Gabfest with Ps Jabu Mnculwane

WHO IS GOD?

God is the ultimate source of all reality. He created the tangible and intangible. We get the information of who God is from two sources.

1) Intuition

Intuition Definition: "Your intuition or your intuitions are unexplained feelings you have that something is true even when you have no evidence or proof of it." ~ Collins Dictionary

At an early age, one knows there is a God intuitively and we are born with that intuition. That intuition gets ignited as you grow and get exposure to the Bible.

2) Holy Bible

The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is all about witnessing this ultimate source of all reality. Some people may use the scientific revelations that contradicts what is written in the Bible, but we need to note that the Bible was not written as a response to some scientific discovery.

The Bible was written as a witness to this great God who created Heaven and Earth. This God is the creator of our first parents Adam and Eve, and this sovereign God is also a Father to all of us. We get this information from Jesus, the ultimate witness of our heavenly Father.

This God is the Creator, the Father of all humanity, He is the Shepherd, He's the sustainer of every living thing. Ultimately, He'll live with us. The Bible tells us that in the new heaven and the new earth, God and Jesus Christ will live with men. Ultimately God created us to have a relationship with Him.

[Revelation21:3]

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with themandbetheirGod.

[Revelation21:4]

’Hewillwipeeverytearfromtheireyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old orderofthingshaspassedaway."

WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY?

The word Christianity is first introduced in the book of Acts. [Acts11:25]

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus tolookforSaul, [Acts11:26] andwhenhefoundhim,

[Matthew 7:24] hebroughthimtoAntioch.Soforawhole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called ChristiansfirstatAntioch.

The word Christian is taken from the word Christ because these people were considered to be Christ-like. They were considered to be Christ people because of the teachings of Christ. Jesus came to teach on repentance and that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Christ taught his disciples the ethics of the kingdom and He addresses these ethical issues on Matthew 5 from verse 3 to verse 12. He (Jesus) then addresses the relationship in the kingdom of God on Matthew chapter 6.

These people, because of the Christ's teachings, they imitated Jesus. It is important to note that a disciple is not like his teacher, but when he's fully trained, he will be like his teacher. They were called Christians because the teachings of Jesus Christ that lead to the transformation of this community of disciples and then they started resembling and demonstrating the characteristics of Christ.

[Luke6:40]

The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like theirteacher.

It is important to note that we do not automatically become Christians for being born into a Christian family or listening to sermons. We become Christians by practicing and listening to the word of God.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

[Matthew 7:25]

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

[Matthew 7:26]

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

[Matthew 7:27]

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

[Matthew 7:28]

Ps Jabu Mnculwane

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

[Matthew 7:29] because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Christianity is the relationship between the Saviour King and the saved sinner and Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God. The teachings of Christ must bring in transformation in your heart and point you towards Jesus Christ.

[Romans 10:9]

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

[Romans 10:10]

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

WHAT IS THE BIBLE AND WHAT MAKES THE BIBLE DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER BOOK?

The Bible is a book that talks about one God. Who is in three persons, namely, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Bible testifies of the existence of God. The Bible is not about us, it is about a God who created everything and the Bible testifies that when God saw what He has created, He said it is good. The Bible itself is a book about God, yet communicated through cultural words that are spoken by people and therefore it is a Revelation. . It is not something that someone could just sit and give it a thought, those words were divine and we see the impact of that even today because we have living transformed lives. We have hardcore disobedience people like ourselves but when we encountered the Bible, God was able to transform us through the Bible. The Bible is the one word about the one God and the one testimony that shows us the way of life. Although the Bible mentions different characters throughout, the Bible is about God who was dealing with people from creation up to the new creation. The starting line in the Bible states that in the beginning God created and the very same God who created history will close down history.

You can have other teachings from other books but when the testing times come it all comes back to how your foundation was laid.