Monday 8 June 2015

The Messiah’s Secret – God raised Jesus from the Dead. 
Jeremiah 6: 16- 21. 
Since writing the blog I've added what has come from the understanding of the word.

"A  Salvation Army captain was collecting at a local service station. “I am sorry,” said a sad looking middle-aged lady. “I can’t give you anything,I’ve just lost my husband.” Full of love and Christian compassion, the captain asked, “And how long ago since you lost him.   With a quick look round she replied, “Well, about five minutes ago. I think he must have gone to the toilets.”
“Smile, Please!” by Phil Mason Monarch Books.

Jeremiah was a priest, prophet. and a watchman  
Jeremiah as a watchman observed that the people had erred from the ancient ways: they wern't putting into practice the law or listening to the watchman’s words from God.                          

Has the church today erred from ancient ways? 
Today's watchmen or women might bring to our attention: 'replacement theology'. What's that about?

Replacement theology teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan under a new covenant that has a completely new theology that excludes Israel and the Biblical words that have come down the milenniums. Those who follow ‘replacement theology’ believe the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people, and God does not have specific future plans for the nation of Israel.

Has God finished with Israel? 
I personally do not believe that God has finished with Israel. There have been numerous occasions where we read of God being frustrated by their lack of faith and their hardness of heart. On the Exodus journey Moses in his anger when the Israelites had made the golden calf in his absence threw down the two tablets of stone with the ten commandments written on them. God in his dismay considered starting again with Moses, Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation," Exodus 32: 18. 
Paul wrote that God had not rejected Israel. "I ask then has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin." Hebrews 11: 1

Biblical words that have come down the millenniums. 
Replacement theology changes words that have been part of the churches ministry down the centuries, in order to meet people were they are in the world. For many it's a logical thing to do, but the words that replace the original words in my view are not anointed. It's like the Pharisees adding laws to the laws given to Moses by God in order to gain more righteousness.

Why develop a formula that excludes the words that have come down the centuries? I heard directly on a Manchester Diocese Formation Day that when a church develops this formula of the Purpose Driven Life Church it should exclude groups like the Mothers Union. This I believe creates disunity and tramples upon the all inclusive message of Christ's Church. 
The Mothers' Union at that time had been in consultation at the request of the Prime Minister David Cameron in his support of the MU  'Bye, Buy, Childhood' Campaign. This campaign is in order to give children back their childhood from the commercialisation and sexualisation particularly in children's clothing. 
The MU has a long history of supporting and campaigning for Christian values in family life. See Blog 'The Messiah's Secret - Get on Board.' 

Shortly after the Formation Days had taken place, the then Bishop of Manchester sent a message with an apology around to all who had attended the Formation Days. Apology accepted.

I personally do not believe that God has finished with Israel; God’s love is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13: 6. 
There are those in the church who expect to be spiritually one with others who don't hold their views. But what they don't realise that in the spiritual dimension they have so much spiritual baggage that is not compatible with the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah prophesied Israel’s repentance, “And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look at the one whom they pierced they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps for a first born.” Zechariah 12: 10
This is a future when Jesus returns and takes up with the remnant of Israel. When this happens the Leaders of the nation of Israel will look to the gospels and remember the signs that Jesus gave, proving that he was and is the Messiah, 

They will read about when Jesus and his disciples came into the city just as a funeral was taking place. Jesus said to the mother, “Do not weep.” And raised her son from the dead and we read that they recognised him as a great prophet. Maybe the people watching knew the scriptures that recorded Elijah raising up the young boy from the dead. The boy was the son of the woman who Elijah was lodging with, He was taken ill and died, and Elijah ministered to him and brought him back to life. ! Kings 17: 17-24.

Elisha in the spirit of Elijah also raised up a boy from the dead. 2 Kings 4: 34.                                                                      
Jesus said that John the Baptist was in the spirit of Elijah. But we read John the Baptist in his ministry of baptism he did no signs like raising the dead.  John 10: 41.

The prophet Elijah was translated into heaven and the Jewish people expected him to return before the great and terrible day the Lord. The people looked for Elijah to come and take Jesus down from the cross. “The man in the crowd said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” Matthew 27: 49.    Jesus’ heart was speared by the sword of the soldier. Jesus had died on the cross;
Medical science says that blood and water separate after death, blood and water issued out from the heart of Jesus.  John 19: 34                                                                                                                  
Scripture says that Jesus tasted death for everyone. Hebrews 2: 9.                          
Also in Hebrews he writes that we are all prisoners held captive by our sin against God until we come to Jesus believing that he is able to change our lives and release us from all that can binds us.

On Wednesday and Thursday last week I was on a Langley House Trust Chaplaincy Retreat in Leistershire. 
Langley is a Christian Charity that provides rehabilitation for people leaving prison. While in prison the system strips away their dignity they are told what to do and when to do it. They become withdrawn, shutting out what is going on around them, just to survive. 
Langley serves the people who live in their houses across the UK with the heart and in the Spirit of Christ, accepting people for who they are. They help ex-offenders  in a loving, but firm way learn to basis social skills and uphold Christian values.  In every house the work is under pinned with prayer and Bible study.

On the Retreat during the worship time on Wednesday afternoon, the Lord gave me in my mind, in the Spirit, a picture of Jesus rolling back his grave clothes. On the left I tried to draw the picture.
Only God could raise Jesus from the dead as His human frame had been badly beaten and his joints disjointed, in death he was lifeless, a corpse. Only God could raise Jesus up from the dead and release his bound body from the grave clothes, the linen clothes covered in myrrh and aloes. John 19: 39, 40.
When Jesus rolled back his grave clothes he had overcome the devil’s power over death and the things that binds humanity.
Added word: Before I set out on my journey to Leicestershire, in my prayer time the Lord gave me a word,"Rolling back the stone" It's only now two weeks later that I realise the importance of that word. Receiving that word before the picture confused me and I was so moved by the picture of Jesus rolling back his grave clothes that It's taken time to realise the full impact of what rolling back the stone means; it completes the healing process releasing us from all that would bind us in darkness as Jesus rolls back our grave clothes and the rolling back of the stone releases us into the light, freedom and healing, being raised up with Christ. 
(Some would say that the linen clothes lying in the tomb indicated that Jesus rose from the dead through the clothes. But for me one experience is worth a thousand arguments. John 20: 6-8.) 

As followers of Jesus, Christians are called to be Christ-like; in Paul’s words we have Jesus Christ’s abiding presence within us, ‘Christ in you.”

Peter filled with the Spirit of Jesus raised Tabitha from the dead. 
We know the story in Acts 9: 36-43 "Peter turning towards the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing  Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet."                                               

On Wednesday evening on the retreat Lawson Main from the’ Zacchaeus’ Project at St. John’s, Worksop came to tell us about the project. They  help people with drink and drug problems.   

He told us this true story, a young man who attended the Project came to Lawson telling him that his friend was dead in a flat after taking an overdose of drugs. They prayed together before going to the flat. The paramedics had been called.   
When Lawson and the young man arrived, the paramedics had pronounced him dead and as they began to put him in a body bag, to their astonishment, the man came back to life.  God had raised the young man up. 
At the project many have been set free from their addictions.  

This is what Langley House Trust hopes to achieve in all their projects ‘Helping people to live crime free lives.’  

Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, the truth shall make you free.” John 8: 31, 32.

The Messiah's Secret Revealed. 
I was brought up in a Christian family and I believed which was the general belief in the church, that the time for the Jewish nation to accept Jesus as their Messiah was before his death on the cross. 
However, the Lord revealed to me that in order to fulfil God's plan of Salvation Jesus had to die and be resurrected from the dead and Ascend into heaven before the nation of Israel could receive Jesus as their Messiah. 
The early believers in Christ's Church expected Jesus to return quite soon. 
"Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold by the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent  then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that the times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you - even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything." Acts 3: 17- 26  

'The times of refreshing,' the Messiah's Jubilee. See blog The Messiah's Secret - Joy to the World.
www.messiahs-secret-revealed.co.uk for an in depth study of the Messiah's Secret.