Church Of The Lost Sheep

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20 in the English Standard Version [This is the  23rd lesson of this  series ] There are several themes in the bible that tells us how as believers, we have been united with Christ. It might take some time to look them all up. And we who are united in Christ are all joined together as brothers and sisters in Christ through the blood of Christ (regardless of our ABCDES; age, backgound, class, differences, ethnicity or status or sect). The whole Body of Christ is made up of all us combined. Christ was born in human flesh so He can have communion with us in the physical. Our heavenly Father sent us His Spirit so we can have communion with the Holy Spirit (in the spiritual, for God is spirit). And so we are united with Him in both the physical and the spiritual,

" For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4 in the Berean Study Bible Version [This is the  22nd lesson of this  series ] Note: I finished writing this message and then fell asleep right after. For some reason, a huge part of what I typed up was deleted. I am not sure what happened or how, but for sure it wasn't by chance. So I asked the Holy Spirit to complete this lesson, this is His lesson (not mine) anyway. In the previous lesson we spoke about how people are seeking man's approval and validation. But this is not the way in the Kingdom of God. When preachers of the Word seeks God's approval and not other's, then the path is straight and the Way is lighted. The Holy Spirit guides and God's Word is revealed. The Apostle Paul taught his studen

" For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" Galatians 1:10 in the English Standard Version [This is the  21st lesson of this  series ] It is in our human nature to look for validation . This is why when we receive approval from others, we get bubbly inside. And this is the reason why social media  became so popular. People can post something instantly and through this medium they can get instant approval -- likes, emojis, virtual hugs, high fives, we love it. People can't get enough of it. Approval of Others This is what the Apostle Paul was writing about to the 1st church in Galatia in the 1st century. We should read the Book of Galatians to find out more about what he wrote in this letter. And Paul knows all about this need for the approval of men. He was a prominent member of that exclusive, pretentious , group of people known as the Pharisees. A

" Do those things that prove you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act." Matthew 3:8 in God's Word Version [This is the  20t h  lesson of this  series ] Most days we will disappoint God. No, don't flatter yourself, it's unbecoming. I don't think God minds it too much though that we fall short from time to time -- we will. We aren't perfect. Just look at His disciples. Their failings are in the bible for a reason.  God knows our capacity and our inadequacies.  What He expects rather is that everytime we fall, we stand up and learn from our mistakes. Not that we all have the same learning curve or rate of learning, we don't. But God expects a definite progression from our absolute worst when He first picked us up (washed up, clothed, fed and given new eyes to see, new ears to hear, new language to speak and a new heart and a renewed mind), to what He knows we are capable of becoming and were chosen to do (an essential member o

" For through the grace given me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think—but to use sound judgment, as God has assigned to each person a measure of faith. For just as we have many parts in one body—and all the parts do not have the same function— so we, who are many, are one body in Messiah and everyone parts of one another." Romans 12:3-5 in the Tree of Life Version [ This is the  19t h  lesson of this  series ] Jesus of Nazareth has always been about love and unity. He didn't start a religion but a movement where every member form One Body -- The Body of Christ. This One Unified Body is the Bride of Christ. The bride Jesus promised to return to after He has prepared their eternal dwelling place in heaven. Bride of Christ This is a portrait of the wedding of the Jewish people of old. The bridegroom goes off to prepare the house where the newly married couple will live in. And in about a year returns to his bride and

"We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know." 1 Corinthians 8:1b-2 in the New International Version This is the  18t h  lesson of this  series ] If you have following the lessons in this series from the beginning then you can tell that there is a consistent theme emerging not by our own agenda, not by coincidence or chance. But rather by God's design and because it is the truth. Truth we have found and because Truth has found us. The Truth shall set us free but first we need our mustard seed size faith to believe and then everything starts to fall into place. Knowledge The Pharisees, the religious leaders, the teachers of the law, the scribes, the priests and the Levites serving in the temple all have knowledge of God and Scriptures, so much more when compared to the average person. But when they met Christ, the God who they have studied about, face

" These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence." 1 Corinthians 10:12 in the Message Paraphrase Version [This is the  17t h  lesson of this  series ] Many of us may have seen teachers or professors like these, those being full of themselves and their abililities, and thinking they know everything they need to know because they have been teaching the same course for a very long time. And they are not called terror teachers for nothing. But teaching the gospel is not like teaching a class in English 101 or Algebra. The gospel or the Word of God is alive. To teach it is not a matter of memorizi

"From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! 1 John 1:1-4 in the Message Paraphrase Version [This is the  16t h  lesson of this  series ] You know what one of the greatest ironies of life is? It is that we need to accept that common sense is not really common. In fact it is rare. Foolishness is so much more common than common sense. Hence there is a need for teachers who can teach, and teach effectively. Tea

“Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”  For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! Acts 28:28-31 [This is the  15t h  lesson of this  series ] These four verses mark the end of the Book of Acts as written by Luke. This will make it appear that the Book of Acts didn't end. Technically we can say that it continues to this day. The Book of Acts is an open ended book, its stories continue on with the testimonies of believers as the Holy Spirit works (acts) through them. Teaching Through the Centuries Evangelists, teachers and believers from every tribe and every nation, in every generation since the 1st century have added their testimonies into the unwritten eternal Book of Acts as they continue to believe in Christ, make disciples and bring the gos

"Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life." James 3:1-2 in The Message Paraphrase [This is the  13t h  lesson of this  series ] This excerpt was taken from a letter written in the 1st century to the 1st Christians (who came from the Jewish faith). They were forced to disperse to different locations from their homeland because they were being persecuted for their new faith. This letter is attributed to the leader of the 1st church -- the Jerusalem Church. We can deduce that from being all separated and residing in various places, there would have been reason to believe that many among them have started to teach the story of Christ, the stories He have told them, and the goo

" For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 in the English Standard Version [This is the  10t h  lesson of this  series ] Image Credit: Bible.com God's Word is useful for teaching and training -- tenderly and lovingly showing us the Truth. God's Word exposes our rebellion, our pride, our arrogance, our ignorance and our hidden agenda. God's Word corrects our missteps, lights our path so we can see the Way, this makes us to plan accordingly and to make the right decisions. The Word of God picks us up when we are down (not kick us while we are at our lowest, guilt-trip us, mock us or force us to quit). This is all so that we can do what God has called us to do and live a life more abundantly. And so we can teach others not merely because of head knowledge but because we personally are

"He Himself gave some to be emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers— to equip the  kedoshim  (the holy ones) for the work of service, for building up the body of Messiah (the Anointed One). This will continue until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of  Ben-Elohim (the Son of God) — to mature adulthood , to the measure of the stature of Messiah’s fullness." Ephesians 4:11-13 TLV The Truth Jesus of Nazareth nurtured a dozen men along with a few other men and women for some three odd years. When the earthly ministry of Jesus was coming to an end, He told His team that He will not leave them as orphans but will send them the Holy Spirit who will be their Teacher from then on. The Way These small select group along with a few others taught by the Holy Spirit wrote what is now known as the New Testament bible, the Christian Scriptures. Scriptures and God's Spirit are our Teachers tod

"I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you." -Jesus of Nazareth, speaking with His disciples, 1st century John 14:25-27 [This is the  6th message of  this series ] Continuing in this series of lessons, we have been learning who Our God is and who He isn't. After having known many of God's attributes, we will now talk about the Three-in-One God. He is God, He can do the impossible. One God The God written about in the Jewish bible revealed Himself to the Jewish people through their prophets. A central message of the Jewish Scriptures is to await for the coming of the Messiah , the Savior of the world as prophesied over many generations. Christian God The followers of Christ (Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem) believed Him to be the long awaited and pr