Daily Bread – March 14, 2024 (The Fifth Day – Genesis 1:20-23) Acts 1:8 – …but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the farthest reaches of the Earth. Being Jesus’ Witnesses In The Local Church The ministry of Jesus was only observed in the nation of Israel. It was the plan of God that those redeemed by the blood of Jesus and baptized in the Holy Spirit would take His ministry to the ends of the Earth. This same phrase is found in the Septuagint in Isaiah 49:6. “hoes eschates tes ges” from its Hebrew equivalent “ ad qetzeh ha aretz” (unto the ends of the Earth), “I will also give you for a Light to the Gentiles, that you may be My Salvation unto the end of the Earth.” There should be three ongoing strategies involved in our ministry responsibilities. As those who represent Jesus and the Kingdom of God on Earth, there must be a local ministry, a national ministry, and a foreign field ministry. The local ministry should in large part be fulfilled through the local church. The local churches are the pillars of the Kingdom of God in the Earth. Without the local church there is no substantial witness and presence of the Kingdom of God and the ministry of Jesus in our communities. The local church is to be the light and center of the ongoing work of Jesus in the Earth. It is in the local church where we are all able to participate in much of what is described in the New Testament (Matthew 28:20; Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12, 14). Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 3/14/2024
