Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 21 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 31: “Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers?”)

By admin On February 9th, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 21

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Come Out of Her, My People!

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Part 31:

“Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers?”

To read Part 1, click here… “May 12th (Come Out of Her, My People?)”

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“And He gave some, apostles;

and some, prophets;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PaulT.jpg

and some, evangelists;

and some, pastors and teachers; 

For the perfecting of the saints,

for the work of the ministry,

for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

Till we all come in the unity of the faith,

and of the knowledge of the Son of God,

unto a perfect man,

unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”

Ephesians 4:11-13

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Paul – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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GOD GIVES US SHEPHERDS

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Listen again to our signature passage for today…

“And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;

and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 

For the perfecting of the saints,

for the work of the ministry,

for the edifying of the body of Christ…”

Ephesians 4:11-13

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In this above passage, the Lord promises to provide apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, “till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”

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David the Shepherd Boy – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables”

2nd Timothy 4:3, 4

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The problem is, with today’s innumerable company of pastors and teachers, and evangelists, and prophets, and even self-proclaimed apostles, just who are we supposed to listen to?http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:At_a_loss.svg

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After all, there are many different opinions about the Bible, and what it teaches.

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And the Apostle, John, warns us, that there are many Antichrist deceivers out there…

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And his 1st letter stands as a warning…“These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.” 1st John 2:26

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So then, just who do we listen to? 

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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

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“WE NEED NOT ANY MAN!”

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Well, in the very next verse, the Lord, through the Apostle John, supplies the answer…

“But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you,

and ye need not that any man teachhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cano_-_San_Juan.jpg you:

but as the same Anointing teacheth you of all things,

and is truth, and is no lie…”

1st John 2:27

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Okay, so this above verse reveals that it is the anointing power of the Holy Spirit which leads a Believer into all truth.

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And those who are true worshipers of God are reassured here, that they do not need to be under the tutorship of any mortal man!

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John The Apostle – by Alonzo Cano – 1635-1637 – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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TWO CONFLICTING PASSAGES?

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But how are these two passages to be harmonized together? After all, one tells ushttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:At_a_loss.svg that God has supplied us with, “teachers, Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors…” Ephesians 4:12, 13

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So how does this harmonize with John’s admonition that we, “need not that any man teach” us?

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Well, the fact is, there are no more Apostles around today (even though many, today, claim to be modern-day Apostles).

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So that cancels out the possibility of apostles edifying us! 

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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

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.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Magnifying_glass_on_book_icons

But let’s just get right to the point of today’s devotional. 

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Magnifying Glass – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

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90% OATMEAL

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The fact is, today’s church-world is so apostate, that it is highlyhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOatmeal.jpg recommended that Christians turn off the radio and TV teachers altogether and stick with the Bible and the Bible only.

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Oh yes, you are going to get many Bible truths from these people!

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But how are we going to discern between truth and falsehood?

.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOatmeal.jpg

Even mice poison is mingled with 90% oatmeal.

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And Satan knows that to sell his poisonous deceptions, he must mingle them with much truth!

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Oatmeal – copyrighted but permissable for use – wikimedia commons

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.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:At_a_loss.svg

But this brings us back to the question…“How do we harmonize Paul’s confirmation that the Lord will supply us with human teachers, and John’s confirmation that we need not any man to teach us, if we are indwelt by God’s Spirit?”

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Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_040327-N-1261P-058_Navy_Chaplain,_Lt._Marc_Massie_assigned_to_Naval_Mobile_Construction_Battalion_Seventy_Four_(NMCB-74)_studies_his_Bible_for_an_upcoming_service.jpg

“Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors”

Psalm 119:24

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The answer is very simple!

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We can simply study the Bible and the Bible only, and still be aided by, “Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers”!

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Because, as you have probably already realized, the Bible contains all the above offices in the various Bible writers!

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Chaplain reads Bible – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Peter_Brandl_1724_National_Gallery_Prague.jpg

APOSTLES

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Oh yes, the Bible has the writings of Paul, Matthew, John, and Peter! Were they not Apostles?

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Yes, they were Apostles of the first order!

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St Peter – Brandl – 1724 – National Gallery Prague – Wikimedia Commons

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PROPHETS?http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Full_Book_of_Isaiah_2006-06-06.jpg

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And doesn’t the Bible have the writings of prophets?

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Absolutely! Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with prophets and their prophecies!

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As a matter of fact, every book of the Bible is prophetic!

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Book of Isaiah – Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License

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EVANGELISTS?

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And doesn’t the Bible have the writings of evangelists?

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Well, of course! Paul, Peter, Luke, Mark, James, Philip, and all the rest!

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They were the best of the best of all evangelists!

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St Paul Preaching in Athens (Raphael, 1515) Wikipedia US public domain

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PASTORS?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PaulT.jpg

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And Paul was certainly a pastor!

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And didn’t Jesus say to Peter, “Feed My sheep”?

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Yes, Peter and Paul were pastors in the truest sense of the name!

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Paul the Apostle – Artist – Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier – circa 1500s – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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TEACHERS?

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And of course, every one of the Bible writers was a teacher!

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Paul Tentmaking – La Vista Church of Christ – Creative Commons License

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COMPLETE HARMONY

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-06831.jpgAnd so, this is how the Christian can fulfill Ephesians 4:11-13, and still hold to 1st John 2:27.

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Now we have complete harmony between these two passages.

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And with the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, how can we go wrong?

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Listen again, 

“But the Anointing which ye have received of HIM abideth in you,

and ye need not that any man teach you:

but as the same Anointing teacheth you of all things,

and is truth, and is no lie,

and even as it hath taught you,

ye shall abide in HIM.”

1st John 2:27

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Yes, the Anointing, that is, the Holy Spirit, can teach us any and every necessary truth we will need to get us through the coming storm!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE!”  

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And God is now calling His people to come out of this City of Confusion, and fleehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_The_Flight_of_the_Prisoners.jpg to the spiritual Mount Sion, to take their stand with all those who, “follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth.” Revelation 14:4.

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And we need not fear to make our end-time exodus out of these apostate organizations.

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It is increasingly unsafe to be under the authority of the apostate churches!

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But God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory!

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Yes, our heavenly bread shall be given, and our waters of grace are assured! 

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James Tissot – The Flight of the Prisoners – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audience_hands_etropolis2014.jpgTO READ PART 32, CLICK HERE…

DECEMBER 23 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 32: “What Good Is Church, If The Holy Spirit Has Been Removed?”)

Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prayer_Mother_and_Daughter.jpg

TODAY’S PRAYER 

“Dear Lord, Help me to come out of this Babylon of confusion, and worship Thee 100%. Give me the assurance that all my needs will be supplied on the spiritual mountains outside of the churches…

Prayer – Mother and Daughter – Wikipedia – (cropped image) the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… ”May 17th (The Marinated Christian!)”, or you can also read this shorter article…“March 29th (Preaching to the Wrong Church!)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

 

.picture - soldiers of the cross - armor up!

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

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“HOLY-GHOST-RIDER CONSTELLATION”

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“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;” Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22

Holy Ghost Rider (above western horizon)

Holy Ghost Rider (above western horizon)

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As you can easily see, this horse has some very big ears. Of course, this presents a very big concept. And since this Rider represents the Holy Spirit, it is obvious that He is leaning close, as if to whisper His words in the horses ears. And so what is He (The Spirit) whispering in this horses ears? Well, primarily the messages to the 7 churches, found in Revelation Ch.’s, 2 & 3.

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But not everyone has ears to hear. Listen to Ezekiel… “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.” Ezek. 12:2. Yes, the rebellion amongst God’s professing people was great, and they had all but closed their ears from hearing truth.

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Well it’s the very same problem in the New Testament. Listen to Jesus… “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 7:16.

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So this Rider whispering into this Horse’s ears is a heavenly picture of this concept… “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;” Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22.

Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation.

Now the great lesson to be learned, is that there are certain truths, which those who are rebellious in God’s house, will not be able to hear. And these messages to the 7 churches are those very types of messages, that many “Christians” just do not like to hear.

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And so, what is the bottom line. Well, it would be a very good idea, for each and every one of us to humble ourselves before God, and plead with Him to give us spiritual ears to hear these deeper truths which God is trying to tell us.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Harold_Camping#/media/File:Judgment_Bus_New_Orleans_2011.jpgTOMORROW…

DECEMBER 22 (Apocalypse NOW! Part 13: “The Signs of the Times?”)

Judgment Bus New Orleans 2011 – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…

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This is a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50 year long series of 90 minute nightly talk shows…Here is presented Open Forum show #38

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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, and tags, etc.. Most Images cropped & reduced in size.

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