The following link will take you to the video review of Ray Vanderlaan’s Vol. 5, Church History, that we have been studying through in our Wednesday nights at The Blue Point Bible Church, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmJu2cwngj0
“Clearly God carefully prepared the environment in which Jesus was born and reared so that He would have exactly the context He needed in order to present His message of malchut Shemayim – the kingdom of heaven – effectively”.
Session #1 – Everything to lose, nothing to gain
- Eastern religious leaders sought to build communities of believers. Jesus did as well, seeking not just believers but doers. (Knowledge of belief vs. A committed passion toward/ James 1:22-25
- The Gates of Hades in Cesarae Philippi (Matthew 16:30-20); “on this rock I will build my Church); the gates are defensive, we are to storm the gates
- “In this seemingly strange location…(pg. 14)
- The costs (Jesus said count the cost – Luke 14:28-33); Follow the world’s path and gain in all and lose eternity. Or Jesus’ path, gain the cross and find eternity (cf. Mark 8:36)
- cf. Luke 24:45; 1 Cor. 2:14; Romans 8:6 – These things are made known through the Spirit
We also discussed how to be effective disciples of Christ as per the following texts: Mark 3:13-15 (walking with authority); Luke 6:40 (servanthood); Luke 9:1-6 (reliant upon God); Luke 14:27 (willing to be persecuted for righteousness sake); John 8:31 (continue in the Word of God, Jesus Christ by seeking, searching, studying, and proving the things of God); John 13:13-17 (being hospitable and serving others).
Session #2 – The Salt of the Earth
- The city of Sardis (cf. Revelation 3:1-6); synagogue within a gymnasium?
- The Gymnasium (for the Greeks the gym was the classroom, 1 Tim. 4:8
- Salt adds flavour, value, and goodness, but must be blended with other things. Some things plesant and some not, Titus 1:15
- We are called….1 Pet. 2:9, 10-12; Matt. 5:13-16
- We are salt and the light to all and must be ready to be used and used and used; “Salt stops corruption and decay. Salt stimulates thirst. Jesus calls us salt…is anyone thirsty because of our efforts? stay salty!”
Did you know: Salt was very valuable during Jesus’ day. It aided in the preservation of meat and enhanced the tastes of foods. But another less commonly known use of salt helps us better understand what it means to be salt in our world. Galileans used dome-shaped ovens made of hardened mud. Salt was mixed with dry dung, a common fuel, because of the chemical reaction made the dung burn hotter and longer. Over time, however, salt lost the qualities that made it effective. So when salt was no longer fit even for being mixed with manure, the “saltless” salt was thrown out. Read Luke 14:34-35.
Session #3 – Where Satan Lives
How would you define what John meant by “Satan’s throne” and the place “where Satan lives”?
- Rev. 2:12-17; Pergamum (acropolis – a high placed city); 5 possible locations for Satan’s home (see sheer)
- Staff of Aesclepius (paper given by Sandy)
- Emperor Worship in the 1st century (back of study sheet)
- The power is not within you, but rather God through us, we are “living stones”. (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-5-9)
Session #4 – The Mark of the Beast
- City of Ephesus (worship of Artemis; Acts 19:23- 41) ; Emperor Worship
- When we step out boldly we will face harm, but the entire Church/saints of the Bible pray for us, Eph. 3;14-21
- Dating of the Book of Revelation
- Mark of the Beast (cf. Holger Neubauer’s writing (666: Nero, Pope, or High Priest?)
- Neronian persecution
- “For us, as for John, we too will have to choose between the world (ie., emperor) and God (everything else), balance that with the command to love each other (1 John 3:11), and most of all, not to love the world, 1 John 2:15-17
In the Jewish culture at that time, the word faith had many meanings. One meaning was “bold persistence, unyielding intensity that will not give up”, which is the same root for faith from which we get the modern word chutzpah…We readily see evidence of this Jewish understanding of faith in the ministry of Jesus and in the early Christians who were bold, determined, persistent, and unwilling to be stopped in their service to God (cf. Genesis 18:16-33; Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8; Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 5:21-34; Luke 5:17-26; Luke 18:35-43).
Session #5 – Hot or Cold
- The city of Laodiiciea (Rev. 3:14-22, spec. 15-16)
- You would enter the city through the Dominitian gate and declare devotion to the “gods”/ cf. Matt. 7:13; John 10:9
- 2 cities and water available- hieropolis – hot springs; colossal – cold steams; laodiciea – waters blend (hold and cold are valuable, lukewarm – eh…)
- Our water source – John 4:10-15, 25-26, 39-42; Rev. 7:17; 21:6-8
- “When they stopped doing that (drinking of the source and offering it to others), not only did it turn God’s stomach, but the Church died”.
- Like the waters, are we of value? Can we on our own, or even better, through our “community” be fully used by God?
See also, Colossians 3:12, 17