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THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 1-8)

Feb 6th, 2019
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  1.  
  2. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211731883875395
  3.  
  4. Eric Aboadwe
  5. February 1 ·
  6.  
  7. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 1)
  8.  
  9. Brethren, our study resumes and we are taking our reading from Luke where it is written:
  10.  
  11. “Now JESUS began His MINISTRY at about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23).
  12.  
  13. The Scripture passage above is the account which the Apostle Luke gave after JESUS received His BAPTISM from John the Baptist which fulfilled all RIGHTEOUSNESS for mankind (Matthew 3:15). Therefore when you read the preceding Verses from 21-22 in the same Chapter, Luke actually talks about the event of JESUS BAPTISM by immersion.
  14.  
  15. When John the Baptist (the representative of mankind) whom JESUS Himself witnessed as being “GREATER than” anyone “born of a woman” (Matthew 11:11) laid his hands on His head, He fulfilled a very crucial prophecy in exact copy of the Old Testament shadow of the laying on of hands which was meant for the transfer of SIN on the sacrificial animal (Leviticus 16:21).
  16.  
  17. So based on this important event of CHRIST’ BAPTISM, what does the Scripture mean when it says “JESUS began His MINISTRY?” And what kind of “MINISTRY was that? In other words what was the WORK which JESUS came to do when He dwelt among the sons of men on this part of the planet called Earth?
  18.  
  19. After JESUS was born by the Virgin Mary, He actually gave a hint about His “MINISTRY” and mission on Earth to His fleshly parents right from His childhood days. Therefore when JESUS was a Boy and His mother asked Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously” (Luke 2:48). But the God-Boy answered them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you no know that I must be about My Father’s BUSINESS?” (Luke 2:49).
  20.  
  21. Brothers and Sisters, is it not wonderfully AMAZING that God became a Baby, a Child and for that matter a Boy? God went through all these human development for our own good in order to SAVE us from SIN and from the everlasting Hell-Fire. Therefore when He told Mary and Joseph “Did you no know that I must be about My Father’s BUSINESS?” He was reminding them of His MISSION on Earth which was announced to Joseph when the angel told him, “you shall call His name JESUS, for He will SAVE His people from their SINS” (Matthew 1:21).
  22.  
  23. So right from His childhood days at the age of 12, the Scripture tells us in the same account of Luke that “they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them QUESTIONS” (Luke 2:46). Here we must know that the God-Boy JESUS was listening and asking them QUESTIONS as to whether they really understand what they were teaching because everything in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation was about Him.
  24.  
  25. But unfortunately, these Pharisees with long beards could not even give any meaningful ANSWERS to the QUESTIONS which the Boy JESUS asked them. So JESUS Himself gave the ANSWERS to His QUESTIONS, and so the Scripture tells us that, “And all who heard Him were ASTONISHED at His understanding and ANSWERS” (Luke 2:47).
  26.  
  27. Here we can see the God-Boy sitting in front of these rabbis including the Scribes and the Pharisees as a young Boy, and He gave them astonishing “ANSWERS” because they did not even understand what they were reading and saying. That’s why at a point in time when JESUS was about 30 years of age after receiving His BAPTISM, He told them plainly, “You are MISTAKEN, not knowing the Scriptures nor the POWER of God” (Matthew 22:29).
  28.  
  29. So even though the Boy JESUS did not proclaim publicly to them that He was the “MESSIAH” during that tender age, He gave them a firsthand information, that all the prophecies in the sacrificial system of the Pentateuch, the Psalms and the Prophets must be fulfilled.
  30.  
  31. Therefore when our Scripture reading says that “Now JESUS began His MINISTRY at about thirty years of age,” we must know that it was the beginning of the SALVATION WORK of mankind when He accepted all the SIN of the world upon Himself in the Jordan River before completing it on the Cross by His horrendous crucifixion to death.
  32.  
  33. We must therefore understand that the “MINISTRY” of JESUS was not a gathering of people in Temple-Structures, performing miracles for popularity, and doing signs and wonders to collect people’s money as we see today. That’s why whenever JESUS our spiritual Physician “HEALED” somebody or raises him from the dead, He often commanded those who are “HEALED” by telling them, “See that no one knows it” (Matthew 9:30).
  34.  
  35. For example, after JESUS cured a dumb and deaf person, the Word of God tells us that, “Then He commanded them that they should tell NO ONE, but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it” (Mark 8:36). So here, we can see that the “MINISTRY” of JESUS was not the one which He did for a SHOW-OFF in order to attract attention to Himself or to be captured, but His “MINISTRY” was the one that gave all the GLORY to God.
  36.  
  37. That’s why when JESUS healed the Gadarene Demoniac who was possessed by a “Legion” of demons (Luke 8:30), He told him, “Return to your own house, and tell what GREAT things God has DONE for you (Luke 8:39). Here we must understand that it was after JESUS received the SINS of everyone in the WATERS of the Jordan upon His head that He begun to exorcize (expel) the Satanic powers which were tormenting human beings due to SIN.
  38.  
  39. So the “MINISTRY” of JESUS was not to gather people and make merchandise of them. But first and foremost, His “MINISTRY” was to take our spiritual “INFIRMITIES” and our spiritual “DISEASES” of SIN upon Himself through His BAPTISM which actually made His DEATH and RESURRECTION possible.
  40.  
  41. Secondly His “MINISTRY” was to HEAL human beings from the DISEASE of SIN in order to deliver all those who believe in His “RIGHTEOUSNESS” from the dominion of spiritual powers. Therefore whosoever believe in His MINISTERIAL work of the water, blood and the Spirit will be delivered from the Prince of Demons called the Devil. And even though Satan is the head of principalities and powers, JESUS has actually disarmed him (Colossians 2:15).
  42.  
  43. Our study continues................
  44.  
  45. JESUS is our TRUE Saviour!
  46.  
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  50.  
  51.  
  52.  
  53.  
  54. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211740564252399
  55.  
  56. Eric Aboadwe
  57. February 2 ·
  58.  
  59. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 2)
  60.  
  61. We are taking our Scripture reading from Acts where it says:
  62.  
  63. “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER, Who went about doing GOOD and HEALING all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
  64.  
  65. We thank God once again for His Word given unto us which is SWEET to our taste and SWEETER than honey in our mouth. This very Word is also a LAMP to our feet and a LIGHT to our path (Psalm 119:103, 105).
  66.  
  67. In the previous day, we learnt how JESUS started His “MINISTRY” of delivering the whole of mankind through the advent of His BAPTISM at the age of 30 which was prophesied in the Sacrificial System of atonement in the Old Testament. This event of the Lord’s BAPTISM was so important that after the LORD’S departure, His Apostles and Disciples in the Early Church laid so much emphasis on it many times, but indirectly.
  68.  
  69. And because His “MINISTRY” was purposely designed by God for our deliverance from SIN, we see the Apostle Peter preaching to Cornelius, his household, and all who were there to hear the “Word.” Therefore when Peter begun his preaching, he said “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER.” I want us to pause here for a while and find the meaning of this statement which appears in our Scripture reading before we proceed further.
  70.  
  71. The Bible tells us that whiles John the Baptist was “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15), JESUS CHRIST was “a child of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). And we cannot cease from emphasizing the fact that the Christian FAITH is based on the MINISTERIAL WORK of these two special personalities who were ordained by God for a great “SIGN” and a “wondrous SIGN” in which God prophesied that He will “remove the iniquity of the land in ONE day” (Zachariah 3:8-9).
  72.  
  73. So whiles the one who was “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” fulfilled His “MINISTRY” by transferring the SINS of the World, the other One Who was “a child of the Holy Spirit” also fulfilled His “MINISTRY” by accepting the SINS of the world upon Himself from the TRANSFERER before dying on the Cross and resurrecting from the dead.
  74.  
  75. Therefore when our Scripture reading says “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER,” it is referring to the GREATEST event and the most REMARKABLE event in the annals of the history of mankind when the man who was “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” and the God-Man who was “a child of the Holy Spirit” came and met together to do the SPIRITUAL WORK of God which “takes AWAY the SINS of the world” (John 1:29).
  76.  
  77. Dear Reader of (The True Living Bread & Water), the Scripture testifies that JESUS was “a child of the Holy Spirit.” So what does it mean when the Apostle Peter says “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER?” We must get the answer to this question before we move forward.
  78.  
  79. When JESUS CHRIST was baptized by John the Baptist for the purpose of SIN-transfer, the Scripture tells us that, “When He had been BAPTIZED, JESUS came up immediately from the WATER, and behold, the Heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him” (Matthew 3:16).
  80.  
  81. Therefore when it says here that JESUS “the SPIRIT of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him,” then we must know that it is talking about how God “anointed” JESUS of Nazareth with the “Holy Spirit” and with “POWER” in the beginning of His “MINISTRY” after taking away the SIN of the world upon Himself.
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  83. And immediately after JESUS received this anointing of the “Spirit,” the holy Word of God tells us in the next Chapter of the same account of Matthew that, “Then JESUS was led up by the Spirit into the WILDERNESS to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). This also happened in order for another prophecy in the MINISTERIAL WORK of JESUS to be fulfilled.
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  85. In the Old Testament, after the SINS were laid on the sacrificial animal, God said, “...and shall send it away into the WILDERNESS by the hand of a SUITABLE man. The goat shall bear on itself all their INIQUITIES to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the WILDERNESS” (Leviticus 16:21b-22). This shows that the “SUITABLE” Personality Whom God chose to “send” and “release” JESUS into the “WILDERNESS” was none other than the “Spirit” of God.
  86.  
  87. Through this understanding, we come to know that when it says in Matthew that “JESUS was led up by the Spirit into the WILDERNESS,” it shows clearly that it was the fulfillment of His prophetic “MINISTRY” as prophesied in Leviticus.
  88. Hence when the Apostle Peter says in our Scripture reading that “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER,” the mystery of CHRIST’ baptism is hidden inside whereby the SINS of the world were imputed onto Him before the “Holy Spirit” descended on Him like a dove and before He was led by the same “Spirit” into the “WILDERNESS” to fulfill prophecy.
  89.  
  90. So God “God anointed” JESUS of Nazareth with the “Holy Spirit” and with “POWER” to deliver Adam and his descendants alike from SIN by His eternal “POWER” through the MINISTERIAL works of His water baptism and the blood of the Cross.
  91.  
  92. Our study continues.............
  93.  
  94. JESUS is the LORD of Salvation!
  95.  
  96.  
  97.  
  98.  
  99. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211749524716405
  100.  
  101. Eric Aboadwe
  102. February 3 ·
  103.  
  104. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 3)
  105.  
  106. Our Scripture reading is taken once again from Acts concerning:
  107.  
  108. “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER, Who went about doing GOOD and HEALING all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
  109.  
  110. In our previous study (Part 2), our entire study was centered on the first statement of our Scripture reading which says “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER.” So we explored into what this statement actually mean, and we understood that it is related to the BAPTISM which JESUS received from John the Baptist who was also “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
  111.  
  112. So we learnt that it was immediately after JESUS received His BAPTISM that “the SPIRIT of God” descended like a dove and alighting upon Him (Matthew 3:16). This was His anointing at the beginning of His “MINISTRY” whereby He was also led by the same “Spirit” into the “WILDERNESS” to be tempted by the Devil for the fulfillment of His prophetic “MINISTRY” as revealed in the Old Testament Scrolls.
  113.  
  114. Now, I want us to focus on the other statement of our Scripture reading which says, “Who went about doing GOOD and HEALING all who were oppressed by the Devil.” What then does it mean when it says that JESUS “went about doing GOOD?” What is the GOODNESS of JESUS CHRIST? What “GOOD” did He actually do which the Word of God is talking about?
  115.  
  116. Is it because JESUS fed 5,000 people with bread and fish, healed a leper, a paralytic, a woman with an issue of blood, a blind man, and raised the dead? Is this the reason why we say that He is “GOOD?” Do we define the GOODNESS of JESUS in His “MINISTRY” by these terms? To define JESUS as being “GOOD” in physical humanistic terms is something that He Himself does not accept. That’s why when a ruler commended Him as a “GOOD Teacher,” He told him, “Why do you call me GOOD? No one is GOOD but One, that is, God” (Luke 18:18-19).
  117.  
  118. Therefore when the Apostle Peter says in our Scripture reading that JESUS “went about doing GOOD,” his understanding is completely and totally different from the ruler who also regarded JESUS as “GOOD.” If we think that JESUS is “GOOD” just because He has healed a physically “blind” person, then our understanding will be limited to the PHYSICAL well-being of the human FLESH which is ephemeral and which will pass away.
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  120. Even if JESUS heals someone from his PHYSICAL blindness, when the person dies either by sickness, accident, or old age, his “EYES” will be closed again. That’s why even though Isaac was not born blind, due to old age the Scripture says, “Now it it came to pass, when Isaac was OLD and his EYES were so dim that he could not SEE...” (Genesis 27:1). The same thing happened to Jacob (Israel) according to Genesis 48:10.
  121.  
  122. So let us imagine for example that Isaac and Jacob were born blind, but they met JESUS at a certain point in time in their life, and He actually HEALED them from their physical blindness. But when they reached an “OLD” age, their “EYES” became “dim” and so they could not “SEE” any longer even though JESUS had healed them from their blindness when they were strong and youthful. So if after “doing” this for them, they became blind again in “OLD” age, is this what we say about JESUS as “doing GOOD?”
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  124. Even when a person dies and his “EYES” are still opened, people will shut or close it for him. When God’s decree which says that “And as it is appointed for man to DIE once” (Hebrews 9:27) comes, whether we like it or not our “EYES” and every part of our body will be subjected to a closure (stoppage), and our five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) will no longer function. And there is absolutely nothing we can do about this.
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  126. Not only this, but when a human dies, his “EYES” and every part of his body will rot in decomposition and decay, and his entire body including his “EYES” will be eaten by insects, maggots, and worms. This is the deplorable state and the end of human beings. Without the “MINISTRY” of the water, the blood and the resurrection of CHRIST which saved us from our SINS once and for all, we are nothing more than pitiful human beings whose end is very miserable and woeful.
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  128. We must also understand that even if JESUS raises someone from physical DEAD, the person will surely DIE again. That’s why after JESUS raised Lazarus from the DEATH, He testified to us that Lazarus “DIED” again and he was “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). All these things are informing us that humans must seek to be healed by JESUS from spiritual BLINDNESS, and they must also seek to be raise from spiritual DEATH which is Hell. This Hell is called “the second DEATH” (Revelation 21:8).
  129.  
  130. JESUS performed miracles in His public “MINISTRY” in order for us to BELIEVE in His eternal power which has HEALED us from spiritual blindness and “DEATH.” When we seek for things which are eternal and forever abiding, we become spiritually WISE, and our spiritual “EYES” becomes opened forever, and every part of our spiritual BODY get healed from the DISEASE of SIN in perfection. So the “MINISTRY” of JESUS was commissioned by God to serve this very purpose.
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  132. As Christians who long for the TRUTH, and who desire to dwell with God in His eternal Kingdom as His born again children and Saints, we must not “see” the “MINISTRY” of JESUS from the physical perspective, but we must “see” it from the spiritual angle of LIGHT. This is because JESUS did not descend on this Earth for a physical purpose.
  133.  
  134. When we THINK spiritual, and we UNDERSTAND spiritual,
  135. and we BELIEVE spiritual, then we will see the real “doings” of JESUS which is “GOOD” for our “soul” irrespective of our physical condition or current situation.
  136.  
  137. Our study continues...........
  138.  
  139. We are BLESSED Brethren!
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  141.  
  142.  
  143. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211765253069604
  144.  
  145. Eric Aboadwe
  146. February 5 ·
  147.  
  148. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 4)
  149.  
  150. Our Scripture reading is still from Acts where it is written:
  151.  
  152. “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER, Who went about doing GOOD and HEALING all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
  153.  
  154. Brethren, yesterday we tried to dive into the matter of what it means when it say in our Scripture reading that JESUS “went about doing GOOD” and “HEALING” all who were oppressed by Satan. So we did a comparison through the Word of the Bible concerning a person who is HEALED from physical blindness and who is raised from the physical “DEATH” to a person who is HEALED from spiritual blindness and who is raised from the spiritual DEATH which is hell. So our study is actually drawing our minds to the eternal GOODNESS of CHRIST.
  155.  
  156. I also made mention of the fact that Apostle Peter’s understanding of JESUS “doing GOOD” was different from the understanding of the “ruler” who also saw JESUS to be a “GOOD Teacher.” The “ruler” did not give this title to JESUS because of His “Good” teachings. Rather the “ruler” saw JESUS as someone who does “GOOD” from the perspective of the FLESH. Therefore the main reason why JESUS refused to accept the title of a “GOOD Teacher” is because it was a statement of the FLESH which does not give glory to God.
  157.  
  158. The Apostle Peter was a married man, and the Bible tells us that when JESUS came to Peter’s house, “He saw his wife’s mother lying SICK with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever LEFT her. And she ROSE and served them” (Mark 8:14-15). So does this then mean that when Peter says in our Scripture reading that JESUS “went about doing GOOD and HEALING” people, he said this because his own mother-in-law was HEALED? That is not the case at all.
  159.  
  160. Even though the Apostle Peter’s mother-in-law was HEALED by JESUS from “fever,” if JESUS CHRIST had not SAVED her soul from hell-fire, then her physical healing and physical RESTORATION will profit her nothing. That’s why JESUS Himself tells us that, “It is the Spirit who gives LIFE, the FLESH profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are LIFE” (John 6:63).
  161.  
  162. This means we must receive the “Words” of the Spirit of God which comes from JESUS in our hearts rather than desiring to see physical manifestation of MIRACLES in our “FLESH” which “profits nothing.” When you read Psalm 107:20, King David said, “He sent His Word and HEALED them, and DELIVERED them from their DESTRUCTIONS.”
  163.  
  164. JESUS is the “Word” according John 1:1-14. So King David was saying that JESUS was actually “sent” by God to HEAL and DELIVER us from our “DESTRUCTIONS.” By reading the “Word” of God with spiritual minds, we come to understand that the greatest DESTRUCTION is when a person is destroyed in hell. But in order to SAVE us from our “DESTRUCTIONS,” God sent the “Word” to redeem us with His three-fold “MINISTRY” (water, blood and the Spirit).
  165.  
  166. If it says in our Scripture reading that JESUS “went about doing GOOD and HEALING all who were oppressed by the Devil,” then we must also comprehend the fact that only those who believed in His “Word” were HEALED. For example, if we take a look at the FAITH of the Centurion, he said, “LORD, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But ONLY speak the Word, and my servant will be HEALED” (Matthew 8:8).
  167.  
  168. The Centurions who appears in the above passage did not only believe in the “Word” of CHRIST, but he was also “HUMBLE.” We can see this in his statement “I am not worthy.” This man was truly “POOR in spirit,” and JESUS said that to such people belong the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:3). This shows that God gives spiritual HEALING to only the “meek,” and they are the ones who shall “inherit” the New Heavens and the New Earth (Mathew 5:5).
  169.  
  170. Without FAITH, the “MINISTRY” of JESUS will have no impact in our lives. The Centurion’s FAITH was so great that he told JESUS that even though he is a mere human being, when he say something to his subordinate soldiers such as “Go,” he “goes.” And when he says to another, “Come,” he “comes” (Matthew 8:9). He was therefore telling JESUS that He is the Almighty Powerful God, and therefore when He says something, he believes that it shall SURELY come to pass.
  171.  
  172. His FAITH was so strong that JESUS declared, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such a great FAITH, not even in Israel” (Matthew 8:10). Not only this but JESUS spoke some words to the Centurion which shows clearly that this man also had a spiritual FAITH in the SALVATION power of CHRIST. So JESUS told him, “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the KINGDOM of HEAVEN” (Matthew 8:11). Here JESUS was telling the Centurion that His FAITH is the one which qualifies him to enter Heaven and live with the Patriarchs.
  173.  
  174. But to those who do not have FAITH in the “MINISTRY” of the “Word” Who came by water and blood, JESUS says, “But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer DARKNESS. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). This is the end of those who do not believe in their spiritual HEALING which JESUS achieved for them.
  175.  
  176. In Isaiah, God declared His POWER to us when He said, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your SINS are like scarlet, they shall be as WHITE as SNOW, and though they are red like crimson, they shall be as WOOL” (Isaiah 1:18). How many Christians believe in this? They are still SINNERS because they do not have FAITH in the “MINISTRY” of JESUS, and so they cannot say “Let it be to me according to Your Word” (Luke 1:38).
  177.  
  178. They always offer the “Prayers of Repentance,” and even though God tells us clearly that we are sanctified once and for all, and that JESUS has perfected forever (Hebrews 10:10, 14), these religious Christians have allowed the Devil to deceive them. They have been intoxicated by the WINE of SIN given to them by Satan, and they are so intoxicated to the extent that they do not know the “WAY” to the Kingdom of Heaven.
  179.  
  180. Therefore when JESUS wants to give them the “NEW WINE” through His three-fold “MINISTRY, they say “The OLD is better” (Luke 5:39). This is rather unfortunate!
  181.  
  182. Our study continues...........
  183.  
  184. The goodness of JESUS is exceptional!
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  190.  
  191. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211779547826964
  192.  
  193. Eric Aboadwe
  194. February 7 ·
  195.  
  196. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 5)
  197.  
  198. Let us take our reading once again from the Acts of the Apostles regarding:
  199.  
  200. “How God anointed JESUS of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with POWER, Who went about doing GOOD and HEALING all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
  201.  
  202. When God anointed the CHRIST our Saviour with the Holy Spirit and POWER as our Scripture reading is saying, He did that in order to fulfill a prophetic song which King David sang in Psalm 98 in PRAISE to God concerning the “MINISTRY” of the MESSIAH who will come in the future to fulfill all things.
  203.  
  204. Therefore the Psalmist proclaimed his prophetic song by saying, “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! His RIGHT Hand and His holy ARM have gained Him the VICTORY, the LORD has made known His SALVATION; His RIGHTEOUSNESS He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; ALL the ends of the earth have seen the SALVATION of our God” (Psalm 98:1-3).
  205.  
  206. David who was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) hymned the prophetic song above to tell us that, when God “anointed” CHRIST during the event of His BAPTISM as part of His “MINISTRY,” God was making His SALVATION “known” to us, and He also “revealed” His “RIGHTEOUSNESS” in the sight of the nations.
  207.  
  208. If the Psalmist says that God has “revealed” His “RIGHTEOUSNESS” in the sight of the nations, then the question is, “How was it revealed?” JESUS our Lord is so “GOOD” to us that He did not hide the intention of His BAPTISM from us, so He told John the Baptist in an unmistakable and evident manner, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Matthew 3:15).
  209.  
  210. Dearly beloved, when John the Baptizer proclaimed, “Behold! The LAMB of God Who takes away the SIN of the world” (John 1:29), it was in fulfillment of the prophetic song which King David sang in PRAISE, that God has “revealed” His “RIGHTEOUSNESS” in the sight of the “nations” (the world). JESUS is God’s “RIGHT Hand” and God’s “holy ARM” according to Isaiah 59:16 and Isaiah 63:5.
  211.  
  212. Therefore if King David hymns that the “holy ARM” of God has gained Him the “VICTORY,” then we must know that when John the Baptist declared “Behold! The LAMB of God Who takes away the SIN of the world,” it was a VICTORIOUS proclamation. Many Christians are fond of singing the song “He has given me VICTORY.” But when you ask them what sort of “VICTORY” is that, they will tell you FLESHLY things without any trace of knowledge about how JESUS took away the SIN of the world to give them “VICTORY” over SIN and Satan.
  213.  
  214. Brethren, we must know that what King David says in Psalm 98:1-3 is not different from what our Scripture reading says in Acts 10:38. This is because one is a prophetic word, whiles the other one is its fulfillment. Even though David did not made mention of the water, blood, and the resurrection of CHRIST, these MINISTERIAL duties of the MESSIAH were all hidden in David’s prophetic hymn. That’s why JESUS tells us that, “It has been given to you to know the MYSTERIES of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 13:11).
  215.  
  216. When JESUS went about “doing GOOD and HEALING all who were oppressed by the Devil,” it was because God “Remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel,” and He wanted “ALL the ends of the earth” to see His “SALVATION.”
  217.  
  218. Therefore the Word of God tells us that they brought to JESUS, “many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a WORD, and HEALED all who were SICK, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet, saying, “He Himself took our INFIRMITIES and bore our SICKNESSES” (Matthew 8:16-17).
  219.  
  220. But it was not only JESUS Who did this, but He gave the same authority and power to His disciples. Therefore they told Him, “LORD, even the demons are subject to us in Your NAME” (Luke 10:17). But what was the divine response or reaction to the disciples? The LORD told them, “Do not REJOICE in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather REJOICE because your names are written in Heaven” (Luke 10:20). Therefore if a Christians is rejoicing and singing “He has given me VICTORY,” it must be based on this.
  221.  
  222. JESUS revealed His eternal goodness to His disciples when He told them to “REJOICE” that their “names” are written in “Heaven.” So He was telling them that His “MINISTRY” was not just about casting out demons and performing SIGNS and WONDERS (miracles of the FLESH). But His “MINISTRY” was the one which fulfilled “all RIGHTEOUSNESS” for us, and which qualified us for our “names” to be written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27).
  223.  
  224. So if our Scripture reading says that JESUS “went about doing GOOD,” then what “GOOD” has JESUS done for you? If it is not the WASHING away of your SINS then what else is it? If it is not the FORGIVENESS of your SINS, then what else it is? If it is not your “name” being written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life,” then what is it? There is nothing “GOOD” which surpasses these things which the Lord JESUS has done for us. He gave all these BLESSINGS to us absolutely for free.
  225.  
  226. If we Christians say that “God is GOOD all the time, and all the time God is GOOD,” then it must based on the spiritual BLESSINGS cited above.
  227.  
  228. Our study continues..........
  229.  
  230. God is so “GOOD” to our “soul.”
  231.  
  232.  
  233.  
  234.  
  235.  
  236.  
  237. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211788633854109
  238.  
  239. Eric Aboadwe
  240. February 8 ·
  241.  
  242. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 6)
  243.  
  244. Our Scripture reading is taken from the gospel of John where
  245. the LORD said:
  246.  
  247. “And I, if I am LIFTED UP from the Earth, will DRAW all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).
  248.  
  249. What a “Word” from the Immortal God! What a “Word” from the Creator! What a “Word” of power from CHRIST the Saviour! Brethren, by reading this passage one more time in meditation and in understanding of “the MIND of CHRIST” (1 Corinthians 2:16), we will all come into comprehension of the width, length, depth, and height of the “LOVE” of CHRIST which passes knowledge, and we will be filled with “the FULLNESS of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).
  250.  
  251. Through our Scripture reading, JESUS tells us that after His BAPTISM, it was part of His “MINISTRY” to be “LIFTED UP” from the earth in order to make our SALVATION complete. So His being “LIFTED UP” as mentioned by the LORD Himself, actually refers to His “DEATH” on the Cross. Therefore when you read the next verse from the same chapter of John, it says, “This He said, signifying by what DEATH He would die” (John 12:32).
  252.  
  253. I have been saying from various angles of Scripture about the fact that, we cannot exclude or take out the BAPTISM of JESUS from the Gospel. And do you know that JESUS even referred to His being “LIFTED UP” (His DEATH on the Cross) as another BAPTISM? Well let us hear what the Saviour Himself says about this. He said, “But I have a BAPTISM to be baptized with, and how DISTRESS I am until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50).
  254.  
  255. We must know that when JESUS was speaking these words above in Luke 12:50, He had already been “baptized” by John, and the proof of this is in the same book of Luke when you move backwards and you read Luke 3:21-22. So if JESUS had already been “baptized” by John and He says “But I have a BAPTISM to be baptized with, and how DISTRESS I am until it is accomplished,” then what does He mean by this?
  256.  
  257. What JESUS meant was that, He did the first (1st) work of the SALVATION of washing away our SINS by being “baptized” by John, and it was left for Him to do the second (2nd) work of washing away our SINS by dying on the Cross. However, what actually makes us realize that JESUS was talking about His “DEATH” is deduced from His Words “how DISTRESS I am until it is accomplished.”
  258.  
  259. If that’s the case, then why did JESUS say He is “DISTRESS” about this “BAPTISM?” It is because the second (2nd) work of washing away our SINS was the one which will make Him SUFFER excruciating pain in terror. That’s why when He foresaw in the Garden that the enemies were coming to arrest Him, He said, “My Soul is exceedingly SORROWFUL, even to DEATH. Stay here and watch with me. O My Father, if it is possible, let this CUP pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I WILL, but as You WILL” (Matthew 26:39-39).
  260.  
  261. Therefore our LORD was very “DISTRESS” about this second “BAPTISM,” and He was very “SORROWFUL” for it. But He has to go through it. Why? Because the author of Hebrews (the Apostle Paul) tells us that He was supposed to go through in order to bring “many SONS to glory,” and “to make the captain of their SALVATION perfect through SUFFERINGS” (Hebrews 2:10).
  262.  
  263. If JESUS therefore says that “But I have a BAPTISM to be baptized with, and how DISTRESS I am until it is ACCOMPLISHED,” then we must realize that the Bible actually speak about its fulfillment when it says, “After this, JESUS, knowing that ALL things were now ACCOMPLISHED, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst.” So when JESUS had received the sour wine, He said, “It is FINISHED!
  264.  
  265. And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit (John 1928, 30).
  266. This shows clearly that the moment JESUS uttered “It is FINISHED,” the “BAPTISM” which He was very “DISTRESS” about in the beginning was now completed and “ACCOMPLISHED.” The words “It is FINISHED” is one of the most simplest English words which does not need any explanation. Yet many so called “Apostles,” pastors, prophets, and clergymen do not understand these Words which CHRIST uttered before He DIED.
  267.  
  268. In our Scripture reading, JESUS said, “And I, if I am LIFTED UP from the Earth, will DRAW all peoples to Myself.” But before this, He also said something earlier in the same account of John which is so important that I want us to consider it to unveil some spiritual TRUTH. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of WHEAT falls into the ground and DIES, it remains ALONE; but if it DIES, it produces MUCH grain” (John 12:24).
  269.  
  270. The statement of the LORD above shows His selfless (unselfish) “LOVE” for us, and it also shows His impartial “LOVE” for us. That’s why He told us that when He is “LIFTED UP,” He will draw “all peoples” to Himself. But what does it mean when JESUS says “unless a grain of WHEAT falls into the ground and DIES, it remains ALONE; but if it DIES, it produces MUCH grain?”
  271.  
  272. Here, JESUS was saying that even though He is the “only begotten SON” of God the Father (John 3:16), it was God’s intention even “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) that many “SONS” will be born again through Him by “water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). That’s why our earlier reading from Hebrews tells us that His purpose was to bring “many SONS to glory,” and “to make the captain of their SALVATION perfect through SUFFERINGS.”
  273.  
  274. And because JESUS has produced all of us as “MUCH grain,” the Bible tells us that we are the “WHEAT.” That’s why John the Baptist prophesied that when JESUS is “baptized” and He “dies” for us through the “MINISTRY” of JESUS, He “will thoroughly CLEAN out His threshing floor, and gather the WHEAT into the barn; but He will burn up the CHAFF with unquenchable FIRE” (Matthew 3:12).
  275.  
  276. Therefore those who don’t believe in the water and the blood of CHRIST are the “CHAFF” (sinners), and God will “burn” them with “unquenchable FIRE” in the day of His judgment. But the TRUE believers (the RIGHTEOUS) will “SHINE forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 13:43).
  277.  
  278. Our study continues.......
  279.  
  280. JESUS is too much for us!
  281.  
  282.  
  283.  
  284.  
  285.  
  286.  
  287. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211825514416100
  288.  
  289. Eric Aboadwe
  290. February 12 ·
  291.  
  292. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 7)
  293.  
  294. Our Scripture reading for this New Day is taken from Philippians where it says:
  295.  
  296. “That I may know Him and the POWER of His RESURRECTION, and the fellowship of His SUFFERINGS, being conformed to His DEATH. If, by any means I may attain to the RESURRECTION from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).
  297.  
  298. So far we have death with the “MINISTRY” of the Lord JESUS ranging from His birth, baptism, and the spiritual implications of all the MIRACLES which He performed whiles on earth. And in the previous day (Part 6) of this topic, we also learnt in detail about the “MINISTRY” of the LORD’S excruciating “DEATH” on the Cross which He referred to as being “LIFTED UP” from the earth in order to “draw ALL peoples” to Himself.
  299.  
  300. Therefore after JESUS took away the SINS of all humanity in the waters of the Jordan upon Himself and dying on the Cross to shed His precious blood, it was part of His “MINISTRY” to “RESURRECT” from the “DEATH” according to God’s divine plan in order to seal our salvation and make it irrevocable.
  301.  
  302. The fact that our Lord “RESURRECTED” with a body that is different from the one which He acquired through the body of the Virgin Mary attest to the NEW LIFE which He has given to us. His “RESURRECTION” actually means NEW LIFE for the truly born again Saints. It was a transformation “POWER.” That’s why the Apostle Paul says in our Scripture reading, “That I may know Him and the POWER of His RESURRECTION.”
  303.  
  304. When JESUS resurrected, He made our SALVATION complete, and He concretized our “FAITH” through the immutability of His counsel. Without His “RESURRECTION,” our “FAITH” become useless and ineffective. For this reason, the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth by telling them, “And If CHRIST is not RISEN, your FAITH is futile; you are still in your SINS! Then also those who have fallen asleep in CHRIST have perished” (1 Corinthians 15:17-18).
  305.  
  306. This shows clearly that the “RESURRECTION” of JESUS is another act of His MINISTERIAL act which cleansed away all our SINS. What the Apostle Paul says above indicates the fact that we are not WASHED by the “BLOOD” of the Cross alone. If we were remitted by only the “BLOOD,” then why did He say that if CHRIST is “not RISEN” our “FAITH” is in vain?
  307.  
  308. Every truly and genuinely born again child of God who believes in the “RESURRECTION” of the Lord JESUS also desire “to know the POWER of His RESURRECTION.” But what does this mean when Paul says this in our Scripture reading? He explained this in his second (2nd) Epistle to the Corinthians when He said, “For in this we groan, earnestly DESIRING to be clothed with our HABITATION which is from Heaven” (2 Corinthians 5:2).
  309.  
  310. When Paul talks about being “clothed with our HABITATION,” he is talking about our impending “RESURRECTION” (new body) and our new Home which is “The Kingdom of God.” We must therefore understand that, without the “MINISTRY” of the Lord’s “RESURRECTION,” this hope which Paul is talking about for himself and for all true believers would be unfounded (baseless).
  311.  
  312. However, by believing in the Lord’s “RESURRECTION,” God assures us that, “If the Spirit of Him who RAISED JESUS from the dead dwells in you, He Who RAISED CHRIST from the dead will also give LIFE to your mortal BODIES through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). This is the power of His resurrection which the Apostle Paul was talking about in our Scripture reading.
  313.  
  314. And though we all desire earnestly to be “clothed” with our “HABITATION” which is from Heaven, the Bible tells us about the MATURITY of our “FAITH” in the following words, “But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great LOVE with which He LOVED us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us ALIVE together with CHRIST (by grace you have been saved), and RAISED us UP together, and made us SIT together in the heavenly places in CHRIST JESUS” (Ephesians 2:4-6).
  315.  
  316. But without understanding the “MINISTRY” of CHRIST’S “RESURRECTION,” the words above will only look like a theory and a hypothesis which cannot be verified. If the Word of God says that believers have been “RAISED” together with CHRIST, and they are already seated together in the heavenly “places” in CHRIST JESUS, then the question is: “Can the believers describe HOW Heaven look like?”
  317.  
  318. The answer is “NO!” But why? This is because it is only by “FAITH.” Based on our thorough studies, when you examine the “FAITH” of the majority of Christians, you can see that their “FAITH” has suffered shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:19). This is all because they do not actually believe in the three-fold “MINISTRIES” of CHRIST. Due to this, they don’t believe that they are sanctified once (Hebrews 10:10), and that their SINS have been forgiven (Ephesians 1:7).
  319.  
  320. The “RESURRECTION” of JESUS means that we must not see ourselves according to our physical eyes and fleshly thoughts. Those who do that will continue to beg for the “FORGIVENESS” of SINS every day, and Satan will continue to tie them in this ignorance until they are thrown alongside with him to the burning sulphurs of hell.
  321.  
  322. Our study continues...........
  323.  
  324. Believe in the “POWER” of His “RESURRECTION!”
  325.  
  326.  
  327.  
  328.  
  329. https://www.facebook.com/ericaboadwe/posts/10211839816733649
  330.  
  331. Eric Aboadwe
  332. February 14 ·
  333.  
  334. THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (Part 8)
  335.  
  336. Our Scripture reading for the final Part of this topic is taken from Romans:
  337.  
  338. “Who is he who condemns? It is CHRIST who died, and further more is also risen, who is even at the right Hand of God, who also makes INTERCESSION for us” (Romans 8:34).
  339.  
  340. Even though the quotation above talks about the dead and resurrection of JESUS as part of His “MINISTRY,” we have dealt with that. Therefore our focus now is on the “INTERCESSION” work of JESUS CHRIST as revealed in the passage. This is another important aspect of what JESUS has been doing for us which has received little attention or ignored by many BELIEVERS.
  341.  
  342. After PURGING our SINS with His water and blood, and resurrecting from the dead, the Lord JESUS did not “sit at the right Hand of the Majesty on High” (Hebrews 1:3) for nothing. But He sat there as a “MEDIATOR” for the good purpose of intervening on behalf of the born again Saints. We must therefore know that, even though the Bible says we are “the spirits of JUST men made PERFECT” (Hebrews 12:23), our FLESH continue to SIN until the day we die.
  343.  
  344. This calls for the INTERCESSIONAL role of JESUS as the “MEDIATOR.” He is therefore described as “the MEDIATOR of the NEW COVENANT, and to the BLOOD of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). So whiles the “blood” of Abel cried for “judgment” against Cain for his SIN of murderer (Genesis 4:8), the “BLOOD” of CHRIST pleads for “MERCY” on behalf of the Saints whose FLESH commit SINS.
  345.  
  346. However, this does not mean that the “BLOOD” of the Cross is more important than the “WATER” of CHRIST baptism or His resurrection. And this is where many Christians get it WRONG, and this is where most of them scores zero (0) mark in their “FAITH.” If the LORD has not received our SINS upon Himself, it would have been impossible for His “BLOOD” to play the INERCESSIONAL role.
  347.  
  348. Nevertheless it is not only the BLOOD which pleads on our behalf, but our Scripture reading in Romans tells us that JESUS Himself also makes “INTERCESSION for us” even as He sits at the right Hand of God. This INTERCESSIONAL role of the MESSIAH was prophesied long ago by Isaiah the Prophet. Therefore when you read the last part of Isaiah 53:12, it says, “And He bore the SIN of many, and made INTERCESSION for the transgressors.”
  349.  
  350. When the people of Israel SINNED against the ordinance of God’s LAW in the wilderness, God told Moses that his people have “corrupted themselves.” He then spoke the following Words to Moses, “Now therefore, let Me alone, that My WRATH may BURN hot against them and I may CONSUME them. And I will make of you a great nation” (Exodus 32:10). Here we must know that when God’s “WRATH” or His ANGER burns “hot,” it leads to the judgement of “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
  351.  
  352. But Moses played an INTERCESSIONAL role which was a “shadow of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). So he pleaded with God by saying, “LORD, why does Your WRATH burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great POWER and with a MIGHTY hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land I shall give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever” (Exodus 32:11, 13).
  353.  
  354. When Moses offered this PRAYER, God looked at the people with His eye of pity. So Moses’ request was granted. For this reason the Scripture says, “the LORD relented from the HARM which He said He would do to His people” (Exodus 32:14). But because Moses himself was also a human being with limitations and weaknesses, when he came near the camp and he saw the golden calf and the dancing, he was NOT able to control his “ANGER” against the people that he INTERCEDED on their behalf.
  355.  
  356. Therefore the Scripture says, “So Moses ANGER became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and BROKE them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19). Afterwards, we are told that God passed his judgement, and on that day “three thousand (3,000) men of the people FELL” (Exodus 32:28). But the question is: “WHY is that in the beginning God “relented” from doing HARM to the people, but in the end passed His judgment on them?”
  357.  
  358. The answer is that the people themselves did not acknowledge their SIN and they did not seek for God’s MERCY. In short, these people were UNBELIEVERS, and we must understand that God cannot “FORGIVE” those who don’t BELIEVE in His salvation Word of GRACE and MERCY. His fierce judgment surely comes upon those who reject His Word.
  359.  
  360. When Moses realized this, He wanted God to change His judgment. So he told God, “Yet now, if You will FORGIVE their SIN – but if NOT, I pray, blot me out of Your BOOK which You have written” (Exodus 32:32). Brothers and Sisters, this PRAYER of Moses was very serious! And even though his PRAYER was WRONG and for that matter refused by God, the positive aspect of it is that, we can see that Moses was a selfless leader who showed great concern for the “soul” of his people because He didn’t want them to PERISH.
  361.  
  362. But can we say this about the majority of the Christian leaders today? The answer is a big “NO.” This is because they don’t CARE whether their followers go to hell. So they reject the TRUE GOSPEL, and it is none of their business to teach their congregation the SOLUTION to their SIN problem. All that they CARE about is the collection of offerings, tithes, and the welfare benefits for their wives and children.
  363.  
  364. Now, let us go back to the PRAYER of Moses and see God’s reply. He told him, “Whoever has SINNED against Me, I will blot him out of My BOOK” (Exodus 32:33). This means that even though JESUS is making “INTERCESSION” for us at the right Hand of God, if anybody commits the SIN of “unbelief” which JESUS explained in John 16:9 against His water, blood, and the resurrection which is also a “blasphemy” against the “Spirit,” then God will “blot” that person’s name “out” of the LAMB’S BOOK of LIFE.
  365.  
  366. JESUS has done everything for us to ensure our eternal SECURITY, and all that we have to do is to BELIEVE and give THANKS to Him.
  367.  
  368. This ends our study on “THE MINISTRY OF JESUS.”
  369.  
  370. The LORD is “GOOD.”
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