BIBLE STUDY AUDIO
TEACHIINGS FOR YOUR EDIFICATION AND BRINGING YOU TO THE FULLNESS OF THE STATURE OF CHRIST
Our Bible Study audio messages can be accessed from here. These are teachings recorded in the course of our weekly serialised Bible Study meetings for your spiritual edification and development.
Besides the audio, the conclusion/summary of the message is also displayed. This notwithstanding, the full Bible Study outline can also be accessed from the link indicated at the end of the conclusion/summary.
We pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to you as you listen.
Church Life (6): Church Business (Communing & Conversing with God)
Isaiah 56:1-7; Matthew 21:12-17
It is only fitting that the last of the primary activities of the church in conducting its business be prayer; and it is by no means the least of the activities. The house of God, which today, is the church of God in one place, must indeed be a gathering for prayer, and not a gathering of looters of public funds, people who have no concern for the needy in Society, etc. Rather, when we gather, it must be to commune with God on matters of His heart, which we must converse with Him about vigorously.
When the church rightly becomes a gathering to pray for civil authorities, to meet the needs of the poor in our midst and in Society, and, to seek the face of God about happenings in our communities, then we shall begin to see the power of God at work through the church. Evangelism will truly be with power, as we shall witness true conversions; there will be real deep joy in the hearts of men, and the fear of God will come upon all men!
And as we talk to God, we must expect to hear a response also from Him (2 Chronicles 20:1-18ff; 1 Corinthians 14:27-33).
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Church Life (7): The Healthy Church
The parameters that make for a healthy church as enumerated are:
(a) Relationship with the Holy Spirit, and responsiveness to His leading;
(b) Teaching and learning, implying that believers are taught the word of God, they learn and assimilate what they have been taught, and are living out the word of God anywhere they are;
(c) Bonding and sharing, where the individuals in a church bond continually, regardless of status, nationality, skin colour, etc., and, share of their substance, amongst themselves;
(d) Caring and loving, in which the individuals in a church care for each other and manifest the love of God towards one another;
(e) Unity of the brethren, by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and in the purpose of God;
(f) Praying, including intercession, praying for the work of God, and the workers;
(g) The fear of God, which must be the basis for wisdom and understanding; and,
(h) Growth, which must be more internal and qualitative, than numeric.
A truly healthy church will have all the above parameters present. For instance, it will be led by the Holy Spirit, living by the word of God, cooperating with each other (not in competition, nor comparing amongst one another), communal, united around the plan and purpose of God, praying the Will of God, reverential of God (not of men or the man of God), and, growing to perfection.
Such is the task before the church, and its leaders today—to nourish and nurture the new believers to adhere to every word of God and grow in the knowledge and grace of God (1 Peter 5:1-10; 2 Peter 3:18).
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What the Church Ought to Be
Matthew 16:13-23
In order to know the state of the church of God today, we must know what the church ought to be; and this we have seen in the symbolisms, which the Lord graciously revealed to us through John, the Elder and apostle. The symbols are:
- The golden lampstand, which is a figure of the church, and depicts a tried and tested church—one that has been purified, and is pure—a church that is local, without branches, that is, not denominational, and a light to its locality;
- The star, which depicts the ‘angel’ or messenger whom God has appointed over the local church, and whose primary role is to lead the flock of God to the Lord Jesus Christ, just as the star at the birth of Jesus, led the wise men to Him. The messenger of God, as a steward of God, is to faithfully lead the church by preaching and teaching them the word of God faithfully, and without any inordinate desire for acquisitions.
- The One standing in the midst of the golden lampstand, this is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who sees all things, and knows all things happening in the churches. He is, really, the Light which the churches must shine forth in their various localities. Indeed, without Him in the church, there is no church; and without Him upholding the messenger, the messenger will falter.
So, the church of God ought to be pure, local, and a light to its locality. She ought to have a messenger divinely appointed over her, whose responsibility is to feed the flock with the word of God faithfully, and lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ, without any desire for filthy lucre. The church must have the presence of the Lord Jesus with her at all times, otherwise we don’t have a church.
We must note, however, that the church of God is not a building, but the people who have been saved from sin and eternal judgment, and who are now living for God. So, as we conclude, we need to answer the following questions:
• Are you, as an individual and integral part of the church, a light in your locality—your neighbourhood, school, place of vocation, etc.?
• Are you, as an individual and integral part of the church, living a life of purity?
• As an individual and integral part of the church, is Christ truly living in you, or are you savoring the things that be of men?
• As a messenger of Christ to the local church, are you still in His right hand of power and authority, or have you departed for the world, as was documented of Demas?
At the end of the day, the state of the church will reflect the spiritual state of the individual members that make up the local church, as well as the spiritual state of the messenger of God to the church!
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Assessing the Churches
Luke 16:19-26
The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a vivid reality of human assessment v. God’s assessment, and the passing of His judgment (2 Corinthians 5:9-11; Romans 14:12). While you and I may hold a church or a man in high esteem; God may in fact consider the church or man an abomination (Proverbs 28:9; Isaiah 1:10-17)!
The assessment of the churches is not going to meet our human criteria for what a church ought to be, rather it will be based on the Lord’s criteria. His criteria are based largely on what we cannot see physically, but on what He sees of the state of the individuals in the church, and the messenger He has appointed over the church, as enunciated in His word. For He looks at the heart, not the outward. And when He is assessing the churches, if He finds none to have met the standard, He will declare that He has found none; He is not under pressure, like men are, to lower the standard in order to find some churches that will meet the mark. Indeed, the few churches that He finds to have met the standard of God, will surprise many of us, as He will choose churches that are not known to us, and indeed, may be in places we are not aware of!
When the Lord is assessing a church, it is not a building He is assessing; but the people who make up the church, including the messenger He appointed over the church. So, how will we fair? Matthew 23:1-38—when the Lord declared woes on the Pharisees and the Scribes, no one believed that they could be found wanting, yet they were clearly off the mark! Let us not be like them (2 Corinthians 10:12; 1 Corinthians 10:12). Let us take advantage of the grace of God, to help us meet the standard of God, which we cannot meet otherwise. Let us not take the grace of God for granted and ignore His help to make us meet the mark (Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 139:23-24)!
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The Assessment of the Churches (1): Introduction
Revelation 2:7b, 11b, 17b, 26; 3:5a, 12a, 21a
In the assessment of the churches in the Book of Revelation, as the basis for assessing the state of the church today, we need to note that:
1. Each letter is addressed to the ‘angel’ or messenger of each church, but its content speaks to every member of the local assembly, including the messenger.
2. The message to each church is for the salvation, admonition, correction, edification, and comfort of God’s people.
3. Even though the message is to the local church specifically, yet it is also for the learning of all the churches (wherever they may be) past, present, and future.
The Lord is aware of the challenges and difficulties that we face in the world today, but He lets us know that we can overcome [have mastery over; conquer; be victorious over] them! (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 2 Corinthians 10:8-9; 1 John 5:4-5; 4:4-6; Revelation 12:11; Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Beloved, these letters challenge us to overcome what overcame others, because they could have overcome, if they had listened to the Lord (2 Timothy 4:2-6). We must not make their mistake—we must listen and apply what we are being told in our every day living!
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The Assessment of the Churches (2): The Church of Ephesus (Who is Your First Love?)
From our study today, we can see that although the church of Ephesus was doing works and labouring, yet it was lacking in love. Indeed, the Lord speaks of the church forsaking [her] first love. In this regard, we see that the Lord was speaking of spiritual adultery, disloyalty to Him, faithlessness (lack of, indeed, refusal to trust Him), and not standing for Him—that is, not standing for what we claim we believe. Furthermore, we have seen that without love for God, nothing we do on the earth counts for eternity, and our love for God must be with our entire being and must necessarily include our love for not just our Christian brothers, but also our enemies!
Thus, we must ask:
a) Are your works—your activities for God—out of faith?
b) Is your labour—your sacrifice, your giving, your acts of kindness, etc.—out of love for God?
c) Are you persevering in hope or have you fallen into depression?
d) Who is your first love? Is it money, wealth, health, church attendance, ministry title, etc.?
e) Are you ‘sleeping around’ with wood, stone, false prophets, churches, denominations, pastors, etc.?
f) What is your loyalty to God like? Is it undivided?
g) Is your faith in God absolute and resolute? Or are there doubts and fears?
h) Are life’s challenges overwhelming you so that you are falling into depression?
i) When last did you stand up for Jesus?
j) Are your good deeds selective—tribal, racial, denominational, condescending, etc.?
k) When last did you show the love of God to those who want you dead?
l) Where is your first love? Have you gone back to your vomit—sin, et al.?
LET US PRAY!!!
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The Assessment of the Churches (3): The Church of Ephesus (What Leaving Your First Love Is)
2 Chronicles 25:1-2, 3-24
Amaziah did what was right, but his heart was not perfect, loyal, single, right, before God. At one time, he took counsel from God through the prophet, but later, he disdained the prophet’s counsel. After gaining victory over the Ethiopians, he then turned to bow down to their gods (having made them his gods)!
In the church of Ephesus, they were doing many good works (right things) but their hearts were far away from God [remember that God looks on the heart; not just the hands!].
To the church today, God is saying, “I am seeing all that you are doing, but it is not with a perfect heart. Indeed, you have left (forsaken, abandoned, divorced) Me. You say, “no, we have notâ€; but look at yourselves: see how you have turned to the world for approval; see how you have loved the world; see how you have stopped focusing on Me; see how you have stopped teaching my word faithfully, but have turned to Harvard, Trump, and the like. Where was the zeal you had in the beginning? You quarreled and debated vigorously with people who spoke ill of Me; but not it’s all about you! See the hypocrisy, even in your singing (you sing, “I love Youâ€, but your heart is towards another), and in your life (you are in church, but your desire is for the world)! Repent and return to Me and I will receive you to Myself again!â€
LET US PRAY!!!
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The Assessment of the Churches (4): The Church of Ephesus (Remember from Where You Have Fallen)
We have tried to distinguish between ‘a fall’ and ‘a falling away’—in the case of the former, which the Lord is referring to, repentance is possible, whereas in the latter, repentance is impossible. Thus, the Lord’s call is to remember from where you have fallen, not fallen away! Also, genuine repentance must begin with a realization that one has indeed fallen, occasioned by a remembrance of where one once was, and a desire to return to where one had fallen from. Hence, the need to remember from where you have fallen. This realization should now trigger godly sorrow, which will lead to genuine, heart-felt repentance not to be repented of. So, call to remembrance from where you have fallen, rend your heart, bring words worthy of repentance, and return to do the first works of a heart that is right before God, and then you and your works shall be accepted by God.
In Genesis 4:6-16, Cain did not heed God’s counsel to repent; instead he went to have a chat with Abel, and in the exchange, killed him (because sin had entered in, since he did not do the first works); and he fell away from the presence of God! May we learn from the lesson of Cain, and turn to God in true repentance!
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The Assessment of the Churches (5): The Church of Ephesus (Overcoming What Overcame Ephesus)
The church of Ephesus did that which was right, but not out of love—they were thus engaged in rituals rather than in relationship with God. If we are to overcome what overcame them and have the light of God continue to shine and push back evil in our localities, we must cause to be open, all the channels or conduits of love that we have cut-off by our ungodly living. We must turn to God in repentance, occasioned by our looking back on how far we have fallen and a desire to return to God.
May God grant us the grace to return to Him through genuine repentance, so that we would partake of the tree of life in eternity, and have the light of God, in our localities to push back evil here on the earth!
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The Assessment of the Churches (6): The Church of Smyrna (Of Which Assembly Are You?)
Christianity today has taken on a form that is essentially exterior/outwardly, superficial, and even artificial. For this reason, the understanding of many who throng into church meetings is that “If it is good, it is God, and if it is not good, it is not God!â€; but nothing can be further from the truth! The two assemblies in Smyrna reveal that the church of God is not necessarily one that has an outward appearance of godliness, neither is it one that has the trappings of worldly success, nor is it one that makes the claim of itself as being an assembly of God—“the Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquityâ€!
Indeed, in many assemblies that have an outward appearance of godliness without being able to actually live godly, we find that inwardly, they are the abode of iniquity, wickedness, and evil, and thus, deserving of the appellation, ‘a synagogue of Satan’, because, in essence, Satan is who they are serving; he is who they are worshipping; indeed, he is their god! A synagogue of Satan focuses on how much of this world they possess; it focuses on living in competition with the world; it is heavy on church rituals and programs, but extremely low on God’s word (living it out daily and submitting to it) and are incapable of manifesting the nature or character of God. In a synagogue of Satan, sin thrives (because it is always covered), and iniquity abounds (because they lack the love of God). Borrowing from the story of the Fig Tree cursed by the Lord, those who are of a synagogue of Satan, have lots of ‘leaves’ (activities and rituals without a vital ongoing relationship with God—dead works!) and no fruit whatsoever (no manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit—everything is by human effort and/or demonic manipulation and power; the works of the flesh!). They are carnally minded, and have the appearance of godliness, but cannot live godly because godliness is a trait that comes from living in Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit!
The assembly of God on the other hand, is essentially known for her purity, humility, charity, and capacity to weather adversity well—traits that are developed inwardly, and that mature as a result of walking devotedly with God over the years! Brethren, we need to examine ourselves to be sure that we are not of those who are classified as being of ‘a synagogue of Satan’! (2 Corinthians 13:5)
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The Assessment of the Churches (7): The Church of Smyrna (Proving the Church of God)
Job 1:6ff; Luke 16:10-13
The true church of God is not one that is set up for the enjoyment of this world, nor is it for the entertainment of those attending its meetings. On the contrary, the true church is an ambassage of the most High God, therefore, as representatives of the most High, the church, like its Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, must be tested in all points and proven to be faithful and loyal to God, no matter what!
The approach has been the same through the ages:
• God has a man He wants to represent Him on the earth.
• But before this man can be given the true power of God, he must be sorely tested in every point and proven to be without sin!
• The agent of such testing is Satan.
• The man, or in our case, the church, must overcome his antiques.
• To be able to overcome, we have been ‘defleshed’, tested by God (Romans 5:3-4), announced by God, and then sent into the ‘wilderness’ for testing by the tempter—who shows no mercy!
This is what happened in the Garden of Eden where Adam failed. Satan did it to King Saul who also failed. He did it to King David, but each time David fell, he was quick to repent and return to God, and eventually Satan failed. Satan tried Job, He tried the Lord Jesus, He tried Peter, and indeed, all the apostles. We, the church today, are not exempt from Satan’s examination, investigation, and scrutiny! Unfortunately, because of the worldly manner of the church today, it is unable to withstand Satan’s onslaught (1 Peter 5:8-9; Matthew 26:40-41). Satan has, sadly, been successful at turning the gaze of most of the church away from God, His word, and prayer; and has turned the church to chasing after minors like, miracles, signs and wonders (some of which are lying wonders), deliverance (which really comes from obeying the word of God), pleasures, worldly possessions, and even persecution (to which many are averse).
God’s way out for the church is one of the reasons we attend church meetings—to learn how to overcome Satan. It is what we have the bible for; and, it is what we have the weapon of prayer for. But for the most part, rather than focus on the real essence of the church—learning the bible (knowledge and application), and prayer (fortification against falling into temptation), we have turned these weapons into something else, and have turned away from God unto idols—fulfilling Satan’s goal. Today, God wants to send out His representatives and like He did with Isaiah, we must first see Him, and then we shall see how sinful we are, and then we can repent and be sanctified and prepared for every good work! We must then be ready for Satan’s examination, and overcome it by remaining faithful and loyal, even onto death!
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The Assessment of the Churches (8): The Church of Smyrna (What is at Stake in the Gospel?)
The church of God today must be brought to appreciate the reality of what really is at stake. What is at stake is not properties, possessions, fame, etc.; it is not even spiritual gifts and ministry for their sakes; rather, what is at stake is eternal—the things above, the things that endure unto eternity, the things that matter to God! These things include eternal life, and deliverance from the second death! Indeed, as the Lord said, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?â€
Beloved, you are worth more to God than houses and other mundane things you keep asking God for night and day. Indeed, your soul is worth much more to God, and His desire is that you will endure till the end here on the earth, and remain faithful to Him, even at the expense of your earthly life; then you shall receive the prize—the crown of life—and you shall certainly escape the second death—a death reserved for those who died without accepting Christ into their lives; all those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life! Thus, our pursuits must be to ensure that our names are not just only written in the Book of Life, but that they are never removed once written! (Exodus 32:33; Ezekiel 18:4)
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The Assessment of the Churches (9): The Church of Smyrna (The Church: Whose View?)
• We live in an approval-seeking world. We, thus, tend to do the bidding of those whose approval we seek—either men or God (Galatians 1:10; Romans 6:16-23).
• If your aim is to please men, then you will disdain God’s criteria for the church; and vice versa (Hebrews 11:6).
• So, the question for us, today’s church/Christian, is, “Whose view is shaping your lifestyle, your attitude, your conduct, your doctrine?†It is either the world’s view or God’s view, but never both (Galatians 5:16-17)!
• You can be troubled but, be in God’s Book of Life (John 16:33b; 14:1; 2 Corinthians 4:8-16)!
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The Assessment of the Churches (10): The Church in Pergamos (Syncretism in the Church?)
• The problem of syncretism can be likened to the problem of a man with a promiscuous, adulterous wife! (Ezekiel 17:1ff; Hosea 3:1-5; Hebrews 10:14-31).
• Syncretism is idolatry of the highest order, and must be severely dealt with by God, but the Lord offers repentance if we must escape the judgment of God—the sword of His mouth (Revelation 2:16).
• According to Joshua 24:19-23; Ephesians 4:21ff, we must always have at the front and centre of our minds that God is a holy and Jealous God, Who will not share His glory with any other. He will forsake you, if you forsake Him, therefore, let us put away those foreign doctrines and incline our hearts to the doctrine of the Lord!
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The Assessment of the Churches (11.1): The Church in Pergamos (The Challenges of Teaching Sound Doctrine (1))
The hurdles of sanctification, authorization to teach, and full conviction of the veracity of the word of God must be scaled by those who have been called by God to teach His doctrine. The one who will teach the sanctified word of God, must be authorized and able to handle the word in sincerity and with meekness of heart. He must be sanctified—purged, purified, and prepared to be fit for the Master’s use. Indeed, he must see the need for, and the know the value of his personal sanctification (consecration) before the Lord and advance in it. He must be fully persuaded or convinced in his heart about the veracity of the word of God, lest he turn away from it and teach heresy.
The challenge of teaching sound doctrine begins with who the teacher is before we can talk about what he is teaching. Therefore, we must allow God to make the tree good through sanctification, that we may produce the good fruit of sound doctrine.
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