B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #181
I Cor.. 16:9 ‘For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.’
November 30, 2010
All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem And crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem And crown him, Lord of all. St. 1 TLH 339
What is in a Name?
There is that name that is above every name. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…Ph. 2:9-10 What a precious name it is! In the book of Acts there are passages throughout that remind us of this.
- 2:21 Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Our Lord Jesus as His name indicates is our Savior.
- 2:38 People were baptized in the name of our Lord Jesus. Of course the invocation of the name of the Triune God has as one of the three ‘the Son.’ And this THE Son has commanded baptism as a means of grace, so that we baptize as He commanded using His name.
- 3:16 It is faith in His name that counts, not faith in ourselves or anything of this earth. His is the name from heaven designating the Son as the Savior.
- 4:10 It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that people find healing, comfort, assurance and all that is necessary for the trip to heaven.
- 4:12 There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. How simple, how clear, how vital!
- 9:15 We bear his name. Paul was a chosen instrument to carry the name of Jesus far and wide. We too are chosen to bear His name to others.
- 9:27 How can we not speak boldly in His name, knowing what He has done for us and is still doing as He accompanies us through this life!
- 15:26 It is for the sake of that name that men risked their lives.
- 16:18 In the name of Jesus the evil spirits came out. The devil and all his horde cannot overcome our Lord.
What a glorious name He has! He is King of kings and Lord of Lords. Rev. 19:16
Let every kindred, every tribe, On this terrestrial ball
To Him all majesty ascribe And crown Him Lord of all. st. 6 TLH 339
WEST AFRICA
report given by Missionary Matthew Ude
Essien’s Funeral
This year Pastor E. E. Essien, for many years the President of the NCLC, ended his journey here and was taken to his heavenly home. We certainly thank the Lord for the many years of dedicated service of this man. His family has reported that before he left, knowing his end was near he gave strict instructions that they should never cease to sing daily the wonderful hymn, “What a friend we have in Jesus.” We pray that the Lord would continue to guide and strengthen the NCLC through it’s new president Pastor Patrick Udo and those of the years to come.
Youth Conference
Pastor Udo mentioned that last year the NCLC held a youth conference in which they had catechism challenges, song competitions and evangelism meetings. Apparently this is something they have been doing on a regular basis.
Mission Outreach
Through Pastor Eric the NCLC is now attempting to reach out into the nearby country of Benin. Pastor Eric is working there at a school, where he is also preaching and evangelizing on Sundays.
GHANA
Although the membership at Crown of Glory Church is still only 10 souls, there were around thirty people gathered on the one Thursday night I was able to make it to meet with the congregation. Gideon is currently meeting with his members on Thursday at which time he is going through the catechism, and on Sundays for regular services. They are hoping soon to be able to put up at least a roof over the area they are meeting to shield them from possible rain and dew.
Pastor Gideon was able to come and partake in the classes which were held in Togo while I was there this fall. As well, he is able to participate in the joint services regularly being held with the congregations from Togo and the Lagos area of Nigeria.
TOGO
The church in Togo is certainly growing. The membership is now at about 110. Kossi claimed that currently their only problem is a severe lack of benches for visitors to sit on. What a wonderful “problem” to have. Better to have people sitting on the floors than empty benches.
Pastor Kossi is now training a group of young men from his congregation to help him in the work of ministry. While Pastor Kossi has been meeting with them on a regular basis I was able to spend a week teaching them basic doctrines. These classes went really well. I am hopeful I can aid Kossi in training these men by spending even longer in Togo on my next visit. In a country largely lacking in Lutheran workers it would be a wonderful blessing to Kossi and the church to have a handful of men able to help him in all the mission opportunities before them.
Pastor Ude
FALSE TEACHINGS ON THE END TIMES#1 We must be alert to these dangerous errors among Christians.
The Millenium – There are Christians who teach that Christ will reign on earth visibly for exactly one thousand years. They will use the words of Rev. 20:1-6 to prove this. First of all it should be remembered that after the messages to the seven churches in Rev. 1-3 we have symbolic or picture language to reveal the truths of God. To say that it is exactly a thousand years in chapter 20, is to depart from the explanation of the figurative language empty tomb. During the “thousand years” the conqueror on the white horse goes forth with His Word to win others for the kingdom, Rev. 19:11-16 At the end of this perfect period of time the devil is allowed to exercise his power, Rev. 20:3,7, Matt. 24:22 Then in the end the devil and his allies are destroyed forever. Rev. 20:10 We are now in the battle, the continuous Armaggedon, the fight of faith. But the victory is ours already and victory is assured by our resurrected Lord. To say Christ will reign visibly on earth is to dispute Him when He said that His kingdom was not of this world, Jn. 18:36 and that the kingdom of God is within or in the midst of you, Lk. 17:21 in the many chapters before. One thousand years is a perfect period of time during which something is accomplished. 1000 is ten times ten times ten. Ten is a number of completeness to the Hebrews. In v. 2 Satan is defeated, Christ conquered him on Calvary.
There are a number of variations on the false teaching of a literal thousand year reign of Christ on earth. They are answered with the clear Word.
1. There is only ONE resurrection, in which both the good and the evil will rise. Jn. 5:28-29, Acts 24:15, Dan. 12:2
2. The believers will rise ON the Last Day and not before. Jn. 6:39-40
3. Nothing comes between our death and the Last Judgment. Heb. 9:27
4. Nowhere does Scripture speak of TWO returns of Christ.
5. When Christ does come again, it will be for judgment, and not for an earthly battle. Mt. 25:31f., 1 Thess. 4:16-17, Heb. 9:28
6. All the earthly days of the Christian will be days of tribulation, which will INCREASE in intensity until the Last Day. Mt. 24,25, Lk. 21, Jn. 16:33
7. Christ’s Kingdom IS NOT of this earth. It is spiritual and our battle is spiritual,, not physical. Jn. 18:36, Eph. 6:12f., 2 Cor. 10:4, Lk. 17:20-21, Rom. 14:17-19, Mt. 5:3, 5-15, Acts 14:22
Pastor Koenig