Agape Feast  

Posted by Calvary King's Lynn in

“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.”

Galatians 2:11-13

  • So here, Paul opposes Peter to his face where just a few verses ago he took the disciples aside privately. This is a big change in the way Paul handled two issues. There are two possible reasons for this:
  1. To know the first, we have to have a look into what was happening at the time when Paul opposed him. We need to look at the setting. They were having an Agape Feast (Love Feast). Basically everyone brought some food and they had a pot luck. Not only was this one of the only good meals some of the people would have in the week but it was a time of unity among various believers from different backgrounds. This was unifying the Jews and Gentiles. So Peter, by only eating with Jews, is causing a division in a feast that is meant to be filled with love.
  2. The second is that Paul saw Peter slipping back into following the law. So when it says “Pail withstood him to his face” it wasn’t like he got all up in his grill. Paul cared enough for his brother to let him know and you can bet money that his response was in love. Peter didn’t want the Jews to see him in a bad way, so fearing them, he ignored the Gentiles.
  • “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”-Proverbs 29:25.  Living your life for the approval of man binds you from doing the will of God. To be in His will you need to be sold out! Snares in life will come but we put our trust in God who is our shelter and fortress.
  • Peter was allowing the Jews to enforce their gospel that the Gentiles were unclean. “About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."-Acts 10:9-16. God knew that this day at the Agape Feast would come and He was preparing Peter for it. After His time on the roof, Peter joined in fellowship in the house of Cornelius with Gentiles. So Peter began to really enjoy the fellowship of Gentiles until these Jews came and swayed him. And even Barnabas! Its kind of like Acts 17 where there was a victory, then a defeat, then a victory, then a defeat. Satan used the fear of man to attack the work of God, which is a weapon in his arsenal to this day! So watch out and know that the fear of man brings a snare!
  • “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”- 2 Timothy 1:7

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Being a Pillar  

Posted by Calvary King's Lynn in

"On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."
Galatians 2:7-10

  • So here Paul was entrusted to preach to the Gentiles and Peter to the Jews. This totally blows my mind! Like I talked about in the last post, if man were trying to run this, you would reverse their roles and send Paul to the Jews and Peter to the Gentiles.
    In Philippians 3:4-7, Paul lists all his reasons to put confidence in the flesh. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pharisee, a persecutor of the church, and as for legalistic righteousness: Faultless. Paul was like a role model for every Jewish person out there. And Peter was a fisherman, who left his nets to follow Jesus. So here the lowly fisherman is being sent to the proud Jews and the Model of the Jews is going to the gentiles. God gives the ministry! Things could have gone horribly wrong if they had done it mans way.
  • A ministry every believer on Earth shares is evangelism. This is the root ministry. 2 Timothy 4:1-2 says:
"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction."
  • If you are where God wants you, in the middle of His will, you will be used effectively. Now this doesn't mean there won't be times of dryness. It means that after those periods the harvest will be great. If you think of a farmer, he tills and waters and prepares the ground and does all this work but after planting the seeds, he basically sits and waits for months until the harvest is ready.
  • Revelation 3:12 says:
"Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name"
  • We are the pillars of the church. Now don't think for even one second that this means the church is dependent upon you or any one person. We are supporting the body as leaders. We support by serving. We are the physical examples to new believers. If you think about the role pillars, they connect the roof to the floor. That's what we need to do. When believers come to you, lead them to the Father. When there is a problem, lead them to the Father. That's your job as a pillar.

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Donald Trump Church?  

Posted by Calvary King's Lynn in

"As for those who seemed to be important-whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance-those men added nothing to my message."
Galatians 2:6

  • One of the guys at our church uses the phrase "black belts" when referring to people who have known the Lord for a while. God doesn't use just black belts! God is not looking for ability but for availability. God took everyday people and did great things through them:
New Testament:
  1. Simon, James, Andrew-Fisherman (This job wasn't anything to write home about)
  2. Matthew- Tax Collector (Tax collectors were hated)
  3. Paul- Not only a zealous Jew who persecuted the church but a tent maker (Paul wasn't just an OK guy like these other guys, but he actually was attacking the church)
Old Testament:
  1. Nehemiah- Cup bearer (He basically drank the kings wine before the king did to see if it was poisoned. What a terrible job!)
  2. Rahab- Prostitute (Enough said...)
  3. David- Shepherd to king (He was a young shepherd and became king. He had many highs and lows)
  • If men were to start a church today, they wouldn't pick this rag tag group of people. They would have Bill Gates ushers and Donald Trump preachers. But since the Creator of men is the head of the church, you get me!
  • Ministry is not a business. Things like reputation and popularity don't factor in to God's choice of who to use. God looks past our attempts to look good with our painted on smiles and goes straight to the heart. "But the Lord said to Samuel 'Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart'". 1 Samuel 16:7.
  • Christ set the example of a servant. Read Philippians 2:5-8 and you get an idea of just how far he was willing to go to serve. He lowered and humbled himself. Its a lot easier when you humble yourself than when God has to do it for you. "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45. Jesus was a servant and that's what he saw in these people: a willingness to serve.
  • I've heard it said that Jesus is like the Sun rise. If you lower yourself and become a valley, He will only be seen earlier. And he will pick you up to meet Him. And if you make yourself a mountain, you only take away from the glory of the Sun rise and he will take you down.
  • So the question is, are we going to humble ourselves and leave everything behind so He can use us mightily or are we going to cling to pride and social standing? Because that's like being lost at sea and passing up a life raft to float on a toothpick!

Be sure to read the post under this. Its an update from the Cate's that was posted last week. I forgot to post telling everyone about it so make sure to give it a look over!

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