Biblical Moments with Frank King

What is the work of the local church? For any organization to succeed, it must know its mission. No business can effectively reach its goal if it does not know what the goal(s) is. The same is true for local churches. They have a God-ordained role to play in the lives of their members.
God has blessed the church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are the key players in the work of the local church. They are gifted, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12, KJV).
Some church members, perhaps many of them, believe the work of the ministry is mainly for the pastor and other staff members on the church’s payroll. But the main focus of church leaders should be to feed the flock so that they can grow to maturity. In turn, these are to do the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. This is how the local church becomes strong and less susceptible to false teachings and false prophets.
A number of benefits exists for being a member of a local church. The church is a platform for us to corporately worship God. The local church also provides a means for having fellowship with people of like faith. That’s important because you may work in a place where few, if any, believers exist that you can connect with and speak openly about your faith and be encouraged. But the church is also the place where you become better equipped for the work of the local church.
Sad but true, some local churches don’t have an effective plan for the spiritual growth of her members, nor for their involvement in the work of the local church.

According to Jesus, a Great Celebration will occur in heaven one day. Every one of us has been invited. That’s because Jesus died on the cross making it possible for everyone to be a part of that heavenly gathering. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
“A certain man made a great supper, and bade many,” Jesus said (Luke 14:16, KJV). ‘And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, “Come for all things are now ready”’ (verse 17).
Jesus taught this parable Jesus while at the house of one of the chief Pharisees eating bread. Through the parable, Jesus used an earthly story to share a heavenly message.
In the parable, those who had been invited gave ridiculous excuses for not being able to attend the great supper. Thereby, Jesus underscored the feeble excuses people give for not accepting the invitation to attend the Great Celebration that will occur in heaven.
Why do people come up with so many far-out excuses for rejecting Christ and salvation? Many of us have heard those excuses during our attempts to win others to the Lord. The main reason is because of the deception of the enemy. In 2 Cor. 4:4, the devil is referred to as the god of this world. According to that verse the devil has, “Blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (NASB).
A primary goal of the local church is to help as many people as possible attend the Great Celebration that will occur in heaven. We, the believers, are the Lord’s ambassadors. He has commissioned us to invite others, on His behalf, to be a part of this grand occasion.

Children need parental discipline but most of them don’t want it. Those of us who are parents know the value of proactive parenting. The same is true about God who is our heavenly Father. He disciplines us because He knows that for us to reach our maximum potential, we must be properly attended to.
No true believer is an exception to the Lord’s disciplinary role. The writer of Hebrews writes, “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son [or daughter] whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6, NASB).
Note the word “every” in the verse. It means no exceptions.  The word “scourge” denotes a whip for punishment. Of course, since we are talking about God, this is not a reference to a physical whipping. But sometimes, chastisement without whipping can be more painful than physical whipping.
So, how does the Lord discipline us? He has three primary ways of speaking to us to help us grow spiritually and become more like Him. One is by the Bible. Paul writes that the Word of God is profitable for correction and reproof (2 Timothy 3:16). Another way He challenges our conduct and behavior is through the Holy Spirit. He lives in us to bring about conviction when we are out of line. Thirdly, God speaks to us is through His messengers challenging us through preaching and teaching.
These three ways God speaks to us have one common goal. It is to motivate us and to help us become more like Christ. And when we refuse to or when we are slow to respond to these primary catalysts for disciplining us, God knows how to “speak” to us more loudly to get our attention.
God’s disciplinary acts may not feel good while we are experiencing them, but in the end, they will yield us a more fulfilled Christian life.

On the day of Pentecost, after Jesus had returned to heaven, something phenomenal happened in a place called the upper room. The Spirit of God was poured out upon the people who were assembled there. This experience was not limited to the apostles. But it was experienced by approximately 120 men and women. 
Furthermore, after the day of Pentecost, the Bible records several other times where groups of people had the same experience. In the Bible, that experience is referred to as the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
This experience was spoken of in the O. T. in the book of Joel the prophet. There, God said, “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28, KJV). Apostle Peter cites that prophecy on the day of Pentecost.
It is important to distinguish between one being born of the Holy Spirit and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who repents of his sins and places his trust in what Jesus did on the cross is immediately born again of the Holy Spirit. That person has everything he needs to live for the Lord and to go to heaven.
The baptism with the Holy Spirit, however, is another experience administered by the Holy Spirit that empowers our life. In Luke 24:49, Jesus refers to the experience as being endued with power from on high. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told the disciples they would receive power AFTER the Holy Ghost had come upon them.
In some Christian circles, they passionately argue that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is always accompanied by speaking in other tongues or by prophesying. It is acknowledged that that was the case in the instances recorded in the book of Acts. But the purpose of this experience, Jesus says, is to empower our lives.

The basic work of the Holy Spirit is to bring about spiritual rebirth in the life of those who accept Christ as their Savior. Except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. But the work of the Holy Spirit does not stop at spiritual rebirth. This podcast episode provides some practical insights on the subject of spiritual gifts. These gifts are imparted to believers by way of the Holy Spirit.
This a broad and fascinating subject. It is way beyond the scope of this podcast episode. A series of episodes would be required to do the subject justice. However, the points shared in this episode are basic to the subject of spiritual gifts. As such, no matter how deeply you want to go into this subject, the biblical truths shared in this episode apply.
In Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, he addresses the gifts of the Spirit. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, I would not have you ignorant,” he wrote (1 Corinthians 12:1, KJV). In chapter 12, Paul reveals nine phenomenal gifts of the Spirit. And as we consider that list, we get a feel for the breadth of the works of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians.
Some believers are turned off by the subject of the gifts of the Spirit. That’s because of the exploitation and misuse by some church leaders. But this in no way diminishes the importance of this work of the Holy Spirit. Rather, it underscores the importance of gaining a better understanding of spiritual gifts.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not given to us to bring attention to ourselves. Nor to be used as a basis of showing how spiritual we are. Rather, they are for ministering to the body of Christ—nothing more, nothing less.

What interests God the most? It’s the thing that makes heaven more excited than anything else. The answer to that question is critical because we cannot pursue the heart of God if we don’t know where the heart of God is. In this podcast episode, Frank King addresses heaven’s greatest joy.
According to Jesus, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7, NASB).
Christians gathered as one pleases the Lord. But nothing we as Christians can do pleases Him more than reaching the lost. It was His boundless love for the lost that motivated Him to give us His only begotten Son to die for us to save us.
During Jesus’ day, the religious leaders complained that He kept company with sinners. Evidently, they thought there was something wrong with what Jesus did. Sad but true, there exists a degree of that same kind of ignorance in the church today. Some Christians have a very wrong idea of what sanctification is all about. Yes, God wants us to live our lives dedicated to serving Him. But that does not mean avoiding interaction with the lost.
Suppose those who were saved before us had that view toward us when we were lost? And how can we reach the lost if we have that flawed view toward them today? When we show ourselves friendly to the lost, we increase the chances that they will receive our message of being reconciled to God. That’s why Jesus ate with sinners.
Since heaven’s greatest joy is for sinners to repent and accept Christ as their Savior, that’s where the church should be focused. That is also the place where God directs His resources and His power.

In the Old Testament, God instructed Moses to build Him a house. "Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them," God said (Exodus 25:8, NASB). Accordingly, we refer to the tabernacle or the subsequent temple as the house of God. This podcast episode focuses on God’s plan for this special place.
It is ironic that the sanctuary was called the house of God. We know that no building can contain God. Not even heaven can contain Him. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28, KJV). But the designation as the house of God denotes that special place where God meets His people. It is important to note that the sanctuary was God's idea and not that of man. It was His desire to dwell among His people. Similarly, today, we don’t need to beg God or try to game Him to show up. God wants to be in the midst of His people.
God gave Moses the plan for how the sanctuary was to look and for the furniture and its utensils. “According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so shall you construct it,” God said (Exodus 25:9).
The plan for the tabernacle was dictated by how God intended for the tent to be used for worshiping Him. Today, the church building is the place where we are edified, equipped for Kingdom work and for experiencing fellowship with God. Jesus promised that when we gather in His name, that He will be in our midst (Matthew 18:20). It is because of His presence among us that we should regard the church building as a sacred place.

Prayer is vital in the life of a believer because it is the means by which we make our requests known to God and in turn how we receive from Him. In the epistle of James, he writes that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). This post focuses on the importance of persistence in prayer. Ask anybody who prays to God, and they will tell you that His answers to prayers seldom come quickly.
It is no secret to us that in everything worthwhile persistence pays off. But persistence is not a popular thing these days. Persistence in prayer denotes one’s willingness and ability to stick with his petitions to God until the end. But if the truth be told, what we are looking for today are ways to get things more easily and more quickly so that persistence is not needed.
But when it comes to prayer, persistence is not an option but a must. God seldom answers our prayers immediately after we pray. During His public ministry, Jesus taught a parable to the intent that "men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1, KJV). The main emphasis in that parable is persistence.
Over time, nothing has changed, regarding God and prayer. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6, KJV). What has changed are the people who are praying to God. We don’t like to wait and stick with things for any length of time. How often have we missed out on receiving from God because in prayer we gave up too soon?