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Tuesday Night Handout Beatitudes 3

Beatitudes 3

Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth Matt 5:5

"The Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah because he didn't fulfill their messianic expectations. He even preached against the means in which they put their hope. They first rejected, then hated, and finally killed Him because instead of approving their religion, He condemned it, and instead of leading them to independence from Rome, He disdained revolutionary acts and offered a way of even greater subservience.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 anyone hanged on a tree is "accursed of God"

This was a stumbling block to the Jews 1 Corinthians 1:23

They ignored Isaiah pictures of what the Messiah would be like.
Isaiah 53:2
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Isaiah 53:6-8

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
Isaiah 53:9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Meaning of Meekness

Matthew 21:5
2 Corinthians 10:1

Difference between meek and poor in spirit?
poverty of spirit focuses on our sinfulness
meekness focuses on God's holiness
The sequence of the Beatitudes

1. Poverty of spirit is negative and results in 2. Mourning. We are comforted by and our attention is now directed towards God which produces 3. meekness. Meekness is positive and results in 4. seeking righteousness.

Blessings of the Beatitudes are for those who are
1. Realistic about their sinfulness
2. Repentent of their sins
3. Responsive to God in His righteousness

The proud Pharisees wanted a miraculous kingdom
The proud Saducees wanted a materialistic kingdom
The Essenes wanted a monastic (live like a monk) kingdom
The proud Zealots wanted a military kingdom

The humble Jesus wanted a meek kingdom

Job 5:11
Psalm 25:9
Numbers 12:3
Ephesians 4:1-2
Colossians 3:12
Titus 3:1-2

Meekness is not weakness
the word refers to the breaking of an animal - power under control, God's control

Proverbs 25:28 and 16:32 Hebrews 10:34

"The spirit of meekness is the spirit of Christ, who defended the glory of His father, but gave Himself in sacrifice for others."

Leaving us an example to follow.
1 Peter 2:21-23

He was the only human being who did no wrong, always had a perfect defense, but never defended Himself (He had the right)

He made a scourge of cords and drove out the money changers and sacrifice sellers from the temple (He had the power)

Meekness is not weakness, but it doesn't use it's power for it's own defense or selfish purpose. Meekness is power and rights completely surrendered to God's control.



Manifestation of Meekness

Abraham Genesis 13:5-9
Joseph Genesis 45:2 5,8 Genesis 50:19-20
Moses Numbers 12:3 Exodus 3:11 and 4:10
David 1 Samuel 24:5-6 2 Samuel 16:5-12
Paul Philippians 3:3 4:13
Contrast what happens to King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles26:4-5 and verses 16-21

Result of Meekness

inherit the earth Genesis 1:28

Most Jews believed that the coming great kingdom of the Messiah would belong to the strong, of whom the Jews would be the strongest. The Messiah himself said that it would belong to the meek, Jew and Gentile alike

Psalm 37:11 1 Corinthians 3:21-23

Unrighteous will not inherit 1 Corinthian 6:9 Psalm 149:7-9

Necessity for Meekness

Required for salvation
-Only the meek will inherit the earth, because only the meek belong to the King who will rule the future kingdom on the earth.

Psalm 149:4 Matthew 18:2-4

-It is commanded Zepaniah 2:3 James 1:21

-Because we cannot witness effectively without it
1 Peter 3:15

"Pride will always stand between our testimony and those to whom we testify - they will see us instead of the Lord, no matter how orthodox our theology or how refined our technique."
Only meekness gives glory to God - pride seeks it's own glory, but meekness seeks God's.

Meekness is reflected in our attitude towards other children of God

Humility in relation to other Christians gives God Glory

Romans 15:5-7

Biblical Description of the Church Part 3

Biblical Structure of the Church

1. Jesus is the head
Ephesians 5:23
23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

- Because HE died for us - not the pastor, not anyone else. He made all the rest possible
-He is the image of the invisible God
Col 1:15-20
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

2. God gives elders, bishops, and pastors
-these are actually three names for the same thing.
Elder comes from presbyter (hope I spell these correctly)
speaks of the man - one who is mature in the Lord
1 Timothy 5:17-20
17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." 19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.
-Deuteronomy 25:4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
- Luke 10:7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
Bishop comes from episcopus or overseer
speaks of the ministry
1 Timothy 3 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,[a] he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
Pastor comes from feeder
Speaks to the method
1 Peter 5:2-4 2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Feed the lambs, equip the saints

Titus contains a basic job description for a pastor
preach
raise up leadership
protect the congregation from false teaching

There are other needs in the congregation
3. For those needs God gives deacons

Comes from one diakonos which means one who serves
hupereteo "to do the service of a huperetes", properly, "to serve as a rower on a ship,"
To serve the Lord - be an under rower - get the ship where it needs to go

Deacon can be male or female

4. Saints One who is set apart
Philippians 1:1-2 1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops[a] and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are a living organism, a body, knit together by many joints
Romans 12:3-13

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

"If a pastor is expected to do all things then his bible studies will be undercooked and he will be fried"

Acts 6 1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. 7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

At first reading you might wonder who Peter thinks he is - too good to wait tables? But if you remember this is the same Peter who asks to be turned upside down at his crucifixion because he doesn't think it right he should die the same way as his savior.

It is not good for the church, and because they put their priorities in the teaching of the Word, Word of God spread, revival broke out, disciples increased, and the most unlikely people came to Christ.

SOAP: Habakkuk 1

I guess I'll kick things off for Habakkuk.

Habakkuk is one of my favorite books of the Bible. For a small bit of background, it's a theodicy which simply a branch of theology dealing with reconciling God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil. It was written around 606 BC by the prophet Habakkuk in anticipation of the coming of the Babylonian invasion.

I am listing the whole first chapter below, and this is the NASB version.

Habakkuk 1

1The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2How long, O LORD, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, "Violence!"
Yet You do not save.
3Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, destruction and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
4Therefore the law is ignored
And justice is never upheld
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out perverted.
5"Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days--
You would not believe if you were told.
6"For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That fierce and impetuous people
Who march throughout the earth
To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7"They are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
8"Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than wolves in the evening
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
9"All of them come for violence.
Their horde of faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
10"They mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them
They laugh at every fortress
And heap up rubble to capture it.
11"Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on
But they will be held guilty,
They whose strength is their god."
12Are You not from everlasting,
O LORD, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die
You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge;
And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
13Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor
Why do You look with favor
On those who deal treacherously?
Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
15The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook,
Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through these things their catch is large,
And their food is plentiful.
17Will they therefore empty their net
And continually slay nations without sparing?

Verse 1-4
Observation: Habakkuk is upset that God has not punished the wickedness of Judah.

Verse 5-11
Observation: God reveals to Habakkuk that He is going to use the wicked nation of Babylon (the Chaldeans) to punish Judah.

Verse 12-17
Observation: Habakkuk is now upset with God's plan. He does not understand how God can let the evil in Babylon seemingly go unpunished.

Application: I pretty much had the same application for this whole chapter. We cannot see the "big picture" like God can, so we should trust God's actions and plans. He is the only one who is omniscient. We need to remember that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Even if it doesn't make sense to us, God has is under control. He knows what He is doing and is working things to His glory.

Prayer: I pray that God would teach me to trust Him more. Even when things are hard and difficult to understand, I pray that I would cling to His promises.

The Church Part 2

Bible Study Notes The Church Part 2

I''m having a hard time with this but I am going to study and pray about it. You will understand later as I finish the notes.

We are doing a series on What Is The Church and right now we are in 1st Timothy

Just some introductory information. Romans through Philippians were all epistles or letters written by Paul to pastors. They were directed at pastors but there are blessings for all of us.

1st Timothy is not just a pastor epistle - it's a prison epistle.
Paul was in prison - not for anything we would consider a crime - he was in prison for preaching the gospel.
"He wasn't pouting - he was penning"
He worked for the glory of God's kingdom in the situation he found himself in.

Timothy was saved in Paul's first mission journey
On the second mission journey, Paul meets up with him again and asks him to go with him.
five months later a church is born is Ephesus which was a significant church. It was pastored by Paul, Timothy, and John. Jesus would write a letter to the church (Revelations)

1st Timothy could be divided into four parts
The Church
1 - Church message
2 - Church members
3 & 4 Church ministers
5 & 6 Church ministries

1. We are to preach the pure unchanging Word of God
there was then and is now - false teachings
OT law is supposed to be a guide that drives us to Jesus
we have to be careful that we don't become "sin-sniffers" happy to catch people in false doctrine
The best thing for us is the bible - the more familiar we become with the Word, the less apt we are to fall for false doctrine
The bible has always been the bible
"If it's new - it's not true. It it's true, it's not new"

2. Love of Christ
God desires that ALL men be saved
The world knows a lot about what we are against as Christians.
We are entrusted with the gospel - the Good News! We are to share with the world that Jesus loves you, wants to forgive you and change your lives - because He is FOR you!

3. Walk in Faith
We, just like Timothy, walk in warfare - there is false teaching
you keep going, not in your own power but in faith
In Timothy's case, he was prophesied over and that had to be a comfort
1st Timothy chapter 2
Church Members
Exhortation for embers of the body
Prayer - priority - we are to pray for everybody. It's easy to pray for ourselves and our loved ones. We even need to pray for our political leaders.
We complain about our leaders but as Paul tells us this - their political leader was Caesar Nero.

God can use even the most evil leaders sometimes. Caesar Augustus had a thought - after he had promised he wouldn't tax the people he decides hey, I'm going to count the people and tax them. In the mean time a very pregnat young girl who on her own would never have gone to Bethlehem, travels there to be counted in the census and a prophecy is fulfilled - the Messiah is born in Bethlehem.

we are to pray
we are to pray for everyone
the posture - holy hands lifted up

the posture can communicate something
sometimes - surrender
Sometimes - receiving
Sometimes - reaching up as to our Father to be lifted up and held

Jeremiah in Lamentations with our hands we lift up our hearts

Women are to dress modestly - modest comes from cosmos which literally means bringing order out of chaos
Jokingly said there is nothing biblical about no cosmetics and quotes mckee - if the barn needs painting, paint it.

A woman's dress - order? is she driving people around her closer to the Lord?
no shame, no blushing
moderation, sanity, self-control

women are not to teach or have authority over men

there is the hard part. I need to study and pray about this

11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15But women[a] will be saved[b] through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

These are the reasons that were laid out
It is biblical
Women are created more emotional creatures
divine design - not about ability
men need to be in a position of spiritual leadership or they will never mature spiritually
(not sure where that is found in the bible)

Adam sinned - he knew what he did
Eve was deceived
The serpent that appeared to Eve was not like the snakes of today but was a beautiful creature (?) and the way he tempted Eve? He asked her if she wanted to be more like God.
Women are already praying, already worshiping
Women will be saved in childbearing - this does not mean that you are not saved if you have no children - there are children you can pour into - "spiritual children" you can come along side

I am confused and hurting. If anyone has some biblical wisdom to help clear some of this up for me - I will be glad to hear it. I didn't post this last night because I thought it would help to sleep on it. It didn't.

What Is the Church?

What Is the Church?

I am sorry it has taken so long to post here. I have completely neglected Habakkuk and it has been awhile since I got any notes up here. We have been studying Beatitudes on Tuesday nights and to me that is all about walking around and taking apart what it is to be a Christian. What does God want of me as one person. These notes are from the beginning of a series on what the church is. I think it is key to look at this. For me personally I have been critical of "church" and the biggest thing for me in this study is to know that my attitude is offensive to God. This fits though with the Beatitudes look at the individual - To be poor in spirit - realizing my complete spiritual poverty, mourning my own sin, and turning to God's holiness, seeking His righteousness. The Holy Spirit does not need me to judge any individual or even more important any group of believers. This will be hard but I believe that I prayerfully need to be moving in this direction so here I humbly submit:

Bible Study notes 07/20/08

If you ask most people what is the church they might respond - the building. A white building with a steeple and double doors is a picture that most of us might identify with.
Some would say it is a social place where relationships are built.
Some would say that it is like a government relief agency spending every dime to help every person in need who comes through the door and then, when a disaster happens spend the rest of their money flying to where they are needed.

While church should have aspects of all those things if you look to the bible for what church is supposed to be you will find three main pictures.

1. Biblically the church is the Body. Ephesians 4:11-16 tells us:

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Everyone in the body has a different purpose but they are ALL in ministry. The ministry is not just the pastor or worship team but God wanting to use the life of each and everyone of us right where we are at - in our family, our job, our school, wherever we may be. The pastor can't be everywhere we are so we are to be like 007 secret agent Christians. Pastors take the Word and pour into us to equip us to minister to a lost and dying world. If the congregation has the mentality that only the pastor, staff, worship team are in ministry then many times those churches die. In those situations the congregation becomes the watchers or audience.

So the first purpose of the church is to equip the body for ministry - "In Reach".

2. Believers - the Church is a group of believers.

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is known as the Great Commission but in many churches it is treated as the great Omission. As the church we are commanded by Jesus to do this corporately as the church. We are to come along side and put a "spiritual arm" around others and pour into them.

To do this we again, need to be equipped.

In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul tells Timothy:
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

The second purpose is Out Reach - when we are given the opportunity we should always be asking the Lord how we can meet that particular need. We are to be equipped by the church to go out and come along side, pour into, and minister to a lost and dying world.

3. The Bride
John 3:29
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled (John the Baptist is speaking of Christ)

As the Bride of Christ the church has a special relationship with the Lord. Does the Lord like it when people are critical of the bride? The Lord is into church. He is there in the midst, the bible tells us.

Whatever opinions we have about different churches Matthew 18 tells us :
"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
It doesn't say anything about the building, the style of worship, how everyone including the pastor dresses, or any of the other petty things we say and think abut each other.

In Revelations 1 we are told that Jesus walks among the churches
And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

To each of the seven churches He writes a letter that gives them a little picture of Him. Notice that no one church has the whole picture. The whole Body gives a more complete picture.

God wants to be worshipped

John 4 says

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus is the seeker - he is seeking believers

1 Corinthians 6:19

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Psalm 73

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;

Worship means to turn and kiss

There are different kinds of kisses - there is blowing a kiss - casual and keeping your distance

There is the grandpa kiss - get in and get out quick

Then there is the kiss that lingers - the bride

What kind of worship?

The third purpose of the church is Up Reach!