CLEAN HANDS and a PURE HEART

This image belongs to – http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecall
PRAISE GOD! 🙂

Psalm 24

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

² For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

³ Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

⁴ He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

⁵ He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶ This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

⁷ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

⁸ Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

⁹ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

EPIGNOSIS (What is it?)

EPIGNOSIS (pronounced e-pē’-gnō-sēs) is a Greek word meaning precise and correct knowledge. It is used in the New Testament twenty times: fifteen times by the Apostle Paul, one time in Hebrews and four times by the Apostle Peter.

It differs in use from other words translated “knowledge” (gnosis, ginosko, epiginosko, etc.). Epignosis refers to ethical and divine knowledge of God, which is precise and correct. Here are three such examples:

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;” (Philippians 1:9)

Here Paul’s prayer is that the Philippians’ love may abound more and more in precise and correct knowledge and in all judgment.

“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” (Colossians 3:10)

Here Paul tells us that the new man who believers put on is renewed in precise and correct knowledge after the image of the creator God.

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” (Ephesians 1:17)

Here Paul prays that God the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, may give the Ephesian Christians the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the precise and correct knowledge of Himself. This implies that these Ephesian born-again believers needed something more than the knowledge they had. This applies to us today too.

Vines’ Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says (at C-2) Epignosis: “denotes exact or full knowledge, discernment, recognition, and [expresses] a fuller or a full “knowledge,” a greater participation by the “knower” in the object “known,” thus more powerfully influencing him. “In all the four Epistles of the first Roman captivity it is an element in the Apostle’s opening prayer for his correspondents’ well-being, Phil. 1:9; Eph. 1:17; Col. 1:9; Philem. 1:6″ (Lightfoot).”

This is very interesting! It is NOT saying people with Epignosis know everything and know everything completely. It is saying is when we have the Epignosis of scripture (use John 3:16 as an example), we actually experience the scripture and recognize it with full discernment. The power of the scripture overcomes us, we “get it”, and it influences us in all aspects of life.

Vines’ also says Epignosis is similar to Epiginosko (at A-3), which “denotes (a) “to observe, fully perceive, notice attentively, discern, recognize” and “suggests generally a directive, a more special, recognition of the object “known” than does [ginosko]; it also may suggest advanced “knowledge” or special appreciation; thus, in Rom. 1:32, “knowing the ordinance of God” (epiginosko) means “knowing full well,” whereas in verse Rom. 1:21 “knowing God” (ginosko) simply suggests that they could not avoid the perception. Sometimes epiginosko implies a special participation in the object “known,” and gives greater weight to what is stated; thus in John 8:32, “ye shall know the truth,” ginosko is used, whereas in 1 Tim. 4:3, “them that believe and know the truth,” epiginosko lays stress on participation in the truth.”

Epignosis is completely superior to these other types of knowledge. Where do we begin on the path to Epignosis knowledge? The scriptures say the fear, reverence or terror of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) and anyone who has understanding will desire knowledge in their heart (Proverbs 15:14). The scripture also says the intelligent person’s heart obtains knowledge and the wise person’s ear desires it (Proverbs 18:15).

A lot of persons rely on secular, corporeal wisdom as well as the strength that the world ascribes to money. The scripture says that both wisdom and money are transitory defences but the excellency or advantage of knowledge is that those who combine it with wisdom, live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live forever, are quickened, are alive and are restored to life or health (Ecclesiastes 7:12). This implies that possessing Epignosis will bring about a more profound experience of these things.

Like Paul’s desire for the Colossians, it is my desire that all are filled with the precise and correct knowledge of God and His will (Colossians 1:9-10).

This blog chronicles a very small part of my continuous journey on the path to Epignosis. I am always keen on quoting Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV): “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” God calls us to Epignosis via His written Word because an increase in precise and correct knowledge brings an increase in Faith.

Be blessed in the light of the Word of God!

A LESSON FROM THE LIFE OF THE CICADA (Updated)

The KUMA-SEMI or red-muscled cicada (pronounced si ka da) is singing all over Japan (This was written on July 29, 2011.). The hotter it gets the louder and more spirited they will sing. These are some interesting creatures from whose skin-shedding life the Ninja technique utsusemi (cicada decoy) was created. I thought I saw one until I tried to get a picture of it and quickly realized that it was the skin of a larva that had already moulted. On July 29, 2011, I was a victim of the utsusemi technique! 😀 See my picture below.

Cicada spend most of their lives (some 13 years and some 17 years) at about 1 foot underground feeding off of xylem, a fluid found in the roots of plants. The larvae emerge in summer and climb the trees or plants. Some feed on tree or plant sap, shed their skins and the males do their mating calls. Once they mate, the females lay hundreds of eggs in the bark of the trees. The adults die within several weeks. The eggs eventually hatch and fall to the ground where the cycle starts all over again.

Oh, and yes, in China people do eat them deep fried, especially the females which are meatier than the males.

As usual I was looking for a message in the life of the cicada. While the cicada spends all its life under the earth and emerges to live above ground for only a few weeks, humans live all their lives above ground only for their bodies to be placed in it when they die. I know this sounds morbid.

The Apostle Paul was talking to the Corinthians about the resurrection of the dead born again believers. He used Christ as the example.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)

The Apostle Paul went on to say that when we are born again, if we die and our bodies are placed in the earth, our bodies will be resurrected without corruption, in glory and in power.

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:” (1 Corinthians 15:42-43)

He said there are natural bodies (like the ones we have now) and there are spiritual bodies (like the one that Christ has).

“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” (1 Corinthians 15:44)

He said born again believers will put on the spiritual body.

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:49)

This is a complete transformation.

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:52-53)

The cicada fulfils its purpose and ensures the continuation of its species on earth before it dies forever and is forgotten.

For the born again believer it is not morbid and hopeless; we will NOT die forever and be forgotten! Born again believers are NOT separated from God and will see the resurrection. We have hope in Christ and we expect that God who is faithful to us through Christ Jesus, will raise the bodies of those born again believers who have died and reunite them with their eternal spirits.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Praises Father! Thank God for Jesus. Amen.

There is no singing yet, but, here are some recent (July 12, 2012) pictures I took of the first Kuma-Semi I have seen this summer.

TELL THE TRUTH…

If you’ve watched a lot of TV dramas, you’ve probably heard the “…the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…” remark! You may have even seen that movie where Jack Nicholson says: “You want the truth, you can’t handle the truth!” It is very, very easy to not TELL THE TRUTH. It is so easy in fact, it is as easy as telling part of the truth.

The fact is, telling part of the truth and not telling the entire truth is just as bad as telling a lie. Withholding truth that is meant to be told is definitely NOT a good thing but people do it. People do it with the Word of God too. I’ve seen many preachers focus on preaching only the stuff from the Bible that’s encouraging and completely ignore the other stuff. I’ve seen people give only the encouraging stuff because “their agenda” says people should “feel good”. 

Don’t get me wrong, the “feel good” has to be preached like everything else, but something is WRONG if “feel good” is the basis of EVERY sermon.

Firstly, the Word of God, ALL OF IT, has one (1) specific purpose.

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim.3:15-17 (KJV)

When I examine the Greek text, the verses above are explained like this: The Holy Bible makes us wise by leading us to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. It benefits us when we study it’s teachings. It is evidence against sin and evidence for righteousness.

Its purpose is accomplished in two ways:

1. Restoration to a right state; and,
2. Training, education and cultivation of the soul by correcting OUR mistakes and curbing OUR passions.

It is also for cultivating integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness and correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting, in all the children of God.

The Holy Spirit does not accomplish many of these things through “feel good” preaching!

Secondly, as servants of God, entrusted with the awesome responsibility of bringing the Epignosis Word to everyone, we cannot dictate WHO should hear and WHAT they should or should not hear. When we, in our own strength/intellect/spirit, determine “what” people should hear, we are NOT operating under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If we operate under the unction of the Holy Spirit, we bring what He says, when He says, not what “we think” should be said at a particular time for a particular reason.

Thirdly, Satan gave Jesus half-truths when he tempted Him in the wilderness. Jesus knew better though!

What about the people who don’t know for themselves. What happens when we give them half truths? We will be held accountable for that so TELL THE TRUTH!

WHEN CHRIST RETURNS (what will you be doing)?

What will you be doing when Christ returns? God asked me this today! 😀

In January of 2012, I moved from blogger to wordpress. I changed my web address, imported all my posts and re-launched this ministry. The new blog went public on February 25, 2012. Since then I’ve watched the numbers turn in an amazing way.

The map reflects over 100 countries but only the top 18 flags are listed here. 🙂

My rejoicing is not in the stats per se, but in the way it shows how God is using this platform to spread His Word. Epignosis Ministries (EM) has had visitors from more than one hundred (100) countries in just over three (3) months according to FlagCounter, a widget that was added to this blog on April 1, 2012. Wow God!

At some unknown point yesterday, this blog’s views reached 5000. According to WordPress-stats, at the writing of this post, it is exactly 5045 viewers in five (5) months. According to FlagCounter its 6,118 page views since April.

Interestingly, although I was anticipating the 5000 mark and wanted to write something about it (maybe Jesus fed 5000, 😀 ), I don’t know what I was doing when it got there. I was probably preoccupied with my family, my job or my own little sources of entertainment.

As I was thinking about this, a question popped in my mind: “What will YOU be doing when Christ returns?” I chuckled to myself as I got the message and decided to write about it. There are a few scriptures that talk about this. Let us begin with 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV).

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Let me first clarify here that the word dead is translated from the Greek word νεκρός (nekros) (Strong’s G3498), which derives from the root word nekus (a corpse). Nekros refers to one that has breathed his last, lifeless. It properly refers to a dead body, and in this verse refers specifically to the dead physical bodies of believers, which must be changed into spiritual bodies (1 Cor.15:44).

Now, the scripture tells us Christ will descend from Heaven with a shout. It does not say Christ will set foot on the earth! It goes on to say those who have died in Christ will rise first, then we (believers) who are alive and remain will be “caught up” together with those who have died in Christ. We will be caught up together “in the clouds”, to meet the Lord “in the air”, to be with Him forever.

My focus here is on the fact that in this instance, Christ DOES NOT set foot on earth. This is a very important point because here, by this, the “catching up” is distinguished completely from the separate event called “the judgment” (Rev.20:11-15), for which Christ will be on earth (Rev.20:4-5).

The words caught up are translated from the Greek ἁρπάζω (harpazō) (Strong’s G726), which literally means to seize, carry off by force, claim for one’s self eagerly and to snatch out or away. It is the same word used in Matt.13:19; Acts 8:39; 2 Cor.12:2,4; and Rev.12:5. All of these uses signify a rapid taking which causes the disappearance of the thing taken, from the place where it was. There is no actual warning or event that announces the catching up and NO ONE KNOWS WHEN it will happen; but, believers will not be caught off guard for the simple reason, we are looking for it, expecting it to happen.

People who are not expecting it will be shocked when it happens! When Jesus Christ returns for us I want to be waiting for Him expectantly. I want Him to catch me in the act of  talking about Him with my loved ones and people everywhere,  not distracted by the cares of this world. I want Him to look me squarely in the eyes and say, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”

What will you be doing when Christ returns?