Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts

Monday, April 12, 2010

The New Covenant

Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Hebrews 13:12
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

God purchased His Church with HIS own BLOOD. How did God get blood? The scripture teaches us that a Spirit hath not flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). In order to get the depth of understanding God obtaining blood we must go back to the Ark of the Covenant and understand how the Old Covenant paved the way for the coming of God in the FLESH.

In the Old Covenant, God dwelt between the Cherubims on top of the mercy seat, which was on top of the ark.

The Ark of the Testimony (aka Ark of The Covenant)

Exodus 25:22

And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Numbers 7:89
And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

2 Samuel 6:2
And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

1 Chronicles 13:6
And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.

Psalms 80:1
To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

Psalms 99:1
The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.

Isaiah 37:16
O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

Since God was dwelling in this Ark, all that was built around it as instructed by God to Moses on Mt Sinai was representative of the Spiritual Order of the New Covenant, in which was fulfilled by the manifesting of God in the FLESH of Jesus Christ and then by the born again obedience to His Gospel as preached by the Apostles (Acts 2:38) We must take special care to notice the Apostolic links that the New Testament writers accomplish through their ministry in writing the letters of the New Testament, and then it will be established how God has set up the New Covenant.

1 Peter 1:18-23
(18) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
(19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
(20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
(21) Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
(22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
(23) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

The lamb was provided to us by God, just as Abraham had experienced many years before, Jehovah-Jireh, God WILL PROVIDE Himself a sacrifice.

Ark of Covenant and Ark of Testimony
The Ark is interchangeably called Covenant AND Testimony.

Covenant - God's promise to man
Testimony - Man's record of God's promise.

What was in the Ark of the Covenant?

Hebrews 9:4
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

1. pot of manna (God's Provision)
2. Aaron's Rod (God's Protection)
3. Law on tables (God's Instruction)

Notice that the testimony of the natural man (Israel) did not match the Covenant of God.

Man's testimony WITHOUT God
1. manna had worms (slothful in seeking God)
2. Rod had to bud (rebellion toward leadership)
3. tablets were broken (disobedience to the law)

In order for the Ark of the Testimony to match the Ark of the Covenant the BLOOD had to be sprinkled on the Ark. There was a process that this was to be accomplished.

Hebrews 9:18-26
(18) Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
(19) For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
(20) Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
(21) Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
(22) And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
(23) It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
(24) For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
(25) Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
(26) For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant, now the Bible tells us that we have a BETTER Covenant built on BETTER promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

In the Old Covenant there was a fault. (Hebrews 8:7), the fault was that the sprinkling of the BLOOD on the mercy seat simply Atoned for the sins of Israel each year, but did not give REMISSION of sins. REMISSION of sins is what makes the Old Covenant have a fault.

Hebrews 9:13-14
(13) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
(14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

God tabernacled Himself in flesh, He did this to have blood. He also did this out of desire to DWELL IN HIS PEOPLE. Jesus was the perfect example of a man filled with God, all the fulness of the Godhead was in HIM bodily. By allowing the suffering of the Son of God, the Spirit of God split the veil in the temple.

Hebrews 10:19-22
(19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
(20) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(21) And having an high priest over the house of God;
(22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

So in order to establish entering this New Covenant, we cannot simply accept the traditional teachings of man that instruct us to simply have faith in God, misquoting the book of Romans 10. This teaching disavows the types and shadows presented to us through the Old Covenant. The priest did not just go into the Holy of Hollies haphazardly or irreverently, it was done according to the teachings that God gave Moses.

Exodus 30:18-21
(18) Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
(19) For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
(20) When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
(21) So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

So God instructed that they must not only burn the offering and take the blood from the offering (Brazen Altar) but the next step into the Holy Place was to WASH with WATER at the Laver. This is important to the New Covenant. The Gospel of Mark tells us:

Mark 16:16
(16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

As I stated earlier, the Apostolic link is established, and not by man, not by tradition, but by the apostles themselves. Compare Exodus 30:20 with Mark 16:16 and it is clear that the Old Testament Laver is a type and shadow of New Testament Water Baptism in Jesus Name.

All Christian groups want to claim that they have obtained favor with God and have the Blood of Jesus on their soul, but it is done in a haphazard, irreverent way either influenced by tradition, philosophy, and/or just a misunderstanding of the Word of God, but always leaves the seeker empty and unfulfilled, undelivered and unregenerated. This is why our society is so weak because people are being fed false gospels and half truths which in the end leave them disappointed and unsatisfied, so the world becomes too much to resist and they leave the life of sacrifice and love for God behind and get caught up in the pleasures of this life. Their TESTIMONY does not match God's COVENANT.

What is God's Covenant for us?

Hebrews 10:15-18
(15) Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
(16) This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
(17) And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
(18) Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.


The Covenant of God is that He will remit our sins and REMEMBER THEM NO MORE! He will put His LAWS into OUR HEARTS and in OUR MINDS. There WILL BE TOTAL REMISSION OF THE SINFUL DEEDS.

This is what we refer to as "Having the Victory" over SIN, over our FLESH, over the WORLD. And it is available to us if we obey the teaching of the Apostles. God had them sprinkle the BLOOD over the Ark to cover the broken law, the manna with worms, and the rod that budded as an example of His intention to tabernacle Himself in Jesus Christ, where when we go through Him, (John 14:6) we find the TRUTH and we are cleansed by the BLOOD. God's Blood makes us whole. Keep in mind that the BLOOD agrees in one with the other parts of the tabernacle. John tells us:

1 John 5:8
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

And Jesus taught us:

John 3:4-5
(4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
(5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

This is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, the BLOOD which brings REMISSION of SINS is only available through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 10 is the wrong place to read to find this. Romans is a letter written to the Church, so people often misquote what Paul was writing to the Church to try to make it a "Salvation" plan. This is incorrect, if you go back to Romans 6, Paul states in verse 3, 4 "as many of ye that were baptized in Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism in death." This tells us the true story, that Paul was writing to people in Romans that had already been baptized, had already received the Holy Ghost, and had already been born again as written in John 3:5. Keep in mind that Romans was a LETTER written to the CHURCH, not intended for people that were not born again to read without the born again message, Romans is written to born again believers.

Therefore, we must rightly divide the word of Truth and find our way to the Acts of the Apostles, which tells us how to receive remission of sins. Acts 2:38 which was preached by Peter who had the keys to the kingdom tells us.
"Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ FOR THE REMISSION of SINS, and ye SHALL RECEIVE the GIFT of the HOLY GHOST."

As we continue, Phillip/Peter preaches this same message to the Samaritans (Acts 8)
Peter preaches the same message to the household of Cornelius (Acts 10)
Paul preaches the same message to the disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19)

This message is
Acts 2:38

Repentance (Brazen Altar)

Baptism in Jesus Name (Brazen Laver)

Receive the Holy Ghost (Holy Place/Holy of Hollies)


This is the ONLY Covenant that will create the TESTIMONY to match. You will get deliverance from SIN and receive the Holy Ghost when you repent and get baptized in Jesus Name, it is a promise from the Word of God. All other ways will lead to disappoint, emptiness, and wihtout satisfaction. We should desire to have a Testimony that matches the Covenant of God and this what the New Covenant is all about. A better Covenant built on BETTER Promises.


















Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Sons of Sceva

I was studying the book of Acts last week, and we had a wonderful Bible Study with one of our new converts (Sis Alvirda). Almost 20 people came to the Bible Study and we talked about (Mattew 16:19-23) the Apostles having the keys to the kingdom and Jesus telling them whatever they bound in earth shall be bound in heaven. It really renewed my passion for the Apostolic Faith, and my conversion from Catholicism heavily hinged on the understanding of this scripture. I have always and still strongly hold to the conviction of the One Holy Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic Church - and I feel that Protestantism is as wrong as Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox are. The fact is all of these "man-made" traditional teachings are founded on the doctrine of the trinity. In the scripture we discussed (Matthew 16) it was Peter's revelation of who Jesus truly was that allowed Peter to have the "keys" to the kingdom. Without the revelation of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation no matter what church you claim to be a part of. This revelation comes from God, Jesus told Peter "FLESH AND BLOOD HATH NOT REVEALED THIS UNTO YOU, BUT MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." I believe that it is imperative that people receive the correct and Biblical revelation of Jesus Christ as taught by the Apostles, which is the uncompromisable stand on the Monotheism of the Godhead (Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29) and the understanding that Jesus is JEHOVAH manifested in flesh.

Colossians 2:9 "... in Him dwelleth ALL of the FULNESS of the Godhead BODILY"

1 Timothy 3:16 "... God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory"

2 Corinithians 5:19 "... God was IN Christ, reconciling the world unto HIMSELF"

To believe the trinitarian Godhead, you cannot agree with 2 Cor 5:19, because no doubt it wasn't the second person of a triune God that came into the flesh, because the ONE that came into flesh was RECONCILING the world BACK TO HIMSELF. That means God BECAME flesh and died at Calvary to reconcile the world that turned away from Him BACK TO HIMSELF.

Now, as I was looking into this, I got a revelation later that evening after the Bible Study was over. I was preparing for a sermon to preach the next evening and found the following verse that completely coorelated to the Apostolic teaching and the result of someone NOT having the true Revelation of Jesus Christ whom the Bible calls the "sons of Sceva".

Acts 19:13-16
(13) Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
(14) And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
(15) And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
(16) And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

I looked up the Greek definition of Sceva and this is what I found:

Σκευᾶς
Skeuas
skyoo-as'
Apparently of Latin origin; left handed; Scevas (that is, Scaevus), an Israelite: - Sceva.

Now if you are still reading this, I am going to put all of this together and hopefully you can enjoy the revelation of the Word of God as much as I am (a week later I am still eating on it).

In Mark 12, Our LORD told the gatherers that the greatest commandment is "HEAR O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE" (Deut 6:4) and then after His statement He asks the crowd a question.

Mark 12:35-37
(35) And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?
(36) For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
(37) David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

This is where the "left handed Israelite" fits in. The fact that Jesus gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom and gave Him authority to bind things on earth and heaven, means Peter (and the Apostles) had great power to preach the Gospel and UNLOCK the Kingdom of God for man. Without the proper understanding of the Godhead, much like the Sons of Sceva saying the "Jesus that Paul preaches", our world is packed full of false prophets that have no Power or Authority to preach the things that they do. God is not pleased with "prosperity" preaching, "charismatic (carelessmatic) movements", or any group that doesn't Baptize their converts in the name of Jesus Christ. The reason the Apostles did this (Acts 2:38, 8:12-16, 10:44-48, 19:1-6, 22:16) is because they understood who Jesus was and they preached this Gospel without compromising. The real thrust of the Apostolic ministry is to "Seek and to Save that which is Lost". I stand strongly today that many preachers in our world are "left-handed" Israelites, they have no power against the world, no power against evil spirits and their congregations are like the "chosen-frozen" no power of deliverance, no seperation from ungodliness, and full of fables, traditions, and false teachings. This is why our country has become weak, the false churches have not stood for God, and people have been fed a lie, they do not understand who Jesus is and they are as corrupt as the sinners and the world around them. That is why our pop culture is so rebellious, that is why our youth are without hope, their religious examples were like the sons of Sceva and have failed their generation. Our only hope is to take the burden and responsibility of carrying the torch of Truth to our troubled time and be an example of what a true Apostolic Christian should be. If we can get a hold of the keys that Peter had, God will empower us with His Spirit to be what we must be. The keys are John 3:5, obeyed in Acts 2:38, repentance of sins, baptism in Jesus Name, and being filled with God's Holy Spirit. When this happens to a person, no matter how wretched or sinful, God empowers that indiviual to become His witnesses (Acts 1:8) and that is not Jehovah Witness - they don't have the keys either. The real witness is a Jesus name Apostolic that knows who their God is and worships Jesus Christ as both LORD and SAVIOR. The answer to the question that Jesus asked, is that Jesus is BOTH the LORD of David and David's Son. (Acts 2:36) and when you get this Revelation, you will understand why you must be baptized in Jesus name for the remission of your sins. You will know the power of the Holy Ghost that will transform you from the inside out. God give us revival in our day, pour out your Spirit upon all flesh. In Jesus Name!