people don't experience the abundance of God's blessings on their life because they don't expect them. If we are seeking God's goodness and favor to be on our lives, they will surely come because this is the kind of God we serve.

We serve a God of wealth and of plenty. He is not in short supply. The Psalmist David says that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullest thereof; the world and they that dwell therein" (Ps. 24:1). In another place in Psalms it says that God owns "the cattle on a thousand hills."
There are those who are making the mistake of assuming that just because they have something that they own it. This is not entirely true.
Just because you paid for it and have possession of it doesn't mean that you own it. You might have the deed to your house, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you own it.
The money and possessions that we have down here in this life are just on loan to us by God. The scriptures say that we brought nothing into this world and we surely will take nothing out.

The things that are most important are the things you can't buy. You can't buy another person's love. You can't buy a rainbow or a tree, the air we breathe, the health we enjoy or the relaxing sounds of the waves on the seashore.
All these blessings are ours no matter who we are or where we live. It does not matter if we are rich or poor or the color of our skin or what nationality we may be. All blessings we enjoy each day come from God, and all He asks is that we enjoy them and to give Him praise.

While all these blessings of God are good, the greatest of them all is His love. We are told from His Word that He loved the world so much that He gave His only Son. Why did He do this? He did it that we may have everlasting life.

By asking Him to forgive us our sins and to come into our lives as our Savior and Lord, we get God's greatest gift.



By Billy Edwards