Galatians (Program #1) – The Background and Subject of the Book

Just as there are 4 different seasons in the year, so there are seasons in our Christian life. This means that at times, we will pass through winter as well as through spring and summer. We may not enjoy the winter that much, but any good farmer can tell you without the reducing and killing of the winter, the growth of the crops will never be complete.

All of the epistles in the New Testament were written against a certain background or backdrop. To fully understand these letters, it’s helpful to be somewhat familiar with the background. What was the situation that the Apostle Paul faced when writing this book?

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2 Corinthians (Program #38) – The Minister’s of the New Covenant (11)

2 Corinthians is a marvelous book giving us both a detailed biography of the apostle Paul and a clear understanding of the goal of the New Testament ministry.  The goal as we have seen is for the believers and unbelievers alike to be fully reconciled to God.  That means that both in fact and in our experience, there is no barrier, no hindrance, nothing separating us from enjoying God and living Christ.  This is the ministry that Paul and the other apostles were commissioned with.  Further, it should be the goal of our own Christian life.  We have been saved many years ago, having settled that question of our eternal destiny once for all.  But do we live a life that’s fully reconciled to God?  This was Paul’s question to the believers in Corinth as well.   Listen 5:20 of  2 Corinthians say:

“On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God.“

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2 Corinthians (Program #34) – A New Creation in Christ Becoming God’s Righteousness (1)

By the end of chapter 4 in 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul was very matured in the Christian life. His being has been largely transformed to the extend that regardless of his outward circumstances he remained in the peace and rest of the Lord’s presence. Realizing that through the Spirit within him God was working through all things to form him and shape him according to His eternal plan.

Listen to his testimony in verse 16 and 17,  “Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our momentary lightness of affliction works out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory,”

Surely this is the testimony of one who is longing to meet the Lord. Yet one thing remain in Paul’s spiritual journey is, as we will see in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, his longing to have his earthly body or tabernacle replaced with a heavenly one.

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Leviticus (Program #21) – The Law of the Sin, Trespass, Peace Offerings

It’s not difficult for us to consider as law, the Ten Commandments given through Moses. However, we might find it hard to regard the law as something that concerns our enjoyment of Christ.  We may think that if there’s a law concerning the enjoyment of Christ, there could not be any enjoyment. Our eyes are about to be opened to realize that our enjoyment in experiencing Christ as life is regulated according to the law of life.

It helps to realize that we have five basic problems -we are not absolute for God, we never could be God’s testimony, what we are is just sin, what we do is nothing but commit sins and trespasses, what we never could have is peace with God.  Hallelujah for Christ! Christ is the burnt offering who is absolute for God. When we enjoy Him, God accepts us and we are satisfaction to Him. Christ secondly is the meal offering who is perfect, fine, even, balanced, proper man filled with divinity to be God’s testimony. Christ is the sin offering who became more…

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Leviticus (Program #19) – The Law of the Burnt Offering

Leviticus chapter 6:8-9 say, “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying / Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering…” Has the law of the burnt offering ever entered into your own consideration?

We’ve gone through the beginning chapters of Leviticus and the details of the main offerings: burnt offering, meal offering, sin offering, trespass offering and the peace offering. The next few programs we want to cover the laws that are associated with these five offerings. Today, we focus on the law of the burnt offering and how it typifies our own experience of offering ourselves to the Lord.  This offering brings up the subject of consecration. It speaks not only of Christ who is the reality of the burnt offering but also of our experience in the handling of it…

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Leviticus (Program #13) – The Meal Offering Church Life

The meal offering from Leviticus is not something that many believers today is familiar with.  But today we will have a program that reveals an entire New testament book explaining the details of the meal offering.  As the apostle Paul applies it to our Christian life and Church life.

The meal offering is really a marvelous type and it really shows Christ as our enjoyment, as our supply and as our food…

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Exodus (Program #157) – The Ingredients of the Compound Spirit Typified by the Compounded Ointment

One of the truly great promises of Christian life is found in 1 John chapter 2, there it says o”if that which you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father”.  Verse 25 says “And this is the promise which He Himself promised us, the eternal life.”  The condition of this promise is that we need to let that which we have heard from the beginning abide in us.  No genuine lover of the Lord Jesus would want to miss promise.   But what is it that we need to let abide in us that will bring us into this marvelous reality?

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1 Corinthians (Program #39) – The Type of Israel

The Bible contains two histories. The history of Israel in the Old Testament and the history of the church in the New Testament. Actually these two histories are really one story. The history of Israel a type, a shadow while the church is the fulfillment, the reality.

In many of his writings the apostle Paul used the Old Testament as a book of types and pictures to help illustrate the New Testament economy that he was entrusted to preach.

In 1 Corinthians 5 he mentioned the Old Testament passover as our type of New Testament experience of redemption. In chapter 9 and 10 he again picks up the Old Testament to show us a pattern .

First, of our running the race that is our Christians life. Then as a picture of both aspects of our baptism by water and by the Spirit. And finally as a negative pattern regarding the possibility of the genuine, redeemed children of God could ultimately failed to overcome in their Christian life and missed the prize of the reward that is typified by the good land. This is a strong word, a word of warning, which we, like the Corinth believers should heed.

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1 Corinthians (Program #25) – Building or Destroying the Temple of God

There are many sober warnings in the Bible. Most people associate these warnings with the paralle of facing eternity without Christ that is to be unsaved. Well this certainly is the focus of many of these warnings.  But we must be aware that several of the most serous warnings in the Bible are spoken to believers. Those who are already saved. Such a warning is found in 1 Corinthians  3:17 “If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, and such are you.”

But what it is to destroy the temple? How could an unbeliever really damage God’s eternal building. No, it is the believers that are engaged everyday of their Christians life in building and building the temple. And it is the believers that have these words to sow into their heart.  We will look today what it is to damage to corrupt even to ruin God’s building on earth.

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1 Corinthians (Program #20) – The Building Work with Transformed Materials (1)

The goal of the Christian life is not merely to live a proper and upright life, died and then go to heaven. The goal as presented in 1 Corinthians has to do with being built up into a spiritual building that ultimately becomes God’s dwelling place on earth with His people. In short this building is the church becoming the real temple of God on earth.

What a high calling, our real work in the Christian life is a building work.  And to this end Paul instructed the Corinthians believers and us in chapter three of 1 Corinthians :

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s cultivated land, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid a foundation, and another builds upon it. But let each man take heed how he builds upon it. For another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, stubble, the work of each will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire. ”

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