Church Of The Lost Sheep

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century John 12:32 [This is the  25th  lesson of  this series ] #asburyrevival In early February 2023 an outpouring of the Holy Spirit happened during a chapel service in Asbury University in Kentucky. What happened was in a Book of Acts level. It was spontaneous and unexpected.  It was later on covered by the news as it went viral in social media. And of course it attracted both camps of supporters and detractors (like in the days of Jesus).  An Awakening The service at Asbury on February 8th extended after the scheduled time and it went on for 11 straight days until the campus decided it had to close it down. In that time it had already attracted over 50,000 people into the campus and much more into their town and countless individuals online. And it had already birthed other Spirit outpourings in various campuses and other places. Revival Today the out...

'Paul remained two whole years in his own rented quarters and continued to welcome all who came to him— proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord  Yeshua  the Messiah with all boldness and without hindrance.' Acts 28:30-31- this is the last entry written in the Book of Acts [This is the  24th  lesson of  this series ] The Book of Acts was written by Luke, a follower of Christ. It was a companion book (a sequel) to the Book of Luke, both of which he wrote to a person named Theophilus (Theophilus is both an actual name and an honorific title), so that Theophilus can be certain of everything he was taught about Jesus of Nazareth. Luke told him that he have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, and that he decided to write an orderly account for Theophilus. As already mentioned in previous lessons, these letters (these books) have been written for believers. Ordely Account The Book of Luke was about the life of Jesus u...

'For all the law is fulfilled in one word,  even  in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!"' Galatians 5:14-15 [This is the  23rd  lesson of  this series ] We are living in an age where more and more people who used to believe in God or the concept of a God, are abandoning the idea of God. People think it is because of the technological advancements of humankind. Or that people are smarter now. Or people have access to the internet, an online community, or because of Youtube, Tiktok, the Hubble Telescope, SETI, aliens or whatever. Whatever it is, it is not that. People have always been people. People have always been about the here and now, or about themselves. And it is even more evident today, people do not know how to wait anymore. People are easily bored. People don't care about anyone but themselves. And people are easily duped, which is surpris...

"Jesus' disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest." Luke 9:46 in the Contemporary English Version [This is the  43rd  lesson of this series] Scriptures is clear on how the first followers of Christ made mistakes, how Jesus called them many times for these and how they fell flat on their faces. The problem with many followers today is that we have read about these embarrassing miscues, yet we fall into the same pitfalls ourselves. Who's The Greatest This is a big reason why the whole world has not yet heard of the gospel of Christ, because followers of Christ continue to argue among themselves as who has the best teacher, who has the greatest founder, who has the best church building, who has the most members, who has best bible, who has the greatest worship songs and so on. Now, even those within the same sect and the same congregation are trying to fight among themselves for power, position or influence. For being saved by grace and having n...

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You established— what is man, that You are mindful of him? And the son of man, that You care for him? Yet You made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and majesty! You gave him dominion over the works of Your hands. You put all things under their feet:" Psalm 8:4-7 in the Tree of Life Bible Version [This is the  22nd  lesson of  this series ] We are living in exciting times. The increase in knowledge, discovery and exploration has been unprecendented. The most powerful human made telescope has just shown the world the most vivid images from deep space. James Webb Space Telescope https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages And there will be even more amazing images to come out. Differing Viewpoints What those who do not believe in God are saying is that they are sure that there is life out there. Yes, even if they have no physical evidence. Their o...

'And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord  is  upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to  the  poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to  the  captives And recovery of sight to  the  blind, To  set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave  it  back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 14 :17-21 in the New King James Version [This is the  42nd  lesson of this series] In this excerpt taken from the Book of Luke, Jesus of Nazareth, full of the Holy Spirit started to preach the good news of the Kingdom ...

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not from this fold; those also I must lead, and they will listen to My voice. So there shall be one flock, one Shepherd." -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century John 10:14-16 in the Tree of Life Version [This is the  21st  lesson of  this series ] We are living in an age where everyone has the ability to connect with everyone, in real time. All it takes is a smart device with a mic, camera, speaker and monitor, and wi-fi. It will just be a matter of time, until everyone, can be together, as if all in one huge congregation. Everyone can see and hear the same thing, where ever they may be in the world, any time zone -- everyone, regardless of race and location will be of one flock. Seems Impossible Back in the 1st century, Jesus of Nazareth was talking about things that seems impossible or unbe...

" I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. " -Jesus of Nazareth, speaking to His closest disciples, 1st century John 15:5 in the Berean Study Bible Version [This is the 4 1st  lesson of this series] We study Scriptures for our own spiritual edification first, and to teach others second. Any other reason is not what it was intended for. We've talked more about this in a lesson in another series. God's Presence Followers of Christ today need to study Scriptures, and they need God's presence. Christ was with His disciples almost 24/7, eating, sleeping, travelling with them from one place to another; teaching them, and sitting in as He was teaching others. While with Him, they too were able to do the impossible, as Jesus did. After Jesus died. Peter and the rest of the disciples went back to doing what they were doing before they met Jesus. Peter along with sev...

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh,  that is,  of the heart." -Apostle Paul, writing to the 1st believers in Corinth, 1st century 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 in the King James Version [This is the  20th  lesson of  this series ] We are living in an age where everyone is skeptical, yet everyone is easily deceived at the same time. People investigate for themselves, yet they also readily believe and are even following blindly (what others are saying or doing). New Testament Bible Because no one would typically say this, we need to mention that the Christian bible (New Testament) is a compilation of letters, letters written by followers of Christ in the 1st century. They weren't meant for the world. They were written for believers. More often than not, Jesus...

'And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.' -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Luke 10:2-3 in the Berean Study Bible Version [This is the  19th  lesson of  this series ] We are living in a post pandemic world, in a postmodern society (or at least in a world where people have a postmodern mindset). These words of Jesus from back in the 1st century is actually still true today as it was in that century, and in every century and generation since. It will continue to be true now and in the coming generations (if we even get there). In fact, it got truer every passing century. Except in several places, in several generations, where and when the wolves ran with the lambs, disguised in sheep's clothing (but that's another lesson for another day). Post Modern So what is a postmodern mindset? Let us read an excerpt fr...

'He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee,  standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”' -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Luke 18:9-14 in the English Standard Version Bible [This is the  6th  message of this series] It's in our nature to think tha...

"In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:16 in the New Living Translation Version ------ “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven." Matthew 6:1 in the New Living Translation Version [This is the  4th  lesson of this series] This dig into the bible is about the same way as in the previous message , and almost every other criticism about the bible. If you are observant, we are not going into those digs that contrast Old Testament verses with New Testament. We have already discussed about this in other lessons. But to give a quick reason. It is because the OT is the Jewish bible, the Christian Scriptures is the NT. The OT contains the Old Covenants and the NT, the present covenant. Here is a rundown on these . Backstory Jesus was born in Judea, in a Jewish society and into the Jewish faith. In His ...

" For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." Romans 3:28 in the New International Version ------ " But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" James 2:20 in the New King James Version [This is the  3r d  lesson of this series] This message is actually more important to a believer than an unbeliever, but because it is added to the long list that people hold on to, to justify their stand that the bible is unreliable, and the reason they don't believe it, we have to discuss this matter in the public square. I want to add though that I find it amusing that some unbelievers seemingly spend more time studying the bible (although more to find what's wrong with it) and talking about it than many believers. They spend more time trying to justify their unbelief than some believers do to justify their beliefs. Although I'm not raining on their parade, at the rate some of them are going,...

The Birth of Jesus " Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child." Luke 2:1-4 in the Berean Study Bible Version [This is the  2nd  lesson of this series] Most of us has heard of the biblical narrative, Jesus was born in Bethlehem .  While Mary was pregnant with Jesus, she and Joseph had to take that trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem . Both towns are in Judea . The trip would have taken them about four days, on a donkey or walking, 14-20 miles a day. For long time believers, they should already know that God will use anyone, a...