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“Your
Kingdom Come” By
Bob Myhan Jesus
taught His disciples to pray, "your
kingdom come." Many still
pray this, today, because they do not realize the kingdom has already
come. During
His ministry, Jesus taught the kingdom was “at hand” (Matt. 4:12-17; Mark
1:14-15). The terms, "kingdom of
God" and "kingdom of heaven," are used interchangeably for
the kingdom predicted by Daniel. When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Daniel
identified three of the empires as Jesus
told some who stood there with Him they would not die before seeing the “It
is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own
authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be witnesses to Me in That
is, they would see "the "This
Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted
to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the
Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not
ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' "Therefore
let all the house of Jesus'
reign began when He sat down at God's right hand, and
it will end when He returns. Paul wrote, concerning the second coming
of Christ, Then
comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an
end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put
all enemies under His feet. (1
Cor. 15: 24-25). It
was prophesied that the Messiah would be "a priest upon his
throne" (Zech. 6:13). Jesus cannot be a priest on earth (Heb. 8:4), because
He is from the tribe of This
does not mean that we are not to pray for the
Let’s
Go Fishing! By
Randy Cavender Fishing
is a favorite pastime for many people. We read in the Bible that Peter, Andrew,
James and John were fishermen by trade. But the Lord called them to become “fishers
of men" (Matt. 4:18-22). Brethren in Christ, we are also to be "fishers
of men." Jesus instructed, "Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature"
(Mark 16:15). Why should we be fishers of men? I
suggest that we must be "fishers of
men" because this is something the Lord expects of us. Mark
16:15 is not an option, it is an obligation. Further, Jesus said of those who
would follow Him: "I will make you
fishers of men." Thus, we must do this to please God. The
value of the human soul is most important. Jesus asked, "For
what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or
what will a man give in exchange for his soul" (Matt. 16:26)? It
should be the attitude of every Christian that he will do all he can to help
those who are lost come to know the truth that makes one free (John 8:32), so we
must go about teaching the word of God (Acts 8:4). Brethren,
have you done any fishing lately? &
Meet
the Apostles (Part 4) By
Bob Myhan During
the ten days between the ascension of Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit,
the office vacated by Judas Iscariot, when he betrayed the Lord, was filled by
the casting of lots. And
they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and
Matthias. And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of
all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and
apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own
place." And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was
numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts
1:23-26) Nothing
is known of Matthias but what is stated here. Both he and Joseph had been with
the apostles from John’s baptism until the day of the ascension. Thus,
although both men could testify that Jesus had risen from the dead, Matthias was
chosen to be an apostle but Joseph was not. Therefore, of these two, only
Matthias would be baptized in the Holy Spirit so as to receive His miraculous
support (John 14:25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Mark 16:20; Heb. 2:1-4). Casting
lots was a method of selection similar to drawing straws or playing “rock,
paper, scissors.” It was used frequently in the Old but only here in the New
Testament. Those who cast lots prayed for divine providence so the Lord’s
choice between the two men would be revealed. Some
have contended that the apostles were being presumptuous in this but such a
contention is unwarranted. After all, the Lord had said: "Assuredly
I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne
of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt.
19:28). Thus,
there had to be a successor to sit on the throne abdicated by Judas. Besides
this, Luke, by inspiration, puts the number of the apostles back at twelve after
this event (Acts 6:2). Even discounting his being inspired, he was writing
retrospectively, relating events of some thirty years past. Surely, it would
have been revealed by that time if Matthias were not really an apostle. Saul
of Tarsus was the last one called to be an apostle by the Lord. He was the last
to see the risen Lord and had “the signs of an apostle.” He was “in
nothing … behind the most eminent apostles” yet felt unworthy “to be
called an apostle” (Acts 22:12-21; 26:1-18; 1 Cor. 15:8-9; 2 Cor. 12:11-12). As
“the apostle to the Gentiles,” he went on three preaching tours, helped
establish several congregations, and wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven books of
the New Testament. [Only Luke, the beloved physician, wrote more words.] No
apostle seems to have suffered more than he for the sake of the gospel (2 Cor.
4:8-12; 11:23-28). In addition to the things he mentioned in his second epistle
to the Corinthians, he was jailed in Philippi, bound in Jerusalem, taken into
protective custody in Caesarea; awaited trial in Rome on two separate occasions,
and was finally put to death by order of Nero. &
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