Day 1: Greater Works (Part 3)

Welcome to NECF's sermons. Each message here

is designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

the end for our rewarding experience. Let's dive

right in. and i trust that you are following

me and god is giving us understanding amen so

we we are going to investigate what the scripture

is all right since the scripture is now very

much a serious matter of conversation in our

attempt to do good works to do greater works

since the scripture you can write as a topic

if you're writing the scriptures since the scriptures

are the foundation and the context of the works

of jesus so when we're looking for the works

of jesus the context the background the inspiration

of the works of jesus that he's calling the believers

to do we will go to the scriptures so since the

scriptures are the foundation and the context

of the works of jesus christ the scriptures are

also the foundation and the context of the works

of the apostles because they do the works of

jesus and the ministry we are called to do today

as well find its context or their context and

foundation from what is found in the scriptures

we must understand the scriptures correctly all

right it means that we are to know and understand

the scriptures correctly we have to know what

are the scriptures we have to understand what

when we say scriptures what are they or what

is the scripture what is the central purpose

okay what is the central purpose of the scriptures

because that is our manual for the greater works

we will do we must understand the central purpose

of the message or the message of the scriptures

what do the bible reveal about itself all right

what is our role message that is you know find

the different books we found or we'll find in

the scriptures to claim that we have the authority

of scriptures to claim that we are you know doing

a bible inspired ministry or a bible you know

founded ministry we must first understand what

the scripture is saying and we say the bible

says oh we are doing it according to the word

of god we should be able to interpret our beliefs

in the light of the whole council of scripture

not some isolated verses because that's what

we found ourselves doing nowadays you know it's

good to memorize verses it's good to cut verses

but what i've learned over my maybe short period

of life is that you know the intention of memorizing

you know good intention that we have of course

to memorize we have to memorize we have to have

the word in dwelling in us but oftentimes we

take away in context of scripture we take verses

or part of scriptures in isolation but all scriptures

must work together hallelujah either in what

we call the old testament or in the new testament

there is a you know fine theme of the scripture

okay so we have to understand this so later on

as i keep waiting our appetite as we go further

in this conference we'll have time to go into

practice of interpretation which our pastor will

bring message to us but much more what is the

importance of proper scriptural interpretation

what is the importance of it in what we've been

called to do sound interpretation is essential

for understanding scripture so that we will faithfully

you know carry out greater works okay if we don't

understand scriptures if we don't interpret scriptures

correctly it is impossible for us to do these

greater works that we have been called to do

so interpretation matters because our doctrine

and practice are shaped by how we understand

the scriptures all right our teachings and our

practices the things we do the things we say

how we go about doing the things that we are

doing are shaped by our understanding of the

scriptures so interpretation is key in helping

us to do what god is calling us to do so the

goal of interpretation will be for us to discover

the author's intended meaning all right because

the bible has an intention the scriptures all

right has an intention so we must be able to

discern or to discover the authors intent is

intended meaning before we can apply the text

to our lives before we can even see you know

the application of the text in the things we

do and of course the ministry that we are called

to do so we can just insert our own meaning into

scriptures because that's what you know we can

easily do without proper understanding we are

forced to insert our own meanings into scripture

thereby altering the author's intended purpose

for that text so as far so we bring into us the

help that will guide us in proper interpretation

i hope there will be better equipped in order

to interpret the scriptures well in jesus name

but now let's just go in this context that we've

started about let's look at an example in scripture

of Jesus's ministry Matthew 5 verse 17 Matthew

Matthew 5:17 Matthew 5:17

5 verse 17 let's read this text and see something

very important Matthew 5 verse 17 I'll be jumping

Matthew 5:17

some verses I'll be jumping some so that it will

help us to be faster all right let me read verse

17 then i'll jump to some verse some verses do

not think jesus is speaking here do not think

that i have come to destroy the law or the prophets

that is he's not come that he might put away

what was written in the laws what moses wrote

the laws refers to the five or the books that

are attributed to moses the first books five

books attributed to moses i mean of course the

prophets the writings of the prophets and invariably

it will include the Psalms okay from Genesis

to Malachi so Jesus here is saying that he has

not come to destroy or to put an end or to render

them useless no that's not what he has come to

do all right so the idea that you are a New Testament

believer is a questionable idea because you cannot

find that in even the New Testament itself so

do not think that i have come to destroy the

law or the prophets i did not come to destroy

but to what to fulfill it hallelujah so jesus

christ comes to do what to fulfill now let's

look at verse 21 to verse 22 move to verse 21

to verse 22 you have heard okay it was said to

those of old not if the bible is yours maybe

on the land you have heard or in the old kingdoms

if you say ye have heard you have heard that

it was said to those of old you shall not murder

and whoever murders will be in danger of the

judgment but i say to you that whosoever is angry

with his brother without a curse shall be in

danger of the judgment and whoever says to his

brother raka shall be in danger of the council

but whoever says you fool shall be in danger

of hell fire i don't know how comes fire enter

this place hallelujah but in danger of hell hallelujah

now let's look at verse 27 and verse 28 verse

27 and verse 28 you have heard another similar

word phrase you have heard ye have heard you

have heard that it was said to those of old you

shall not commit adultery but i say to you that

whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has

already committed adultery with her in his heart

now let's say it was 31 and was 32 right furthermore

it has been said so you see the phrase you have

heard you also see the phrase it has been said

whoever divorces his wife let him give her a

certificate of divorcement of divorce but i say

to you that whoever divorces his wife for any

reason except sexual immorality causes her to

commit adultery and whoever marries a woman who

is divorced commits adultery was 33 and was 34

again you have heard that it was said to those

of old you shall not swear falsely but shall

perform your oath to the lord but i say to you

do not even swear at all neither by heaven for

it is god's throne all right it is god's throne

was 43 and was no no no was 38 and was 39 was

38 and was 39 yes you have heard that it was

said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

but i tell you to i tell you not to resist an

evil person whoever slaps you on the right cheek

you but whosoever slaps you on the right cheek,

turn the other to him also alright then of course

verse 43 and verse 44 verse 43 and verse 44 verse

43 and verse 44 you have heard it was said you

shall love your neighbor and what and hate your

enemy verse 44 but i say to you love your enemies,

bless those who curse you, do good to those who

hate you, and pray for those who spicefully use

you and persecute you. All right? So oftentimes

when we read this, we are tempted to conclude

that what Jesus was doing here was contradicting

what was written in the 39 books of the Old Testament.

We begin to infer that Jesus is is rewriting

the old testament or jesus is putting an end

to the practices of the old testament no he was

rightly interpreting the scriptures in the in

the context by which they were inspired hallelujah

note there were many materials and sources in

the time of jesus christ there were many interpretations

in the time of jesus christ there were many schools

of thoughts because oftentimes you see the pharisees

will bring an issue to jesus and say it is written

what do you say about this now what is your own

claim about this portion of the law what is your

own interpretation of this part of the scriptures

so there are many materials many sources many

interpretations many commentaries and materials

in a time of jesus's interpretation all right

so when you hear you have heard or it has been

said he wasn't referring to necessarily necessarily

he wasn't referred to referring to the 39 books

most of the things he said you have heard most

of them were not referring to even the altar

semantics even though they were involved in what

he was saying Jesus was referring to the prevailing

interpretation of what was written in that text.

We'll see an example. Let's see an example of

his engagement with the Pharisees. Matthew chapter

Matthew 19:1–9

19 verse 1 to 9. They brought to him Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 24:1–4

chapter 24 verse 1 to 4. Matthew 19 verse 1 to

Matthew 19:1–9

9. Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished

these sayings that he departed from Galilee.

and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan

and a great multitude followed him and he healed

them there the Pharisees also came to him now

the Pharisees came to test him saying saying

to him is it lawful for a man to divorce his

wife for just any reason you see for just any

reason the father okay and he answered and said

to them have you not read alright have you not

read he who made them were at the beginning made

them male and female and said for this reason

a man shall leave his father and mother and be

joined to his wife and the two shall become one

flesh so then they were no longer two but one

flesh therefore what god has joined together

let no man separate they said to him then why

did moses give command to give a certificate

of divorce and to put her away now jesus has

interpreted that text to them all right concerning

the issue of marriage yes yes reveal goes wheel

and purpose concerning marriage okay then they

come and then they propped more by bringing in

the conversation of moses moses because of the

hardness of your hearts okay moses because of

what the hardness of your heart permitted you

to divorce your wives but from the beginning

what it was not so in the beginning that is not

or that was not the will of god all right and

i say to you whoever divorces his wife except

for sexual immorality and marries another commits

adultery and whoever marries her who is divorced

commits adultery so the first is as i said eron

they were trying they were interpreting detronomy

24 let's look at detronomy 24 verse 1 to 4 where

they were bringing in their argument for their

question detronomy 24 verse 1 yes when a man

takes a wife and marries her and it happens that

she finds no favor in his eyes because he has

found some uncleanness in her and he writes her

a certificate of divorce puts in her hand and

send her out of his house when she has departed

from his house and goes and becomes another man's

wife if the latter husband detests her and writes

her a certificate of divorce and puts in her

hand and sends her out of the house of his house

or if the latter husband dies and dies who took

her as his wife then the former husband who divorced

her must not take her back to be his wife after

she has been defiled for that is an abomination

before the lord and you shall not bring sin on

the land which the lord your god is giving you

as an inheritance so the broad of this takes

try to query or question jesus christ but in

martin 19 verse 4 particularly he said have you

not read have you not read which means is like

is like an insult to them these are men that

have been grounded in the laws of moses and he's

telling them have you not read have you not read

these are men who are schooled in the scriptures

and he's telling them have you not read the phrase

from is from a greek word which refers to know

accurately so invariably jesus is saying how

don't you have an accurate knowledge okay to

know accurately to acknowledge to read properly

or thoroughly all right to know accurately to

read properly or in another words to interpret

properly and come to that place of knowledge

the right knowledge we see they use in Matthew

Matthew 12:5

12 verse 5 let's see how it was used in other

texts too Matthew 12 verse 5 oh have you not

Matthew 12:5

read in the law that of the Sabbath the priest

in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless

22 verse 31 Matthew 22 verse 31 another place

Matthew 22:31

where it is what was used matthew 22 verse 31

Matthew 22:31

but concerning resurrection of it have you not

read what was have you know read what was spoken

to you by god saying okay so this means that

the scriptures must be read accurately and interpreted

properly all right to come to this place of proper

and accurate knowledge they must be read properly

all right they must be read properly jesus referred

them toward to our to the foundation of interpretation

itself which they always negate all right they

try to interpret the tronomy without genesis

so we must read and interpret scriptures correctly

because biblical teaching it involves faithfully

explaining its meaning so others can understand

and apply it properly you see so the wrong knowledge

notion that they have established their interpretation

that they have established okay will result in

their practice will result in the kind of life

they will live and even the ministry they will

do in luke 24 25 jesus modeled this expounding

the scriptures to his disciples the word expounded

he used a word expounded mark in luke 2427 meaning

to explain thoroughly expounded luke 2427 and

beginning at moses and all the prophets he expounded

to them in all scriptures the things concerning

himself so the Pharisees should have expanded

from all the writings of the scripture because

the scriptures cannot be interpreted individually

we must explain the scriptures in his wholesome

so jesus gave an example here by expounding by

expounding the scriptures explaining thoroughly

interprets by implication to translate the scriptures

he unfolded its true meaning and reveal how it

points out it is pointing to him from luke chapter

Luke 24:27

24 verse 27 all right now we're going to go back

to that later on and look at that issue of marriage

later much more properly now let's see another

example in matthew 7 26 was 24 Matthew 7 verse

Matthew 7:28

28 rather to 29 what we are establishing is a

need is a need for proper interpretation because

there are varied assumptions about the meanings

of scripture and we must know how to interpret

scriptures properly Matthew 7 verse 28 and 29

Matthew 7:28

how was jesus's teaching for he taught them as

one having authority not as the scribes what

differentiated jesus's teaching from that of

the scribes for he taught them as one having

authority and not as the scribes okay jesus did

not interpret the scriptures as the scribes and

the Pharisees were doing they were astonished

at his interpretation at his teaching they've

been hearing the scribes and the Pharisees they've

been hearing the narratives but what jesus was

saying was counter conventional the same scriptures

okay but different from what was known at that

time because jesus explained and interpreted

the scriptures as pointing to him to himself

so we can observe the source of jesus's doctrine

is more of teaching or interpretation from the

early verses in this matthew chapter 7 verse

Matthew 7:12

12 see verse 12 that's some text matthew chapter

Matthew 7:12

7 verse 12 we see where he was teaching actually

in that context of matthew 7 that the bible says

the way astonished by his way of teaching therefore

okay yes therefore whatever you want men to do

to you do also to them for this is the law and

the prophets which means that jesus was teaching

from what from the law and the prophets all right

but they were astonished to how he was explaining

the scriptures because his mode of communication

his kind of interpretation his kind of explanation

is not as the Pharisees and the scribes were

doing in that day so he mentioned the law and

the prophets which refers to the ultimate scriptures

are stated in the verses we read in Matthew 7

Matthew 7:12

verse 12 he explained from the scriptures so

the word doctrine in Matthew 7 28 implies that

the explanation explanation that implies that

the statement the people were astonished at his

doctrine is really referring to the mark of jesus's

explanation of the all testament scriptures so

we can henceforth infer that there is a christ

note of explanation of the all testament books

okay there is a way in which jesus explained

the all testament scriptures jesus taught from

the scriptures giving an example of how the scriptures

should be properly explained is disciples also

stayed within this same interpretation this mode

of explanation that jesus gave of the scriptures

of the old testament books of the bible all right

so we in the same light must investigate which

we are going to go in the course of this this

conference to see how the scriptures are to be

interpreted especially the old testament scriptures

hallelujah so what is the authority of the scriptures

let's look at this we're still investigating

the scriptures let's see the authority of the

scripture jesus established the authority of

the scripture look to the nine verse one and

two we see how jesus in safe established the

authority of the scriptures look to the nine

verse one and two look to the nine verse one

and two then he called his twelve disciples together

and gave them power and authority now please

look at this carefully he gave them power and

authority over all demons and to cure diseases

verse two he sent them to preach the kingdom

of god and to heal the sick so deers have authority

that he gave the apostles to go and preach and

to heal and to cast out devils verse 28 Matthew

Matthew 28:18–20

28 verse 18 to 20 Matthew 28 verse 18 to 20 we

Matthew 28:18–20

are seeing the authority Jesus has okay and Jesus

came and spoke to them saying all authority has

been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore

and make disciples to all of all nations baptizing

them in the name of the father of the son and

of the holy spirit them to observe all things

that I have commanded you and know I am with

you always to the end of the age okay mark 16

Mark 16:15–20

verse 15 to 20 mark 16 verse 15 to 20 we're going

Mark 16:15–20

to see how Jesus commissioned the apostles to

preach and to make disciples and he said to them

go into all the world and preach the gospel to

every creature he who believes is baptized will

be saved but he who does not believe will be

condemned and this science will follow those

who believe in my name by the authority that

is in the name of jesus christ they will cast

out demons they will speak with new tongues they

will take up serpents and it will and they will

drink and if they drink if they drink any deadly

anything deadly it will by no means hurt them

they will lay hands on the sick and they will

recover all right yes so then after the lord

has spoken to them he was received up into heavens

and sat down at the right hand of god verse 20

with short rows how they went about and they

went out and preach everywhere the lord working

with them and confirming their words through

their company signs amen so we can add look to

the 24 verse 44 we can act accept the one verse

eight we can also add x to two was two to eight

so we can see that apart from jesus commissioning

the apostles to go and preach and make disciples

giving them authority we can see that he gave

them also authority all right to teach to raise

his apples and he gave them the boundary of how

this authority will be used okay the authority

is through the scriptures all right the things

that he has taught them and what he has taught

them is from the scriptures so they are not inventing

a message but the authority he has given to them

is is is is guided by what by the scriptures

all right let's look at his life himself jesus

christ although jesus the all authority belonged

to him we've seen this in matthew 18 verse 28

Matthew 18:28

verse 18 he himself consistently affirmed the

authority of the scriptures luke chapter 24 verse

Luke 24:44

44 let's read that text again luke 24 verse 44

Luke 24:44

then he said to them these are the words which

i spoke to you while i was still with you that

all things must be fulfilled which were written

in the law of moses and the prophets and the

psalms concerning me do you know the implication

of this the implication is that jesus christ

has all authority okay but while he was on earth

he never did something that is outside the scriptures

despite of him being god he inspired the writers

of the text by the holy ghost you know what jesus

is older than the scriptures all right jesus

is a reason for the for the text jesus is what

the text is aiming at explaining yet when he

was on earth what did he do he confined himself

within the authority of the scriptures let's

take an example of his temptation Matthew 4 verse

Matthew 4:1–11

1 to 11 Mark 1 verse to 13 which one will we

read let's read Luke Matthew 4 1 to 11 Luke 4

1 to 13 let's read Matthew 1 11 we'll see and

jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness

to be tempted by the devil and when he had fasted

40 days and 40 nights after what he was hungry

now when the tempter came to him he said if you

are a son of god command these stones to become

great but he answered and said to him it is written

where it is written it is written in the scriptures

that mine shall not live by bread alone but by

every word that proceeds from the mouth of the

law of god then the devil took him up in a holy

city set him on the pinnacle of the temple and

said to him if you are the son of god throw yourself

down for it is written he shall give his angels

charge over you and in their hands they shall

bear you up lest you dash your foot against a

stone jesus said to him it is written except

for him to just say i know who i am or use any

word he can use he went back to the scriptures

he confined himself within the scriptures giving

authority to the scriptures he said it is written

again you shall not tempt the lord your god and

again the devil took him up on an exceeding high

mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the

world and their glory and he said to him all

these i will give you if you will fall down and

worship me jesus said to him again away with

you satan for it is what it is written you shall

worship the lord your god and him only you shall

what you shall serve all right so during his

temptation we see clearly repeatedly that he

uses the word it is written it is written though

he inspired the scriptures and existed before

them he chose to submit to their authority that's

what i want to portray from here all right jesus

submitted himself to the authority of the scriptures

isn't it amazing jesus never separated his ministry

from the written word he never separated his

life from the written word even though he precedes

the written word he taught from the scriptures

jesus public ministry was grounded in the written

scripture look chapter four verse six to twenty

one we can write this down we'll see that jesus's

teaching were enshrined in the written word he

taught the scriptures and give him a treat of

the five verse seventeen imagine of the five

or seventeen we'll see that he fulfilled the

scriptures he came not to do what to destroy

it but to what to fulfill the scriptures he taught

from the scriptures he fulfilled the scriptures

his corrections were from the scriptures he correct

errors from the scriptures jesus corrects forms

doctrine by directing people back to the scriptures

matthew 22 verse 29 matthew 22 verse 29 we'll

Matthew 22:29 Matthew 22:29

see that his corrections were from the scriptures

jesus answered and said to them you are mistaken

not knowing the scripture nor the power of god

because i think the context is about resurrection

right not knowing the scripture nor the power

of god so if you know the scripture you will

not come with this interpretation hallelujah

so he corrected errors through the scriptures

he rebuke from the scriptures during his temptation

we see as we read jesus rebuke satan by repeatedly

quoting the scriptures demonstrating the authority

and the sufficiency of God's word. He rebuked

from the scriptures. He didn't wear into Aristotle

and garner some wisdom from, which philosopher

was one of the famous philosophers within his

time? Socrates, right? Jesus did not pick up

some Socratic wisdom to rebuke the enemy or the

people of his day to correct them. he didn't

go into which one will i call today into this

famous english writer what's his name Shakespeare

yes he didn't go into the Shakespearean wisdom

to communicate to the even though Shakespeare

lived long long long his contemporary hallelujah

but jesus ministry alive was within the boundary

of the written word was within the boundary of

the scriptures was within the boundary of genesis

to malachi hallelujah so he revealed those words

through the scriptures okay we'll see again look

24 25 and revealing those words Jesus did not

bring any new revelation there's no revelation

Jesus brought he revealed the will of God the

purpose of god the word of god through the scriptures

he revealed the redentive plan by explaining

how all scriptures pointed to him okay there

was no invention in what he came about the specific

words even on the cross you see that the word

he was saying were within the confines of the

written word so our ministry must be hinged on

the authority of the scriptures the authority

and the effectiveness of our ministry are measured

by how faithfully by how faithfully we understand

all right the authority of a script of our ministry

will be analyzed or will be seen by how much

we understand how much we interpret and apply

the scriptures not by how popular we are not

by the amount of influence we command in society

not even by our personal experiences because

sometimes we are tempted to ignore our personal

experiences our individual experiences that might

not necessarily be scriptures above the authority

of God's word Jesus never even Paul himself even

in his speakings he quoted that he knows a man

that was caught in the third heavens he didn't

tell us what happened in the third heavens anyway

he said that he saw things that even works he

doesn't have words to explain them suddenly in

our time today people have gone to heaven and

they've returned and they are able to explain

what they saw in heaven to ask scriptures i don't

know maybe i'll be maybe i'll study it but i've

not seen any man that goes to heaven and he came

back and he have plenty things to say almost

everyone that went to heaven have an experience

when he comes and his mouth is shut because there

are things you know that when jesus came on earth

he never tell us how he was relating with the

father how they were doing the things the way

he confined himself there is a lot he can say

all right but all his explanation all his interpretation

of the father all this interpretation of the

you know in in john chapter 14 the scriptures

John 14 · chapter mention

were written the disciples were saying shows

the father i will be okay they wanted something

more to know the father and the father has only

one way by which he will be known through the

sword which is within the boundary of what of

the expanded scriptures hallelujah so this is

the reality of the kind of ministry that you

and I have been called to do we cannot go outside

the authority that christ himself have given

to the scriptures the authority of our ministry

is how biblical we are or how politically correct

we are you know in this generation everybody

wants to move in a line that he's he's not you

know he's trying to balance there's nothing like

the gospel is not balanced you can't balance

the gospel the the gospel is already balanced

by itself are we together so you cannot try to

be politically correct in the bits to conform

yourself to a certain category of people to a

certain movement to a certain association of

people that you will be accepted no the gospel

itself rightly interpreted is balanced are we

together so your authority in ministry is how

biblical you are not by how many fellowships

have endorsed you but how biblical you are how

you know you remain within the authority of the

scriptures as rightly explained as rightly interpreted

so scripture is meant to guide us in exercising

the authority god has given us the way jesus

did he says all authority in heaven has been

given on to me therefore you go and he didn't

just tell him to go he gave them a context of

what they will teach and preach hallelujah he

said all the things i've taught you what did

he teach them he taught them within the scriptures

same thing teach others what you've received

before me in the presence of many witnesses get

some faithful people and give them hallelujah

some of you will be leaving us very soon and

you'll be going back on my trust in god that

you go back to wherever you're going to do the

work of god wherever god will take you to and

i want you to know that there's no invention

you're going to do outside what you've had hallelujah

the context of what you would do is within the

authority of the scriptures so the bible the

scriptures has been given to us as the guide

in exercising the authority that we have he who

has authority before the scriptures that is jesus

he has authority before the scriptures we are

written he submits himself to read then we don't

have any valid excuse to do ministry without

the written word hallelujah jesus who is god

submitted himself to the scriptures that he inspired

through human authors okay i want to bring to

you that is human beings that wrote the scriptures

not god all right in the writing is men that

wrote it inspired by the spirit of god in human

language language that men can understand men

with flows like you and like me men like david

a murderer men like moses the one that killed

someone in egypt and ran away men of light uh

how do they explain elijah like passion as us

all right ordinary men but god inspired through

them to write the words of the holy scriptures

to which god himself while coming to earth confined

his authority within that scripture that is a

humility of god i would say confirmed himself

within the authority of what was written by men

and in it in the inspiration of scriptures it

the inspiration of scriptures did not take away

human inefficiency all right the scripture was

not inspired you know the scripture was not written

by perfect men that's what i want to say sometimes

the writings of scriptures it exposes the weakness

of the characters and the scriptures all right

it exposes their flows what was so secure that

you could write even the flows of his prophet

in the scriptures the scripture is honest about

human feelings and feelings to read the songs

songs of solomon you know what is there you read

lamentation you're wondering why the lamentation

all right so the bible is not the scriptures

we're not ignorant of human emotions and feelings

and feelings but they are sacred hallelujah they

are sacred they are holy and jesus christ himself

who is god came into flesh submitted himself

to the authority of the world so the greater

works we are called to do are define their context

that's what i want to say the greater works we

are called to do find its context pattern and

the way of execution from the written word okay

we are not inventing the wheel we are not reinventing

the wheel all right so we have a pattern we have

a message we have uh how to do it and it's given

to us in the written word god has delegated to

the written text how he must be known and how

he must be followed all right so if you want

to know god he has given to us in a written text

how he must be known and how he must be followed

so whatever revelation that you bring from whatever

part heavens whatever portals that by grace or

by your own doings might be open to see must

align itself if it does not align with the written

word if it does not find its authority in the

written word then it is not qualified to be an

inspiration or a sense of direction for the believer

because god has delegated to the written text

how he must be known and how he must be followed

there's no biblical ministry without the written

scriptures we keep emphasizing okay is no biblical

ministry without the written word without the

written scriptures so the greater works christ

is calling us to do must be carried out according

to the pattern that he has shown to us in scriptures

and not creating a new message we are loyal to

the written word so sound doctrine requires careful

study all right it requires careful study to

know biblical doctrine teaching must be carefully

developed through patience and accurate study

study of the scriptures we don't become lazy

we become patient that we might be accurate in

a delivery of the message that god has given

us effective teaching of scripture effective

teachers of scripture handle ghost world with

diligence and precision that you may not add

your own opinions as overall authority over scripture

so we are called on to that kind of ministry

and the ministry is within the authority of the

scriptures that we have hallelujah now let's

look at the scripture more acts of the 20 verse

25 to 28 paul communicating to the church in

ethesus and indeed now i knew that i know that

you all and indeed now i know among whom i have

gone preaching the kingdom of god will see my

face no more yes therefore i testify to you this

day that i am innocent of the blood of all men

for i have not shown to declare to you the whole

council of god therefore take it to yourself

and to the flock among which the holy spirit

has made you overseers to shepherd the church

of god which he has purchased with his own blood

okay to appreciate Paul's statement in this text

let's look at verse 27 he says for I have not

shown to declare to you the whole council of

God the whole council of God where will the whole

council of God be found he has not shown he has

not ceased from declaring to them the whole council

of God now to understand and to appreciate that

statement is important for us to flow to understand

the flow of his farewell address to them in that

particular text contextually here paul has spent

about three years in ethesus okay teaching them

daily preaching the gospel performing miracles

and establishing the church during the time all

the residents of asia had the word of the lord

demonstrating the depth and the impact of his

ministry you can see this in acts of the 19 was

one to ten acts 19 was one to ten let's have

a context to understand what he mean that he

has not shown to declare to them the word council

of god's word and it happened while apollos was

occurring that paul having passed through the

opera regions came to emphasis and finding some

disciples he said to them did you receive this

the holy spirit when you believe so they said

to you we have not so much as heart whether there

is a holy spirit as a shokah and they were disciples

and he said to them into what then were you baptized

so they said into john's baptism then paul said

to them john and they baptized with the baptism

of repentance saying the people that they should

believe on him who will come after him that is

on to christ so john was pointing on to someone

that will come in the future so there's heightened

they see that their message right their ministry

was established on a messiah that is to come

but because they've not had that there's a measure

that has already come and he has died and he

is raised again and the spirit has been given

they were holding on to the all -time religion

they were holding on to the ministry of John

there's nothing wrong with the ministry of John

there's nothing wrong with the ministry or the

message of John but we must understand the context

of the ministry of John when they had this they

were baptized in the name of the lord jesus christ

and when paul had laid hands on them the holy

spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues

and prophesied now the men were about 12 in all

and he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly

for three months reasoning and persuading concerning

the things of the kingdom of god but when some

were hardened and did not believe but spoke evil

of the way which way the way of the gospel the

way of the kingdom of god all right but speaking

of the way before the multitude he departed from

there and with you with the disciples this young

these people i will call them at this moment

these young ministers reasoning daily in the

school of what he was reasoning daily with them

in a school called the school of tyranus and

this continued for how many years for two years

so that all who dwelled in asia had the word

of the lord jesus both jews and non -jews all

right then in chapter 20 verse 17 to 21 we'll

see from mellitus all right paul summoned these

men that have become elders the official elders

and reminded them of how he had served with humility

and faithful teaching he preached publicly and

from house to house calling both the jews and

the deltas who work to repentance and faith in

christ jesus okay there was 20 to 24 and we'll

see how paul declared that although imprisonment

and suffering awaits him is highest priority

was to finish the ministry of christ that has

been entrusted to him so when we arrive at verse

20 to 27 that we read we see that knowing this

as a context will likely be the final meeting

him knowing that this might be the final meeting

that you have with them paul affirmed that he

was innocent of being of their blood because

he had what he had not shrunk in the old kingdom

he says he has not shrunk from declaring the

whole council of god he had taught god's complete

message without compromise or omission all right

he has taught god's complete message the entirety

of the message of god with that word compromise

or omission therefore in verse 28 to verse 31

we see paul will charge the elders to shepherd

ghost flock and he warned them that false teachers

will arise even from among them their own leaders

to distort the truth and lead believers astray

is a warning he was giving them before he would

depart from them okay then it was 32 and 35 we

read and we see that he committed them to god

and to that message that he has been teaching

them they has been preaching to them emphasizing

that god's word can build believers up and establish

them in their inheritance that is their heritage

indeed that is what builds them up and mold them

and shape them into what god has you know brought

them for then the concluding part in verse 36

to 38 we see that the meeting ended with prayers

tears and hard farewell and elders they were

grieved you know that they will not see Paul

again so many of the truth Paul's letter wrote

in Ephesians reflects what he had already taught

them impressive okay if we read the book of Ephesians

we'll discover that this whole council of God

is what he later reminded them in the book of

Ephesians hallelujah for example now if you read

efficiency of the one verse three to fourteen

it speaks about god's eternal purpose in christ

all right this is this is this is the world council

of god efficiency of the one verse three to fourteen

speaks about the eternal purpose of god in christ

okay and then we'll see that expressed in the

concept of salvation by grace we'll go to Ephesians

Ephesians 2:1–10

2 verse 1 to 10 Ephesians 3 verse 1 to 7 we'll

Ephesians 3:1–7

see the idea of salvation by grace this is him

expounding the whole council of god all right

we'll see him calling them to holy living in

Ephesians 4 chapter 5 holy living how they can

live as who they are in christ and then he talks

about spiritual warfare chapter 6 and centrality

of God's word in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 17

Ephesians 6:17

specifically talks about God's word so all of

these form the whole council of God that Paul

has faithfully declared during his ministry in

Ephesus hallelujah this involve all it encapsulate

what Paul referred to as the whole council of

god that paul faithfully declared during his

ministry in ethesus so acts of the 20 verse 27

is not merely a statement about preaching everything

in general okay oh you know i've taught you about

politics i've taught you about uh business i've

taught you about about marriage i've taught you

about anything but it's specific the council

of god is specific hallelujah the council of

god is specific and has context it's not just

anything it's specific is that everything in

general it reflects post commitment to teaching

the full scope of god's redemptive plan revealed

in the scriptures so that all council of god

we see in in axe chapter 20 verse 27 is specific

to what the whole scope of God's word of God's

redemptive plan as revealed within the boundary

of the scriptures and as we've emphasized from

the beginning that when we say scriptures we

have many words Genesis to Malachi so Ephesians

will be Genesis will be Paul explaining Genesis

to Malachi so the role of the spirit is in helping

him understand the written word and then he wrote

and he's able to interpret and wrote the epistles

hallelujah so where did paul get the whole council

of god that he declared onto them that he paul

has spent about three years in effesus teaching

daily preaching the gospel the authority to perform

miracles and also establishing the church we've

said it that this whole council of god that is

commending them to in acts of the 20 verse 32

that is the whole council of god that paul later

wrote to them in a few in the epistles where

you know from the scriptures from the all testament

scriptures from the all testament scriptures

now let's let's look at the word council what

is the word council from that axe 2027 the word

council that word council give me access council

for i have not shown to declare to you the word

council of god that word council is from the

greek word bole b -o -u -l -e b -o -u -l -e and

it means purpose okay it means purpose it means

also a plan it means also intention or sometimes

you know the wheel all right or a deliberate

design you know you have a design for something

so that's what council will be referring to the

purpose of god will be referring to the plan

of god will be referring to the wheel of god

or god's deliberate design so it refers to carefully

considered decision of predetermined purpose

explaining that word council especially one that

proceeds from god bringing it to context here

in the scriptures that we just read all right

so we can see some of his use in the new testament

looked at the seven verse 30 all right looked

at the seven verse 30 quickly to see where this

word council was used to proper understand it

but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the

will of god for themselves not having been baptized

by him so here that word will is actually the

word council so the Pharisees here and the lawyers

rejected the purpose of god for themselves how

how do you reject it by rejecting the message

of jesus christ concerning salvation that's what

they did here all right actually two verse 23

the word here means god's sovereign predetermined

plan of redemption him being delivered by the

determined purpose that determined purpose here

has to do with the word council okay is the same

word in the greek the council and the for knowledge

of what you have taken by lawless hands and have

crucified and put to death so this is god's design

okay been delivered by the design and the purpose

of god so jesus was delivered by the design the

determined design and the purpose of god that's

the word council all right another way is axe

of the 20 axe 428 axe 428 axe 428 to do whatever

your hand and your purpose determined before

to be done this is a prayer of the apostles so

that word there they're speaking about jesus

christ and what he has done and how they persecuted

that they persecuted him and they're persecuting

them so this is talking about god's eternal purpose

efficiency of the one verse 11 referring to god's

wise sovereign purpose governing all things if

just one verse 11 in him also have we have obtained

an inheritance been predestined according to

the purpose of him who works all things according

to the council of his will hebrew six verse 17

that word is used for god's unchanging plan hebrew

six verse 17 hebrew six verse 17 so god determined

determined to show more abundantly to the hairs

of promise the immutability please help me this

word is a bit heavy let's break it give me nlt

the immutability of god's council god also bound

himself with an oath so that those who receive

the promise could be perfectly sure that he will

never change his mind all right that is what

that immutability is going to explain the inability

of god to change his position concerning the

matter of salvation i read together yes in his

desire to show to the hares of the promise the

unchanged the unchangeable nature of his purpose

god's purpose concerning salvation does not change

so that was this talking about his plan that

is unchanging is unchangeable so when paul says

he declared the whole council of god now you

understand what that council is he is referring

to god's complete plan and purpose as revealed

in the scriptures okay and that plan and purpose

is revealed in genesis to malachi which form

the basis of his preaching and teaching it means

the scriptures or the scriptures we can call

it is the book that reveals gos plan all right

the scripture reveals gos plan gos purpose gos

plan and gos purpose this means it is important

to adequately interpret and understand the council

of god as revealed in the scriptures because

we cannot know the plan and the purpose of god

outside the scriptures you can never know god's

plan for you outside the scriptures you can never

know god's plan for humanity outside the scriptures

you cannot know the reason for the creation of

the world outside the scriptures you cannot know

the reason or how redemption or what the promise

of redemption outside the scriptures hallelujah

so let's see acts 20 verse 20 he says how i kept

Acts 20:20

back nothing that was helpful this is what's

familiar remember we're reading timothy timothy

use the word timothy use the word profitable

and when he said profitable what was he referring

to the whole scriptures all scriptures right

now paul is using the same conversation is speaking

in the same pattern here how i came back nothing

that was helpful but proclaimed to you and taught

you how publicly and from house to house okay

now that was helpful is translated from a greek

word sin feral i may not pronounce it well but

i will spell it and tell us the meaning s y m

meaning to be profitable meaning beneficial it

means advantageous to helpful or helpful rather

to bring together for a useful purpose or to

contribute to someone's good this is a valid

expression or the uses of this word all right

so what paul is saying that he held back nothing

that is useful for them and how did he help back

nothing by declaring to them the whole council

of god's word and where is the council of god's

word located is located within the scriptures

so everything you need that is helpful that pertains

to life and to godliness has been fully supplied

in the scriptures so paul will say i held back

nothing that was that was helpful to you but

proclaim to you and talk to you publicly and

from house to house and i can see him saying

you know some of you came to me in the night

on signing council some things that has happened

i held back nothing from you that was helpful

some of you were having issues with your husbands

and your wives i held back nothing to you that

was helpful some of you have issues even in your

your civil life your natural life i held back

nothing that was helpful for you which means

that all the believer needs that is helpful for

his life on earth is delivered in the whole council

of god is helpful for his life for his stay within

the earth hallelujah so paul is saying that he

taught everything that was spiritually beneficial

and every unnecessary for the believers growth

withholding nothing that will help them know

christ and mature in the faith បបបបបបប first

Corinthians six verse. I want us to read this

first Corinthians six verse 12. First Corinthians

six verse 12. Give me that first Corinthians

six verse 12. All things are lovable for me,

but not all things are, but all things are not

helpful. So this is the application or the usage

of that word. And not all things are beneficial,

right? First Corinthians 10 verse 23. all things

1 Corinthians 10:23

yes yes same same same same same same he says

all things are lovely for me but not all things

are helpful all things are lovely for me but

not all things are edify so he uses the word

help the helpful day and is from that word sin

ferro all right so in second timothy table three

verse 16 we saw another word closely related

to this and i said is the word profitable So

what is the difference or what relates these

two together? Sinfero from Acts 20 -20 is a verb,

all right, which means to benefit. We've seen

the, what do you call it? The definition. And

ophilimus is an adjective, all right? Sinfero

emphasizes what contribute to a person's good

or advantage. it emphasizes what contributes

to a person or advantage, to his person's advantage,

whereas Ophilemos emphasizes the quality of being

useful or profitable. Let me repeat it again.

St. Pharaoh speaks about or emphasizes the contribution

to a person's good or advantage, while Ophilemos

in Timothy speaks or emphasizes the quality of

being useful or profitable talking about the

scriptures so the scriptures is it contributes

to a person good or to a person's advantage and

the scripture also has the quality of being useful

or profitable in a person's life hallelujah so

this is very important that we understand the

usefulness of the scriptures as the basis to

which we find the whole council of God all right

so we've established that when Paul taught the

Ephesians taught and wrote to the Ephesians and

to Timothy both Ephesians and Timothy the book

of Ephesians and the book of Timothy let me be

very he wrote this around AD 63 and AD 67 the

new testament had not yet been completed okay

and the bible does not yet exist in the form

that we have it today when paul wrote Ephesians

and also wrote Timothy and especially his counselor

we saw in the book of acts the new testament

bible have not been collaborated that as we have

it today paul's epistles came later ad okay his

epistles were written between ad 48 and ad 67

they are actually the earliest new testament

writings paul's writings his epistles were actually

new the earliest you know books were written

that comprises the new testament the gospels

were written later after the epistles were written

later on in sometimes around AD 65 -67 we'll

see that was when the book of Mark was written

Matthew was written later on at AD am I too fast?

okay the book of Mark was written around AD 65

-70 the book of Matthew was written around AD

70 -85 the book of luke was written around 80

80 and 90 and lastly john was around 90 to 95

ad okay so the new testament books we are having

today all we have today we are recognized by

the church in the fourth century ad that is about

367 ad 367 and ad 397 approximately about 360

years after the death of christ and his resurrection

why am i listening this is to bring to our understanding

that when paul said i did not shrink from declaring

to you the whole council of god in acts of a

20 verse 27 and later wrote that all scripture

is god breath in second timothy was three to

16 it was primarily referring to the Old Testament

scriptures Genesis to Malachi from these scriptures

Pope proclaimed the whole council of God God's

completely redemptive purpose revealed through

the Old Testament and fulfilled in Jesus Christ

this is a same Christ -centered approach Jesus

modeled when he began with Moses and all the

prophets and then he interpreted across the scriptures

the things concerning himself in luke chapter

Luke 24:27

24 verse 27 and luke 24 verse 44 to 47 hallelujah

Luke 24:44–47

so am i in any way saying that the new testament

is not scripture i did not allude that all right

am i in any way downgrading the authority of

Matthew to Revelation I did not mention that

so if you are hearing that then you are not hearing

from what I'm saying but I'm building a case

and the case I'm trying to build is that we must

learn to appreciate the scriptures in its wholesomeness

because we cannot be accurate in our practice

in our ministry when we relegate Genesis to Malachi

you cannot watch let me use something kind of

to give us an understanding you cannot approach

you cannot appreciate Welcome to America that

was acted on a few years ago you know the movie

you cannot you cannot appreciate the one that

was acted most recently without watching the

one that was acted was produced in the 90s you

will not appreciate the movie but when you have

watched the one that was before and lo and behold

you watch a sequel of it today or for instance

you watch wakanda that was done most recently

and you have no idea of the one that was done

before how will you appreciate what you have

today and understand the storyline without going

back to watch the previous it's impossible for

you to comprehend the storyline and that is also

with the scriptures is impossible for you to

understand the plan and the purpose of god as

expressed in the new testament scriptures what

we call the new testament scriptures we dial

a comprehensive appreciation that comes from

proper interpretation proper explanation of the

old testament scriptures and i'm hoping and i'm

trusting god in my heart that before this conference

will end we'll go into the old testament scriptures

and we will try to know the word council of god

from the old testament we will try to explain

as much as we can i know that we cannot exhaust

it in one meeting but we'll try to touch even

if it's even even if it's a part of it to try

to show to us that the new testament scriptures

are they have no value without the old testament

scriptures so in our ministry we must we must

be willing to appreciate the whole council of

God's word. The reason for the rascality we have

in our Christianity today and the false doctrine

we see parading in our society today, in our

practice today, is because of our misunderstanding

of God's intended plan from the beginning. Because

when we don't understand God's intention from

the beginning, there's no how we can communicate

God's plan effectively. Hallelujah. so we must

understand the context the background the the

curriculum the the guide for what god has called

us to do so what are the episodes for main four

okay if i have so much from the beginning till

now emphasize so much okay the importance of

genesis to malachi which we're going to return

back later then someone may be asking them what

are they what is the essence of the epistles

what are they meant for now the epistles are

post -resurrection letters meant to highlight

the importance of the resurrection in gos grand

plan i just try to make it in a simple short

word the importance of the epistles is to highlight

okay the the the epistles are meant to highlight

the importance of the resurrection who's the

resurrection jesus is resurrection in god's grand

plan are we together so in god's grand plan for

humanity for creation for humanity the epistles

helps us because by the help of the spirit the

apostles were able to write from the background

of what they know as a promise john will say

we've seen him we've touched the word of life

we've seen the promise of god as one that came

from god he lived from we live within us and

he is the eternal life so the new testament books

are what we mostly establish or formulate our

doctrines nowadays okay who will talk about tongues

and interpretation of tongues somebody will say

i don't follow paula i follow jesus but you speak

in tongues so how many tongues did jesus speak

you are a prophet and you don't follow you you

only follow jesus what is the context of your

prophetic ministry hallelujah so we must know

what you are doing we're dealing with so that

we can we will not go there and be shaming ourselves

okay we'll not go there and be disgracing ourselves

so our desire is that god will establish us in

his word that we will be those men that know

the plan of god from the beginning okay so as

i said we establish our doctrines or most of

the things we establish our doctrines nowadays

are from the new testament scriptures but we

must be cautious with that okay we must be careful

with that i'm not saying it's wrong but i'm saying

that we must be careful on the line the word

careful with that do you know that early church

do not even have them collected as we have today

the new testament scriptures they don't even

have them as collected today but yet they are

the standard for us all right which means that

the church okay the bible they use was genesis

to malachi are we together then we see their

writings and their holy spirit working with them

we must not take away the role of the spirit

in the early church and even in our church today

hallelujah because if we limit our understanding

of god to the epistles alone please if you are

sleeping right if you are writing right alone

so that you know go and say what i did not say

if we limit our understanding of god to the epistles

alone we will not be doing justice to the writers

of the epistles you understand what i said we

will not be kind to them because we are not fair

to their writings their epistles because that

was not even their intention in the beginning

paul who taught from the old testament did not

limit our understanding of god to his epistles

all right he did not limit our understanding

of god to his letters alone therefore we emphasize

that the bible in its wholesomeness is a council

of god okay you must be those kind of teachers

that must teach the whole council of god so the

scriptures communicates one coherent message

with a clear focus that unites all their parts

from genesis to where to revelation okay from

genesis to a to revelation there's a coherent

message with a clear focus each has a focus in

all their parts they have a focus the the the

the gospels focus on the humanity of jesus christ

and what he did on the earth the epistles focus

on what the resurrection and all that we have

obtained by the spirit in the resurrection and

all of them will all be connecting to a the genesis

to malakai in order to establish and bring a

picture for us of the entirety of the council

and the plan and the purpose of god for our lives

so we must read the bible properly together as

a whole no part of the bible should be read alone

we don't try to pick the passages that make sense

to us and ignore all three others as lesser the

whole bunch of scripture collected together must

be read together you know the babu is not like

going to a restaurant there's a restaurant in

levkosha where when you enter you know they give

you a plate and then you pick whatever you want

and then you go and sit down and then you pay

you don't come to the word of god like that you

don't cherry pick what you want from the scriptures

there is nothing like favorite scripture or favorite

verse the entire scripture is your favorite and

you you make it your favorite hallelujah the

entirety of scripture is the whole council of

god so we must understand this and We have a

temptation to read the Bible in isolated themes

or topics. It's good, but it's dangerous also.

The Bible is God's story woven around men. So

when we begin to focus on some specific topics,

as good as character study, we'll end up emphasizing

things that are not meant to be emphasized. I'm

forgetting the entire council of God, the story

of God, because the Bible is a story from Genesis

to Revelation. Hallelujah. So you cannot pitch

a tent in Malachi and establish a whole council

of God in Malachi without knowing that Malachi

started from Genesis and is headed towards the

Revelation. Hallelujah. So as I said, the New

Testament is a sequel of the Old Testament. And

for us to understand the New Testament properly,

we must understand the Old Testament. If we remove

context from a story, what it means is I will

be telling a different story. I remember a game

where people would line up, all right, and then

one person would tell something, something else,

and the next person would tell the person. And

before the story reached the last person, what

the first person said have changed meaning because

the story has lost you know the important ingredient

that makes it the complete story so we can't

remove a part of scripture and treat it more

special than the other because the word of god

is a complete story so the new testament writers

always assume that their audience are familiar

with the Old Testament scriptures all right the

New Testament writers they have an assumption

most times they have assumption they assume a

position that their their hearers their audience

have an understanding of the Old Testament the

story in the Old Testament so you cannot just

pick up the story in the New Testament without

sitting at where they sat knowing what they knew

so that you better understand what they wrote

that you will come to a place of proper interpretation

and even teaching hallelujah so we must give

context to what we are studying that we will

be able to be better ministers so i'm tempted

to say something here do the new testament scriptures

or writers ask and answer the questions we are

asking today okay the serious matter when the

new testament writers were writing We are confronted

with the same issues we are confronted with today.

I think it was when he was a brother before he

became Pasota Kunda. One day he came to me and

he asked me a question. Is it about transgender?

And honestly I've never thought about it. I don't

know how I answered him but I just let it go.

I have to go and think about it. Say for example

now, a man changed his sex and said he's a female

and then he comes to you and says he's now born

again. Is he a she or a he? I don't know, but

let's assume there is a she now. And then you

are the pastor of the church that belongs, that

that person is a fellow shaman. Now this person

has changed gender. He's now a she now. And this

person is led to marry. and it came to you as

a parcel of that trust for counselling. How will

you deal with that circumstance? Show me any

text in the New Testament that interprets that

scenario. How will you address that matter? And

I was, okay, let me think about it. How will

you address that matter? Because you know what?

When the writers of a New Testament were writing,

they have no idea of what is called transgender.

you understand but you know what as a man of

god you must be equipped to give answer to that

okay because you must explain you must guide

you must teach how will you confront that kind

of situation from the council of goals or how

will you confront it so do the new testament

writers attempt to write to confront the issues

we are dealing with today one of the challenges

we face today is trying to answer today's questions

using the writings in the new testament we must

also be careful to not move into error in application

of their holy writings okay also will teach us

about context i'm waiting i i don't know how

much i'm waiting for a session hallelujah i love

them i i want to i want to hear that context

is king hallelujah One of the most important

principles of Biblical interpretation is to allow

the New Testament writers to answer the questions

they were actually addressing themselves. Rather

than forcing them to answer a question that arose

in our time or in many centuries later. Every

epistle was written to a real audience. Is there

any epistle that's written to those people in

left kosha in the year 2026 it's not a person

like that it was written to a rip most of them

you see timothy is a young man like us in his

time and his season and the issues he was dealing

with some of them could be familiar to our situation

that we can apply but some of them are not really

an issue right so a real audience in a specific

historical context to address particular issues

facing the early church so our responsibility

is to first understand their question what are

they trying to ask what are they trying to answer

then we'll find a way to apply their answers

in our world today for example now i said he

has a we are not the corinthian church okay no

we are the efficient or the roman the roman church

Indeed, the thing is written, we are written

for, they were written for us, they were written

to us. Is it to us? Romans 15 verse 4. The things

Romans 15:4

that were written were not written to us, but

they were written for us. That is, we are not

the ones that have been addressed, but we are

written for our identification. For whatever

things that were written before were written

for our learning even them right in the time

that we're writing the epistles they refer to

the writings of the Old Testament they contextualize

the Old Testament for whatever things were written

before were written for our learning that we

through patience and comfort of the scriptures

might have hope so there's a sense of hope in

the scriptures so the central concern of the

New Testament is the New Testament is God's redentive

plan in Christ. His humanity, his dead, his resurrection,

his exaltation, and the implication of the gospel

to the church. So these are the things that they

were faced with. Okay? They were faced with the

idea of the humanity of Christ. If you read what

Paul read, give me Luke 1 verse 1, you see what

Luke 1:1

Luke was telling Theophilus. Many people have

written a record, right? But it seems good to

me that I will also write my own. okay why is

he writing in order to set it to set in order

the narrative of those things which have been

fulfilled among us you were not there when those

things were fulfilled all right so verse two

he says just as those who from the beginning

ways eyewitnesses and minister of god deliver

them to us so he was addressing specifically

a man says okay it's simple to me also having

perfect understand of all things from the very

first to write you an orderly account most excellent

yours was for that you may know the certainty

of those things which you were instructed so

this is to encourage a young man that he may

have conviction in the things that he has been

taught so there's a context to the writings of

the new testament scriptures hallelujah so i

said here i said for example now When the epistles

were written, Paul was never writing with the

intention of discussing women in ministry. Specifically

about the issue of women in ministry. When he

was writing the epistles, Paul did not write

his letters to settle modern -day debate. What

is modern -day debate? can women serve in ministry?

That was all the question Paul was writing to

address. So if you go to the epistle and try

to answer the question of can women serve in

ministry, you have to be very careful to interpret.

In fact, you have to go back to Genesis to know

whether women can serve in ministry or not, because

Genesis gives us the entire plan for the purpose

of God for the creation of the man and the woman.

So if you go to the epistles, you can double

into error in trying to answer a question that

it was never intended to if paul was aware that

today in our world today we'll be discussing

can women be ministry maybe he could have write

it boldly and clearly not to put us in an ambiguous

position because that was his intention but we've

tried to answer questions with what was written

what he wrote and that was not his intention

hallelujah another concept today is can salvation

be lost the new testament writers address right

the primary addresses assurance perseverance

faithfulness and warning against apostasy rather

than framing the discussion around later theological

question can a truly regenerated believer lose

his elevation their focus is the believer's life

in christ and perseverance in faith not so in

the entirety of the new testament if you read

carefully you will discover that the idea of

salvation in the minds of the writers of the

epistles and even the gospel is that salvation

is an eternal stuff there's nothing there they

were not trying to answer whether salvation can

be lost or not hallelujah so if we try to answer

both the answer can salvation be lost what of

these things what of this says baba go to the

context and see from the beginning what is the

intent of that writing was it meant to talk about

that and then you begin to properly interpret

this you discover that that is all what there's

time to answer hallelujah there are issues we

will address okay but i hope that we will have

time to go after them one after the other i will

see the pattern that jesus used in answering

question remember when he was confronted with

the issue of divorce where did it go to jesus

went to the beginning all right he went to genesis

all right so all the questions we are facing

today we can answer them from the scriptures

hallelujah there is no question that we confirm

you are confronted today that cannot be answered

from the scriptures that is when we read it in

the entirety of his context the whole council

of god but when we try to you know read it out

of context or picture depict scriptures alone

We appreciate you being here today. We hope you

carried this word with you throughout your week.

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