(Re-posting from November 2008)
The End of Paul
Apostle Paul.....writer of letters to the churches.
Not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power to salvation.
Counted everything as loss in view of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.
Ex-con. Prison record.
Had a bounty on his head as others sought to kill him.
Yesterday I got the opportunity to attend a Bible study at Gadsden Vineyard. They meet each Sunday afternoon to study through the Bible. Todd Bagley heads up the meeting and also teaches. It is a wonderful time to gather with a few "zealot's" and feast on God's word. This group has been making their way through the book of ACTS, and yesterday they finished up.
As Todd was teaching, the very last verse of Acts caught my heart. It was speaking of Paul's final days as a prisoner in Rome. "And he kept on receiving all those who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all freedom of speech and fearless confidence, without hindrance."
The message never changes. It is about the Kingdom of God. The rule and reign of God here on earth in the hearts of his people. The ever increasing Kingdom that has no boundaries or borders. Cannot be stopped by any dogma or ideology. The same today as it was when Paul taught it. The Son of man was manifested or appeared to destroy the works of the devil. Sickness, disease, demonic oppression, addiction, adultery and every other sexual sin, greed, hatred, division, and every form of godlessness that could be conceived in the heart of man. Jesus came to break it's power and did so by dying on a cross and rising from a borrowed tomb.
Every time someone is prayed for, the Kingdom of God is advanced. Every time someone is fed or sheltered by a believer, the Kingdom of God is advanced. Every time someone carries out any act under the direction of the Holy Spirit, no matter how small it may seem, the Kingdom of God is being advanced. God's Kingdom come, His Kingdom will be done, here on earth as it is being done in heaven.
Not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power to salvation.
Counted everything as loss in view of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.
Ex-con. Prison record.
Had a bounty on his head as others sought to kill him.
Yesterday I got the opportunity to attend a Bible study at Gadsden Vineyard. They meet each Sunday afternoon to study through the Bible. Todd Bagley heads up the meeting and also teaches. It is a wonderful time to gather with a few "zealot's" and feast on God's word. This group has been making their way through the book of ACTS, and yesterday they finished up.
As Todd was teaching, the very last verse of Acts caught my heart. It was speaking of Paul's final days as a prisoner in Rome. "And he kept on receiving all those who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all freedom of speech and fearless confidence, without hindrance."
The message never changes. It is about the Kingdom of God. The rule and reign of God here on earth in the hearts of his people. The ever increasing Kingdom that has no boundaries or borders. Cannot be stopped by any dogma or ideology. The same today as it was when Paul taught it. The Son of man was manifested or appeared to destroy the works of the devil. Sickness, disease, demonic oppression, addiction, adultery and every other sexual sin, greed, hatred, division, and every form of godlessness that could be conceived in the heart of man. Jesus came to break it's power and did so by dying on a cross and rising from a borrowed tomb.
Every time someone is prayed for, the Kingdom of God is advanced. Every time someone is fed or sheltered by a believer, the Kingdom of God is advanced. Every time someone carries out any act under the direction of the Holy Spirit, no matter how small it may seem, the Kingdom of God is being advanced. God's Kingdom come, His Kingdom will be done, here on earth as it is being done in heaven.
What if we truly believed this. What if we truly believed that we each have been given a mandate from heaven to be the conduit for the work of God to flow through. That we speak the words of God, we carry out the wishes of God and we do so to a lost and dying world that does not know God. What an incredible thought.
To change our little corner of this world for God.
Go for it.
Believe it.
Then walk it out.
God on you today....
mbb
To change our little corner of this world for God.
Go for it.
Believe it.
Then walk it out.
God on you today....
mbb
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