AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matt
6:33
In this issue:
* 2013 A YEAR – AS IN THE DAYS OF LOT!
Bro Robert
* KENYA – REVIVAL E AFRICA REGIONAL – BRO JAMES
* UGANDA – BRO WACHANA ENCOURAGES WITH
HOPE
* GHANA – BRO FRANCIS – MISSIONS TO E
AFRICA
* UGANDA – DR LUMALA – KAMPALA REGIONAL UPDATES
* S AFRICA – BRO RENIER – EVANGELISTIC TRACT
* MATT 15 – EXPOSITION CONTINUES
My Beloved Brethren... be
ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, for as much
as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the LORD.
1 Cor.
15:58
AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF LOT... SO IT IS TODAY! WHERE DOES THIS FIND YOU IN OUR NEW YEAR OF 2013?
IT IS AMAZING HOW FAST TIME IS ROLLING ALONG JUST NOW... HAVE YOU NOTICED? BOTH YOUNG AND OLD CAN AFFIRM A DIMENSIONAL SHIFT... AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!
One thing about time... is that time will NEVER stand still for you an me. No matter how much you try, it just can't be. It's in the Hands of Him Who makes the world go 'round... It would seem that WE ALL would place a huge value upon such a fleeting commodity, where either we are ADVANCING the KINGDOM OF GOD... or we are in GREAT NEED of the Kingdom of God!! Matt 12:30
So how is it that we will know what it means to walk as the Church Bride of Christ? They will have a single priority... above all other affections in Their heart's... it will be those who are "Seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness" ... They will have already "COUNTED THE COST" at laying down your life, picking up their cross and FOLLOWING HIM! Not just on Sunday morning! Not just when they are in the safety and confidence of 'believers'... but, also in the midst of this dark world! Yes... have you noticed how DARK our world has become?! It's very late my believing friend! I pray your lamp is lit and burning bright... and that we are prepared to go through the dark hours!! Matt. 25:1-11 Luke 14:15-35 The Lord has a 'Vital Bride' who is walking with Him in the 'preparation' to walk through all earthly darkness... and demonstrate a Victorious, Overcoming, Triumphant life... that is the Risen Life in Christ. May the Lord Jesus Bless you in it.
IT IS AMAZING HOW FAST TIME IS ROLLING ALONG JUST NOW... HAVE YOU NOTICED? BOTH YOUNG AND OLD CAN AFFIRM A DIMENSIONAL SHIFT... AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!
One thing about time... is that time will NEVER stand still for you an me. No matter how much you try, it just can't be. It's in the Hands of Him Who makes the world go 'round... It would seem that WE ALL would place a huge value upon such a fleeting commodity, where either we are ADVANCING the KINGDOM OF GOD... or we are in GREAT NEED of the Kingdom of God!! Matt 12:30
So how is it that we will know what it means to walk as the Church Bride of Christ? They will have a single priority... above all other affections in Their heart's... it will be those who are "Seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness" ... They will have already "COUNTED THE COST" at laying down your life, picking up their cross and FOLLOWING HIM! Not just on Sunday morning! Not just when they are in the safety and confidence of 'believers'... but, also in the midst of this dark world! Yes... have you noticed how DARK our world has become?! It's very late my believing friend! I pray your lamp is lit and burning bright... and that we are prepared to go through the dark hours!! Matt. 25:1-11 Luke 14:15-35 The Lord has a 'Vital Bride' who is walking with Him in the 'preparation' to walk through all earthly darkness... and demonstrate a Victorious, Overcoming, Triumphant life... that is the Risen Life in Christ. May the Lord Jesus Bless you in it.
________ * ________
ISRAEL IS NEAR EZ. 38-39
PS 83
Have you noticed a lot of NEW FLASHES in Turkey? Iran? Lebanon? Syria? Russia?
It's Time to get CONCERNED!
PRAYERFULLY: Bro Robert FBF
Staff
FBF would
like to Thank you again for your prayers and encouragements as the Teams in
East, Central, Western Africa are experiencing many advances and
serious revival that continues in the East and Central sections... all Glory to
God! East India continues to open up new territories with the Gospel, and the
Open Air preach continues in the US. All teams are training new recruits at
this time. We thank the LORD for the good work of participating with His
Kingdom advance... and with all His Church Bride who is eagerly awaiting His
soon return. This is the hour for all of God’s children to ‘rise up’ for the
gospel of Jesus Christ! It’s TIME to do all we can in Christ. His return is
more certain than ever before! Amen.
The focus of
the Pastoral Letter (PL) is along the lines of generally edifying and
encouraging Preachers to establish more of Christ in our lives, promoting the
Kingdom of God where ever we go, Establishing God fearing Churches, mission
updates (Africa, India, US), missions reports, focus points, teaching,
exposition, a short list of mail-ins (with some excerpts). We are committed to
the Great Co-Mission for all, as being SALT and LIGHT are not an option in the
church of Jesus Christ. Matt 5:13-16 ... We continue to bless all those who are at
work in the advancement of the Kingdom of God... for Jesus sake. We continue to
call all men to Jesus, and to the simplicity of Christ that we find in the Book
of Acts Church... to His Glory and Praise!
Acts 2:42, 46-47, Mark
16:15-16
May the LORD
leave His richest blessings upon each one of you as you Press On with
Jesus!
"'Not called!'
did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.
Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of
the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity,
and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear
the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and
sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face
— whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell Him whether you will join
heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to
the world.
~William Booth, founder of the Salvation
Army
Revival AVDANCES in Nyanza Province
James
Samo
East
Africa Regional
Dear
brother Robert,
Receive our greetings to you in Jesus Name.
Please
it was great to speak to you over the phone and to have a long time of
encouragement. It has been long before we communicate but this is due to the
missions and tent-making for our life survival. Since September last year we
have had great revival in the rural (the BUSH) areas preaching Christ and training of
elders especially in western Kenya. Many people have come to the word calling on
the Lord for their salvation while others were being healed. In most parts of
western Kenya remote rural areas we found the zeal and thirst for the Kingdom,
people are hungry for the word! Everywhere we went the people pour out their lives to
see that they meet with the master, so that the anointing can touch more of their
lives and grow mature out of conviction. Believers admired to grow in spirit,
leaders admired to seek to induct the full measures of HIS Leadership in their
lives and ministries. We had reached about 150 leaders in different remote areas
who confess that they have never had the message of Christ simplicity. This made
them to love our evangelistic ministry of FBF they caught the vision and
promised to spread it across the rural areas of Kenya.
In
Tanzania we had this time contact person Pastor Zaburi who is a fiery man of
God. He led us to His church and we have to do revival meetings for over three
weeks. Everyday we saw the hand of the lord as people close to 50 could give out
their lives to Christ and got delivered from the oppressor of demons and demonic
attacks. In the evenings I could witness the power of God touch the floor and
people who draw near were reached by the powerful hand of God. This extended to
the open air proclamation where the heavy presence of the Lord touched and
overshadowed the area where we preaching.
I
remember there was a woman who uses to be very senior in one of the closed churches and she demanded to know why we were preaching things which concerned
her life... we commanded the demon in her later to leave and she fled from the meeting! No one saw her again. People came from all corners of Mt. Molia and knelt and
worshiped the lord with reverence and Godly Fear!
The
revival still spreads after we have left, and Holy Spirit is filling His people
over there.
I
cross to Zanzibar to see my best friend Pastor Paulo and as for the time when have
not seen one another for so long, he cried when he saw me as well as he wife and the
leaders who joined him to meet me. The first miracle before anything else, was to
see their child who has been suffering from stomach pain got healed when I
prayed for her, the child received instant healing and needed water immediately! Something which they said had taken some time for the child to take in or eat
food before hand.
Afterwards we went to church to conduct some revivals. Though it was not easier
as Zanzibar is a Muslim dominance place, whenever we started preaching they could
turn a loud speaker toward us or through stone where we were preaching in a seek and hide situation but that did not deter us from preaching... we proclaim the
Gospel of the Kingdom and believers were encouraged and energized by the amazing
ministry which was taking place. People were healed, convicted to turn away
from their evil ways, awaken and encountered break through.
Please
continue to pray for this land as they still burn churches... but they will not burn
the word of God. I trust the hand of the lord is not short and His eyes are not
blind to rescue us as His people. He will do marvelous! Amen.
Thank
you very much,
Pastor
James
FBF E AFRICA REGIONAL
ALL NIGHT PRAYER MEETING - NEW CHURCH IN REMOTE PLACE
TENT MEETINGS IN E INDIA
BRO JEEVAN
“Assisting orphans,
destitute children and widows.Bringing the name of Jesus to all
mankind.”
DEAREST BELOVED PASTOR . ROBERT EPHRATA AND CHURCH FAMILY.
Greetings in the mighty and precious name of Lord Jesus
Christ.
we Just inform you about our fasting and prayer. Today my wife and i am in fasting and prayer. we want to prayer with true tears for those people who are still faraway from Lord Jesus Christ. they need salvation from Jesus Christ. they must come back to Jesus Christ and get eternal life and forgiveness of sins. Please agree with us. you can prayer with your family members and church group with true tears. kneel down before Jesus Christ and raise up your hand. Start prayer today at your home and in your church with your prayer group. 1. First prayer for our family members those are not saved. prayer with tears for them. God is willing to save every one in our family member. Like Noah and his family members.He loves us and our family members. 2. Second prayer for your relatives and friends who are still faraway from Jesus Christ. Make a list of your relatives and friends name.you can prayer name by name and lay land on this list with faith. apply the blood of Jesus Christ on it. Prayer with tears for them. 3. Thirdly prayer for your government and ask the peace and goodness from God for your rulers.They need wisdom and understanding from God.intercession prayers for your government in the presence of God.prayer with tears for your government. 4. Fourthly prayer for the nation of Israel. Bless them and prayer for peace of this nation. As we know that God blessed this nation through Abraham so the blessing door is still open for this nation. God promised with Abraham for His blessing to generation to generation.When we bless this nation so the blessing of God comes upon our life. 5. Fifthly you prayer for Country. One week you will prayer for one country. you will choose a country name and prayer for this country for the gospel work.God will do mighty and great things in this year in our life. Coming week we will start our 21 days fasting and prayer. you will give us prayer points and requests. we are body of Christ. we are one mind,heart and soul for the kingdom work of king Jesus Christ. As a follower, believer and disciple of Jesus Christ so we are equal in every thing in the kingdom of God. you can share your plans and vision with us in Christ and we want to prayer with our church people for every plan and vision. we will work together by heart and soul and with gladness in Jesus name.we will agree with you for all the things in Jesus name.what ever you want to do in 2013 so please share with us.we are with you in Spirit. God will increase our faith and make us more strong in Faith. we live by faith. our faith in Lord Jesus Christ. It is a year of uncompromising and unflinching righteousness. Remember righteousness will exalt, elevate and esteem you in this new year.
It is
necessary we make these proactive and prophetic declarations that will cause us
to excel and lay hold of God's promises this
year.
1.Father in the name of Jesus i walk in uncompromising righteousness like Daniel and Joseph, i give no room to sin,i live above iniquities and unrighteousness,am a slave to righteousness, sin has no hold or dominion over my life. Like JOB i abhor sin and completely allow the spirit to gain mastery over the desires of my flesh. 2.Father in the name of Jesus,i walk i dominion over the cravings of a sinful nature,i gain mastery,dominion and the spirit of God in my life gains ascendancy over my flesh, i subdue sin, and i flee from every appearance of evil, like Joseph fled from Potiphar's wife,so shall i flee on a daily basis.
3.Father
i declare in the name of Jesus, that i take advantage of all the great
opportunities and effectual doors that this year offers, i lay hold of these
opportunities,never missing out of any, whatever opportunities i missed out of
in the previous year,i regain and recover them.
4.Father
i declare in the name of Jesus that in this new year i make the right choices
and decisions, decisive decisions that will be strategic and crucial to my
fulfilling purpose and destiny -- through my decisions i experience defining
moments that will shape my destiny.
5.Father
i declare in the name of Jesus that everything that will contend with my
destiny, from within and without is dealt with by the power in your word, every
self-inflicted distortion and alteration of destiny is completely wiped
out.
6.Father
i declare that every self inhibiting attitudes, traits and
characteristics,per-adventure inherited or contacted through association, is
broken and erased from my life, i shall not be inhibited anymore, i go forward
and i am a high-achiever with great accomplishments founded on the principles of
righteousness.
7.Father
in the name of Jesus i declare that my mind, my soul, my body and spirit work in
perfect consonance with the demands of the kingdom and righteousness, am set up
everyday with great presence of mind, keenness of mind is my daily
portion.
8.Father
i declare that my mind is always in perfect sync with the demands of heaven, my
mind is always set on things above and not on things beneath,i subdue every
nefarious dictate of the mind,my mind is daily uncluttered of evil and frivolous
thoughts..
9.Father
i declare that in this new year whatsoever i set my hands to do will see the
light of the day ,it shall prosper and be fruitful and above all my hands shall
bear rule.
10.Father
i declare in the name of Jesus that i walk into my broad places and i also tread
upon my high places, i experience acceleration of God's promises, where there
had been delays in the past and denials, i declare and decree speed and
accuracy. God in His infinite mercies will bring to fruition all that He has
spoken concerning me and my family.
11.Father
in the name of Jesus, i declare that knowledge and wisdom will remain the
stability of y times and that constantly i shall be delivered through knowledge,
no more ignorance, no more darkness, i experience illumination and my eyes are
open to insight, foresight, hindsight.
12.Father
in the name of Jesus,you cause the intangibles to become tangibles in my
life,let there be substance to my life on a daily basis, i am a man and woman of
substance, character, integrity and values.
13.Father
i declare that i walk with you in faithfulness,commitment,allegiance,devotion
and dedication,i shall not be found wanting, i will always be reckoned with. My
profiting shall be made manifest to all and
sundry.
14.Father i declare that i live by
word,i operate by the principles of your word,your word is daily alive in my
life, i speak the word, i meditate on it daily and i live by faith and not by
sight,i call forth those things that be not as though they
were.
Fulfill great
commission Mark 16:15 and also
meet the need of the people Matt
25:31-46
Goals
& future Plans
Please
pray for all Christian ministries in INDIA, specially
villages.
Please pray for all ORPHAN CHILDREN , STREET CHILDREN free
food .
Please
pray for conducting PUBLIC MEETINGS
Please
pray for FREE MEDICAL CAMPS in
villages.
Please
pray for our SUPPORT for the Pastor’s
family.
Please
pray for GOSPEL LITERATURE and BIBLES.
Please
pray for SEWING CENTER for widows and poor girls.
Yours
loving family in your hearts and prayers.
Looking
forward for your prayerful mail.
God bless
you abundantly.
Love in Christ, from E India FBF. Brother
Prasanna jeevan
|
BRO FRANCIS
GHANA FBF - PRAYER FOR E.AFRICA MISSIONS
Thank you for calling
but sorry I missed that wonderful opportunity talking with you on phone . It was early and the phone was off. Sometimes people call in the night and disturb
rest so to speak, I do not do that all the time.
Well all is going well
here with my family and Ministry, praise the Lord. Am preparing to embark on a
mission strip in Rwanda and Uganda. I will leave home on the 17th Feb. to Rwanda
and take a bus to Uganda, spend two weeks teaching the Work of the Cross in a
Bible school and be back again in Rwanda and spend 4 weeks also teaching Cross
and Advanced Cross series in that same Bible school I worked with last
year.
I will be back home
on 28th March. Here at home we are having our 7th Graduation ceremony and the
5th Ordination ceremony of our Bible school come 16th Feb. 12 students
graduating and one (1) to be ordain as pastor. But tomorrow and Saturday I am
taking the students to the streets and in the market preaching the word of God
as part of their practical training.
Please pray with us
that the Lord will provide a mini Bus for us for evangelism. This will help us
crisscross the nation preaching His word and turning many to the kingdom of God
by His grace and will. This is what am believing God for this year.
Thank so much my good
brother, and may the Lord bless you and keep you going and going for His work.
May his will for you in Africa and the world at large be materialize this year
in Jesus name.
Best regards in
Christ,
Bro. Francis A
Dr Lumala - FBF Kampala Regional
ISRAEL NEEDS OUR PRAYERS
A FEW POSTS - UPDATE
Hope all is well with you and happy
New Year. This is a year of Change and when you change your position God is to
change your situation Amen !!!!!!That is what the Lord has shown us. I see all
things working out quite well as you plan your trip here. Let me know the
developments but we keep you in our prayers. OK there may be some financial
constraints as we have no power in our home for now over a year as these people
over billed us so pray for us to get a Solar power installment in our home. see
that need of prayer for Israel.
Our group of market and street witnessing is
still going out and prayers are all the time needed please. The ant home bill is
on hold but we continue in prayers. Our building programme is on hold as we
level the ground. greetings from Mrs Lumala and your whole Uganda
family.
Your Lamech S. Lumala.
| |||
Tract
IF YOU DIE TONIGHT ARE YOU GOING TO HEAVEN OR
HELL?
This question is important because …
a 100 years from now this is the only thing that will matter … who is in Heaven
and who is in Hell … not your bank-balance or what kind of car you drove or
where you’ve lived. Let’s not waste each
other’s time. Let’s get to the crux of the matter. You see, you and I have broken the laws of
God (see the Ten Commandments – Exodus 20) and stand condemned before God (John
3:18). None of us can say that he/she
never lied (Ex 20:16) or never lusted after someone of the opposite sex (Ex
20:14 & Mat 5:28) or that he/she never stolen something (regardless the size
– Ex 20:15). None of us can say that
he/she never hated someone (Ex 20:13 & 1 John 3:15) or that God was always
first in our lives (Ex 20:3). If you
have done any of these things (1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 21:8) you have
sinned and broken God’s laws. You will
not be innocent but GUILTY when you stand before God on Judgment Day (Hebrews
9:27). You might object: “I don’t believe in God, the Bible, Heaven
and Hell or this Judgment-day-business.”
Whether you believe in these things or not is not going to change
reality. You can walk in the middle of a
busy road and say to yourself “I do not
believe in cars or trucks”, but sooner or later you will be run over by
one. Hundreds of years before Jesus was
born it was written in the Bible exactly where (Micah 5:1-2) and when (Dan
9:25-27) Jesus would be born, what He would do (Isaiah 53) and how He would die
(Psalms 22 & 69). The Bible is the
only book in the world that contains
prophecies that are fulfilled in such detail like these and this is proof enough
that the Bible alone is Divinely inspired.
The BIBLE is your Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth and you owe it to yourself
and your loved ones to know what it contains before you die. The Bible is clear that just as a good judge
in court have to condemn a criminal to prison so a good God have to condemn
law-breakers to hell, because breaking God’s Ten Commandments is actually
sinning against an Infinitely Holy and Just God and demands eternal torment in
hell (Acts 17:30-31).
However, the good news is that
Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 3:16) died for you in your stead
and paid the price for you with His most precious blood so that you do not have
to die and suffer an eternity in hell.
If you repent (confess and forsake your sins – Proverbs 28:13) and trust
in Jesus alone for your salvation (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12) then He will save
you and take you to Heaven when you die, but if you refuse to ask Him to save
you from your sins then you will die and go to hell for all eternity (Rev
14:10-11). Life is short, eternity is
long. Don’t play games with God or
gamble with your soul (Mark 8:36).
You’ve only got one life to live.
Make it count so that you won’t have any regrets when you stand before
God. Again I want to ask you: “Where will you go when you pass
on?” It’s going to be Heaven or it’s
going to be hell! The choice is
yours! So repent while you are
able! Details in the
Bible!
2013 Jan Stats map Top 10 viewing naitons
Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Kenya, SA France, UK, Germany, US
MATTHEW 15: AN
EXPOSITION
It is
often pointed out that Matthew does not follow a chronological order during the
early chapters. But from the beginning of chapter 14 to the end, events are
largely given in the order in which they occurred.
(Matthew
15:1) Then came to Jesus
scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
The
Pharisee headquarters was in Jerusalem, so why mention that these were from
Jerusalem? We will be seeing a confrontation between the traditions of Judaism
and the commandments of God. In some respects Judaism was the embodiment of the
commandments of God, and it was the respect and reverence that Judaism had for
the
Torah (the 1st five books of Moses) that preserved them
for God’s purpose. Yet, Judaism was also ensnared with the traditions of
men.
(Matthew
15:2) Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they
eat bread.
The scribes and Pharisees
were merciless in their efforts to trap the Savior. In order to appreciate this
incident, we must understand the references to clean and unclean, and must know
what the Pharisees meant by washing. The whole idea of clean and unclean goes
back to the Old Testament. The uncleanness with which the disciples were
charged was entirely a ceremonial matter which is only applicable to
the priests and not to the everyday orthodox
Jew, of which there is nothing about washing your hands in this sense in the Old
Testament. If a
person touched a dead body, for instance, or if he ate certain things, he
contracted ceremonial defilement—he was not ritually fit to worship God. Before
he could approach God, the law of God required him to go through a cleansing
ritual. But the elders had added tradition to the cleansing rituals. They
insisted, for instance, that before a Jew ate, he should put his hands through
an elaborate cleansing process, washing not just the hands, but also the arms up
to the elbows. If he had been in the marketplace, he was supposed to take a
ceremonial bath. Thus, the Pharisees criticized the disciples for failing to
observe the details of the washings prescribed by Jewish
tradition.
(Matthew
15:3-6) But he answered and
said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the
commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He
that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father
or his mother, It
is a gift, by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me; And honour
not his father or his mother, he
shall be free. Thus have ye made the
commandment of God of none effect by your
tradition.
Jesus immediately went
on the attack against the religious leaders and asked why they continued to
break the direct command of God. He cited the fifth commandment concerning
honoring one’s father and mother (Mat
15:4; Exo 20:12). The
Jews considered honoring of parents so important that anyone who cursed his
parents was to be put to death (Exo
21:17; Lev 20:9). Jesus
showed how these religious leaders had in effect nullified this commandment
(Mat 15:6). There was a set of traditions. One being that you could
set aside some of your goods for either of two purposes: as a dedication to the
Temple, or in reserve for the performance of a vow. If your goods were in that
category, you could claim them as corban—it is a gift, or vow. This
meant specifically that those goods were set aside for the Temple for the Lord,
or for the keeping of some vow. From this idea came a practice, say grandpa and
grandma were hungry, you were to provide for them. But if you had a big steak
you could declare it corban as being excused from having to take care of your
parents with it. If it was corban it was excluded from your requirement to take
care of your parents. So they used this tradition of reserving it as a gift to
God as an excuse to get around the commandment to care for their father and
their mother. Such action was condemned by
Jesus as being hypocritical (Mat 15:7),
for while it appeared to be spiritual, it actually was done to keep one’s
possessions for himself. So Jesus is saying
that these traditions are not only wrong, but they have been manufactured as to
make the commandment of God of no effect!
(Matthew
15:7-9) Ye hypocrites, well
did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This
people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me
with their
lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they
do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.
By their deceitful twisting
of words they fulfilled the prophecy of Isa
29:13. They professed to honor God with their lips, but their
heart was far from Him. Their worship was worthless (fruitless, without results, futile) because they were giving
higher priority to the traditions of men than to the Word of God. Their religion had become a matter of action and man-made
rules.
(Matthew
15:10-11) And he called the
multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and
understand: Not that which goeth into
the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth
a man.
Turning to
the multitude, Jesus made a proclamation of tremendous meaning. He declared
that not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but rather what comes out. We
can scarcely appreciate the revolutionary character of this statement. Under
the Levitical code, what went into the mouth did defile a man. The Jews
were forbidden to eat the meat of any animal which did not chew the cud and have
cloven hooves. They were not allowed to eat a fish unless it had scales and
fins. Now the Law-giver paved the way for the annulment of the whole system of
ceremonial defilement. He said that the food which His disciples ate with
unwashed hands did not defile them. But the hypocrisy of the scribes and
Pharisees—that was truly defiling.
(Matthew
15:12-13) Then came his
disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended,
after they heard this saying? But he
answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly
Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
For
a plant to be bad, all it has to be is a plant that God did not plant! So it is
with the things that are in your life. Anything that is in your life that God
didn’t plant is temporal and will be rooted out.
(Matthew
15:14) Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if
the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the
ditch.
When His
disciples brought word that the Pharisees were offended by this rebuke, Jesus
answered by comparing them to plants which had not been divinely planted. They
were tares rather than wheat. They and their teachings would eventually be
rooted up; that is, destroyed. Then He added, “Let them alone. They are
blind leaders of the blind.” Though professing to be authorities in
spiritual matters, they were blind to spiritual realities as were the people
they were leading. It was expected that both leaders and followers would fall
into a ditch.
(Matthew
15:15) Then answered Peter and
said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
The
disciples were undoubtedly shaken by this complete reversal of all they had been
taught about clean and unclean foods. It was like a parable to them, i.e., an
unclear, disguised story. Peter spoke their unsettlement when he asked for an
explanation.
(Matthew
15:16-17) And Jesus said,
Are ye also yet without
understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the
mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the
draught?
The Lord
first expressed wonder that they were so slow to understand, then explained that
true defilement is moral, not physical. Eatable foods are not naturally clean
or unclean. In fact, no material thing is evil in itself; it is the abuse of a
thing that is wrong. The food man eats enters the mouth, goes into the stomach
for digestion, then the unassimilated excess is eliminated. His moral being is
not affected—only his body. Today we know that “every creature of God is
good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it
is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1
Tim 4:4-5). The passage is not speaking of poisonous plants, of
course, but of foods designed by God for human consumption. All are good and
should be eaten thankfully. If a person is allergic to some, or cannot tolerate
others, he shouldn't eat them, but in general we can eat with the assurance that
God uses food to nourish us physically.
(Matthew
15:18) But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth
from the heart; and they defile the man.
If food
doesn't defile, then what does? Jesus answered, “... those things
which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.”
Here the heart is not the organ that pumps blood, but the corrupt source of
human motives and desires. This part of man's moral nature manifests itself by
impure thoughts, then by wicked words, then by evil acts.
(Matthew
15:19) For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies:
Notice how the sins named are transgressions of the Moral
Law—the Ten Commandments. If civil law can prove that you are planning to
assassinate the president, you can be prosecuted and severely punished. That
law, however, is limited in its search for evidence—it can’t see what a man
thinks. Not so with the all-seeing eye of our Creator. His Law searches the
heart. He sees “evil thoughts,” and requires truth in the inward parts (Psalm
51:6). To think hatred is to commit murder (1 John 3:15) and transgress
the Sixth Commandment. To think
lustfully is to commit adultery (Matthew
5:27,28) and transgress the Seventh. Fornication breaks the same Commandment
(Galatians 5:19). Then Jesus names theft (Eighth Commandment), false witness
(Ninth), and blasphemies (Third). A person cannot lust without breaking the
Tenth, and by their nature, these sins transgress the remaining four
Commandments. All sin traces in some way back to the Moral Law, for sin is
transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4). This is why the Law must be used to
bring the knowledge of sin to religious people who are trusting in their own
righteous deeds for their salvation.
(Matthew
15:20) These are the
things which defile a man: but to
eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
The Pharisees and scribes
were extremely careful concerning the showy, painstaking observance of
hand-washing ceremonies. But their inner lives were polluted. They majored in
minors and overlooked the matters of real importance. They could criticize the
disciples' failure to keep uninspired traditions, yet plot to kill the Son of
God and be guilty of the whole catalogue of sin listed in verse 19.
Jesus
warned the crowd against the religious leaders’ teachings.
(Matthew
15:21-22) Then Jesus went
thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same
coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously
vexed with a devil.
Jesus withdrew to the region of
Tyre and Sidon, on the Mediterranean coast. As far as we know, this was the
only time during His public ministry that He was outside Jewish territory. Here
in Phoenicia, a Canaanite woman asked Him to heal her daughter who was
demon-possessed. It is important to realize that this woman was not a Jewess,
but a Gentile. She was descended from the Canaanites, an immoral race which God
had marked for annihilation. Through Israel's disobedience, some had survived
the invasion of Canaan under Joshua, and this woman was a descendant of the
survivors. As a Gentile, she did not enjoy the privileges of God's chosen
earthly people. She was an alien, having no hope. Positionally she had no
claim on God or the Messiah. Speaking to Jesus, she addressed Him as the Lord,
the Son of David, a title which the Jews used in speaking of the Messiah.
Although Jesus was the Son of David, a Gentile had no right to approach
Him on that basis. That is why He did not answer her at
first.
(Matthew
15:23) But he answered her not
a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she
crieth after us.
His disciples came and urged
Him to send her
away; to them she was a nuisance. To Him she was a welcome example of faith and
a vessel in whom His grace would shine. But first He must prove and educate her
faith!
(Matthew
15:24) But he answered and
said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.
He
reminded her that His mission was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, not
to Gentiles, and certainly not to Canaanites.
(Matthew
15:25) Then came she and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
She was
not discouraged by this seeming refusal. Dropping the title, Son of
David, she worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” If she couldn't
come to Him as a Jew to her Messiah, she would come as a creature to her
Creator.
(Matthew
15:26) But he answered and
said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and
to cast it to dogs.
To further
test the reality of her faith, Jesus told her that it was not good for Him to
turn aside from feeding the Jewish children in order to give bread to Gentile
dogs. If this sounds harsh to us, we should remember that, like the surgeon's
blade, it was not intended to hurt but to heal. She was a Gentile. The
Jews looked upon the Gentiles as hunting dogs, prowling the streets for scraps
of food. However, Jesus here used the word for little pet dogs (puppies). The
question was, “Would she confess her unworthiness to receive the least of His
mercies?”
(Matthew
15:27) And she said, Truth,
Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters'
table.
Her reply
was wonderful. She agreed with His description completely. Taking the place of
an unworthy Gentile, she cast herself on His mercy, love, and grace. She said,
in effect, “You are right! I am only one of the little dogs under the table.
But I notice that crumbs sometimes fall from the table to the floor. Won't You
let me have some crumbs? I am not worthy that You should heal my daughter, but I
beseech You to do it for one of Your undeserving
creatures.”
(Matthew
15:28) Then Jesus answered and
said unto her, O woman, great
is thy
faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was
made whole from that very hour.
Jesus applauded her for her
great faith. While the unbelieving children had no hunger for the bread, here
was a self-confessed “doggie” crying out for it. Faith was rewarded; her
daughter was healed immediately… that very
hour. This Gentile woman’s faith contrasted
with Israel’s leaders who were rejecting Jesus.
(Matthew
15:29-31) And Jesus departed
from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain,
and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them
those that were lame, blind,
dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed
them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the
maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified
the God of Israel.
In
Mark 7:31 we learn that the Lord left
Tyre, travelled north to Sidon, then eastward across the Jordan, south through
the region of the Decapolis. There, near the Sea of Galilee, He healed the
lame, the blind, the mute, the maimed, and many others. The astonished crowd
glorified the God of Israel. The belief is strong that this was a Gentile
neighbourhood. The people, associating Jesus and His disciples with Israel,
correctly reasoned that the God of Israel was working in their
midst.
(Matthew
15:32) Then Jesus called his
disciples unto him, and said,
I have compassion on the multitude, because they
continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send
them away fasting, lest they faint in the
way.
After
three days with the Lord, the multitude had run out of food. He would not let
them go away hungry as they might collapse on the way. Careless (or critical)
readers, confusing this incident with the feeding of the 5,000, have accused the
Bible of repetition, contradiction, and miscalculation. The fact is that the
two incidents are quite separate, and supplement rather than contradict each
other.
(Matthew
15:33-34) And his disciples
say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill
so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How
many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little
fishes.
Again His disciples became
frustrated at the impossible task of feeding such a mob; this time they had only
seven loaves and a few little fish. Note
that there are seven loaves, and the fishes aren’t numbered. The Holy Spirit is
drawing our attention to the number seven.
(Matthew
15:35-36) And he commanded the
multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the
fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the
disciples to the multitude.
As in the
case of the 5,000, Jesus seated the people, gave thanks, broke the loaves and
fish and gave them to His disciples for distribution. He expects His disciples
to do what they can; then He steps in and does what they
can't.
(Matthew
15:37) And they did all eat,
and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets
full.
This time more loaves (7 vs. 5) less people (4000 vs. 5000
men+women and children) and less left over (7 vs. 12 baskets). In the first
case, the small boy that had the basket (the basket was actually a small hand
bucket). The word basket here in the Greek is a large hamper, at least twice
and up to five times bigger. So the seven baskets here may have been a lot more
than was left over last time. The first feeding had emphasized five as the
number of grace, and the two fishes—the number of witness. They were
specifically aimed at Israel; they had left over 12 baskets full. Twelve is the
number of government of Israel, the 12 tribes. In this case, they had been with
them for 3 days; the number 3 suggests the resurrection or new beginning. This
might be a hint of the Church, the seven baskets full!
(Matthew
15:38-39) And they that did
eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. And he sent away the
multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of
Magdala.
This miracle demonstrated that the Lord’s blessings
through His disciples would fall not only on Israel (Mat 14:13-21) but also on Gentiles. This is perhaps
most clearly seen in Acts 10-11 when Peter shared the good news of salvation
with Cornelius and his Gentile household. After dismissing the crowd,
our Lord went by boat to Magdala, on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. In
the next chapter, we shall see that the statistics relating to the two feeding
miracles are significant (16:8-12). Every detail of the Bible story is charged
with meaning.
FBF Staff - Renier {Ref sources: W McDonalds, Walvrood &
Zuck, Evidence Bible}
Much emphasis is given by our LORD and the
Apostles in their teaching on the importance of the PREACHING or DECLARING the
Gospel of Jesus Christ! It is the POWER of God on earth as given to men (Rom
1.16)... as it provides the most coverage in every area.
The words used for PREACH, PREACHING carry
with it the Open Air Proclamation just as a TOWN CRIER! It is never a 2 way
conversation... but a DECLARATION TO ALL! The Church Bride of Christ is to be
the VOICE of the Bride and the Bridegroom in this untoward
generation.
It has been, and remains the privilege of
this ministry to expose men to this dimension of the Gospel as prescribed by our
LORD JESUS CHRIST! May we present the Truth in Love... as Jesus did.
Amen.
Mark 16:15-16, 1:14, Matt 9:35, 24:12-14,
Luke 4:18, 4:43, 24:47,
Acts 5:42, 10:42, 1 Cor
1:18
FBF Admin Staff, Bro Robert
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FBF - Sons of thunder -
Time for Christ
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