Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
The goal for each of us who share truth of God should be to teach those things Jesus commanded us.
And the goal for all who belong to God should be to do all Jesus says.
We are recreated in the image of Jesus (The Word) each time we do that which Jesus says.
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In the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Jesus commanded many things.
Then in the remainder of the Bible, Jesus spoke by His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, commanding God's word and God's way for the church.
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Here are a few of the things Jesus commanded us:
Matthew 23:8-10 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
In the New Testament Church, given by Jesus after the resurrection, HE gave the following ministry offices for the church: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher.
Ephesians 4:8 When HE (Jesus) ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (ministry gifts given to help the NT church)
11-15 And HE (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into HIM in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
In the New Testament Church, given by Jesus after the resurrection, HE gave the following ministry offices for the church: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher.
Ephesians 4:8 When HE (Jesus) ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (ministry gifts given to help the NT church)
11-15 And HE (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into HIM in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
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Matthew 6:1-4 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Often on TV, we will hear how a corporation has given all proceeds to a charity. I always wish they had not told that, remembering what Jesus said.
When we do give something to another, let us do as Jesus said, not seeking praise of men for that we have done.
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Matthew 5:32 whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Matthew 19:3-9 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Mark 10:11-12 Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
I Corinthians 7:10-11 (The apostle Paul says) And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
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If you want to bless yourself, do what the word of God says. If you think it is more than possible for you to do, ask God to help you to do the word of God.
There is great blessing in doing the Word of God.
Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus said: whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
HYMN: Standing On The Promises Of God
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
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HYMN: Standing On The Promises Of God
(Click forward arrow > to play music:)
1. Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Chorus:
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
2. Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
3. Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
4. Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.
5. Standing on the promises I shall not fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call.
Resting in my Savior as my All in all,
Standing on the promises of God.
(Click pause symbol, " ... at beginning of hymn, to stop music)
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The following scripture pertains to this hymn:
v. 2 By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
The living word of God is the word spoken to you by the Spirit of God during the crisis. By His Spirit, God will bring to our mind ideas that show us what to do, or scriptures which show us what to do.
And when it is of God, it will never fail. We can put our trust in what we have heard from God by His Spirit.
The living word of God is just exactly that, living, because it is instantaneously brought to our mind by God through His Spirit. You can hunt for a scripture and fail. But you will not fail when it is the Holy Spirit bringing the scripture to your mind.
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v. 3 Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
We are freed every time we have a word from God brought to our mind by His Spirit, and when we believe and act on that word in the midst of the trial or temptation.
Several years ago, I received a birthday card from a high school friend. In the card she enclosed a note telling me all the plans she had for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. She was going to be with her husband, her daughter, and her grandchildren, celebrating.
Instantaneously, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind these words, "You are dead, and your life is hid with Christ."
I replied to the Holy Spirit, "Yes!"
Then I saw that if I had not heard from the Holy Spirit in this matter, I might have been a little bit depressed or down because I don't have a husband, or daughter, or grandchildren. Nor did I have any plans for the holidays. I was going to be alone.
But God delivered me from depression or sadness by bringing His word on the matter by His Spirit.
Colossians 3:1-4 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
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v. 4 Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
God speaks to each of His children by His Spirit which lives inside each child. The Holy Spirit brings thoughts from God to our minds to show us the way of God and the will of God as we live on this earth.
We overcome the trials and temptations of this present earth as we hear from the Holy Spirit daily, and take appropriate action to the instruction given by the Spirit.
You do have to be careful. For the devil will try to imitate God and bring thoughts to your mind which are opposite to the way God wants you to go. And often our own fleshly preferences will bring thoughts to us which seem good to us, but are opposite to the way God wants us to go.
But if you are a child of God, if you will ask God to confirm the way to go and to make it clear to you which thought is HIS, and if you will take time before you act, it will be made clear to you which thought is from God.
We must pay attention to those things spoken to our minds by the Holy Spirit in order to follow God. And we do overcome daily with the Spirit's sword.
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v. 5 List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call.
Resting in my Savior as my All in all,
Once we have established that a thought is from God, we must focus on that thought and rest in that word that we have heard from God concerning the matter at hand. Often, we have to keep it before us day and night to be strong enough to continue in that direction.
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