May 23, 2009
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Hebrews 13:8 by Pastor Don Moore
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Pastor Don began by saying time is not what you think it is. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God does not change.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word, the Logos, pre-existed before Jesus of Nazareth.
There is a Trinity, Godhead. We need to expand our understanding of God-ness. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The Word released IS a PERSON, speaks for God and is God’s representative. The Angel of the Lord mentioned in the Old Testament is a pre-incarnate Christ, that Angel of the Lord is not speaking as a angel, but as God. The Angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham, telling him he would have a child. He did not announce it like Gabriel did. Adonai = Angel of God. Elohim = breath of God or Spirit of God.
Pastor Don pointed out that he is a pastor, teacher, husband, and father. Although he cannot separate himself out physically, he does function in all those roles. He is not God. God can do this without losing mental consciousness or spiritual context. We can’t understand that for we are created beings, but we are created in the image of God, so we too are triune beings. We have a mind (soul), body, and spirit. In that way we are similar to God, but in a material state, we are limited in what we can function within. But God is not limited by the physical. He is not bound by our thinking or our definitions. We cannot define that which created us. We want to create God in our image. If the created thing could understand the creation or the creator, the creator would be equal to us. No creator can create anything equal to himself.
Hebrews 13:8 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Yesterday – Jesus the son of God existed before Jesus of Nazareth. And, today, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of man does not exist, now Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, returned to full deity and glory.
Pastor Don pointed out that it is very important to us to know that when Jesus of Nazareth was on earth, He was fully man, and did His signs and wonders as a man. For us to realize that we have the ability to do signs and wonders it is important for us to see that Jesus was God man and He did His healings as a man on earth.
Luke 22:69-70 Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”Jesus called himself Son of Man, but He was also Son of God. But for the time He was on earth, He called Himself Son of Man.
John 20:26-28 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Thomas said to Jesus: My Lord and my God.
In the book of Revelation, John was unable to stand before Jesus because of the glory.
Yet it is important for us to see that Jesus was a man, he was bitten by mosquitos, whacked his finger with a hammer, etc. Yet He was not your average man, for He lived His life without sin. We too are sons of God.
Jesus said that He did everything He saw His father do. We can begin to seek how to imitate Jesus and Jesus told us that we are gods (little g, not big g – God). We have sin, bad ideas, do stupid, but Jesus told us that everything He did we can do also.
The key is the power and authority that Jesus gave to us over death, disease, emotions, frustration, and He allows them to flow through us, as we open up to Him.
Jesus came to earth as a man, functioned as a man and then returned to Glory. When Jesus puts on the glory of all creation, He has power over sin and death. In the glory He was not bound by space, time, and earthly concepts, and in the glory people did not know him.
We have Christ in us, the hope of glory. When we were born again there were some things (sinful) things we gave up, but we took on the anointed one, Christ in us, the hope of Glory. We have Christ’s anointing and we are led by the Holy Spirit. We can be the best we can be. Once we are saved, we have Christ in us.
When we permit Jesus into our “houses” He is the ultimate Home TV redecorater. He will not let us leave furniture, curtains, decorations that are ungodly, He will redecorate. But He will do it with our permission for He is a gentleman. Being born again is a process. Jesus comes in and if we tell him, “Don’t touch that Lord.” He won’t, He will wait until we give Him permission. Jesus will still be in us, but we block some of what He could do in our lives if we don’t let Him redecorate. Jesus wants to redo our kitchens, but we tell him he can’t do that. There is mold under the cabinets, the pipes are bad. Etc.
After awhile, as we grow spiritually in Him and in His Word we will invite the Holy Spirit in to lead us in our redecoration. If you want to know more about the Holy Spirit, read John chapters 14-17 to learn more about Him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into truth. He is going to redecorate stuff and some things have to change.
If we dig our heels in and refuse to change, it shows what we love more than Him. We can grieve the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will not be able to function as well when we tie his hands. The Holy Spirit can’t bring certain people to our house (us) for we could get distracted. Let the Holy Spirit come in and lead.
Pastor Don told us that the Holy Spirit changed him and his teaching dramatically. He taught Sunday School in the flesh, then received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the people in his Sunday School class knew a difference. They bought him a Bible and wrote in it, “You can teach now.” The Holy Spirit helps Pastor Don to teach the Word and touch people’s hearts in a nonoffensive way.
The Holy Spirit equips us to do what Jesus did. Jesus goes to John the Baptist for baptism and then the power of the Holy Spirit comes on Him. Then the Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness. That is the one place we don’t want to go, for it is a place where we will be tested. Yet if we don’t go through those tests we won’t be able to remove the old furniture and it can take years and years for us to grow to the point that we would have grown with a season in the wilderness. God wants to move all the old furniture, to have us die to self. He wants to bring in all new stuff, so he may leave us in a barren place so that we can see how prideful we are.
A lot of people we deal with when we are not tried yet. We struggle and try to deal with situations the way we are, and we feel we have to do it ourselves, instead of being led by the Holy Spirit. It is pride that causes us to do that and a lot of old baggage that needs to just be left behind so God can give us new.
We tend to make Jesus small in our minds or compartmentalize Jesus. Who is Jesus? We often answer my teacher, pays the rent, etc. He is all of that but much, much more. He is Yeshua, Savior, etc. We can’t take just part of Jesus and discard the rest. He is all of that and more. Jesus of Nazareth had a three year ministry (some feel only one year), but John said that there were not books enough to contain all the miracles he did.
Yes, He was Jesus of Nazareth, but He was more than that. He is also Jesus, Son of God. We need a bigger picture.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Every eye will see Him.
Revelation 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”d]’> “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Jesus said this. We see him totally, in all of it, now our eyes are to be on who He is, the beginning and the end.
Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet
This is something different. Jesus of Nazareth, as a man spoke. Now as God, Jesus sounds like a loud noise, like a trumpet. His voice changes. Jesus’ eyes are the eyes of total truth, life, love, judgment. Are you ready for that? Jesus sees it all, nothing is hid. You can’t say, “I was walking in faith,” when you are in doubt.
Revelation 1:11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,”g]’> to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
He is saying to write this, get this down.
Revelation 1:12-13 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
He is LIKE the son of man, but a whole lot else is going on here.
Revelation 1:14-17 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me,i]’> the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
He was to write what he saw. Our attitudes should be like that of the apostles.
John 20:26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”
In the earthly experience, Jesus is resurrected in this scene, but He suspended His glory for the time being because He had work to do on earth.
John 20:27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
He instructed Thomas to touch his scars in his hands and put his hand INTO His side. Blood is not Jesus’ life force anymore, so Thomas could put his hand into the hole.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
There is no discussion beyond this, Thomas came to the conclusion that Jesus is Lord and God.
What we lack in natural ability the Holy Spirit can supply. We are born again and equipped with the Holy Spirit. God gives you wisdom and the Holy Spirit. If God’s in you and you permit Him to move the furniture, you are no longer the same as you were before He came in you, then you can brag on God. God has the ability to gift us and as you are willing, you can tell about it and give God the glory. If you take the glory to yourself, the glory will leave you. God will make you exceptional, but there will also be persecution when that happens.
We need mental training. all that Jesus did, He did as He saw His father do, and He did it under the anointing of God.
We then looked at the demon possessed boy in Mark.
Mark 9:14-15 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.
Notice: Immediately.
Mark 9:16-19 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
Jesus commented that this was a faithless generation, at that point they had failed to cast out the demon and the reason was they did not use their faith. They had the faith for they had done similar things previously, but something was different in this situation, and they did not exercise their faith.
Mark 9:20-21 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
Notice that Jesus asked the father for information. Why is he asking the father? Isn’t Jesus God and shouldn’t Jesus know this? Doesn’t He know everything? This flies in the face of tradition. But Jesus of Nazareth was man and if the anointing is not present He doesn’t have the words of Wisdom to know the answer. So Jesus comes on the scene and asks what are you talking about? Jesus was not always “on” in the Holy Spirit. God is the Healer. Jesus wanted to ascertain what kind of demon it was, so he could know why his disciples couldn’t cast the demon out. The Holy Spirit had not told him.
When Jesus was ready to minister the Holy Spirit would help.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,c]’> with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
Various strange doctrines are other religious beliefs. The devil doesn’t only serve steak dinner, but puts out a buffet to try and attract everybody.
We stopped here, for it was late in the afternoon. But what a great Bible study!
Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.
Heather
Comments (1)
Another awesome study.. thanks for sharing it Heather. I will see you soon.