Ken Blue Ministries

SOME GREAT THINGS IN THE EARLY ACTS CHURCH

October 9, 2011 by Ken Blue

By Ken Blue

Although God has blessed us with many great blessings in this dispensation, it is interesting to see how He blessed and equipped the early church. Several “great things” are found in Acts 4-5:16.

1. We have a record of a great many conversions. “4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.” “14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”

2. They experienced great opposition. “6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.” “17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.”

3. They had great boldness. “13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

4. They demonstrated great faith. “24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.”

5. Great Bible knowledge. “25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?”

6. Great expectation. “30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.”

7. There was great unity. “32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.”

8. Great power. “33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”

9. Great grace. “33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”

10. Great sacrifice. “he apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,”

11. Great fear. “5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.” “11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

12. Great miracles. “16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.”

These are a few of the “Great things” in this section. You, no doubt, can find more. A pastor could build a great sermon, or a great series of messages from these.

LET’S STUDY REVELATION # 7

October 8, 2011 by Ken Blue

A Message to the Seven Churches

“1:12-17 “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:” (Revelation 1:12-3:22).

J
ohn “turned” to see the vision of the churches and the Son of Man in their midst. They were “behind him” and out of necessity he turned to see them. He says, “and being turned, I…” Thus, we know that the seven churches and the Day of the Lord were in existence in the vision, when the Spirit transported John forward into the Day of the Lord.

John saw seven golden candlesticks and the High Priestly Son of Man in their midst. Luke tells us that during the Acts period, “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). These priests and many others like them formed the Hebrew Church. They found that there was no place for them at Jerusalem in the temple or in the local synagogues. We find their candlesticks are located in Asia. John writes to warn them that, as the Jewish nation had lost its candlestick, theirs too was about to be removed unless they repented. They did not, and the Hebrew Church ceased to exist.

When we speak of the Hebrew Church, our reference is to those Hebrews who believed the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and the twelve concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. Many believed their message and waited for the Kingdom to appear. Most who held to that hope were killed or driven out of the land. These believers were scattered throughout the Roman world and continued the rest of their lives knowing only the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. Apollos illustrates this truth. “This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). The twelve at Ephesus were also in the dark concerning certain changes God was making from the Kingdom offer to the dispensation of grace and the church (see Acts 19:1-12).

Because of Israel’s rejection of their King and Kingdom, God withdrew His promised Kingdom of Heaven with Israel and started a new church, the body of Christ, with Paul as its Apostle. Most of the Hebrew churches never came to the knowledge of this new church; which was neither Jew nor Gentile. Thus, the Hebrew churches went into apostasy and ceased to exist. The Lord was in those Hebrew churches until their candlesticks faded and went out. God will once again jumpstart His program with these Jewish assemblies, and their candlesticks will again give light; even as He will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and it’s light will shine for the whole world.

Most Christians assume that the Day of the Lord begins immediately following the Rapture of the church. However, there is no proof for that assumption. It is possible that several years will transpire between the Rapture and the beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Some writers suggest a forty-year gap. If so, this would give more than ample time for these Jews to realize that Jesus was the Messiah and begin worshipping and serving Him in the synagogues in Asia (see Isaiah 53).

When God jumpstarts His program, Daniel’s seventieth week will be in progress. The Hebrew church will once again be in existence. Thus, they receive this warning in prophecy given by John.

The number “seven” is a number of perfection or completion. One need not assume that there will be only seven Hebrew churches in the Day of the Lord. The messages to the seven were intended for the entire believing remnant.

“…the Son of man…” (v.13) a title given to Jesus Christ and speaks of His right to rule and reign as the last Adam. The first Adam disobeyed God, believed Satan and lost his dominion of the earth. The last Adam obeyed unto death and will overcome and conquer where the first Adam failed. He will do so as a son of Adam, the Son of Man. Thus Jesus is seen in the midst of the Jewish assemblies, in the Day of the Lord, as the Son of Man in a priestly capacity.

Dake gives us the follow notes on His appearance.

1. His body was clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded with a golden girdle (Rev. 1:13; cp. Daniel 10:6).
2. His hair was white like wool and snow (Rev. 1:14; Daniel 7:9).
3. His eyes were as a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14; Rev. 19:12; Daniel 10:6; cp. Hebrews 4:12).
4. His feet were like fine brass (Rev. 1:14; Rev. 10:1; Daniel 10:6).
5. His voice was like many waters (Rev. 1:14; Rev. 8:5; Rev. 10:2-4; Rev. 11:15; Rev. 14:2; Rev. 16:17-18; Rev. 19:6; Psalm 29; Hebrews 12:26; Daniel 10:6).
6. His right hand held seven stars, which were the pastors of the seven churches (Rev. 1:20).
7. His mouth had a two-edged sword coming out of it (Rev. 1:16; Rev. 2:12,16; Rev. 19:15,21; cp. Eph. 6:17; Hebrews 4:12).
8. His countenance shone like the sun (Rev. 1:16; Rev. 10:1; Daniel 10:6).

The reader should review the cross references for the interpretation the Holy Spirit gives on Jesus Christ as Israel’s King and High Priest.

WHY NO CHRISTIAN HAS AUTHORITY OR POWER TO HEAL

October 3, 2011 by Ken Blue

There are many today preying on the sick, hurting, and infirmed, under the pretense that they have a special message or power from God to set them free. These men and women are false teachers and making merchandise of the hurting by selling their books, tapes, and seminars.

I can prove to you that no person on earth today has the gift of healing as taught in the Bible. In fact, my book on Why Bible Believers do not Speak in Tongues, silences all of them, and no one has or can refute it.

I will give a list of questions on this subject. They are simple, and the respondent should be strait forward with his or her answers. Please don’t waste my time with your beliefs or hearsay. We want the truth.

Do you believe the miracle working power Jesus and the disciples had are present today?
Do you know anyone with those powers?
Do you know anyone who was dead three days or more and was raised from the dead?
Do you know of any mentally retarded person who was healed by the gift of healing?
Do you know anyone blind from birth, and a faith healer restored their sight?
Do you know anyone who could not walk for 40 years, and was restored by a faith healer?
Do you know a miracle worker who walks on water?
Do you know a miracle worker who feed thousands with a little boy’s lunch?
Do you know anyone with ALS that was healed by a faith healer?
Do you know anyone who had Alzheimer’s that was healed by a faith healer?

If you have positive answers to the above, please send us their name and address so we may contact them.

The above ten questions should be enough to get us started. Now, before you answer; yes I believe the entire Bible. Because I know how to rightly divide it, I don’t believe in Faith Healers or any of their claims today. However, proof is sufficient. Kingdom miracles fazed out as that gospel was rejected, and the new gospel of grace was introduced by Paul.

Pastor to be executed in Iran!

September 29, 2011 by Ken Blue

Muslims must be proud of a religion that can only keep their followers by killing all non Muslims, or execution any who convert to other religions. That mafia concept is so foreign from anything taught by Christianity, it is impossible for them to comprehend it. If you think Islam is a friend of America or any other religion on earth, you don’t understand their religion or culture.

Iranian Pastor Faces Execution for Refusing to Recant Christian Faith
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published September 28, 2011 | FoxNews.com

An undated photograph circulated by religious rights organizations shows Youcef Nadarkhani and his family.

An Iranian pastor who has refused to renounce his Christian faith faces execution as early as Wednesday after his sentence was upheld by an Iranian court.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who maintains he has never been a Muslim as an adult, has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ, the 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court ruled. Iran’s Supreme Court had ordered the trial court to determine whether Nadarkhani had been a Muslim prior to converting to Christianity.

An undated photograph provided by the American Center for Law & Justice shows Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor who faces execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith.

The judges, according to the American Center for Law & Justice, demanded that Nadarkhani, 34, recant his Christian faith before submission of evidence. Though the judgment runs against current Iranian and international laws and is not codified in Iranian penal code, the judge stated that the court must uphold the decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom.

When asked to repent, Nadarkhani stated: “Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?”

“To the religion of your ancestors, Islam,” the judge replied, according to the American Center for Law & Justice.

“I cannot,” Nadarkhani said.

Nadarkhani is the latest Christian cleric to be imprisoned in Iran for his religious beliefs. According to Elam Ministries, a United Kingdom-based organization that serves Christian churches in Iran, there was a significant increase in the number of Christians arrested solely for practicing their faith between June 2010 and January 2011. A total of 202 arrests occurred during that six-month period, including 33 people who remained in prison as of January, Elam reported.

An Assyrian evangelical pastor, Rev. Wilson Issavi, was imprisoned for 54 days for allegedly converting Muslims prior to his release in March 2010, Elam officials told FoxNews.com.
Nadarkhani, a pastor in the 400-member Church of Iran, has been held in that country’s Gilan Province since October 2009, after he protested to local education authorities that his son was forced to read from the Koran at school. His wife, Fatemeh Pasandideh, was also arrested in June 2010 in an apparent attempt to pressure him to renounce his faith. She was released in October 2010, according to Amnesty International.
Nadarkhani was sentenced to death for apostasy last September based on religious writings by Iranian clerics, including Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the fact that there is no offense of “apostasy” in the nation’s penal code, Amnesty International reports.
In June, the Supreme Court of Iran ruled that a lower court should re-examine procedural flaws in the case, giving local judges the power to decide whether to release, execute or retry Nadarkhani. The verdict, according to Amnesty International, includes a provision for the sentence to be overturned should Nadarkhani renounce his faith.
Elise Auerbach, an Iranian analyst for Amnesty International USA, told FoxNews.com that an execution for apostasy has not been carried out in Iran since 1990. Nadarkhani’s sentence is a “clear violation of international law,” she said.
“The key is to keep up the pressure and to publicize the story because it obviously outrages most people,” Auerbach said. “It’s part of the pattern of persecution based on religion in Iran.”
Kiri Kankhwende, a spokeswoman for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a human rights organization that specializes in religious freedom, told FoxNews.com that Nadarkhani was asked for the fourth time to renounce his faith during a hearing early Wednesday and he denied that request.
“We’re waiting to hear the final outcome,” she told FoxNews.com. We’re still waiting to hear what they’ve decided.”
Kankhwende said Nadarkhani could be executed Wednesday or Thursday.
“Iran is unpredictable,” she said. “We can’t say when it might happen. It’s a very real threat, but we can’t say when exactly.”
Officials at the U.S. State Department declined to comment when reached on Wednesday. Attempts to reach his attorney, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, were not successful.
House Speaker John Boehner said Nadarkhani’s case is “distressing for people of every country and creed,” according to a statement released on Wednesday.
“While Iran’s government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith,” the statement read. “This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity. I urge Iran’s leaders to abandon this dark path, spare [Nadarkhani’s] life, and grant him a full and unconditional release.”
Father Jonathan Morris, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of New York and an analyst for Fox News Channel, said Nadarkhani’s case is “unmistakable evidence” that Iran is executing Christians simply because they refuse to become Muslims.
Morris continued: “Will President Obama, and the free world, allow the United Nations to continue in its cowardly silence on this matter?”

This was forwarded to us by Dr. Richard Flanders, a friend of our ministry. He was one of the key-note speakers in Kurdistan during our school for Pastors.

LET’S STUDY REVELATION # 6

September 29, 2011 by Ken Blue

John says he was “…in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” Not by any stretch of the imagination is John saying he was “filled with the Spirit on Sunday.” John was not in “a state of spiritual exaltation” on a Sunday morning. Rather, he was carried away by or in the Spirit as illustrated in the book of Ezekiel. “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (Ezekiel 1:1).

Just as Ezekiel was literally in Babylon among the captives, John was literally outside the land of Israel on the isle of Patmos. Likewise, as Ezekiel was transported in the Spirit to Jerusalem, John was transported in the Spirit two thousand years forward into the “Day of the Lord.” This is the key to understanding the Book of Revelation. “And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy” (Ezekiel 8:3). Another example is in Ezekiel 37:1, “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.” Note also the following: “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne” (Rev. 4:2). “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” (Rev. 17:3). “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,” (Rev. 21:10).

When John was transported forward into the Day of the Lord, that day was already in progress (see verses 19-20). Not only does John state this, but it is also implied in the verse under consideration. Verse 10 says, “…and heard behind me a great voice…” When John heard the “voice behind” him, he “turned” to see the One commanding him to write.
The voice, which sounded like a trumpet, was for clarity and preparation for war. God’s judgments on Israel and the kingdom of the Beast are preceded by the sound of trumpets.