Questions every Christian should be able to answer Part IV, Bible Study 07/22/09

Questions every Christian should be able to answer Part IV
How to study the bible
Synopsis of Bible Study 07/22/09
Delivered by Bishop Walker
Bishop Walker explained that at a church function, a kid asked him if he had a job. It may sound funny, but the truth is many of us do not don’t understand what Pastors do as a Pastor. Just the preparation process of getting prepared for a sermon is a lot of work. It might interest you to know that it takes about 40 hrs to get prepared for one sermon. Keep in mind this is only if you are really going to deliver a prepared sermon and not one of those Saturday Night specials where you simply get up and say, “ He died, he rose, and amen!”
I. This Bible is divided in 8 parts
Historical-This involves Genesis thru Esther. The historical section includes the first 5 books of the bible and is called Pentateuch. These were the books of Moses. The Pentateuch was written by Moses. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are primarily books of Jewish law, so they do not fit quite as well in the historical category as the other books do. Note: All the customs of that day were included in the books of Jewish Law.
Poetical or wisdom-literature- This includes Job thru the Song of Solomon. All the Psalms were written mostly by Israel’s King David. There are a few of the Psalms that were anonymously written and a few written by others, but most were written by David. Psalms contains some of the most well-known verses of praise known to mankind. The Psalms is also the longest book in the bible. It contains divisions not chapters.
Major Prophets – This involves Isaiah through Daniel. These prophets are called Major because of the length of the books.
Minor Prophets – This section involves Hosea through Malachi. Most of these books were written about the dark days of Jewish captivity. These books are rich with information about reaching to God and teaching about personal righteousness and responsibility.
The gospels –This section involves Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John. Gospel means good news. The first three gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Books. Synoptic comes from the Greek, meaning they have the same eyes. The word used for synoptic is where we get the word synthesis meaning to bring together. In other words all the gospels point of view was brought together. Matt, Mark, & Luke all actually see the birth of Jesus Christ. John, however, begins the birth of Jesus by saying in the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and word was God. John is not part of synoptic gospels. It is important to know that Books of the bible are not in chronological order. Mark was actually the first book of the gospels. Mark was the first gospel written and the other gospels drew from it.
New Testament historical: Acts of the Apostles is the only book of the New Testament to be considered historical. It was written by Luke, who also wrote the gospel Luke. Acts is not to be interrupted theologically. It is a historical reference of things that happened. It is a model of why we do things that we do today. Ex- Acts 1:8:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.-Jesus sent word for the disciples to go to upper the room and wait for the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:1:1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.-They were in one place on one accord and the Spirit of the Lord filled the house and they received the Holy Ghost. If you interpret these two scriptures theologically, you tell people that they must wait for the Holy Ghost or tarry for him once they accept Christ. Why would wait for somebody that is already here? This was a historical scripture that told what happened when they were all on one accord.
The epistles: Romans thru Jude. These books are epistles which mean letters. They were articles of correspondence primarily between the apostle Paul and a young congregation of the Roman world. They are primarily doctrinal in nature, teaching new converts Christianity or what it means to be a Christian. Within these epistles are books referred to as Pastoral Epistles. They are 1 & 2 Timothy and Tutus.
Prophetic works: The Revelation of John is a book mostly in highly figurative and symbolic language, which dealt with things which must shortly come to pass. Revelation 1:1: 1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: -Revelation is undoubtedly the most misunderstood and misused of all the books of the bible. It is an apocalyptic book, meaning the end of days. Revelation is the most misinterpreted book of the bible. Revelations was one of those books that barely made it into our modern day publication of the bible.
1. There is a word called method comes from the Greek word methodos which literally means a way or path of transit. Methodology in bible study is therefore concerned with the proper path to be taken in order to arrive at scriptural truth. Ex-Take a look at a surgeon for instance. They follow a methodology or protocol when they decide to perform a surgery. They follow a set of procedures that have proven to be successful. Can you imagine a person who is going to operate on you and use a self led methodology instead of a structured method? This would be so frightening to you that you probably wouldn’t agree to have the surgery. You need them to know that they know what they are doing before they try to perform this tedious task. After all, this could be life threatening. We should go about studying our bible the same way. We need to follow a structured method that has been proven to be successful. Failure to do so could be life threatening.
2. The early church was subject to methodology. 2 Peter 3:16:16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction -Wrest in this scripture means to distort. In other words people were reading the word without methodology and it led to their own destruction.
2 Corinthians 4:1-2: 1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.-Paul was saying when people saw them preach, they knew that they had studied. The people knew that Paul was bringing the word with substance to the people. The pew ought to challenge the pulpit to go deeper.
II. How do we begin studying the bible?
1. Identify the type of literature the scripture comes from. Identify which of the previously mentioned categories the scripture falls in. If you know what section it comes from, then you know what the scripture should be talking about. Example historical, epistles, and etc…
2. Find a foundational truth: God created language for a purpose. When you read Genesis, it indicates that when God created Adam it was done in his own image. We know that God gave Adam a lot. How many times do you hear people say one of the greatest gifts God gave Adam is language or the ability to talk? The answer is you probably have never heard that. Well how do you think Adam started talking? Why would God give Adam the ability to talk? God knew that this was the only way that Adam could talk to him and that was the only way that Adam could communicate with other humans so God gave him language. We have these linguistic symbols in scripture called words, so God used language or words. When we understand the power of words we have to view language as a prerequisite to understand that God only spoke a word, but his word was written as well. Deuteronomy 29:29: 29The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law –When God created the world, he spoke words. In the beginning was the word, and the word was in with God, and the word was God. For God to give us words means we are more like God by the words that we use. So if the scripture is filled with words, the way to know God is to know his word. When you hear a good sermon you say that it was a good word. The whole 25min sermon is summed up as a being a word.
3. Revelation can only be understood if one interprets words by its original sense or the intent of the word. The bible you read is English, but it is not the original state. When you read the word, know there is meaning behind the word. When we don’t go behind the word or chase the word, we miss the meaning. The same word in English might not be same as the author’s intent in the original writings that it was translated from. Seek the author’s intent. Ex-Remember when Jesus said who do men say I am? Then he asked Peter who he said he was? Peter said that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus said upon this rock, he would build his church. Peters name means petro’s or hard place or rock. All Jesus was saying was he was going to build his church on Peter’s solid foundation, but depending on how you interpreted the scripture or the word rock, you can get several different meanings. Ex-What about the scripture that talks about a woman must cover their head. The bible was simply meaning that the woman should be spiritually covered by a husband or Pastor. If you subject yourself to literally interpretation, you can mess up the whole meaning of a scripture up. Names mean something. They are important and have a meaning.
4. You must recognize that what a passage means is set by the author. It is discovered by the reader. Exegesis means to draw the meaning out of the text. Eisogesis means to super impose meaning on the text or adding something to the text. Cults use the Eisogesis method. We have to go after all the languages to get the real meaning of what we are reading.
III. The Importance of context
1. There was a woman who ran for Governor recently. She convinced herself that the bible told her she would win. Matthew 19:30 was the scripture she was using to justify her claim. Matthew 19:30: 30But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. Needless to say, she lost the race.-The truth is we try to apply scripture to situations to make us feel right about those situations. We must remember that every word is part of sentence, and every sentence is part of paragraph, and every paragraph is part of a book, and the book makes up the scripture. You can’t interpret a whole composition off of one word.
2. There is immediate context and broad context. An example of a broad context is “What does the bible say about this situation?” An example of immediate context is to say, “The bible says we are supposed to go back and reconcile with our brother before we give an offering”.
3. People take scripture out of context in many ways. We pull scriptures where we want to apply them. We develop a relative righteousness by saying you can’t kill a dog but you can kill a dear. We are guilty of taking a scripture to soften the blow of our particular vice. Ex-Bishop explains that 98% of letters that he received about the Steve McNair’s funeral were congratulating him on a job well done. The other 2% were letters saying that he was going to hell for defending him. Ex-How many people have heard the scripture, my God shall supply all my needs? How many of us have used that scripture and applied it to our situation? Well let’s examine what comes before it. Philippians 4:13-19: 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 14Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. 15Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. 17Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. 18But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. 19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. – When you examine it, Paul was thanking the church of Philippi for communicating with him and sending him gifts though he did not ask for them. He explains in verse 18 that he now has more than enough due to their giving and he was sure God was pleased with them. Paul said as a result of their generous giving, God would supply all of their needs according to his riches and glory. In other words, you don’t have the right to use Phil 4:19 if you are not a sower of the Ministry of God (like the church of Philippi). You have got to look at context of the scripture before you apply.
4. Understanding the context will give you a sense of the cultural realities that were taking place contextually in the scripture that you are reading. Context also moves you to the point of understanding the power of historical data.
5. Historical data suggests that historical considerations must be applied when we study the scripture. In other words when we talk about the historical Jesus (and we say that because Jesus lived. History proves that he lived and walked the earth.) and we read the scripture, we recognize there were other historical events taking place alongside of what we are reading. The broader context can help us interpret what was going on. Mark 5:25:25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. – Ex- Bishop explains being in Venus, Italy and having the opportunity to stand at tomb of Mark who wrote this scripture. Mark is the one that wrote about the woman with the issue of blood. There is context and historical data that must be applied to every scripture in order to fully understand a scripture. We know on the surface that the woman pressed her way to Jesus and touched the hem of his garment and was made whole. Studying on deeper level, you begin to say things like, Mark is a gospel literature. We must then go find a book in the bible that educates me on how they treated women with an issue of blood. Probably this would be found in the Jewish law books. There we will find ideas like in Leviticus that tells us that a woman with an issue of blood couldn’t be touched for 66 days. Leviticus 12:5: 5 If a woman gives birth to a daughter, she will be ceremonially unclean for two weeks, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. After waiting sixty-six days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth. –We will also discover that anyone that touches her is unclean. Also we will find out that we can’t touch woman on her menstruation. Knowing this, we realize that the woman with the issue of blood had to overcome a crowd that didn’t want her to touch them and disciples that didn’t want her to touch Jesus. She had to transcend a whole cultural reality just to get to her miracle. Ex-Bishop explains on the latter part of his honeymoon, he had opportunity to Rome and walk through Caesar’s palace. Bishop explained that he took his bible on purpose. Bishop was trying to parallel historical events with scripture. The history in the bible was written from a patriarchal context. By this we mean woman were viewed negatively. We know what the bible says about Rome. Rome was that very advance civilization. Jesus was crucified by Roman crucifixion. Caesar sat on his throne. He was the man that governed all of Rome. Paul was sent to spread the good news to Caesar on this throne. On the way, he was taken captive. In Acts 27, he was put on a ship and there was a shipwreck. Many of them survived because of the favor God had on Paul. Paul now has to go to Caesar a man who has this incredible authority. Bishop was looking at the arena of Caesar’s palace. This was the same arena that gladiators fought and entertained. Historically, during the intermission of games, they would use those moments to execute prisoners, Christians to be exact. They would allow lions to come out and mall the Christians to death right in public view. Paul had instructions to come before this person that was over all of this madness knowing he could be killed. Knowing all of this, when you read where Paul wrote to die is gain… or that he would not let anyone separate him from the love of God, you get a whole new outlook and respect for the scripture. Note: Paul was eventually killed in Rome.

Questions every Christian should be able to answer Part II, Bible Study 07/08/09

Questions every Christian should be able to answer Part II
“Who is God” (continued)
Synopsis of Bible Study 07/08/09
Delivered by Bishop Walker III

For the sake of reviewing, let’s try recapping some of the stuff that we learned in Part I. First of all,
God is self existent, because God exists by himself.
God is infinite, because God has no limits.
God is eternal, because we know God always existed and there will never be a time where God will not exist.
God is immutable which means God cannot change.
God is omnipotent meaning he is all powerful. He is omnipresent meaning God is always present, and he is omniscient meaning he is all knowing.
God is a spirit
1. John 4:24 says God is a spirit and they that worship him must do so in spirit in truth. John 4:24: 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
2. God doesn’t have any physical limitations, doesn’t have a tangible body, and is not limited by space and time. God is spirit. Why is this significant? Since God is a spirit, in order for us to have an encounter with him, we must be spiritual also. Remember when Adam was created, he was just a fleshly being. He was not living. He only became a living being after God blew his breath (translated from the word rauh) into Adam. In other words, God blew his spirit into Adam and caused him to live .
3. The image of God is the spirit of God inside of us. Often times we think images are what we look like on the outside such as our hair or our nails or our clothes, but this is not what God is hung up on. God is talking about what is on the inside of us or what is supposed to look like him. This is our spirit. Therefore, the way we are supposed to worship him does not involve carnality. It involves our spirit.
4. We must worship God in the spirit. Flesh cannot glory in his presence. We have to submit our self and humble ourselves and worship him. Everything that we do should be for the glory of God in order to bring worship to him. As a result, we cannot do it in our flesh, because our egos and our pride prevent us from being successful at this. When we surrender ourselves to God, we say to God that the only way we can get to him is by the spirit, because we realize and acknowledge that he is a spirit. Therefore when we pray, we must pray in the spirit, when we come to the church, we must do so in the spirit. Everything about God is tied to the spirit. The spirit bears witness with the spirit. God is spirit.
God is Holy
1. God is holy according to 1 Peter 1:16: 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. God is holy. God says be holy, because he is holy. Holiness is important. To say God is holy, we acknowledge that God is above all else.
2. God is above anything else that is holy. God is the standard for holiness. There are some people that want to believe that they are a Jesus Jr. The truth is none of us are Jesus Jr. We are all in pursuit of holiness. We are all trying to be like him, but the reality is none of us are where God is (his level of holiness).We are all in pursuit of holiness and holiness can be attainted. It has nothing to do with the clothes we wear or how long our dress is or whether we wear makeup or not. Holiness is about a lifestyle, because God is holy. Remember around the heavenly throne all day long they say holy, holy, holy. In other words, God you are above everyone else. You are the paradigm or you are the standard for purity and holiness. As a result, if we are in relationship with him, then we too must pursue holiness.
God is Just
1. When many of us go to God, we don’t understand our holiness. It is because we haven’t gotten intimate in our relationship with him and allowed our self to become vulnerable. At this point you see God as he really is. The closer you get to God, the more you see yourself as unholy. As a result, what you do through worship is surrender yourself by saying whatever is in you, take it out. We do this because we worship him in spirit and in truth. In other words, we ask God to tell us the truth about ourselves. He then tells us what we have to work on. This is why some people don’t like to worship. They realize that it makes them exposed and vulnerable. They have to see themselves for what they really are.
2. God is just. He is completely right and just in all his moral dealings. Acts 17:31:
31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” -God will judge the world through Jesus Christ. There is no injustice that will go unpunished by God. God is the ultimate judge. You and I do not stand in a moral position to judge anybody. Only God is a judge. That’s why the bible says that vengeance is mines saith the Lord. When you experience injustices in your life, you got to know that God is just.
3. You got to know that God will make the crooked places straight. God will always make the rough places smooth. God will always handle your enemy. You don’t ever have to try to vindicate yourself or get back at folk. All you have to do is stand still and watch the Lord fight your battles. Live long enough and you will see the justice of God come to pass. Do you not remember Psalms 37 when the word said fret not yourselves of evil doers neither be envious of the workers of iniquity. They shall soon be cut down like grass. Guess who does the cutting? God does. You better be careful how you treat some folk. The bible says touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm.
God is merciful
1. God provides what man needs. Ephesians 2:4: 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, -God is rich in mercy. This means he holds back consequences that we should have endured.
2. When you have been the recipient of God’s mercy, it is easy for you to extend mercy to someone else. The fact that God is merciful makes us understand why we wake up every morning and receive such gratuitous endowments or things that we don’t deserve that God just gave to us because he is so merciful. His mercy is everlasting. His truth endures through all generations. When we wake up in the morning, we wake up with mercy. When we get in our car, this is mercy. When we are able to eat breakfast, this is mercy. When we get on the interstate and drive home without having an accident, this is mercy. Things that could have happened to you, yet didn’t are all examples of God’s mercy. When you understand how merciful God is, there is no way you can come in the house of God and not have something to give him praise for. If nothing else, you thank God for his your mercy.
God is love
1. I don’t care what you have done, or who doesn’t love you, God loves you. God’s love is immeasurable. It can’t be qualified. God’s love is so amazing it is agape. Agape is unconditional love. There is another kind of love that is called Philos. Philos is where we get the city Philadelphia the city of brotherly love. Then there is another kind of love called Eros named after the Greek god of love. This is where we get the word erotic. God’s agape love is amazing because it suggest that God has no conditions on which he loves us. Unlike other people, God doesn’t have to have certain conditions to love you. God just loves us without conditions.
2. Love cannot be defined by the lovee. It can only be defined by the lover. The lover is the giver, the levee is the recipient. So the love cannot be defined by the lovee. It is only defined by the lover. The lover knows how to love the lovee, because the lovee hasn’t learned how to learn the lover. Because of this, the lover loves the lovee until the lovee learns how to love them back. That is what you call unconditional love. God loved us first. We didn’t even know how to love him. We were naughty by nature, but thank God he loved us until we learned how to love him back. Some people have been in church for 20yrs but just learned how to love him last year. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that we might have life more abundantly. God loves us until it doesn’t make any sense. 1 John4:8: 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God is faithful
1. God keeps his word and his promises. He is dependable in a world where people don’t keep their word. Some people just volunteer lies. They will tell you a lie, when it isn’t even necessary. Psalm 89:1: 1 I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. -God keeps his promises. He does what he says he is going to do. You might not know when it is going to happen, but know that it is going to happen.
2. God is faithful. To see how faithful God is, just compare it to how unfaithful we are. Through all our unfaithfulness, God stands by us the whole time. God has always come through on his word. Jeremiah reflected over his life in lamentations 3. He says he was about to give up, but it was because of the Lord’s mercy that he was not consumed. God gives us brand new mercies every day. He went on to say great is God’s faithfulness in verse 23. When you think about how faithful God has been to you, all you have to do is reflect on every time you went out there and messed up and every time you stopped coming to church, and you have no choice but to realize that God received you and was still there to love on you despite what you did. God is faithful.
God is good
1. God is good and all the time and all the time God is good. God’s goodness cannot be interpreted by circumstances. His goodness is only interpreted by relationship. Some people only interpret the goodness of God based on their circumstances. These people don’t have a relationship with God. This is why they look at circumstances and say if God is love, why does he let bad things happen. They try to interpret the love of God based on their circumstances. There are a lot of people that do stuff to you that don’t love you, but God loves you. You can’t base love on circumstances.
2. The reality is God’s love is based on relationship. When we know God, then we begin to understand that whatever God allows to happen is always for our good. Circumstances don’t dictate God’s goodness. Whether circumstances are up or down, sweet or sour, it never eradicates the fact that God is still good. If we lose ever thing we got, we still realize that God is still good. If we get a bad report, God is still good. If we lose our job, God is still good.
3. Why is God good no matter what happens bad or good? Because we know all things work together for the good of them that love God and are called to his purpose. God is always moving in our life, so we have to say God is still good. We don’t know what he is up to or how things will end. If it wasn’t good to us, it must have been good for us. There were moments when things were crazy in our lives, but when we look back over our life, we have to say to God that it was good that we were afflicted. There are some people that have learned how to thank God for what we are still complaining over. Even when we got played it was good, because we will never be played again. Even though we were involved with fake friends, we know who our real friends are from now on. You ought to thank God for your mountains, your valleys, and the storms he brought you through.
God is patient.
1. We contribute to God’s patience. We are one of the reasons he is patient. 2 Peter 3:9: 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. -God doesn’t take us out, because he is longsuffering and patient.
GOD IS NOT ONLY KNOWN BY HIS ATTRIBUTES, HE IS KNOWN BY HIS MANY NAMES.
Some of these names you may have never heard before. Though they may not all appear that way in the bible, we will show you how they are translated in the bible.
JEHOVAH: -self existing one. This means whatever happens behind Jehovah can only be done by God.
ELOHIM: the strong one. In Genesis 1:1-Elohim created. Before he created there was nothing but chaos. God brought order in the midst of chaos.
ADONAI: – means Lord or master. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah said he saw the lord high and lifted up. Lord means over and master suggests that God is the ruler.
EL ELYON: -Most high. Isaiah 14:18-20. This means nothing is higher than God. The stuff that is over your head is still under his feet.
EL ROI: -strong one who sees. Genesis 13:16-God is so strong and he can see our destiny. Take the events that happened over the last 30days. Imagine if you could have gone back in time before it happened. Now you come back into the present and were able to know what nobody else knows about what was going to happen. Just like this, God is privy to what is going to happen before it happens and he makes allowances for what is going to happen.
EL SHADDAI: -the almighty God Genesis 17:1-20-There is nothing to hard for God. He can rearrange things to bless us that were not designed to bless me.
EL-OLAM: – everlasting God. God is eternal. Genesis 21:33, Isaiah 40:28
JEHOVAH-JIREH: -the lord who will provide. Genesis 22 -God provided for Abraham in place of him killing his son. This means God is our source. This means God never intended our job to take care of us. Our job was only given for us to plant seed. God never said job jireh. If our job is supposed to be our source, what will you do when you get laid off?
JEHOVAH-NISSI: -the lord my banner. He goes before us. Exodus 7:15-the Lord goes before us in battle. God works stuff out before you get there.
JEHOVAH-ROHI: -this means the lord my shepherd. Psalms 23-Shepards have sheep and sheep follow shepherds. Their success and survival depends on the shepherd.
JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: -the lord who is present. Isaiah 48:35-he is always there.
JEHOVAH-SABAOTH: -the lord of hosts. Isaiah 44:6-God is in control. He is control of everything. Everything pays homage to him. Even the heavenly hosts give him glory.
Jehovah Hoseenu:-the Lord our maker. Psalms 95:6-God created us and not we ourselves. Being made by him, we must do what he created us to do.
JEHOVAH-ROPHE: -one who heals. Exodus 15.26-he says he is healer. God is the ultimate healer. God healed you, but you took the medicine. He made it possible. Some people won’t take their medicine, because they believe God for their healing. God says take your medicine. This is why God made physicians. He made them to execute his healing. God heals in a variety of ways. It is not always instantaneous.
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU -the lord our righteous. Jeremiah 23:6-He is the righteous one. The key word of righteous is right.
JEHOVAH-M’KADDESH: – the lord who sanctifies. Leviticus 20:8 – Sanctification is not a denomination. It is a process that we go through where God works on us. He is cleaning us up from the inside out. When you get your car washed it gets exposed to the elements which is the reason we take it to the carwash. Some of us short of change will just ask for an outside wash. Some people do the same with their sanctification. They just want to be sanctified on the outside. Some people want the full service. Some people want a detailed job where ever little corner is cleaned. We all should want to have our sanctification detailed.
JEHOVAH-SHALOM: -God of peace. Judge 6:23-Gideon was getting ready to go to battle and he was worried about being out numbered. God told him to downgrade. He told him, “peace be onto you”.
Why are these names important?
People that know God will do great things, because they understand all the attributes of God- Daniel 11:32: 32And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
Those who know their God will be made strong. Our goal is to motivate you to know God. Philippians 4:13: 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me

What every Christian shoudl be able to answer Part I, Bible Study 07/01/09

What every Christian should be able to answer Part I
“Who is God?”
Synopsis of Bible Study 07/01/09
Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Who is God? If we were to ask this question to everyone that is reading this, we would have several different answers to this question.
The West Minster Confession gives this definition: There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his own glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him; and withal most just and terrible in his judgments; hating all sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty.

What is God like? He reveals himself by his attributes. Attributes are distinguished by your by characteristics.

What defines God?
God is self existent. This means that God was not created. There is no time where God started to exist. God depends on no one to exist. He exists on his own power.

Remember when Moses was told to go to Egypt. 14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:14 – The self existence nature of God is in the “I am-ness” of God. There are no preexisting conditions tied to who God is. Ex-Bishop Walker is Joseph Walker III, because of some pre-existing conditions. He is Joseph Walker III, because there was a Joseph Sr. and Jr. He is Joseph the 3rd based on people that existed before him. Throughout all the scripture, “I am” was used by God such as “I am the true vine” or “I am the truth and the light”. Nobody created God. God existed in and of himself. God is not dependant on us for nothing. We are dependent on him.
I. God is self existent. He is self existent because he exists by himself.
II. God is infinite.-God has no limits. 8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8: -God has no limitations. We are finite which means we have limitations. We are limited by time, boundaries, and laws. Unlike us, God operates in another realm or kingdom. Every now and then God allows his kingdom to come down and interrupt our atmosphere.
God has no limits. A thousand days is as one day to God. Time is limitation. Ex-We work and we run out of time, then we tell ourselves that we will finish tomorrow and before we know it, the week is over. We are bound to time, but God is not. Because we forget, we try to impose our limitation of time on God sometimes. Ex-The deadline for our bill to be paid is Tuesday. When Tuesday gets here and our breakthrough hasn’t shown up, we get worried. God does not operate this way. God operates in eternity from everlasting to everlasting. By Wed. we are saying to God, “it’s an emergency”. We are still waiting for our breakthrough. God says stop imposing our limitations on him. What we don’t realize is that God has stepped out of eternity, went to Friday, worked it out, and returned to Tuesday to see how we are going act about him not showing up when we want him to.
III. Limitations. The more agitated you get, the more boundaries people try to put on you. The more you grow in God, the more the boundaries that are around you grow out or expand. Ex-Jesus was walking on water and the disciples were in the boat. The boat represents limitation. Peter asked God if he could come out on the water with Jesus. We have to give credit to Peter here. Though Peter sunk, he was willing to step outside of the boat. We have to thank God for those who want to step outside their limits. Ex-Bishop is a Pastor that steps outside the boat within his ministry. He is able to Pastor us, because we are willing to step outside the boat. Our God is infinite which mean he has no limits. If we are in relationship with him, we are infinite too. This means we have no limitations. This is why Jesus said if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask what you will and it shall be given.
IV. God is eternal. God always existed and there will never be a time that he does not exist. 2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90:2-God existed before the beginning began. Before anything began, God existed. Before the earth was formed, before the galaxies were formed, and before man was created, God was. This is too hard to figure out in your mind. This has to be done spiritually. Before there was even a God consciousness, there was God. God existed before the worlds began. God had to just congratulate himself on who he was. To support that, God said let there be light and he said it was good. God created the heavenly host to congratulate him. They were called seraphims. Lucifer was one of them. Then he created man to give him glory also. You are obligated as the created to congratulate the creator.
When God made man, they were supposed to live forever. Here is the validation, God said the day they ate of the tree, they would surely die. When they ate of the tree, they started to die. We are dying every day. Our body is growing to die. If God’s intent was to live together with him, then the intent was supposed to be eternal. We lost this because of sin. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16-God says we blew it in the garden (Adam & Eve or mankind), so he fixed it up for us on Calvary. By Jesus dying, we regained our right. Now you have a choice to be born once and die twice or be born twice and die once. In other words you can be born of a natural birth, die naturally and die spiritually (meaning spending eternity in hell) or you can be born naturally, be reborn spiritually (by giving your life to Christ), die naturally and spend eternity in heaven.
If God is eternal and we are supposed to be, how do we get back being eternal? Now that we are saved, we have eternal life. When somebody who is saved dies, we don’t have to have a fit, because we know they are more alive now then than ever was before. Who wouldn’t want to be saved and have eternal life? If you are not saved when die, you go straight to hell! When you are out of relationship with Christ and you die, you instantly know you are going to hell. You will wake up in torment. Later when Jesus comes back, you will be thrown in the lack of fire, but for now, you are in torment. When a person saved dies and they know immediately that they are the presence of God. This is an indication they are going to heaven. 13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thess 4:13-18. 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2-The New Jerusalem will come down. Earth will become heaven on earth. We will become eternal and live with him forever. In heaven we are eternal and we don’t age without disease or pain. Do you have your ticket?
V. God is immutable.This means that God does not change. God never stops being God. Nothing can be added or subtracted of him. 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17-we usually try to put our laws on God. In human relationships, one of the greatest shocks is when people change. God doesn’t change, but circumstances do. God will allow circumstances to change to see if you trust his immutability. We need stability of God’s word, because the world is not stable. Often so many people change, we think god will change. We blame God for changes that occur in our life, but the truth is either we missed God, or we changed. God doesn’t change. If he gives you an assignment, he doesn’t change his mind next week or next month. What if God had to depend on us like we do him? Think about it, some of us wouldn’t even text him back.
VI. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscience
Omnipotent-This means all powerful. 6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth Rev 19:6.-God has so much power, that he makes the statement that he is in control of everything. God has so much power he reins. He has the power to rearrange earthly affairs or shrink tumors. He is over everything and in control. The bible says every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess. Ex-We mourn the King of Pop (Michael Jackson), the King of Soul (James Brown), and the King of Rock & Roll (Elvis Presley). They are all gone, but the King of Glory is still on the throne. God is in control. Ex-Years ago, Bishop recalls playing checkers with and friend and tells how he was getting beat. The friend made a slip up and messed around and allowed Bishop to get a king. Once he had a king, the rules changed. He could suddenly go places he could not go before. He could move like he couldn’t before. This is how our King is. He can do what we cannot.
Omnipresent-this means always present. 7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139: 7-10-We have this righteousness based on personality and context. We will curse until we get on the church parking lot. We will be drunk at home and try to put everything up when the Pastor comes by. Imagine God sitting in corner of your bedroom saying, “wow those were the hands you were lifting to me”. This ought to make you think different about what you do. God is everywhere. We shouldn’t become codependent on leadership. We think we can’t get a breakthrough without the Pastor coming by and personally praying for us. There ought to be enough word in you to work it out with him.
God is omniscient-all knowing. God is aware of all your thoughts good or bad. He knows what you want before you pray. Then why should we pray? Because God wants you to acknowledge him and know that he is God. When you think about it, nobody knows what is happening in your life but God.

What a friend I have in Jesus Part II, Bible Study 06/17/09

What a friend I have in Jesus Part II
Synopsis of Bible Study 06/17/09
Delivered by Bishop Walker III
Remember our term Christocentric. This was the term we learned in Part I and it told us that it was having as the theological focal point, the teachings and practices of Jesus Christ. As we grow, our relationship will be tested by a variety of things. You will find out how genuine your relationship with Christ really is.
The hope we have is found in Christ. No matter what we go through, we hold on to our hope. No matter what we go through, it is important for our witness to be strong. When we proclaim that we have a relationship with God, it is important that it shows up when we go through our trials.
I. Companionship
1. When you got saved, you received the Holy Spirit. It is important to understand where the companionship in this relationship comes from. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Eph 1:12-14 (KJV)-After you heard the word of God and accepted Jesus, you were completed by receiving the Holy Spirit. We are sealed by the Holy Ghost and we recognize that Christ will come back for us and afterwards, we will be in glory with him. We have the Holy Spirit that sustains us while we are yet still here. We allow the Holy Spirit to sustain us despite what we go through, because we know we have something better waiting in glory. We have to see the Ministry of Holy Spirit working alongside Jesus’ work.
2. When Jesus left, he left us with some companionship. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. John 14:16-18 (NLT)-Remember that in this scripture, Jesus is about to make his early departure. He said he would not leave us alone, but instead he would leave us with companionship. In verse 17, we find that this companion would be that of the Holy Spirit. The world doesn’t understand the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit resides in our life. Looking at verse 18, we have to see the totality of the God head in our relationship. The Holy Spirit brings us into all truth, by guiding and leading us.

3. If Jesus is sitting at the right hand of father, what did he leave to instruct us? It was the Holy Spirit left inside us. We are codependent of others, because we don’t understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
4. You don’t belong to yourself. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Cor 6:19-20 (KJV) God paid the price that you might have the precious gift of the Holy Spirit inside you. If God thought enough of you to put that precious gift inside you, it must be an insult to refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit of God.
5. Who would Jesus give the power to? 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matt 28:18-20 (KJV)-Jesus said all power was given to him in heaven and earth. Who would Jesus, give the power to? It is us. This suggests that God is not going to send you out powerless. It is then impossible to have the gift of the Holy Spirit and not go when God says to go. God saved us to empower us so that we may empower someone else. The same power that saved you is able to save someone else. They can only know this power if share the power you have received.
II. Opportunity
If you go, God will not send you by yourself. God empowers you to go and do his will. God said he is only going to be with people that are busy doing their kingdom assignment. You cannot be doing God’s assignment and be out there by yourself. What a friend we have in Jesus. Whatever the assignment is, it still falls within the call of the Great Commission mentioned in Matt 28:18. For example, even if you are called to be a dentist, this could be your kingdom assignment, because it teaches others to observe what you have been taught. Someone will look at the Christ in you and wonder how you are able to keep your peace when things are in disarray. This gives you the opportunity to save them. All calls to kingdom assignments are not necessarily found in the church. This is what makes us different from others. God saved us to give us a teaching opportunity. Some people are teaching people about God without even opening their mouths. You should be a living example of what it is like to live for God. You ought to make people wonder how you are able to still give God the glory and still keep your peace during trying times.

As long as we are fulfilling our kingdom assignment, we are never alone. We can call some folk from the bible days and they will testify of the opportunities that God gives to us. For Hebrew boys, they would testify that they were not left alone. David found out that when he was in the valley of the shadow of death, he would fear no evil, because he knew he wasn’t alone.
III. Hope
1. Some people minimize the power of the word they received. In the last election, people were cynical of the word “Hope” and its concept. They wondered how a person could push the concept of hope as a theme. Well they pushed it all the way to the White House. Hope stretches past our right now, until it gets to our not yet. We are not defined by where we are. We are defined by who we know. Hope gives us things to talk about, something to look forward to, and something to hold on to.
2. People talk about their plans. They talk about plans for college and they talk about their planned vacation. Older folk hope for their retirement. Hope gives us:
a. Hope once embodied gives us something to work toward. Example: Our vacation is an example of exercising our hope. We put up with stuff that we normally wouldn’t, because we have the goal in mind. Without hope, you have no goal.
b. Hope motivates work. Where is God? He is here with us, as long as we are fulfilling our kingdom assignment. Our kingdom assignment is not always easy. Our kingdom assignment is where we experience most of our demonic interrogation. This is because our assignments are a threat to Satan’s kingdom, but remember that Jesus grabbed authority over two dimensions when he was raised from the dead. Jesus said all power in heaven and earth was in his hands which means his power will win in the earth realm.
3. Paul says he is struggling between being here on earth or with Christ in heaven. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Phil 1:22-23 (KJV). We all hope for the opportunity to go to heaven. Out of those reading this, who would be concerned about making heaven if Jesus came back today? This is a valid concern. If you hope for something, you don’t mind working for it. In like manner, if you hope to go to heaven, hopefully you are working out your salvation.
4. When God tells you something, no matter what happens, your relationship should be so strong, you are not swayed by it. When you have been told a thing by Christ, then you must stop tripping over the stuff in between. If he told you something, then you must hope for it. Don’t let all the discouragement in between, make you stop working.
5. There is still a thin line between hearing from God and schizophrenia. In other words there is a difference between a farfetched claim of what God called you to do and what God told you to do.
Concluding story:
13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. 15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Acts 27:13-16 (KJV)-Here the Apostle Paul is a prisoner on a ship. He has been taken captive with other prisoners and is being ferried somewhere while the south wind blew softly Where Paul and the other captives are at this point is not their kingdom assignment. Paul encounters several problems on the way to his assignment. The ship represents that which is supposed to ferry them back to the assignment. It was destroyed which represents a major setback from reaching our assignment.
17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. 18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; Acts 27:17-18 (KJV)-The people that were carrying Paul, had to take baggage off of the ship in order to make it though the storm. Just like this, you have to lighten your load on your ship when you are trying to make your way to your assignment. The baggage and the cargo were keeping Paul and the captives from getting to their destination.

19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. 20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. Acts 27:19-20 (KJV)-They had lost all hope. They were going through hell and the storm was so bad, they couldn’t even see. All hope was taken away. God saves us to present us with a teaching moment.

21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. 22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. Acts 27:21-22 (KJV)-Paul told the captors they should have taken heed to his warning. He had a word for them and they wouldn’t listen, but now they were in a position where they were forced to listen. Paul assured them that no life would be lost, but cautioned them that they would lose the ship. The thing that was holding them is not going to make it to their destination. Likewise, the thing that is holding us from our destiny is not going to make to the end. Your destiny though, has to be bigger than the ship or what you are using to get to your assignment. If you allow your destiny to be hindered to denomination, tradition, and other things, you are limiting what God can do in your life. Remember to trust God. If the ship goes down, your destiny will not.

23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. 25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Acts 27:23-25 (KJV)-Paul stated he was promised that God would be with him in his assignment. God sent an angel to remind him of the promise. No matter what would happen, Paul was promised that he would make it to his assignment. He was told that when he made it, the people with him would make it to. Remember when Paul and Silas made it, so did the others. The chains came off of all the prisoners at the same time. The safest place for you to be is with folk that are working in their assignment. Paul reminds them that they would not die there. They were going to be saved, because Paul was going to be saved.

26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. 27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; 28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. 29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. Acts 27:26-29 (KJV)-They couldn’t see the land for a long while. Finally when they did see land, they cast out the anchors so they would not hit the rock.

30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Acts 27:30-31 (KJV)-Paul told the officials that if they did not keep the prisoners with him, they would all die.

32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. 33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. 34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. 35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Acts 27:32-35 (KJV)-Paul tells them the fast is over and for them to eat some meat, because they would need their strength for what was going to happen next.

39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. 40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. 41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. 42 And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: 44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land. Acts 27:39-44 (KJV)-They decided to take up the anchors. They fell into a place where two seas met. They already dealt with storm above, but now they are going to deal with a storm below. The captors wanted to kill the prisoners to keep them from escaping, but the centurion stopped them from killing them. Some prisoners dropped out, others swam, some floated on boards, but others got on broken pieces of ship trying to get to land.
It doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you get there. You will get to your promise, because God made you a promise. Hold on and sail in to what God has promised you. God will give you a teaching moment. We are going to make it no matter what the economy is. We are going to make it, because God made us a promise. You have to stay in your kingdom assignment. He can’t exempt you from the storm, but God can keep his promise. He can’t promise what is carrying you there won’t be shattered, but you will get there. If you lost your home, the home might not be the house. The home might be you being inside the house. Some of you are spiritually strong enough to swim or surf in. The weak will grab on to what is left and come in. It doesn’t matter how you make it to the assignment, as long as you make it. All you need as a piece of hope to hang on to.