Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

Paul said: "to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain... having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better." We discuss what happens when we die? Do we stay conscious?

As Philippi was a Colony of Rome, so Paul reminded the Church at Philippi, that they were a colony of Heaven on earth, and that therefore they needed to conduct themselves as citizens of Heaven. This means that the Church must not compromise with the ways and standards of the world, and that we must stand together united in the Holy Spirit, and strive together to defend and promote the faith of the Gospel. When attacked, we are to stand firm and be confident in our proclamation of Christ. Our lack of fear in the face of persecution is a sign to unbelievers that God is with us, and that they are on the wrong side.

We also discuss the 3 kinds and levels of suffering. It is an honour to suffer for Christ, and God will always grant us the grace to stand strong in the face of persecution.

The Apostle Paul shares from his experience in Rome, of how God has used him to advance the Gospel there, even though he had been in chains for almost 2 years. In fact, God has used his chains to get the Gospel to all the 10,000 soldiers of the Praetorium Guard, as well as to many others in Caesar's Palace. Moreover, Paul's boldness to preach Christ, despite his chains, had stimulated all the Christians in Rome to witness with renewed boldness. We see how Paul handled his critics and competitors. Through it all, we see Paul's passion for the Gospel, and his willingness to die for Christ. His main concern was that, whether by life or by death, He would continue to glorify Christ, by staying true to Christ, and not being ashamed of the Gospel. For this to be fulfilled, he knew that he needed the generous supply of the Holy Spirit, which came in part through the prayers of the Philippians for him.

God wants our love to abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that we may approve the things that are excellent, that we may be sincere and without offence till the Day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. We explore the rich meaning of this inspired language, and how God wants us to be full of both grace and truth, and both pure in our heart motivations and blameless in our outward behaviour, as we seek to bring glory and praise to God.

Pastor Derek takes an in-depth look at the Messiahship of Jesus, showing how He fulfils all the prophecies of the Messiah, that speak of Him being the unique God-man, with the full anointings of Prophet, Priest and King. We discuss how His Messiahship is fully revealed in His 2 Comings - the Sufferings and the Glory. The first time He came to suffer and die for our sins and for our salvation, and He will return a second time to establish His glorious Kingdom on earth. He is the Lamb and the Lion. In connection with this Derek takes a detailed look at Matthew 16, when He announced the building of His Church on the Foundation of Himself and His death and resurrection, and Matthew 17, when He gave a prophetic preview of His Coming Kingdom through the Transfiguration.

We make a detailed verse by verse study of Paul's inspired prayer for the Philippians, discussing our fellowship in the Gospel, and how God's grace enables us to persevere in faith and grow spiritually. The God, who has begun a good work in us, will surely complete it in the Day of Jesus Christ!

After seeing how the Gospel is the fulfilment of the Year of Jubilee, we look at the dramatic story of how Paul planted the Church at Philippi during his 2nd Missionary Journey in Acts 16, when he brought the Gospel into Europe for the first time.

We discuss the history and strategic location of Philippi, as the gateway between Europe and Asia, and how it became a Roman Colony, with special status and rights. Likewise, the Church in every place is a Colony of Heaven, living by the laws and ways of Heaven, not of this world, representing the Kingdom of God to the world, showing forth an example of what life is like in the Kingdom of Heaven, and bringing the people under the influence of God.

In this letter, Paul opens his heart to the Philippians in a special way, because they had partnered with him in spreading the Gospel from the very beginning, when the Church was founded. Above all the other Churches, their heart was with Paul, and this was shown by their consistent support of him in prayer and financial gifts. In fact, the occasion for Paul to write Philippians was to thank them for the gift they had recently sent him, through Epaphroditus, to help sustain him in prison (1:5, 2:25-30, 4:10-19).

What does it mean to be a saint? What does it mean to be in Christ? What is the grace of God, and what fruit does it produce in our life? What is the Gospel? We explore these great themes, which Paul introduces at the start of His letter to the Philippians.

We study the background to Philippians in the Book of Acts, giving a potted history, leading up to Paul's imprisonment in Rome (AD 60 - 62), after appealing to Caesar. We see that Paul was in prison for preaching Jesus as the risen Messiah, and the key issue for him was the defence and confirmation of the Gospel. During these 2 years under house arrest, chained to soldiers, God used Paul's chains to bring the Gospel to the heart of the Empire, including to the whole Praetorium Guard and Caesar's Palace in Rome. Paul wrote Philippians near the end of these 2 years, on the threshold of his trial before Nero. He introduces himself as a slave of Jesus Christ. We discuss the issue of slavery, and what it means for us to be slaves of God.

According to Deuteronomy 28, the Curse of the Law includes every kind of sickness (v61), and Jesus redeemed us from the Curse by becoming the Curse for us when He hung on the Tree of Calvary (Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore, Christ has redeemed us from all sickness, having taken the curse of sickness when He hung on the Tree. This proves that Healing is in the Atonement. Healing therefore belongs to us in Christ, because it was purchased for us by the Blood of Christ.

To explain the removal of the Curse, in Galatians 3:13 Paul pointed to an Old Testament picture by quoting from Deuteronomy 21:21-23: “for it is written: "CURSED is everyone who hangs on a TREE.” Derek shows how Jesus fulfilled the picture in Deuteronomy 21 in removing the curse from us. He also gives some examples of this Deuteronomy Law in action in Joshua 7 and 8. Derek also shows how Christ's removal of sin and the curse is revealed through the Type of the SCAPEGOAT on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16.

Finally, we study another picture of what Christ accomplished through His Death and Resurrection in taking our CURSE and releasing to us His BLESSING in the ceremony of Joshua 8:30-35, following God's commands in Deuteronomy 11 and 27. (1) All the CURSE for breaking the Law was put on Mount EBAL, the place of Sacrifice, a picture of God putting all our Curse on Christ on the Cross. (2) All the BLESSINGS were placed upon and released from Mount GERAZIM, a picture of Christ’s Resurrection, when God blessed Him with every blessing on the basis of His perfect righteousness, which He received on our behalf, and gives freely to us. So (1) EBAL represents Christ in His Death on the Cross, where Christ became a CURSE for us, and (2) GERIZIM represents Christ in His Resurrection, when He received the BLESSING and released it to us. This is exactly what Galatians 3:13-14 tells us: “Christ has (1) redeemed us from the Curse of the Law, having become a Curse for us...that (2) the BLESSING might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.” Mount EBAL declares that Christ in His Death took all our curse (including sickness), so that we can receive the blessing from Mount GERIZIM, the blessing of abundant, eternal life flowing from Christ’s Resurrection. The BLESSING of healing can only flow to us, because Christ bore the CURSE of sickness for us.

Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of sickness, so that we might be blessed with the blessing of life and health. (1) By faith, we look to Mt. EBAL and see Christ redeeming us from the curse through His death. Then (2) we look to Mt. GERIZIM and see all the blessings of healing and life released to us in Christ through His resurrection, and we come to Him to receive our healing. The CURSES reveal what Christ has redeemed us from on the Cross. The BLESSINGS reveal what is ours now through His Resurrection. By faith in God’s Word we receive: (1) deliverance from the curse, and (2) the fullness of blessing. (1) Through faith in Christ’s Death for us, we are released from the power of the curse. (2) Through faith in His Resurrection, we receive the power of new life (blessing).

There is only one remedy for the curse – the Cross of Christ, where He redeemed us from the curse, having become a curse for us, so that we might receive the blessing of healing through faith (Galatians 3:13-14). The curse is the consequence of sin, and is described in Deuteronomy 28:15-61, and it includes every kind of sickness (v61). So every sickness is part of the curse, and Christ has redeemed us on the Cross from the curse. Therefore He has redeemed us from every sickness. So Divine Healing must be in the Atonement.

The removal of the Curse of Sickness through the Cross is revealed through 2 Types of Christ: (1) the Serpent on the Pole (Numbers 21) and (2) the man who bears the curse by being hung on a tree (Deuteronomy 21:21-23). In Galatians 3:13, Paul quotes from this passage, to explain how Christ took the curse for us on the Cross: "for it is written: “CURSED is everyone who hangs on a TREE.” A guilty man who committed a crime worthy of death was (1) executed, then (2) hung on a tree, and then (3) buried before sunset. In this way, the curse (defilement) of his sin was removed from the land. Derek shows how Jesus fulfilled the requirements of Deuteronomy 21 for the curse to be removed from us, by taking our place, bearing our sin, becoming a curse for us, and dying the death that we deserved, and being buried on the same day before sunset. Christ (1) died for us, (2) He was hung on a tree for us, and (3) He was buried on the same day, fulfilling the requirements of Deuteronomy 21 for the curse to be removed from us. So for sin and its curse to be removed from us it requires a sin-bearer to bear the curse by being nailed to a tree and becoming the curse, and suffering the penalty of death, and then he must be buried before sunset. This is exactly what Jesus did for us in His death and burial.

So God put in the Law in Deuteronomy 21 a picture of God’s remedy for the curse of sin, which Jesus fulfilled in His death and burial. Having removed the curse of sickness from us, He then poured out His blessing of healing upon us through His resurrection life.