27Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 29For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me, (NASB 1995; https://biblehub.com/nasb/philippians/1.htm)

A peculiar passage launches us into the investigation of a community that is willing to suffer for Messiah “experiencing the same conflict” together in order that with one mind, and one spirit we are “striving together for the faith of the Gospel.” We behold the importance of community as the “holy re-acclimation” to be reminded to go out there and live the gospel, not only believe it, and that this communal accountability is what assists us each in our journey to be like our Teacher (who being in the form of God did not consider it…). We need be reminded yes? Because we are weak, we need be reminded so often to lay down our lives and the justification of sinful emotion towards those who have done us wrong. We need to be told, as Hosea was, “Go and love again.” Community in the gospel therefore is the accountability that challenges our false reasoning and assists us in the outworking of the gospel in the many scenarios we are all personally dealing with. 

“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher,” (Lk. 6:40). 

How do we become like our teacher? What was He in fact like? Do we actually want to be like Him?

If so, we must ask the question of what it means to become like Him. The journey of discipleship under our crucified teacher and master Jesus is not for the faint of heart. It’s for those who desire to not be their own master any longer and let the teacher dictate the remainder of their lives. This, is discipleship.

 

How do we become disciples? In this second session we look into Exodus 19-20 where Adonai began discipleship with His original congregation. We see that a disciple is one who hears, follows, and fears but we hone in on “hears,” and re-hear Jesus’ words in a new light.

How does theology become practice? After finishing the “Comprehending the story of the Gospel” class, we turn our attention to how we put this understanding into practice. In this session we give some overview of discipleship and look at the Parable of the Sower to understand the 4 soils who are 4 people who “hear the word of the kingdom.” We also begin to ask the question: “When did God begin discipleship?”

 

-Post 60-Session 71-

Revelation 1:3 “Blesses is He who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near,” (NASB 1995).

In this session we read out loud the words of the prophecy and seek to imagine ourselves as members of the seven churches hearing the words of Revelation for the first time. 

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-Post 57C-Session 70-

This is a continuation of the sessions from class 54– What is water baptism? Why is it important? What actually takes place in that immersion? Equally, what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? We ponder these questions and others as we continue to look into The Holy Spirit in the Scriptures and as the Third Member of the Godhead.

 

 

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-Post 57B- Session 69-

This is a continuation of the session from class 54-B- as we look into the purpose and plan of Jesus in giving the Holy Spirit to His disciples, transferred by promise to those of us who believe. In this class we look at the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 14, the gifts Paul says to “eagerly desire,” and ask the God of Israel to pour out His Spirit on us gentiles as a sign of the age to come and confirmation of His gospel.

There is also a prophetic word shared that was given by a friend regarding the church in America.

 

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-Post 59-Session 70-

In Revelation 1:9 John says, “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation, and kingdom, and perseverance which are in Jesus…”

There is tribulation in Jesus. There is kingdom in Jesus. There is perseverance in Jesus. We can’t merely behold Him, we must partake of Him. 

Acts 14:22 “…strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

In this passage we see perseverance at work, as believers in Jesus endure tribulations in the hope of inheriting the kingdom. Come on! Let’s go!

It is no small thing to behold the Word of God in the flesh. Who have we partaken of in baptism? Who’s body do we eat and drink in communion? Who is this communion with? In seeking to become a partaker of this Gospel, a s Paul was seeking in 1 Corinthians 9, we identify the magnitude of this man Jesus and what it means to identify with Him in His suffering before glory (Lk. 24:26). This is the revelation of Who He is for those who are baptized with Him into His death. He is the revelation of the mystery that was hidden in ages past. 

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-Post 57-Session 68-

This is a continuation of the session from class 55 as we look into the purpose and plan of Jesus in giving the Holy Spirit to His disciples, transferred by promise to those of us who believe. 

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-Post 58-Session 69-

We are now approaching the apokalypsis of Jesus, the Messiah––His revealing––and the events that are encapsulated in this final climactic event. Truly all the scriptures point toward this Man, and the day He gets glory. With the previous sessions of this class as a foundation, we can look into the book of Revelation with insight and understanding that gives us definition of these events and de-mystifies the subject matter.

In this session we specifically handle what this revelation means for those who read and hear it when we understand it from a basis of Jesus Himself being the revelation of the mystery.

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