Luke (Program #8) – The Preparation of the Man-Savior with His Divinity (7)

Following the account of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in Luke chapter 3, there are two very interesting items. First of all, the genealogy of Jesus – beginning with Jesus and working its way back to God. The second is the temptation or the testing of Jesus – forty days in the wilderness with Satan directly tempting the Lord, yet Jesus in His perfect humanity, fully withstanding every temptation and thereby defeating God’s enemy. But it’s interesting that the Lord was led there to face that temptation by the Holy Spirit. We will look at both the genealogy of Jesus and His passing this test of tests in today’s life study of Luke.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Luke (Program #5) – The Preparation of the Man-Savior (3 & 5)

In the opening chapter of the gospel of Luke there is the account of two miraculous conceptions.  First John the Baptist was born to Zachariah and Elizabeth who both being well advanced in age were beyond any hope of conceiving a child short of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.  The other conception  of course is that of the Lord Jesus, who also was conceived in a miraculous way.  But the conception of Jesus involved much more than mere divine power because it brought forth the mingling of two natures; the divine and human to produce not just an unique man as John the Baptist surely  was but a God-Man, who became our Savior, the Man-Savior Jesus.  John’s father Zachariah saw much of what was involved in this greatest of all miracles.  We will look at it in His prophecy on our life study today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Mark (Program #55) – A Life Fully According To and For God’s New Testament Economy (14 & 15)

Have you received the Lord Jesus and is He now in You? We all can testify strongly, at least we hope so, that we have received the Lord and that He is in us. But has the Lord been transfigured in you?  We need the Lord to grow in us, until He is blossoms. That blossoming would be the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus in us in a practical way. Such a transfiguration is the kingdom of God.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Mark (Program #42) – The Death and Resurrection of the Slave-Savior for the Accomplishment of God’s Redemption (4)

As Jesus was hanging there on the cross for six agonizing hours bearing the reproach of man and the judgment of God, He did so as a genuine man. Yes, He was unique among all mankind in that He was without sin even of Himself, but His humanity was the same as ours in every other way.

Yet at the same time He was also God and despite the fact that for the final three hours of His suffering, God as the economical Spirit had to forsake Him, while He took upon Himself the sins and transgressions of every man.

Yet intrinsically and essentially He was and still is God.  This is Christ Jesus, the Lord our Savior. The immortal Who put on mortality.  And this mysterious and marvelous God Man died a death that accomplish what no other death could ever accomplished.

His death accomplish far more than just the forgiveness of sins as we will see today. And in addition to dealing with all the negative things, His death also release the divine life to create the New Man, the New Creation and ultimately to bring in the kingdom of God.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Ezekiel (Program #20) – The Temple and Side Chambers

The gospel of John gives us the unforgettable picture of Jesus coming into the temple in Jerusalem. And in the display of the most righteous anger, the sight of God’s house being turned into a place of merchandise and commerce, He cleanses the temple – overturning the tables and chasing the peddlers away. Immediately following this comes a profound exchange between the Lord Jesus and the religionists. In John 2:18-21, “The Jews then answered and said to Him, What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, This temple was built in forty-six years, and You will raise it up in three days? But He spoke of the a temple of His body.” What makes this word so meaningful is that John clearly identifies Jesus as the real temple, the real house of God. This means even as we consider the temple in the Old Testament such as in Ezekiel’s great vision in chapters 40 to 48, we must realize that this is a type of the Lord Jesus Himself and of the church, the New Testament, the enlargement of God’s house.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Mark (Program #2) – A Word of Introduction (2)

Many people wonder why the Bible gives us four historical accounts of the life and ministry in Jesus. One of reasons is the each of the four gospels portrays Christ in a unique aspect.  For example, Matthew a book on the kingdom of God reveals Christ in His kingship. Luke shows us Christ’s perfect and upright humanity as a genuine man.  John on the other hand stresses the eternal, uncreated life of God as it is revealed in Christ. John is the gospel of Christ’s divinity.

Then what about Mark?  Well, chapter 10:45 gives us a clue,  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark is wonderful in that it uniquely reveals that Christ lay aside His kingship, His status as God and even His position as a high and honored man to become God’s servant and eventually to become a slave to all mankind giving His life as a ransom for many.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS