Your Word is a Lamp....

  May 19, 2023 The Prophet Part I  The Office of a Bondservant  “If anyone thinks he is a prophet, let him acknowledge that what I say to you is the Lord’s command.” (1Corinthians 14:37) Why does Paul say this? Because written scripture (including Paul’s own writings) always trumps spontaneous prophecy. According to the New Testament, the “office” of a prophet (if we have to word it like that), is exactly as the other four listed ministries - a position of Servanthood, for the building up of the Church, for the glory of God: Being a prophet is to serve the Body of Christ, in the House of the Lord, like a Pastor or a Teacher, etc. We are not celebrities…We are bond-servants. We’re merely serving in the Body; I don’t have a more spiritual walk than you…I’m likely not more mature than you…I certainly didn’t earn the ministry of prophet. I’m just serving in the Body, in the capacity that the Lord decided to give me, like every other faithful believer. (Maybe if we stopped usi...

  Part 1 Written 21 November 2022 The role of a functioning Apostle… In its truest and most literal sense, one who is “Sent” by the Lord…For what purpose? The Bible clearly shows us, for the purpose of delivering the Gospel (testifying to the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins:  See Acts 4:9-13 ) to a people who have not yet heard…to go to a place with an untapped well (Genesis 26:18-26), to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Isaiah 52:7; 61:1-3), with signs and wonders accompanying; leading to the planting and overseeing of churches. (I have seen this for myself as a missionary to Kenya and I know it to be true) The Lord will always watch over the truth of His Word to perform it. (Jer. 1:12) The first Apostles, having seen Jesus face to face (1Cor9:1), were the very first to do this, paving the way, in life and in death, for other missionaries (or “lesser apostles”, if you like) to follow in their footsteps: Some were give...

 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6 ~~~ Because the Cross of Christ is our equalizer: at the Cross of Christ, we find ourselves on a level playing field; no matter our nationality, race, tribe or background, when we approach the Cross, we do so without exception, as sinners (without hope and destined for Hell) in need of a Savior: of which there is only ONE. ~~~ For there is no distinction:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:21-23 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the s...

 But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.  22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.  23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings,and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.  25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;  27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily press...