Contents
- The circumstances of the Macedonian churches as background
- Habitat for God to work
- They become Superlative people
- The grace of God
- The churches of Macedonia gave themselves to God
- In closing
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Category: New Testament (page 1 of 2)
Abstract: Our whole life is a prayer which consists of a praise to God, a hallelujah, an amen, an echo on the Lord’s Prayer. It embodies the kingdom of God advancing forcefully and us vigorously laying hold of God’s kingdom. It represents our calling. Paul’s statement on the ministry of the Spirit was spot on: “But thanks to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” (2 Cor 2:14). We should never settle for less, for Jesus’ death was too costly.
1. Introduction
The Gospels convey a lot of information about Jesus’ prayer life. He prayed through the night, rose up early in the morning to pray, went alone to the mountain side to pray and went to lonely spots to pray. The writer of Hebrews commented on Jesus’ prayer life as follows: “He offered prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, …”. (Heb 5:7). He talked to his Father in the dark moments of his life on earth and made great decisions after long periods of prayer.
Continue reading2 Korintiërs 8:1-5
Broers, ons wil hê julle moet weet van die genade wat die gemeentes in Masedonië van God ontvang het.
Al was hulle swaar beproef deur verdrukking, hulle blydskap was oorvloedig; en al was hulle baie arm [die woord wat Paulus gebruik, is “diep arm”], was hulle ryk in hulle oorvloedige vrygewigheid.
Ek verseker julle hulle het na vermoë, ja, bo vermoë, bygedra.
Uit eie beweging het hulle by ons daarop aangedring om te mag deel in die liefdeswerk van hulpverlening aan die gelowiges in Judea.
Dit was meer as wat ons verwag het, want eers het hulle hulleself aan die Here gegee en toe aan ons. Dit is soos God dit wil.
1. Who is the Holy Spirit?
I think many Christians do not know who the Holy Spirit is. Often He is described as the unknown God. But the Bible’s view of the Holy Spirit is that He is the unseen but real person, presence, power and activity of God.
In the Synoptic Gospels the Holy Spirit was active at the birth of Jesus and his anointment by God during his baptism (Mt 3:16, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16). The Synoptics also articulate that Jesus is the source of the work of the Holy Spirit for he …baptises in the Holy Spirit and with fire… (Mt 3:11; Mk 1:8; Lk 3:16). In the Gospel of John the Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete (or Comforter, Counsellor, Helper, the Spirit of truth; Jh 15:26). In Acts (2:4, 38) the baptism with the Spirit was an act of God who empowered the disciples and early Church and was accompanied by both unusual visible and audible phenomena. Paul articulates the Holy Spirit as the divine energy or dynamic of the new life whose Head is the living Christ (1 Rm 15:13; Eph 5:18; 1 Th 1:5). Paul helped to personalise men’s thinking about the conception of the Spirit. In Revelation the Holy Spirit is called Seven Spirits or the Seven Eyes of God (Rv 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6). The number seven is a symbolic indication of the plenitude of the Holy Spirit. The Seven Eyes of God are symbolic of the Spirit as the eyes of God. He sees the entire cosmos. Nothing escapes him. He is the Spirit of perception (the Deus praesens). He is also identified with the eyes of every individual believer (5:6). Through the Spirit, John is able to perceive the need in the seven congregations.
“A man with an experience is not at the mercy of an argument.”
Introduction
Baptism should be understood in terms of Christ – in Him we find the truth of every Biblical doctrine. To understand the sacrament of baptism, one should therefore start with how Christ was baptized, and what He has said in this regard.
The Bible refers to two events where Christ was baptized, and we are going to discuss both events in order to give us clarity concerning the sacrament of baptism.
There will always be doubt
Doubt was and will always be one of life’s challenges. Our world has never been without the temptation to doubt.
In the beginning, we find the snake’s question to Eve: “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden” (Gen 3:1). This question was intended to suggest something along the lines of: “Is God really so nasty in that He does not allow you to eat the fruit from all the trees?” With this question the Devil created the perception that God is not good and sowed doubt in her heart.
The Devil even approached Jesus to plant a seed of doubt when he tempted Him: “If you are God’s Son, order these stones to turn into bread.” After having spent forty days and nights in the desert without food, the Devil tempted a fragile and hungry Jesus with doubt. It was a temptation to go for a shortcut and to tempt God to prove his care for his Son and his Son’s mission.
The world has never been without doubt: doubt in God’s goodness, love and His involvement in this disastrous world and in our own endangered personal lives. People usually ask many “why” questions when things go wrong and events happen which is seemingly against the belief in an almighty and loving God.
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The demands of being a pastor can be overwhelming. Even pastors, like Paul, who faithfully pray, study the Bible and avoid moral lapses are not immune to fatigue (2 Cor 11: 23-33). In verse 28 he says: “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches”. How can you minister successfully over the long haul without burning out? We can learn certain principles from the apostle Paul:
1. Know your strengths, weaknesses and limitations
Strong leaders understand how God has put them together. In 1 Corinthians 2:3 Paul says: I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. Often leaders must experience pain, failure and crisis to fully understand their limitations. The truth is that those experiences can result in humility plus a deeper understanding of strengths and weaknesses. These leaders know how much emotional input they need and the level of ministry output they are capable of sustaining over time. That is why Paul could say his ministry was not like that of Apollos and Cephas; each had their strengths and weaknesses but ultimately they were servants of Christ (1 Cor 1:12; 3:5). He didn’t always have wisdom and the gift of persuasiveness, but he had a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
Passover is the most important Christian festival of the Christian year. But Christmas itself has now outstripped Passover in popular culture as the real celebration of the year – a move contrary to the New Testament’s emphasis. Jesus’ death on the cross on Passover is the fulfilment of the manger. The shadow of the cross falls over the manger and the cross was made out of the wood of Jesus’ manger. Passover is the moment when God’s new world started growing like green grass through the thick concrete of death, evil and injustice (N.T. Wright).
All languages about the future is an effort to set up signposts pointing into a foggy future. We see through a glass darkly, says Paul, as we peer towards the future. But with the first Christmas (4 BC) God came forward in Jesus in the first person, out of the fog or mist of God’s space. Jesus stepped out of the metaphysical world of God’s space to meet us and reveal God’s blueprint for His creation.
The church – the people of Jesus Christ – now lives in the final or the eschatological age. We are living between the times. Between the first coming and return of Christ. The period between his victory in the decisive battle between God and Satan and the day of final victory. Satan is the father of all evil and opposed to God. He, our biggest enemy, is defeated but not yet eliminated. For this reason Christian parents and children live on the battlefield. Christian parents and their children must be watchful and prepared for this spiritual battle (Eph. 6:10-18).
Paul (Rom. 8:20) asserts that after the Fall creation was subjected to futility (Gr. mataiotes), emptiness, frustration, sin, evil, disharmony, and apparent meaninglessness. This condition came after creation was complete. After the Fall, Adam and Eve and all their descendants lost their innocence and real freedom (Rom. 5:12). People not only commit sins but are sinners, and the nature of their children are inherently affected.
How to make day-to-day decisions in difficult times?
How is the Christian to make day-to-day decisions in difficult times? We do live in difficult times. As Christians we are more than often confronted with situations in which we really do not have all the answers and guidelines. And Satan tries to make this world and the Church of God a stinking swamp.
Stay in an intimate relationship with God
Of course, first and foremost, the relationship between a Christian and God must be intact and fresh. Since God and his nature is our guide, we need to keep in contact with Him. There are basic moral and spiritual principles rooted in the nature of God, to which those in a right relationship with Him must conform their thoughts, words, and deeds. This provides resources for both the daily grind and the emergency situations. For these difficult situations we must try to stay prayed-up for such times.
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