Standing With the Lamb pt.1

Christ our Passover

Mark 14:1 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
were two days away. And the chief priests and the scribes
were seeking a way to seize Him [Jesus] by craftiness and
kill Him,

1Cor 5:7 Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new
lump, even as you are unleavened; for our Passover, Christ,
also has been sacrificed.

Exo 12:6 ...and the whole congregation of the assembly of
Israel shall kill it [a lamb] at twilight. 7 And they
shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts
and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 12 For
I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will
strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and
beast. Also against all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgments. I am Jehovah. 13 And the blood shall be a sign
for you upon the houses where you are; and when I see the
blood, I will pass over you, and there will be no plague upon
you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark 14:1 speaks of "the Passover and the feast of Unleavened
Bread after two days." Eventually, under God's sovereignty,
they did kill the Lord Jesus at the feast (Matt. 27:15) for
the fulfillment of the type. The Passover was a type of
Christ (1 Cor. 5:7). Christ is the Lamb of God that God may
pass over us, the sinners, as portrayed in typology by the
Passover in Exodus 12. Hence, it was necessary for Christ as
the Passover Lamb to be killed on the day of the Passover for
its fulfillment.

The word Passover means that the judgment of God passes over
us. In Exodus 12:13 the Lord says, When I see the blood, I
will pass over you. Eventually, the Passover became a proper
noun in English. The proper noun Passover has its source in
the words "pass over" in 12:13.

But why is Christ called our Passover? According to Exodus 12, God passed over the children of Israel because the blood of the Passover lamb had been sprinkled on the lintel and the doorposts of their houses. The children of Israel had been commanded to eat the flesh of the lamb in their houses. In every house there must be a judgment for the sins, the lamb's blood indicated that the sacrifice had been made, like wise because the lamb had been consumed by the people the lamb was technically one with the people and had been constituted within them. God will not kill the lamb twice so, in effect because the lamb was in the people and the people in the lamb the judgment of God was gone by. Why? Because in a since they were the lamb.The flesh of the lamb was made one with the people. In our house do we believe Christ is the one slain, and the one through him we all live...

The children of Israel had been commanded to eat the flesh of the lamb in their houses.This indicates that "the house" was to be their covering under which and in which they could eat the flesh of the Passover lamb. The house that covered them was to have blood sprinkled on the lintel and the doorposts. When God saw the blood, He passed over the children of Israel. Hence, this passing over was due to the sprinkled blood. According to Paul, however, we see that the Passover is related not only to the blood, but to Christ Himself. Because we are in Christ, He Himself becomes our Passover. In Exodus 12 the Passover was based on the blood. But today our Passover is based on Christ. This is the reason Paul could say that Christ is our Passover.

Every aspect of passing over is fulfilled in Christ. The house we eat him in is Christ, the blood on the post is Christ. The door is Christ. The meat is Christ, the bitter herbs is Christ. The unleavened bread is Christ. There is no reason to judge anybody, there is no reason to be envious of anybody there is no reason to hate anyone. We all must come into the house under the same lintel and throught the same Door of Jesus Christ, we all must eat Christ and we all must share his blood over our house. To judge someone is to place yourself outside of the house looking in. To eat unworthily is to eat this sacrifice and place God's judgment over your brother and sister who like you God has allowed Christ to be a "Pass over" for. If you judge someone who also has christ as his salvation, then you have made null your own salvation because your's is the same as his, even though you may be "holier" or more morally good or "godly". To neglect there Christ is to negelct your own. There salvation is your salvation, therefore don't be jealous of anyone, don't be envious, realize your in the same house. The house of God. Your body is a house of God, and there's is as well but together in the Spirit you are one in Christ. This new man in Christ is who we all must put on, taking off the old "you".


Putting on the new man. In order to put on the new man we must reckon ourselves as having died in Jesus Christ, being buried with Him. We were also risen with him, and have ascended with him, now sitted with him in heavenly places. For example, If yo' daddy died 10 years before you were born, you would have died to... because you were with him...you were in him. Everything your daddy did, you did because you were in him, in his loins. Likewise God does not see us apart from Christ, he sees us in Christ. When christ died we died, when he rose , we rose, when he ascended we ascended this is to be in Christ. When we touch this realizty we get the sensation that we are living, that we are high that we are above the earth. This is to be in the Spirit, to be in peace and to be in Christ.


Because we are in Christ, and not in our natural father and mother, we are spared God's judgment. In fact our natural father and mother are in their father, and his father, is in his fathers, and so on until you get to Adam. Everything Adam did they did. And in Adam all die...But HALLELUJAH!!!!!! IN CHRIST ALL ARE MADE ALIVE!!!!!! A new creation, to live and express this reality in every aspect of our lives in this love and in this truth esteeming each other above ourselves so that we may win them and share in this wonderful reality to be revealed in due time.


JAY

How to Drink and Breath Christ: Are you thirsty

There are 5 instances we learn about in John...

First, the Lord talked with a "superior", moral man about the regeneration of life, Nicodemus. Through the new birth, the Lord is our second life, the divine life.

In the second case, the Lord spoke to an "inferior", immoral woman about the satisfaction of life. The Lord Himself is the living water which satisfies the dissatisfied hearts.

In the third case, the Lord healed a "dying child". The Lord heals the dying people by His life-giving word through believing...

In the fourth case, the Lord enlivened an impotent man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. This shows that the Lord enlivens the impotent by life.

In the fifth case, the Lord fed the five thousand with the bread of life. This indicates that He is the living, heavenly bread with which to satisfy the hungry multitude.

Therefore, in brief, the Lord regenerates with His divine life in the first case, gives the living water in the second case, heals the dying by the life-giving word in the third case, enlivens the impotent in the fourth case, and feeds the multitude with the bread of life in the fifth case.

Now in chapter seven we come to the sixth case—the need of the thirsty.

(adapted from The Need of the Thirsty: Life's Quenching)

If you would like to read the latter half please leave a comment, let me know someone's reading these things, Thanks. Also please fill free to print these out and share. Use those talents!!!

Jason's Update on the Battle Field: How to minister to brothers

Situation:

I am now staying with brethren at an apartment home in Atlanta. They are my work in the Lord...my hope, my crown of rejoicing, and more. A similar location exists at another student housing lofts in downtown Atlanta where the gospel was preached and life was ministered. As a minister of God, feeding the flock can be a daunting task. But we are exhorted to do it willingly and to be patient because of the crown of life we shall receive at the Lord's coming.

Practicality:

At school, we function as salt. The students understanding the authority of the teacher and the teacher understanding the authority of God and responsibility towards the students. The house of God right now is been measured and the supper being prepared. The servants have been called in from the field harvesting grain for the meal and has been through the sword of the spirit and effectual praying cutting though apostate christendom with the gospel of the kingdom and the leavened church ready for the roast.

In ministering the Gospel and in furthering God's move on this earth the ministry of life is needed. In such a loveless cold world the church of the Philippians at Philippi stood out.

For me in Atlanta as a pillar in God's temple, I realize the house is only as good as the support and the support as good as the house. I want to stress the need for the saints to support genuine ministry. There are a lot of young people at my school, at lot of people I see on the train and in the inner city and the true genuine saints of phillipi realize this and I am confident will rise up to help assist in the advancement on another's well being in love and in Christ in sincerity and truth and above all in faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God...

THE BELIEVERS’ FELLOWSHIP
IN THE APOSTLE’S NEED

Scripture Reading: Phil. 4:10, 14-20

In this message we shall consider the believers’ fellowship in the apostle’s need. In their giving, many Christians do not have fellowship. By fellowship we do not simply mean communication or mutual participation. Fellowship also involves the ministering of life. When we have fellowship with one another, we minister life to one another. When many Christians give something as a gift, they do not have the deep sense that in this transaction there is the ministry of life. But if we pray/read the verses listed above, we shall touch the ministry of life, both from the side of the apostle and also from the side of the believers who sent a gift to him. No doubt, the saints in Philippi not only sent the material supply to Paul, but also ministered life to him. Thus, between the two parties, the apostle and the believers, there was the fellowship of life and the mutual ministry of life. It is important that we learn to give in such a fellowship of life and ministry of life.

I. THE APOSTLE REJOICING IN THE LORD
FOR THE BELIEVERS’ RENEWED CONCERN

In 4:10 Paul says, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you caused your thinking for me to blossom anew.” It might have been circumstances which kept the Philippian believers from continuing to send the material supply to Paul. When they sent a gift with Epaphroditus, Paul considered this the blossoming again of their thinking for him. According to Paul’s feeling, the sending of a gift with Epaphroditus was the blossoming again of their concern for him.
The words blossom anew are a beautiful expression, rich in their implication. How can something blossom without life? Paul’s use of the word blossom implies that the believers’ thought of him was a matter of life, something that expressed life. Furthermore, “blossom anew” implies that the believers’ concern for Paul had been dormant for a time, having passed through a winter season. For a plant to blossom anew requires that it undergo a period of withering or dormancy during the winter season. This winter season, during which the saints lacked the opportunity to care for Paul, was a time of suffering for him. But this suffering afforded him the opportunity to experience Christ in a richer way.

II. THE BELIEVERS’ THINKING FOR THE APOSTLE

In 4:10 Paul also says to the Philippians, “You did indeed take thought, but you lacked opportunity.” These words show Paul’s experience and maturity. There were times that he rebuked the saints. For example, in writing to the Corinthians he rebuked them and asked if they wanted him to come with a rod (1 Cor. 4:21). In writing to the Philippians, however, he speaks in a very positive way, telling them that at length they caused their thinking for him to blossom anew, that they indeed did take thought, but lacked opportunity.
As we have indicated, the words blossom anew, a literal translation of the Greek, imply that the giving of material things is a matter of life and of the ministry of life. If this were not so, Paul would not have used such an expression.

We must pay careful attention to the word blossom. This word implies that our giving of material things to any church, to any servant of the Lord, and to any of the saints must be something living that is able to blossom. This fellowship involves more than participation; it involves the circulation of the current of life. According to the Bible, fellowship always comes from life. First John 1:2 and 3 reveal that fellowship issues from life. The source of fellowship is life. For this reason, in Philippians 4:10 Paul uses the word blossom, and in verse 14, the word fellowship: “Nevertheless you did well to have fellowship with me in my affliction.” It seems as if Paul is saying, “You ministered life to me and helped to sustain me in my imprisonment. When I was suffering, you helped me by ministering life to me. Surely you will receive a supply of life in return.”
The fellowship in life can be illustrated by the circulation of blood in the human body. On the one hand, as the blood circulates, it flows out; on the other hand, it returns. In like manner, our fellowship in life always has a going out with a return. Any outflow without a corresponding inflow is not true fellowship. Fellowship always involves circulation. The life goes out, and the life also returns. The life goes with a supply to the other party, and then it comes back with a supply from this party. Whenever we give material things under the leading of the Lord, we should experience such a fellowship in life. There should be the blossoming and the mutual supply of life.
The fellowship the believers in Philippi had with Paul was for the furtherance of the gospel (1:5). Their sending of the supply of material things was for the furtherance of the gospel. As we have pointed out, the gospel here equals God’s move on earth for His economy. The gospel includes not only the good news of salvation, redemption, forgiveness, justification, and eternal life. Especially in a book like Philippians, the gospel signifies the move of God in His economy. Therefore, fellowship, even in the sending of a material supply, is for the furtherance of God’s move in His economy.