(79) If you are a Christian, you are a king

Why is Jesus called the King of kings?

Jesus is not called King of kings because He was more powerful than all earthly kings that we know, although that is true. There is not one king who will ever have more power or glory than Jesus.  Jesus is not called King of kings because He controls everything in the universe and everything belongs to Him, although, once again that is true. Nothing in this universe that was created was done without Him.  There is only one reason why Jesus is King of kings.  Those who believe in Him are kings.  We who are followers of Christ are kings.  He is our king.  HENCE, HE IS THE KING OF KINGS.

• Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth. (Gen 1:28)
• I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. (Matt 16:19)
• Moreover, to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?  Aren’t they all merely spirits who serve, sent out to help those whom God will deliver. (Hebrews 1:14)
• The Spirit himself bears witness with our own spirits that we are children of God; and if we are children, then we are also heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Messiah — provided we are suffering with him in order also to be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)

When we were created we were given dominion over all the earth, to rule over it.  Not just the animals but the earth.  Because later that passage goes on to say that we are given all plants as well.  The earth was ours.  When Jesus told Peter that He is giving him the keys to the kingdom, He was telling him for all of us.  He said He will build His kingdom upon these keys.  And these keys are whatever we bind on earth and loose on earth.  Our words are power.  He has given us power in our words.  We can proclaim and declare like kings.  Angels serve us because we are to be served.  That is not underscoring angels but lifting up the childrenof God.  Whatever we ask for we are to be given!  Are kings ever denied?  Even more, are children of the KING ever denied?  We are heirs to the kingdom of God.  We are given gifts from God.  This is why we as a follower of Christ are given spiritual gifts to use.  We have power!

This is why we are told to pray.  This is why we have power when we pray.  Prayer is faith.  Faith is power when we speak in the name of Jesus.  This is why we can say to the mountain MOVE and it has to, because we have been given dominion over the earth.  Peter walked on water not because Jesus was there but because he could anyway.  He just did not know it.  He sank not because of the waves.  They were already there before he stepped out onto the water.  He sank because he allowed doubt back into his mind and Jesus said, "You of little faith".  Kings have power when they speak.  Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered.  He spoke to the demons and they fled.  He spoke to a dead man and guess what, Lazarus rose!  He gave us the power to do these things when He rose from the dead and left us the Holy Spirit.

The only One we need to ask permission from is the One who is above us, the King of all kings.  When we speak to disease, addictions, or whatever your mountains are (whether physical or metaphorical) in the Name above all names they HAVE to listen.  We ask in the Name of the KING as a child of the king.  These things we were given and have dominion over!

We will one day we will receive our crowns.  Some say there a 5 different types of crowns.  But then we will see such a glory of the King of kings that we will lay our crowns down before Him. (Rev 4)

Why then are there so many problems in this world?  Man has let sin dominate him.  Man has let the world dominate him.  Man has let doubt in.  Man thinks this is foolishness.  The world and all of its intellect tells us that we are crazy for believing.  It tries to remind us that we are hypocrites.  It tells us that we are bigots.  It tells us that being a believer in Jesus is wrong and irrelevant.  It forgets that we are also human and more importantly, forgiven and not of this world.  There will be some who read this and scoff at the sight of the word Jesus and get angry by the time they reach the end.  The problem is we have listened to the world for too long.

Man lost it when Adam fell but God covered him.  Israel lost it when they disobeyed God but He covered them by giving them the Law.  The religious lost it when they took the Law and created rules for it but God covered them by sending the ultimate gift.  And now, we have been given the kingdom again.  He left the Holy Spirit for us to use and He left the Spirit in us (Acts 1:8).  When Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand He meant more than just Himself (Luke 17:21).  It is not only in our midst it is in us.  The kingdom is for us to take a hold of.  If we only believe.

It is time we take back our kingdom.  Live like kings.  You are a child of the King of kings.

(71) Names of God, Revisited

One of the most read lesson on this site is  http://ideasoftimbible.blogspot.com/2010/01/31-names-of-god.html.  It explores the meanings of some of the names of God that we see from the Bible.  Some of those names mentioned were these:

• El Shaddai- God Almighty
• El Elyon- God Most High
• El Roi- God that sees
• El Olam- The Eternal God
• YHWH Jireh- God provides
• YHWH Rophi- God that heals
• YHWH Nissi- God is our banner
• YHWH Shalom- God of peace

But there is something that kept coming to mind that was missing about these names.  It wasn't in the differences between Latin and Hebrew versions.  It wasn't in the name actually at all but it is in the verb that stands with the name.  These verbs are present tense.  They are not past or future, but present.  That means that God is not the God of the past.  We can thank Him for what He has done of course but He is not the God of the past.  He is not the God of the future.  This is not to say that He has nothing to do with the future or that we don't have to care about our future eternal life.  He is the God of the present.  We live in the present.  He cares about us now.

 

The best name for God is the one He gave Moses.  I AM.  Notice it is not "I was" or "I will be", but I AM.  Sure, this also means He transcends all time and that time is meaningless to Him.  But, with God there are always two meanings, one spiritual and one physical.  This also means He is here with us now.  So, when we say His name as Jehovah Jireh, we are not saying God will provide.  We are saying God is providing!  God will not heal, God is healing!  God will not give us peace, God is peace!  When Isaiah said that by His stripes we are healed it is not saying that we will be healed. It says we are! God provides our daily bread. God sets us at peace every morning because His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  If we believe then we receive.

 

Too many times we pray God if you will, when we should be saying thank you God for what you are doing.  This is why Jesus told us to pray as though you have already received it (Mark 11:24).  He is doing it now.  This may show why sometimes things happen at once and others take time.  We are in the process of receiving these promises that God will not forsake us.  We live day by day.  Our faith grows day by day.  Our faith struggles if we have to wait for the results.  The strongest of faith knows it is already done.  But sometimes our faith goes through hard times so we can see the glory of God when time reveals.  This is hard to do since we live in a physical world and our senses deceive us.  We rely to many times on what we see, but we are not suppose to walk by sight but by faith.  Faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

 

Jesus' name is also Y'shua Ha Mashiach which means Jesus the Messiah, the Savior.  When does He save?  Now!  Forever.  With each day that comes, God provides, heals, sees, saves, and waves His banner of love over us (Exodus 17:15).  We are forever His.  The Great I AM is here, now, waiting for us to accept His promises and then watch your faith work.

(67) The Book of James

The man who brings the harsh practicality to life.

The name James is derived from Jacob.  The Hebrew version is Ya'akov which means to grasp or to cheat.  The first "Jacob" is probably who most Hebrew men named James or Jacob were named after.  This is the third major James mentioned in the just the New testament alone.  The other two were James, the brother of John, son of Zebedee and James known as the less, son of Alphaeus.  This James is actually a brother of Jesus, (Mark 6:3).  It was written between 40-45 AD, perhaps the first New Testament book written.  Some think it was written later near his death but with so many Jewish undertones it is more likely that is was written before or around the time he wrote a letter to Jews in Acts 15.  It was written in Jerusalem.

This book is basically a manual for applying faith as opposed to Hebrews that is a dictionary of faith.  You can tell it was heavily influenced by Proverbs and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount since half the book is "to do" statements.  The verse of without works faith is dead is the most criticized verse in the Bible.  The language used in the book is the most straight forward and in your face teachings than the rest.

This James was the non-believing brother of Jesus who was converted after the Resurrection (John 7:1-5, Acts 1:14).  He had become the leader of the church of Jerusalem probably around the time that Peter started on his missions.  Both Peter and Paul listened to him for advice.  James is the one who wrote letter to Jews to tell them to accept people as brothers even though they had not converted to Judaism first in Acts.  The book of Galatians calls him an Apostle (Emissary).  But not the kind that is sent to other places, more like the one who is charged with church leadership.  Tradition has it that James was martyred in 65 AD by being thrown off the temple by Ananus the high priest.  Another story has him being stoned after refusing to denounce Jesus.  A bystander came by and clubbed him in the head.  The bystander said the last words by James were "forgive them for they don't know what they are doing".

Some of the main points are:

1. Having temptations and knowing how to defeat them builds character.  This character makes you who you are (1:2-4)
2. Bad character brings death, good character brings life (1:12-18)
3. There is no favoritism in God's eyes, so we should not do it (2:1-4)
4. Faith needs action if it is going to have any value (2:26)
5. The power of the prayer of faith (5:13-16)

At this time Christians were starting to become targets.  It was not widely accepted yet, especially in Rome.  Claudius had banned Christianity and the first of three major persecutions had started.  Some had even been scattered due to the persecution and were having "faith" but not doing anything about it but running.  This book was written to warn Christians that faith is more than just believing.  True faith is expressed in all situations.  Faith is not just believing in something.  Faith is also a verb and sometimes using faith will cause disruption.  Go back to Hebrews to study more.

(66) The Book of Hebrews

The power of faith.

No one knows exactly who wrote this book.  Some suspects are Apollos, Priscilla, Philip, Barnabas, Silas, Clement, Paul, even Luke.  All we know is that the writer knew who Timothy was (13:23).  It was written somewhere between 60-70 AD and was probably written from Italy, or at least the writer knew people in Italy.  Most would say it was not of Paul due to the way it opens because it is not in the same manner.  This is the only book of the Bible that is a complete mystery of who the author is.  It is also written in Hebrew and not Greek like the rest of the NT was written.  We do know it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome since it talks about the Temple in present tense.  The destruction of Jerusalem was in 70 AD.

The OT is mentioned over 80.  And because it pretty much tells the main stories of people and their faith it is considered a "mini Bible".  Some scholars think this was actually a sermon instead of a letter written to anyone in particular.  But the common thought is that the audience meant to hear this was either Messianic Jews who were reverting back to the Law due to persecution or Gentile Christians who were in the midst of being persecuted.  The persecutions mentioned were done in one of the following time periods:  Claudius who outlawed Christianity in Rome, Nero who fed the Christians to the lions, or Domitian who burned all Christians opposed to him.  Nero being the most commonly accepted person of rule.

Some of the main points are:

1. How superior is Jesus?  Try reading this passage.  (1:3-4)
2. God sent a piece of Himself, in the form of Jesus, to become like us and showed death will be conquered (2:14-31)
3. Jesus is the Great High Priest (4:14-5:3)
4. What Jesus did, He did it ONCE for ALL (9:23-28)
5. The Faith chapter (11)
6. Discipline is love (12:7-8)

The persecution during this time period must have really been bad enough that someone felt the need to address staying strong and faithful while it lasted.  It is also stressed that the law of Christ far outweighs or is superior to the law of the OT.  The common theme of who Christ is in this book is that he is the Great High Priest.  This book shows you how important it is to have faith. Sometimes faith is not popular with the world.  It will get you scorned.  It will get you ridiculed.  It will get you angry with friends and family.  But for those who hold fast in their faith; justice, peace, and reward is theirs.  Unfortunately, faith is hard to find today.

(65) The Akedah Coincidence

What is faith?   Hebrews tell us it is the assurance of things hoped for, and convinced of things not seen.  Another way of looking at faith is instead of living by what we know, feel, and want, we live by trust, believing, and sometimes sacrifice.   Lesson 64 mentions it requires action.   God tells us to pray, worship, care for the sick, turn the other cheek, tithe, baptize, take communion and many other things.   We don’t do these things to gain salvation.   We do these things because our faith is made up of these things.   We do these things because our faith tells us they are the right thing to do.   And if we do anything outside of our faith, that is called living by the flesh.   When we live by the flesh; sin enters and the promises of God are put on hold.

But how do you get faith?  By hearing the word of God.   And you do that by listening to speakers of God, by reading the Word; getting interested in God’s word by sharing things together.

Have you ever heard the weird connections between Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy?

1. One was elected in 1860, the other in 1960.
2. Both had a vice president named Johnson, one was born in 1809 the other in 1909.
3. Both were assassinated.
4. Both assassins had three names John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, both have 15 letters in them.
5. Lincoln was killed at Ford’s theater; Kennedy was in a Ford (Lincoln) when he was shot.
6. Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and ran into a warehouse. Oswald shot Kennedy in a warehouse and ran to a theater.

As strange as that is there are more similarities between Isaac and Jesus than Lincoln and Kennedy.

1. Both Isaac and Jesus were long awaited promised sons.  Isaac was promised to Abraham when he was 75 years old but the promise did not come true until he was 100.  Jesus had been promised to the Jewish nation since man had fallen in the Garden.
2. Both births were questioned by their mother.  Sarah laughed when she heard she would become pregnant.  Mary did not understand how this could happen to her.  Why?  Read the next point.
3. Both mothers were of weird ages.  Sarah was 90 when she had Isaac.  Mary, while unknown the exact age, was a virgin and since women married young in these days we can assume she was somewhere between 12 and 15.
4. Both were made alive after their death.  Even though Isaac was not actually sacrificed in the flesh, to Abraham he was already dead.  God had told him to do it.  Abraham believed God would provide for him somehow to keep Isaac or get him back after the sacrifice.  Isaac was symbolically dead.  Jesus of course was physically raised from the dead after really being sacrificed.
5. They both carried the wood they would be sacrificed on.  Isaac had the wood for the altar placed upon his back by Abraham.  Jesus carried his execution stake up and down the streets of Jerusalem.
6. The mountain is the same mountain or at least the same area (Salem).  Abraham was led to the region of Moriah and was shown the mount to sacrifice Isaac.  This place was known at the time of Salem, later to be known as Jerusalem, the place Jesus would be sacrificed.
7. Both births were at a given point in time by God alone.  God had told Abraham the time Isaac would be born.  There was an appointed time for his birth.  Jesus had been appointed since the fall of man.
8. Both were the only begotten son of their father (spiritually speaking).  Although Abraham had two sons and Isaac was the second one born, he was the first one born of faith.  Ishmael who was Abraham's first son was born out of the flesh.  Abraham used his own means to get a son.  But God had a different plan and gave him Isaac out of faithfulness.  Jesus was Joseph's son but not from the flesh.  He was God's son and Joseph raised him.
9. Jesus becomes the lamb that the bush had in it.  Isaac was saved by the hand of an angel.  God had provided another way out since Abraham was faithful.  Jesus is that other way out for us.
10. On the third day they both were resurrected.  The time it took Abraham and Isaac to reach the place God had appointed for the sacrifice was three days.  All this time Isaac was symbolically dead.  Jesus was in the tomb for three days.  After three days both were no longer dead.
11. They both have Jewish family but married gentiles.  This one is a little play on words but still works.  Abraham was considered the first Jew.  So Isaac and his immediate family and descendants were Jewish.  Isaac married his cousin, not a Jew.  Jesus was raised Jewish but married the church and since Judaism does not accept Jesus then the Church could be considered gentile.
12. Both are given up by their father.  The most important point is this one.  Both were given up by their father to serve as a sacrifice.  Both were loved dearly by their fathers but knew this had to be done.  Both were innocent.  Isaac was young and perhaps had not yet reached the age of accountability that allows us to understand the difference between sin and righteousness.  Jesus never sinned.  Both were spotless and the father knew their blood would set things right.

When we read this we can start to know that God has a plan. We may not understand the plan like Abraham.  http://ideasoftimbible.blogspot.com/2010/03/34-abrahams-lie.html Sometimes we seem like we can’t find God like Jacob. http://ideasoftimbible.blogspot.com/2008/12/6-wrestling-with-god-genesis-25-34.html But in the end if we have faith God will provide the lamb a substitute lamb like he did for Isaac, and of course that is Jesus.

 

Here is the difference between the two scenarios:  the link between Lincoln and Kennedy is a coincidence, the link between Isaac and Jesus is what a great pastor from southwest Ohio calls a God-incident.  The connection between Lincoln and Kennedy can basically be found many times through out history and perhaps really have nothing to do with each other. http://www.snopes.com/history/american/lincoln-kennedy.asp  But no one can break the connection between Jesus and Isaac.  This is prophecy.  This is fact.  This is from God.  This allows faith to become stronger because we can see the works of God.

 

We live in a world that is losing its faith. We live in a world that has no idea what faith is or who God is. True story:  A teacher got a complaint from the administrator that said a parent did not like the military attitude and "forgery of swords" quote that was in the email to him.  What the person did not know is that the line he did not appreciate was part of the signature the teacher uses in all of his emails.  And the line actually says "as iron sharpens iron, so man should sharpen man".  The person had no idea that the line was an encouragement for people to help each other, yet he misunderstood it as though his flesh was being challenged by a sword.  What a pathetic world we live in.

You have to hold on to faith. You have to follow your faith.  Don’t let anything replace your faith, don’t let your head replace your faith, don’t let the world tell you to get rid of your faith. Faith is what gives us the promise of eternal life. Faith gives us hope. Faith gives us reason to keep living when all else seems useless. Without faith we are nothing.

(59) The Book of Colossians

The Church of the Stoic.

Colossians is considered the sister book of Ephesians because it focuses on Christ as being the head of the body which Ephesians said was the Church.  It deals with the supremacy of Christ rather than the Holy Spirit and the gifts.  Paul actually never visited the church here.  It was written in 61 AD during his imprisonment in Rome, about 7 years before his death.  He was either imprisoned with Timothy at this time or Timothy came to to see him and was given the letter to be delivered to Colosae. 

Colosae was a city in a volcanic area.  As a matter of fact during the year this book was written, the city was nearly destroyed by an earthquake. Many Jewish people had settled into the area due to persecution by Antiochus III.   But before it died out, it was a diverse city.  Many educated people came to Colossae to discuss the world.  A group that emerged in this time period were the Stoics, those who explained the world through logic and reason, a predecessor to the Enlightenment thinkers 1700 years later.  Out of this group came a sect of "Christians" called Gnostics; using astrology, mysticism, and Judaism.  They claimed Christ but denied many of the things that the Apostles said Jesus did or commanded.  They believed that God did not really come to earth but only seemed to appear in the flesh.  Jesus was no more than an angel.  God of the old testament was inferior to the God of the new testament.  Man's laws did not put a bind on Christians.  Some people gained "gnosis" (secret knowledge) and this knowledge outweighed the strength of faith.  Hence this is heresy.  The church located here did not understand that knowledge comes from the Spirit so Paul prayed for them to gain this wisdom.

Some of the main points are:

1. The connection between God the Father and Jesus the Son as One.  (1:15-17)
2. God's ways are higher than man's and we can't comprehend everything that is done (2:6-10)
3. We are not of this world and shouldn't live like we are (3:1-4)
4. The Christian household and what it should be like (3"17-23)
5. Prayer is a priority (4:2)

It was written to combat the false teachings of the Gnostics and stoics.  The main theme is that we are united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.  Jesus is the head of the Church.  But people using their own knowledge try to make the rules instead.  Like the stoic and Gnostics they think they can do all by themselves when in reality they can not.  Faith is important, no one can explain everything and when they can't they start to think there is no God.

(34) Abraham's Lie

Have you ever wondered why Abraham was considered righteous?

• 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
• 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
• 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
• 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
• 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

Abraham was called by God to sacrifice his only true son, Isaac. Abraham went through the whole ordeal but it seems as though he lied to his servants. He told his servants to stay while they go worship and then they will come back! Now if he was to sacrifice Isaac, he knew only he himself would come back. Did Abraham lie? And he was still considered righteous. Well, he didn't lie.

Abraham knew Isaac would live. Before all of this happened Abraham was promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the grains of sand. When Abraham took Isaac up the mountain he knew that somehow Isaac would be coming back down with him. So when he said "we" will return, he meant it. However, he probably also expected that Isaac would have to be actually sacrificed, in the literal sense. So why would he think both would be coming back? Isaac would be resurrected! To Abraham, Isaac was already dead. He knew that he would have to truly give a sacrifice, not just an offering. Sometimes true worship means just more than your offering (money, feelings, times or any aspect of life). Abraham knew that true worship meant giving all you have. Isaac meant the world to him. It was all Abraham had. True Ishma'el was there but Ishma'el was not born out of faith. He was born of the flesh. He was born out of desire. He was not the promise God had for Abraham. The true son of Abraham was Isaac. The true sacrificed had to come by or through him.

And because he acted out of faith God provided a way out. Such as in our lives. Sometimes we see an easy way out. We see the things born out of the flesh as what can satisfy us and so we take that route. But God calls us to a place. He calls us to His route. If we stay faithful and follow His route and not our own, God will provide all we need. Since Abraham stayed faithful and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, God gave him the lamb caught in the brush. God called Abraham to a place. He didn't tell Abraham to sacrifice there at home. That would not have been a sacrifice. Staying home is our comfort zone and we would tend to remain to comfortable and not put our full focus on what God calls us to do. Therefore we may not even follow through with our sacrifice or worship. Abraham had to follow the directions of God to prove his faithfulness. The mountain that God told Abraham to go to was Mount Moriah, the highest peak in the area. This just happened to be the same mountain Christ was crucified on.

In all ways Abraham trusted in God. This is what made Abraham righteous. His trust. His faith. Hebrews tell us, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." This is why the promises he was given were granted. Faithfulness gets you the promises of God.