Did you know that you have a ministry? Whether you are an ordained minister or not, regardless of your age, education, ethnicity or background, a ministry has been given to you, and for you. It is a ministry first and foremost for you to receive personally in your own life, and then it is a ministry to share with others. Many people do not realize that this ministry is for them, assuming that it is only for the super-spiritual or special holy men, but the Bible makes it clear that this ministry is for everyone.
Today in this study, we are going to be examining this ministry; what it is, how we receive it, and then how we are to share it, because even though the Bible says that it is ours, if we do not know that we have it or what it is, it doesn't do us any good.
You may have heard it said before that Christianity is different than all the religions of the world. It is a true statement, but do you know why it is true? One of the ways that Christianity is fundamentally different is that in all the religions of the world, man is reaching for God; either through good works, or other forms of self-effort in an attempt to attain an elevated status.
This is not so with Christianity. Now unfortunately, Christianity (and the message of Jesus Christ) has been vastly misrepresented by pastors and leaders who have twisted the message into one of self-effort and works, but this is not the message that God originally gave. So today we will be exploring how in reality, it is not man that reaches for God, but how He actually reaches for us, and as we see this, it will not only strengthen our faith, but draw us closer to Him as well.
You probably have heard it shouted from pulpit's before “The grass withers, the flower fades, but God's word is forever” – and while that proclamation is absolutely true, the manner in which it is typically spoken, is not. It is usually uttered in a negative way and with the implication of God's judgment. It may surprise you to learn then that the context in which these words were spoken in the Bible was not the judgment of God, but His promises of redemption and blessing. The enduring word of God is not one of condemnation, but words of restoration and salvation.
In this study today, we will see that what is truly center focus in the Bible is actually a desire of God to redeem and restore that which sin has so utterly corrupted. It is sin that God must judge, not necessarily man. God's true desire is to punish the sin but spare the sinner… just as our desire is to destroy a cancerous tumor, but spare the one that the cancer is destroying. So if you have been struggling with a wrong idea or belief about the nature and the character of God, then this study will give you a fresh revelation of His grace today.
There are many forces in this world that put themselves in a place of leadership. Men desire to lead other men; simply turn on the television and you will see countless people all eager to give their opinion and advice on all kinds of things, setting themselves up in positions of leadership. We in moments of pride, desire to lead ourselves, and of course Satan has always desired leadership as well.
However, when we follow these leaders, or ourselves, where do we end up? The Bible says in 2nd Peter that those who follow other things and people are led into sin and darkness. However there is One Good Shepherd; One who does not lead astray, but leads into true rest and freedom from all bondage and oppression. This is what we will be studying today. Following the Good Shepherd into Righteousness.
There's an old saying which says “Home is where the heart is”, and it is actually founded in scripture, Matthew 6:21 says that wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, do you know where your treasure is today? The world offers us many choices, many roads for us to follow, many rainbows to chase after, but what will we find at the end of the rainbow? Will it be a pot of Gold, or a pot-hole for us to fall into?
The Bible tells us exactly where both our home and treasure can be found in no uncertain terms. This is what we will be studying today, and as we see the truth of scripture, our blessing will always be sure.
It's been known as a greeting and a goodbye... “Peace” The Hebrew language even uses the word shalom, which literally translates to “peace” for the same purpose as a greeting and farewell. However the Bible has a much more grand view of peace, specifically the divine peace of Jesus.
Today I want to share with you this peace of God, what it is, how we receive it and how it benefits us. These things are spelled-out in the scriptures purposefully because God wants us to know them and have them. Jesus paid for us to have His peace because He loves us and wants us to receive freely from Him.
In the past weeks we have seen how Jesus brings success in every area of life when He is the central focus. Today we will be studying in greater detail exactly how to do this, because there is still some confusion about it. Not reducing Jesus to a formula or a set of rules, not at all, but the scriptures are quite detailed in describing how Jesus is to be applied to our lives – and the very reason such things are described is for our benefit, because God loves us and He actually wants us to receive His provision for us.
If you have been needing the provision of Jesus in a specific area of your life, this study is going to benefit you today.
Jesus is the meaning and the purpose of life. I want you to meditate on that statement for a moment... take it in, digest it. We have previously studied on how without Jesus, life is empty; this is not an over-exaggeration. People who follow after other things may experience a type of joy for a season, but it is not the true joy that can be found in Christ. I use the term “true joy” because I can tell you from my own life there was a time before I knew Jesus, that I experienced something that I thought was happiness, but it always left me feeling empty. There was a secret sadness, an internal pain that I could never quite fully define. I simply knew that there had to be more to life than what I was experiencing.
Furthermore, Jesus is also the strength of life. This means that Jesus is the source of effectual power that manifests, sustains and maintains life – we know this from Colossians 1:17. Yet this is more than just a grand theory or a pleasant idea for believers to ponder. This is in-essence, the key to unlocking true life in Christ. If we fail to understand the truth that Jesus is the center and supplier of life, then we will continue to life apart from that life, wondering and wandering from one thing to the next with no direction and no source. Is it possible for a believer to miss-out on the abundant life of Christ? Oh yes! So today, we will be studying in detail how to life in new life in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is Lord. What does this phrase mean to you? There are those today who see it purely as a title, or a mantra to be repeated. Yes Jesus is Lord, the God of creation and Savior of the world; never forget that fact... but He is also personal, intimate and able to enrich and provide for every area of your life. Some people recoil from this fact, afraid that it will somehow take away from His Lordship.
This misunderstanding of the nature and character of God has held many people in bondage due to them not receiving from Jesus many of the gifts which He desires to give them; and so we will be studying exactly how Jesus fulfills our lives, and we will be letting the Scriptures teach us these things so that there will not be any confusion any longer.