Three years ago in the summer series at our chapel, here in Central Florida, I spoke on the topic JESUS- PROPHET, PRIEST AND KING, with emphasis on his role as prophet. After demonstrating that Jesus is described in Hebrews 1:1-3, as fulfilling all three of these roles, the discussion was advanced to explain His role as Prophet.
For this week’s SSS, I share below the power point presentation used for the teaching that Sunday morning.
If we were not confident or sure that he was the author and finisher of our faith we would not be able to run the race.
This verse tells us that our Lord is not only the object, but also the author of our faith in all respects. He is the beginning, perfecter, and rewarder of it. Christians must therefore keep looking away from this world to him because he has perfected our faith.
That he perfected our faith means that the Lord accomplished fully what it would take for ourfaith to be a reality…… he brought it to its intended goal.
Jesus accomplished the perfection of our faith by his sacrificial death on the cross. In keeping with the race imagery, he has cleared the path of faith so that we may run it. The way is open, and although hurdles exist, the roadblocks have been removed.
Jesus not only perfected faith but also provided the preeminent example of endurance because he looked beyond immediate, painful circumstances to the reward that was ahead.
He is the finisher of our faith; he is the fulfiller and the fulfilling of all scripture-promises and prophecies; he is the finisher of the work of faith with power in the souls of his people; and he is the judge and the rewarder of our faith; he helps us to reach the mark, and it is from him, and in him, we have the prize.
Whenever one talks about faith, all depends upon Jesus, for he is the basis, the means, and the fulfillment of faith.
Who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross,
despising OR SCORNING the shame
Who for the joy that was set before Him:
Jesus did not regard the cross itself as a joy. But He looked past the horror of the cross to enjoy the joy beyond it. The same mentality will enable us to endure. Romans 8:18
He despised the shame.
Despising the shame: One of the prominent elements of the torture of the cross was its extreme shame. Jesus bore this shame to accomplish our redemption.
Jesus bore a shameful accusation: blasphemy.
Jesus bore shameful mocking, a shameful beating. Jesus wore a shameful crown and a shameful robe. Jesus bore shameful mocking even as He prayed on the cross.
All the reproaches that were cast upon him, both in his life and at his death, he despised or scorned; because he was infinitely above them; he knew his own innocency and excellency, and despised the ignorance and malice of his despisers.
Jesus despised this shame and endured through it to victory. How did he do this?
The verb kataphroneo, translated here as “scorning,” or despising means to treat someone or something as if he or it had little value. That Jesus “scorned” the shame of the cross means that he treated it as insignificant or of little consequence.
The cross was the lowest form of capital punishment in the Roman world, reserved for slaves and criminals and involving both torture and public humiliation.
On the cross Jesus was treated as valueless, being mocked and ridiculed—in short, being “scorned” or “shamed.” But He, turned the experience inside out, by “scorning the shame”; or “scorning the scorn,” Jesus considered the cross to be insignificant compared to the joy of the exaltation that was set before our Him, because the end result of the shame of the cross was his exaltation to the right hand of God (Ps. 110:1). The phrase “And has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God speaks of Jesus’ glorification. The same promise of being glorified is true for the Christian also. Thus, Christians are encouraged to look beyond their present difficulties to God’s promised rewards.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 Knowing that Jesus doesn’t ask more of us than what He has Himself experienced, and that He knows exactly what we are going through keeps us from becoming weary.
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Submitted by Grenville Phillips II,
Jesus had an important assignment from His Father. That was to train a set of people to train others. Jesus described this assignment when He was speaking with His Father. We are privileged to read the intimate conversation in John 17. It starts with Jesus’ request to return to His former place.
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.” (v.1-2)
Jesus then explained how eternal life was to be obtained.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (V.3)
Jesus then reported that He had finished His assignment.
“I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (v.4-5)
Note that this assignment was finished BEFORE He was crucified for all of humanity. What was this work that God gave Him to do? We do not need to speculate. Jesus explained it Himself.
“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” (V.6-8)
To ensure that this assignment would be sustained, Jesus would later instruct his followers exactly what they should do. They were to train others (make disciples). He also instructed them on the training manual, namely Jesus’ own commandments – which He had received from His Father. Hear Jesus.
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 of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)
If we want to follow Jesus, then we should submit to the discipline of Jesus’ training, while we cultivate a relationship with “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent”.
Be encouraged on your training journey, and please do not be distracted by those who choose not to grow.
It matters not what what the atheist thinks THE CARNAL MAN CANNOT comprehend THE THINGS OF SPIRIT.
The FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST / true Christians HOLD THE KEYS to the philosophers stone, the Holy Grail, the Fountain of youth and by that, it is meant to convey that once the Christian purports to follow divine instructions delivered by the man Jesus himself, then at the opportune time we will reap all the glory that is found in being an individualize SPARK of Divine Source found in each one of us.
Though many expect to see the glorious return in the heavens of the Deity known as Jesus, (as this too is possible), may you at this time peer at a different perspective relating to “Jesus Return” or rather the return of the Christ/THE RAPTURE.
Adam the first man (CREATED from the dust of the earth) fell from grace, and by covenant, the Messiah was promised, was fulfilled and was/is referred to as the New Man (by BIRTH) of Jesus (the Christ) who in turn promise to send the Holy Spirit to teach and guide into all things.
Who or What is “the Christ”?
Jesus himself (being the first BORN of the new man, observing his attributes and characteristics) admonished his followers to “let this mind be in you”, … “greater things ye shall do…” His life was filled with works/acts of the supernatural, of miracles but obvious natural to him. THEREFORE it is befitting to conclude that it is the consciousness that permeated his ability to function as he did, doing it all in LOVE, admonishing us to ..”love thy neighbour as thyself, .. to love even the enemy. To LOVE is greater than charity, it is the fruit of full consciousness, of CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS ANY OTHER IS THE ANTICHRIST AT WORK.
CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS is yours to have, and you also have free will to choose, it is also linked to the rapture (a word not found in the Bible) but the phrase ..”caught up” …denotes such… “in the twinkling of the eye” …full consciousness/Christ consciousness/the return to the original blueprint of man/SPIRIT MAN will be restored to those who have prepared themselves and followed the directives given by JESUS, only then we will have the power over death and inherit the eternal life (JOHN 3:16) in the flesh as(SPIRIT MAN), here on earth.. for Jesus himself prayed that .. “…heaven be on earth..”, THAT NEW JERUSALEM for it is the level of consciousness that determines your heaven or hell experience ETERNALLY.
The choice is yours.
In remembrance of Jesus and the fulfilment of FULL CONSCIOUSNESS / CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS in all of us. Have a blessed and peaceful CHRISTMAS DAY everyone
“Thus far, the Christian religion is the only one that conforms to the belief that the only way to God and eternal life hereafter is through His Son Jesus Christ, His death on the Cross and His Resurrection. No other faith or religion professes or proclaims these events. Research in the subject of comparative religions supports and gives credence to the above.” Michael Ray letter to the editor “Keeping the faith”, February 16
The action of a man who volunteers to die for his fellow creatures is universally regarded as noble. The extra claim not to have “really” died makes the whole sacrifice tricky and meretricious. (Thus, those who say “Christ died for my sins,” when he did not really “die” at all, are making a statement that is false in its own terms.) Having no reliable or consistent witnesses, in anything like the time period needed to certify such an extraordinary claim, we are finally entitled to say that we have a right, if not an obligation, to respect ourselves enough to disbelieve the whole thing.
Peter Wickham at the ‘vanguard’ of the Gay lobby in Barbados
BU has written and posted extensively about the issue of homosexuality. BU’s position is well documented. We do not subscribe to the lifestyle but will defend the right of the homosexual to co-exist in our society as defined by our society. It has proved and will continue to prove not a simple matter to resolve.
In the case of Barbados the homosexual debate has become interesting on a number of fronts. It is an issue which Peter Wickham has taken to wearing on his sleeve. He uses his weekly newspaper column and the talk show on Voice of Barbados radio to bombard citizens with his view. But guess what, this is his prerogative to take. Perhaps his advocacy would take on credibility if he were to declare his hand.
It is interesting to note that leading up to the last general election Ministers Adriel Brathwaite (Attorney General) and Stephen Lashley (Family and Youth) reaffirmed government’s position to support what BU describes as the traditional lifestyle of man and woman, and marriage, man and woman. It is obvious the two ministers felt bold to make public their positions because they believe it resonates favourably with the majority of Barbadians poll or no poll. Where do we go from here if government is not inclined to endorse homosexuality as a normal way of life?
“And there appeared in Heaven a great wonder; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of [12] stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having [7] heads and [10] horns, and [7] crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days.” – (Revelation 12:1-6KJV)
No book ever written holds such beautiful allegorical and symbolic language, meaning and truth as does THE BIBLE! Type meets antitype; prophets validate Apostles; line is given over to precept; seals are followed by trumpets; vials portend approaching destruction and what was in the Beginning emerges in the End.
The sole purpose of The Bible is to reveal the person of Jesus The Christ. He was in the Beginning and He is definitely going to be there at the End. We can disagree over the how, why, when, where and all the other age-old questions – one thing is SURE*, Jesus is either who He is or we can disregard Him at our own peril.
It is accepted consensus that any discourse on the birth of Jesus can run folks into a meaningless argumentative quest which is often drenched in the dew of historical debate, conjecture and polarization. What has been established is that He was born, lived for [33] and a half years, died, rose again and is carrying on His priestly work in Heaven on behalf of mankind.
