Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / The Supernatural Nature of the Christian Gathering (Part 4)

Transcript

The Supernatural Nature of the Christian Gathering (Part 4) · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

0:01
Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
0:06
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
0:09
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
0:13
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
0:17
right in. Well, welcome to today's service. And
0:25
I pray that we'll bless even as we listen to
0:30
the word. And we're going to continue where we
0:32
started on Sunday. The supernatural nature of
0:38
the Christian gathering. What makes this gathering
0:43
a supernatural gathering? Praise the Lord. And
0:48
we're going to continue from where we stopped.
0:53
Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. And Jesus
1:04
came and spoke to them, saying, All authority
1:11
has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
1:15
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the
1:19
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
1:24
of the Son, of the Holy Spirit. teaching them
1:27
to observe all the things I've commanded you,
1:30
and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end
1:34
of the age. Amen. So, for Sunday, we started
1:38
by saying that this is the mandate that God has
1:43
given to every believer. This is what God has
1:47
called us to, right? This is the purpose that
1:51
we have, praise the Lord, to do His will. We
1:55
don't find We don't find purpose anywhere else.
2:01
Praise the Lord. We don't find it anywhere else.
2:03
We find this in doing the mandate of God. Praise
2:08
the Lord. And we said that from verse 19, that
2:10
starts to talk that you should go and make disciples
2:13
of all nations. That the word to make disciples
2:17
is a Greek word, which means to train. Praise
2:21
the Lord. To train, which means to... instruct,
2:26
which means it's deeper than just receiving the
2:32
word. It's deeper than just sitting down and
2:35
somebody telling you or teaching you something.
2:40
Praise the Lord. It's way beyond that. It's the
2:45
word to train, right? And it's very practical.
2:48
It's a very practical way of training, right?
2:53
To model something by example. Praise the Lord.
3:00
And we also said that God wants disciples that
3:05
are trained, that is believers, who would also
3:09
train others. Praise the Lord. That the intention
3:13
and the desires of God is to have people that
3:17
are trained so that they can train others. He
3:22
doesn't want people or his desire is not that
3:28
you should just go like that or you should just
3:30
hear the word and believe and just go like that.
3:33
He wants you to be trained. He wants you to receive
3:36
training so that you are able to train others.
3:40
Praise the Lord. And we also said that the church
3:45
is an ongoing training. So every time that we
3:48
come to church, What we are doing is that we
3:52
are receiving training. We continue in training.
3:56
Praise the Lord. And so that's why we have so
4:01
many instructions in regards to the things you
4:04
can do and cannot do when we come to the house
4:09
of God, because it is a place of training. We
4:13
also saw that word to instruct, right? In Matthew
4:17
13, 52. And we said that the training has no
4:26
regard for age. It has no regard for physical
4:34
or earthly possession. Praise the Lord. It's
4:38
not a respect of how old you are, how young you
4:42
are, maybe to what we are doing here. You're
4:46
very young, so these things are... I'm not there
4:49
yet. Praise the Lord. It's not a respectful of
4:51
that. It doesn't think of you as you're too small.
4:55
Praise the Lord. The training does not consider
4:59
that you're too young. Praise the Lord. It is
5:03
a training that every age should receive, irrespective
5:07
of your background. Praise the Lord. It does
5:09
not respect how wealthy you are. Praise the Lord.
5:15
He does not respect that you do not have money.
5:18
He does not respect that you do have money. He
5:20
does not respect that you have this or have that.
5:22
Praise the Lord. It is a training that everyone,
5:26
irrespective of your background, should receive.
5:29
Praise the Lord. Whether you have influence or
5:32
not. And so I encourage those to, whenever we
5:35
have people around us, whenever you have people
5:37
around you that maybe consider themselves as
5:41
too young or consider themselves as too old,
5:45
or consider themselves as wealthy, or you can
5:49
see that they have material possessions, or do
5:52
not have material possessions that much, it does
5:55
not affect you, praise the Lord. It does not
5:57
affect the mandate of God that you have. So you
6:00
go on to preach the gospel, to train, praise
6:04
the Lord, consigning the things of God. So in
6:15
verse 20, we now said, how is this training received?
6:21
How is this training received? In verse 20, he
6:24
said what? Teaching them to observe all the things
6:27
I've commanded you and lo, I'm with you always,
6:32
even to the end of the age. How is the training
6:36
done? The training is done by teaching. Praise
6:39
the Lord. The training is done by teaching. Our
6:44
teaching is the Greek word didasko, which means
6:49
that discipleship involves training, it involves
6:55
instruction, it involves being educated, praise
7:00
the Lord, or to educate someone. So we also said
7:05
that it means that we can call the church a Bible
7:09
school, praise the Lord. We can call the church
7:13
a Bible school, or the church ought to be a place
7:17
that is regarded as a Bible school because it
7:21
should be a place of training, a place where
7:24
people are educated in regards to the things
7:27
of God. Praise the Lord. And that is because
7:31
the Bible is our primary source of information,
7:37
wisdom, and instructions. So we're going to continue.
7:43
When he says to teach them all the things I've
7:46
commanded you, right? It tells us that there
7:50
is something that Christ is telling us to teach
7:55
from. There is somewhere that he's telling us
7:57
to teach from. Praise the Lord. So when he's
8:00
saying educate them, when he's saying instruct
8:02
them, he's not just saying instruct them as you
8:05
will. Instruct them as you so desire or instruct
8:10
them as it comes to you. Or you would say, as
8:13
the Spirit leads you. Praise the Lord. Right?
8:16
He said, for teaching them to observe all the
8:19
things I've commanded you. Praise the Lord. There
8:22
is things that Christ has commanded. There are
8:25
things that Christ has commanded. So we cannot
8:29
now develop our own body of knowledge. Praise
8:33
the Lord. We cannot now say, okay, yes, these
8:37
people are here for training. Let me develop
8:39
my curriculum based upon how I feel. or how I
8:43
think about their needs or what is going on amongst
8:47
them, or maybe they are too young. Let me try
8:48
to do some things. Praise the Lord. He's saying
8:51
you should teach from that which he has commanded,
8:54
right? That they would observe all the things
8:57
that he has commanded. So how do we replicate
9:06
that which Christ has done? We said that in Luke
9:11
chapter 24, verse 44 to 45. Luke 24, verse 44
9:17
to 45. Then he said to them, These are the words
9:26
which I speak to you while I was still with you,
9:29
that all things must be fulfilled which were
9:31
written in the law of Moses, in the prophet,
9:34
and in the Psalms concerning me. Verse 45. and
9:38
he opened their understanding that they may comprehend
9:41
the Scriptures. Praise the Lord. So, Jesus taught
9:45
from the Scriptures. Praise the Lord. So when
9:49
he says, teaching them to observe all the things
9:52
I've commanded you, he's saying you should teach
9:54
them from the Scriptures. Praise the Lord. You
9:57
should teach them from the Scriptures. Right?
10:00
He taught them from the Scriptures. And we said
10:03
that the Scriptures that Jesus had, Was Genesis
10:06
to what? To Malachi. Praise the Lord. Jesus did
10:10
not have Revelation. He did not have John. He
10:15
didn't have any of those. He taught them from
10:18
the Scriptures. He taught them Genesis to Malachi.
10:24
So in John 5, verse 39. John 5, verse 39. He
10:36
said, you search the scriptures, for in them
10:37
you think you have eternal life. And these are
10:41
they which testify about me. Praise the Lord.
10:46
These are they which testify about me. Verse
10:48
45 to 46. Do not think that I have, I shall accuse
10:58
you. Sorry. Do not think I shall accuse you to
11:02
the Father. One who accused you, Moses, even
11:06
whom you trust. Verse 46. For if you believe
11:10
Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about
11:14
me. Praise the Lord. So if they believed Moses,
11:18
if they believed the scriptures, Jesus is saying
11:21
that he's saying nothing different from that
11:24
which was written. Praise the Lord. He's saying
11:27
nothing different from that which is in the scriptures
11:30
because the scriptures were writing. consigning
11:33
him. Praise the Lord. The scriptures wrote consigning
11:38
him. Praise the Lord. So he taught also from
11:41
the scriptures. So Jesus himself was also confined
11:45
by that which was written consigning him. Praise
11:49
the Lord. He didn't come and start telling them
11:51
something new. Praise the Lord. He opened the
11:54
scriptures and he taught them consigning himself.
11:58
Praise the Lord. From the scriptures. So he himself
12:01
did not develop his own body of knowledge praise
12:05
the lord he himself did not develop his body
12:08
of knowledge but he went to the scriptures to
12:10
teach them so when he says teaching them to observe
12:13
all the things i've commanded you he's saying
12:15
that you should teach from the scriptures matthew
12:19
chapter 7 from verse 28 to 29 And so it was when
12:30
Jesus had ended this saying that the people were
12:33
astonished at his teaching. And he taught them,
12:37
for he taught them as one having authority, not
12:41
as the scribes. So they were astonished at his
12:45
teaching. Remember, he was teaching them from
12:47
the scriptures. Praise the Lord. And so when
12:50
he says he didn't teach them as one of the scribes,
12:54
right? They were also teaching from the same
12:59
place. Praise the Lord. So Jesus was teaching
13:02
from the scriptures, right? And equally, he taught
13:06
them in a particular way from the scriptures.
13:09
He taught them in a particular way. He said that
13:12
he had, he was speaking, he taught them as one
13:14
having authority. Praise the Lord. Meaning that
13:17
he knows what he's saying, right? They could
13:20
understand what he's saying. Praise the Lord.
13:23
He understood the scriptures. He could break
13:27
it down for them to understand. Praise the Lord.
13:31
So when we are teaching the scriptures, we also
13:34
have to teach it in a way that can be understood.
13:39
So when we have didasko, where we saw in Matthew
13:42
28, verse 20, which means that we teach from
13:47
the scriptures because Jesus taught from the
13:51
scriptures. Like I mentioned on Sunday, he was
13:54
not teaching them how to increase their salary.
13:58
Praise the Lord. He's not teaching them how to
14:01
do something else. Praise the Lord. He was not
14:08
using the platform where he was not using the
14:15
scriptures to teach them any other thing, but
14:18
to teach them the things of God. Praise the Lord.
14:25
You might be somebody who is maybe an expert
14:28
in a field. A lot of us are, right? And you have
14:33
somebody, or as a result of what you are doing,
14:36
you have the opportunity to teach, right? What
14:39
you are teaching is not, you're not trying to
14:41
teach somebody how to increase their salary.
14:44
There are places for that. There are opportunities
14:46
for that, right? Don't let me go and ask you,
14:49
how do I do this? How do I do that? You can advise
14:51
them on that. but not to use the platform where
14:56
you're supposed to be teaching for something
14:58
else. So he was not teaching them other things.
15:01
He was teaching them the scriptures. They were
15:05
astonished at his teaching. Praise the Lord.
15:08
And we said that your level of training as a
15:11
believer is your level of understanding and practice
15:13
of the scriptures. Praise the Lord. Your level
15:17
of training as a believer is your level. So if
15:21
you don't receive, proper training, you are not
15:24
going to understand or practice the scriptures
15:27
properly. Praise the Lord. You will see a particular
15:31
verse and maybe you will apply it to something
15:34
that is not supposed to be because you do not
15:37
have the training that is required for you to
15:39
be able to know exactly what to do with that
15:43
scripture. Praise the Lord. So your level of
15:47
understanding what you know or your level of
15:49
training as a believer is your level of understanding
15:53
and practice of the Scriptures. Mark chapter
15:55
16, from verse 15 to 20. Mark chapter 15, 16.
16:07
It says, And he said to them, Go into all the
16:12
world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16:15
He who believes and is baptized will be saved.
16:19
He who does not believe will be condemned. And
16:23
this sign will follow those who believe. In my
16:28
name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak
16:30
with new tongues. They will take up sapient,
16:34
and if they drink anything deadly, it will not
16:37
by any means hurt them. They will lay hands on
16:40
the sick, and they will recover. So then, after
16:45
the Lord has spoken to them, it was received
16:48
up to heaven, and they sat down at the right
16:50
hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere,
16:55
the Lord walking with them, confirming their
16:58
words through the accompanying of signs. Amen.
17:02
Praise the Lord. So, we see here that two things
17:06
are very clear. to again what i said about tying
17:22
into what i said about the local church right
17:24
or the church in general that it is a place where
17:27
you are taught trained and taught to preach the
17:32
gospel to the world praise the lord so the church
17:34
is a place where you are taught trained and trained
17:39
also to preach the gospel to the world in a local
17:43
church we do not have those right we do not have
17:47
those who are in ministry and those who are not
17:51
in ministry. Praise the Lord. Because this is
17:54
an instruction that Christ gives to all believers,
17:57
all that believe in Him. Praise the Lord. This
18:01
is an instruction that He gives to everyone that
18:03
believes in Him. This is a walk of everybody
18:07
that believed in Christ. So we don't have in
18:09
the church, maybe they say, okay, holiday is
18:13
into the walk of ministry. And me, I'm not. Praise
18:17
the Lord. Somebody else is doing the Lord's work
18:20
and me, I'm not doing the Lord's work. Praise
18:23
the Lord. This is an instruction to every believer.
18:26
Every believer is called into ministry. We have
18:29
been taught that. Praise the Lord. Every believer
18:31
is called into ministry. So, not every believer
18:37
does respond to it, right? But every believer
18:41
is called into ministry. Praise the Lord. So,
18:45
you not responding to it does not mean you are
18:46
not called. or you not doing what you're supposed
18:50
to do, does not mean that the calling is not
18:52
on you. Because as a result of believing in Christ,
18:56
praise the Lord, as a result of salvation, you
18:59
are being called into ministry. So don't say
19:05
because you're not doing the work, you can categorize
19:08
yourself as somebody who is not in ministry.
19:10
You're just in ministry, but you're not working.
19:13
Praise the Lord. You're not doing the work. Praise
19:17
the Lord. You took your one talent and you hid
19:21
it in the earth. Praise the Lord. You close it
19:27
under the distance and it's not functional. Praise
19:32
the Lord. It doesn't mean it's not there. Praise
19:34
the Lord. So everybody that is a believer is
19:38
called into ministry. So everybody is called
19:43
into ministry. So we can say that it's an instruction.
19:49
This is one of the instructions that Christ gives
19:51
to believers. Praise the Lord. The things to
19:54
do. Right? We saw the scripture. These are one
19:57
of the few things that Christ has said to the
19:59
believer. Do these things. Praise the Lord. To
20:03
go and preach the gospel. Praise the Lord. To
20:05
go and make disciples. This is an instruction
20:07
he gives. Specifically saying, oh, this is what
20:11
you should continue to do. This is what you should
20:14
do. Praise the Lord. So this is a command of
20:17
Christ to every believer. He gives it to every
20:20
believer. This is the will of God for your life,
20:23
for every one of us. Every believer is called
20:27
to participate in the walk or in this walk. Praise
20:31
the Lord. And he says that these signs shall
20:35
follow them. Praise the Lord. He didn't say that
20:37
these signs would follow your pastors or your
20:40
teachers or would follow your... apostles or
20:45
different type of people. See, these signs will
20:47
follow them that believe. Praise the Lord. These
20:51
signs shall follow them that believe. Everybody
20:54
is included. Everybody is included. Praise the
20:58
Lord. That they will lay hands on the sick and
21:01
the sick will recover. Praise the Lord. That
21:03
they would pray for those who are demon possessed
21:07
and they will cast out demons. Praise the Lord.
21:13
They will bring liberation to those who are bound.
21:17
So this is the work that God has called every
21:21
believer to participate in. John chapter 20.
21:31
John chapter 20, verse 21 to 23. John chapter
21:41
20. So Jesus said to them again, Peace be with
21:47
you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.
21:54
And when he had said this, he breathed on them
21:57
and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If
22:02
you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiving
22:07
them. If you retain the sin of any, they are
22:11
retained. Praise the Lord. Pastor Fred taught
22:13
us about these scriptures. Praise the Lord. So,
22:18
as a result of preaching the gospel, praise the
22:22
Lord, as a result of preaching the gospel, forgiveness
22:25
is given or forgiveness is repaid. Praise the
22:29
Lord. Forgiveness is given and forgiveness is
22:35
also retained if the person does not believe.
22:38
So we have the mandate to continue the ministry
22:41
of Jesus on the earth. Praise the Lord. He gives
22:45
an instruction to go and preach the gospel, to
22:49
go and preach it. So it therefore means that
22:50
we have the mandate to continue the work of Christ,
22:54
to continue that which he has begun to do. Because
23:00
what? He gave us a spirit. Praise the Lord. Can
23:03
we go back a little bit? Is it 22? He said, and
23:10
he breathed on them and he said to them, receive
23:13
a Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord. So he gave us
23:17
his spirit so that we can preach the gospel.
23:21
Praise the Lord. More like he gave you a mandate
23:26
to continue that which he had started. So you're
23:33
acting on God's behalf when you go and preach
23:35
the gospel. Praise the Lord. And the person believes
23:37
they are forgiven. If the person does not believe,
23:41
they are not forgiven. Praise the Lord. Because
23:43
you have the Spirit of God in the inside of you.
23:46
So you are acting in the place of God, and God
23:48
is acting in your place through His Spirit. Because
23:53
it is God who forgives the sin. Praise the Lord.
23:56
So when you preach the gospel, as Jesus has said,
24:01
preach the gospel, when a person believes, their
24:04
sins are forgiven. Praise the Lord. So you're
24:08
acting in God's capacity or you are acting in
24:11
Christ's capacity, right? He's walking through
24:16
you by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit within you
24:25
is God's partnership with you. And your partnership
24:29
with God is to carry His will or to carry on
24:33
doing His will on the earth. The Holy Spirit
24:37
within you is God's partnership with you. And
24:41
your partnership with God is to carry out His
24:44
will on earth. Praise the Lord. So God gives
24:50
us His Spirit and it's a partnership that we
24:52
have with Him. Alright? And we partner with Him
24:55
by carrying out His will on earth. And that is
24:58
to preach the gospel. So, for you to be indwelled
25:07
by the Spirit of God. And it means that you are
25:11
supposed to do the work that God has called you
25:15
to do. Praise the Lord. So the indwelling of
25:18
the Spirit and the walking of the Spirit is meant
25:20
to carry out the will of God on the earth. And
25:25
that is supposed to be through you. Praise the
25:29
Lord. It's supposed to be through you. Luke chapter
25:36
24. Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24 from verse
25:46
25 to 27. Then he said to them, O foolish ones,
25:54
slow of heart and slow of heart to believe in
25:57
all that the prophet has spoken. Ought not the
26:01
Christ to have suffered these things and to enter
26:04
his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the
26:08
prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures
26:12
the things consigning himself. Praise the Lord.
26:16
Still on what Christ has done or where the teachings
26:22
that Christ has done. So he expounded to them.
26:26
So that word expounded is the word dimenio. It's
26:33
D -I -R. M -E -N -E -U -O. It means to interpret
26:44
or to explain. Praise the Lord. It means to interpret
26:50
or to explain. So he expounded to them the scriptures.
26:58
Praise the Lord. He made them understand the
27:01
scriptures by reason of explanation or by reason
27:08
of clarity or by reason of teaching so also as
27:15
we represent god one good example that we ought
27:19
to have one skill we ought to have is the ability
27:24
to explain the scriptures praise the lord as
27:29
believers one skill that we should desire and
27:33
walk towards and continue to strive towards is
27:36
to be able to explain the Scriptures. Praise
27:40
the Lord. It's to be able to explain the Scriptures,
27:44
to be able to expound it, to be able to explain
27:47
it to somebody who is confused, who does not
27:49
know anything about the Gospel. So one good example
27:58
of a disciple of Jesus is that he is able to
28:01
interpret the Scriptures. So to be able to understand
28:05
the scriptures or to be able to explain the scriptures,
28:07
one of the things that Pastor Victor has taught
28:13
us is that we need to understand the grammar
28:16
of the scriptures. We need to understand the
28:18
setting of the scriptures or the context of the
28:21
scriptures. These are one of the tools that we
28:24
need to be able to explain or interpret the scriptures.
28:29
Praise the Lord. Like I said, when I started
28:32
on Sunday, I said to us that the reason why we
28:35
use Greek word is because the Bible was never
28:38
written in English. Praise the Lord. And we use
28:41
those things because we want to, it helps us
28:45
understand the intention of the writer. Praise
28:49
the Lord. So the Bible of Jesus, sorry, like
28:52
I mentioned earlier again, the Bible that Jesus
28:54
preached or what he was using was not a romance
28:59
to revelations. He didn't have those scriptures.
29:02
They were not available. Matthew was not available.
29:05
Matthew was there, but the scriptures were not
29:07
available. Praise the Lord. He never saw them.
29:12
He never saw them, scriptures. They were not
29:15
even available at the time. So the scripture
29:19
that Jesus was teaching from, or he was expounding
29:22
from, or he was bringing knowledge and understanding
29:24
from, was what? Genesis to Malachi. In that same
29:34
Luke, verse 44 to 45, again, he said something.
29:41
Luke 24, 44 to 45. Then he said to them, these
29:52
are the words which I spoke to you while I was
29:54
still with you, that all things must be fulfilled
29:57
which were written in the law of Moses and in
29:59
the prophet and in the Psalms concerning me.
30:02
And he opened their understanding that they might
30:05
comprehend the scriptures. He opened their understanding
30:10
that they may understand the scriptures. When
30:15
he says he opened, what was he doing? As also
30:20
we have learned from a lot of Pastor Victor's
30:22
teaching about exegesis. E -X -E -G -E -S -I
30:30
-S. So what Jesus was doing here was exegesis.
30:35
Praise the Lord. What he was doing was exegesis.
30:41
What is exegesis? If you don't remember, right?
30:45
So it is a skill, right? It's not just a, it's
30:51
not just something that you do once and it's
30:53
not something that you are, it's off and on,
30:54
right? It's a skill that you have. If you think
30:59
of, somebody who plays football very well, right?
31:03
You know that they are very skillful. They have
31:06
control. They know how to decompose and so many
31:10
things like that. There are some people that
31:12
go and once you give them the ball, their touch
31:15
is off. They don't know how to hold it well.
31:18
So they're not skillful. Praise the Lord. Right?
31:21
So it's a skill. Exegesis is a skill. Right?
31:28
And it's something that Somebody is trained with.
31:32
The training that you get is by training, praise
31:38
the Lord, that you are able to explain the Scriptures.
31:43
So, exegesis is a skill of asking good questions
31:47
about what you're reading. It's a skill of asking
31:51
good questions about what you're reading. If
31:57
you don't ask proper questions about what you're
31:59
reading, You're not able to interpret. You're
32:02
not able to understand what you're reading or
32:10
the subject that you're reading. So a good reader
32:13
of the scripture is one that is always asking
32:17
questions. As he reads, he's asking questions.
32:21
He's asking questions and the questions he's
32:24
asking is so that he can interpret. Praise the
32:28
Lord. The question that the person is asking
32:30
is so that the person is able to interpret. So
32:37
questions like, who was saying that? Or who is
32:43
saying this? Questions about, why did he say
32:47
that? Praise the Lord. Questions as, who was
32:52
he talking to? Praise the Lord. So this is what
32:56
exegesis is, right? You ask good questions so
32:59
that you are able to interpret. So you're asking
33:02
questions because you want to interpret. It's
33:04
like a questionnaire, right? So that you're able
33:06
to interpret something. You cannot have good
33:10
Bible understanding without asking proper questions.
33:16
Praise the Lord. So Christ doesn't want us to
33:19
be, he doesn't want us to read something and
33:22
say, okay, this is what he says. And we just
33:25
go and then we are. Maybe he's telling somebody,
33:27
this is what the Christ has said. You're asking
33:29
a question, who is he speaking to? How does this
33:35
apply? What is the interpretation of these things?
33:44
So there's some questions that maybe as you read
33:47
the scriptures, something is said, something
33:50
you read somewhere and you're confused. And instead
33:54
of asking questions or, or asking questions and
33:57
doing research or talking to somebody, you will
34:00
just go with it and say, okay, this is what the
34:02
scripture says. Let's run with it like that.
34:04
That's why, for example, a lot of our teachings,
34:09
a lot of the teachings we are doing is trying
34:12
almost to correct something, right? Some type
34:16
of knowledge that you probably have hanged on
34:19
to for a very long time. Praise the Lord. Maybe
34:23
somebody has formed a doctrine around one verse
34:28
of the Scriptures, and a lot of people have followed
34:32
it for a very long time, and it's wrong. And
34:36
maybe there's nowhere else in the Scripture that
34:38
says so -so and so -thing, or it does contradict
34:42
some other place of the Scriptures. Praise the
34:45
Lord. So you're asking a question in order to...
34:53
interprets. So you're not asking questions as
34:56
a Pharisee, right? When you're doing a suggestive.
35:00
You're not asking questions as a Pharisee. What
35:03
were the Pharisees doing? They were asking Jesus
35:05
tempting questions. They were asking him questions
35:08
so that they would trap him. Oh, this is what
35:11
it is. Do you see what he said about this? Or
35:17
maybe what he said was blaspheming. You're asking
35:21
questions not tempting Christians. So when we
35:27
see the difference between how the Pharisees
35:30
will ask Jesus questions and how the disciples
35:33
will ask them, is that the disciples, they came
35:36
and they asked him questions because they lack
35:38
understanding. They didn't understand it. So
35:40
they're trying to get clarity. They're trying
35:43
to inquire of him what he meant by what he said.
35:46
Praise the Lord. So they come with... That humbleness
35:51
to learn from him. So they ask questions and
35:55
their intention is learning. So when you're reading
35:57
the scriptures and you're asking questions, you're
36:01
asking questions to learn, to be able to interpret.
36:05
Praise the Lord. So you can ask a question and
36:12
it's not a honest question. You're asking to
36:15
test somebody. You know, sometimes you just say,
36:19
okay, let me just, Let me ask my pastor this
36:21
question. And you're asking him, you're not trying
36:24
to learn. You just want to see, is the person
36:28
knowledgeable enough to give you this answer?
36:31
Or maybe because maybe there are a lot of people
36:34
there, you're trying to shame the person by the
36:36
questions that you're asking. This is not the
36:40
exegesis. Okay? You're not asking questions to
36:44
tempt. You're not asking questions to shame somebody.
36:48
You're not asking... you're asking positive questions
36:52
and not negative questions. Right? You're not
36:55
asking questions to prove that the person that
36:58
is speaking is ignorant. Right? Or to shame them
37:02
by your questions when you're asking to learn.
37:07
So first thing that a good student of the Bible
37:10
would do is to be able to have the ability to
37:18
ask. good questions in order to seek interpretation.
37:23
So the ability to ask questions about what the
37:26
person is reading so that he can interpret, so
37:31
that the person is not in doubt. So you're asking
37:37
questions like, what does this word mean? Or
37:40
what does love mean? You see a scripture and
37:44
it's talking about love. You're trying to find
37:46
out, okay, what does love mean here? What does
37:48
apostle mean? What does anointing mean? Maybe
37:54
you read something and it's talking about how
37:56
Jesus was anointed and you're asking, what does
37:59
anointing mean? You're asking questions because
38:02
you're trying to interpret. Is it anointing oil?
38:07
Praise the Lord. So you have this bunch of questions
38:10
that you have aside. Is it anointing oil? He
38:13
said how he anointed Jesus. He said that he came
38:15
and poured oil on him and that was the significance
38:18
to show that he was anointed. So you're asking
38:22
all these questions so that you are able to interpret.
38:27
Praise the Lord. So that you're not fooled by
38:29
somebody else. So when he says speaking in tongues,
38:36
what does that mean? Praise the Lord. So this
38:46
is a good thing for believers to have. It's a
38:51
good skill for us to have because it helps us
38:55
better interpret the scriptures. It helps us
38:59
not to get deceived. It helps us to be curious,
39:02
right? God does not want you to be somebody who,
39:06
okay, this is what they said, and then you are
39:10
going. Praise the Lord. You don't understand
39:13
it, but you say, okay, since they said it, let
39:14
us go with it. Praise the Lord. He wants you
39:17
to understand. Because when he says he opened
39:19
their understanding that they may comprehend
39:22
the scriptures, right? Jesus did not touch their
39:26
head. Do you know what I mean by touch their
39:28
head? You need to come and say, okay, since your
39:31
understanding is closed, come, let me lay hands
39:33
on you. Praise the Lord. So that, you know, like
39:36
I'll say something, your head will open. No,
39:38
that's not what he means. Right? He waits. He
39:41
said what? They're studying from what? From Moses
39:45
and the prophets. So he took time, he was diligent,
39:49
and he was explaining the scriptures until what
39:53
they understood. So when he said he opened their
39:55
understanding, it's not by laying hands. It is
39:59
by work. It is by explanation of the scriptures.
40:05
Praise the Lord. So as students, as believers,
40:09
of the scriptures, or sorry, as believers, we
40:12
all too have this skill to be able to interpret.
40:17
Praise the Lord. To be able to explain the scriptures.
40:24
When somebody asks you a question and you try
40:25
to explain it, the person says, I still don't
40:27
understand. You say, ah, it's because you're
40:28
a dog. You don't understand. There's no hope
40:34
for you. You know, this one, I don't know how
40:36
long. How long we keep telling you, praise the
40:40
Lord, is that you keep explaining. Praise the
40:44
Lord. You explain and explain through the scriptures.
40:49
I remember, personally, I remember when people,
40:54
at the time when they were talking about speaking
40:56
in tongues, and I didn't understand it. Praise
41:02
the Lord. I didn't understand what they were
41:04
doing, right? But one thing I know is that I
41:08
shall believe God, right? And I'm saved. So this
41:12
thing they are doing, I don't get it. Until somebody
41:14
explained to me from the scriptures, there was
41:17
no way I was doing anything. Praise the Lord.
41:21
So by explanation, it's not just, okay, just
41:23
speak. Somebody say, what are you people doing?
41:27
People are speaking in tongues. Say, just speak,
41:28
just keep speaking. He does not understand it.
41:31
You have not, from the scriptures, explained
41:33
to them. I remember Pastor Emma used to, When
41:36
we have somebody in our midst that is not speaking
41:38
in tongues, they will call them aside and open
41:40
the scriptures and start telling them this, this,
41:43
this, this, this, this, and the person gets it
41:44
and the person begins to speak in tongues. Praise
41:48
the Lord. Because, one, there is an explanation.
41:52
Praise the Lord. Of the things that the believers
41:57
have in Christ. Praise the Lord. So this is a
42:01
skill that we all to have. So in Esediasis, it
42:08
goes into the context also. Like I said, it goes
42:11
into the context of the scriptures. Right? So
42:17
the entire thing for Jesus is to convey understanding.
42:21
So what he was doing here is that he's trying
42:23
to convey understanding. He's trying to ensure
42:26
that the people understand. Praise the Lord.
42:29
He's trying to ensure that there is understanding.
42:32
Like I said, If you read this, there's a way
42:35
you read this, you think he laid hands on them.
42:38
Praise the Lord. Because when he said, beginning
42:40
at Moses, and you read it very fast, you think,
42:42
ah, he opened the understudies. How do you open
42:44
something? You just, you open the door. Praise
42:47
the Lord. Maybe he just did something and their
42:49
head opened. No, it is by explanation. It is
42:53
by interpretation of the scriptures. So, It's
43:02
important that we do exegesis. So in exegesis,
43:06
we read properly. Do you know what I mean by
43:10
we read properly? You're not rushing to finish.
43:14
You're not saying, okay, starting from Genesis,
43:17
starting from Moses and the prophets and the
43:20
Psalms, the things concerning him, you open the
43:23
understanding. You read properly. Praise the
43:26
Lord. And we can assess that sometimes we don't
43:29
read things properly. Like two times now, this
43:33
week, I myself and someone has read something
43:38
wrongly and we almost went to places where we
43:42
should not go, right? Remember when mommy came,
43:45
they wrote in our group that we need to pick
43:48
mommy by 2 a .m. I saw 2 p .m. It was there,
43:53
right? I saw 2 p .m. I started calling in the
43:57
afternoon. It's like, are we going? When are
43:59
we going to the airport? When are we going to
44:00
the airport? But the text message was 2 a .m.
44:04
So it's like you saw it, but your head is telling
44:08
you something else. Right? We're supposed to
44:12
have a meeting somewhere on Monday evening. It
44:18
was written three times, but the first one was
44:21
sitting here on Thursday. Praise the Lord. Right?
44:26
So you can, some things can be there, or you
44:28
can see something, it is clear. And you have
44:31
read it, but then your head is thinking something
44:33
else. Praise the Lord. So sometimes we can come
44:36
to the scriptures and we are not reading properly.
44:39
Praise the Lord. We read and you assume what
44:42
you read. You read something, okay, this is what
44:45
he said, but then your head already, maybe because
44:47
of the information that you have previously,
44:50
you just say, okay, this is what it means. Praise
44:53
the Lord. Let me give you an example. I remember
45:03
reading this year, one of the things I saw from
45:08
the Canaanites was in Exodus chapter 1. Exodus
45:12
chapter 1 from verse 16 to 22. And he said, When
45:35
you do the duties of the midwife of the Hebrew
45:38
woman, see them on the bedstool. If it is a son,
45:43
then you shall kill him. But if it is a daughter,
45:47
then she shall leave. But the midwives feared
45:52
God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded
45:55
them, but saved the male children alive. So the
46:00
king of Egypt called for the midwives and said
46:01
to them, Why have you done these things and saved
46:05
the male children alive? And the midwives said
46:09
to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women were not
46:12
like the Egyptian women, for they are lively
46:16
and give birth before the midwives come to them.
46:22
Therefore God dealt with the midwives, and the
46:26
people multiplied and grew mightily. And so it
46:31
was because the midwives feared God and that
46:35
he provided household for them. So Pharaoh commanded
46:40
all the people saying, every son who is born,
46:43
you shall cast into the river and every daughter
46:46
you shall save. Praise the Lord. Now, I came
46:50
across this and I know that there is a song when
46:57
I was growing up that talks about how, how, or
47:03
there's even a prayer about how you will give
47:05
birth as a Hebrew woman. Am I correct? Right?
47:11
There is this thing that, okay, you will give
47:14
birth as a Hebrew woman, right? There are prayers
47:16
like that. But if you read that, you know they
47:19
told a lie. Right? It was not that a They gave
47:28
birth fast or anything. Right? It was because
47:31
the people feared God. And so when Pharaoh asked
47:34
them, they told him a story. Or they told him
47:37
something. Praise the Lord. It was not that they
47:42
didn't have opportunity to kill the children.
47:43
It's because they feared God. So how can we explain
47:47
to Pharaoh? We can explain to Pharaoh that they
47:49
are lively and they give birth before we come
47:53
there. Praise the Lord. Is it because God blessed
47:56
the people? for doing that. Praise the Lord.
48:01
So, there is that where you can read all of this
48:05
and just see that the women are lively, which
48:08
most women that give birth want to be lively.
48:11
They want to give birth very, you know, I'm not
48:13
saying that, but how do we, how do we, how do
48:20
we measure lively and give birth on time? because
48:26
there are some women that two, three days, they
48:28
are still in labor. What would he say about that?
48:30
Right? There's some that maybe, as for my wife,
48:34
she gave birth like 45 minutes. Okay? So, can
48:41
I say, can I go and use that scriptures? Can
48:46
I go and use that scriptures? And, can I go and
48:51
use that scriptures and say, oh, this is why
48:55
that happened, because she's a Hebrew woman.
48:58
No. So when you read it properly, you will know
49:01
that, one, the things are very clear. It's that
49:05
the midwives, they feared God, and they didn't
49:08
carry out the instruction of Pharaoh. Now, the
49:11
stories they told, you can discuss it however
49:15
you want, but you know that they told the story
49:17
not because of what is going on, but because
49:19
they feared God. Praise the Lord. So you can
49:23
read something and interpret it however you want,
49:26
based upon the circumstance. Maybe your wife
49:29
is pregnant or somebody's pregnant. You now find
49:30
that scripture. You say, ah, no, we must pray
49:33
these scriptures. Praise the Lord. Right? There
49:37
are so many scriptures that we can pray for giving
49:42
birth and so many things like that. Right? Because
49:46
there is fear. There is so many things that is
49:49
going on. with the woman at the time, right?
49:53
And also God has encouraged us to pray whatever
49:56
sin we ask of him. Praise the Lord. He has also
49:59
given us a blank check to ask him. So if you
50:02
want, if you want your wife or somebody to deliver
50:06
on time without stress, you can pray that to
50:08
God. You don't need to go and carry. You are
50:10
lively. Praise the Lord. So it is important that
50:19
we do Exegesis. Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter
50:28
19. Seeing how the Pharisees were asking Jesus
50:31
Christ. Matthew chapter 19 from verse 3 to 4.
50:42
And the Pharisees came to him, testing him, saying,
50:45
Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? For
50:49
just any reason. Verse 4. And Jesus answered
50:53
and said to them, Have you not read that he who
50:57
made them at the beginning made them male and
51:00
female? Praise the Lord. Just keep that verse
51:03
4 there. So they were asking him to tempt him.
51:07
They were not asking for clarity. Praise the
51:11
Lord. So when we interpret or when we are studying
51:15
the scriptures, we are asking questions so that
51:17
we can get clarity. Praise the Lord. So when
51:22
Jesus said to them, have you not read? Right?
51:26
Have you not read? It's the word, it's a Greek
51:29
word, anagnosko. Right? A -N -A -G -I -N -O -S
51:38
-K -O. Anagnosko. Right? Means to read properly,
51:44
to know accurately. So when he says to them,
51:53
have you not read? Have you not read? Jesus was
51:57
saying to them that the Pharisees, the Pharisees
52:00
should know the scriptures. Do you understand?
52:04
He means that they should know the scriptures.
52:08
So he was not. He was asking them a question
52:16
of, have you not read as people that don't know
52:20
the scriptures? He's asking them as people that
52:22
know the scriptures. So when he says, have you
52:26
not read? He's saying that, do you not read it
52:29
properly? Or do you not know these things accurately?
52:37
So they can readily quote the scriptures, but
52:41
they misinterpret it. Praise the Lord. So somebody
52:46
can quote the scriptures, right? Or the Pharisees
52:49
quote the scriptures. Yes, Jesus was asking them,
52:51
have you not read? He quoted the scriptures and
52:54
he's asking them the question again, have you
52:56
not read? Means that someone can quote the scriptures
53:03
and not understand it. You can quote here, quote
53:07
here, quote here. Say, ah, this person is...
53:09
The things we do in secondary school, if you
53:11
go to Christian school, they will do like sword
53:13
in, right? And sword out. Who is the fastest
53:17
to open the scriptures? Or we play games of how
53:20
many scriptures can you quote? How fast can you
53:23
quote them? Praise the Lord. Or we call the scriptures
53:26
and you quote them. Praise the Lord. It doesn't
53:28
mean that those people quoting that team really
53:30
understood what they are quoting. Praise the
53:33
Lord. So for somebody to be, for you to say,
53:37
okay, somebody is probably have proper understanding
53:40
of the scripture. It's not by how many they can
53:43
quote. To quote is very important, right? It's
53:45
a thing that we should exercise ourselves in.
53:48
But it doesn't mean that the person necessarily
53:50
understand everything that they're quoting or
53:52
what they're quoting. Because Jesus asked them
53:55
that, have you not read the scriptures? So they
54:00
can quote the scriptures and they're not, and
54:03
still did not read it properly. So, Anaginosko
54:07
means you should read in detail. Right? You should
54:12
read in detail. He said, have you not read? So,
54:16
the question they were asking Jesus was from
54:18
Deuteronomy chapter 24 verse 1. Right? But the
54:24
book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the
54:27
Bible. Right? The answer that Jesus gave them
54:31
when he says, have you not read that he made
54:34
them male and female? He's in Genesis. They asked
54:38
him a question in Deuteronomy, right? He's answering
54:40
them in Genesis, meaning that they were supposed
54:44
to read it together, that they were not supposed
54:48
to say, okay, let's, since he said in Deuteronomy,
54:51
what's wrong with Deuteronomy? Praise the Lord.
54:54
They're supposed to know, okay, what is Genesis
54:56
saying to Deuteronomy? And they are able to interpret
54:59
or they are able to explain properly. Praise
55:03
the Lord. So that's how to read properly is that
55:05
Jesus gave them the clue that, look, go from
55:10
the beginning. You will understand this question
55:13
that you're asking, although they were asking
55:15
a tempting question. So it means that a proper
55:22
Bible exegesis is that you read the Bible systematically.
55:29
You don't take one thing and then you run with
55:31
it. You're also trying to find out what was said
55:36
from the beginning and what is being said now.
55:45
So it's like somebody trying to, for those who
55:48
did engineering, they're teaching you, you're
55:51
doing Maths 102 or Linear Algebra, but you have
55:54
no idea of what Maths 101 is. You'll suffer.
55:58
Praise the Lord. Because everything they're teaching
56:00
in Math 102 and linear algebra, the basis of
56:04
it is in 101. If you don't know it, sorry, there's
56:08
nothing that, there's no cramming you can cram
56:11
to go and write it. You understand? Except somebody
56:14
pass you the answer in the exam hall, then you
56:16
just copy. But if it's based upon, let me just
56:19
understand it, maybe you'll just be in one topic
56:21
or one of the topics of the semester throughout.
56:26
Because you need to understand what one -on -one
56:27
says because it's the basis of what is it. So
56:30
if you don't know what is being said from beginning,
56:31
you're not able to read properly. So they were
56:34
supposed to read the books together, not separately.
56:39
So have you not read, have you not, have you
56:44
not read Anna Ginosko? As believers, exegesis
56:47
means to read properly, to read from the beginning,
56:49
to read systematically. So the reading of the
56:54
scriptures, for us to be able to teach, for us
56:59
to be able to interpret, for us to be able to
57:02
make disciples or train, demands that you put
57:06
as much effort, if not much more, than what you
57:09
are doing in your academics. Praise the Lord.
57:12
It requires a lot of effort. So when Jesus was
57:16
saying to them, when he said that, starting from
57:19
Moses and the prophets, it was not a small work
57:24
that he was doing. or for him to be able to have
57:26
explained that. Praise the Lord. So for somebody
57:29
to be able to have explained the scriptures to
57:30
you, it was not because, you know, they were
57:33
just, you know, they read it and then they moved
57:35
on. Praise the Lord. They need to do a study,
57:38
a proper study. Praise the Lord. So in a place,
57:43
I'm going to close the date. We still have a
57:44
lot to discuss. As in a place, or if the church
57:50
takes his responsibility as a Bible school, when
57:54
you come to, the house of God, you're supposed
57:57
to be fed properly. You're supposed to receive
57:59
from God. Not you come and then somebody have
58:04
at least 10 ways to see the hand of God. One,
58:08
favor. You will not learn anything. You just
58:12
go home the same way that you came. But for somebody
58:15
to be able to explain the scriptures for you,
58:17
that you understand, that you have understanding,
58:20
that you... your eyes is open to it or your mind
58:23
is open to you, they need to do a lot of work.
58:25
Praise the Lord. There is a lot of work that
58:28
is involved. So you can choose, right? Like I
58:31
said, that God has called us to be ministers.
58:35
You can choose. One of the ways we respond properly
58:39
is that we do exegesis, that we study properly.
58:43
We respond properly. We don't say, okay, yes,
58:46
I respond, but, you know, I'll be preaching.
58:49
One light here, one light there, one light here.
58:52
Praise the Lord. So God has given us a mandate
58:55
to preach the gospel, to go and train. Praise
58:59
the Lord. To go and train. He just opened our
59:01
mouth and just began to bless the name of the
59:03
Lord. We appreciate you being here today. We
59:09
hope you carry this word with you throughout
59:11
your week. Don't forget to check the show notes
59:14
for additional insights. Stay connected with
59:17
us through our website or follow us on social
59:20
media. If you were encouraged, share this message
59:23
with someone you care about. Until next time,
59:26
stay blessed.