Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

Should Christians participate in Halloween? Is it just some harmless fun or is it sinister in nature? Peter shares about the origin, history and nature of Halloween.

The Purpose of the Baptism in the Spirit is to receive power to communicate God’s blessing (life) to others (Acts 10:38). Once we receive His Spirit upon, we carry His power, and release it by speaking His words. We must have (1) His WORD in our heart and (2) His Spirit UPON us, to empower our words. By His death, Jesus purchased the Blessing of the Spirit, and then He ascended to Heaven on the resurrection morning (John 20:17) to appear before the Father to receive the Spirit on our behalf. Later that day He started giving the Spirit to His disciples - first, the Spirit WITHIN in John 20:21-22: “As the Father has SENT Me, I also SEND you.” When He had said this, He BREATHED on them, and said to them: “receive the Holy Spirit.” This is the Great Commission in JOHN. The 1st Blessing brings us into God’s Kingdom, which must come before being empowered to be His ambassador (2nd Blessing). Thus, His teaching up to that point focused on preparing them to receive the Spirit within. But once they received this 1st Blessing, He prepared them to receive the 2nd Blessing 50 days later, the BAPTISM in the SPIRIT, when they received POWER for ministry. So, the evening they received the Spirit within (John 20:22), He then talked about their MISSION, and the POWER He would give them to fulfil it (Luke 24:46-49) - the Great Commission in LUKE. Though they received the Spirit within, they had yet to receive the Spirit UPON, to empower them to witness. In the 40 days, He gave them their mission in greater detail. This is in all 4 Gospels and Acts. Mark 16:14-20 tells us what He said a week later (John 20:26-29) - the Great Commission in MARK, which says God works with us, as we SPEAK His WORD. Matthew 28:18-20 records what He told them later in Galilee - the Great Commission in MATTHEW. "I will be WITH you always" (v20) refers to His anointing with power as we go (Acts 10:38). Then at the end of the 40 days, He again gave them instructions for their mission in Acts 1:4-8 - the Great Commission in ACTS. He said the Spirit would come upon them giving them POWER to WITNESS (the Baptism in the Spirit). This was fulfilled a few days later (Acts 2:1-4). As we WITNESS, we release His POWER. So, the apostles RECEIVED (1) the Spirit WITHIN on the evening of the Resurrection (John 20:22), and then (2) the Spirit UPON 50 days later at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).

One picture of sharing the Gospel is SHINING the LIGHT of CHRIST. The whole world is in darkness (1John 5:19), and so its greatest need is for us to SHINE the LIGHT of the GOSPEL (John 8:12,12:46). Jesus calls us to SHINE our LIGHT (Matthew 5:14-15). This is a command to PREACH the GOSPEL. We SHINE the LIGHT by our WORDS. This is different from doing good WORKS. Our WITNESS is VERBAL, but our WORKS are also important, for they back up our witness, giving it credibility. In a trial, a witness necessarily gives verbal testimony. Matthew 5:16: "Let (1) your LIGHT (witness to Christ) so SHINE before men, so that (2) they may see your GOOD WORKS, and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We are to glorify God both through our (1) LIPS and (2) LIFE (works). So, God commands us to witness with our lips (shine His light), and live in a way that our lifestyle fits our words, so people will believe us. Good works SUPPLEMENT, but do NOT SUBSTITUTE for our verbal witness. ‘Let your light SHINE’ means OPEN your MOUTH! This describes what happens in the spiritual realm when we witness, for the power of the Spirit radiates out of us as we speak His Word. We WITNESS by our WORDS (Phil 2:15-16), backed up by our WORKS. Isaiah 59:20 - 60:3: “My SPIRIT UPON you, and My WORDS, which I have put in your MOUTH, shall not depart from your MOUTH... Arise, SHINE; for your LIGHT has come and the GLORY of the LORD is risen UPON you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you and His GLORY will be seen upon you. Gentiles shall come to your LIGHT...” This says we SHINE in the darkness by SPEAKING God’s WORDS in the POWER of the SPIRIT. 2Corinthians 4:4-7: “…the LIGHT of the GOSPEL of the GLORY of CHRIST, the image of God, should SHINE on them. For we do not PREACH ourselves, but CHRIST Jesus the Lord. For the same God who COMMANDED LIGHT to shine out of darkness (He released LIGHT by speaking His WORD), who has SHONE in our HEARTS (through the spoken WORD of the GOSPEL) to give the LIGHT of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this TREASURE (the power of the Spirit to shine the Light of Christ through the Gospel) in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the POWER may be of God and not us.” We have the power of the Spirit upon us, and when we SPEAK the WORDS of the GOSPEL, we ACTIVATE this POWER (Acts 1:8), so goes forth with our WORDS to penetrate and illuminate their hearts (Romans 1:16). When we share the GOSPEL, His LIGHT SHINES out of us by the power of His SPIRIT, for as we SPEAK, His POWER is released with our WORDS.

Should Christians participate in Halloween? Is it just some harmless fun or is it sinister in nature? Peter shares about the origin, history and nature of Halloween.

Derek explains how Israel is central to the fulfilment of Bible Prophecy.

In Matthew 24:37-39 Jesus confirmed that Noah's worldwide Flood actually happened and that it is a type of the future worldwide judgment of the Tribulation, which will be initiated by the Coming of Christ. Life before the Tribulation will be like the days before the Flood, with much of humanity living godless lives, when they will suddenly be taken by surprise by the sudden onset of the judgments of the Day of the Lord, just as in the days of Noah, when the people were taken by surprise by the sudden release of the judgment of the Great Flood. Just before Noah's Flood fell, God provided a rescue for all the believers in the Ark, lifting them above the scene of judgment (the whole earth). Likewise, just before the worldwide judgments of the Tribulation are released, God will rescue all the believers by the Coming of Christ, our Ark of Salvation, who will receive us to Himself in the Rapture, lifting us up into His Presence, well above the scene of judgment (the whole earth).

In light of the present war between Israel and Hamas Derek explains the importance of Israel, God's purposes for Israel, and what might develop from this present situation (the Ezekiel 38 war).

God prepares us for our ministry and releases our spiritual gifts through a process of TRANSFORMATION (2 Corinthians 3:16-18, Romans 12:1-8). Pastor Derek explains how this process works. As we dedicate ourselves to God to serve Him, His Spirit will anoint us to serve Him according to His good pleasure, so that the will of God is accomplished in our life.

God's BLESSING is the impartation of His SPIRIT, giving life; God’s life working within and upon us. We were made to live by His blessing, empowering us to live, thrive and be fruitful. The opposite is curse (absence of life, death). Righteousness brings blessing, but sin brings curse. In Adam, all were under sin's curse, but Christ gave us His righteousness, so we can receive His blessing. When we received Christ, His blessing came into us, recreated our spirit and His Spirit now lives in us. There is also a 2nd Blessing (the Baptism in the Spirit), the Spirit upon, empowering us to multiply ourselves and be fruitful. In Scripture, His Blessing is always 2-fold: (1) for our own life, and (2) to empower us to reproduce ourselves in others. There is a vital connection between Blessing and Seed. Blessing works through seed to produce multiplication (Genesis 1:11-12). It is spiritual power. The seed is the natural thing it acts on to produce new life. The blessing is released through sowing seed, and seed is ineffective if not empowered by the blessing.

God released His blessing on all His creatures by sowing His seed (speaking His Word): “God BLESSED them, SAYING.." (v22). He blessed them (1) to thrive (v20-21), and then (2) multiply (v22). His blessing is released and goes forth through His words. His Spirit works with His Word. This is the key to release His Blessing. God is BLESSED, and releases His BLESSING by SOWING SEED. Likewise, He made each animal multiply according to its kind or seed (v24-25). When He created man, He imparted the same 2-fold Blessing: (1) WITHIN and (2) UPON. (1) First, He created man, blessing him with life (v26-27), by imparting His Spirit WITHIN (2:7). (2) Then God blessed man a 2nd time, empowering him to be fruitful and multiply - imparting life to others (v28).

God’s 2-fold Blessing through Adam at Creation is parallel to His 2-fold Blessing through Christ (the 2nd Adam) in the New Creation. (1) At our New Birth, He breathed His Spirit WITHIN, through the sown seed of the Gospel. (2) At our Baptism in the Spirit, He put the Blessing of His Spirit UPON, empowering us to impart life to others, by sowing the words of the Gospel. In both cases, He released His blessing by His words (blessing is voice activated). We are God’s image, and so release His blessing the same way: (1) We must be BLESSED with the Spirit upon, and (2) have SEED to sow. Then as we sow it, we release the blessing of life. The WORD and SPIRIT work together unto fruitfulness. Abram received the Promise of this 2-fold Blessing (Genesis 12:2,3), to be transmitted through His Seed (Genesis 22:17-18). This was fulfilled by Christ, who received the full Blessing, within and upon, on our behalf, to freely give us. The New Covenant Blessing is called the BLESSING of ABRAHAM and PROMISE of the SPIRIT (Galatians 3:13-14). It is 2-fold: (1) blessing for our own life, by the Spirit WITHIN, and (2) blessed to be a blessing to others by the Spirit UPON. This 2-fold Ministry of the Spirit was prophesied in Ezekiel 36:26-27 and Joel 2:28-29. Isaiah 59:20-21 describes how this Covenant Blessing is transmitted, by (1) the Spirit UPON, (2) released by speaking God’s WORDS.

Jesus received and operated in the full 2-fold Promise of the Spirit: (1) born of the Spirit, with the Spirit within, and then (2) baptised in the Spirit, when He received the Spirit upon empowering Him to bless others (Luke 3:21-22, Luke 4:18-19). He is our example, for He said: “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you” (John 20:21). He gives us the same mission to bless others through the Gospel, and so anoints us with the same Spirit upon, and like Him, we release this power by sowing His words (Acts 1:4,5,8). The purpose of the Spirit upon is to give us power to witness, released through our words (Romans 1:16), which transmit the power into men's hearts. This power upon is potential (Acts 1:8), which we activate and release, by speaking His words. It goes forth with our words, making them effectual. We need both the Word in our heart and the Spirit upon to empower our spoken words, so they enter men’s hearts with power to illuminate, convict and save. The Parable of the Sower describes how God's Kingdom works. The sower sows God's Word in men’s hearts. If received, the seed produces new life in them (1Peter 1:23,25). After Jesus was baptised in the Spirit, He became the first Sower, speaking God’s Word, releasing the Spirit's power, giving life to men (John 6:63). He then told us all to continue His mission by sowing His Word in the same power of His Spirit. The earth (man's heart) needs 2 things to bring forth fruit: (1) SEED (the Word) and (2) WATER (the Spirit). So, we need to sow the Word and release the Spirit to minister life to men (John 7:37-39). The Baptism in the Spirit empowers us to speak for Him (Acts 1:8), so His Spirit flows forth with the spoken word, causing it to be effectual in producing fruit in people’s hearts.

Pastor Derek shares on how you can prepare to serve the Lord and enter into your ministry.