Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

The central events of history are the Death and Resurrection of Christ. This book, filled with diagrams and photographs from Jerusalem, reveals exactly where these momentous events took place. The Bible will come to life as you see in detail how the Drama of Redemption was acted out on Mount Moriah in perfect fulfilment of Prophecy. This book is available from www.oxfordbiblechurch.co.uk and from Amazons. See also Derek's Youtube Videos: 'Mount Moriah and Golgotha' and 'Golgotha and the Garden Tomb'

In this Christmas special, the Bible Study team explore the full meaning of the Christmas Story in Luke 2 and Matthew 2. They discuss these questions and more: *What is the significance of the sign of the swaddling clothes? (Luke 2:7,12). *What was the special ministry of the Bethlehem Shepherds and why were they chosen to receive the angelic announcement? *What is the connection between Christ's Birth in Bethlehem and His Death in Jerusalem, between Christmas and Easter? (1Corinthians 5:7). *Who were the Wise Men (Magi), and why were they expecting the birth of the King of the Jews at that time, and why were they looking for His Star? *What was the Star of Bethlehem? Was it a comet, a supernova, a conjunction of planets, or a manifestation of the Glory of God? *If the Star was the Glory of God, then what was its connection with the other manifestation of God's Glory that took place at the same time? *How did the Wise Men know that this Star was Messiah's Star; what was so special about it? *How did the Star of Bethlehem fulfil in perfect detail the Prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17?

Mary, sister of Lazarus, gives us a wonderful example of someone who loves Jesus with all her heart. She sat Jesus feet to hear His words (Luke 10:38-42), and she anointed Jesus with costly perfumed oil shortly before His death to express her pure devotion to Him (Matthew 26:6-16, Mark 14:1-10, John 12:1-7). In John’s account, Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the perfume of the ointment. Matthew and Mark tell us that Mary also poured this very costly ointment on Jesus’ head. The costly ointment represents the great value that she put upon Jesus (it was worth 300 denarii - about 1 year's wages, Mark 14:5). His disciples thought it was a waste pouring all this expensive oil over His head and feet, for they did not value Him as highly as Mary did. She had seen Jesus raise her beloved brother Lazarus from the dead (John 11:44), and her heart was overflowing with gratitude, love and worship. The outpouring of the oil upon Jesus was symbolic of the outpouring of her spirit to Him. The disciples were looking at the outside, but Jesus was looking at her heart (1Samuel 16:7). He saw her PURE and devoted LOVE for Him. Mary demonstrated how much she valued Jesus by pouring out all this precious oil upon Him. If we put the Gospel accounts together, she anointed His head and feet, which is why He said: “she has poured this perfume upon My BODY to prepare Me for BURIAL” (Matthew 26:12). What a contrast between the murmuring disciples and Mary’s extravagant outpouring of love and deep gratitude to Jesus! It is good for us to be passionate (generous) towards our Lord Jesus. She poured the whole of the contents of the vial (not just a drop) over Jesus (Mark 14:3). Despite all the criticism and opposition, she would not allow them to stop her pouring out her heart in this wonderful, extravagant action. She refused to be intimidated by them, but was determined to pour out her whole soul before the Lord and to give Him all of her love. In His death, Jesus was about to POUR OUT His life and His blood for their sakes, and they were criticising her about the waste of this perfume POURED OUT on Him! He explained the significance of what she had done: “She has poured this ointment on My body for my BURIAL” (Matthew 26:12). It was appropriate that He received this selfless act of worship in view of the fact He was about to give up His body for death and burial, for our sake. Someone with a deep love and devotion to the Lord (like Mary) will know and perceive spiritual things that others who have less love for Him would miss. God showed her that it was needful for her to perform this act, for when He died the women wanted to anoint His body, but they could not because the Sabbath was about to start, and they had to wait until it was over. Then when they came to the tomb, Jesus had already risen from the dead, so it was important Mary anointed Him for burial in advance. We see from Jesus’ response to Mary’s act that He highly esteems and values PURE LOVE that is poured out upon Him. Her heart was so full of love and gratitude to Jesus that nothing was too much of a SACRIFICE. She wanted to show Jesus her deep, heartfelt, passionate LOVE by a GIFT and a DEED, and not just by WORDS.

Hilary shares her testimony of how God dramatically healed her and transformed her life.

There is a 2-fold experience of the Holy Spirit: (1) WITHIN and (2) UPON. (1) The Spirit WITHIN is for ourselves, our own life of holiness with God, whereas (2) the Spirit UPON is to empower us for ministry. Jesus (our example) was (1) born with the Spirit WITHIN but was not anointed with power until (2) He received the Spirit UPON Him at His Baptism, when He entered into His supernatural ministry. We see the same 2-fold pattern with the first Christians. (1) On the evening of His resurrection. Jesus breathed on them, saying “receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22), so this is when they were born again and received the Spirit WITHIN. But, they had not yet received the full experience of the Spirit, because He then started to prepare them to receive the Spirit UPON (Luke 24:47-49, Acts 1:4-5,8), which happened 50 days later on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). This 2-fold anointing of the Spirit comes from the very nature of our love relationship with the Lord (1John 4:7-8,19, Romans 5:5, Matthew 22:37-38, Deuteronomy 6:5, 1John 2:15-16). Flowing out of our love relationship with God should be a commitment to glorify His Name and help Him fulfil His mission in the earth; to be alongside Him in His work, and partner with Him as a co-labourer. Until the foundation of our love relationship with Christ is laid in our lives, our work for Him is an idol. We can substitute our ministry for loving Him, and end up serving Him in the flesh, rather than in the Spirit. When our love for the Lord is established as the first thing in our life, He can bring us into our ministry, without it becoming more important than Him. We must always keep Him as our first love, and not allow anything to become a substitute for our love-relationship with Him. Then, when we are ready, He will reveal His mission to us and cause us to dedicate ourselves to Him to do our part in fulfilling His mission on the earth, as part of our expression of our love for Him. God loves us and wants us to fulfil our full potential, and release all the gifts He has given us. So, when we dedicate ourselves to Him to fulfil His work, He anoints us with His Spirit UPON. His Hand comes UPON us to empower us to do the Great Commission and He releases spiritual gifts to flow through us. This way, we serve God in the newness and power of the Spirit, rather than from our soul (Romans 1:9, 7:6, Acts 1:8). The Samaritans also received the Blessing of the Spirit in 2 Stages. When Philip preached Christ to them, they received the Gospel and were saved and baptised (Acts 8:5-8,14,16, Mark 16:16), so they received the indwelling Spirit (Romans 8:9). They had the Spirit WITHIN, but not the Spirit UPON (Acts 8:14-16). This proves there is a 2-stage experience of receiving the Spirit WITHIN and UPON. Thus, the Baptism in the Spirit is a separate experience that follows after Salvation. When the apostles laid hands on them, they received the Spirit upon (v17). This came with outward evidence, because Simon (the magician) saw they had received the Spirit and offered money for the power to baptise people in the Spirit (v18-19), but Peter rejected his request (v20-21), saying: “you have neither part nor portion in this MATTER (‘logos’ = ‘word’ or ‘utterance’).” This confirms the outward evidence displayed by the Samaritan believers was praying in tongues. In Acts 9, the Apostle Paul also experienced a 2-stage reception of the Spirit: (1) He was SAVED when He met Jesus, and called Him Lord (v3-6a), and Ananias called him ‘brother’ (v17). For the next 3 days he was blind, while waiting for the Lord’s instructions (v6b-9). God told Ananias to go to him (v10-16), who laid his hands him to receive his sight and be FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT (v17,18). So, (1) was saved on the road to Damascus, but (2) only filled with the Spirit 3 days later. So, Paul also had a 2-stage experience, and when he was filled with the Spirit, he spoke with tongues (1Corinthians 14:18, Acts 2:4). In Acts 19:1-6, the Ephesians also had a 2-stage experience. First, Paul asked them: “Did you RECEIVE the HOLY SPIRIT when you BELIEVED?” (v2). This question in itself proves Paul believed in the 2nd Blessing. Their answer revealed they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit, so they could not have received Christian Baptism (Matthew 28:19), which brought into question if they were even saved. In fact, they had only received John’s baptism (v3). Then Paul preached Christ to them (v4), and they believed and were saved and baptised (v5), but even then, they had still not yet received the Spirit UPON, for that only happened afterwards, when he laid hands on them. Then “the HOLY SPIRIT came UPON them, and they SPOKE with TONGUES and prophesied” (v6). The Spirit comes upon us to empower us to prophesy, to testify to Jesus, and share the Gospel under the inspiration of the Spirit (Revelation 19:10), so God's power goes forth from us as we speak.

After the 1st disciples received the Spirit WITHIN (John 20:22), Jesus prepared them to receive the Spirit UPON 50 days later (Acts 2). He gave them the Great Commission, and promised to give them power to fulfil it by the Spirit UPON (Lk 24:47-49, Acts 1:4-5,8), which was fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), when they received the Baptism in the Spirit (Acts 11:15-16). Acts 2:3-4 is the classic blueprint for this Baptism. It gives a 2-fold description: (1) The Spirit coming UPON them as FIRE, and (2) being filled inwardly with the Spirit as they surrendered their souls to Him. Then as they yielded their bodies to Him by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave them the words, He came upon their flesh. By the power of the Spirit UPON us, when we share the Gospel, His Spirit shines forth from us, empowering our words, revealing Christ to men’s hearts. We activate His power UPON us by speaking His words, which release (ignite) God’s Spirit, causing Him to shine forth as light (fire). In this way, we release His power by our words. They all used oil lamps, that SHINE by the power in the OIL (a symbol of the SPIRIT). Likewise, the SPIRIT is the only source of true LIGHT. The FIRE upon them meant they were like burning oil lamps with the Spirit within and upon them, shining His light, the oil having been ignited at their mouths. To ANOINT means to apply OIL, so to be ANOINTED means having the OIL of the SPIRIT upon us (Lk 4:18). So, to SHINE we must be anointed with the oil of the Spirit, and then IGNITE that OIL by our WORDS. The power is not in our flesh, but the Spirit (2Cor 4:7). We have the power of ignition, causing Him to shine by speaking His words (Acts 2:3-4). After receiving Christ, we must embrace His mission to shine His light, and surrender our soul to Him, so His Spirit can fill us, come upon us, and empower us to fulfil our ministry. Our surrender is only completed by our obedience to yield our tongue to speak the words He supplies from within (v4). Peter declared Acts 2:4 fulfilled Joel 2:28-32, which prophesied the outpouring of the Spirit UPON all (believing) flesh (Acts 2:12-18), in conjunction with signs: “I will (1) show WONDERS in HEAVEN above, and (2) SIGNS in the EARTH beneath: blood, fire and vapour of smoke. (1) The SUN shall be turned to DARKNESS, and the MOON to BLOOD, BEFORE the Coming of the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord (the central event)” (Acts 2:19-20). Joel 2:28: “It shall come to pass AFTERWARD (after the central event, v31), that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.” Finally, he quoted the last line of Joel’s Prophecy in Acts 2:21: “whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Joel’s Prophecy predicted a sequence of events: (1) SIGNS in HEAVEN and EARTH, just BEFORE (2) the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord, AFTER which (3) the Spirit will poured out UPON all flesh. The purpose of the outpouring of the Spirit UPON all believers is to empower them to prophesy (speak under the inspiration of the Spirit), which we do when we witness to Jesus, for as we speak, we trust the Spirit upon us to anoint our words, speak through us and glorify Him (Rev 19:10). The aim of our Spirit-filled witness is that people will call on His Name and be saved (Acts 2:21). Peter claimed what happened was the fulfilment of the whole of Joel’s Prophecy (Acts 2:16), which he quoted in full (2:28-32), not just the bit about the outpouring of His Spirit. He declared the 3-fold sequence of events prophesied by Joel was now fulfilled: (1) The SIGNS on EARTH and in HEAVEN happened on the Day of the Cross, 2 days BEFORE (2) Christ’s RESURRECTION (the Great and Awesome or Manifest Day of the Lord), the main focus of Peter’s sermon. Then 50 days AFTERWARD (3) the Spirit was POURED OUT on all flesh. Thus, the promised Spirit was now made freely available to all, so if we put our faith in Christ, we too can receive the Gift of His Spirit (Acts 2:32-33, 38-39). Both SIGNS in the HEAVENS were fulfilled on the Day of the Cross: (1) the DARK SUN at noon, proclaiming Jesus as our sin offering (Luke 23:44-45), for the radiant SUN of righteousness (Mal 4:2), bore the darkness of sin on Himself, pictured by the midday sun made black, as predicted in Amos 8:9. Ancient historians recorded this strange supernatural darkness, dating it to AD 33. (2) The BLOOD MOON (Acts 2:20) = a lunar eclipse. On Passover of AD 33 (Friday, April 1st), in Jerusalem as the full moon rose above the horizon, it was a Blood Moon. So, Joel 2:30-31 was fulfilled on the Day of the Cross. Whereas the SUN = CHRIST, the SOURCE of LIGHT, the MOON = His PEOPLE, who, like the moon, shine by reflecting the SUN’s light. God proclaimed in the heavens that His People were now covered by the BLOOD! Acts 2:20 also speaks of SIGNS on EARTH: (1) ‘BLOOD’ = the BLOOD of CHRIST, corresponding to the BLOOD MOON. (2) ‘FIRE and VAPOUR of SMOKE’, because of the great earthquake and resulting FIRES from all the oil lamps in the dark.

Peter shares his dramatic testimony of how he dabbled in the occult through automatic handwriting and almost lost his mind, before called on the Name of the Lord Jesus, who gloriously saved him.

Pastor Derek shares how Christ accomplished a perfect finished work on the Cross, which established the basis for our full salvation through His Blood. This perfection is studied through its 3 aspects: (1) REDEMPTION (the sin-ward aspect), (2) PROPITIATION (the God-ward aspect), and (3) RECONCILIATION (the man-ward aspect). Christ (1) redeemed us from sin, the curse and the power of the enemy, and (2) made propitiation before God, fully satisfying the justice and wrath of God on our behalf, and (3) in Himself made a reconciliation between us and God, by means of the Great Exchange, whereby He took our sin and in return gave us His perfect human righteousness. When we receive Christ as Lord and Saviour by faith, then this perfect work on the Cross is automatically and immediately applied to us, so that we are justified and regenerated.

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.