WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 6
Mar 31, 2005
Hi !
In this issue, you'll read:
THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS - PART ONE
BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART FIVE
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR - WEEK SIX In addition, we have had the joy and pleasure of spending time with Bishop Lathrop and his friend John who are visiting from The Upper-Room Fellowship in Everett, Washington. It is always such a blessing to see any of our Freedom Covenant Ministers. Our prayers are with these men as they return home today that God will bless them abundantly with His Grace and Protection. It is very exciting to present the new format, announced in our last edition, for the Bible study portion of the newsletter. This week we begin our study with The Book of Ephesians. While the reading plan presented in the study may seem a little too simple at first, I would encourage each of you to follow the instructions and try to read the text in one sitting. This may not be as easy as it sounds because we as humans have a tendency to want to look at definitions of words, compare other scriptures, stop and investigate topics, etc. There will be time for these steps later as subsequent studies will then break the text into sections and allow for a closer inspection before moving on. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." In this Scripture Paul is basically saying that we need to be disciplined in our studies in order that the Holy Spirit may impart to us the Truth of His Word. After all, His Truth is what we should be seeking. Until next week... Blessings to all, The W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter may now be accessed on the Internet by navigating to II. We begin this week with the book of Ephesians. But before we begin reading the book itself, let's talk a little about its writer and its original readers. The letter we call Ephesians was written by Paul, addressed to the Christians in Ephesus, a vibrant harbor city in what is now called Turkey. During one of Paul's missionary journeys through the region, he had stayed in Ephesus for three years, preaching the Gospel and teaching the young Ephesian church. Read Acts 19:1-40; 20:17-38 Let's get ready now to read the book of Ephesians. We're going to read the whole book in one sitting. But wait! It's not as long as you think! Most people can read it all in less than half an hour. III. Memory Verse 1. Ask the Lord to help you remember his Word (see John 14:26). 2. Use the version of the Bible you are most familiar with. What you normally read in your Bible is what you need to be memorizing. 3. Don't just memorize the contents of the verse; memorize its “address” (the verse reference) as well. You can do this by following this pattern: Step 1: reference; Step 2: verse content; Step 3: reference. Then repeat steps 1-3. Note that you are quoting the reference twice as many times as you quote the actual verse content. This gives the verse a clear “reference tag.” 4. After you have read your memory verse out aloud several times, try going through your memory verse without reading your computer screen. 5. Look up your memory verse in your Bible. Look at its immediate context and read the verses that come before and after your memory verse. 6. Print out your memory verse or jot it down on a piece of paper. Take this paper with you when you go to work or do other daily activities. Meditate on the meaning of the verse throughout the day. 7. During your noon appointment with the Lord, take out your memory verse and go over it again. Talk to the Lord about what this verse means to you personally. 8. In the evening (at either your evening study or your evening devotions), see if you can quote your memory verse from memory. Then, without looking at the memory verse itself, see if you can find it in your Bible. 9. The next day, before you begin committing a new verse to memory, rehearse your previous day’s memory verse and see if you can remember it (without cheating!). 10. Finally, at the end of the week (possibly on Sunday), collect all your week’s memory verses, rehearse them and see if you can recall them without reading them. Spend a little extra time on any verses you have difficulty recalling. 11. Remember: Don't just memorize a verse. Put it into practice (James 1:22). It is not being able to quote a verse from memory that counts. It is His Word abiding in your heart that counts (John 15:7). When you actually apply a verse consistently to your daily life, that is when you truly know that verse! Acts 2:42-47; " In our introduction, we listed the twelve actions of the early church found in this passage, that lead to the end result, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Last week, we discussed the third of those twelve actions. Now, beginning with verse forty-two, let's read the passage continuously through today's action. " Today's action is different from the previous three. Although an "action," it is itself a "result" of the previous three actions. The key to understanding this point is the word "then," or as some translations read, "and." "Then [and] fear came upon every soul..." This little word is the hinge upon which today's result swings. This particular fear was a result of the "continuing stedfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." Those three diligent actions on the part of the early Christians led to the pivotal result, "Then [and] fear came upon every soul..." To better understand this, we need to examine its two parts. First, let's read from the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs 2:1-5; " Proverbs 8:13; "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate." According to these verses of Scripture, there is more to "to the fear of the Lord" in the body of Christ than to be in reverence and awe of the most Holy and Powerful God. We as Christians are to hate evil [sin]! "But hate is such a strong word, you say! We are not supposed to hate." Read the verse again! It says, "The fear of the Lord is to [hate] evil...!" What does this mean then if we are not to hate? This means there must be a discernable difference between our "daily" life and that of a non believer. Otherwise, what do we have to offer the world? An "emotionally charged high," experienced during church service, followed by a non distinguishable walk throughout the week does not a successful Christian make! Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-3; " Our Christian witness should never be limited to church services and special meetings where we are gathered together with other members of the Body of Christ. Our "everyday walk" should be a neon lighted billboard on the road of life inviting non-believers to come and experience the same life changing redemption we have received from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, to say that one is a Christian but not live a changed life and shun evil [sin] is to send a conflicting message to the world. Caution, we must be very careful not to allow the dislike or "hate" of the evil [sin] to cause us to withdraw the love of Christ from those who are lost in the darkness of the world. Turning our attention to the second part, let's read from Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible. Barnes tells us the following: "Act 2:43 - And fear came - That is, there was great reverence or awe. The multitude had just before derided them in Acts 2:13; but so striking and manifest was the power of God on this occasion, that it silenced all clamors, and produced a general veneration and awe. The effect of a great work of God’s grace is commonly to produce an unusual seriousness and solemnity in a community, even among those who are not converted. It restrains, subdues, and silences opposition. Every soul - Every person or individual; that is, upon the people generally; not only on those who became Christians, but upon the multitudes who witnessed these things. All things were suited to produce this fear: the recent crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth; the wonders that attended that event; the events of the day of Pentecost; and the miracles performed by the apostles, were all suited to diffuse solemnity, thought, anxiety through the community." In Barnes analogy, we can see that the events taking place in and around the early Church were so powerful that even the people on the outside looking in were awestruck by what they saw. The same multitudes who had mocked and ridiculed the Christians earlier were now "quite impressed," even to the point of becoming silent and awestruck by the mighty and majestic power of God. When was the last time an outsider looked at the Church and saw such an outpouring of God's Spirit through His people that he/she was awestruck? Too long ago, you say? Well, let me ask a couple of other questions. Why is this the case in the modern Church? Is it because God's power has dwindled or because He has stopped moving within the Church? Not at all! Today the world is not impressed with the Church because it is sometimes hard to distinguish a clear and significant difference between the people in the two walks. It is not the doctrinal issues of Scripture that the world opposes so much as it is the "in-house" fighting and bickering over those doctrinal points by various branches [or individuals] within the Body of Christ. It is not the outward displays of anointing and power that may happen during the services at the local Church that cause so much derision and mocking by the world, but rather the fact that the people who are experiencing the "hand raising, tongue talking, feet dancing, [you get the picture] hallelujah moments" during church services are not living changed lives and presenting Christ-like attitudes the rest of the week while outside of the Church building or meeting place. It's no wonder there is no reverence or awe in the world for God in the 21st century. Some may at this point be feeling antagonistic emotions rising within themselves, but we should each go before the Lord honestly and sincerely, and examine our own hearts in the "small things" before rejecting this idea. For example, what do we think or say when we are cut off in traffic while trying to hurry home after work? What action do we take when someone cuts in front of us in the grocery store line? Where is our Christian love when we feel we have suffered an injustice? Is it different when the one offending us is a Christian than when they are a non believer? Remember, whatever is inside will show on the outside. We can try to mask it and may even succeed for a time, but sooner or later, if we don't cultivate a true Christ-like love and attitude toward those who come into contact with us, we will be looked upon by the world as one of those dreaded "hypocrites." Why? It will be written all over our face, and show in our actions! Sure, we can try to convince ourselves that those who think we are a hypocrite just don't understand that "Christians are not perfect, they are just forgiven." And by using that analogy, we can easily justify to ourselves our own attitudes and actions without having to sincerely seek God's help in breaking old habits, and changing from a "flesh-walk" to a "spirit-walk." But the results of that type of thinking has brought us to the condition the church is in today. It is time to STOP this behavior before we do even more damage! It is time for us as the people of God to "fear the Lord by hating evil [sin]," thereby showing the people of the world the transforming power, majesty, and Grace of the Living God. This in turn will bring about a fear [awesome reverence] upon the people on the outside causing a hunger within them that will dispel the ridicule and draw them to Jesus. When this happens, we will once again experience our desired result, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Until next week, we are on a journey "Back to the Kingdom." Bishop Sam T. Leigh Unless otherwise noted: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
I would like to welcome everyone to this week's edition of the W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter. We are sending this out a day late because things are really hectic here at the Administrative Office. We have started some planned construction improvements, beginning with the preparation for pouring a concrete entryway into our new reception area - classroom that is under construction. It is very exciting to see the development of this project taking shape over the past few days. We want to thank those who have donated to this project: Ed, for his backhoe work; Patrick and Timothy, for their labor; Wesley, for the form materials; David, for his cash donation, and my wife, for her love and patience.
Rev. Sam T. Leigh
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail:
Website: www.fcgm.org
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THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS - PART ONE
I. Devotional Reading
In your devotions this week, read Psalm 91 on day one. As you read, talk to the Lord about the content of this psalm. When you have finished, go back and find one or two verses and meditate prayerfully on them throughout the day. Repeat this for each day of the week using different verses from this Psalm.
This is actually the way many of the books of the Bible were originally intended to be read. For example, most of the New Testament books were written as letters, designed to be read aloud by the church in one hearing (see Colossians 4:16;
1 Thessalonians 5:27). By putting a magnifying glass to God's Word, we can sometimes miss the full meaning of what God is seeking to get across to us.
So, find yourself a comfortable seat (as if you were about to read a novel or a newspaper), and start with verse 1. As you read through Ephesians, keep asking yourself: What is Paul seeking to say to his readers? What is the most important thing on his heart? Try to find time to repeat this process at least three times during the next week. Remember, for this first week, the object of the study is not to analyze verse by verse, but to get a feel for the overall message God is communicating to us.
Psalms 27:8 When You said, "Seek My face,'' My heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek.''
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BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART FIVE
In this series of articles, we are examining each of the twelve actions of the early church listed in Acts 2:42-47. Our goal is to study this passage of Scripture to help us establish, for comparison sake, a pattern of conduct within the early church, then determine how far removed the 21st century church has become from this pattern in order to better understand its present condition. For the purpose of our examination, we are working on the premise that "with all things being equal, we can expect the same end result." Let's take a moment and read the entire passage again.
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This newsletter Copyright © 2005 Freedom Covenant Global Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Individual articles displaying copyrights from other ministries are used by permission, have been formatted for use in this publication, and remain the property of respective ministry. Permission is granted to copy, print, and distribute this newsletter for ministry purposes, whether whole or in part, so long as ALL copyrights remain in place and no copies are printed or distributed for sale or commercial purposes.
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