|
 The Hope of the Church of the One Body - Part 2. The lesson on August 5, 2007 continued the
series on the hope of the Church of the One Body. It is the second lesson and comes from a spin off of the three spheres of blessings.
The beginning of this study was initiated from our Timothy Study. Specifically, the charge that Paul gave Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:13-14 “I give thee charge in the sight of
God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our
Lord Jesus Christ:” That word appearing is “Epiphany” which is our hope as we see in Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” This is the hope of the Church of the One Body. The calling always determines the hope.
The calling in Abraham is the hope of Abraham. And that’s where this study is going to begin in understanding the hope of Abraham. The lesson covers
the four covenants that were given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their offspring. These covenants of promise are: Abrahamic Covenant,
Palestinian Covenant, Davidic Covenant, and finally the New Covenant. All of these covenants have as their focus Israel and the hope of Israel. We
find that most of what Abraham was promised was earthly in nature (at least initially).  There is a handout that was made that covers all of the scriptures in the lesson.   Click here to listen now
 Be Ready, Be Specific. The lesson on August 12, 2007 started with the scripture in 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” and looked at several examples in scripture where someone was called upon
to respond to a question. The first example was with Stephen, who was asked a question in Acts 6:12-7:1 “And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and
caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man
ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard
him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which
Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Then said the high priest, Are these things so?” Stephen responded
very specifically in the rest of Acts 7 and they really didn’t like his response. It was so sharp that they decided to take him
out in the street and stone him. The bible says in Hebrews 4:12 that “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” What we need to do as Christians today is study the bible
rightly divided and have his word hidden in our hearts so when we have an opportunity to witness, we can respond with
scripture and share the specifics of our faith in Christ Jesus, and his victory over death and our hope in a resurrection.
We need to be specific in our response. For example, you can simple offer you testimony and give thanks to God. But,
wouldn’t it much more powerful to give your testimony about Christ Jesus, and give thanks to the one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus who is your Lord and Savior. Who died for your sins and rose again that we might live
forever with Him in the Heavenlies, far above all principalities and powers. The lesson looked at the conversion of Saul
and how Paul became an ambassador for Christ to the gentiles. In doing so, he also was on to respond with specifics to
the point of becoming unpopular. Shouldn’t we do the same? There was a handout with the lesson. Click here to listen now.
 The Hope of the Church of the One Body - Part 3. Most of Christianity today teaches only
two spheres of blessings, and the lesson here teaches on the second sphere of blessing which is New Jerusalem. The first sphere of blessing involved what was promised to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (who had the 12 fathers of Israel) being their seed would be like
the sand, and stars in heaven and that they would inherit the Promised Land. This involved
promises made through covenants with the nation of Israel (Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic,
and the New Covenant). It’s discussed that most of this lesson falls under what is called
Dispensational teaching versus what is taught by Covenant theologians (who believe that the New Covenant was made with the church). The first sphere of blessing is the earth. Therefore, we will look at the
second sphere of blessing which involves New Jerusalem which is a heavenly inheritance that was given to Abraham.
It’s important to make the distinction between a heavenly inheritance and an inheritance located far above the heavens.
The heavenly inheritance that Israel will enjoy is New Jerusalem and we see a description of that in Rev. 21:1-2. The lesson on August 19, 2007 continues the audio series on our hope. It takes time to expound on the heavenly blessing
Israel receives with New Jerusalem and in the end compares it to the third sphere of blessing the church of the one body
receives in Christ (which is in the heavenlies, far above all). Click here to listen now. There was
a handout prepared afterwards that covers the scriptures given in this lesson. You can download that here to follow
along while you listen. You may want to review all of the audio lessons in this series.
 The Hope of the Church of the One Body - Part 4. This lesson on August 26, 2007
continues with Part 4 in the series on the hope of the one body. The church’s hope is based on
the “appearing” (Epiphany) of our Lord, Jesus Christ which places our hope far above the
heavens where Christ is seated. However, if you ask a Christian today where he would go if
he died, most of the time you hear the response of “heaven” and they are thinking of the other
appearing (Parousia), which is tied to Israel. It seems by and large, that is the confusion in the
hope of Christianity today. In Acts 23:6 “But when Paul perceived that the one part were
Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a
Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question
.” Here Paul brings up the hope and the resurrection of the dead. In fact, this is what most
people would say is part of the end times. Specifically, Christians would list three events in this
order: 1) the rapture (resurrection), 2) the tribulation (70th week of Daniel), and 3) the
Millennium (the 1,000 year reign). This lesson looks at this resurrection and also covers the “trumpets” that are in
Revelation since they are intimately associated with the resurrection. Click here to listen now.
You may want to review all of the audio lessons on the Hope of the Church of the One Body. A lesson review was prepared as well. You may want to download and read while you follow along.
|
Audio Lessons for this Month
