The Gospel is Key
(1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11)
*Special guest preacher: Pastor Walter Teter
(Director of Discipleship, Hackberry Creek Church, Irving, TX)
 
Pause & Reflect
 

1. What has God been teaching you through last week’s message? Read the texts once more and discern what the holy Spirit is desiring to say through it.

 
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
 

1. [v.1-2] Pastor Walter reminded us that the gospel does not end when Jesus is received as Lord and Savior into one’s life. Rather, it is the starting point of a present and future salvation to come which encapsulates the whole of the gospel. This gospel is progressing us forward and helping us hold fast to the word of God into the future that will save us fully and finally at the last day. Has your life been surrendered to what has been preached to you, which you received, in which you stand? Is the gospel a one-time decision or a lifetime discipleship? What ways is God growing the word that has been preached to you? How is the LORD progressing, over digressing, what you received from Him? Are you standing stronger in it as the days go by? What are you holding fast to attain into the future?

 
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 
 

1. [v.3-4] Pastor Walter reminded us that “the Scriptures” in those days were primarily the Hebrew/Old Testament (with parts of the New Testament already in circulation), which spoke sufficiently of Christ who “died for our sins… was buried… was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (see Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Jonah 1:17; Luke 24:46). How are these historical facts about Jesus being attacked? Why is Jesus’ real and full death important? Why is Jesus’ real and full resurrection important? By these, how is Jesus becoming more real and full in your life? How are these truths the most important pillars of your life?

 
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
 

1. [v.5-11] Pastor Walter reminded us that the gospel rests on real eyewitness testimonies, especially the author – the apostle Paul – who interacted, experienced, and claimed his identity on the grace of God. Thus far, no ancient writings have refuted Paul’s claims of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the hundreds that he asserts were eyewitnesses at the time. This is an argument from the silence of history – a very loud silence that supports the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Although none of us were there to be eyewitnesses ourselves, how are we witnesses of Jesus through our personal testimonies? You may not have seen Jesus with your eyes, but how have you heard Jesus with your heart, that is far better than what your eyes can see? How have you experienced the work of the unseen holy Spirit through the circumstances of your life, renewing your mind to understand God’s grace in every part of it? Like Paul, how can you courageously claim your sonship/daughtership in Jesus Christ, simply by grace, simply because Jesus says so?

 

1. Pastor Walter charged our congregation with two exhortations – (1) remember the gospel is the key to everything, it is the power of God for salvation to all those who believe; (2) repeat the gospel, speak the gospel again and again – whether in worship, gatherings, meeting for lunch, etc. – let it ignite you and guide you into a deeper relationship with God and each other. Like the drum major that needs to be seen and hold the entire band together, lift up the gospel to be seen and let it hold it all together – that is, Jesus Christ, lift Him up and be held together by Him. How can we practice these two better as we begin our journey as Hosanna Church?

 

 
Holy Spirit Moment
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)

Thus Says the LORD to His Anointed
(ISAIAH 45:1-7)
 
Pause & Reflect
 

1. What has God been teaching you through last week’s message? Read the texts once more and discern what the holy Spirit is desiring to say through it.

 
1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
 

1. [v.1] *Biblical principle – If God chose to anoint a godless king with His special presence, how much more has He chosen to anoint those in Christ Jesus with His holy Spirit? God anoints whomever He desires to as instruments of His redemptive work so that our lives may turn to Jesus more and more. Like a child’s hand safely gripped by the parent, the LORD has grasped our right hand to subdue sin, to loosen strongholds, to open doors once closed. More than 200 years before Cyrus was born or rose to power as the King of Persia, the LORD had prophesied about him by name and had anointed him for His purpose. With the anointing of the LORD upon him, Cyrus would have extraordinary strength and victory over other kings and nations around him. The “anointing” of the LORD was the filling of God’s presence and power to faithfully carry out His work. Ceremonially, it was done with oil, as oil was a precious commodity set apart from everyday use. How does the anointing of Cyrus show you what the anointing of the Lord’s holy Spirit can do in your life? Nothing Cyrus ever succeeded in was from himself, but from the One who held his right hand. How do we need to credit the Spirit of God in every door He opens, every stronghold he loosens in our life? Are you living to grasp something, or to be grasped by Someone?

 
2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
 

1. [v.2-3] *Biblical principle – Just as the anointing of the LORD came upon King Cyrus to have extraordinary strength, claim extraordinary victories, inherit extraordinary treasures – the holy Spirit has anointed us with the strength, victory, and treasure of Jesus Christ alive within us. Wherever we go, whatever we do, however great we become, the Lord’s anointing goes before us so that we may know it is the LORD who did it and called us by name to fulfill it. As the anointing of the LORD came upon Cyrus even before his kingship, so also the anointing of the holy Spirit is upon all those in Christ Jesus, even before our lives ever turned to surrender to Him. The Spirit of God went before us, preparing the way for us to encounter Jesus. How has God’s Spirit gone before you to level uneven paths, break strongholds gripping your life, and given you the inheritance of a personal relationship with Christ? How has the LORD called you by your own name to walk this path that He has predestined for you?

 
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
    I name you, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
 

1. [v.4-7] *Biblical principle – Why has the LORD anointed us with His Spirit? It is for the sake of His people to know the highest and greatest Anointed One (the Messiah) – the Savior Jesus, how there is none besides Him. King Cyrus was anointed in order for God to move his heart to release God’s people from captivity and return them to their homeland. The anointed Cyrus was a small portrait of what the Anointed One Jesus Christ would do to free His people from the bondage of their sins. With the LORD’s anointing, Cyrus was moved to release God’s people back to their homeland. How is Jesus releasing you to go to your one true home in the kingdom of heaven? God’s people were released to go back and build the temple of God that has been in ruins for 70 years. The church is the temple of God, and a small portrait of heaven on earth. How has the LORD freed you in Christ to go back and build His church, His dwelling, and His house for all nations to come into His family? 1 John 2 says, “But you have been anointed by the Holy One [Jesus Christ], and you all have knowledge…. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him” (verse 20, 27). How are you being an instrument of His anointing to build-up the body of Christ, His precious church, freeing His people to live for His glory?

 

 
The central truth of this word was –
In Jesus Christ, we are all already anointed by the holy Spirit of God, endowed with incredible strength, victory, inheritance. Live out your anointing from Him! His anointing goes before you, calling you by name, equipping you so that all people may know the Anointed One Jesus Christ, and experience His deliverance. We had no part in this – it is all the work of His anointing within us – so be an open vessel, a sharp instrument to keep overflowing the anointing of Christ!
– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 

 
Holy Spirit Moment
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)