|
|
Mirror Image Christian Academy Micah 4:1-4 THE TRAINING BASE STRUCTURE
KEY VALUES OF OUR TRAINING FOCUS A. THE ‘LIVING EPISTLE’ STRATEGY How can be best position ourselves to maximise the impact and volume of our lives? Isa. 40:9, Col. 3:1-3,16. The Throne Room is our point of departure and not our goal! Eph. 2:5,6. We are no longer praying towards the Throne Room but from the Throne Room! We are no longer trapped in a window shopping-mindset. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from the fading glory of the flesh to His glory.” 2 Cor. 3:18, Isa. 40:27-31. “Those who wait…,” Hebrew, KAWA, intertwine, mirror-reflect, resonate, they shall mount up with wings like an eagle. (Released eagle example) The theme of scripture is the Image and likeness of God revealed and redeemed in human form. “It is in Him that God gives a full and complete expression of Himself in a human body, our own completeness is only realised in Him.” Col. 2:9,10 Phillips Translation. The Incarnation-code. “The Word that was before time was, the Word that was with God, the Word that was God, became flesh and now dwells within us.” John 1:1,14, John 5:39, Heb. 1:1-3. “Christ is the crescendo of God’s conversation with man, He makes God visible in radiant reflection in human form.” Mirror Translation. (Master photographer example.) He is the total Word of God that proceeded from His mouth and did not return to Him void, He prospered in His purpose! Isa. 55:9-11. Man’s life cannot be sustained by bread alone, (the senses) but can only find definition in the original Word that proceeded out of His mouth. Deut. 8:3, Gen. 1:26,27. (The eye of the fountain, the original Logic of God.) God’s eternal purpose is redeemed, He will flood the earth with the knowledge of His glory, as the waters cover the sea. Hab.2:14, Eph. 1:10, Col. 1:15-22. “Write the vision, make it plain upon tablets, so that he may run who reads it! Righteousness by faith is the essence and energy of life.” Hab.2:2,4. Mobilise through revelation knowledge and not through a sense of guilt and obligation. 2 Cor. 5:14. God’s strategy is the life of the believer, “Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38. “You are living Epistles, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts, known and read by all men!” 2Cor. 3:2,3. “With the open statement of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience (joint seeing) while we preach not ourselves, we preach Christ.” 2 Cor. 4:2,5. The secret of the Acts church: “And the Word of God increased, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly…” Acts 6:7. “So the Word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily.” Acts 19:20. (This was 1500 years before the printing press!) 'Our expectation is, that as your faith increases our field among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the Gospel also in lands beyond you!' 2 Cor. 10:12,15,16. 1 Thes.1:5-8. The two-fold KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) Principle: The “seeing the many in the one” principle: Phillip joining the Ethiopian Chief Treasurer on a lonely road to Africa. Acts 8:26-35. Paul greets Epaenetus in Rom. 16:5 as his first convert in Asia. He associates a seemingly insignificant individual with the whole of Asia. The faithful men principle: 2 Tim. 2:2. “Able to instruct others also.” God connects Phillip with the most trusted man in Ethiopia! The man in charge of the Queen’s treasure was already familiar with treasure and value. As long as we do not underestimate the individual or judge a book by its cover, God always brings us in contact with key people, while we continue to treat the least as we would treat Christ Himself. 1 Cor.1:26-31, Acts 4:13. B. THREE-FOLD TRAINING FOCUS The Colossians 1:27-29 model: “We proclaim Christ in you, reminding (awakening) every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. For this I toil, striving with all the energy that He mightily inspires within me!” (Note the difference between a zeal for God and the zeal of the Lord: The zeal for God exhausts, the zeal of the Lord, ignites. Isa. 9:7, Rom. 10:2,3.) 1 We awaken every man’s heart to his redeemed original identity, “to make all men see.” Eph.3:9. 2 instructing every individual, bringing them into full enlightenment, “We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, (limited to the intellect) but taught by the Spirit, combining spirit with spirit.” 1 Cor. 2:13. (Because man is the god-kind, he is spirit compatible.) 3 in order that we may present everyone mature in Christ; a saint fully equipped for the work of the ministry. C. EVERY ONE IS REPRESENTED AND INCLUDED IN CHRIST “All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Ps. 98:3. If there is to be a geographical measure to the message, it can only include the ends of the earth. Good news is only relevant if you are represented. Because the Maker of mankind was camouflaged in Christ in human form, Jesus would be the only individual ever to represent all of Deity and all of humanity in one Person! Paul clearly saw the worth of every individual revealed in Christ. “One died for all, therefore all have died.” 2 Cor. 5:14,16. Based on that conclusion, Paul’s ministry is driven by the value God has placed on every man. He determines to no longer consider anyone from a human point of view, there can no longer be boundaries between people and races and cultures if the boundary between man and His Creator has succesfully been abolished in Christ. Eph. 2:14. God brought hostility to an end. He reconciled Himself to us while we were still hostile in our minds. “For grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Eph. 4:7. Peter is dramatically challenged in Acts 10:9-16, 28 to no longer call any man common or unclean. Paul encourages Titus “to speak evil of no man, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all men. For we ourselves were once ignorant. Because of our ignorance (not knowing our original identity, Deut. 32:18, James 1:24.) our unbelief deceived us, we became the slaves of all kinds of lusts and sensual pursuits, passing our days in envy and malice, distanced from one another by resentment and hatred. But when the goodness and God’s fondness for mankind was revealed to us, He rescued us!” Titus 3:2-4. The lost coin never lost its original value! In Luke 15 Jesus defends Himself against the accusation that He is ruining His reputation because of His friendship with sinners. All three parables repeat the same message: in the eyes of the original owner, no one has lost their original value. “Bring me a coin, whose image and inscription does it bear? Return to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar and (whose image and inscription does man bear?) return to God what belongs to God. Mankind is the property of God. A thief never takes ownership over stolen property. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell in it!” Ps 24:1, James 3:9. The devil is not man’s true father, he remains only the father of lies! D. ADDRESSING IGNORANCE Addressing ignorance in four defined groups: the indifferent, the non-Jewish religious people and those who are familiar with the Jewish context as well as ignorance in fellow believer’s. (Remember to always show perfect courtesy, avoid quarreling, you can win the argument but lose the person.)
“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a people who did not call on My Name. I spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious people.” Isa. 65:1,2. “Let your light so shine, that people will see your good works and realise God’s opinion (doxa, glory) of their lives.” Math.5:16. “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. For God lets His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethern, what more are you doing than others?” Math. 5:44-48. “Do you not know that it is God’s kindness that leads you to repentance?” Rom.2:4, Titus 3:2-5.
From unknown God, to tangible life. “The God you worship in ignorance, Him I proclaim to you. He does not live in buildings or structures that are man-made. For Him to be known in a tangible way beyond geographic-cultural boundaries and our own imagination, we must understand that we are indeed His offspring! Man began in God! He is not far from each one of us! “In Him we live and move and have our being!” He overlooked the ages of ignorance and now urges every man everywhere to come to his right mind (repent) so that he can understand that God judged the world in righteousness in one man, according to His purpose, and of this He has given assurance by raising Jesus from the dead. Acts 17:30-31. The reason He was raised from the dead was because mankind was declared innocent. Rom. 4:25. His body on the cross was a legal document that detailed the guilt of the human race. Col. 2:14,15. His raised body is the receipt of humanity’s acquittal. Acts 10:28,
Two Jewish disciples of Jesus who have just witnessed the horror crucifiction of their innocent Rabbi in Jerusalem, returns home to Emmaus with sad faces. What they saw did not match their doctrine and expectation. They are so blinded by their dissapointment that they failed to recognise Jesus who in the mean time joined them on their way in a resurrected body. In Luke’s interview he is very keen to find out exactly at what point Jesus revealed Himself to them. While He talked to them on the way, and pointed out how He fulfilled every prophetic scripture in His death and resurrection, their hearts burned with resonance and faith. When they arrived in Emmaus, it appeared that He was about to greet them politely, but they urged Him to come into the house and eat with them. Their meal around the table triggerred their understanding of their inclusion in His death and resurrection, suddenly their eyes were opened to see Him incarnated in them, just like the grains of wheat in the bread and the grapes in the wine became human cells in their eating and drinking, celebrating their future in a body of flesh, they realised that the single grain of wheat did not abide alone, but fell into the earth and died, and was raised again on the third day in them! Hosea saw it, “After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up!” Hosea 6:2. This is the only scripture in the Old Testament that speaks about the third day resurrection and it includes and reveals us in Him! While Phillip as a newly appointed deacon was serving tables, the prophetic shadow of the table in the wilderness, the table of the show-bread, was revealed in him. The next moment he finds himself ministering far beyond his job-description. A great revival breaks out in a city of Samaria under his ministry. Then God spoke to him to go south towards the continent of Africa on a lonely road. He finds an Ethiopian on a chariot returning home after worshipping at a Jewish festival in Jerusalem. Where did his Jewish belief begin? From rumour to revelation. Generations before, a Queen of Africa hears of the wisdom and wealth of a Jewish king. She travels all the way to Jerusalem to see for herself, and “behold,” she says, “the half has not been told!” 1 Kings 10:7. She returns with the Jewish scriptures of promise. Jesus says, “a greater than Solomon has come!” Luke 11:31. The queen of the South only met the prophetic shadow, now the Substance has arrived! Without Jesus we are only busy with half a book! When Phillip sees the chariot, he runs to join him and hears him read from Isaiah 53:7,8; then he asks a most important question, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The Bible has confused and divided more people than any other book! We can be busy with the right book but extract the wrong message. The letter kills, it is the Spirit that gives life. All of the Bible is about Jesus and all of Jesus is about us! God had us in mind all along! “He was wounded for our transgressions, the chastisement that brought us peace was upon Him and by His stripes we were healed!” Isa. 53:5. The question the Chief Treasurer asks is most relevant to understanding all scripture, “Who does the prophet have in mind, himself or somebody else? And beginning with that scripture, Phillip told him the good news about Jesus!” The mystery of the cross reveals our co-inclusion in His death and resurrection. It reveals how the enemy was stripped of his armour and rendered entirely useless! The only possible power a defeated foe can asume, is what man gives him again through man’s own ignorance and unbelief. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel! The devil believes most of what we believe in our creeds, he has no problem even with us believing the historic information about the life, death and third day resurrection of Jesus, as long as we fail to understand what he didn’t realise, that when Jesus died, mankind died, when he was raised, we were made alive together with Him, and raised together with Him and seated together with Him in heavenly places! The devil employed our ignorance and blindfolded us with our own unbelief.
Priscilla and Aquilla took Apollos into their home and expounded to him the way more accurately, without giving offense or trying to shoulder him out of the way. They acnowledged his gift and skill in the ministry. He already had his own pulpit and was an eloquent preacher. Acts 18:24-28. When the Galatian church who bagan in faith started showing signs again of pursuing old Jewish traditions, Paul sternly rebuked them. He knew that even a little leaven neutralises faith. In Col. 2 Paul reminds us that all Jewish festivals, new moons and sabbaths (weekly, monthly or anually) have come to an end in Christ. These rituals were only prophetic shadows, Christ is the substance. E. UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LAW OF WORKS AND THE LAW OF FAITH (The obedience of works, obligation- and guilt-driven, or the obedience of faith, passion- and value-driven) THE AIM OF THE SCHOOL It is our mandate to establish the individual in the dynamics of faith and divine encounter, through revelation-knowledge. It is about equipping and mobilising ordinary people to discover themselves in God and to impact their community and ultimately their generation with the Presence, and Power and Blessing of God. We believe that the Bible is about a Divine Romance: The central theme and revelation of the Bible celebrates a relationship between God and man of the highest order, a union of absolute integrity, with no hint of distance, inferiority, guilt, condemnation or suspicion. The sacred moment, when for the first time in the history of the universe, the invisible Creator reflected His image and likeness in a fragile vessel of flesh became the reference of a presence and purpose in the earth that would dominate mankind's spiritual history and destiny. Genesis 1:26,27,31. The revelation of the Gospel shows how God preserved the blueprint of our design in Christ in spite of mankind's fall into sin. Our eternal association in Christ from before the foundation of the earth was redeemed. Eph.1:4,5. God has found us in Christ before He lost us in Adam! The message of reconciliation emphasises the initiative that God undertook and reveals how God succeeded to restore fallen man to Himself in innocence. 1 Cor.1:30, 2 Cor.5:18,19, Romans 1:16,17. Man exists to be in union with his Maker; in his very make-up he is the God-kind, created for Divine companionship and encounter. Mankind is God's love dream. Ephesians 1:5. In Christ God dealt with every possible excuse man could have to feel separated, neglected or distanced from God; He is the highway in the desert that Isaiah saw: every high place was brought down, every valley filled up, every crooked place made straight, even the rough places was made smooth! Is.40:3-5, Luke 3:4-6. In His death on the cross He prepared a place for us so that we may be where He is: John 14:2,3,20, 'In that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in Me and I in you!' Col.1:21,22, 3:3, 2 Cor.5:19. 'God was in Christ when He reconciled the world to Himself.' The Bible can only be a studied in the light of mankinds redemption; all of the Bible is about Jesus, and all of Jesus is about us!
Your light, your saltiness, your faith, your good works, your feet, your hands, your five loaves and two fish will get the job done! 'Our competence is of God.' (How competent is God?) 2 Cor 3:5. 'All this is from God'. 2Cor 5:18.'Of God are you in Christ.' 1Cor 1:30 'Unless the Lord build the house, those who build it, labour in vain. Psalm 127:1. 'On this Rock will I build My church!' Mathew 16:18. 'For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure.' Philippians 2:12,13. 'We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God pre-designed to make it natural and easy for us to walk in!' Ephesians 2:10 “It is not a new doctrine that we are teaching, it is the Word that was from the beginning, yet it is new, therein, that what is true in Christ is equally true in us!” 1 John 2:7,8. “As He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. “The conclusion is clear: it took just one offence to condemn mankind; one act of righteousness declares the same mankind innocent. The disobedience of the one man exhibits humanity as sinners; the obedience of another man exhibits humanity as righteous.” Rom. 5:18,19 Mirror Translation. If this radical statement of Paul is accurate, then it leaves us with one urgent mission, to announce to the same mankind who deserved judgement and condemnation, the truth about their redemtion as it is revealed in Christ. |
This site is designed and maintained by Remnant Voice © 2005 All Rights Reserved.