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

The essence of the Christian life is our love relationship with God rather than following a list of rules. A disciple is a follower of the Person of Jesus, who wants to be as close as possible to Him. This does involve discipline. There are important disciplines that are part of being a disciple, like Bible reading and having a devotional time with God every day, with praise, prayer and confession, being faithful in Church, and finding ways to serve God and people. But we do not do them for their own sake but as expressions of our love for the Lord, in order to be close to Jesus and glorify Him. We are precious to the Lord. Above all, He wants our heart. He wants us to give Him our heart, which starts by opening (the ears of) our heart to Him, to receive His words of love and His grace to us, for our ears are the receivers of our heart (Isaiah 55:1-3). Then as He fills us with Himself (His life and love), He takes possession of our hearts by his Spirit (Presence), and our hearts become fully His, so that we then love Him with all our heart.

Ephesians 2:5-9 describes our salvation by grace through faith (the New Birth of our spirit), when the Holy Spirit imparted the resurrection life (grace) of Christ to our spirit giving our spirit (1) life, (2) victory and (3) dominion, for we were (1) made alive together with Christ, (2) raised together with Christ fall above all enemies, and (3) seated with Christ above all. As we were saved by His grace, so now we are to live by His grace, for the grace (the life of Christ imparted to us by the Spirit of grace) that saved us is now also available for us to live our life. God's grace (operational power within us) is freely available to empower us (Ephesians 1:19) for our life, imparting life, victory and dominion to our souls. We are to receive His grace by faith into our souls, like a yacht receives the wind to fill its sails. The Wind of the Spirit flows out from our spirit (Galatians 6:18) and empowers us for living and doing the good works that God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). We can't control the Wind of the Spirit, for it blows where it wishes (John 3:8), so we must surrender to His Spirit of Grace and let Him carry us along, teaching and empowering us. It only works if we give up trying to run our own life and surrender control to His Spirit of Grace that is flowing out of our spirit and working within our soul. Only then are we operating under (the power and authority) of grace. "Those who wait (with expectancy) on the Lord shall renew their strength (pass to power); they shall mount (raise) up their wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). As we wait on Him and look to Him in faith, believing His wind of grace is blowing from our spirit and is available to fill us, we open our heart (the sail of our soul) to Him to receive and be lifted up and carried along by His grace, just as eagles raise up their wings to catch the wind, empowering them to swiftly soar high above, carried along by the wind. Likewise, by receiving His strength (wind) to fill our souls, we pass from weakness to power, and as a result of being empowered by His grace and carried along by His Spirit, we'll make swift and steady progress in our life.

Romans 1:16-17 tells us the Good News of Christ is that the POWER of God unto SALVATION is freely available for all who believe, for the righteousness of God is revealed (1) from (saving) faith to (2) (living) faith; as it is written, “(1) The righteous (by faith) shall (2) live by faith.” First (1) through saving (justifying) faith, we received the IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ, then (2) through living faith we continually receive His IMPARTED RIGHTEOUSNESS (His Spirit of life and grace). Both saving and living faith involve (1) submission to Christ's Lordship and (2) dependence on (trust in) His saving power. To be saved by grace we must receive Christ as (1) our Lord and (2) our Saviour, realising that we cannot save ourselves. Likewise, to live by grace, we have to (1) SUBMIT to Jesus' leadership, and (2) TRUST (depend upon) His Spirit to fill us and empower us to live our life, which requires that we BELIEVE the Good News that His grace is freely available to us, flowing out from our spirit (John 7:37-39). In this way, by FAITH we SURRENDER to God's RIVER in us, allowing Him to fill us and carry us along in our life, realising that without Him we can do nothing. The Spirit of God within and flowing out from our spirit is also like the WIND (invisible and powerful), but also personal, for He blows where He wishes (John 3:8). We cannot control where the wind of the Spirit blows (goes) and where He will take us. We must open the sail of our soul to Him, so that He can fill us with His grace, which will then carry us along through life. For God's grace to flow in and through us, we must be 'under grace' (under the authority and power of His grace), submitting to His authority and depending upon His power. In this way, we surrender control to Him, knowing that we can make no progress (achieve nothing of worth) in our own strength.

God is whole hearted and wants us to be the same - not half-hearted or double-minded. He wants us to trust in Him and be fully committed to Him. While we are on the fence, in a place of indecision, we're not safe. This is seen in Joab's revenge on Abner, when he lured him into the gates of Hebron (2Sam 3:27). The gates of a city represent the place of decision, where you are neither in or out. Hebron was a city of refuge (a picture of Christ) and Abner was safe while inside the city (trusting in Christ), but when Joab (the enemy) persuaded him to meet with him in the gates (the place of indecision), he was unsafe, and the enemy was able to destroy him. This is why David said that Abner died the death of a fool. Likewise, when we remain in two minds about whether we should respond to Christ or trust in His Word or whether to obey God or not, we are 'in the gate', which is not a safe place. We are vulnerable to the enemy. God wants us to get off the fence!

Believers are those "who have fled for refuge" to Jesus to find salvation in Him (Hebrews 6:18). God assigned 6 Cities of Refuge to Israel, to which a man could flee if he killed someone by accident, and find safety. Jesus offers Himself to us as our City of Refuge, and if we run to Him we will be saved (Proverbs 18:10).

Many are concerned about taking the Covid Vaccine, because it could be something to do with the Mark of the Beast, and therefore spiritually dangerous. Others are concerned about the natural risk of taking it. Pastor Derek discusses these issues in the light of the Bible.

To follow Jesus, for His sake (because we love Him), we must deny (ownership of) ourselves and relinquish control of our own lives, surrendering ourselves, our independence, and our every blessing to His Ownership and Lordship (Matthew 16:24). When we do this, although we are poor (owning nothing), we are able to possess and enjoy all things which God freely gives us, with thanksgiving (Matthew 5:3, Luke 6:20, Revelation 5:12). We must realise that we belong to God, as well as His grace within us, and every blessing of life. On the other hand, pride (trying to hold onto final control over our life, acting as our own owner), and covetousness (trying to claim ownership and take control of the blessings of life) cuts us off from God's blessing, for "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). So we must release all control of self, of His life in us and of all things in our life to God, our Owner, and continually trust in Him as our Source (Saviour). True faith consists of our surrender to Christ as our Owner and Lord (trusting ourselves to His ownership and control), and putting our trust in Him as our Saviour. The degree of our surrender determines the degree that we can trust in (receive, appropriate) His saving life. We can only surrender to Christ as our Lord and put our trust in Him as our Saviour, to the degree that we believe in His offer to us through the Gospel to be our firm Foundation, our all-sufficient Source of life, love and salvation. Through the Gospel, God imparts the knowledge of Himself and His love that we need in order to be able to surrender our heart to Him and to put all our trust in Him, for our life now and for all eternity. Once we know and believe that He offers Himself to us to be our God, who promises to love us fully, faithfully, continually and eternally, we can trust in Him and give Him (the surrender of) our heart, but the choice is ours. The more assured we become of His love for us, the more we are able to surrender (give) our heart to Him, which is what He desires above all. The more fully persuaded we are of the power of His grace toward us to uphold us, satisfy us, protect us and provide for all our needs, the more we can trust in Him to uphold (save) us forever, and give Him our whole heart. The more we realise His infinite love for us and our total need for Him, the more we will naturally and willingly and completely give ourselves to Him in surrender and trust in Him with all our heart. When we surrender to Him and trust in Him as the living Foundation for our being and whole life, our heart rests in Him, and as a result we enter into rest (we no longer have to try and hold ourselves up), and His love for us becomes manifested as His grace within us, being poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, and filling our souls, like rivers of living water (Proverbs 21:1), so that He becomes our life and our full salvation.

The main key to possess our Promised Land is to embrace the truth that God is our Owner and that He owns every blessing of grace that He gives us to possess (Matthew 16:24-26, 1Corinthians 6:19-20). The essence of sin is rejecting God as our Master and Owner and going our own way, independent from God, taking control of our own soul and life (pride), and trying to own the blessings of life for ourselves (covetousness), because we do not trust in God's goodness and love for us (unbelief). This is the choice Adam and Eve made in the Garden, setting the whole human race on the path of sin and destruction, but Christ came to purchase us back to God, so that by trusting in His love and surrendering to His Lordship and Ownership, our soul can be saved and possess all the blessing and blessings of God.

Understanding that there were 2 Assyrian invasions in Hezekiah's time resolves a number of difficulties. The 1st invasion was in his 14th year (712 BC) a few months after his dramatic healing and sign in the heavens (2Kings 18:13-16), which signified God was rewinding his clock, so he could have another 15 years, which started after an interval of 2 days. His first 15 years ended with him in unbelief, but God was giving him a 2nd chance. He started this rerun of 15 years in unbelief as shown by his submission to Assyria in the 1st invasion, rather than trusting in God. However, before the end of the final 15 years he repented and trusted God, so when Assyria invaded a 2nd time in 701 BC (2Kings 18:17-35), this time he didn't submit to the enemy, but trusted in God, calling upon Him for deliverance, and He delivered Jerusalem by the Angel of the Lord. In Isaiah 22, which is set after the 1st Invasion, God rebukes Israel for her unbelief and warns them that judgment was still looming, even though Assyria had left them for now. Isaiah predicts that Shebna will be replaced by Eliakim as Hezekiah's chief of staff (holding the Key of David), which explains why we see Eliakim in that top position during the 2nd invasion, with Shebna under him (2Kings 18:18,26,37). *King Hezekiah is a type of Israel. *Just as Hezekiah's first 15 years ended with him in unbelief, so the 70th Week (AD 26-33) ended with Israel in unbelief. *Just as God rewound Hezekiah's clock, so that his 15 years could run again after an interval of 2 days, so God rewound Israel's clock, so that the 7 years of her 70th Week could run again after an interval of 2 DAYS (2000 years). *Just as the rerun of Hezekiah's 15 years started with him still in unbelief, as shown by his submission to Assyria at the first invasion, so the rerun of Israel's 70th Week will start with her still in unbelief, as shown by her submission to the antichrist, by making a covenant with him (Daniel 9:27). *Just as Hezekiah increasingly turned back to God during his 15-year rerun, so that when Assyria invaded a 2nd time, near its end, he was now in faith, calling on God to deliver Israel from the enemy, so Israel will increasingly turn back to God during the Tribulation (the rerun of the 70th Week), so that when antichrist invades her at Armageddon, near its end, she will be in faith, and will call upon the Lord to deliver her from her enemies. *Just as Christ (the Angel of the Lord) saved Israel from Assyria by destroying her army, in response to Hezekiah's prayer of faith, so Christ will return and save Israel from the antichrist by destroying him and his armies at His 2nd Coming, in response to Israel's prayer of faith.

When God healed Hezekiah and rewound his clock, giving him another 15 years, He also did a corresponding miraculous sign, by rewinding the clock in the sky (the sun went back 10 hours to the start of the day). Such an awesome sign must mean that there is also a greater prophetic significance to these events. Hezekiah, being king of Israel, is a type of Israel, so we would expect that what God did for Hezekiah provides a prophetic picture of what God has done and will do for Israel. God is the God of the 2nd chance! Indeed, when Israel came to the end of Daniel's 70 Weeks (458 BC - 33 AD) in unbelief, unable to possess the Messianic Kingdom, God rewound her clock by 7 years, in order for those 7 years to run again as the Tribulation (after the Church-Age), by the end of which she will repent and be saved, and receive Christ as her King, enabling Him to establish His Kingdom on earth, in fulfilment of His covenant promises to Israel. 2 DAYS after God rewound Hezekiah's clock, he appeared before the Presence of God in the Temple, which marked the start of his second '15 years' of reign. Likewise 2 DAYS (2000 years) after God rewound Israel's clock, she will be restored to her place before God as His representative in the earth (now that the Church will have been raptured). Then, Daniel's 70th Week will be rerun, which will end with Israel in faith, and Christ returning in power and glory to deliver her from the armies of antichrist, and to establish His Kingdom on the earth. There is also a chronological problem in that 2 Kings 18 speaks of an Assyrian invasion in Hezekiah's 14th year, shortly after his miraculous healing (712 BC), whereas Assyrian records point to an invasion of Israel in 701 BC. Many alter the Biblical Chronology to try and make it fit with the Assyrian Chronology, but this distorts the Biblical Chronology. We demonstrate that the Bible records 2 Assyrian invasions by Sennacherib in Hezekiah's time. In the first invasion in 712 BC (2Kings 18:13-16), Hezekiah submitted to Assyria and paid tribute, thus bringing the invasion to an end. In the 2nd invasion (701 BC), Hezekiah did not submit or pay tribute, but instead called upon God in faith, and God saved Israel by sending the Angel of the Lord to destroy the Assyrian army overnight (2 Kings 18:17-35). Understanding that there were 2 Assyrian invasions in Hezekiah's time resolves a number of contradictions, and explains the discrepancy between the Biblical and Assyrian dates.