EPISODE 129 – DO YOU UNDERSTAND IT? 2
Apostle Bennie
Wednesday 31st May, 2023
DO YOU UNDERSTAND IT? 2
” And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?” Acts 8:30 (KJV)
Any one who thinks he doesn’t need a teacher to understand the Bible has not understood the Bible or has not read the Bible at all.
When you truly study the Bible or the Holy Scriptures, you will know the importance of a teacher of the Word in your life.
You will have questions and you will need a teacher to help you build proper foundation of spiritual understanding.
The Ethiopian Eunuch was reading the book of Isaiah, yet he didn’t understand. He was humble enough to allow Philip to teach him.
“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 8:30-37 (NKJV).
There is no student of the Word who was self-made.
Anyone who has great understanding of the scriptures was first guided.
Imagine reading the scriptures consistently without understanding what you read.
It will be frustrating and discouraging. You may think it is not relatable, and doesn’t have the answers for your now life. Or you may force yourself to create your own interpretation, which will lead to falsehood.
This is why when you become born again, you have to be consistent in the community of the saints, where the revelation of Jesus is exalted. The goal of the scriptures is to reveal Christ. (See Christ the Centricity of the Scriptures).
From the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, you can see the message Philip preached was Jesus. He is the central theme of the scriptures.
It is great to have a personal experience of Christ. Nevertheless, this experience must be grounded on sound doctrine.
No one becomes born again, and automatically, has sound doctrine without being part of the community of Christ, where the word of God is rightly divided.
In the book of Acts, after Peter and the apostles had preached, all those who got saved were added to the Church.
For which purpose, they were to be taught the true revelation of Jesus and be built in the new and living way.
“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:41-42 (NKJV).
What are the apostles’ doctrine (teaching)?
The focus of the message or teachings of the apostles is the revelation of Jesus and the expression of His life.
You don’t understand the scriptures alone. As you have personal study, you also submit yourself to be taught in a Christ-centred church community.
This is how you begin to grow in the knowledge of Christ.
So we are charged through the scriptures, esteem they who labour in teaching you the word (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)
Selah
DIG DEEPER:
(Acts 8:26-30; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11; Jeremiah 23:4; 2 Timothy 2:2; Acts 18:18-28)
WE PRAY:
Dear Lord, please teach me more on how to esteem my Pastor/Teacher.
BIBLE READING
Day 119: 2 Kings 14-15
DECLARE THESE WORDS:
– I remain submissive to the teachings of my Pastor/ Teacher.
– I don’t bring my personal opinion into the word.
– I submit myself in my local church, to be trained and taught rightly God’s word.
– I don’t take the teachings of my Pastor/Teacher lightly.
– I grow in the understanding of the teachings I receive from my Pastor/ Teacher.
Oh Hallelujah, GLOREEEEY!
There is no student of the Word who was self-made.
Anyone who has great understanding of the scriptures was first guided so I choose to be guided by my teacher Apostle Bennie
Thank You Jesus, I grow in the understanding of the word of God. I continually give myself to the teachings of my Pastor.
I grow in the understanding of the word by the holy spirit. I give my ears to the teachings of my Pastor.
This truth cannot be changed. This is an important truth. No one grows by himself. You need to be rightly guided. Thank you so much Sir.
Wow, it is so amazing that everyone who has a great understanding of God’s word wa first of all guided.Indeed even my personal experience with God which I want to share with others must no be outside the Word of GodThere is no situation in my life that has no solutions in the Word of GodIt is my responsibility to esteem those et above me and teaches me the gospel.Imagine if Philip had not listened to the word of God. That would mean that the euniuch would not have been saved.I saw this up the internet today and I was overwhelmed;Church tradition says that the Ethiopian eunuch evangelized by Philip in Acts 8 spread the gospel as he returned to Africa. Church fathers as early as Irenaeus in A.D. 180 mention the eunuch evangelizing his homelandGLORY TO GOD!!!!
I take heed of the flocks which our Lord Jesus Christ ha made me an overseer.
Also, Christ has invested so much in us not only to get us born again and saved, but rather for the equipping of the saints and works of ministry.
It is our responsibility to walk out of complacency.
Wow, shepherds set over us are suppossedn to keep us away from fear and any form of lack .
Like Priscilla and Acquilla, whenever we hear omeone preaching a gospel different from the one we believe or know of, we hould not hesitate to draw cloer to the person or invite the person over so that in much love, wisdom and discernment , help the person to come to the knowledge of the truth.
OH GLORY TO GOD
Wow, we have to set our hearts on the championship.
For example, the best that God wants us to do, Johoas, was a good king, but not up to David’s standards.
Humility is key. Amaziah should have heeded Joash’s advice and humbled himself before Joash – 2 Kings 14:11-11. Amajya does not accept a “no” answer. King Joash of Israel yielded and agreed to fight Amaziah, king of Judah. They met in the Judean city of Beth Shemesh.
But Amajya did not give up. This is clear from 2 Kings 14:17-18.
2 Kings 14:17-18
17-18 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah reigned fifteen years after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. rest of life
Whenever God wants to save a nation, he sends men out as seen in 2 Kings 15:26-27.
2 Kings 15:26-27 God was well aware of Israel’s troubles, very troubled times. No one, slave or commoner, was exempt, and there was no hope of help anywhere. But God did not want Israel’s name erased from history, so he used Jeroboam, the son of Joash, to save Israel.
Azariah appeared to be doing well in God’s eyes, but he did not destroy the temple. Interestingly, he had a terminal illness. It is recorded in 2 Kings 15:1-5.
2 Kings 15:1-5 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah began to rule over Judah. He was 16 years old when he began his reign and had been king in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother’s name was Jecoria. She was from Jerusalem. In the eyes of God, he has done good by following in the footsteps of his father Amaziah. But he also failed to remove local sexual and religious sanctuaries. They were still very popular with the people. God afflicted the king with a terrible skin disease until he died. Although he lived in a palace, he was no longer serving as king. His son Jotham headed the government and ruled the land.
Well, one of the key things I learned from the following scriptures is that I should do my best for God and not be afraid of conflict. Jehoas and Jotham, being good kings, did not ask their people to destroy the temple, which encouraged sexual immorality and idolatry.
2 Kings 14:3-4
3-4 He lived according to God’s will and did what was right. However, he did not live up to the standards of his forefather David. Rather, he lived widely like his father Joash. Local sexual and religious sanctuaries continued to trade with those who visited them.
2 Kings 15:32-35
32-35 Jotham son of Uzziah became king over Judah in the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Lemaria king of Israel. He became king at the age of 25 and ruled Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. He did good before God and followed in the footsteps of his father Uzziah. However, he did not block traffic to nearby sex and religious shrines. They remained as popular as ever. His task was to build a high gate to the temple of God.
Wow, we have to set our hearts on the goal.
For example, the best that God wants us to do, Johoas, was a good king, but not up to David’s standards.
Humility is key. Amaziah should have heeded Joash’s advice and humbled himself before Joash – 2 Kings 14:11-11. Amajya does not accept a “no” answer. King Joash of Israel yielded and agreed to fight Amaziah, king of Judah. They met in the Judean city of Beth Shemesh.
But Amajya did not give up. This is clear from 2 Kings 14:17-18.
2 Kings 14:17-18
17-18 Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah reigned fifteen years after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel. rest of life
Whenever God wants to save a nation, he sends men out as seen in 2 Kings 15:26-27.
2 Kings 15:26-27 God was well aware of Israel’s troubles, very troubled times. No one, slave or commoner, was exempt, and there was no hope of help anywhere. But God did not want Israel’s name erased from history, so he used Jeroboam, the son of Joash, to save Israel.
Azariah appeared to be doing well in God’s eyes, but he did not destroy the temple. Interestingly, he had a terminal illness. It is recorded in 2 Kings 15:1-5.
2 Kings 15:1-5 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah began to rule over Judah. He was 16 years old when he began his reign and had been king in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother’s name was Jecoria. She was from Jerusalem. In the eyes of God, he has done good by following in the footsteps of his father Amaziah. But he also failed to remove local sexual and religious sanctuaries. They were still very popular with the people. God afflicted the king with a terrible skin disease until he died. Although he lived in a palace, he was no longer serving as king. His son Jotham headed the government and ruled the land.
Well, one of the key things I learned from the following scriptures is that I should do my best for God and not be afraid of conflict. Jehoas and Jotham, being good kings, did not ask their people to destroy the temple, which encouraged sexual immorality and idolatry.
2 Kings 14:3-4
3-4 He lived according to God’s will and did what was right. However, he did not live up to the standards of his forefather David. Rather, he lived widely like his father Joash. Local sexual and religious sanctuaries continued to trade with those who visited them.
2 Kings 15:32-35
32-35 Jotham son of Uzziah became king over Judah in the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Lemaria king of Israel. He became king at the age of 25 and ruled Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. He did good before God and followed in the footsteps of his father Uzziah. However, he did not block traffic to nearby sex and religious shrines. They remained as popular as ever. His task was to build a high gate to the temple of God.
It is so sad that the people of Israel did not heed to the voice of God by getting rid of the foreign gods.
It is so intriguing that the people amidst all the warnings and signs went back to worship other foreign gods as seen in 2nd Kings 17 32-33 They honored and worshiped God, but not exclusively—they also appointed all sorts of priests, regardless of qualification, to conduct a variety of rites at the local fertility shrines. They honored and worshiped God, but they also kept up their devotion to the old gods of the places they had come from.
But finally, a king rises up and decides to get rid of them. It is so wonderful that the bible clearly shows us that he did not follow the evil ways of his ancestors but rather was to the standard of David.
18 1-4 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz began his rule over Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. In God’s opinion, he was a good king; he kept to the standards of his ancestor David. He got rid of the local fertility shrines, smashed the phallic stone monuments, and cut down the sex-and-religion Asherah groves. As a final stroke he pulverized the ancient bronze serpent that Moses had made; at that time the Israelites had taken up the practice of sacrificing to it—they had even dignified it with a name, Nehushtan (The Old Serpent).
WHY WILL HEZEKIAH STOOP SO LOW TO SUBMIT TO THE KING OF ASARIA?
DID HE DOUBT THE POWER OF GOD TO DELIVER ISREAL EVEN FROM FIERCE BATTLES?
CHECK THIS OUT IN 2ND KINGS 18 verses 13-14 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the outlying fortress cities of Judah and captured them. King Hezekiah sent a message to the king of Assyria at his headquarters in Lachish: “I’ve done wrong; I admit it. Pull back your army; I’ll pay whatever tribute you set.”
14-16 The king of Assyria demanded tribute from Hezekiah king of Judah—eleven tons of silver and a ton of gold. Hezekiah turned over all the silver he could find in The Temple of God and in the palace treasuries. Hezekiah even took down the doors of The Temple of God and the doorposts that he had overlaid with gold and gave them to the king of Assyria.
I refuse to submit or conform to the systems of this world amidst presures.
THE CHURCH MUST STAND UP AND REFUSE TO BOW TO BAAL/ THE god OF THIS WORLD.
Indeed there is nothing new under the sun. THe world might try to make you feel that you are far behind but fellow brethren please hold unto what God has said.
Numbers 23 verse 19
New International Version
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
1 Corinthians 2 verse 9
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him—
I DONOT REMAIN SILENT. MY BOAT IS IN MY LORD AND THE FLEETING PLEASURES OF TIME
36 The people were silent. No one spoke a word for the king had ordered, “Don’t anyone say a word—not one word!”
37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, and Shebna the royal secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the court historian went back to Hezekiah. They had ripped their robes in despair; they reported to Hezekiah the speech of the Rabshakeh
Thank you Lord Jesus that I have pastors and leaders feeding me with your divine truths and understanding.
I wholly submit to their teachings and guidance to be enlightened.
I remain submissive to the teachings of my Pastor/ Teacher.
I don’t bring my personal opinion into the word.
I don’t take the teaching of my Pastor or teacher lightly.
I grow in the understanding of the teachings I received from my pastor or teacher.
Glory to God!
Hallelujah
I submit myself to my Pastor to be taught and trained.
Glory to God
Gloryy
I remain submissive to the teachings of my Pastor/ Teacher.