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

In Matthew 24:37-39 Jesus confirmed that Noah's worldwide Flood actually happened and that it is a type of the future worldwide judgment of the Tribulation, which will be initiated by the Coming of Christ. Life before the Tribulation will be like the days before the Flood, with much of humanity living godless lives, when they will suddenly be taken by surprise by the sudden onset of the judgments of the Day of the Lord, just as in the days of Noah, when the people were taken by surprise by the sudden release of the judgment of the Great Flood. Just before Noah's Flood fell, God provided a rescue for all the believers in the Ark, lifting them above the scene of judgment (the whole earth). Likewise, just before the worldwide judgments of the Tribulation are released, God will rescue all the believers by the Coming of Christ, our Ark of Salvation, who will receive us to Himself in the Rapture, lifting us up into His Presence, well above the scene of judgment (the whole earth).

In light of the present war between Israel and Hamas Derek explains the importance of Israel, God's purposes for Israel, and what might develop from this present situation (the Ezekiel 38 war).

God prepares us for our ministry and releases our spiritual gifts through a process of TRANSFORMATION (2 Corinthians 3:16-18, Romans 12:1-8). Pastor Derek explains how this process works. As we dedicate ourselves to God to serve Him, His Spirit will anoint us to serve Him according to His good pleasure, so that the will of God is accomplished in our life.

God's BLESSING is the impartation of His SPIRIT, giving life; God’s life working within and upon us. We were made to live by His blessing, empowering us to live, thrive and be fruitful. The opposite is curse (absence of life, death). Righteousness brings blessing, but sin brings curse. In Adam, all were under sin's curse, but Christ gave us His righteousness, so we can receive His blessing. When we received Christ, His blessing came into us, recreated our spirit and His Spirit now lives in us. There is also a 2nd Blessing (the Baptism in the Spirit), the Spirit upon, empowering us to multiply ourselves and be fruitful. In Scripture, His Blessing is always 2-fold: (1) for our own life, and (2) to empower us to reproduce ourselves in others. There is a vital connection between Blessing and Seed. Blessing works through seed to produce multiplication (Genesis 1:11-12). It is spiritual power. The seed is the natural thing it acts on to produce new life. The blessing is released through sowing seed, and seed is ineffective if not empowered by the blessing. God released His blessing on all His creatures by sowing His seed (speaking His Word): “God BLESSED them, SAYING.." (v22). He blessed them (1) to thrive (v20-21), and then (2) multiply (v22). His blessing is released and goes forth through His words. His Spirit works with His Word. This is the key to release His Blessing. God is BLESSED, and releases His BLESSING by SOWING SEED. Likewise, He made each animal multiply according to its kind or seed (v24-25). When He created man, He imparted the same 2-fold Blessing: (1) WITHIN and (2) UPON. (1) First, He created man, blessing him with life (v26-27), by imparting His Spirit WITHIN (2:7). (2) Then God blessed man a 2nd time, empowering him to be fruitful and multiply - imparting life to others (v28). God’s 2-fold Blessing through Adam at Creation is parallel to His 2-fold Blessing through Christ (the 2nd Adam) in the New Creation. (1) At our New Birth, He breathed His Spirit WITHIN, through the sown seed of the Gospel. (2) At our Baptism in the Spirit, He put the Blessing of His Spirit UPON, empowering us to impart life to others, by sowing the words of the Gospel. In both cases, He released His blessing by His words (blessing is voice activated). We are God’s image, and so release His blessing the same way: (1) We must be BLESSED with the Spirit upon, and (2) have SEED to sow. Then as we sow it, we release the blessing of life. The WORD and SPIRIT work together unto fruitfulness. Abram received the Promise of this 2-fold Blessing (Genesis 12:2,3), to be transmitted through His Seed (Genesis 22:17-18). This was fulfilled by Christ, who received the full Blessing, within and upon, on our behalf, to freely give us. The New Covenant Blessing is called the BLESSING of ABRAHAM and PROMISE of the SPIRIT (Galatians 3:13-14). It is 2-fold: (1) blessing for our own life, by the Spirit WITHIN, and (2) blessed to be a blessing to others by the Spirit UPON. This 2-fold Ministry of the Spirit was prophesied in Ezekiel 36:26-27 and Joel 2:28-29. Isaiah 59:20-21 describes how this Covenant Blessing is transmitted, by (1) the Spirit UPON, (2) released by speaking God’s WORDS. Jesus received and operated in the full 2-fold Promise of the Spirit: (1) born of the Spirit, with the Spirit within, and then (2) baptised in the Spirit, when He received the Spirit upon empowering Him to bless others (Luke 3:21-22, Luke 4:18-19). He is our example, for He said: “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you” (John 20:21). He gives us the same mission to bless others through the Gospel, and so anoints us with the same Spirit upon, and like Him, we release this power by sowing His words (Acts 1:4,5,8). The purpose of the Spirit upon is to give us power to witness, released through our words (Romans 1:16), which transmit the power into men's hearts. This power upon is potential (Acts 1:8), which we activate and release, by speaking His words. It goes forth with our words, making them effectual. We need both the Word in our heart and the Spirit upon to empower our spoken words, so they enter men’s hearts with power to illuminate, convict and save. The Parable of the Sower describes how God's Kingdom works. The sower sows God's Word in men’s hearts. If received, the seed produces new life in them (1Peter 1:23,25). After Jesus was baptised in the Spirit, He became the first Sower, speaking God’s Word, releasing the Spirit's power, giving life to men (John 6:63). He then told us all to continue His mission by sowing His Word in the same power of His Spirit. The earth (man's heart) needs 2 things to bring forth fruit: (1) SEED (the Word) and (2) WATER (the Spirit). So, we need to sow the Word and release the Spirit to minister life to men (John 7:37-39). The Baptism in the Spirit empowers us to speak for Him (Acts 1:8), so His Spirit flows forth with the spoken word, causing it to be effectual in producing fruit in people’s hearts.

Pastor Derek shares on how you can prepare to serve the Lord and enter into your ministry.

Ephesians 5:18 commands us: "Be being filled with the Holy Spirit." Pastor Derek explains what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and how we can be filled with the Spirit of God, and the difference it will make in our lives.

The Promise of the Spirit in the New Covenant has 2 aspects, as exemplified by Jesus: (1) The Spirit WITHIN, at the New Birth. (2) The Spirit UPON, at the Baptism in the Spirit. The apostles received the Spirit in 2 stages. (1) In the evening of His resurrection day they received the Spirit WITHIN (John 20:22). (2) Then 50 days later they received the Baptism in the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), when He came UPON them. Acts 2:33 says Christ only gave His Spirit (within and upon) after His Ascension. But if it was 40 days after His resurrection, how could He give them the Spirit on the resurrection evening? The solution is there were 2 Ascensions: (1) His 1st Ascension on the resurrection morning (John 20), and (2) His 2nd Ascension 40 days later (Acts 1). *The 4 Purposes for His 1st Ascension: *1. To fulfil the Feast of FIRST FRUITS, He had to ascend to Heaven and present Himself to God as the First Fruits from the dead, on the day of His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). *2. To appear before God’s throne to receive ALL AUTHORITY (Daniel 7:13-14). During the 40 days, in Matthew 28:18-19, He claimed He had already received this authority, so He must have ascended at the start of the 40 days. This is confirmed by Ephesians 1:19-22 which connects together His resurrection, ascension and receiving all authority as the result of a single working of God's mighty power. Also Philippians 2:9-11. The authority He received included the authority to receive and pour out the Holy Spirit. *3. To present His BLOOD in the heavenly Holy of Holies, as the final and full satisfaction for our sin, and for the New Covenant to come into full operation, including the Promise of the Spirit (Hebrews 9:11-15). Although He died and rose again, He had to accomplish the final consummation of His atoning work in Heaven, by taking His Blood into God's throne room and sprinkling it there, where it speaks for our forgiveness and grace (Hebrews 12:24). He had to do this before giving the New Covenant Gift of the Spirit to us. He is given not on our merits, but on the basis of His completed atonement, which was not consummated until His Blood was sprinkled in Heaven. So the giving of the Spirit testifies the Blood has availed for us, to cleanse us from sin and purchase the blessing of the Spirit (1John 5:6). So the Spirit could not be given before the Blood was presented in Heaven at His 1st Ascension (Acts 2:33). Having purchased our redemption, He ascended and presented His Blood in Heaven, for acceptance by the Father as the seal of His completed work. Only then could He receive the Spirit to pour out on all who believe. *4. To receive the Promise of the Spirit from the Father on our behalf, in order to pour Him out within and upon His people. This required Him to ascend to Heaven (Acts 2:33) and be glorified with all authority, power and glory (John 7:39), which must have happened on the resurrection morning (John 20:22). So He first ascended to Heaven, before returning to earth for 40 days. That is why He was able to impart the indwelling Spirit to His apostles that evening (John 20:22). The Purpose of this 1st Ascension was to officially inaugurate the New Covenant in Heaven, by presenting His Blood there, making it fully operational, as confirmed by His words to Mary, as He was about to ascend. He revealed He was ascending, and that the purpose of His Ascension was to complete the establishment of our New Covenant relationship with God. John 20:17: “Do not touch Me for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to MY BRETHREN and say to them: ‘I AM ASCENDING to My Father and YOUR Father, and to My God and YOUR God." The reason He did not allow Mary to touch Him was that He was ascending to offer Himself to God as the First Fruits. So it was not appropriate for her to touch Him. This holy offering included many saints who were raised with Him (Matthew 27:52-53). So, at His 1st Ascension, (1) He offered Himself to God as the First Fruits, the Head of the new creation of humanity, and (2) presented His Blood (which purchased and guaranteed every blessing of salvation and the Spirit for us) as the basis of the New Covenant, He was accepted by God on our behalf as our representative Man. (3) He then received all authority from God, including the right to pour out His Spirit upon all who believe. (4) Therefore, at this time, He also received the Spirit from the Father on our behalf, along with all the blessings in the New Covenant. Therefore, He now has the authority to pour out His Spirit on all those in Christ, who submit to His Headship. That is why, that evening, He was able to impart the Spirit into His disciples (John 20:22). Then He started to PREPARE them to receive the Spirit UPON (Luke 24:49), which they did 50 days later. We have a PURPOSE, for Christ has commissioned and sent us on a MISSION to be His WITNESSES (Luke 24:47), so we need His SPIRIT UPON, to EMPOWER us to fulfil this MINISTRY (Acts 1:4-8).

The 2 stages of receiving the Holy Spirit: (1) At salvation, we receive the Spirit within. (2) At the Baptism in the Spirit, we receive the Spirit upon. Jesus is the classic example: (1) He had the Spirit WITHIN from birth, but (2) did not have the Spirit UPON until He was 30. We see these 2 stages with the apostles, for on the day of His resurrection Jesus imparted the indwelling Spirit to them (John 20:22). Then 50 days later they received the Spirit upon (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-8, 2:1-4). The giving of the Spirit could only happen after His Ascension (Acts 2:33). So, how could He give His Spirit to His apostles 40 days before His Ascension (John 20:22)? The solution is there were 2 Ascensions: (1) His 1st Ascension on the resurrection morning, and (2) His 2nd Ascension 40 days later. (1) First, He ascended, to appear before God and receive the Promise of the Spirit on our behalf, before returning to earth for 40 days, after which (2) He ascended again and sat down at God's right hand. That is why He could impart the Spirit to His apostles later on the same day He rose again (John 20:22). The 4 Purposes for His 1st Ascension: *1. To fulfil the Feast of First Fruits on the day of His resurrection (1Corinthians 15:20-23). *2. To present His BLOOD in the heavenly holy of holies (Hebrews 9:12). *3. To receive ALL AUTHORITY (Matthew 28:18, Daniel 7:13-14, Philippians 2:9-11): *4. To receive the SPIRIT on our behalf, to give to His people (Acts 2:33). When He appeared to Mary, He said: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ASCENDED to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them: ‘I AM ASCENDING to My Father” (John 20:16-17). The reason He gave her for not allowing her to touch Him was that He was ascending. But later He allowed others to touch Him (Matthew 28:9, Luke 24:39, John 20:27). It follows He must have ascended for a purpose that required Him to avoid human contact until He fulfilled it, which must have been to present Himself as the First Fruits Offering to God, mandated for that very day and hour. Also, He had to present His Blood in the Heaven. So it was not appropriate for Mary to touch Him before He had made these holy offerings. He had to fulfil the Feast of First Fruits, which required Him to ascend to the Father on that resurrection morning (always on the Sunday of Passover Week - Leviticus 23:10-11). He had to present Himself to God in the heavenly Temple in the 3rd hour, exactly when the Sheaf of First Fruits was waved before the Lord in the earthly Temple (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). The First Fruits is a sheaf of barley, that had been cut down and then lifted up and waved before the Lord in the Temple. Through God’s acceptance and blessing of the First Fruits, the whole harvest is blessed and guaranteed to come forth just like the First Fruits. This is a picture of Christ, who was killed, but now risen as our Representative Head 'accepted by God on our behalf'. So all who are in Christ are accepted by God as righteous and under His blessing, and our future resurrection is guaranteed. He described His death and burial as a grain of wheat being buried in the earth (John 12:24). Although only 1 seed is planted, the stalk that grows from it contains a whole cluster of grains. Likewise, many new creations will come forth from His death and resurrection. This multiplication is signified in the First Fruits Offering, for a whole sheaf containing many seeds (not just 1) that is waved before the Lord. This was fulfilled in His resurrection, for although He was buried alone, He did not rise alone, but many rose at the same time with Him (Matthew 27:51-53). He ascended to present Himself and the first fruits to God. At the same time, He took the spirits of the Old Testament saints (the spirits of just men made perfect) to Heaven (Hebrews 12:23). Before the Cross, at death, believers went down to Paradise in Hades, whereas the unsaved went to Torments (Luke 16:19-31, v22). The OT saints could not go to Heaven, as they were not born again. Although righteous by faith, they were spiritually dead. Their spirits had not yet been made perfect by the New Birth, so could not go to Heaven. The New Birth was only available after His Resurrection (1Peter 1:3). So, they could not enter Heaven when they died (John 3:3,5,13). But when He rose, He preached the Gospel to them in Hades, so they might be born again (1Peter 4:6). Then at His 1st Ascension, He led them to Heaven in a triumphal procession (Ephesians 4:8). Now, all born-again believers go to Paradise in Heaven when they die (2Corinthians 12:2,4). The hope of the OT saints was Heaven (Hebrews 11:10,16), but they did not receive this promise when they died, as their spirits could not be made perfect until God provided something better (the New Birth) for His people, when the New Covenant came into operation (Hebrews 11:39-40). But now these spirits of just men have been made perfect and are in Heaven (Hebrews 12:22-24).

There are 2 Stages of receiving the Holy Spirit: (1) When we receive Christ, we are baptised into Him, born again, and receive the Spirit of God WITHIN, for our own personal blessing, holiness and life with God. (2) There is a subsequent experience of the Spirit after salvation, called the Baptism in the Spirit, when we receive the Spirit UPON, for the purpose of empowering us to witness to Christ and for ministry. The PROMISE of the SPIRIT is also called the BLESSING of ABRAHAM (Galatians 3:14), which is a 2-fold BLESSING (Genesis 12:2). Jesus is the prime example of this 2-stage Blessing of the Spirit: (1) He had the Spirit WITHIN from birth, and by the indwelling Spirit, He lived a perfect holy life to God as a man, but (2) He was not empowered for supernatural ministry until He received the Spirit UPON, at His Baptism. The BAPTISM in the SPIRIT is when we are clothed with POWER, by receiving the SPIRIT UPON, enabling us to witness and fulfil our ministry. Jesus’ Baptism in the Spirit is the BLUEPRINT for ours (John 1:33). He already had the Spirit WITHIN from birth, but still needed to receive the Spirit UPON, to clothe Him with power for ministry. Likewise, we have the Spirit WITHIN, from our New Birth, but still need to receive the Spirit UPON, to clothe and anoint us with power to fulfil the Great Commission. He confirmed when God’s SPIRIT came UPON Him, He was ANOINTED with God’s POWER to minister (Luke 4:17-21). He described His Baptism in the Spirit as the Spirit coming UPON and ANOINTING Him to preach, heal and set the captives free. He also said that once the Spirit came upon Him, He rested and remained on Him, and so God’s power was present on Him to heal them. Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah (Anointed One) in 11:1-3, 42:1, 61:1-3. In the Old Testament, nobody was BORN AGAIN or had the SPIRIT WITHIN, as this was only made available in the New Covenant. Although certain prophets, priests and kings were anointed with the SPIRIT UPON, this was not necessarily permanent, nor for all believers. But in the New Covenant, the SPIRIT UPON is available to all believers (John 7:38-39, Acts 2:16-18), and is permanent. Jesus described these 2 ministries of the Spirit WITHIN and UPON in His TEACHING. (1) He described the SPIRIT WITHIN us, as an everlasting FOUNTAIN of living water (John 4:10-14). (2) Later in John 7:37-39, He described the SPIRIT flowing out of us as RIVERS of living water, making us channels of blessing to others (v38). In Luke 11:9-13, He taught God will give His born again children more of the Holy Spirit if they ask Him (it's not automatic). In the Gospels, He primarily prepared His disciples to receive the New Birth and the Spirit WITHIN. He taught about the New Birth of our spirit by the Spirit in John 3:3-9,16. Then in John 14:16-17, He introduced the Spirit as another Helper like Himself. This means He is like Jesus, (1) a PERSON, not a force, and (2) GOD. He is a Divine Person, given to us. He also said in the New Birth the Spirit will INDWELL us forever: “He will be WITHIN YOU.” So He taught in the New Covenant the Spirit will indwell all believers forever. He explained the connection between the NEW BIRTH and the SPIRIT WITHIN in Mark 2:22. First, God must make our wineskin (spirit) new, and then He can put the NEW WINE of His SPIRIT WITHIN us. Old wineskins were renewed by rubbing them with oil. Likewise in the New Birth, our old spirits were made new and holy by the application of the OIL of the SPIRIT, making them able to receive the NEW WINE of the SPIRIT WITHIN. Then after they received His Spirit within on the day of His resurrection, during the 40 days He prepared them to receive the SPIRIT UPON, which they did at Pentecost (Acts 2). On the morning Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended to Heaven, before returning to earth and appearing to His disciples for the next 40 days, before His final Ascension (John 20:16-17). The 4 Purposes for His first Ascension: (1) To fulfil the Feast of First Fruits on the day of His resurrection (1Corinthians 15:20-23). The First Fruits of the harvest must be offered up and waved before God, to be accepted by God on behalf of the whole harvest (Leviticus 23:10-11). Therefore, He had to ascend to Heaven and appear before God to offer Himself as the First Fruits, to be accepted on our behalf. (2) To present His Blood in Heaven (Hebrews 9:12). Thus, it was not appropriate for Mary to touch Him before He made these holy offerings to God. But after He came back from Heaven, He allowed other women and His disciples to touch Him (Matthew 28:9, Luke 24:39, John 20:27). (3) To receive all authority in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18, Philippians 2:9-11, Daniel 7:13-14). (4) To receive the Holy Spirit on our behalf, in order to pour Him out (Acts 2:33). He must have received the Spirit from the Father on the resurrection morning, as already that evening, He imparted the Spirit to His disciples (John 20:22).

How should we respond to all the things that happen to us in life, especially the bad things. One of the great promises of God is that: "God all things work together for good to those who are loving God, the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). So as long as we keep loving God through the trial, we can thank God that He will work all things (including evil things) together for our ultimate good, the fulfilment of His wonderful eternal plan and purpose for us, which is described in Romans 8:29-30. God does not cause evil things but He can work them all for our good, because on the Cross He paid the change any curse into blessing (Galatians 3:13-14). In view of this truth, that God is greater than all these things that we face in life, Paul asks how should we respond to these things, or more precisely: "What, then, shall we SAY to these THINGS?" (v31a). It is clear that we are not to be a passive doormat, when bad things happen. These things speak to us and try to create negative thoughts in us, which satan will amplify if we let him, saying things like: "you are a guilty failure, under condemnation, God does not love you anymore, you are separated from His love and He will not fulfil His promises to you. We are meant to actively respond by SPEAKING God's Word back to these THINGS (v31a). The famous climactic verses of Romans 8:31b-39 actually describe the things God wants us to proclaim in the face of all these things that come against us. For example, we should say: "God is for me, who can be against Me?" (v31b), "God gave Me His own Son, surely He will also freely give us all things" (v32), He will work all things together for my good" (v28), "Who shall bring a charge against me for I am God’s elect. It is God who has justified me. There is no condemnation for me in Christ, for Christ has died for me and paid the penalty for my sins, and now represents me before God" (v1,33-34), "nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ?" (v35-36,38-39), for: "in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Christ, who loved me by dying for me on the Cross, and who loves me now and forever" (v37).