Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). As well as teaching us what it means to be a good neighbour this Parable reveals the Gospel in code. It also gives a hint that Jesus will return after 2 DAYS (2000 years).

The word BAPTISE means IMMERSE. There are 3 foundational Christian BAPTISMS: (1) Baptism into Christ, (2) Baptism into Water, and (3) Baptism into the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Although we received the Spirit WITHIN at salvation, we also need to receive the Spirit UPON to empower us to be a witness (the Baptism in the Spirit). The PURPOSE of this Baptism is to RECEIVE POWER to fulfil the great commission. After salvation, the next step is to embrace Christ's mission, and surrender our soul and body to God to receive His supernatural power to be His witness. This fulfils of the 2nd part of the Blessing of Abraham: “I will (1) BLESS you (salvation), and (2) you will be a (channel of) BLESSING (to others)” (Gen 12:2). This 2-fold BLESSING of the new creation follows the same pattern as man’s original creation (see Genesis 1:27, 2:7 and Genesis 1:28). Likewise, (1) God first BLESSES us with His Spirit WITHIN (at our New Birth), then (2) He wants to BLESS (empower) us to be a BLESSING by His Spirit UPON, so we can go forth and multiply ourselves by fulfilling the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-18, Matt 28:18-20). He promised to give us the POWER of the SPIRIT to do that (Luke 24:48-49, Acts 1:8). This Baptism is God’s empowerment (blessing) upon us to be a blessing, to communicate His life and blessing to others through the Gospel. God released and communicated the BLESSING by speaking WORDS of life (Genesis 1:28). Likewise, having received His power through this Baptism, we transmit the BLESSING of the SPIRIT to others through our WORDS. As in physical multiplication, we MULTIPLY ourselves spiritually by the transmission of blessing (life) through the SOWING of SEED (God's words).

God wants us to be filled with His Spirit (Eph 5:18), for we can't (1) live the Christian life, and (2) be a witness in our own strength. This Baptism is God’s POWER upon us for the PURPOSE of fulfilling God’s mission for our life, that is centred on the great commission. There is a 2-fold RECEIVING of the SPIRIT, as seen in Acts: We receive (1) the SPIRIT WITHIN at salvation, and then (2) the SPIRIT UPON at the Baptism in the Spirit. The same Spirit we receive at salvation wants to come upon us and clothe us with His power. So there is an experience subsequent to salvation of being baptised in the Spirit.

*1. Old Testament Prophets gave a 2-fold promise of the Spirit, called the Promise of the Father, that would be fulfilled in the New Covenant: (1) The New Birth and Spirit WITHIN all believers, for our personal connection with God, blessing and holiness (Ezekiel 36:26-27). (2) The Spirit UPON all believers, to empower them to be a blessing to others (Joel 2:28-29). In the Old Testament, although some prophets, priests and kings had an anointing of the Spirit UPON, no believer had the Spirit WITHIN, and so, even for those with the Spirit UPON, this was not necessarily permanent. The prophecies say in the New Covenant established by Christ, (1) all believers will have the Spirit WITHIN, and also (2) the SPIRIT UPON will be available to all.

*2. John the Baptist announced Christ as the One who will bring this Promise of the Spirit to fulfilment. He is the first to use the phrase: ‘Baptism in the Spirit’ and so these verses are definitive as to its meaning. He used the analogy of Baptism in WATER to describe the Baptism in the SPIRIT: “I indeed BAPTISED (immerse) you IN WATER, but He will BAPTISE you IN the HOLY SPIRIT” (Mark 1:8, Matt 3:11, Luke 3:16). This tells us JESUS is the Baptiser (Agent), who baptises us in the MEDIUM of the HOLY SPIRIT. So just as John immersed men in water, so the water covered them, so when Christ baptises us in the Spirit, we will be immersed (covered) in the Spirit. Thus, this Baptism is the Spirit UPON. Likewise, Jesus said in Acts 1:5: “John truly BAPTISED IN WATER, but you shall be BAPTISED (immersed) IN the HOLY SPIRIT not many days from now.”

*3. Jesus was baptised in the Spirit when He was baptised in water. He did this as our example, representative and pioneer, showing what He wants to do for us: “the HOLY SPIRIT descended in bodily form like a dove UPON Him” (Luke 3:22). His experience proves there is a 2-fold experience of the HOLY SPIRIT: (1) He already had the SPIRIT WITHIN Him from His conception, but (2) only when He was baptised did He receive the SPIRIT UPON Him, clothing Him with the supernatural power He needed to fulfil His ministry. John 1:32-33: “John bore witness, saying: “He who sent me to BAPTISE with WATER said to me: ‘UPON whom you see the SPIRIT descending, and remaining UPON Him, this is He who BAPTISES IN the HOLY SPIRIT.” The same Jesus, who received the Spirit UPON Him, baptises us in the Spirit. Thus, as the Father baptised Jesus in the Spirit, so Jesus baptises us in the Spirit. He described the result of His BAPTISM in the SPIRIT in Luke 4:18: “The SPIRIT of the Lord is UPON ME, for He has ANOINTED Me to PREACH the Gospel to the poor; He has SENT Me to HEAL...”

In Matthew 24:37-39 Jesus confirmed that the Genesis account of Noah's Flood was a true historical account, and He used it as a picture and warning of a sudden future judgment coming upon the whole world (the Day of the Lord). He also said that just as God rescued the believers in Noah's day from judgment through Noah's Ark, so God will also provide salvation from the coming judgment for those who believe His Word and trust in His Ark of Salvation - Jesus Christ. Derek shares the many ways that Noah's Ark is a picture of Jesus Christ, showing how when we trust in Christ for salvation we enter into Christ and come under His atoning blood, and pass from judgment into new life. Just as Noah's Ark bore the floods of judgment, protecting those within, so Christ has borne the judgment we deserved and paid the penalty for our sins with his Blood. The only way of salvation from God's wrath is to be in the Ark. This typology was confirmed by Peter in 1Peter 3:20-21. Just as Noah, having passed through the Flood, entered into a new covenant with God, where God promised not to pour out His waters of wrath again, so in Christ we enter into a New Covenant of peace with God, where He promises never to be angry with us again (Isaiah 54:7-10). Just as God gave Noah the Rainbow as the sign that he is now under a covenant of grace, so now God's throne to believers is a throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), and indeed God's throne in Heaven is surrounded by a Rainbow (Revelation 4:1-3), signifying God's multifaceted grace toward us.

After saying: the just shall live by faith" (Hebrews 10:38), in Hebrews 11, Paul describes what it means to live by faith by giving illustrations from the lives of a number of the Old Testament heroes of faith, who pleased God. These men who have run their race are now the clouds of witnesses in the grandstands of Heaven, inspiring us as we run our race on earth (Hebrews 12:1-2). Their lives witness to us and give us an example of how to please God by living by faith. Derek reveals a number of key aspects to the life of faith, by looking at the first few of these heroes.

(1) The foundational thing that they all had in common was that they believed in CREATION - that this universe was created by the invisible God through his Word (Hebrews 11:3, see Genesis 1).

Then (2) ABEL teaches us that true faith in God must be based in the BLOOD of Christ (v4, see Genesis 4:2-8, Hebrews 9:22, 12:22-24). Abel trusted in the grace of God for his salvation on the basis of the blood of the Sacrifice, whereas Cain tried to earn his place with God based on his own works (a picture of man-made religion).

Then (3) ENOCH shows that walking by faith means a life lived in FELLOWSHIP with God. Through his faith Enoch pleased God, because he continually came to God, seeking to draw close to God to know Him better, believing in God's goodness, that He would reward him by fulfilling his desire (v5,6). As a result he walked with God for 300 years (Genesis 5:21-24).

Then (4) NOAH shows us that living by faith means we are called to cooperate with God in saving as many as possible in the world we live in. He built an Ark of Salvation and a WITNESSED to his world as a preacher of righteousness (v7, 1Peter 3:20, 2Peter 2:5).

Then (5) ABRAHAM shows us that living by faith means OBEDIENCE to God, when He calls us out from our old life into a new life where we have to trust God and His promise (v8).

Then (6) the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) show us that a life of faith means being focused on and motivated by a HEAVENLY HOPE, even their eternal heavenly home, the City of God (v9-10,14,16), rather than what this world has to offer (v13,15).

Then (7) SARAH shows us how we RECEIVE the PROMISES of God by faith, by judging Him faithful who had promised (v11), causing us to be fruitful for God (v12).

Finally (8) ABRAHAM proved his faith by demonstrating that he loved God more than the most precious thing in his life, by being willing to SACRIFICE his beloved son Isaac to God, trusting God to resurrect him (v17-19, James 2:21-22). Likewise, the ultimate test of our faith in God and love for God is whether we are willing to SURRENDER what is most precious to us, and trust it into God's hands, for Him to resurrect as and when He pleases.

God became a Man in the Person of Jesus Christ. He is God, the Son, and the Son of God. Jesus is the central Person in the Bible, our Saviour and the Source of Eternal Life, and we must believe in Him and come to Him to receive salvation and eternal life (John 5:39-40, 1John 5:11-12). Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9), and only God can be our Saviour, so if Christ came to save us He must be God. Pastor Derek shares a number of Scriptures in the New Testament, which show that Jesus is fully God as well as fully man, and that believing in His Deity is necessary for salvation.

In John 1:1,14, He is introduced as the Eternal Word made flesh, and later Jesus says that we receive eternal life through believing in Him - the God-man (John 3:16, 6:47, 20:31). In Romans 10:9, Paul tells us that those who confess: "Jesus is Lord" from a believing heart are saved. Derek shows that this is a confession of Christ's Deity and our submission to Him. In John 20, Thomas gives us a picture of saving faith, when he worships Jesus saying: "My Lord and my God" (v28). In John 8:58-59, Jesus claimed to be the I AM, and in John 8:24, He said: "If you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” When Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, the Jews tried to stone Him to death, because they knew He was claiming equality with God (John 5:18). His response was to affirm that He should be honoured just as the Father is honoured (v23).

In Matthew 16:15-18, Jesus declared that receiving, embracing and confessing this revelation from God that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God is the key to be blessed with forgiveness and eternal life and become part of His true Church, built upon the Rock (Christ Himself).

Romans 10:13 says "all who call on the Name of the Lord (Jesus) shall be saved." This is a quote from Joel 2:32, where 'Lord' translates 'Jehovah.' Thus this says Jesus is Jehovah God, and that we are saved through believing and calling upon Him as our Lord God. Thus saving faith must include knowing and submitting to Jesus as our Lord and our God.

"Life and death are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). Jesus said that with our tongues we either bring forth good or evil things in our lives (Matthew 12:34-37). The course of our life and our spiritual growth is greatly determined by our use of our tongue. James 1:22-25 tells that we must not just be hearers, but also doers of the word and that we will be blessed in our doing (obedience). Then he highlighted the control of our tongue as being of first importance in doing God's word (v26), and later he devotes James 3 to explaining and illustrating the power of the tongue and the importance of us controlling it, so that we only speak the good and not the evil. Derek expounds James 3 explaining the wonderful examples given by James, including horses, ships, fires, wild beasts and springs.

We should be on a journey of ever growing faith (2Thessalonians 1:3). The Bible promises if we SEEK God we will FIND Him. (1) First, we discover Him as the almighty CREATOR of the universe and of us. We are created by a Personal God, the FATHER, who wants us to know Him. (2) Then, we discover He has revealed Himself in His Word, and ultimately in His SON, Jesus Christ, and we come to know Him as our SAVIOUR. (3) Then, His SPIRIT comes to indwell us and He works in our life as our SANCTIFIER, transforming us from glory to glory.

Likewise, there are 3 LEVELS of FAITH: (1) GENERAL FAITH in God - His existence and character, His power and goodness, which is the basis for HOPE (Hebrews 11:6). (2) SPECIFIC FAITH that comes to God (on the basis of general faith) and receives His promises (TRUST), for example Hebrews 11:11, Mark 11:24, Hebrews 4:16. But (3) the highest level of faith is trusting God, even in times of testing, when all seems lost. This is the expression of faith manifested in the loyalty of LOVE. We see this kind of faith exemplified by Abraham offering up Isaac, when he passed the ultimate test of faith, when he proved his love for God (Genesis 22, Hebrews 11:17-19). This Level 3 Faith was also exemplified by Habakkuk (3:17,18), and by Job in the midst of his trials (James 5:11). These 3 LEVELS of Faith are illustrated in Daniel 3:16-18: (1) general faith in the character of God ("our God is able to deliver us"), (2) specific faith in the promise of God ("He will deliver us from your hand, O king"), and (3) trusting God and staying loyal to Him, even if it means suffering loss ("even if He does not deliver us, we will not bow down to any other god").

The origin and basis of Holy Communion is the Passover Meal, for in it we remember Christ our Passover Lamb, who was sacrificed for us. He fulfilled the prophetic picture of Passover, for by His Blood He released us from slavery to sin and from the dominion of the kingdom of darkness, and sets us free to live a new life with Him. Derek describes the original Passover in Exodus 12. The Passover Lamb provided 2 things: (1) the BLOOD, when applied, provided forgiveness for sin and protection from judgment, and (2) the FLESH, when eaten, provided physical healing for their bodies (Psalm 105:37). The type of Passover was fulfilled by Jesus who died as our Passover Lamb (1Cor 5:7). (1) He gave His BLOOD for us, to establish a New Covenant with God, providing forgiveness from sin and deliverance from Divine Judgment, and (2) He gave His FLESH to us, providing strength, health and life. In Communion, the WINE and the BREAD represents His BLOOD and His BODY (flesh) given for us. As there was healing in the Passover, so there is healing in Communion, which is the New Testament equivalent to the Passover Meal, for Jesus instituted Communion at a Passover Meal. At the Last Supper, Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper (Communion) as the Memorial Feast of the New Covenant in His Blood by saying: “DO THIS in REMEMBRANCE of Me” (Luke 22:19, 1Cor 11:23-26). He transformed the Passover Meal into its New Covenant fulfilment, showing how all its details were prophetic pictures of how He would fulfil the Passover through His death and resurrection.

Pastor Derek describes and demonstrates the detailed Order of Service for the Passover Meal, and relates it to Jesus' words and actions at the Last Supper. In particular he shows how the Afikomen provides a wonderful picture of the Gospel. The AFIKOMEN (representing the Son of God) is brought forth from the MATZA TOSH (the Godhead). Only the MIDDLE PIECE of the 3 pieces of bread (the Trinity) comes into manifestation (the AFIKOMEN), which represents CHRIST, the SON, coming forth out of God and revealed in human form, while the Father and Spirit remained invisible. The AFIKOMEN is a picture of Jesus: (1) UNLEAVENED BREAD (He is the SINLESS bread of life), (2) STRIPED, and (3) PIERCED. The AFIKOMEN was (1) BROKEN, signifying Jesus broken for us on the Cross – His DEATH (Luke 22:19a), and then it was (2) WRAPPED in a cloth, and hidden from sight (signifying His BURIAL). Later, the AFIKOMEN was brought forth from its hiding (burial) place. This symbolised Jesus appearing again, having been resurrected on the third day. Luke 22:19: “Jesus took BREAD (the AFIKOMEN = the resurrected Christ), gave THANKS, BLESSED it and BROKE it, and GAVE it to the disciples and said: “TAKE, EAT; this (AFIKOMEN) is My BODY, which is GIVEN for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” The Afikomen is eaten after its death, burial and resurrection, so in Communion the bread that we eat represents the risen Christ, who was blessed with every blessing on our behalf. Thus we partake of His blessed resurrection life. The Communion Bread is the Afikomen, representing the resurrection life of Christ, given to us. Jesus interpreted the Afikomen as Himself, risen from the dead and giving Himself to us to eat. When Jesus divided up (broke) the bread and gave it to the believers, this represented the resurrected Christ dividing, distributing and giving Himself to us to eat, saying: “I am the BREAD of LIFE” (John 6:35,48).

Then came the 3rd CUP of SALVATION: “He took the CUP, after supper saying: “This CUP is the New Covenant in My Blood, which is shed for you...Then He gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying: “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Luke 22:20, Matthew 26:27,28). This is the CUP of BLESSING that we drink at Communion (1Cor 10:16,17). Christ has GIVEN HIMSELF to us through His BLOOD and His RESURRECTION LIFE, and now it's up to us to EAT of His LIFE, and DRINK DEEPLY from His CUP of SALVATION and BLESSING.

The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8) is the master Parable of Jesus, describing the operation of God's Kingdom in this Age. God works through the seed of His Word, being sown into the soil of men's hearts, producing good fruit, therefore: "He who has ears, let him hear, and keep on hearing, the Word" (Mark 4:9, 23). The harvest of fruit produced depends on the measure of priority, hearing and attention that we give to His Word: "He who has ears, let him hear, and keep on hearing the Word: "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure (of hearing and attention) you use, it (fruit) will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has (ears to hear God's Word), to him more (fruit) will be given; but whoever does not have (ears to hear), even what he has will be taken away from him” (Mark 4:24-25).

Pastor Derek shares from the 3 classic passages on the Rapture of the Church (John 14:1-3, 1Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1Corinthians 15:50-58), showing how it will take place in 2 phases, heralded by 2 trumpet blasts. The first blast will resurrect the dead in Christ, and then cause them to rise to meet the Lord in the air. The second blast will cause those who are still alive to receive immortal bodies, and then be caught up to meet Christ also.