How Needful-The Father Image

From the teaching 9/17/11

How Needful-The Father Image

Gen. 22:1:And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

Tempt (defined):

1. test
2. prove
3. tried

 2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.



Exact parallel as what happened with Abraham and Issac and The Father and Jesus.
 3And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Abraham rose up early to be about The Father's business.
 4Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
Three days
 5And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
Abraham believed in the power of the resurrection
 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
The same as Christ having to carry his own cross.
 7And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
 8And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Christ referred to as the Lamb of God
 9And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Like Christ being nailed to the cross.

In the garden, Christ had the disciples with him but, they fell asleep. Abraham left his traveling partners and journeyed alone with Issac the rest of the way. It is just you and God in a situation like that.

 10And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
 11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
 12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.



Abraham Passed The Test

Abraham, Father of Many Nations

Gen: 17:4: As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
 5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.



Abram (Hebrew): high father
Abraham (Hebrew): Father of a multitude



 6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
 7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
 8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.



Abraham, Father of us All



Rom. 4:16: Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Gal. 3:7: Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Christ gave His body to produce a bigger Body

Mt.26:26; And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

 27And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;



Christ's Body is alive in His People-when He resurrected he begat a
another body.



I Corth 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

And...

:26: And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

 27Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

If The Foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

From the teaching September 10, 2011

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Psalm 11:3: If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Foundation (defined):

1. support
2. base
3. purpose

Psalm 104:5: Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

Solomon's Temple

I Kings 5:17: And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

Hewed (defined):

1. something cut
2. dressed stones

II Chron. 8:16: Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.

Perfected (defined):

1. complete
2. made ready
3. whole
4. lacking nothing

Isa. 28:16: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Not make haste..

won't leave quick

won't run away from it

I Peter 2:4:To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

 5Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.



 6Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.



 7Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,



 8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.



I Corth. 3:10: According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.



Masterbuilder (defined):

1. Chief contractor
2. Architect

 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Why Was John Chosen To Write The Book of Revelation?

From the teaching Saturday, 7/9/11

Why Was John Chosen To Write
The
Book of Revelation?

John wrote the Book of Revelation.

John occupied a chief place in the heart of Christ. Thus, the most blessed and beautiful
description we have of any disciple is that John was the one “whom Jesus loved.” John
mentioned this in his gospel, referring to it 5 times without mentioning his name.

John 13:23: Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus
loved.

John 19:26: When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he
loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple
took her unto his own home.

John 20:1: The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet
dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

2Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus
loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and
we know not where they have laid him.

And...

:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the
sepulchre.

And...

:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw,
and believed.

John 21:7: Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when
Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did
cast himself into the sea.

And...

:20; Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which
also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?

21Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

John was the Apostle who personified Love. He had an ability to write what he
saw, in fact, he ended the Gospel of John this way;

John 21:25: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they
should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written. Amen.

John was the youngest among the Disciples of Christ, and the longest lived
Apostle of The Church. John began the preparation for his ministry as a disciple of
John the Baptist.
In his Gospel and Epistles, John gave to the world a definition of love, and such a
declaration of love could only have been learned from close personal contact with
Jesus, himself. Through all his spiritual development, John knew that the Love of The
Master held him captive. For over 70 years, John maintained a firm and fearless
witness for his Master.

What kind of person John was, when he was first called...

Mt. 4:18: And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called
Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and
John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called
them.

22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Immediately (defined):

1. at once
2. directly
3. as soon as
4. forth with
5. shortly
6. straightway

John's picturesque writing ability is seen in his first epistle, in these verses...

I John1:1: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the
Word of life;

2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you
that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

manifested (defined):

1. made visible
2. revealed to us
3. disclosed to us

3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus
Christ.

Rev. 1:1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his
servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his
angel unto his servant John:

2Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all
things that he saw.

John was a record bearer

3Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep
those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

4John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him
which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are
before his throne;

5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead,
and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in his own blood,

6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which
pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God,
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Patmos-it was a volcanic, treeless, rocky island, about 6 x 10 miles; and about 30
miles SW of Samos. It was made a place of exile by the Romans for the lowest of
criminals.

10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a
trumpet,

11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a
book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto
Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,
and unto Laodicea.

12And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks;

13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with
a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a
flame of fire;

15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the
sound of many waters.

16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged
sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me,
saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and
have the keys of hell and of death.

19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which
shall be hereafter;

20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven
golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven
candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Rev. 2:1: Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that
holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks;

2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them
which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and
hast found them liars:

works (defined):
1. toil
2. deed
3. doing
4. labor

and...

:4: Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Nevertheless (defined):

1. yet
2. notwithstanding
3. one thing yet is above all

left (defined):

1. forsake
2. lay aside
3. leave
4. let alone
5. omit

Some thoughts that came to Brother Mastin as the message was coming:

A. not wanting to do as quick or as fully and completely.
B. not going out of the way to do.
C. putting off to do some other time
D. not as happy to get to do
E. not finding the greatest satisfaction to do God's Will.

5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works;
or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent.

     Additional thoughts:

Be mindful of the height from which you have fallen. Do the works you did
previously when first you knew the Lord.

And...

vs.6: But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
Nicholaitanes: Followers of Nicholas, a heretic who taught and preached impure
and immoral doctrines, such as community of wives, and the community adultery and
fornication was not sinful and that eating mean sacrificed to idols was lawful.

God's Grace, The Saving Power

From the teaching 9/3/2011

God's Grace, The Saving Power”

Noah represented Grace in the Old Testament; Apostle Paul represented Grace in the New Testament.

Gen. 6:8: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Grace (defined):

1. God's unwarranted favor
2. God's redemptive mercy
3. The power and equipment for ministry

Eph. 2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Gen. 6:1:And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

 2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.



 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.



 4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.



 5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.



 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.



 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.



 8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.



 9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

And...

11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

 12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.



 13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.



Flesh (defined):

1. Anything that you've given your time to, going against God's will.
2. The weaker element in human nature.
3. The seat of sin in man.
4. Man's lower nature.

 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.



Ark: Dimensions: Considering a cubic is 25”, the Ark was about 625 feet long, 105 feet wide, and 62.5 feet high.

Noah

I Peter 3:19: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

 20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

II Peter 2:5: And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Heb. 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Mt. 24:37: But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

I Corth. 15:9: For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

 10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

...by the grace:

1. By God's unmerited favor, I have become what I am.
2. His unmerited favor shown to me was not bestowed for nothing.

Paul called by Grace-Jesus revealed in him

Gal.1:15; But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,

 16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:



Rom.1:5: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:



Eph. 3:2: If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

 3How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

 4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

 5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

 6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

 7Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

 8Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

 9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

 II Corth 12:7: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

 8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

 9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Only One Jesus-Only One Paul

From the teaching 8/27/2011

Only One Jesus-

Only One Paul

Text: Rom.1:1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

Acts. 9:1: And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

 2And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.



 3And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:



 4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?



 5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.



 6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.



 7And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.



 8And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

Phil. 1:21: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Gal.1:1: Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

and...

:11: But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

 12For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus



Christ.

Acts 9:10: And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

 11And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,



 12And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.



 13Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:



 14And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.



 15But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:



chosen (defined):

1. divine selection

The means I have chosen

My chosen instrument

 16For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.



(Jesus said): I, myself will show him.



Gal. 1:15:But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,



 16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:



 17Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.



 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.



 19But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.



Rom. 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

I Corth 15:8: And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.



 9For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.



 10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.



Rom. 2:16: In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.



Rev. 20:11: And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Only One Gospel

Gal.1:6:I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
 7Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
 8But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
 9As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.