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Bible Study: Lutz, Florida
Rightly
Dividing the Word of Truth
2
Timothy 2:15
Is there more than
one gospel in effect today?
Part
XII
“House Work”
Before we
ended our last Bible session I took the time to briefly go over the Bema Seat teaching with the class here
in Lutz, FL. I wanted to ensure that
that we were all on the same page.
The
Great White Throne Judgment and the Bema Seat, is definitely not the same
thing.
Bema is simply the
Greek word for “judgment seat.” The
word originated from the Olympic Games – it means: the seat of the judges. Therefore, it needs to be read in that
context.
Jesus
said,
Revelation 22
12: Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward
is with Me, to render to every man (I prefer, “every Believer” – it does
no harm to the text) according to what he (or she) has
done.
With that in mind, consider also the words of the Apostle
Paul, knowing full well that he speaks for Jesus
Christ.
Ephesians 2
10: For we (Believers) are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for (what exactly) good works, which God prepared beforehand
so that we would walk in them.
There
will be NO Believers at the Great
White Throne Judgment. But after the
Rapture each and every Believer will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and
give an account for what he or she has done with their God-given talents (or
abilities) while they were in the Body of Christ. This is the Bema Seat teaching.
1 Thessalonians
2:19-20, the Apostle Paul drew
courage and was motivated by the
fact of rewards at the return of the
Lord for the Church Age Saints, which he mentions in every chapter in this
epistle and becomes the primary subject of 2 Thessalonians.
The Lord’s
return and what this means not only to the world but to us individually is a prominent subject of the New Testament. Believers need to be aware of this doctrine.
While salvation
is a gift, there are rewards given for faithfulness in the Christian
life and consequently loss of rewards for unfaithfulness.
The Lord
Jesus Christ will “judge” (a poor
choice of words by the Bible translators- I prefer evaluate) each act and the motive behind the activity to determine its
reward.
Those
actions performed with the proper motives most likely will be approved by the
Lord and deemed worthy of reward. However,
selfish activity will not pass the muster no matter how much time, effort, or
money is put forth in the endeavor.
In other
words, the activity or “work” being accomplished must be for the betterment of
the Body of Christ or for the building
up of the Body of Christ and not the
individual performing the work.
If this
activity you’re considering is more about advancing you or your agenda, and not
for the good of another then STOP!
Example: my mother is a Prayer Warrior. As far back as I can remember, my mother has
spent many a day and night on her knees praying for our family and others.
She
continues to this day at the age of 88, and still counting. She is no longer able to pray on her knees,
but prayer in any position still works.
God considers the heart…
There
are many other prayer warriors. They
choose to “work” silently, often in the dark, seldom seen, rarely acknowledged
and without fanfare. But they SHOW UP
each day FAITHFULLY, praying for the needs of the saints, and often for folks
they’ve never met.
All they know is
there is a need. That’s all they need to
know. And
the Lord hears these prayers.
Let’s
say you take the time to attend a Bible study.
You’re a normal person.
At
least some of you are. You lead a busy life; and yet you set aside a certain amount a time each
week or each month for the purpose of studying your Bible.
There
are many reasons why Believers should be in a Bible study. Getting to know your Lord and Savior is a
good place to begin. But I bet many of
you didn’t know that as a Believer you are to share your faith and your salvation
experience with others.
2 Timothy
3
5:
But you
(insert your name here), be sober in all
things, endure hardship, do the work of an (what’s the next word folks) evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
There
are those who teach that the letters of Timothy are “pastoral” letters, meaning
they were strictly written for the sole purpose of “instructing” or “guiding”
those individuals who are led to “pastor” a large congregation. I
disagree.
The
word “pastors” (note the plurality) appears only once in Scripture.
The
Greek word translated “pastors” is poimen. It means shepherds.
Therefore,
this is a metaphor to describe a particular function in a church.
It
is not an office or a title.
Instead,
the role of these pastors is to nurture
and to care for the Lord’s
followers.
Remember
in the 1st century Believers met in the homes of other like-minded
Believers. These groups of people were small
because homes were small and could not accommodate more than a dozen or so
people.
But
the “pastors’” role was quite simple. Paul
said,
2
Timothy 2
15:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need
to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
The
primary role of the pastors is this:
Teach the Word of
Truth accurately, rightly dividing it.
Over
the years the role of the pastors has morphed into something I don’t believe
the Lord ever intended it to be. For
even Jesus said,
John
21
16:
He (Jesus)
said to him (Peter) again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes,
Lord; You know that I love You.” He said
to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
Or
as the KJV translation says, “Feed
My sheep.”
Not
everyone is born to be a Billy Graham or a William R. Newell.
But
believe me no matter who you are, no matter where the Lord has placed you on
this planet, you have a ministry. Your
ministry is in the home, the workplace, and during your leisure activities. So you need to be prepared.
Who
doesn’t know someone who needs to know Jesus Christ?
Perhaps
this person is a family member, a good friend, or an acquaintance.
Is
there someone you work with asking questions about faith related issues?
Faith-based
questions don’t always come from the unchurched.
Often
times these questions will come from your brothers and sisters in Christ
Jesus. Perhaps they are struggling with
an issue you have some experience with and you are stronger for it.
If
someone approached you today, and asked you why you are so “comfortable” with
your beliefs, what would you tell them?
Bible
study plays a role in every Believers life.
Wood,
hay, stubble, silver, gold, or precious jewels…
How
will your activities in the Body of Christ be viewed by the Lord?
*****
Let’s
get back to our subject material and the Apostle Paul.
Paul
has been absent for three years (37-41AD).
He returned to Jerusalem to speak to the disciples there but they were “afraid” of him. Paul’s reputation as a persecutor of those
who believed that Jesus is the Son of
God remains a stumbling block for him.
So
Paul preached his gospel message to the Hellenistic Jews and they were not
receptive to it. In fact, they planned to
take his life. (Acts 9:29)
The
disciples learned of this attempt on Paul’s life, and rescued him. They brought him down to Caesarea and then
later sent him over to Tarsus.
This
is getting to be a familiar story with our friend Paul isn’t it. Let me take you back to something Jesus said
to Ananias right after the Lord commanded him to go to the house of Judas to
lay his hands on Saul so that he could regain his sight.
Jesus
said,
Acts 9
16: for I
will show him (Saul)
how much he must suffer for My name sake.”
Paul
will suffer for the cause of Christ, like no other apostle, but we’re not there
yet.
Saul in Arabia
There are two great
revelators, or unfolders of
Divine Truth in the Bible—Moses in the Old Testament, and Paul in the New. William R. Newell
So,
Paul “disappeared” into Arabia for 3 years.
I say disappeared because there is no
record of his travels or his deeds while he was there.
Is
there anything in Scripture that might help us to understand Paul’s absence?
Yes.
When
God chose to save the man Saul, and then selected him to be His Apostle to the
Gentiles, this marked both a turning point in Scripture, and a dispensational
change in God’s Prophetic Program, which had been in effect since the year 2000
BC.
Saul
was saved and selected for service in the year 37 AD.
As
I said before, there are “patterns”
in Scripture that may help us understand Paul’s missing 3 years. Let’s investigate a few of these to see if
the pattern theory fits.
We’ll
begin with this.
Down
through the ages, before anyone began his or her ministry, they set aside a
time of prayer and fasting beforehand.
Scripture supports this truth.
Jesus
Immediately
after being baptized by his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus was led into the
desert by the Holy Spirit, where for forty days he was tempted by the
devil. Jesus ate nothing during that
time, and at the end of that time he was hungry.
Luke 4
1: Jesus, full of
the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in
the wilderness
2: for forty days,
being tempted by the devil. And he ate
nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.
Moses
Moses
born a Hebrew, saved from death at birth, and then rescued from the Nile River,
was raised in the royal palace as a prince of Egypt. But God could not use him there.
When
it came time for him to identify with his Hebrew brothers and sisters he acted
impulsively and was exiled. God sent
him into the wilderness of Midian. For forty years Moses lived as a
shepherd. The Egyptians despised
shepherds. Now the nation of Israel happened
to be a nation of shepherds so this was an important feature in God’s plan.
King
David was a shepherd boy…too.
God used this time in the wilderness to prepare Moses
for his main mission in life.
Moses would deliver God’s people from bondage in Egypt
and bring them to the Promised Land.
Acts 7
29: “At this
remark, MOSES FLED AND BECAME AN ALIEN IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN, where he became
the father of two sons.
30: “After forty
years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF (where) MOUNT SINAI, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN
BUSH.
Please
note: Moses and the angel met on Mt. Sinai.
Paul
Galatians 1
15: But when God,
who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His
grace, was pleased
16: to reveal His
Son in me so that I might preach Him among the (whom) Gentiles, I did not immediately consult
with flesh and blood,
17: nor did I go up
to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia,
and returned once more to Damascus.
18: Then three
years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and
stayed with him for fifteen days.
Before
Paul’s conversion in 37 AD, he had been a persecutor of anyone who believed
that Jesus is the Son of God. Then Jesus
graciously reached down and saved him.
Just
like his counterpart, Moses, Paul had many talents and abilities, which God
could use. But Paul was not yet ready to
serve. God needed to prepare him for the
work and the sacrifices that lie ahead. …Before
we get to that.
I
need to mention that there are two numbers here in our Bible lessons that
re-occur often in Scripture. These
numbers have a spiritual connotation: 3
and 40
#3 = three stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire.
All things that are
especially complete are stamped with this number three.
#
40 = this number appears frequently
in Scripture and has been universally recognized for its importance in relation
to a time of trial, testing, or probation.
The number 40 is
the product of (5) and (8), and points to the action of grace (5), leading to
and ending in revival and renewal (8).
·
Jesus
was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit for (40) days prior to beginning His
ministry.
·
Moses
spent (40) years as a shepherd in the desert of Midian before returning to
Egypt.
·
Paul
spent (3) years in the Arabian wilderness.
This
is a good place to halt for now. When we
return we’ll continue to look for “patterns” or similarities between Moses and
Paul.
We
know both of these men into the wilderness of Arabia.
Now
whether or not these gentlemen were “Spirit” led Scripture does not say.
As
far as Moses is concerned, I would say NOT.
Remember Moses struck down and killed an Egyptian who was beating on a
Hebrew slave. I don’t believe this act
is condoned by the Holy Spirit. Of
course, this is my opinion.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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