The Epic Life - Bob Hallman: Recent Episodes
The Epic Life - Bob Hallman
Are you up for living a radical and adventurous life with God? Bob Hallman‘s Epic Life podcast is designed to encourage you to do just that! It‘s our goal to strengthen and encourage you to ”Love God, Love Others and Make Disciples”!
(Pastor Bob's sermons notes on this series can be found on bible.org).
IntroductionIn contrast to the false teachers and so-called “super spiritual” believers infiltrating the Colossian church, Paul, in his opening greetings give us some wonderful authenticating characteristics of true Christianity.
And even as he wrote this letter to the Colossian church he was imprisoned. He could have been bitter, confused, angry with God, even depressed. Instead, he chose to live and model a life of gratitude to God!
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Introduction
Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount, which is a proclamation of the law of His Kingdom, with three pairs of contrasts, all meant to sway us to a life of obedience to our sovereign Lord and King:
- Two gates: One narrow leading to life – the other wide leading to destruction.
- Two trees: One good bearing good fruit – the other bad and being cut down.
- Two foundations: One on the rock surviving a storm – the other built on sand and being destroyed by the same storm.
In the midst of these destiny-shaping choices, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:1-6 to not be condemning in our judgment of others, but to biblically assess (adjudicate) our own life as well as those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ!
May God bless you through this message!
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Introduction
Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount, which is a proclamation of the law of His Kingdom, with three pairs of contrasts, all meant to sway us to a life of obedience to our sovereign Lord and King:
- Two gates: One narrow leading to life – the other wide leading to destruction.
- Two trees: One good bearing good fruit – the other bad and being cut down.
- Two foundations: One on the rock surviving a storm – the other built on sand and being destroyed by the same storm.
In the midst of these destiny-shaping choices, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:1-6 to not be condemning in our judgment of others, but to biblically assess (adjudicate) our own life as well as those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ!
May God bless you through this message!
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
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Encouragement for Dads!
Duct tape is like the force--it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together – everything from our car's dangling side-view mirror to making our slippers last just a little longer!
Key points:
- Stick to the main thing
- Hold it together
- Be strong yet flexible
- Avoid exposure to damaging elements
- Remember: You're not the permanent solution
May God bless you through this message!
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Introduction
As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals the standards, morals, ethics, attitudes and conduct characterized by the citizenry of God’s kingdom and the importance of having “20/20 Spiritual Vision”!
I The Problem with Judging
- Do not judge or you too will be judged: [Verse 1-2]
Judge = Krino = “To separate or make a distinction between things”
Positive: “To distinguish or adjudicate”
Negative: “To critically condemn, punish, damn”
The first is judicial and sanctioned -- the second is judgmental and condemned!
Most the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said. They seem to think Jesus commanded a universal acceptance of any lifestyle or teaching.
The judgmental critic is a fault-finder who is negative and destructive towards other people and enjoys actively seeking out their failings. He puts the worst possible construction on their motives, pours cold water on their schemes and is ungenerous towards their mistakes.In our day, the word "judge" has a negative connotation. But it's certainly not wrong to "discern" the distinctions between one thing and another. In a very basic sense, we "discriminate" between things every day.
May God bless you through this message!
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Introduction
As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals the standards, morals, ethics, attitudes and conduct characterized by the citizenry of God’s kingdom and the importance of having “20/20 Spiritual Vision”!
I The Problem with Judging
- Do not judge or you too will be judged: [Verse 1-2]
Judge = Krino = “To separate or make a distinction between things”
Positive: “To distinguish or adjudicate”
Negative: “To critically condemn, punish, damn”
The first is judicial and sanctioned -- the second is judgmental and condemned!
Most the people who quote this verse don't understand what Jesus said. They seem to think Jesus commanded a universal acceptance of any lifestyle or teaching.
The judgmental critic is a fault-finder who is negative and destructive towards other people and enjoys actively seeking out their failings. He puts the worst possible construction on their motives, pours cold water on their schemes and is ungenerous towards their mistakes.In our day, the word "judge" has a negative connotation. But it's certainly not wrong to "discern" the distinctions between one thing and another. In a very basic sense, we "discriminate" between things every day.
May God bless you through this message!
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
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Is there really such a thing as “Wealth Without Risk”? Absolutely!! But it’s not going to be found in the midst of man’s shifting principles as he clings desperately to his stuff on a doomed world.
Rather, it can only ultimately be experienced by those who believe God’s Word, become a child of God and live their lives for God’s eternal kingdom!
Beginning of sermon outline:
I Kingdom Investing Wisdom
- Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth: [Verse 19]
Store up = Thesaurizo = “To amass or lay up”
Treasures = Thesauros = “Wealth”
Literal translation = “To treasure up treasure”
- Where moth and rust destroy
- Where thieves break in and steal
It may help to understand what Jesus was not forbidding:
- He was not forbidding the ownership of material goods
- He was not forbidding good financial planning and saving
- Joseph was wise for storing up grain in Egypt - Gen 41:33-38
- The sluggard is instructed to study the ant, which prepares for the future – Prov 6:6ff
- The virtuous woman is commended for preparing for the future – Prov 31:21, 25
- He was not forbidding the enjoyment of earthly goods
What was Jesus forbidding?
- The selfish accumulation of goods
- Extravagant and luxurious living
- Heartless and selfish neglect of those in need
- Materialism, which ties our hearts to this world
May God bless you through this message!
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Principle: What you are in private is the true measure of your spiritual life!
Apparent contradiction: “Rule of Thumb” when it comes to good deeds:
- If the motive is to pursue the praise of God, then let them be seen! Matt 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
- If the motive is to pursue the praise of men, then let them be done in secret! John 5:44 “… you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?”
(2011)
May God bless you through this message!
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A newspaper is a daily miracle! But they are far from perfect! Mistakes are made! When mistakes occur, editors have a section of the paper called “Corrections and Clarifications” where they amend these mistakes.
Like the errant newspapers of today, the religious leaders in Israel had not only made mistakes – they had intentionally misinterpreted the facts about the true meaning of the Law in order to justify themselves before God.
In response, Jesus confronts their false religious system by bringing “Correction and Clarification” to the true intent of the Old Testament Law, which accomplishes several things:
- It affirms God’s holy and perfect standard of righteousness based on the Law!
- It confronts us with our inability and utter failure to keep the Law!
- It leads us to receive the finished work of Christ as the only means of righteousness!
- It provides insight into the life of a Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered, Spirit-led believer!
(2011)
May God bless you through this message!
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A newspaper is a daily miracle! But they are far from perfect! Mistakes are made! When mistakes occur, editors have a section of the paper called “Corrections and Clarifications” where they amend these mistakes.
Like the errant newspapers of today, the religious leaders in Israel had not only made mistakes – they had intentionally misinterpreted the facts about the true meaning of the Law in order to justify themselves before God.
In response, Jesus confronts their false religious system by bringing “Correction and Clarification” to the true intent of the Old Testament Law, which accomplishes several things:
- It affirms God’s holy and perfect standard of righteousness based on the Law!
- It confronts us with our inability and utter failure to keep the Law!
- It leads us to receive the finished work of Christ as the only means of righteousness!
- It provides insight into the life of a Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered, Spirit-led believer!
(2011)
May God bless you through this message!
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
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Like the errant newspapers of today, the religious leaders in Israel had misinterpreted the facts about the true meaning of the Law and had disseminated their misinformation among their fellow Jews for centuries. Jesus gives the correct interpretation of the law.
Note: The last half of the sermon is missing, but the instructive notes for Reconciliation are below:
The appeal for corrective action: [Verse 23-24]
- If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you:
- Leave your gift there in front of the altar
- First, go and be reconciled to your brother
- Then come and offer your gift
How important is it to reconcile broken relationships? So important that it takes priority over everything else – including worship!!
- Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court
- Do it while you are still with him on the way
On the way to where? To civil court – the place that Paul exhorts believers in conflict to avoid at all costs since it represents an utter failure on the part of Christ-following believers (1 Cor 6:1-6).
- The rationale: [Verse 25-26]
- Reconciliation is preferable to imprisonment
- Or he may hand you over to the judge
- The judge may hand you over to the officer
- You may be thrown into prison
- You will not get out until you have paid the last penny
Penny = Kodrantes = “One tenth of a denarius (a day’s pay)
It was the smallest Roman coin in use among the Jews at that time.
Biblical process of reconciliation: Matthew 5:23-24; 18:15-17
-
- Be willing to see your own fault/sin and confess it
- Be eager to repent of your sin
- Be ready to ask for forgiveness for your sin
-
- Be prepared to make restitution when appropriate
May God bless you through this message!
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Introduction
Matthew skips some of the earliest events as recorded in John's Gospel: the wedding at Cana, the first cleansing of the temple, the encounter with Nicodemus, the visit to Samaria and reveals to us a most remarkable event – the temptation of the Messiah!
Why is this event so important?
- It represented a supernatural showdown between Satan and the Son of God
- It reversed the failure of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Where the first Adam failed, the Second Adam triumphed!
- It demonstrated Jesus’ holy, sinless and perfect role as the atoning Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world
- It enabled Jesus to identify with mankind and become a sympathetic High Priest
- It offers believers a biblical pattern for overcoming temptation
May God bless you through this message!
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Introduction
Matthew skips some of the earliest events as recorded in John's Gospel: the wedding at Cana, the first cleansing of the temple, the encounter with Nicodemus, the visit to Samaria and reveals to us a most remarkable event – the temptation of the Messiah!
Why is this event so important?
- It represented a supernatural showdown between Satan and the Son of God
- It reversed the failure of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Where the first Adam failed, the Second Adam triumphed!
- It demonstrated Jesus’ holy, sinless and perfect role as the atoning Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world
- It enabled Jesus to identify with mankind and become a sympathetic High Priest
- It offers believers a biblical pattern for overcoming temptation
May God bless you through this message!
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
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When you consider the job description of mothering, it is truly astonishing:
A mother is the family chauffeur, gardener, family counselor, teacher, pediatrician, entertainer, maintenance worker, cleaning woman, housekeeper, cook, errand runner, bookkeeper/budget manager, interior decorator, caterer, dietitian, secretary, public relations person, and hostess.
Being a mother is definitely challenging. In fact, at times, it can be overwhelming. Here are some challenges that mothers face:
1) Low self-esteem
2) Monotony and loneliness
3) Stress from too many demands
4) Lack of time with her husband
5) Confusion about child discipline
6) Maintaining a peaceful home atmosphere
7) Need for outside role models
8) The daily challenging of training up children
(From And Then I Had Children, Susan A. Yates)
In light of these challenges, what does a mother really need? What does you mother really need? Obviously, she your needs your respect, your love and your appreciation. But there is something a mother needs even more than these. Since God created women and motherhood, let’s turn to Ephesians 5 and find out what God says mothers need most. (2001)
May God bless you through this message!
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In Matthew chapters 1 and 2 we were introduced to Promised Messiah:
- His genealogy: Being of the ancestry and lineage of King David
- His virgin birth: Conceived of the Holy Spirit
- His visiting guests: The Wise Men, AKA King-Makers, of Persia
- His miraculous deliverance from King Herod
Only Luke’s gospel records any events of Jesus’ childhood:
- He astonished the spiritual leaders of Israel with the depth of his spiritual understanding and insight (Luke 2:41-48).
- He had an awareness of God’s calling on his life (Luke 2:49)
- He was obedient to his parents (Luke 2:51)
- He grew: (Luke 2:52)
- In wisdom and stature
- In favor with God and men
Unlike Luke’s account, Matthew skips directly ahead 28 years to the start of Jesus’ ministry.
May God bless you through this message!
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In Matthew chapters 1 and 2 we were introduced to Promised Messiah:
- His genealogy: Being of the ancestry and lineage of King David
- His virgin birth: Conceived of the Holy Spirit
- His visiting guests: The Wise Men, AKA King-Makers, of Persia
- His miraculous deliverance from King Herod
Only Luke’s gospel records any events of Jesus’ childhood:
- He astonished the spiritual leaders of Israel with the depth of his spiritual understanding and insight (Luke 2:41-48).
- He had an awareness of God’s calling on his life (Luke 2:49)
- He was obedient to his parents (Luke 2:51)
- He grew: (Luke 2:52)
- In wisdom and stature
- In favor with God and men
Unlike Luke’s account, Matthew skips directly ahead 28 years to the start of Jesus’ ministry.
May God bless you through this message!
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----more----
We are faced with a choice when it comes to the Messiah:
- We can be like Herod, who responded with fear, jealousy and hostility
- We can be like the religious leaders who responded with indifference
- We can be like the Wise Men who responded with submission, worship and joy!
Isa 55:6-7 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
As stated on a popular bumper sticker: "Wise men still seek Him" (2011)
May God bless you through this message!
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We are faced with a choice when it comes to the Messiah:
- We can be like Herod, who responded with fear, jealousy and hostility
- We can be like the religious leaders who responded with indifference
- We can be like the Wise Men who responded with submission, worship and joy!
Isa 55:6-7 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
As stated on a popular bumper sticker: "Wise men still seek Him" (2011)
May God bless you through this message!
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
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Most of us skip over these sections like Matthew 1:1-17 and they are rarely read in public. And I’ve never met anyone who has memorized this passage or put it to music and led a congregation in singing it! t reminds me of the story of the man who was asked to write a review of the phone book. His summary: “Great cast of characters. Weak plot.”
But skipping over the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:1-17 would be a mistake! (2010)
- There are no portions of the Bible that are unimportant – every word counts!
- The genealogy of Christ is a treasure trove of spiritual truth and revelation!
May God bless you through this message!
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
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Most of us skip over these sections like Matthew 1:1-17 and they are rarely read in public. And I’ve never met anyone who has memorized this passage or put it to music and led a congregation in singing it! t reminds me of the story of the man who was asked to write a review of the phone book. His summary: “Great cast of characters. Weak plot.”
But skipping over the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:1-17 would be a mistake! (2010)
- There are no portions of the Bible that are unimportant – every word counts!
- The genealogy of Christ is a treasure trove of spiritual truth and revelation!
May God bless you through this message!
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
https://www.theepiclife.org
https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife
https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
Paul unveils some truly remarkable facts about Easter and the power of the resurrection.
No person by intellectual quest can discover the knowledge of God. Many people attempt, through religion and various spiritual experiences, to attain a deeper knowledge of God. But it is impossible for fallen man to reach the infinite wisdom of God by self effort.
A knowledge of God must be revealed for us to comprehend Him. That is what the cross is all about - God's divine intervention in a broken, sinful world with the purpose of revealing himself through Christ and reconciling us to himself through Christ's death on the cross.
Know His Incomparably Great Power For Us Who Believe
- The power manifested in the creation of the world
- The power manifested in the resurrection
- Exerted in raising Christ
- Exerted in seating Christ in the heavenly realms
Dynamis = explosive power
Energeia = effective or operational power
Kratos = power that is exercised in resistance and control
Ischys = used of bodily strengt/muscular force, inherent, vital power.
Do you ever feel like you're too weak to go on? Take courage! (1998)
May God bless you through this message!
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Introduction
The chapters in our study today establish the “Civil Laws” of Israel -- the regulations that involve the just punishment and procedures to follow for crimes committed. These were the laws that Moses was instructed to teach those who were put over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens (Ex 18:21-22).
Blessings,
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As we look at these civil laws instituted by the Lord, we observe several things:
- They reveal a morality/ethic that was far beyond that of the nations in that day.
- They reveal the depravity of man in that we need these laws in the first place.
- They reveal to us the fairness, goodness and justice of God.
This excerpt is from a sermon by Pastor Bob Hallman on the Book of the Covenant in Exodus, which provides legal guidelines for the Israelites. The sermon highlights the uniqueness of this ancient legal system, which emphasizes justice for all and includes laws regarding slavery, personal injury, and the death penalty. Pastor Hallman compares the Book of Covenant to the Code of Hammurabi, emphasizing God's more just and merciful approach to governance. He then connects these ancient laws to the teachings of Jesus, emphasizing the importance of love, compassion, and surrender to God in the modern context. Finally, Pastor Hallman invites listeners to dedicate their lives to God, becoming "bondservants" who are committed to serving their master and fulfilling his purposes.
Enjoy the rest of the message.
Blessings,
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The provided text is an excerpt from a sermon by Pastor Bob Hallman, who explores the Ten Commandments, emphasizing their relevance for modern life. He contrasts Ted Turner's dismissal of the commandments as outdated with Ted Koppel's assertion of their enduring value. Hallman then examines the commandments in detail, interpreting each one in light of contemporary concerns and illustrating their application to personal life. He emphasizes that the commandments, while highlighting our inherent sinfulness, ultimately point towards the need for salvation through Jesus Christ. By recognizing our sinfulness, we can embrace the redemptive work of Christ and live lives dedicated to loving God and others.
Enjoy the rest of the message.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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This excerpt is a sermon by Pastor Bob Hallman, where he discusses the concept of meeting with God, using the story of the Israelites at Mount Sinai as an example. He emphasizes the importance of being in God's presence and seeking His guidance, highlighting the contrast between the conditional covenant of the Old Testament and the unconditional covenant of the New Testament. Pastor Hallman also encourages listeners to embrace their role as priests and ambassadors of God, sharing the message of His love and acceptance with others. He concludes by offering a prayer for those who wish to accept Christ and enter into a personal relationship with God.
Enjoy the rest of the message.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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This is a sermon from Pastor Bob Hallman, drawing from the biblical story of Moses and Jethro in Exodus 18. Hallman uses this story to discuss the importance of prioritizing what is important in life over what is urgent. He argues that many people, particularly those in ministry, fall into the trap of constantly tending to urgent demands, neglecting their important relationships, quiet times with God, and personal growth. He draws a parallel between Jethro’s advice to Moses and the importance of delegation and discipleship, encouraging listeners to cultivate a mindset that prioritizes spiritual growth and family above all else.
Enjoy the rest of the message.
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This sermon by Pastor Bob Hallman, from the series in Exodus focuses on the story of the Israelites' journey through the desert, particularly their experience with manna. The sermon's structure revolves around three key themes: grumbling, manna, and the Sabbath.
Pastor Hallman emphasizes the negative impact of grumbling, both in our relationship with God and others, and offers practical suggestions for overcoming this habit. He then draws parallels between manna, the miraculous bread from heaven that sustained the Israelites, and Christ, highlighting the life-giving nature of Jesus' ministry.
Finally, he explores the significance of the Sabbath, arguing that it is a gift of God designed for rest and rejuvenation, not a burden or an outdated law. The overall purpose of the sermon is to encourage listeners to cultivate a deeper relationship with God by acknowledging their own struggles, trusting in God's provision, and embracing the gift of rest.
Enjoy the message
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This sermon by Pastor Bob Hallman is based on the book of Exodus, specifically Moses's song after the Israelites escaped from Egypt. He uses the Israelites' journey as a metaphor for the Christian life, highlighting how God tests and refines his people through difficult times. Pastor Hallman emphasizes that God's power is evident, not just in grand miracles like parting the Red Sea, but also in small, everyday situations. He encourages listeners to trust God's plan, embrace challenges, and express their worship through singing and praising God.
Enjoy the rest of the message.
The Epic Life
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Exodus chapter 13, and we're continuing our study through the book of Exodus.I've entitled the message today, "The Consecration of the First Born." I'd like to begin as usual by reading the text in its entirety, and then we'll spend the balance of our time considering its application to our life this morning. It's interesting how he begins this particular passage of scripture in Exodus 13 by talking about consecration. That word means to dedicate or to devote or to set.
Listen to the rest of the message. The Epic Life
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Holy Spirit, we're asking that you just fill us up. Fill us up. You've already done such a great work in us, but we're looking forward to what you're going to teach us in the Word. And we're asking God, would you, by your spirit, fill us, fill us again, overflow our lives. For those that are discouraged this morning, fill them with hope. For those that are overwhelmed, God, fill them with confidence that you are powerful. God, for thosethat are anxious about things, remind them of your sovereignty, that you are still on your throne, that you have not moved, that you are secure, that you are unchanging, and you are going to fulfill every promise, every good purpose that you have for us in Christ. God, give us a peace in our heart that passes human understanding. And God, I pray that the result would be praise and worship to your name, and that your heart would be pleasure as you see us walk after you, God, longing for you, ministering to you, and enjoying an ever -deepening walk and relationship with our King. And we pray all these things in Jesus' name. Enjoy the rest of the message. The Epic Life
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We're looking at the Passover and its institution, instructions, and I've entitled the message, Jesus in the Passover, because he is everywhere. From the beginning of Genesis to the very end of Revelation, Christ is in the pages, and probably in no stronger and more obvious place than in the Passover meal that God instituted as they prepared to leave Egypt from their slaveryand to go toward the promised land that God had promised. I'd like to begin by reading, we're not going to tackle the entire chapter, we're going to split it in two. enjoy the rest of the message. The Epic Life
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It's interesting that this particular chapter is really a prelude to the tenth plague. Nothing really happens in this chapter except a lot of prophecy in this in these ten short verses We have no fewer than 15 prophetic predictive events that God says are going to happen. And as I read through this, I thought, man, this chapter is just filled with prophecy. And often we don't think of the Old Testament as having prophecy except related to the first coming of Christ.
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I don't know about you, but I find it amazing how resilient Pharaoh is. Not everyone really has an idea. There's some speculation about how long all these events took place for the ten plagues, but some have speculated approximately eight weeks. I just can't imagine a worse eight weeks in your entire life. I mean, one of these plagues would have been just a terrifying,dreadful thing to have happen to anyone or any nation. But they have ten, one after another, after another, after another, because one man has such a hard heart. And the question I had as I was thinking this through is how could his heart get so hard? How could a man's heart be so blind and so resistant and so rebellious. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings,
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I get it really excited about the Bible every time I open it and there are times that it's more exciting than other times but I just really love the Word of God and I want to encourage you even before we read this in some ways this is kind of an obscure passage it's like well what are we going to get out of this plagues You know, lice, frogs, I mean, you know, let's get to something that talks about love and God's faithfulness and his plan for our life. Well, this is part of God's love, part of God's plan, part of his faithfulness. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life
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I entitled the message "dealing with a stubborn heart" and I was thinking to myself a stubborn heart, not that any of us have ever had a stubborn heart, but I've had a stubborn heart before, and we've all struggled with it. In fact, when we're thinking of children right now, we're thinking about the fact that every child has a stubborn heart. It's kind of just ingrained in children. You don't have to teach a child to be stubborn. They seem they know how to do that on their own without any instruction at all. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings,
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By way of brief review, you'll recall that the people of Israel have been in Egypt for about 430 years at this point. They entered the country with the favor of the Egyptians under Joseph's leadership, but the winds of adversity began to blow against Israel as a new king was raised up in Egypt, and they were enslaved and put into bondage to build a lot of the major grain buildings and the pyramids of Egypt. And this went on for 400 years. In the last part of chapter five, we hear the comforting words of God Almighty to a servant Moses. Verse one we find, if you're following along in the notes, the assurance of the lord to Moses and he says now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh because of my mighty hand he will let them go by my mighty hand Pharaoh himself will drive the Israelites out. It's such a wonderful thing right out of the gate looking at the mighty hand of God. What a wonderful thing to know that Moses didn't have to do this. Imagine, he couldn't, he killed one Egyptian 40 years earlier and ruined his life, and really delayed his calling. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life
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Moses has been given this commission to go and to request that Pharaoh let the people go and that they be allowed to go out for a festival for three days in the wilderness to worship the Lord. And that's where we pick up the text in verse 1 of chapter 5 of Exodus. I've entitled the message, Get Your Own Straw. Obviously, it's lifted right out of the text. I was thinking about a story I've heard quite some time ago, and you've probably heard it as well. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessing The Epic Life
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God revealed himself in, not a pillar of fire, a pillar of cloud, or in some glorious, majestic, booming voice, but he revealed himself in a twisted thorny, useless bush, foreshadowing really the amazing gift of the indwelling spirit in the life of a believer today. And in the midst of that conversation that God had with Moses, he instructed him that he was going to be a deliverer, and he would be the one that would be sent back. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life
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The difference between chapter two and chapter three represents 40 years. And so, when we finish chapter two, we've got a 40-year gap we know nothing of Moses's life except that he was shepherding a flock of Jethro for those 40 years.
We pick up the text in chapter 3, verse 1. And I'd like to read it to you this morning. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father -in -law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to of the mountain of God. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire,... Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life
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the Bible tells us that Amram and Yacobed fashioned a basket and covered it with tar and pitch in preparation to send this little boy down the Nile River.
My guess is that God had spoken to Amram and Yacobed and said, release the child to me.In some form or another, they knew what to do, but they had no idea what the outcome would be, very much like God calling Abraham. known as a leader in Israel. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life
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If you're looking at one of the New Testament texts, people that God has chosen. And he chose them, by the way, not because they were spectacular or wonderful or especially anointed or especially responsive to God, but the Bible actually tells us in several places that God chose them because they were least of all the people. And that's how God works. He takes little people of no account, and he does wonderful things through their lives if they're willing to allow him to be king and lord of their life. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life
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The book of Exodus actually picks up where Genesis leaves off. And now through this book, we're being introduced to these great themes of deliverance that God brought to the people of Israel coming out of Egypt and out of bondage. And in the midst of this leadership that Moses exercises in bringing the people out of bondage, God begins to meet with the people and meet with Moses and begin to explain his heart toward them as his covenant people. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
But God is good, and when he's on the throne, things get better. And especially when we recognize that he's on the throne. I entitled the message "dying to defend" for two reasons: Have you ever been accused falsely? Not very many of us, right? I mean, the honest truth is, we're usually accused of stuff we've done, not for stuff we haven't done. It's like it's a rare thing when I got accused of something I didn't do, you know? But most of the time it's like, I got accused. And we still try to defend ourselves.
But there's this, there's something in us when we've done something wrong and we get accused. The first thing that happens, it's like, we want to defend ourselves. We're dying to defend ourselves. But interestingly in this text, though Paul is accused of so many things, outrageous things, he never defends himself. And I want to suggest to you that there's another meaning of dying to defend.
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John is wrapping up the second book that he's written. And there are more to come. He certainly got second and third John, but also the book of Revelation. But in the book of John,the Gospel of John, he had basically two objectives. One was that his readers would hear the good news, and secondly, that they would believe the good news. And first, John, his objective was slightly different. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
If you want to grow, if you want to be godly, if you want to be right with God, if you want to be fruitful, if you want to be full of joy and purpose and meaning, the first place to start is your relationship with Jesus Christ.
That's the first place is drawn here to Him, abide in Him. Everything else flows out of that. If you want anything that God wants for you, and What the word describes is the Christian life,then we have to start with Christ. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
We've been going through the book of 1 John and considering the life of the authentic Christian. And as I've said repeatedly over the last number of months, If it isn't authentic, it's not worth living. If we aren't going to be serious about completely giving ourselves to the things of the kingdom, then it's not worth being a hypocrite, because it's just too... It's completely futile to believe, have a certain belief system, and then live in contradiction to that belief system. It's not good for us, and it's not good for the people around us.
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The authentic Christian life, and as I've been saying for a number of weeks here, in fact, a couple of months, if it's not authentic, it's not worth living. It's not worth going to church. It's not worth reading your Bible if it's not authentic. It's a waste of our time. It's a waste of my time. And I'm not talking about you being a waste of my time. I'm saying if I'm not living an authentic Christian life, I'm wasting my time because God is looking for people who will live the authentic Christian life. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
The topic of his message to the people that he's writing to, is love. It's the supreme test. It's a supreme authentic test for true Christianity. As I've been teaching, that without love, we can be all kinds of things. We can be knowledgeable about Scripture. We can be gifted. We can be teachers. We can be worship leaders. We can be serving after church, before church, during the week. We can be sacrificing ourselves, our finances. We can be sacrificing our time to good deeds. We can be doing all kinds of things. But the scripture says that if we do not have love then all of those things amount to nothing in God's sight. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings,The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
We've been, again, looking through the book of 1 John at the qualities of the authentic Christian life. That's what living the Christian life is all about. In fact, when I was at Kapa 'a High the other day, I had a question-and-answer time for about 15 minutes and one of the kids said that the biggest turn off for them is hypocrisy. And one of the questions I asked them right at the start is, you know, when you think of a pastor, what do you think of? And of course they said, "Oh, a holy man and a righteous person." And I said, "Come on, you know, tell me what you really think and then then all the stuff came out you know, and I explained to them that's why I couldn't think of anything worse in life than being a pastor when I was a young person and now, I'm so grateful at God's calling. The fact is, John is talking about the authentic Christian life and how important it is to live the authentic Christian life . Enjoy the rest of the message Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
Last week, as I was talking about the example of Cain, there are a couple of things that came to mind in terms of hate and love. And when I think of hate and the example of Cain, hate is negative. Clearly, it's a very negative kind of quality. It's a quality that God doesn't allow in our lives unless we're hating sin and hating evil. And hate when it's demonstrated toward other people, it seeks another person's harm. And it doesn't even mean that we have to act on it. But even in our hearts, if we're withdrawing or pulling away or angry or bitter toward another person, we're actually seeking the harm of the other person in that relationship. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
The thing that's so sad is oftentimes there are Christians, and I don't think we have any in this church, but sometimes it's a struggle for us. Sometimes we'll slip and fall and we'll find it's kind of half in and half out of God's kingdom in our hearts. And it's misery. It's really awful because we can't enjoy sin and we can't enjoy our relationship with the Lord.
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This last couple of weeks we've been taking a look at the book of 1st John, and it's just been marvelous seeing what God has for us as believers. It's incredible. And this last week, John kind of interrupts himself in chapter three. If you want to start turning there, that would be great. But he interrupts himself as he's talking about the authentic Christian life and what it entails and what we should be looking for in terms of fruit in the authentic Christian life.
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Between authentic Christianity and Gnosticism, which again, for those of you that haven't been here with us, is just the teaching and belief that You can profess one thing with your mouth and have a spiritual relationship with God and at the same time live any way that you want So there are no constraints.
You can do anything that your heart desires and still please God and they were involved in sexual immorality. They were involved in idolatry They were involved in all kinds of things anything was fair game and it didn't have any impact on your relationship with God because the physical body and the spiritual nature were so separated that they had no impact on each other.
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The first thing that John tells us in this verse in chapter 2, verse 28, he says, "Continue in him." And this word "continue," it's a different word than we've been looking at in the last couple of times we've been studying first, John, but it's the same word as remain. It's the same word as to abide. It's the same Greek root word, but the context is slightly different, so the interpretation or the actual wording is slightly different.
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John has been speaking as I've said so many times in the course of this study, to Gnostics. And he's speaking to the early church about the perils of Gnosticism. And he continues his address in first John dealing with the spiritual perils of the last days. And part of that spiritual peril is the Antichrist. And John more specifically addresses Antichrists in the plural.
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I'm looking out at all of you and I'm thinking, "That's my sister. That's my brother. We're going to be together forever." So even though you're strangers to me, I got to meet a few of you. It's like, "Man, we're family. We're permanent family.
That's wonderful. First John chapter 2 verse 15. The scripture says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does, comes not from the Father, but from the world. And the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
You know, John has been laying out what it means to be an authentic Christian, what it means to be a genuine Christian. And, he's laid out a number of things for us the genuine authentic believer walks in the light, acknowledges and confesses sin, obeys God's commands, and walks as Jesus walked. And he's laid out some pretty stiff standards for what it means to follow Christ.
Today what we're going to look at is his encouragement, his affirmation of the believers in their walk with God. Because after getting this far and looking at these high standards, it can almost give you a feeling like, gee, can anyone consider themselves a Christian? Enjoy the message Blessings,The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
We've been taking a look at some of the characteristics of the authentic Christian life.And if you recall, one of John's primary aims is that we would have fellowship with a father, with the son, and with one another. And that fellowship, if it's genuine, authentic Christian fellowship, is centered on Jesus Christ. He talks about several characteristics that should mark the life of a Christian. And again, I want to emphasize we're not trying to generate these things in our life, but If we're abiding in the vine, if we're abiding in Christ and we're drawing off of Him, spending regular time in fellowship with Him, enjoying communion with Him, being led by the Spirit, then these fruits should be evidenced in our life. Enjoy the rest of the message Blessings,The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
First John chapter 2 starting in verse 3. We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. "The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him." But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. As I was thinking about 1 John, and of course as we've talked about 1 John extensively for the last few weeks, John's purpose is to kind of straighten out some faulty doctrine that was happening in the New Testament church, and the problem was Gnosticism, as we've talked about that. And I've spent some time over the last few weeks explaining what Gnosticism is. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
I hung out with a bunch of different groups. I didn't just hang with one group and so I would kind of bounce around. But I'd even go to parties. I'd be with all kinds of people that liked me and that I like.
And I'd still just this emptiness inside. And I'd turn on James Taylor. And you know, when you're done, and you need help, and you know his music. And he's talking about a friendship that is committed when the bottom's falling out and everybody else has left you, you've got a friend.
Unfortunately, James sings in a lot of his music and he doesn't have any friends. He struggles with a lot of loneliness himself. Even when I've listened to him at concerts, I went to a couple of his concerts, and he shares it.
A lot of this stuff comes right out of his own agony. Of course, that's where people write their music and whatever they're doing, literature, music, poems, whatever. It's coming out of their own experiences most often. But I'll never forget that music because it really prompted me to understand how important it was for me to have a faithful friend.
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The Epic Life
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We've been going through the book of 1st John. And we've looked at the Gnostic heresy. We won't go into a lot of that. I am trusting that some of you that have come from other parts of the country are well -taught and are somewhat familiar with Gnosticism. But I am going to touch on it just a little bit, some more aspects of Gnostic heresy that will help us to understand why John was writing the things he did in this passage and why it was so important Enjoy the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
Do you remember those days when you were afraid of the dark and you wanted the little light on? So, I've got to turn the light on. And in fact, if I don't and I forget and I go out the door and he forget, I'll hear this cry, "Daddy, you know, I need the light on." And so I have to come back up, and he's just not comfortable until the light Is on. And you know, I thought about that this week as I was looking at this passage, and I thought, you know, I not only remember what it was like to want the light on when I was a little boy, but interestingly enough, as an adult now, I'm saying, "Could somebody please turn on the light?" But I'm saying it for a different reason. I'm not saying it because I'm scared of the dark, but because our culture has-- the consequences are. Enjoy the rest of the message. The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
You know, I was meeting with the Father, and I was meeting with some friends this week and non -Christian friends, people that we've met here since we've come to the islands, and one of the things that has struck me in my conversation, not just with them, but with a number of unbelievers that I've been speaking to since we've arrived, and the thing that the one theme that keeps coming through is that these folks are looking for something authentic. They want something that's genuine. They want something that's true. They want something that's really life -changing Enjoy the rest of this message of a sermon replay by Pastor Bob Hallman Blessings, The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate His righteousness. Enjoy the rest of the message, The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have practiced deceit the poison of asks is under their tongue under their lips Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood destruction and misery are In their ways and they know the way of peace but have not and the way of peace excuse me They have not known there is no fear of God before their eyes Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who were under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.
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Paul has made a powerful statement that "Mankind is guilty before God in chapter one." He's posited that God has revealed himself and we have rejected him.
Step by step, God continues to reveal himself and continues to present the gospel through the prophets and his word and the scriptures and the testimony of the saints. And yet, there is this tendency for us to push beyond the barrier and the boundaries of his love. And because of that, he says he gave mankind over to the next level of sin, and when they pushed those boundaries, he pushed them over or gave them over to another boundary level of sin.
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It's such an important component of the Gospel is understanding God's indignation toward sin. And so let's take a look at the text itself, and then we'll consider its application to our life this morning.
Beginning at verse 18 of chapter one in Romans, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God as manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened professing to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four -footed animals and creeping things. Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever Enjoy the rest of the message, The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
Pastor Bob’s preached his last sermon series in 2017 in the book of Romans. Due to his cancer diagnosis, he was unable to finish the entire book but you can hear an older version of subsequent chapters (include the link). His last sermon from Romans 3, “A Righteousness from God” is especially powerful! He uses the cancer diagnosis process as an illustration explaining God’s process of diagnosing and providing a remedy for our sinful condition. Well, this letter to the church in Rome reveals several things about the apostle. Not only did he have a zeal of a prophet, he had the mind of a scholar, the determination of an apostle, but he also had the heart of an under shepherd. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings,The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
Pastor Bob’s preached his last sermon series in 2017 in the book of Romans. Due to his cancer diagnosis, he was unable to finish the entire book but you can hear an older version of subsequent chapters Romans — The Epic Life His last sermon from Romans 3, “A Righteousness from God” is especially powerful! He uses the cancer diagnosis process as an illustration explaining God’s process of diagnosing and providing a remedy for our sinful condition. What a joy it is to come to that place of accepting my true condition. You know, I don't need any pretense about my life. I don't need to hide. I don't need to present someone greater than I am. I don't need to try to impress you. or to try to somehow bolster myself up and make myself courageous in some way as it relates to who I am. Now I can just be me. And it's like, it's kind of a rough thing. It's like a dual -edged sword. On the one hand, it takes brokenness and a surrender to come to that place of saying, I'm the worst sinner I know. And then it also just gives me this incredible freedom. I've never really known before where all the pressure's off. You know, all the phoniness, all pretense. I'm not saying I'm without any of that, but it's falling away the more I know Christ. And it's such a glorious thing to be able to walk into that. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings,The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
As I consider this text, fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit and the text that I just read, I'm surprised at how important this work of the ministry is of the Holy Spirit. So important that Jesus said to his disciples, "It's far better that I leave than stay." And I'm thinking to myself, how could it be better than having Jesus right next to you?
And I thought as a younger Christian, well, what Jesus must have meant it would be far better not for just the disciples, but for the whole world, because he can't be everywhere at once. But he wasn't talking to the whole world at that time, he was talking to his disciples. And he said, "It's far better for you that I go "so that the comforter can come."
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One of the things that's been happening this last week is that a lot of people in the fellowship have been getting really hammered. hammered with spiritual warfare. And for those of you who don't live here, this place is a gorgeous place. I mean, I think it's probably one of the prettiest places in the world. It's certainly up in the top ten, if not up there in the short list.
But it's also a place of tremendous spiritual warfare. And one of the things that I was told Mike McIntosh by Mike before he, before I got over here, is that this place is like the blackest, darkest place he's ever been.
Listen in to the rest of the message as Pastor Bob speaks more on this subject.
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1 Corinthians chapter 12. Now, about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagan somehow or other, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore, I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them and all men.
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A particular type of gift, the elitist gift, is that if you don't have it, somehow, you're not really a believer, somehow, you're not really a Christian. Of course, those things aren't true, we know that. But as we watch that kind of abuse, the rest of us who believe in the gifts because they're scriptural, they're laid out for us repeatedly in the Bible, the rest of us acknowledge them, but then we shy away from using them and we're not exactly how to use them biblically without coming off as kind of flaky and weird and without being a participant in the abuse of the gifts.
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Something's just not quite right when it's being abused, and we know that. And you can see the self -centeredness of that kind of usage of the gifts. And then what happens to a lot of us, I would say the larger part of the Christian church, because of that abuse, we've tended to kind of be like, off from the gifts. And we assent to them, we acknowledge them, we declare them biblical because they are biblical and they are in the Bible, but when we come to the actual practice of the gifts, we don't see them functioning very often in the church. And so that seems to be the kind of two opposites of how the gifts are being misused or ignored.
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If we abuse the gifts, then we're doing damage to the body of Christ and certainly not using them for the purpose for which Christ gave them. them through the Holy Spirit. And so, I talked about that last week and we're building kind of a foundation from which we can understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
And I talked about the fact that the foundation of the gifts is love. And we looked at the context of all of the passages from Ephesians, from Romans, and from 1 Corinthians. And in each of those passages, it's all around it, is the... critical importance of agape love. Blessings, Blessings,The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
There's lots of abuse when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and almost always it results from a lack of love, a misunderstanding about the foundational truth of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And I'm going to get to that in a few minutes, so I'll explain that. It's almost always emphasizing the individual rather than the corporate body, where it's drawing a lot of attention to that person.
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The Bible starts out in the book of John with John speaking of Jesus Christ. He's the Messiah He was pre -existent. He is distinct from the father and the and the Holy Spirit and at the same time He is deity. He is God and so John starts out with his grandiose beginning of explaining who Jesus Christ is. Today we're going to be looking at John the Baptist, and an introduction to his life, also looking at John's first experience with Jesus in understanding that he's the Messiah, and then look at one of them, what I believe is one of the most fundamental and basic teachings on evangelism and the Bible on how to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the rest of this message. Blessings,
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Very specifically, through Christ, to a certain lifestyle and to follow Him and to make disciples, we're going to go over some of this. But in the face of discouragement and Peter's own failure, he went back to what he was most comfortable with in the past, and he went fishing, and we talked about that life. last week. But, as Romans 11, 29 tells us, God's calling and gifts are irrevocable.
And God knew that Peter was going to take a dive for a short period of time. And not only Peter, but that he was going to influence the other disciples to go AWOL as well. But you know the wonderful thing about God, and if you get nothing else from today's message except this, I want you to remember that God... is a God that never gives up. He never says, "That's it. You're finished.
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I've entitled the teaching today "Absent Without Leave." For those of you in the military with any military background, and most of you that don't have military background, you know what?
What absent without leave means, it means a situation where a soldier commissioned to do a certain post or a certain responsibility leaves without the authorization of his commanding officer.
There are actually a number of figures in the Bible who were guilty of going AWOL. In fact, we find in the very first few chapters of the Bible Adam and Eve going AWOL on the commissioning that God gave them.
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For Christ, it's not sightings, it's appearances. Why? Because Christ made himself absolutely visible. You know, he wasn't hiding. He wasn't transporting us up into heaven and dissecting our brain and switching parts and then putting us back and trying to to erase our memories so that we couldn't recall what happened to us. No, I mean it's like Jesus came right down and he said, "Here I am. Feel me, touch me, examine me." There's no area 51 with Jesus.
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You know, over the years and over the millennia, there have been a number of men who have claimed to be enlightened and to have the word of truth. I think about Muhammad, Siddhartha Gautama, who was Buddha. We have Confucius and, of course, Jesus Christ. Each of these men, men died and was buried. But only one rose from the dead, never to die again, and his name was Jesus Christ
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And I titled the message Wonder if you're Loved. And there are very few of us who at times don't wonder or have that great need to know that yes, we are loved, and we are loved.
That's one of the greatest needs actually that God has placed in our hearts. I believe, Even more than in some cases, more than some of the basic necessities of life. We have this deep longing to know that we have value and importance and that we are loved and that's really what this message is about today. So, although it's a challenging message for me to deliver to you and a challenging one to receive, I believe that it's the fullest and most complete and most comprehensive expression of love ever known to man and ever known in the future to man.
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This is a pretty powerful passage. There's an awful lot happening in a very condensed period of time. The hours are short before Jesus' death. He is about to give up everything for you and for me. He's going to pay the ultimate price for our sin that we can be reconciled to God. But before that happens, there are some final catastrophic disappointments that Jesus is going to face in his final hours. Enjoy the rest of the message Blessings, The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
Last message we talked about Jesus' commissioning prayer, and if you recall, the first three things that Jesus prayed for his disciples, for the growth and expansion of the kingdom, was protection. And we need it. We need protection from sin and the world, but we also need protection from the onslaught of the enemy. So, Jesus prays right away for protection. Jesus is leaving. He protected them during His earthly ministry. And now that He's making the transition back to the Father's right hand, now He's asking that the Father would take over that responsibility of protecting the disciples. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings,
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"So with you, now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day, you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my father will give you whatever you ask him in mind. my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete." Enjoy the rest of the message Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
This is Jesus speaking with his disciples. And if you recall, he's in this upper room discourse with his disciples. It's one of the longest stretches in Scripture of Jesus speaking. speaking and the most intimate of all his communication with his disciples. And it's going to go on for quite a while through this book.
And we're going to be finishing up and probably in a couple of months. But he's still teaching his disciples. This is just before his death. Enjoy the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you. No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they would obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. Enjoy the rest of the message, Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
And so we have an opportunity to kind of be participants in that very private time with his disciples, and it's been made very public so that we can participate in it through the Word of God. Beginning in verse 1, Jesus is speaking. He says, "I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener." He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in me. in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings, The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
The final chapters of John comprised primarily this very intimate conversation that Jesus is having with his disciples in the upper room and last week we looked at the fact that there is no other way except through Christ and Jesus. We finished up that section talking about prayer and how we can know with certainty that our prayers will be answered if we're praying according to God's will and with the purpose of glorifying him. Today we're going to be looking at the promise of the Holy Spirit, but it's all couched in the context of obedience, which is the greatest demonstration of love for God and it's the only demonstration that God requires of true love for him. Enjoy the rest of the message.
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Trust also in me. In my Father's house or in many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be with me. be where I am. You know the way to the place where I'm going. Thomas said to him, "Lord we don't know where you're going so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me you would know my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen him. Enjoy the rest of the message. if you enjoyed this short, be sure to enjoy the full sermon here https://youtu.be/nxWsvYrNmrE Blessings,
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"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. "You will look for me." and just as I told the Jews, "so I tell you now where I am going, you cannot come. "A new command I give you, love one another. "As I have loved you, so you must love one another. "By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, "if you love one another." Today we're talking about a number of things that are important. One of the things that I am going to be talking about today is is prophecy. Jesus makes a number of prophetic predictions in this brief passage. Enjoy the rest of the message.
If you enjoyed this short, be sure to enjoy the full sermon here https://youtu.be/nxWsvYrNmrE Enjoy the rest of this message and may you be blessed by the teaching of God's word. Blessings,
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In this message, Pastor Bob talks about a speaker named the Reverend Larry Jackson. He was speaking at this even and he talked about serving his wife. And he talked about encouraging the men who were there to be excelling in service to their families. Not just reciprocating service, but to excel far beyond the service of their wives. Not to compete, nothing along that line, but just to lay down their lives for their families. And he had a little acronym, B -A -M and it means buy a mile. kept saying over and over is that whenever he serves in his family, he wants to beat his family in service by a mile. He wants to be so far beyond in service that his life is laid down that it's evident to everyone around him that he is just by a mile out serving his family. And again, it's not an issue of competition for him. It was an issue of having a laid down life, a servant heart. And so he said every time he he would do this, he'd serve. Enjoy the rest of the message as Pastor Bob Speaks more about this. Blessings,The Epic Life3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513Lihue, HI 96766https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife
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Costly Christianity is rarely lived out in the Christian community. It doesn't happen very often. I wish it happened more. It's costly because it means that it costs everything. It requires everything of us.
Many people, even in the Christian community, live their Christian lives in such a way that they kind of have a foot in both worlds. They're living their lives. life and still pursuing all of their goals and still trying to obtain and achieve all their objectives while at the same time trying to keep a foot in the kingdom of God and still trying to follow the Lord.
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As we touch on this passage today about Jesus being anointed by Mary, you have to remember what brought this occasion to pass in the first place.It was the resurrection of Lazarus. And we talked about how incredibly miraculous this was. Four days in the grave isn't a pretty sight. We kind of sanitized it in our American thinking. But in reality, it was bad. It was very, very, very bad and very ugly. And Jesus did something that was astounding by any standards. He raised a man four days dead back to life. Enjoy the rest of the message.
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Remember as we study today that God's primary purpose through Christ not only was to die on the cross but was to reveal the Father. That's what John tells us right in the beginning of the book is that he wanted to reveal the Father, make the Father known.
And as I've shared with you over the last few weeks, the Holy Spirit's job at this point is to make Jesus known. He doesn't draw attention to himself. He doesn't draw attention to his actions, but he draws attention to Jesus.
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In life, scripture and teaching of the Bible, God is absolutely determined that he gets all the glory for everything. He wants all the glory. He doesn't want to share it with us. He doesn't want to get pieces of it. He doesn't want portions of it. He wants every bit of it. He wants all of it. And for him to get the maximum glory, the situation most often has to be beyond human possibility. When it's within our power to act or to be participating in it or somehow, you're a part of it such that when it's all over and God has done the work, it's like, well, yeah, praise God and wow, I don't know if it was him or me or them or who, but God is most glorified when it's without question, all Him! Enjoy this rest of this message. Blessings,
The Epic Life
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"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep." is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. Enjoy the rest of the message.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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In this sermon audio, Pastor Bob Hallman discusses the purpose and mission of Jesus Christ. Pastor Bob emphasizes that Jesus did not seek personal recognition or start any foundations or groups in his name. Instead, his objective was to reveal God and make Him known. Bob highlights that our assignment from God is to follow Jesus' example and make God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit known to others.
He emphasizes the importance of sharing the message of God's love, forgiveness, and salvation through repentance and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Pastor Hallman expresses the incredible message that we possess and the responsibility we have to share it with others. He references John the Baptist and the Apostle John as sources that communicate Jesus' mission to reveal Himself.
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Blessings,
The Epic Life
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In this message, Pastor Bob Hallman draws a parallel between the physical weakening and vulnerability of animals that are not nourished and the spiritual danger of not consistently immersing oneself in the word of God.
Pastor Bob emphasizes the importance of nourishing oneself with the word of God to gain strength and avoid becoming prey to the enemy. He cautions against exposing oneself to great danger by not regularly engaging with the teachings of the Bible.
Bob also highlights the deceitful nature of satan, who lies and tempts individuals away from making biblical decisions. He stresses the need to consistently honor Christ and hold to his teachings, even in the face of opposition.
Furthermore, the message emphasizes the contrast between believers and unbelievers. Pastor Bob describes believers as those who hold to the teachings of Christ, consistently engage with the word of God, and honor and obey God's commands. He encourages men to lead their families in the word of God and model a consistent devotional life.
We can be assured that we are permanent sons or daughters in God's family, set free by Christ. The importance of obedience to God's commands is emphasized, with Pastor Bob reminding us the genuine love for God is demonstrated through obedience. He warns against hypocrisy and highlights the need for a sincere and obedient walk with God to experience an intimate and liberating relationship with Him. The Epic Life! Enjoy the rest of the message.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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In this profound episode of The Epic Life with Pastor Bob Hallman, we dive into the significance of Jesus declaring Himself as the “Light of the World”. Drawing insights from the Gospel of John, we examine the deep implications this has on our journey as Christ followers.
Venturing into the heart of Jewish culture, we explore their rich understanding of Jesus and the radiant beacon of light He offers. From the wilderness wanderings to the Feast of Tabernacles, we unpack the foundational context of Jesus' claims about Himself, contrasting these with instances of denial, disbelief and sin.
As we ponder the role of Christ as the divine light, we reflect on our individual choices to follow or abandon this beacon. We confront the Greek understanding of darkness, and the liberation Christ offers from such intellectual, moral, and ethical deceit. From scriptures such as Isaiah 50:10, we find reassurances of God's unwavering faithfulness, pushing us towards trusting in Him.
We further delve into the validity of Jesus' testimony and the powerful affirmations He received, which solidify His divine lineage. From His patience and long-suffering to His hard-hitting revelations about the consequences of rejecting salvation, we explore the complex facets of His divine nature.
As we conclude, we emphasize the choice to follow Christ's path of righteousness or succumb to a life of sin. This episode aims to inspire a life of fellowship and purity, free from guilt and filled with the righteousness of Christ. Tune in to understand the power of living a life fully committed to Christ, and the glorious destiny that awaits those who trust in Him.
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Immerse yourself in a deep exploration of John chapter 8 with Pastor Bob Hallman in this enriching episode of "The Epic Life." Embark on a transformative journey as you delve into the riveting tale of the adulterous woman, the paradox of cruelty and grace, and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Reflect upon your own judgmental tendencies, inspired by Pastor Hallman's intense discussions on human frailty, fear of exposure, and the consequences of living a life steeped in sin. Witness the power of grace and love as he exposes the agonizingly real nature of human hypocrisy.
In the episode's climax, Pastor Bob challenges each of us to adopt a Godly approach towards sin, setting aside societal norms of quick judgment. Uncover the powerful catalysts that can lead to sin, the contrast between societal ostracization and Divine acceptance, and the real essence of spiritual growth.
This discourse encourages deep self-reflection and transformation as it illuminates the true message of Jesus Christ: an invitation to seek repentance and experience a life teeming with His love and grace. Reinforcing the need for Churches to be safe havens, this profound sermon invites everyone to shift from condescension to compassion and from hypocrisy to humility.
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On the last day, the greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me," as the Scripture has said, "streams of living water will flow from within him."
By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given since Jesus was born. had not yet been glorified. On hearing His word, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the prophet." Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can Christ come from Galilee?" Does not the scripture say that Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem.
Listen in as Pastor Bob shares more about this message.
Blessings, The Epic Life
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"Enjoy this audio replay of a sermon Pastor Bob delivered titled " Right on Time--Every Time"
When we are weak, the power of God can be magnified through us. We are helpless without God. May God open our ears and open our eyes so that we may see the truth of Jesus Christ.
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Enjoy this audio message from a sermon Pastor Bob delivered titled, "How to Walk On Water."
In this message, Pastor Bob starts out talking about how our inadequacy actually becomes the vehicle for God's glory, and when we are most inadequate, God's glory can be displayed. The disciples get another test. Listen to the rest of the message.
You have to either paddle or pray!
We hope you will be blessed by this message.
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God, you've transformed our lives. We're not the same. We're different. And it's not because we're trying, God. It's not because we're killing ourselves following rules. It's nothing like that. It's because your spirit lives in us and you're just changing us. You're changing our desires. You're changing our lives. our values, you're changing our priorities. And Father, you're bringing life where there was darkness...
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So the character of a witness is really crucial whenever you're presenting evidence and that's exactly what Jesus is going to do. He's going to present evidence for his deity and his equality with God. And so, the character of the witness has to be above reproach trustworthy, honest, and believable.
Enjoy the rest of the message - Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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I've entitled the message this morning, the word was made flesh. I can't really claim that title since it's right out of the scripture, but that's what we're going to study today. The word being made flesh, which is what the Christmas story is all about. So let's read it out. the first 18 verses of this wonderful book of John Enjoy the rest of the message The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
Enjoy this Christmas message
You may feel like you're neutral, but God doesn't accept neutrality. Either you're for him or you are against him. Either you have received him or you are at enmity with him. The Bible says that it was just one sin that kept Adam and Eve out of fellowship with God, and it wasn't one of the seven deadly sins. They ate a piece of fruit that they were commanded not to eat.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
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Blessings,
The Epic Life
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This text has kind of a special meaning for me, as many of you know, because our son was in crisis. Gosh, it seems like years ago, but it was just a few months ago, when he was medevacked out of Kauai. And we went with a real understanding that we probably wouldn't come back with him, that that was a good likelihood that he wouldn't live. And so, as I go through this today, I'm going to be sharing some of our own experiences, some of the blessings that God poured out on us, as well as some of my failures as a Christian and as a pastor through this process. Enjoy the rest of the message. The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
I thought that this was their kingdom that they had to defend, and John the Baptist's disciples were confused about that. But John wasn't confused, and John straightened them out and explained that the kingdom isn't their kingdom, it's God's kingdom. And however, it grows, and however God chooses to use us in his kingdom, that's his business, our business is to be faithful in building the kingdom, not building our kingdom, we're building God's kingdom. So today we're going to be taking a look at a message that I've entitled, Three Strikes, The Woman at the Well.
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We've been, again, looking through the book of 1 John at the qualities of the authentic Christian life. And, you know, that's what living the Christian life is all about. In fact, when I was at Kapa 'a High the other day, I had a question-and-answer time for about 15 minutes. And one of the kids said that the biggest turnoff for them is hypocrisy. That's only about, by the way, only about four kids out of 25 go to church in that class. And which is, I think, fairly typical. And one of the questions I asked him right at the start is, you know, when you think of a pastor, what do you think of? And of course they said, "Oh, a holy man and a righteous person." And I said, "Come on, tell me what you really think." And then all the stuff came out, you know? And I explained to him that's why I couldn't think of anything worse in life than being a pastor when I was a young person. Listen to the rest of the message to hear what Pastor Bob shares about "Don't Believe Everything You Hear" Blessings, The Epic Life
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Last podcast, we spoke about Nicodemus and being born again. And on the heels of that, we have a very interesting story, a very interesting account of the disciples. And I've called this message "Kingdom Rivalry." And that's exactly what's going on here. Jealousy, envy, pride, all kinds of ugly sin in the kingdom of God. And lest we get too judgmental, I have to confess myself that I struggle with some of the same things that the disciples did. And I'm sure that all of us do at times. And so we have some really important things that I think we can learn today, not only about ministry, but about life in general and how God wants us to live it Enjoy the rest of the message. The Epic Life
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People in our culture just have this very negative view of born -againers. But the fact is that these people would be shocked if they realized that Jesus is the one who delivered that term.
He is the one that coined that term. He is the one that said that. And they probably think it just came up out of the cultural milieu of evangelical Christianity. We kind of came up with this term of being a born -again believer. But Jesus was the one that spoke these words and he spoke them to a man named Nicodemus. Be sure to listen to the rest of the message to hear what Pastor Bob shares on this subject " you must be born again". Blessings, The Epic Life
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The Father, to make known the Father, that was why He came. Everything else is an outflow and an overflow of that. His death on the cross, the healings, all the miracles, His training of the disciples, all of that was a subset of His primary objective, which was to make the Father known. And John, as we look at John chapter 2 today. Enjoy the rest of this message The Epic Life
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I've been a little overwhelmed the last few days. You know, when you get so much on your plate, it's like you just feel like this is just one thing more than I can handle. Anybody ever feel like that? Okay, probably most of us on probably more occasions than we'd like to admit.
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The book of John was written by the Apostle John, who was one of the primary disciples of Christ. It was always James, John, and Peter. They were kind of on the inner circle. And so John had a real close, up close and personal inside look at the life of Jesus. And he knew him very well. And he knew his ministry very well. He knew the heart of God through Christ very well. And he also, because of the proximity of his relationship with Christ, knew many, many, if not most, of all the things that Jesus ever spoke or did during his earthly ministry. And so he's a reliable witness Enjoy the rest of the message. The Epic Life
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A Psalm of Thanksgiving.100 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, [a]all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and [b]not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
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The Epic Life
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God is determined to finish and complete His work in you.
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When God is working and moving, there are many things we can do to impede and hinder His plan. We can actually slow down what he wants to do. There are two primary characteristics of a genuine believer.
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Love for God, Love for others.
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Servants Heart.
Scripture is Mark 10: 35
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The Epic Life
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God's design is that we make disciples. What is a disciple? A committed follower and emulator of Christ.
2 Timothy 2:1-7 NKJVBe Strong in Grace2 Timothy 2:1-7 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure[a] hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and [b]may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
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This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
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The Epic Life
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It has been described as the sweetest sound a person can hear. It can have a lifelong impact on the identity of an individual. It is one of the most defining aspects of our lives. Of course, I’m talking about our names.
As parents prepare for the arrival of a newborn, they pour over baby books and
contemplate the virtually limitless combinations available -- and their meaning –
being particularly careful not to saddle their child with an embarrassing name and
at the same time hoping and praying that the name and its meaning will give the
child something to aspire to. My parents named me Robert Brian Hallman
Robert Brian = “Bright and shining star”
My family obviously had high expectations for my life. That is until the day
at my grandfather’s funeral, when at age 7, I mistakenly signed my name
in the guest book as “Robert Brain Hallman” At that moment everyone in
my family accepted the irrevocable and disappointing truth that they had
made a tragic mistake – instead of “bright and shining star” they were
going to have to settle for “Falling Star.”
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Paul’s burning, driving ambition in life was to faithfully discharge the trust God had given him in preaching the gospel. Obedience to the Great Commission was what motivated everything he did. In 1 Cor 9:16-17, Paul tells us that he was compelled to preach. “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
David Brainerd, Missionary to the North American Indians in the mid-1,700s, put it this way:
“I care not where I go or how I live or what I endure so that I may save souls. When I sleep, I dream of them; when I awake, they are first in my thoughts.”
That’s the kind of heart that Paul had! A passion first for Christ, and a matching passion for those Christ loved.
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The Epic Life
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In the past several weeks we have been discussing disputable matters – those issues that are neither prohibited nor commanded in scripture.
With Paul’s’ help we concluded that, In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.
Or in the language of our day: Major in the majors and minor in the minors.
In other words, we need to keep the main thing, the main thing. And the main thing is Jesus!
In the closing hours of His life, Jesus prayed four times for the unity of the church (Jn 17:11, 21, 22, 23) -- a remarkable fact considering the limitless number of things that Jesus could have prayed for.
This emphasis in Jesus’ prayer speaks volumes about the importance that God places on unity within the church. In light of this, I find it amazing how quickly we get sidetracked from the “main thing” and allow disputable issues to break our fellowship with other believers and destroy the witness of the church.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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Unfortunately, some Christians take such strong positions on issues like these that their motto could be summed up in the following brief poem:
“Look as I look, Do as I do …
Then and only then, Will I fellowship with you!”
Instead, in Romans 14:1-12, we concluded that when it comes to disputable matters:
1. The strong should accept those who are weak in the faith
2. No one should pass judgment on someone else over disputable matters
3. We must let God be the ultimate judge of each man’s heart
To the contrary, the motto of the church should be:
“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.
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The greatest need of every man and every woman is love. Most of our behavior is driven by the need for love and acceptance. It’s a need designed by God to be ultimately fulfilled only by God.
Our number one problem in life, from a human perspective, is our inability to express or receive love.
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In Romans 1-11, Paul revealed to us the glorious mercies of God expressed to us in a reconciled relationship with the Father through faith in the finished sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Then in chapters 12-15, Paul indicates that God’s mercies should produce tangible, measurable, and obvious changes in the way that we live our lives.
1. In our relationship with God: Romans 12:1-2
We are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing in His sight.
2. In our relationship with other believers: Romans 12:3-16
We are to be rightly related with our brothers and sisters in Christ and to use
our God-given gifts to build others up.
3. In our relationship with unbelievers: Rom 12:17-21
We are to live in a loving and respectful manner even with our enemies.
Now in Romans 13:1-7, Paul declares that the fruit of God’s mercy should also impact the way that we respond to authority in our lives.
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In Matthew 22, Jesus summarized the whole Old Testament Law in two simple statements:
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,”
and "Love your neighbor as yourself.”
1. Love God by offering your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him.
2. Love others
In Romans 12:9-21, Paul gives 25 distinct characteristics that should mark the life of a
genuine believer – they are the fruit of a sacrificed life. As we consider these characteristics, I want to encourage you to avoid the two extremes of discouragement and pride. Where you fall short, ask the Lord for help. Where you have been faithful, give Him thanks and praise because the kind of life that Paul is describing is impossible to live apart from God and the transformational work of the Holy Spirit.
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Romans 12 represents a major transition in the book of Romans. In the first 11 chapters of Romans, Paul addressed the doctrine of salvation – how a man or woman can be reconciled to God simply based on faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. In chapters 12-16, Paul spells out some of the ways our faith and doctrine should be demonstrated in our daily lives.
In fact, the more we understand what God has accomplished for us in the sacrifice of Christ the more we find ourselves saying, “Wow! Lord, in light of what you have done for me, what can I do to serve you?
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John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. … Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
Jesus said in Matt 7:16-20 that a tree could be judged by its fruit. And in Matt 21:43 he told the Jews that since they remained spiritually unfruitful that, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
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There are few experiences more devastating than rejection. Rejection means the denial of love, acceptance and approval. In the Greek (Apotheomai) it means to be “thrust away.” At one time we have all experienced being “thrust away.”
More often than not, the deepest wounds were delivered by those from whom we most seek affirmation and approval – our parents, family, spouse, and boss. The ultimate source of affirmation and approval for the believer, of course, is God.
I remember that as a new believer, I had serious reason to believe that I had been rejected by God. As a new Christian, I found that my life was still marked by sin and compromise, and I truly wondered if I might have taken advantage of God’s grace and mercy too many times. That He would finally say, “Bob, it’s over. You have ignored my Word, violated my commands and spurned the promptings of the Holy Spirit one too many.
times.”
In chapter 11, Paul addresses the question of whether God has given up on Israel. It was a natural question because the majority of the Jews had rejected the long-awaited Messiah. At the close of chapter 10, Paul quotes several Old Testament scriptures that would seem to prepare us for God’s final and irrevocable rejection of Israel. But fortunately for Israel -- and for us -- this conclusion would be wrong!
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I’ve been accused of many things in my life, but having nice-looking feet wasn’t one of them! First of all, my feet are rather large and wide -- the result of growing up on Oahu with an aversion to shoes.
Second, I’ve always thought that my big toes resembled an astronaut with his helmet on.
Third, my feet have a tendency to sweat. Fortunately, they don’t smell – at least not that I am aware of!
Fourth, they are crisscrossed with veins on top and leathered with calluses on the bottom.
Fifth, I’ve had four operations on my left foot and plenty of scars to prove it.
And finally, my right big toenail is blackened and falling off – the result of playing basketball with Mr. Hanada.
I’m not exactly what you would consider a candidate for a “beautiful foot” contest! Maybe you can relate! Yet, today, we are going to discover how to have beautiful feet. And by God’s grace, we can encourage one another on a regular basis with the greeting, “Hey, nice feet!”
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In Romans chapter 9, Paul presented God’s elective sovereignty in salvation In Romans 10, He presents the role of human responsibility in salvation The fact is that the Bible teaches both God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. They are two sides of the same coin and, though difficult to fully understand, it must be accepted by faith.
It is not our responsibility to try to determine whom God has chosen but to proclaim the gospel to every person who is willing hear it, praying with Paul’s earnestness that they will believe and receive Christ as Savior and Lord.
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The Epic Life
3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513
Lihue, HI 96766
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There was a time when almost everyone believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that all the other planetary bodies rotated around the earth. But in 1543 a Polish Astronomer named Copernicus published a book showing that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of our solar system. But his theories were scoffed at and rejected as the musings of a “mad scientist.” However, in the early 17th century another astronomer named Galileo, armed with a new invention called the telescope, demonstrated the truth of the Copernican theory and was eventually condemned for heresy during the time of the Great Inquisition. The Roman Catholic Church believed that this new theory was a threat to God and Christianity.
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The Epic Life
3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513
Lihue, HI 96766
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In chapters 1-8, Paul has established the Biblical principles of salvation. And in Chapters 12-16 he will discuss the practical effect of salvation in the life of a believer. However, before he does, Paul addresses the problem of salvation in chapters 9-11.
What is the problem of salvation? It is the question of the spiritual welfare of the Jews and the nation of Israel.
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Blessings,
The Epic Life
3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513
Lihue, HI 96766
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We Can be Confident in God’s Sovereignty
A. We know that in all things God works for the good [Verse 28a]
Work together = Sunergeo = “To co-operate”
It is the root from which we derive our English word, “Synergism”; The simultaneous
the action of separate forces which, when combined, have a greater total effect than the sum of the individual parts.
Application:
It is often difficult for us to believe the simplicity of this verse. If we did, we would gently and gracefully rest in God’s promise during times of crisis and uncertainty.
But we often don’t. We believe that God makes some things, maybe even most things to work out for the good of believers. But “ALL THINGS?!” However, this does not mean that everything will turn out like we would like it to in this life.
No matter what happens in our lives, God will use everything for our ultimate good.
Sometimes He will protect us from tragedy and sometimes He will allow us to go through it in order to mature us and draw us closer to Him.
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The Epic Life
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In the opening verses of Romans 8, we discovered that we, who are in Christ, are set free from the law of sin and death. Our lives are now marked by the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit who is able to do in and through us what we were unable to accomplish in our sinful and weak flesh.
However, life’s challenges are not immediately over. There is still the inescapable reality of suffering and pain in this life. The question is why? And how should we respond?
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Romans chapter 7 was Paul’s autobiographical description of what it is like to live the Christian life in the strength of the flesh or self-effort. It is impossible! Paul’s agonizing conclusion is that his own strength was insufficient to conquer his fleshly tendency to sin. In exasperation he cried out in verse 24 of Chapter 7, “What a wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” His answer comes immediately; God will deliver him through Jesus Christ! In chapter 8 we are introduced to the incredible power we have in the Holy Spirit who enables us to live a life that is pleasing and glorifying to God. He is not describing an occasional experience, but what should be the mark of the normal Christian life. It is worth noting that the Spirit is not mentioned at all in chapter 7 and only once in the opening chapters of Romans. But in chapter eight we discover the Holy Spirit is mentioned 20 times, giving us a very clear indication of the primary emphasis of this text.
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The Epic Life
Romans 7:14-15 is quite challenging and the subject of much debate. The question is this: Is Paul talking about his life as an unbeliever, as a carnal Christian or as a struggling believer?
Some believe that Paul is describing his life before Christ because the life he describes is in too much bondage to sin to be considered Christian. a. He identifies himself as “unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.” – verse 14 b. He describes himself as “not having anything good living in him. – verse 18 c. He describes himself as a “wretched man” – verse 2
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In Romans 6, Paul declared that in Christ we died to sin (Rom 6:2). As a result we have: 1. Died to our old nature and now have a new nature 2. Died to our old way of life and now have a new relationship with God through Christ. a. We have a new nature b. We have a new power to overcome sin c. We have a new power to walk in holiness d. We have a new promise of eternal life e. We have a new opportunity to serve God with a new attitude and heart Today, we will discover that we have not only died to sin, but also to the Law. Rom 7:4 Was the Law really given for us to as the means of a right standing before God? Was the Law God’s remedy for man’s sinful condition? NO! We have already discovered in our study of Romans that the law was given: 1. So that the whole world might be held accountable to God – Rom 3:19 2. To make mankind conscience of sin – Rom 3:20 3. So that the trespass might increase – Rom 5:20 4. To lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith – Gal 3:20 The law was given to reveal God’s standard of righteousness and to show us the depth of our sinfulness and the impossibility of living it without a new nature and without His power. The law has never been man’s problem. Rather it is man’s fallen nature that makes the Law impossible to keep.
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In Romans 6:1-14, Paul taught that the key to living a life free from sin’s dominance was to: 1. Know the corporate solidarity we have with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection! 2. Count yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus The power of sin has been broken and we now have a new nature 3. Offer your bodies as instruments of righteousness Paul anticipated that the statement that we are “not under law, but under grace” would create a firestorm of controversy. The Jews believed that without the law, not only would salvation be impossible, but it would also lead to a rejection of the Law and result in ungodly behavior
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One of the dangers of preaching salvation by grace in Christ alone is that there will always be a few who will pervert that grace of God to suit their wishes – usually manifested in two distinct and equally erroneous responses: 1. Some will think that grace gives them a license to sin Jude 1:4 “For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” The Corinthian church was a good example of this kind of abuse. 2. Some will think that the potential abuse of grace must be curbed through laws and regulations a. They attempt to keep the Old Testament law (moral and ceremonial) b. They establish various man-made laws to curb the sinful nature They insist that conformity to countless man-made regulations and ceremony is necessary for true godliness and is essential to counter man’s propensity to abuse God’s grace. Although the intentions are good and even noble – to protect and bolster the pure gospel – the theology is unbiblical and the experience is miserable! Illustration: Alcohol and our previous church “policy” Paul anticipates the objections that his critics might have regarding salvation by faith in the free gift of God’s grace.
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In Romans 1:18-3:20 we discovered that the whole world stands accountable to God for our sin and rebellion against God. And that His wrath that is being revealed against all ungodliness. And against those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
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However, we also discovered in Romans 3:21-5:11 that circumcision, the keeping of the Law, or any religious ritual can't remedy our situation. The only remedy is found in accepting by faith the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ
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In this section of Romans, the hopelessly lost sinner who received a right standing simply by believing in the promised Messiah of God, now stands justified before Him.
The believer who was once under the wrath of God is now set free to exult with great joy in the salvation of Jesus Christ. There are several notable characteristics of this passage: 1. The bold confidence of its chain of assertions 2. The surprising irony that joy can come from suffering 3. The change from plural to personal singular in Paul’s writing. In chapters 3 and 4, Paul has established that salvation comes only on the basis of God’s grace working through man’s faith. Man’s only part in becoming saved is to receive forgiveness and reconciliation freely in faith from God’s gracious hand. The person who trusts in anything else, including obedience to the law or circumcision or baptism or any other human work, cannot be saved.
Faith has always been the only way to salvation. There is no other way! But how is our salvation maintained or preserved? Is it by faith or by good works? If the preservation of salvation depends on what believers themselves do or don’t do, their salvation is only as secure as their faithfulness, which provides no security at all. According to that view, believers must protect by their own human power what Christ began by His divine power,
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Last week, we discovered that Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but by faith in God.
In the text we are considering today, Paul takes his teaching on justification by faith alone a step further by saying that just as Abraham was not justified by circumcision, neither was he justified by observing the Mosaic Law
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible teaches that salvation is by faith alone! But this offends our natural thinking, because we assume that justification (or a right standing with God) should be the reward of those who do good -- and withheld from those who do evil. We want to get our salvation the old fashioned way, “We want to earn it!”
This has been one of the most successful ploys of Satan in averting mankind from discovering the path of salvation. If Satan can confuse and undermine the doctrine of salvation by faith alone then he can fulfill his diabolical plan to take as many men, women and children into the pit of hell with him. So it has been his intention to convince people that they can be made right with God and guaranteed a place in heaven by performing certain rites and ceremonies.
Because of this, every false religion of the world is based on some form of salvation by works. Some are more sophisticated and attractive than others, but they all share the common false belief that man can earn his way to heaven.
Summary of last week: Paul exposed the comprehensiveness of man's depravity: no one is righteous He then described the fruit of man's depravity: words and deeds are evil Finally he stated the cause of man's depravity: there is no fear of God before their eyes. Paul has backed all sinful mankind, Jew and Gentile alike, into the totally dark and seemingly inescapable corner of God's wrath ((1:18-3:20) This situation presents a dilemma for both God and man. 1. From God's perspective, sin demands the full expression of His wrath and punishment. Yet, God loves man and desires reconciliation 2. From man's perspective, sin eliminates the possibility of a right standing before God. Yet, man also longs to be reconciled to God There are only two ways to be right with God: 1. Through human achievement -- living a perfect life without sin 2. Through divine achievement -- trusting wholly on Christ' sinless perfection. Having presented us with a seemingly hopeless situation, Paul now begins to open the window of divine grace that lets in the glorious light of salvation through the righteousness that God Himself has provided in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Story: "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen A certain emperor who was quite vain and concerned with appearances He hired a group of clothing designers to make him some new and expensive clothes They promised a garment that would be so magnificent, so refined, that only the wise and pure in heart would be able to see it.
Then these con men went to work pretending to weave. The king's officials checked on the progress of the work, and though they couldn't see any clothing being produced, rather than be accused of being foolish and impure, they reported to the king that the garments were extraordinary!
Well, you know the rest of the story:
The king, not wanting to appear stupid, also claimed the new clothes to be beautiful! He gave the designers medals and then paraded through town in the buff as the whole city praised the beautiful new clothing, lest they be thought of as fools.
However, one little innocent boy timidly finally said, "The emperor has no clothes!" At once everyone acknowledged the truth of the statement and the hypocritical pretense of an entire nation was stripped away.
The moral of the story: People, through peer pressure and social stigma, can be influenced into denying what would otherwise be plainly obvious.
The world says that man is basically good. Our persistent problems stem from lack of education, substandard environments, lack of economic opportunity, lack of government intervention, and poor self-esteem. This view is continually reinforced by psychologists, liberal media and even religious leaders.
But in chapter 3 of Romans, Paul strips away the psychobabble and diagnoses our real problem: we are sinners! We may not like to hear that. We may resist it. We may reject it. But it is true, nonetheless. The problem of mankind is sin. Until we admit that the root of all evil in the world is found in the heart of every man woman and child on the face of the earth, any human effort to eliminate the effects of sin will fail. Paul had spent a great deal of time, going from place to place, teaching the principles found in the book of Romans, so he was very familiar with the fundamental objections that the Jewish mind would raise.
In chapters 1 and 2, Paul has shown that both Jew and Gentile alike, are guilty before God.
In the second half of chapter 2, Paul strips away the hypocritical and legalistic false securities of the religious Jews of that day.
Illustration: Ray Comfort's style of evangelism that addresses the conscience of the person.
(Living Waters, https://www.youtube.com/thewayofthemaster/videos)
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Last week we considered the wrath of God that is being revealed against all godlessness and wickedness of men. In chapter 1:18-32, Paul is primarily focusing his attention on unbelieving Gentiles. And I'm sure Paul's Jewish readers were cheering every word!
The Jews believed that everyone else would be judged except the Jewish race. They actually believed that they were immune from God's wrath simply because they were Jews. They never dreamed that they were under the same condemnation. They even took a certain delight in looking on the unbelieving Gentiles with a critical and disdainful eye.
Now Paul anticipates their hypocritical response and spends chapters 2 and 3 confronting their sin of self-righteousness and by showing with great force and clarity that, before God, they are equally guilty and condemned
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A disease or illness has to be diagnosed before an appropriate cure can be administered. In the same way, a person must be convinced of his guilt before God before he will be interested in God's forgiveness. He must be aware of his danger before he will be interested in the way of escape. He must understand the wrath of God before he can appreciate the salvation of God.
Paul, without apology, describes the depth of our wickedness and our deserved punishment before he reveals the soaring heights of the grace of God.
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The letter to the church at Rome reveals that Paul not only had the passion of a prophet, the intellect of a scholar, and determination of an apostle; but also the heart of a shepherd.
Paul Prays For The Believers A. He gives thanks to God for them Thanks = Eucharisteo = "To be grateful, or to express gratitude"
It seems that in every letter Paul was expressing his thankfulness for the positive, redeeming qualities of the fellowship. Even when he was writing primarily to correct the church, he always managed to find something in those churches for which he could be thankful. Years later, when Paul was a prisoner of Rome, he was still thankful! While there he wrote four Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). In each of these letter he gives thanks for the believers to whom he writes. Eph 1:16 "I have not stopped giving thanks for you." Phil 1:3-5 "I thank my God every time I remember you." Col 1:3-6 "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you." Philemon 1:4-5 "I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints."
Paul's thankfulness did not rise and fall based on his circumstances, but on his confidence in the sovereignty and love of God.
1Thes 5:18 "… give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
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The Epic Life
happy4thofjuly
The Fourth of July! This national holiday brings to mind fireworks, sparklers, family barbecues, picnics and baseball and, of course, our 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺!
On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to approve a complete separation from Great Britain.
Two days afterwards — July 4th —the early draft of the Declaration of Independence was signed by 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 two individuals at that time: John Hancock, President of Congress, and Charles Thompson, Secretary of Congress.
Four days later, on July 8, members of Congress took that document and read it aloud from the steps of Independence Hall, proclaiming it to the city of Philadelphia, after which the Liberty Bell was rung.
The inscription around the top of that bell, 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝟮𝟱:𝟭𝟬, was most appropriate for the occasion: “𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙛”.
On August 2 of that same year, fifty-six men signed their names to the historic document, giving birth to a 𝗻𝗲𝘄 nation as they declared their independence from Great Britain.
On the very day they approved the Declaration, Adams, foreseeing that their actions would be celebrated by future generations told Abigail: “𝙄𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝘼𝙡𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙮”.
As costly and as valuable our political 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 is, there is a far more valuable 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 that God wants you to enjoy and for which He has paid the ultimate 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 – your Spiritual 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺.
And the record of that document is found in the Word of God. It is God’s declaration of our independence – independence not from the tyranny of a mere man or political system, but from the tyranny of Satan and the tyranny of sin.
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Without question, the book of Romans is one of the most powerful and influential books ever written. It has prompted some of the greatest revivals in the history of the church. It has also influenced some of the most significant conversions in church history. St. Augustine, the most brilliant theologian of the late middle ages, came to conviction of sin & salvation after reading chapter 13 of Romans. Martin Luther recovered the doctrine of salvation by faith from his study of Romans 1:17 and went on to lead the Protestant Reformation. In his preface to the Roman letter, he wrote: "This Epistle is the chief book of the New Testament, the purest gospel. It deserves not only to be known word for word by every Christian, but to be the subject of his meditation day by day, the daily bread of his soul." His contemporary, John Calvin, wrote: "When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scriptures." Several centuries later, while listening to the reading of Luther's preface to the book of Romans, John Wesley was converted and became the catalyst of the great evangelical revivals of the 18th century. Romans has been called: "The greatest and richest of all the apostolic works." - Meyer "The cathedral of the Christian faith." - Godet "The most profound of all the epistles, and perhaps the most important book in the Bible …’ - Gordon H. Clark
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Top 10 excuses for not showing up to work:
- “If it is all the same to you I won't be coming in to work. The voices told me to clean all my guns today.”
- “I can't come in to work today because I'll be stalking my previous boss, who fired me for not showing up for work. OK?”
- “When I got up this morning I took two Ex-Lax in addition to my Prozac. I can't get off the toilet, but I feel good about it.”
- “I have a rare case of 48-hour projectile leprosy but I know we have that deadline to meet, so if you really want me to come in ...”
- “I am stuck in the blood pressure machine down at the pharmacy.”
- “The psychiatrist said it was an excellent session. He even gave me this jaw restraint so I won't bite things when I am startled.”
- “I’ve used up all my sick days … so I’d like to call in dead.”
- “My stepmother has come back as one of the un-dead and we must track her to her coffin to drive a stake through her heart and give her eternal peace. One day should do it.”
- “Constipation has made me a walking time bomb and I have to keep my back to an open window.”
- And the number one excuse for not showing up to work: “Surfs’ Up!!”
As we come to the final section of Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians we find the apostle addressing one last important issue in the church: Those who were being idle!
With chapter 3 Paul begins to bring this epistle to a close, but in doing so, we are privileged to see a wonderful model as Paul demonstrates how his team’s confidence lay not in human plans, promotion, programs, or human personalities, but in the Lord Himself.
And the two most potent weapons he has issued to us as His followers are the Word of God (specifically the Gospel of Jesus Christ) and prayer!
In this brief passage, Paul appeals to the church to faithfully utilize both for the glory of God!
Romans 1:16 tells us that “the gospel is the power of God [Dunamis] for the salvation of everyone who believers. Again, in 1 Cor 1:18 Paul states, “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
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In this portion of scripture, we're seeing people go through some very costly suffering as a result of following Christ and these were the early days of some outpourings of persecutions that would continue to grow in the church in the uh centuries to come.
The church is also facing in addition to that, false teaching from within and they're confused about a number of things. Then to top everything else off, they're looking forward to this hope that Paul talked about, this eternity and glory, the promises of the inheritance of Christ and all the things that come with ruling and reigning with Christ but because of the brevity of his initial visit they don't have a handle on that.
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Paul is writing to refute the false teaching, to assure them that the great day of tribulation had not arrived, and to give them clear instruction about the signs that will precede this great day and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
So for us, this is just an awesome text because it helps us to understand the sequence of events in scripture as it relates to the end times, and it also gives us hope and encouragement as believers that God is going to be faithful to us.
Even though we are struggling and have problems in our lives on a regular basis, we will not be going through the great day, this terrible time of Gods wrath that is going to be coming upon the world.
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Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to praise and encourage the newly birthed church in the midst of their suffering and to clarify that those who had died in Christ since Paul’s last visit would most definitely be a part of the much anticipated rapture of the church.
But now some further concerns had come to the Apostle Paul’s attention:
- There was still a great deal of confusion in the church about the coming of the Lord.
- Some were teaching that Christ had already come and that the church was already in the Great Tribulation. Their present sufferings/persecution seemed to validate this!
- These false teachers had generated a forged letter with Paul’s signature on it with the objective of discrediting Paul and undermining the believers’ confidence!
In response, Paul writes 2 Thessalonians to straighten out these misunderstandings!
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"Sometimes you may wonder if God is listening. You've been wondering, you've been praying and you've been distressed. and God hasn't answered. It hasn't been adjudicated, it has'nt been resolved. The answer hasn't come, the delivery has not yet occurred and you are wondering to yourself is God even listening. Does God Care. What I want to tell you is that , Jesus Christ in this text made a 40 mile journey on foot to meet this woman and deliver her daughter from demon possession because that's all the ministry he did in Tyre and Sidon that we are aware of. He came for this woman God cares about our problems and he cares about our needs. There's a reason why there is a delay so frequently in our prayer answers or the answer to our prayer. Bob shares that in the rest of this message.
Enjoy this audio replay of a Father's Day message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered in June 2016.
"There is a significant call that we have as Christian men. It's REALLY important. What you do by being a father is vital to your family, vital to the church vital to the community, vital to the island of Kauai, if you live here, and it's vital for the nation if you live elsewhere. "
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Concern for Their Faith 3 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4 For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain. Encouraged by Timothy 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you— 7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? Prayer for the Church 11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
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It is important to hear the word of God. The bible tells us in a number of places how important it is to hear the Word of God. The Word of God is heard through the preaching and teaching of the Bible and through the reading of the Bible. That hearing is a critical part of coming to Christ in the first place. The Gospel actually has to be heard, somebody has to speak it out loud and actually communicate it. That's why you are so important and why God is using you as you are speaking up and you are telling people about Jesus Christ and the difference He can make in their life. People are listening. They might not always agree with you, but they are hearing it and the Thessalonian church are no different.
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In chapter 2, Paul is defending his ministry. If you are a leader of any kind, comes with the territory is accusations. Maybe you are a parent, or you work in a business, or in ministry, no matter what it is, you are going to have people that doubt and question, on occasion, your character and your integrity. 00:7:20 One of the things I found over the years that I didn't realize, nobody actually told me when I was a young pastor, how important Character is. I mean it seems like it would be so obvious, but you never know how important the building blocks of consistent character over many, many, years, how important that is until you face your first false accusation. That character helps you to stand. That consistency and that reputation helps you to absorb those kinds of accusations. In the ends, those things are the things that cause people to look back and that is exactly what Paul is going to point to in this text.
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1 & 2 Thessalonians, a letter to the church, explaining the truths of the 2nd coming of Christ, The rapture of the Church and end times!
You have been chosen by God... and the Bible says the Gospel needs to be preached. Paul says in Romans 10 "14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who [b]preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
We just need to tell people, we just need to let them know, give them a chance at life eternal
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Overall theme, is the Lord's return.
End of every chapter includes are reference the to the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.
1 Thess 3:11-13 - 11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
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In chapter 4, but it displeased Jonah exceedingly, it displeased him exceedingly so he prayed to the Lord and said our Lord was this not what I said when I was still in my country therefore I fled previously to Tarsus for I know that you are gracious and merciful God slow to anger and abundant and loving-kindness one who relents from doing harm therefore now oh lord please take my life for me for it is better for me to die than live.
Then the Lord said, is it right for you to be angry? So Jonah went out into the city outside of the city and sat on the east of the city and there he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. Jonah was very grateful for the plant but in the morning in the morning dawn the next day God prepared a worm and it's so damaged to plant that it withered and it happened when the Sun arose that God prepared a vehement east wind and the Sun beat on Jonah's head so that he grew faint then he wished death for himself and said it is better for me to die than to live. Then God said to Jonah is it right for you to be angry about the plant and he said it is right for me to be angry even to death but the Lord said you've had pity on the plant for which you have not labored nor made it grow which came up in a night and perished in the night and should I not pity Nineveh that great city in which are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and much livestock.
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I want to share with you that God is patient with you. Did you know that that God loves you today that God is long-suffering. It doesn't mean he's a pushover, he's not the granddaddy in the sky where you can do no wrong, no, he's a God of justice and a God of pure and a God of holiness but he's also got a patience and he knows our frame and he knows what you've been going through and he knows your life, and he knows your struggles and what I want you to know is that God is patient with you and God loves you. Even if you've been in sin and even if you're struggling and resisting as well even right now, I want you to know that God is long-suffering toward you, but he's determined and if he has to stir up a storm in your life or send a great fish or a problem of one kind or another he will do it, but he will get you where he wants you to go if you're a believer in Him . The Bible says that he's going to finish the work he started in you and so God is a God of second chances.
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Jonah had to make a decision, I'm going to go as far away as I can and then he had to make a decision to buy boat passage and put the money in the captain's hand, and then he had to walk the plank to get up on the boat, and then he had to watch the plank removed and he had to watch it sail away. All these decisions and you know the Holy Spirit of God was working on him.
Have you ever done that? The Holy Spirit's working trying to tell you something, it's like you know I can't hear you; I can't hear you. Well, that's where Jonah was and so he travels 2,500
miles away and unfortunately, he discovered what most of us discover when we're trying to run from God. You can run from him, but you can't hide because God is everywhere and so God allowed a storm and created this storm that eventually led to Jonah being thrown overboard and to what he thought would be his death. I can only imagine the thoughts that must have been swirling through his mind as he was swirling in the waters. We don't know a lot about Jonah.
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This is the first of a four-part series on the Book of Jonah, delivered by Pastor Bob Hallman January 20, 2013.
When we come to the Book of Jonah people think man this guy is just a flaky prophet. Why did God even call this man? This man was actually a very faithful prophet of God, and we have record of him, especially as he's addressing a very wicked king of Israel Jeroboam the second, he stood up against this king and he was very courageous and speaking the word of the Lord. So, he has a history prior to this situation with Nineveh of being faithful, of being obedient, and being a powerful voice for the for the person of God, but something happened that we're going to discover as we go through this text, the reasons why.
Something happened to Jonah that caused him to completely flake out and to completely bust a move and disobey the Lord and I think you're going to find it interesting. Some of you already know the story, for some of you this story may be a bit new.
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The bible says something very clear; you are going to have tribulation. God tells us, during this window of time in human history, we're going to have trouble. In fact, he even goes farther in Jesus to say, "If you chose to live a Godly life, you are going to suffer persecution." And if you choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you are going to suffer some of the consequences of being a follower of Christ.
Some of the suffering we go through is simply a result of our fallen world. It's our own sin, it's the sin of other people, it's the corruption, it's all around us. We can't get away from it, it is everywhere. All of us are thinking, isn't there someone, isn't there anyone that can live for Christ in the midst of this culture? The answer is , Yes, we can.
God has made it possible by His spirit and by the gifts he's given us. In the meantime, as we are walking with God, as we are struggling, and yet victorious at the same time, we have an arch enemy: satan. Paul tells us very clearly, that the troubles that we have are going to come to us for a very simple reason which is laid out for us in Genesis Chapter 4. He's (satan) coming at us with everything he can because Jesus Christ's deeds are righteous and satan's are not. Chapter 5 of Ephesians has told us we need to stand firm in several areas that as new creations, as people a part of this new citizenry, our lives are to be markedly different from the worlds. When you live this right side up life, you'd think people would pat you on the back, but there will be others who come against it because it shines a light in the darkness in their life.
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The Whole Armor of God10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [b]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Now, Paul is going to take a dive into an area that by a lot of people think doesn't even belong in the Bible, and that's our workplace. He talks about our vocation and he
talks about making money, and he talks about how to conduct ourselves as employees and employers. So, this is like is this nitty-gritty or what it's like if you want to know what it means to be a Christian. The book of Ephesians is a great place to go because it not only tells us all the incredible things that God has done and is doing, and will do for the church and for the bride and for individual believers, but he goes on and he makes he puts feet on
this thing. In a very practical way, tells us how we're to conduct ourselves in our marriage, tells us how to respond to our parents, and now he's going to tell us how to live this dynamic incredible life of Christ in our workplace.
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Enjoy this audio replay of a sermon Pastor Bob Hallman delivered October 14, 2012 in his Ephesians series titled "Parenting God's Way"
Father, we thank you for the fact that you have provided us your Word. We thank you God, it's just such a comfort and actually God, it's such a joy to have it in our hands and to have your teaching your manual for life for everything including raising kids, and including being a child in a home. I'm asking today that you might be glorified. I'm asking that you change our hearts and our minds that we might be transformed we kind of come, because of the fallen nature, Lord with some wrong ideas about parenting and about being a child in the home and we need you to change our hearts. We need you to give us your perspective and your wisdom and we need you to move us God to want to do your will and walk in obedience to the things that we read in this passage today and I pray that the result would be every family would be stronger than when they came in, every family would be more encouraged and built up, every family would have a vision for the role and the important vital position that their family has in the kingdom of God, and even on this island and in the world, I ask God that you would give us a vision for what can be when we put our trust in you. So, Holy Spirit, lead our time, take my preparation and my words and my mouth and my mind, and use them to bring glory to your name.
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Enjoy this audio replay of a message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered in his Ephesian Series: Becoming A Christ Like Husband
Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy. Cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way husband's ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it just as Christ does the church for we are members of his body.
For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery but I'm talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must also love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband.
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Enjoy this audio replay of a message Pastor Bob delivered to remind us to appreciate, encourage, and thank all women in our lives, especially mothers.
Being a woman, and especially being a mom, or grandmother is challenging. Motherhood is a difficult task and a thankless job. More often than not, the average mother struggles predominately with a sense of failure, inadequacy, even though they are pouring their lives out, they are doing everything they can, the demands of the job are so overwhelming, so pervasive, so comprehensive, I'm not sure that anyone could ever feel like they've done enough. That's a real challenge for moms, and grandmas.
Today message and point of reference in scripture is offered as an encouragement for moms today. Thank you, ladies, you civilize the men in your life.
Be sure to call you mom!
Happy Mother's Day -We Love you!
Praise God we have something to look forward to. God has a kingdom for us, he's got promised for us, he's got an inheritance for us, he's got a hope for us, he's got Christ for us. NONE of that can be diminished, can't go down with the stock market, it can't disappear with our economic crisis or our debt load as a country, It's untouchable in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The scripture goes on to say "6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. "
What a great perspective... a perspective that every Christian man and woman should have, is that our problems are our friends because they refine us. They skim the dross off our lives. They reveal what's really in our heart : the faith that we've got, the confidence that we've got in God and His Word. He's building us and strengthening us through these trials. Peter says we are actually able to rejoice in these things because the are producing somethings in us that can't come any other way.
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I want to share with you we have absolutely no reason as believers to be frightened of these events that are unfolding in the Middle East or for that matter on Oahu or for that matter in our own country because God is on the throne. God is doing something significant in the day in which we live, and all these things are a part of the
eternal plan of God. He doesn't, of course have anything to do with evil. He is not
the progenitor of evil, or the genesis of evil in any way, and yet at the same time he harnesses all these world events to forcefully advance his eternal work. By God's grace we've got a very good picture of what's going to happen in the final days because of Scripture.
God has been so kind to us, in fact Jesus said to his disciples "I'm telling you all these things so that you will know that these things are coming in the world you're
going to have trouble and wow, we've got trouble in the world right now, would you agree?
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What kind of people we should be now that we have become citizens of the kingdom of God?
He says in Ephesians 5:1 "be imitators of God therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God"
We should be imitators of not only God but of Jesus Christ all through the Bible we have evidence of that we have Jesus Christ in John chapter 8 saying "I'm imitating the father I don't do anything or say anything apart from the father instructing me to do that what I see the father doing that's what I do." So Jesus Christ himself in his physical form was taking on that modeling and imitation of God the disciples were called to imitate Christ. He said "as I sent as the father sent me, I am sending you." So, there's this this passing on of this baton we have as believers.
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One of the things that is part of the Christian Life is CHANGE, big change, transformation. As we've been going through the book of Ephesians, that's the one main primary thing that Paul keeps getting at is that our destiny is changed.
Our entire life is changed, our citizenship is changed. We've gone from darkness to life, from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God.
We've gone from a place of being separated from the one true God to now having intimate relationship with him. We've gone from being aliens and strangers to the covenants to being now not only friends of God, but the very bride of Christ.
We have completely had a transformation, though it's hard to see physically, spiritually from God's perspective, it's elevated us to a place where we are seated with Christ in heavenly places.
We are now the manifold wisdom of God. The Expression of his very nature on earth to a fallen world So God has elevated us and really taken us from the pit to the place of the palace of his presence.
Along with that, there is a transformation that takes place. God is calling us to change, to be an aroma of God.
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Ephesians 4:17 - Enjoy this audio replay of a video message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered July 1, 2012.
Sometimes we forget how rich we are in Christ, how blessed we are, how much God loves us, how much he's done for us. Sometimes, we have this this heart because of our circumstances, that we're always asking God for more, and we're asking for his help, and we're asking for his effort in our behalf, but then sometimes forgetting everything that he's already done. In addition to all the things that he's done in Christ he's actually seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms and he's made us citizens of the kingdom of God we were like foreigners and aliens to the covenants and the promises of God and because of Christ's work on the cross we had been adopted into the family of God we've been naturalized as citizens of this new Kingdom. We have a new king, and we have a coming Kingdom and all these things are on the map for the believer. These things exist for us, these things are coming for us, these things are promised by God to us, and there are things that we rely on. They are things that we hold on to, there are things that are realities for us as believers and the realities in the kingdom of God.
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God does have gifts for us as a church. In this section of scripture, there is a handful that he intentionally, expressively, purposes to let us know about that has to do with the expansion and the building, and the strengthening of the church of God. They are given by God's grace, they are given strategically, and individually, and they are given for the benefit of the body of Christ. We know from other passages that no one person has all the gifts. In fact God has designed it that way so that no one person can operate independently of the body of Christ.
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Ephesians 4:1-6 I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received be completely.
humble and gentle be patient bearing with one another in love make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace there is one body and one spirit just as you were
called to one hope when you were called one Lord one faith one baptism one God.
This passage that we're looking at today God is mapping out through Paul the calling of the church and the quality of our life and the kind of people were to be as representatives of the King.
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I'm watching families, sometimes you know married couples, that are struggling and there are these breaches in the relationship and all I can say is: that's the work of the enemy. I see breaches between children and their parents and even in Christian families. That's the work of the enemy. I see breaches in families over money, of all things, stuff that won't last, stuff that doesn't matter in the larger picture. Doesn't matter nearly as much as relationships but people, when their family dies, will then fight over money.
Churches have problems, ministries have problems, cultures have problems, races
have problems with one another. Even countries have problems with one another.
I want to share with you that all these things are evidence of activity not of God, but it Satan himself. One of the problems that I think sometimes we struggle with, is that we get caught in the flesh and blood battle and we forget that God, his design through Christ on the cross, was not just to forgive us of our sins and have peace with him, but he wants to establish peace across the board. He wants to break down barriers, he wants to divide to break down these dividing walls of hostility and because of Christ, the Bible says that he's able to make it possible, and made it possible because of the cross.
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I want to tell you that you have a God ordained appointment and this is one of the beautiful things about the Apostle Paul is that he recognized that the condition of his life and the situation's he was facing he's imprisoned by the way and in the writing of this letter he under house-arrest all of his privileges are stripped away and he's awaiting trial with almost a certain death sentence that's awaiting him and in the midst of this he's got this sense of I'm right in the middle of the will of God and he blossoms and he produces fruit for the glory of God right where he is.
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This gift that we've got of eternal life is from Christ and it's a gift by grace. There is nothing that we could do to earn it, or to achieve it, or to merit it or to maintain it. It's all from God. Now Paul is going to tell us and remind us about what we were like before all of this goodness from God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ .
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In Revelation, it tells us that he will open that scroll. That scroll is the title deed to the world and God in Christ is going to redeem it. Thank God, and it's going to happen and we're not very far away, and if your vision of heaven is fat cherubs playing harps on clouds in heaven, that's wrong because the Bible says that we're going to have a new heaven and a new earth, a recreated heaven a recreated earth, and we're going to live here, we're going to recognize each other, we're going to have work to do, we're going to have the most fulfilling and satisfying and gratifying life that you can ever imagine, and the gratification and the joy and the abundance will never ever end, it will never become boring, it will never become stale, it will be the most amazing life! It's the life you've always imagine possible but could never quite experience. That's the light, that's coming, in the meantime God has raised us up and he said you're my citizens, you're my kingdom, there's a there's a king and a kingdom and a citizenry. We're the citizenry of that kingdom and God has already positioned us in this high and lofty way telling us these things. And for a very brief period of time, because life goes by fast. I know if you're younger you think it's just crawling but as you get older it like picks up speed very quickly, but it goes by very quickly and then we're going to be a part of this eternal Kingdom. For now, we have the opportunity, as a representative of Jesus Christ, to tell other people about this incredible opportunity to have relationship with God.
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The Holy Spirit has been given to us by God. We got into the boat of the kingdom of
God by simply hearing the word and then believing the message. That's all that's required and when a person hears the Word, the gospel of salvation that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins was buried and rose three days later in the power of the Spirit. That simple message, if a person is willing to receive that and repent of their sins and make him the Lord of their life, that person is saved and what that means is that they are in Christ and so being in Christ is a very simple matter. It's life changing experience, but it's a very simple matter of simply hearing the Bible, the gospel believing the message and then responding to it.
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The role of the Holy Spirit int he life of a believer. Paul says that anyone that is in Christ is considered a saint set apart for the purposes of God for very special purposes. As we've been exploring over these last few weeks: to be not just the friend of God but the Bride of
Christ himself and as a result, it says that Paul tells us that God has actually chosen us for
this role. This is collectively but also personally for each person here, you were
chosen by God, you were predestined by God, you were accepted by God, you've been
redeemed by God, forgiven by God, and because of these things, he has poured out his heart and dealing the mystery of his will to you in Christ Jesus. And then, if that weren't enough, he gives us an inheritance in Christ and in essence whatever belongs to Christ now belongs to the believer and the church and the bride because this isn't a prenuptial agreement with Jesus Christ, we go in and we get everything that belongs to him and everything that we are belongs to us.
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Ephesians chapter 1 we're going to be looking specifically at verses 7 through 12 but to get the context I want to begin at the beginning, and we'll read through verse 14. I've entitled the message "Appointed For His Glory"
When we come across a passage like this, if I didn't know better and I didn't know Christ and I hadn't been walking with a lord so long, I'd say could this possibly be true is what Paul is saying in this passage? Is this even remotely possible that God would, for people like us and you know what you're like I know what I'm like, he would be so generous and so kind and so rich in his in his pouring out toward those that call on his name. yet, we find that Paul in this explosion of praise for God and a revelation to the Church of this kindness of God he Maps for a sum not all but some of the blessings that God has given us and so we've talked about the fact that all of these blessings find their origin in God the Father who the Bible tells us chose us and he chose us to be holy and without blame before him in love and he predestined us to receive adoptions as sons and daughters of God and he accepted us in Christ.
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Everything you've ever wanted and ever longed for is found in the person of Jesus Christ: your spouse is an extension an allegory a foreshadowing of that, but your spouse can't provide what only Jesus Christ can provide. So, Paul lays out this incredible gift that God has given to us, and this love that he offers, and it's a love letter to us, and he and he puts it out there for us. He's not shy, he's not, he's not holding back, he's not illusive. No, he just lays it all out there and says what you want and what you're looking for and what your soul in your heart so desperately desire is going to be found, not in a spouse or in a career choice or a new hobbies, or a new girlfriend, or a new boyfriend, or a different husband or a different wife, but it's going to be found in the person of Jesus Christ and the sooner we accept that the sooner we will find ourself at peace the sooner we will find ourself fulfilled and the sooner we will find us successful in the other relationships that God allows us to experience in life.
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Enjoy this audio replay of an Easter message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered Easter 2010.
We pray you'll be blessed by this message, this Easter 2023.
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We are going to talk about the church and talk about God's love for the church and his plan for the church, and the blessings he's poured out on the church, and is his intention for the church and how the church is to function and how were to love each other and how were to conduct ourselves and how were to live as husbands and wives and sons and daughters, and how were to get along even with our bosses and places of employment, and how were to do spiritual warfare and carry out this great work that God has called us to do. So, we're going to go on an adventure together in the book of Ephesians.
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Enjoy this audio replay of a full sermon Pastor Bob Hallman delivered 7/27/2014
I hope and pray that you find this message very instructive. This is a gift to us, this is an absolute gift because most people, quite frankly, have broken relationships all around them they've got family that they don't get along with. the neighbors that they have problems with, and we've got problems with people in the church, we've got problems with people, problems with our marriage. marriages and our spouse and with our kids. and on it
goes. We kind of make an effort to get it worked out, but it doesn't work out and we just kind of put up with it for years. I want to tell you before I even read the text is that God is really serious about us working these problems out and so he gives us a
protocol, he gives us a process, a strategy actually, kind of like three or
four steps that he sanctions as a way to resolve problems so that we can be at
peace with one another and so that the witness of Christ can be established and maintained and so that we can enjoy our walk with God and we can maintain unity in the body of Christ in the bond of peace.
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Enjoy this audio replay of a sermon message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered 8/17/2014 about Steps to Biblical Reconciliation.
In Matthew 18, God actually gives us a remedy when scandalous behavior takes place. I'm not talking about terrible sin, although that's included, but I'm talking about anything that presents itself as a brokenness and a breach in the relationship with another believer and with other people that aren't even believers. but in particular within the body of Christ.
So, God gives us reconciling methodology in Matthew 18 verses 15 through 20 and then he wraps it up with a parable about the unmerciful servant and we went over that last week as powerful, powerful section of scripture about how serious a thing it is to receive such grace from God ourselves, for us to acknowledge our sin, to confess it to God, to repent and then to experience the benefits of his forgiveness and reconciliation and then to turn to someone else who acknowledges their sin, confesses it and repents. and we deny them those words I forgive you. So, that leads us to this text this morning which is an expansion and an explanation of this concept of biblical forgiveness and reconciliation.
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Enjoy this audio replay of a sermon message by Pastor Bob Hallman
It's kind of the elephant in the room of evangelical Christianity. We KNOW that this is the calling of the church, we know that making disciples includes everything from pre-evangelism all the way through helping someone come to know Christ through the Gospel presentation, through helping them learn basic things, like how to have a quiet time, how to know what the Bible teaches, and how to even know Matthew 28. For some people, they need simple basic instruction on what things of the Bible mean.
Enjoy the rest of the message as Bob shares more about "The Great Omission"
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What God is presenting in this text of scripture is "The Epic Life" - it's about being a part of the great work of God. We tend to fall back into a good, moral, ethical life and fall back into the things of the world.
Nothing brings value but the great commission God has called us to. There is nothing wrong with what we have in the world, but in and of themselves, these things do not bring us satisfaction
We want to be about loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and we want to be about loving other people, unbeliever and believer alike, in the same way that God loves us. The third thing is that we want to be a part of the Great Commission, this great calling: and this great calling is what adds texture to our life: adds significance and gives us an understanding of what's really meaningful.
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The mountain of evidence that God is presented to us in the form of the manuscripts is astonishing it's remarkable there's no other piece of literature on the planet like the
Bible and is well attested to as the Bible.
We also talked about archaeology and being a rather new science in the nineteenth and twentieth century, they're discovering person after person, event after event, city after city King after King, dictator after dictator, whatever's out there in the Bible, they're discovering that the Bible was way ahead of its time because archaeology seems to have one of its
primary purposes for existence as the establishment of the reliability of the Holy Scriptures.
So, we talked about that last week as well, and today, we're going to wrap up by talking about prophecy and science and how these two areas of ministry, and two areas of both science and also just prophetic fulfillment, become another foundation upon which you
can base your faith and know that this book that you have in your hand is much more than just words on a page, but you have in your hand the divine revelation of a holy God who wants you to know him who wants you to have relationship with him who wants you to be a part of his great plan. Enjoy the rest of the message.
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Today, we're going to be talking about aspects of the Bible that give us a real sense of confidence that the document you have in your hand is reliable.
As Christians, we believe that the Bible is inspired by God, that it's infallible, that there's no error in it and because we believe that and the contents of the Bible, it dictates and directs and instructs us and how we are to live our lives.
So, we have the truth coming from God and then we apply that truth to our life, but it's very difficult if you don't have confidence in the document to actually apply this book to your life. For those of you that are younger believers, and there are a number of you here that have just come to Christ this year or in the last year or two, it's really important that you have confidence in this book.
Enjoy this rest of this message as Pastor Bob Hallman talks about the Reliability of the Bible- Part I.
Blessings,
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My purpose is to equip you first of all to be strengthened in your own confidence in the Bible, but secondarily to equip you to be able to
share that confidence with other people who have questions about the Bible. Now, we need to begin with a definition of inspiration. Biblical inspiration is defined as God's superintending of the human authors so that using their own individual personalities and even their own writing styles they composed and recorded without error his revelation to man in the words of the original autographs so that what they wrote was precisely what God wanted them to write.
The Bible claims to be divinely inspired by God. It claims to be authored by God. There is no other book on the planet that makes these claims the Bible tells us. In this text this morning that it's God breathed that means inspired that's another translation for the Greek word which means to be inspired but the actual Greek word is God breathed. It came out of the heart of God out of the mouth of God and was transferred and transmitted to men who became the authors of these various books that we've got now.
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Well, this book that we hold in our hand has been called the book of books, the greatest book ever written, and it's been called the book of books because it's surpassing any other book that we have in human literature. It's also called the book of books because it's made up of sixty-six books in one singular book. It's not the account of human efforts to find God but rather the account of God his effort to reveal himself to humanity. It's God's own record of his dealing with his people in the unfolding revelation of himself to the human race. The Bible has revealed the will of God the creator of all humanity and it's given to his creatures by the Creator for instruction and guidance along the path of life and while we need instruction, when I think about Psalm 19 and the things that it says here, the wisdom, the insight, the encouragement, the strength that the Bible gives, those are things we definitely need and that's what the Bible offers. The central focus of the story that God presents is a story of redemption of mankind through the sacrifice of his one and only Son to those who would believe on him and accept him as their Savior and Lord. So, it was written that people might believe understand know love and follow Jesus Christ and our acceptance or rejection of this message is the determining factor for either our eternal salvation or our eternal ruin, heaven or hell.
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One of the greatest gifts we can give one another is self-disclosure: Our thoughts, our dreams, our life. Enjoy this audio replay of a message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered from Psalm 19 he titled: Divine Self Disclosure.
Listen as Bob describes the indescribable gift when self-disclosure happens with God.
We pray you'll enjoy this message as Bob shares scripture, personal stories, and personal application of God's Word to our lives.
Blessings,
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As I read it, God has at least four goals in Genesis chapter 42:~ 1. To bring Joseph's brothers to repentance. Will they come clean on their 20-year-old lie?
~ 2. To test an affirm Joseph’s heart of mercy and reconciliation. Will he exact vengeance or show mercy on his brothers?~ 3. To test and stretch Jacob’s faith in a time of crisis. Will he continue to live his life dominated by fear or will he trust in God?
~ 4. To advance His divine and eternal plan of salvation
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REPOST: was missing the audioThis passage recounts the conversion of Saul:
- He was a devout Jew from the tribe of Benjamin
- He was a Roman citizen born in Tarsus of Cilicia
- He was a tent maker by trade
- He was taught by Gamaliel, one of the most respected and brilliant men of Paul’s day
- He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin
- He was a relentless enemy of Jesus Christ and of the newly birthed church.
Pastor Bob Hallman gave this message in 2006.
Many people go through life waiting for the“one big break” that will turn their life around and bring them success, riches, fame, and power:1. Insider scoop on a once-in-a-lifetime stock tip2. A call from Nashville, Hollywood or the NBA3. A multi-million-dollar lotto ticket. Because of this we might be tempted to think of Genesis 41 as a record of Joseph’s much-deserved “lucky break.”
But we would be wrong on three counts:~ 1. There is no such thing as luck in the kingdom of God.~ 2. It took Joseph 13 years of obscure service to become an overnight success.~ 3. God alone determines who will be exalted and who will be humbled in this life.
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George Fox, the famous author of Foxes Book of Martyrs, said: “There are three sorts of dreams:1. A multitude of business sometimes cases dreams(Eccl 5:3)2. Then there are the whisperings of Satan in the night-season.3. Finally, there are the speaking's of God to man.”
Some 11 years earlier, in Joseph’s youth, he had dreamed two separate dreams: 1. One where his brother's sheaves of wheat bowed down to his. 2. The other where the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to him.
The meaning of these dreams seemed obvious at the time: God was going to elevate Joseph above his brothers and even his own father and mother. But from behind the bars of his prison cell, Joseph must have wondered what sort of dreams he had actually had so many years earlier.
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n 1995 Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who is the second most listened to talk radio show host in the nation, wrote a book called,10 Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives. It was a best seller!
So, she wrote three more: 10 Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives, 10 Stupid Things Parents Do to Mess Up Their Lives, 10 Stupid Things Couples Do to Mess Up Their Lives.
Her writing is filled with practical sage advice on how not to goof up your life. But the truth be told, Dr. Laura was scooped by God by 4000 years!! Because in Genesis 38, we have a record of the decisions and actions that Judah made to goof up his life. And by studying this sordid chapter, we can avoid the kinds of self-destructive actions that goofed up the life of one of the patriarchs of the faith.
1 Way Judah Goofed Up His Life: He failed to place a high priority on his relationship with God. This is evident in the life history we have of Judah so far in the book of Genesis He was the fourth born son of his mother Leah and his father Jacob. He was the one who had suggested to his brothers that they sell Joseph into slavery (Genesis 37:26) for a profit. He was a man of little or no spiritual depth. Enjoy the rest of the message.
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According to George Fox, author of Foxes Book of Martyrs, there are three types of dreams: ~1. Dreams that result from a multitude of business and an overworked mind~2. Dreams that represent the whisperings of Satan in man in the night-season
~3. Dreams that come as the result of God speaking supernaturally to man
Job 33:14-18 “For God does speak-now one way, now another--though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. ”But sometimes dreams are nothing more than hidden desires of the soul, and as a result, are rarely fulfilled in the manner we might hope: After waking up one morning, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for our anniversary. What do you think it means?"
"You'll know tonight." he said. That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it to find a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams. "We all have had dreams in life:
Visions in the night as well as hopes and aspirations for the future.
In the text of Genesis 37, Joseph experienced both the visions in the night and the aspirations for his future. But before the dreams of God would be fulfilled in his life, Joseph would know firsthand the perplexing and agonizing experience of when “Dreams Turn into Nightmares.”
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It goes without saying that this is an awful chapter--not only in the book of Genesis, but in the history of mankind. It is made worse by being the only chapter in the Bible, outside the book of Esther, where the name of God is not even mentioned.
Leupold’s homiletical suggestions on this chapter includes the following statement: “We may well wonder if any man who had proper discernment ever drew a text from this chapter.” Acts 20:27 “For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.”
In this introduction to Genesis 34, Pastor Bob Hallman begins by addressing two important questions. Enjoy the message.
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So far in our study of Genesis, we have observed three great tests in Abraham’s life: ~ Chapter 12-to Submit to God’s call to leave his land & family~ Chapter 13-to Separate from his nephew, Lot~ Chapter 17-to Surrender his plan about Ishmael and to trust God to do a miracle
Growing up on Oahu, I remember that on the first day of every month at noon, sirens all across the island would begin to wail. Every time it happened; I would scan the skies over the Koolaus for Japanese zeros. If you were listening to radio or TV the programming would be interrupted and a voice would say, “For the next 30 seconds we will be conducting a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is a test, and only a test!” The funny thing is, those wailing sirens, no matter how predictable and scheduled, caught me by surprise every single month!
1 Peter 4:12-13 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. James 1:2-5 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
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Genesis 33 is a pivotal chapter in Jacob’s life. 20 years earlier, Jacob had left his home because his brother had sworn to kill him for stealing his birthright and the blessing of his father, Isaac (Gen 27:41-45). Rebekah had told Jacob “when your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there.
Gen 27:45. But since she never sent for him, Jacob had every reason to believethat20 years had not diminished Esau’s anger.
Story: A reporter was interviewing an old man on his 100th birthday. “What are you most proud of?” he asked. “Well,” said the man, “I don’t have an enemy in the world.” “What a beautiful thought! How inspirational!” said the reporter. “Yep,” added the centenarian, “I outlived every last one of‘ em. ”But outliving Esau was not an option for Jacob. Because for Jacob to fulfill his divine calling to be a blessing to all nations, he had to go back home and face his brother Esau. As I have stated before, sometimes you have to first go back in order to advance.
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The course of human history has often turned on events that occur so rapidly and dramatically that life is forever altered. History is punctuated with examples of “What A Difference A Day Can Make!”1. The day Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit2. The day Job lost everything3. The day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor4. The day the Berlin wall came down5. The day the World Trade Towers were brought down by terroristsThese are all examples of how quickly and radically life can change. Genesis 19 is another illustration of how life can take very dramatic turns. Little did Lot know that on this particular day his life would never be the same.
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In Genesis 31, we find Jacob at a crossroads in his life. He must make a choice.
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Either he can stay where he is–in virtual slavery to Laban, but comfortable and well-fed. Or he can respond to the call of God, which involved no small degree of risk and required a great deal of faith in God and His covenant promises.
It is the same crossroads that the people of Israel would face when they were given the opportunity to either remain in the predictable life of slavery in Egypt, or believe God’s promise of a land of their own which included uncertainty and a path through the desert.
It is the same crossroads that an unbeliever who is presented with the gospel faces. Stay where you are spiritually–in the familiar life of slavery to sin, guilt, fear and frustration, or you can have a new beginning in Christ.
But this new life demands that you surrender your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ. You can’t have it both ways! It is the same crossroads I find myself facing daily. “Choose this day whom you will serve!
We hope you've been blessed by this audio version of a sermon pastor Bob Hallman delivered to his congregation on Kauai.
Blessings,
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Well, the book of Ephesians is a stunning book. It's an amazing book. It's anencouraging book. It tells us what God has done for us as believers, that wehave been chosen, that we've been predestined adopted and redeemed forgiven of all our sins, and then filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and then also given great and precious promises by which we look forward to thegreat hope of this kingdom that's coming. A kingdom with a king who is Jesus Christ, a kingdom with citizens the believers the Bride of Christ and a realm the one component of this equation that's yet to be established. That realm is the new heaven and the new earth that the Bible says is coming so when we look at the first chapter or so of the book of Ephesians it's like man everything should be great you know. Our lives should be just bliss and kind of smooth sailing no problems and you were just kind of waiting for him to show up. In the meantime, we're serving the Lord well.
I wish it were that easy but it's not. Some of you even today have ahave a number of serious problems that you're facing and difficulties that are overwhelming and challenges that you don't know exactly how they'll be resolved.
What the Bible actually tells us is that despite the fact that God has laid out all this glorious inheritance for us as believers we're not there yet that kingdom and that experience won't be fully realized until the second coming of Christ
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Every day we are faced with the choice to either trust in the Lord with all our heart (Prov 3:5-6), or to trust in our own resources and ingenuity to get what we thinkwe deserve.
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Trusting in the Lord leads to peace, joy and contentment–it’s called the Spirit-filled life. Trusting in ourselves leads to anxiety, anger and disillusionment–I call it “Waging Worldly Warfare.”
2 Cor 10:3-4 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
Some of you are facing significant challenges in your life today.
- A husband or wife who has failed to fulfill their calling as a godly spouse2. A financial crisis that threatens to bring financial ruin3. A conflict with a friend or a coworker who seems unreasonable and combative4. An unfulfilled desire that you have become impatient over:a. The desire for a husband or wifeb.The desire for material thingsc. Or, as in the case of Rachel and Leah, the desire to have children.You are at a critical junction in life–a spiritual crossroads: One fork leads to a life yielded to the loving and faithful care of God. The other leads to an exhausting life marked by pain of “Worldly Warfare.”
Over the years I have come to believe that there is no such thing as “coincidence” for the man or woman who is surrendered and yielded to God. Every conversation, every “chance” meeting, every opportunity to serve is divinely orchestrated by God (Ephesians2:10).
I call them “divine appointments. ”Last week we found that Jacob was a man in transition. Before his encounter with God in Genesis 28, he could only refer to his father’s God as “your God” (27:20). But now, Yahweh was Jacob’s God (28:21). He had seen the vision of the stairway from heaven and heard the amazing covenant promises of God. There was a new sense of direction, anew hope, and a new meaning to his life. And for the first time in his life, he was working in cooperation with the purposes of God. As a result, he was about to experience the incredible joy of his first “Divine Appointment.
Hitting bottom seems to be a prerequisite for usefulness in God’s kingdom. Moses hit bottom during his forty years in the desert after attempting to deliver the Israelites by his own power.
Joseph hit bottom after his dream of being ruler over his brothers was dashed by repeated false accusations against him.
Peter hit bottom shortly after boasting that he would never deny the Lord. The apostle Paul described hitting bottom in 2 Cor 1:8-9:“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
”Hitting bottom is enormously valuable, because when you’re on the bottom, there is “Nowhere to look but up!” In fact, hitting bottom is so essential to the life of faith, That God not only allows us to come to the end of ourselves, but often helps to facilitate that process–most often through failure. I don’t believe a person can be truly useful to God until he or she has been ruined by God
Working the Angles: You may have heard this phrase before. It refers to doing whatever is necessary to arrive at a predetermined favorable objective. I don’t think there is a better way to describe the lifestyle of Isaac and his family. They were a family accustomed to “Working the Angles.”
As we will discover, God’s ultimate purposes prevailed. But the story of this family’s life could have been dramatically different if Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob had rejected this worldly and sinful approach to “Working the Angles” and had adopted God’s version of “Working the Angles”–in the physical angles formed when a man or woman bends the knee in prayer before their sovereign God.
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I’ll never forget the day I was watching TV while laying on my back on the floor. Johnny was about 3 years old. My legs were crossed, my head was on a pillow and my hands were supporting my head. I happened to look over at Johnny who was next to me–legs crossed, head on a pillow and hands supporting his head–with a big grin on his little face.
At that moment it dawned on me what a great responsibility God had given me. My sons are watching, learning and emulating everything I do. Over the years that responsibility has changed what I watch, what I listen to and how I behave. And every time I hear my boys defending their inappropriate behavior to my wife by saying, “But daddy does it”, I have had to give up another much-loved activity in, my life.
Proverbs 22:6“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it. ” But to “bring up a child in the way he should go” I must travel that way myself.”
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James 4:13-14 “What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
In light of life’s brevity, one of the most profound and beneficial questions we can ask is:
~“How would you like to be remembered at your funeral and what steps would you need to take for that to happen?”
~“What kind of memories are you leaving your spouse, your children, and your friends?”
~ “What kind of legacy are you creating?”
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An average of 13,500 Americans get married every day. And roughly 50% of those marriages will end in divorce! I wouldn’t describe those as very good odds.
Can you imagine getting on a plane with those kinds of odds? Or getting in the ocean if you knew you had a 50% chance of being eaten by JAWS? But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to us considering that most marriages are the result of meeting people: In bars, in Internet chat rooms, through dating services, or by marketing yourself on eBay to the highest bidder!
Personally, I think the divorce rate could be substantially reduced if we went back to the days of arranged marriages as recorded for us in Genesis 24.
My young son Michael has decided to eliminate possibility of marital failure–he’s going to marry his mom!
Genesis 24, the longest in the book of Genesis, presents us with the delightful story of Abraham sending his servant to find a wife for his son. This is more than just a story of "boy meets girl." It is a wonderful foreshadowing of the redemptive work of God.
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Only two things we can be sure of–death and taxes!
Most of us live as if we’ll never die. Death, even under the most expected circumstances, always seems to catch us by surprise. But the fact is, death is a part of life.
In Ps. 89:48 the Psalmist asked the universal question, “What man can live and not see death; or save himself from the power of the grave? ” As a pastor, I’m often asked how a God of love could allow suffering and death. But the Bible says that, “God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone” (Ezek 18:32).
In fact, according to Scripture, universal death is the result of universal sin (Romans 5:12).“For the wages of sin is death” Rom 6:23. And since every human being has sinned (Is.53:6; Ro. 3:23), every human should expect to die (Heb. 9:27).
In light of this eventuality, two of the most profound and beneficial questions I think we can ask ourselves are: 1. “How would you like to be remembered at your funeral?”2. “What steps do you need to take for that to happen?”
There are really only two things to live for in life:1. Temporal things: houses, cars, promotions, the next deal, the next vacation, and the next shopping spree Col 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”2. Eternal things:What kind of memories are you leaving your friends and family? What kind of spiritual legacy are you creating?
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We live in an era of unkept promises. Nations sign important treaties and then breakthem at will–case in point: Iraq, China, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and NorthKorea.
Even our own president wagged his finger in the camera while making his stubborn denials of wrongdoing only to be later exposed as a lecherous liar.
Even many married couples show little regard for their wedding vows. At times it seems that no one can be trusted–no one is honest–no one is good for their word.
We even have a sarcastic phrase for our jaded skepticism: Promises, promises!! Even Jesus Himself would not “would not entrust himself to any man, for he knew all men.” (John 2:24).
But according to 1 Peter 2:23 there was One to whom Jesus entrusted Himself and that you can safely entrust yourself to and lean on heavily: His name is Yahweh, Jehovah, Almighty God, the Eternal God.2 Cor 1:20 “no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.” It has been said, “You can’t break God’s promises by leaning on them!
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Déjà vu = French term meaning, “Already seen”, or in our terms, “been there, done that!”It’s that strange sense that you’ve said something before or been somewhere before.
Unfortunately, I’ve never had a significant déjà vu experience. They are always meaningless and trivial.
In fact, as I thought about this message, I couldn’t recall the details of even one of these experiences in spite of the fact that I’ve had dozens over the years.
In Chapter 20 of Genesis, Abraham was about to have a déjà vu experience of his own. Unfortunately, for Abraham, his “been there, done that” experience was a reality, because Chapter 20 is a virtual rerun of Abraham’s sin found in Genesis12:10-20
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Sometimes when I’m coming home late at night from meetings or a Bible study, I will turn on the radio and listen to Art Bell.
People seem to be fascinated with UFOs, crop circles, Bigfoot sightings, and alien visitations.
In fact, our own Garden Island News recently reported alleged UFO sightings right here on Kauai.
Several different people reported seeing a “huge orange fireball the size of house falling in the sky.” I’ve seen that hundreds of times myself, but I always just called it a sunset!
Last week I was asked if I believe in alien visitations. My answer was, “Absolutely!” In fact, the Bible records scores of them for us–one of which is found in the text of Gen 18 that we are studying today!
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Most New Year’s resolutions are earnestly made but rarely carried out. The top 3 noble, yet usually unattainable, New Year’s resolutions are: 1. Lose weight2. Exercise regularly3. Eat healthilyNow I find it interesting that the focus of these three goals, while admirable, are temporal in nature. And like Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:8, “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”One of my personal traditions for the last several years has been to reevaluate the direction and priorities of my life. And since I am a Christian, a significant part of that reevaluation includes the things that have eternal value.
Some of you may be old enough to remember the game show hosted by Monty Hall called “Let’s Make a Deal” where contestants would be given the opportunity to trade an initial prize for the chance to get something better.
Would it be behind door number one, door number two or door number three?
As believers, we are daily faced with the choice to hold onto what we have, or to trade up for the promises of God. But, letting go is not always so easy ...
God promises us abundant life. We settle for mediocrityGod promises us eternal riches. We settle for the American DreamGod promises us joy everlasting. We settle for a weekend of partingGod promises us friendship with Him. We settle for friendship w/ the worldGod promises us eternal life. We settle for temporal pleasures
In Gen 17, we find God calling Abram and Sarai to let go of what they had in order to receive something far better, something far more divine and eternal.
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The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
Enjoy this audio replay of a message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered titled " Genesis 16:1-16, Making it Happen
Hurley: “Make Things Happen!”Nike: “Just Do It!”This is the strategy of the world and it’s a strategy that Abram and Sarai adopted in their effort to “help God” with His plan for their lives. Abram and Sarai could not have possibly anticipated the painful consequences that would result from attempting to “Make Things Happen!
Listen to the rest of the message as Pastor Bob explains more.
Blessings,
The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.orghttps://www.Facebook.com/LiveTheEpicLifehttps://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible teaches that salvation is by faith alone!
But salvation by faith alone offends our natural thinking. We assume that a righteous standing before God should be the reward of those who do good and withheld from those who do evil.
We want to get our salvation the old-fashioned way, “We want to earn it!” Fortunately, this flies in the face of everything the Bible teaches–beginning with Gen 15.
Blessings
The Epic Life
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In Genesis14, we are introduced to the first war ever recorded in Scripture–a war between a confederation of 4 kings of the East and 5 kings of the South.
On the surface, this incident is merely an international power struggle to ensure economic supremacy by the control of a crucial trade route. But behind it all is a foreshadowing of the Greatest Rescue Mission of All Time!!
Enjoy the rest of the message.
Blessings
The Epic Life
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Hanalei Bridge on Kauai: Drivers from both directions are requested to give right of way. It is a reasonable and gracious way of preventing a head-on collision.
In Genesis 13, we find that Abram and Lot were on a collision course.
How they each responded 1) serves as a warning to those who mistakenly think that getting ahead in life demands looking out for “Number One” and 2) It serves as a reminder that those who graciously yield in faith to God will be rewarded with His generous favor and blessing.
Enjoy the rest of this message as we continue our Genesis Series.
Blessings, The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
Enjoy this Christmas themed message Pastor Bob delivered Dec 21, 2014. The Bible says that God was working through his son and he's also working in our lives from an eternal perspective, so God has actually loved you with an everlasting love and he's got a concern for you with an everlasting concern, and he has an everlasting sovereignty over your life and an everlasting purpose, and he's inviting you into that. So, the first thing that's important is recognizing that God is at work.
Enjoy the rest of the message as Bob shares how Mary is a model of experiencing God.
Blessings,
The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
The fundamental areas of the Christians life are where we get to do something incredible. We get to be an expression of the manifold wisdom of God, and it was God's intent from the beginning that you would be a part of that and by doing so we share in the divine nature of God, in the glory of God because we're bringing honor and praise and exultation to our king.
So, for the Christian, everything becomes meaningful, everything has significance, everything is exciting, everything is an adventure.
Your marriage your family, your children, your workplace. Everything you put your hand to becomes an aspect of the extension of Christ's ministry through you. You are in full-time ministry, and you get paid to do it. Somebody's paying you to do what you do. Someone is providing for you by virtue of what you do and it's given you a platform to bring glory and praise and honor to God. That's our calling and that's our privilege.
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In Genesis 12, we are introduced to Abraham who is unquestionably one of the greatest men of faith in the Old Testament:1. Nearly one-fourth of the book of Genesis is devoted to this man’s life.2. There are over 40 Old Testament references to him.3. There are nearly 75 references to him in the New Testament.a. Paul presented Abraham as an example of a man who was justified before Godby faith apart from works (Romans 4).b. James referred to Abraham as a man who demonstrated his faith by his works(James 2:21-23).c. The writer to the Hebrews pointed to Abraham as an illustration of a man who walked by faith, devoting more space to him than any other individual in chapter eleven (Hebrews 11:8-19).
But Abram didn’t start out as a giant in the faith. He was transformed into one by the testing of circumstances and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As Donald Barnhouse said: “Faith is not a mushroom that grows overnight in damp soil; it is an oak tree that grows for a thousand years under the blast of the wind and rain.”
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The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
In Genesis chapter 11, we have an early effort on the part of man to doing something great–something significant, something lasting with their lives.
It was this drive for significance that prompted them to want to make a name for themselves. But as you might have already guessed, God’s path to greatness is quite different from man’s:
- If you want to be great, you must be the least and the servant of all-Matthew 20:262. If you want to save your life, you must lose it-Luke 9:243. If you want to be first, you must be last-Mark 9:354. If you choose friendship with the world, you become an enemy of God-James 4:4
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The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
Chapter 10 of Genesis has been called the Table of Nations. It is also one of those texts that we tend to want to skip over in our Bible reading, but there are a number of reasons for giving this text careful consideration:1. It provides us authoritative evidence that the post-flood world descended from one pair of human beings.2. It provides us with a historical accounting of the origins of the nations of the world and how they spread over the face of the earth. Dr. William F. Albright, the world’s leading authority on the archeology of the Near East, said, “The tenth chapter of Genesis . . . stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where we find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in genealogical framework . . . The Table of Nations remains an astonishing accurate document.”3. It provides us with an understanding of the relationship between the people of Israel and all other nations and peoples of the world.4. It provides us with the knowledge of who we are and where we came from. "One must consider this chapter of Genesis a mirror in which to discern that we human beings are, namely, creatures so marred by sin that we have no knowledge of our own origin, not even of God Himself, our Creator, unless the Word of God reveals these sparks of divine light to us from afar . . .. This knowledge the Holy Scriptures reveal to us. Those who are without them live in error, uncertainty, and boundless ungodliness; for they have no knowledge about who they are and whence they came." (Luther)5. It provides us the primitive branches of the genealogical tree of mankind that will eventually culminate in the objective of every biblical genealogy–the person of Jesus Christ.6. It provides us with a variety of life lessons that we can apply to our lives today.
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The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
God’s ultimate goal is not to simply fill the earth with people but to fill the new heaven and the new earth with worshippers!!What’s His strategy?
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He wants you to bear fruit. John 15:8 “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
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He wants you to multiply yourself2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
Listen to the rest of the message as Bob shares more about God's Covenant with Noah.
blessings,
The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.orghttps://www.facebook.com/Livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
Some time ago researchers at Johns Hopkins discovered what most of us already knew–we have a tendency to forgets things!
These are the things people most often forget:
- Names: 83%2. Where something is (like keys): 60%3. Telephone numbers: 57%4. Words: 53%5. What was said: 49%6. Faces: 42%
And if you can’t remember whether you’ve just done something or not, you join 38 percent of the population.
Enjoy the rest of the message as pastor Bob shares more about ...but God Remembered.
The Epic Lifehttps://www.theepiclife.org
Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount, which is a proclamation of the law of His Kingdom, with three pairs of contrasts, all meant to sway us to a life of obedience to our sovereign Lord and King:
- Two gates: One narrow leading to life – the other wide leading to destruction.
- Two trees: One good bearing good fruit – the other bad and being cut down.
- Two foundations: One on the rock surviving a storm – the other built on sand and being destroyed by the same storm.
In the midst of these destiny-shaping choices, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:1-6 to not be condemning in our judgment of others, but to biblically assess (adjudicate) our own life as well as those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ!
Enjoy this next episode in this Matthew Series
Blessings,
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
"We can learn something from David especially as we approach Thanksgiving because my guess is that most of us here have things that are kind of diminishing our gratitude in life. The things that diminish our gratitude, our worries and anxieties, and concerns and the wrong focus, those things can strip us of appreciation for what has happened and what is in our lives and what God has blessed us with."
Enjoy this Thanksgiving message as Pastor Bob Hallman shares more.
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As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals the standards, morals, ethics, attitudes and conduct characterized by the citizenry of God’s kingdom and the importance of having “20/20 Spiritual Vision”
We hope you'll enjoy this next episode in our Matthew series.
Blessings,
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
Facts about money:
- The average American spends 110% of their income
- The average credit debt is $12,500 = $2,500/yr in interest
- The #1 reason for marital discord: Conflict over money (“till debt to us part”)
- The Bible: 2,000 verses on money, 2/3 of parables were about money
- The financial stability of an individual, family or nation is dependent upon:
- God’s divine blessing
- Obedience to the principles in God’s Word (in every area of life) - Josh 1:8
The dilemma: Man’s shifting principles or God’s eternal Word?
Which is it? Raise taxes or reduce spending?
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The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/LiveTheEpicLIfe https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
We hope you enjoy this next episode in our Matthew series. This message is from Matthew Chapter 6:1-18.
We encourage you to check out all our recent podcasts on this Matthew Series.
Blessings,
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/living_The_Epic_Life
Enjoy Part II of Clarifications and Corrections from Matthew 5:31-48
Pastor Bob Hallman picks up from where he left off in Part I. You can listen to Part 1 here https://theepiclife.podbean.com/e/matthew-5-17-30-corrections-clarifications-part-1/
We hope you are blessed and encouraged by what Pastor Bob shares in this episode.
Blessings,
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/LiveTheEpicLife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
Like the errant newspapers of today, the religious leaders in Israel had misinterpreted the facts about the true meaning of the Law and had disseminated their misinformation among their fellow Jews for centuries.
Quote: W. C. Fields; comedian, film actor, and known agnostic
While on his deathbed, he was seen thumbing through a Bible. Amazed, a close friend asked what he was doing. Fields replied, “I’m looking for a loophole!”
In order to justify themselves before God, these Pharisees/Teachers had become experts at finding loopholes in the Law to excuse their utter failure to abide by its directives.
In contrast, Jesus confronts their false religious system by bringing a powerful “Correction and Clarification” to the true standard and intent of the OT Law.
Enjoy the rest of the message,
The Epic Life https://www.thepiclife.org
Every man, woman and child have an innate desire to experience happiness!
And if there were ever a people who should be happy, it’s Americans! But a recent study revealed that only 20 percent of Americans are happy.
Why?
Because the myth of our day is that happiness can be achieved by satisfying our personal desires, emotional comforts and bodily appetites.
Listen in as Pastor Bob Hallman Shares more in this message titled " Blessings of the Kingdom"
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org
Did the Flood really occur? Was it universal or only regional? Was there really an ark, and was it large enough to hold all the animals? Where did all the water come from? These questions, and many others, are answered for us in Genesis 7.
There are more than 200 cultures which have their own account of the flood including New Guinea, North America, Brazil, Peru, Africa, Greenland, India, China, Egypt, Greece, Persia, Australia, Wales, Eastern Europe, Siberia, and Lithuania.
95%-speak of a universal flood 88%-speak of a favored family 66%-say it was because of the wickedness of man 73%-speak of animals being saved 70%-speak of a boat that saved the family 57%-say that survivors landed on a high mountain
Many of the accounts also specifically mention birds being sent out, a rainbow, and eight persons being saved. You may be surprised to discover that there is an ancient Hawaiian flood story: “Long after the death of Kuniuhonna, the first man, the world became a wicked, terrible place to live. There was only one good man left; his name was Nu’u. He made a great canoe with a house on it and filled it with animals. The waters came up over all the earth and killed all the people. Only Nu’u and his family were saved.
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Blessings,
The Epic Life
Here in chapter 6 we have the account of God’s impending judgment on a corrupt and rebellious world. Interestingly, the Lord compared the moral and spiritual climate of Noah’s day to the conditions immediately preceding the return of Jesus Christ.
Luke 17:26-27 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man--exploding population (6:1), sexual perversion (6:2), demonic activity (6:2), constant evil in the heart of man (6:5), and widespread corruption and violence (6:11)
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The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org
Many parents like to quote Prov 22:6: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” But to bring up a child in the way he should go–you must travel that way yourself.
To bring up a child the way they should go, you have to go that way first!
“It’s much easier to become a father than to be one.”
“There are little eyes upon you, and they are watching night and day; There are little ears that quickly take in every word you say; There are little hands all eager to do everything you do, and a little boy who’s dreaming of the day he’ll be like you. You’re the little fellow’s idol, you’re the wisest of the wise, in his little mind about you, no suspicions ever rise; He believes in you devoutly, holds that all you say and do, He will say and do in your way when he’s grown up to be like you. There’s a wide-eyed little fellow who believes you’re always right, and his ears are always open, and he watches day and night; You are setting an example every day in all you do, For the little boy who’s waiting to grow up to be like you.” (Dhiman, Avleek. “Little Eyes”.)
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The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org
In our last study in Genesis chapter 2, we found that God created the perfect world, made the perfect man, put him in the perfect environment, gave him the perfect job and blessed him with the perfect wife. It was the perfect life. It was paradise. But it was soon to be Paradise Lost!
We live in a fallen, sinful, rebellious world. It is Paradise Lost. But one day not long from now, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ will destroy the existing heavens and earth and create a new one–a perfect one. And Paradise will be restored. In the meantime, where are you? Are you right with God or are you hiding from Him? Have you been clothed with the righteousness of Christ or are you wearing the patchwork of uncomfortable coverings of your own righteous works?
Enjoy the rest of the message. Blessings,
The Epic Life
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Have you wondered what it would be like to live the Perfect Life?
Imagine–having a perfect body, being married to the perfect spouse, raising perfect children, working at a perfect job, living in the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood in a perfect world!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful! We sometimes fantasize about a life like that, but we know it’s impossible in this fallen world. But there was a time when living the perfect life was far more than just a dream–it was a reality.
For Adam and Eve, life in the Garden of Eden was perfect! It was the life God originally intended for mankind to experience. It was heaven on earth!
In Genesis chapter 2 we find an expanded, more detailed narrative of the creation of man that was briefly described for us in chapter 1. And it is a description of the perfect life
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Enjoy this audio replay of a message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered 3/13/2011
The encouragement we have is in God. The encouragement that we have, is that God Rules. The encouragement that we have is that God is on the throne and God is in control and God is sovereign and God is powerful, and God is completely aware of what's happening.
And all of these things are forcefully advancing the prophetic fulfillment of the things that God has told us of in His Holy Scriptures. See to it that you are not alarmed.
What are most people in the world doing right now. We are alarmed. There will be wars, and rumors of wars and there will be False Christs.
Enjoy the rest of the message.
Blessings,
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
Enjoy this old audio recording from a Genesis Series Pastor Bob gave.
Genesis describes the beginning of everything imaginable except the beginning of God. Why? Because God has no beginning and no ending.
Genesis 1:1 answers the most basic and yet profound questions of life: 1.What is all this? 2.How did it begin? 3. When did it begin? 4. Who is behind it?
These four fundamental questions of life are answered simply, directly and authoritatively in the opening chapter of Genesis
*please forgive any quality issues in the audio as we have pulled this from old cassettes and CDs *
Blessings,
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org
Genesis 1:1 "In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The book of the Genesis is the most important book that has ever been written. It has had a greater influence on humanity and human history than any other work that was ever produced.
As a result, no other book in the world, has ever been so quoted as the Bible and in particular, the book of Genesis.
If you look at the New Testament, we find over 200 references to the Old Testament. 165 sections and passages of Genesis are quoted in the New Testament, and over 100 of these quotations from the book of Genesis are taken from the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis. Listen to the rest of the message as Pastor Bob shares the reason why the book is so often quoted.
Blessings,
The Epic Life
Thank you Fathers!! We LOVE you and Appreciate you! ❤
This was a Father's Day message that we believe will bless everyone and we hope you enjoy.
"It is not frequent that we hear things like honor, duty, courage, nobility. All of these qualities are being downplayed in our culture. Our moral standards, our ethical standards, our spiritual standards are being dragged down at every turn by the media and by our culture, and even by the school systems.
I want to encourage you men because you you're constantly inundated with a compromised position, you're constantly being invited into a lower standard, you're constantly being invited to be men that are not the men that God has called you to be, and I want to share with you that the Godly, powerful, courageous, honorable, noble men is what you were designed to be.
Enjoy the rest of the message,
The Epic Life https://www.theepiclife.org
Paul was such a different person before he came to Christ, he was quite a ruthless, quite self-centered, very interested in climbing the spiritual ladder of Judaism. To see the Apostle Paul who previously was a persecutor of the church and was chasing the Christians down and having them arrested, and as a result many of them were martyred because of his involvement. It's an amazing thing to me that this man loves people, that he's so different and that he's so transformed.
That's exactly what the Bible says happens when somebody comes to Christ. Before we were Christians, we were like every other person. Our personalities are all different and some are more loving than others, and some are more serving than others, and some are more compassionate than others.
Enjoy this audio from a sermon Pastor Bob Hallman delivered in 2016 at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai (Crossroads Kauai)
Blessings,
The Epic Life Bob and Becky Hallman https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/Livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
Paul comes in he gives corrective doctrine to that false teaching and along the way he begins to introduce a paradigm shift for the kingdom of God and the citizens of that kingdom, among whom are those that believe. So, as those who believe, we are a part of this new paradigm shift and Paul has told us that it changes our theology. He told us it changes our morality. He told us that it changes our ethics, and now he's going to tell us it changes our relationships with people. We're going to look at two particular areas that have to do with the relationships of family and then the relationships and work.
Enjoy this audio replay of this message, originally delivered by Pastor Bob Hallman 11/27/2016
Blessings,
The Epic Life
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God is really inviting us to an extreme makeover. He wants to do something extreme. In fact, it's so extreme it's not human, it's divine. It's beyond the capacity or capabilities of construction crew, or a team of remodelers, or decorators, or engineers. This is something that only the power of God can accomplish.
Enjoy this audio replay from a Sermon pastor Bob delivered 11/20/2016
Blessings,
The Epic Life Tob and Becky Hallman
The Epic Life 3-2600 Kaumualii HWY STE 1300 #513 Lihue, HI 96766 info@TheEpicLife.org
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Enjoy this audio file from a full Sunday Sermon Pastor Bob Hallman delivered 11/06/2016
Anyone that claims to live in Christ and yet continues in sin, is a liar, self-deceived deluded. They're lying and the truth is not in them and that's why that message over and over and over and so many of the epistles is the same. If you are a Christian, if we walk with God, if we've truly been transformed by the love and the power and the Spirit of God and come to a saving knowledge of Christ, it will produce fruit in the likeness of Jesus Christ. If it doesn't produce fruit in the likeness of Jesus Christ, something's terribly wrong with our theology or our practice.
blessings,
The Epic Life Bob and Becky Hallman https://www.TheEpicLife.org Https://www.facebook.com/LivingTheEpicLife
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Enjoy this audio portion of a sermon message pastor Bob Hallman delivered 09/25/2016 at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai
Paul is addressing false teachers that are in Colossae. The church is four years old Paul and Epaphras, who's the pastor of this church, are in prison. Paul is hearing about the church and he's sending a letter to them encouraging them and all the good that they're doing and all the transformation that's taking place which is evidence of their truly born-again condition but he's also addressing some problems because the church is being infiltrated by false teachers... enjoy the rest of this message
Blessings,
The Epic Life Bob and Becky Hallman https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life
Enjoy this sermon message delivered by Pastor Bob Hallman at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai on 9/11/2016
Paul in this book is actually fighting for the freedom of the Colossians in their spiritual life and so he tells them in verse 8, he says see to it that you are not taken captive. Actually, in the in the New King James it says that he's actually encouraging us to not be cheated.
Enjoy the rest of the message
The Epic Life Bob and Becky Hallman https://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_the_Epic_Life
Enjoy this audio from a full sermon message pastor Bob Hallman delivered July 30, 2019 at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai
In this sermon, Paul is going to encourage the church even further and we're going to find out more about this church, but we're going to find out a little bit about Paul too, because the Apostle Paul was one of the great leaders in Israel. He was one of the great leaders within the Sanhedrin, the 72 chosen leaders of all of Israel to lead the people of Israel, and he was climbing that corporate ladder within the religious system of Judaism.
Enjoy
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Enjoy this audio from a message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered 08/21/2016.
"Paul elevates the church because Christ elevates the church Christ elevates the church and says you are no longer sinners by identity but you are Saints those that are set apart for the work of God this is the first characteristic of a truly born again person is they have embraced this new identity not as ongoing sinners as their identity but as Saints those set apart for the purposes of God"
Blessings,
The Epic Life Bob and Becky Hallman https://www.theepiclife.org
Enjoy this audio replay of a message Bob delivered 08/27/2016 in a series on Colossians
It really comes down to the person of Jesus Christ. Who was he? That's why I've entitled the message liar Lord or lunatic because you've got to make a choice between one of those three options when we're looking at the person of Christ, and when you make that decision, it changes the course of your life, it changes everything!
We pray you enjoy this audio.
blessings,
The Epic Life Bob and Becky Hallman https://www.theepielife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife
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Enjoy this audio podcast of a sermon message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered 07/31/2016 In his Colossians Series
One of the very first things Paul does before he does anything else, before he corrects the doctrine or talks about the supremacy of Christ he's going to simply pray for the church in Colossae. I find it very interesting because when I was thinking about the fact that his first response is prayer. First of all, it tells us the power of prayer that that's more important than even logic and even more important than persuasion. The other thing it tells me is that you've got two guys that care about people that are a thousand miles away and they can't be there, so they pray. Paul shows us the way.
The Epic Life
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The evidence of true authentic Christianity is that it's a life of service. So, when you see somebody that's truly born again. one of the things you're going to see is that they they're serving. They're finding ways to serve. It's not just in the church, it's just that their life is available to God. They serve in the church because God makes it clear that that were to use our gifts for the edification and strengthening and building up of the body of Christ.
The Epic Life
Bob and Becky Hallman
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This is an audio file from a sermon series Pastor Bob Hallman delivered 7/10/2016. Colossians addresses problems in the church and challenges believers to examine their lives and be transformed through the love of Jesus Christ. Listen as Pastor Bob Hallman shares more in this introduction to the series.
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As we celebrate #resurrectionSunday, we hope you'll enjoy audio from a replay of a message Pastor Bob delivered April 17, 2016 titled "The Apocalpysis (Revelation)"
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In this Sunday Sermon, Pastor Bob talks about the resurrection. It's the center piece of the entire Gospel message. It's been called the hinge of history because everything swings on that historical event . Everything before that is past history, and everything from that time is new history.
Even our calendar is based on theses events; birth and ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of that, the disciples preached this message, boldly and courageously.
The Apostle Paul in in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 said this "it's so central to the entire message of what we are about as a church. Paul said to the church in Corinth "for I delivered to you first of all that which I also received,that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he rose from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures"
That is the message of the church, that's the message of life, that's a message of transformation, that's the message of the beginning of life from the dead, for those that would receive it.
So now, we are taking a look at that event as it unfolded on that early morning after the Sabbath day and the resurrection of Jesus Christ .
Be sure to listen to the rest of the message as Bob shares more on this topic. If you enjoyed this message, on this Resurrection Sunday, please consider sharing the Good News with others
HELives #HeISRisen
This is the audio from a Good Friday message Pastor Bob Hallman Delivered April 2, 2021, in Kauai Hawaii.
The work that Christ did on the cross was on Extrusion.
When you are in the hopeless pit of despair, in the middle of a fiery trial, Jesus understands how you feel. And we can take from His example, and His life, and His response, that even in fieriest of trials, even in the worst of extrusions, the Father will never leave you and NEVER forsake you and there is glory and priceless transformation on the other side of your extrusion.
I want to define extrusion for you in the Latin and the Greek. It actually means to force or press or push and usually it's an in some sort of a mold or a dye. It's when there's pressure or heat exerted and oftentimes both are pressed into a mold with raw materials and something beautiful or something noteworthy or something valuable was created out of that pressing.
It's actually an engineering term that describes the reshaping and fabrication of a solid liquid by means of intense heat and pressure using a dire mold with the objective of exponentially increasing the value of the original raw materials.
Enjoy the rest of this message as Bob further explains what this means and what that means for you.
God Bless!
GoodFriday #HolyWeek #TheExtrusionOfChrist
Chapter 21 all the way through chapter 26 we have the compression of five days all taking place within these within these chapters.
On Saturday before the Passover Feast, Jesus came to Jerusalem along with many other pilgrims probably to two and a half to three million people that would crowd into this little town of Jerusalem and they came from all over the region to be able to celebrate the Passover as Jews. Jesus came with them...
You can view the entire message here
https://youtu.be/cIdwKMl-yaQ
HolyWeek #TheEpicLife #LiveTheEpicLife
The Apostle Paul was arrested on false charges by the Jews of starting riots in Ephesus and defiling the temple courts. He was brought before several Roman officials who found him to be innocent of the charges, but because of the fear of the Jews, failed to release Paul. So he appealed his case to Caesar and was put on a grain ship heading to Rome. The ship was caught in hurricane force winds and after a harrowing two weeks on the sea, ran aground on the island of Malta. This is where we pick up the story.
4/13/2008
I find it interesting the number of times we find ships caught in storms in the Bible:
- Noah on his way to a new beginning for mankind - Gen 6-9
- Jonah on his way to Tarshish - Jonah 1:4-5
- The disciples on their way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee - Mark 6:45-52
Why? Because violent storms in our lives often advance the purposes of God:
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- They humble us remind us of our need to rely on God
- They free us from earthly entanglements and misguided priorities 3. They provide a backdrop for God’s glory, power and deliverance
4/6/2008
A review of the purpose of the Luke’s letters – Luke and Acts:
- To give an orderly account of Christianity - Luke 1:1-4
- To verify the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit
- To explain the disciple’s remarkable transformation
- To document the birth and growth of the church
- To justify the inclusion of the Gentiles
- To bridge the gap between the gospels and the epistles
- To present a defense for Paul’s apostleship to Rome
Luke may have been preparing a trial-brief for Paul’s upcoming hearing in Rome. It is quite possible that Theophilus was a Roman official in charge of administering Paul's case before Caesar, and that the gospel and Acts were written to help him understand the facts of Jesus Christ and Paul's role in the history of the church.
Three pictures of three very different men hang before us -- Paul, Festus and Agrippa. They represent three types of individuals of every generation:
- Those who are followers of Jesus Christ
- Those who are open to the claims of Christ
- Those who are Christ-rejecting antagonists of Christ
But no matter the number of people or the number of religions in the world, there are only two destinies: Heaven or Hell!
3/30/2008
The Buck Stops Here
President Harry Truman made this saying famous in 1945 when he commissioned a plaque for his White House desk that said in bold letters, “The Buck Stops Here!”
The origin of the phrase comes from a slang term from the game of Poker during the frontier days. The dealer would switch every hand and would be designated by a knife with a buckhorn handle. If a person preferred to not deal, he would “Pass the Buck”, which came to mean “passing the responsibility on to someone else”.
In his farewell address to the American people given in January 1953, President Truman referred to this concept very specifically when he said, "The President--whoever he is -- has to decide. He can't pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That's his job!”
2/17/2008
Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem as a riot was about to break out in the temple courts. He had made two unsuccessful attempts to placate the Jews and to testify to them of Jesus Christ. They refused to listen; and now, after a plot against his life, he has been brought down to the province capital, Caesarea, where his case will be formally heard by the Roman procurator, Governor Felix.
Paul had arrived in Jerusalem with the intent to preach the gospel to the Jews. Before he had the chance, the Asian Jews from Ephesus incited a riot against him. Paul was rescued by a Roman Commander named Claudius Lysius and his forces. Paul requested to speak to the violent crowd and proceeded to share his testimony. Once more, the crowd erupted into a violent riot and attempted to take Paul’s life. Once again Paul was rescued by the Roman Commander who was still mystified as to why the Jews wanted to kill Paul -- a Roman citizen.
Introduction
In our study last week we left Paul as he was being brutally beaten by a mob in Jerusalem who had been falsely informed by the Hellenistic Jews from Ephesus that Paul had rejected the Mosaic Law and had defiled the Temple by bringing in Gentile visitors.
The OT law and the Temple were symbols, a foreshadowing of God’s ultimate work through Christ. They were “signposts” designed to guide God’s people to the promised Messiah and Savior of the world:
- The Law: To serve as a tutor to lead us to Christ - Gal 3:24
- The Temple: To serve as a foreshadowing of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
But based of these two unsubstantiated charges, Paul had been brutally attacked and beaten and was delivered from death only by the intervention of a Roman detachment quartered within Antonia’s Fortress adjacent to the Temple Mount.
Paul was a man of his word! In Acts 18:21 he promised the Ephesians that he would return after visiting the churches of Galatia and Phrygia, and in Acts 19 we find Paul fulfilling his promise.
Fast facts about Ephesus:
- It was once one of the jewels of the Roman Empire
- It was the most important city in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) in Paul’s day
- It was one of the foremost urban centers in the empire with the largest population
- It had numerous impressive civic monuments
- It was the home of the temple of Artemis (Diana) - One of the 7 wonders of the world
The spiritual significance of Ephesus:
- It was the launching place for the evangelization of Asia (Acts 18:18-19).
- It was the place where Paul fought the “wild beasts” (1 Cor 15:32).
- I was the location where Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (1Cor 16:8) and Ephesians (Eph 1:1)
- It was one of the “seven churches of Asia” mentioned in Revelation 1:4.
- It was first pastorate of Paul’s disciple, Timothy (1 Tim 1:3).
9/2/2007
Acts 18:18-28 marks the final leg of Paul’s second missionary journey and covers over 1,500 miles and four major city centers.
8/12/2007
As we continue our study in the book of Acts, we find Paul leaving Athens, the intellectual capital of the Roman world, and heading into Corinth, the Greco-Roman capital of sexual immorality. These two cities are symbols of the twin evils, which, in every day and every generation, trap and enslave the hearts of people: intellectual pride and sensual lust.
More than any other chapter in the book of Acts, chapter 18 gives us an insider’s view of some of the emotional and spiritual challenges that Paul had to overcome in ministry.
What specifically did Paul have to overcome?
- Uncertainty (ministry plan for Corinth)
- Loneliness (God provided partners and friends)
- Financial stress (tent-making)
- Fear
- Opposition
- False accusation
- Legal action
8/5/2007
Today, we pick up our study of Paul’s second missionary journey where we find him alone in the great city of Athens. Acts 17:15 tells us that he had been escorted on the 300 mile trip to Athens by some fellow believers due to Jewish opposition in Berea. Once they arrived with Paul, they immediately returned home with instructions from Paul to send Silas and Timothy as soon as possible.
Although Athens was no longer politically important, having been conquered by Rome in 146 B.C., the city was still the intellectual center of the world:
- It was the site of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, one of the architectural wonders of the world.
- It was a center of art, beauty, culture, and knowledge.
- It was the academic and intellectual capital of the Greco-Roman world.
- It was the home of the great philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and others.
- It was the home of numerous idols and altars of worship:
a. It was the home of the worship of Zeus and Bacchus
b. It was the home of over 30,000 idols: 3,000 devoted to the goddess Aphrodite. Petronius, one of the ancient historians, said that is was easier to find a god in Athens than a man! (The population was approx. 10,000 at the time)
Paul had heard about Athens since his earliest youth. But now, for the first time, he had the opportunity to actually visit and tour of this famous Greco-Roman city. Verse 16 tells us of his immediate and strong reaction!!
We pick up the story line of Paul’s second missionary journey as Paul, Silas and Timothy preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in three strategic cities: Thessalonica (17:1-10a), Berea (17:10b-15), and Athens (17:16-34). Each of these cities were on the famous Roman road called the Egnatian Way, which crossed Macedonia and connected the Adriatic Sea with the Black Sea.
From Luke’s brevity, one might think that Paul and Silas’ journey was little more than an afternoon stroll. But Amphipolis is thirty-three miles from Philippi, a day's journey on foot. Apollonia is some thirty miles from Amphipolis, another day's journey. Thessalonica is thirty-seven miles beyond Apollonia, and that is a full day's journey. So it took Paul at least three days and 100 miles to come from Philippi to Thessalonica.
4/1/2007
In our last study in Acts 16:1-10, you will remember that Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia asking him to come over and help. Paul responded immediately and after being redirected by the Holy Spirit, they are now on their way to Europe.
In our text, Luke has woven together three separate, but related incidents:
- The first is the conversion of Lydia.
- The second is the encounter with the demon-possessed slave-girl.
- The third incident is the conversion of the Philippian jailer and his household.
3/11/2007
In our study last week, Paul and Barnabas had returned from Jerusalem with a letter from the apostles and the elders defining and defending Sola Fide -- salvation by faith alone, which the brothers proceeded to read to the churches in Antioch.
In today's passage, Paul and Barnabas have a sharp disagreement. Barnabas did not seem to be willing to go without Mark; Paul seemed unwilling to go with him. They had come to an impasse, and neither was willing to change their position.
So which man was right?
The same danger that threatened to pervert the gospel in the 1st century church and is still alive and well today. It may assume slightly different forms, and it may change the vocabulary, but in the end, it insists that salvation and sanctification are the result of faith plus works.
We must be vigilant in our own lives and in the church to preserve the incredible message -- the Good News -- of Sola Fide!
2/18/2007
The Book of Acts is the record of the expansion of the early church from Jerusalem to Rome.
Acts 13 represents a turning point -- a critical transition in the ongoing ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ in several ways:
- A transition from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)
- A transition from the ministry of Peter to the ministry of Paul
- A transition from ministry to the Jews to ministry to the Gentiles
- A transition from the ministry in Jerusalem to the ministry in Antioch
In Acts 14 we find Paul and Barnabas in the middle of their first missionary journey as they preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in three different cities; Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
In our text today we have the Apostle Paul’s first sermon. Actually, he had preached many messages before, but this is the first recorded for us in the text of the Bible.
It was a very powerful message preached in the synagogue at Psidian Antioch on a Sabbath morning. It was a clear, historically detailed and persuasive presentation of salvation by faith in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Bob Hallman, Kauai (2/4/2007)
Acts 13 represents a turning point -- a critical transition in the ongoing ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ in several ways:
- A transition from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)
- A transition from the ministry of Peter to the ministry of Paul
- A transition from ministry to the Jews to ministry to the Gentiles
- A transition from the ministry in Jerusalem to the ministry in Antioch
Given by Bob Hallman (1/28/2007)
In Acts 12, we studied the account of Satan’s effort to destroy the fledgling church of God through a dictatorial king by the name of Herod. As you will Herod sought to bring harm to the work of God by arresting a number of church leaders including James and Peter. He killed James and intended to do the same to Peter. These were the actions of a cruel dictator!
Given by Bob Hallman (1/21/2007)
In the last two messages, we have covered one of the most significant transitions in the early church. It began in Acts 10 and today we finish it as we study the first half of Acts 11.
It is the remarkable story of how two men, Peter and Cornelius, experienced a divine appointment and found themselves at the epicenter of a seismic theological shift in Christianity that would change the world forever. It was a shift that made salvation available to not just the Jews, but now also to the Gentiles.
Given by Pastor Bob Hallman on Kauai (10/15/2006)
This is Part 2 of Introduction to Acts. Message given by Bob Hallman at on Kauai (8/14/2005).
This message is actually the first one in the series--an introduction to the Book of Acts.
Instead of embracing God’s call to reach all nations with the Good News of God’s love and His promised Messiah, the Jews became proud, arrogant and ethnocentric. The Jews had turned what God had meant to be a blessing into a wall of hostility!
And God’s message through Acts 10 is loud and clear: “Tear Down This Wall!”
To facilitate that plan, God orchestrated a divine appointment between two of His obedient servants:
1) Peter, a Jewish believer
2) Cornelius, a Gentile God-fearer
Bob Hallman gave this message in 2006.
God’s plan:
- To reach ONE man: Abraham
- To reach ONE nation: Israel
- To reach the world: Every tribe, nation and tongue
- To fill heaven with worshippers and prepare for Himself a Bride
But instead of embracing God’s call to reach all nations with the Good News of God’s love and His promised Messiah, the Jews became proud, arrogant and ethnocentric.
- Jews considered Gentiles to be spiritually unclean. The inside of a Gentile house was unclean. Having Gentile inside your own house made that home unclean
- The Gentiles hated the Jews.
The Jews had turned what God had meant to be a blessing into a wall of hostility!
And God’s message through Acts 10 is loud and clear: “Tear Down This Wall!”
The Bible’s prescription for spiritual health is clear, but too often Christians would rather die (or have others die) than change.
In contrast, we have Saul’s conversion in Acts 9:1-18. It is one of the most dramatic examples of transformation in the New Testament. And it wasn't a temporary, superficial change; it was deep, it was total, and it was permanent!
- One moment Saul was persecuting the church …Then next, he was seeking to fellowship with the saints.
- One moment, Saul was opposing Jesus ….Then next, he is on his face before Jesus, calling Him Lord.
- One moment he is seeking to stamp out the gospel ... Then next, he is proclaiming the gospel.
- One moment, Saul is inflicting pain and suffering on believers in Christ …Then next, he is enduring suffering for the sake of Jesus, the Messiah.
This is what salvation is supposed to look like. It is a revolution! It is a transformation!! It is a miraculous, dramatic reversal -- first of one’s beliefs, and then of one’s behavior.
Over the years I have come to believe that there is no such thing as “coincidence” for the man or woman who is surrendered and yielded to God. Every conversation, every “chance” meeting, every opportunity to serve is divinely orchestrated by God. I call them “Divine Appointments.”
Divine appointments: “Being supernaturally guided to the right place at the right time in order to say or do the right things for the advancement of God’s purposes in the world.”
Everyday, we have the choice (often many times a day) to either participate in these exciting intersections of the human and divine, or to ignore them -- either out of ignorance or disobedience. The path we choose makes the difference between the abundant life Jesus Christ promised and a rather lifeless, dull and stagnant existence on the sidelines.
There are few stories that illustrate this truth more powerfully than the divine encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.As you will recall from our previous studies, Philip was one of the seven deacons who were selected to minister to the widows and orphans in Jerusalem. After the martyrdom of Stephan, a severe persecution broke out against the church and the believers fled. Philip ended up in Samaria where he preached the gospel and performed a number of miracles with remarkable results: A revival broke out and a large number of Samaritans came to Christ (Acts 8:4-5).
Acts 17:26 “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”
Pastor Bob Hallman gave this message in 2006.
Chapter 7 contains the longest sermon in the book of Acts. It is Stephen's brilliant defense that focuses on the two charges brought against him by the Sanhedrin.
Pastor Bob Hallman gave this message in 2006.
The New Testament contains numerous examples of courageous Christians who faced persecution and martyrdom with courage and grace. One such example in the early church was Stephen.
Pastor Bob Hallman taught the series of Acts at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005-2006
The church was only a few months old but its numbers had already grown (by some estimates) to over 20,000 people. That kind of growth is beyond incredible – it is supernatural! That kind of growth had to have been thrilling and exhilarating. But it also brought logistical and administrative challenges that the apostles never could have imagined just a few months earlier when they sat stunned and dejected following the crucifixion of Christ.
Pastor Bob Hallman taught the series of Acts at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005.
“A Line in The Sand”: No one is sure of the origins of this phrase, but the most recent use of this saber-rattling phrase was by President George Bush, Sr. during the Gulf War.
Despite the phrases’ uncertain origins, we understand its various meanings:
- It can refer to “a point of decision”
- It can refer to taking a stand
- It can serve as a threat: “Cross over at your own peril”
In our text today, we will discover all three definitions being used -- both by Israel’s religious leaders as well as by the apostles.
Pastor Bob Hallman taught the series of Acts at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005.
The biggest criticism you hear about the church is that it is full of hypocrites. That, by the way, is not a new concern. There were few characteristics that Jesus condemned more severely than hypocrisy (Matthew 23: “Hypocrites” 7 times)
The truth is, we are all prone to hypocrisy because we aspire to be better than we are:
- Aspiring to be Christ-like is not sinful -- in fact it is good!
- However, misleading others into believing that we are more Christ-like than we actually are is sinful and qualifies us as hypocrites!
The text we are studying today is in sharp contrast to the sincerity and integrity of Barnabas’ integrity and generousity in Acts 4:36-37
Pastor Bob Hallman taught the series of Acts at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005-06
Do you want to be a cold Christian or a bold Christian? Cold or bold?
We need more “lion-like” believers with a passion for God and the courage to stand!
Pastor Bob Hallman taught the series of Acts at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005.
Pastor Bob Hallman teaches on the book of Acts. This series of audio messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005.
Pastor Bob Hallman teaches on the book of Acts. This series of audio messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005.
Pastor Bob Hallman teaches on the book of Acts. This series of audio messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005.
Pastor Bob Hallman teaches on the book of Acts. This series of audio messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005.
Pastor Bob Hallman teaches on the book of Acts. This series of audio messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai in 2005. The first of the series (Acts 1:1-12) is unavailable.
Incarnation -- Part I: The gracious voluntary act of the Son of God in taking up residence in human flesh. This is the primary focus of Luke’s first volume -- the Gospel of Luke.
Incarnation -- Part II: The gracious voluntary act of the Holy Spirit in taking up residence in human flesh. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul puts it in the vernacular of his day:
2 Cor 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
This is the primary focus of author Luke’s second volume -- the Book of Acts. It is the continuation of what Jesus began to do and to teach. In other words, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus carried out His ministry in his physical body of flesh. While in the book of Acts, Jesus he is doing it through the bodies of men and women who are indwelt by his life. So, whether in the Gospels or in Acts, incarnation is the secret strategy by which God changes the world.
Whenever Pastor Bob concluded teaching a series, he led the congregation through a Directed Prayer where he summarized the book and had people praying with partners in response to the important truths of the book.
This mini message is Part 1 of the Directed Prayer time in Philippians.
The sermon notes and outlines can be found at bible.org-Philippians .
Pastor Bob teaches on the book of Philippians. Enjoy a sampling of sermons from the book of Philippians. These messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai (2008).
The sermon notes and outlines can be found at bible.org-Philippians .
This particular message was given in 2017 at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai's 25th anniversary celebration. This timely message is relevant to any church fellowship.
The sermon notes and outlines can be found at bible.org-Philippians .
Pastor Bob teaches on the book of Philippians. Enjoy a sampling of sermons from the book of Philippians. These messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai (2008).
Philippians 1:12-30, "Prokope" can be found here
The sermon notes and outlines can be found at bible.org-Philippians .
Pastor Bob teaches on the book of Philippians. Enjoy a sampling of sermons from the book of Philippians. These messages were given at Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai (2008).
Philippians 1:12-30, "Prokope" can be found here
The sermon notes and outlines can be found at bible.org-Philippians .
Season 4 Episode 4
Pastor Bob gave this message on 10/7/2012. Although the political players are different, the biblical principles and application are the same!
Keep an eternal perpsective! Only as the hearts of individuals in a culture are changed by Christ will the culture begin to reflect that change.
If we do not evangelize the lost and make disciples of new converts, nothing else we do for people -- no matter how temporarily beneficial -- will be of any eternal consequence.
So in November, we will once again cast our votes. But unlike our local or national elections that take place every two to four years, we, as believers, have the privilege of voting every day by word and deed for the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
If you're not a citizen of God's kingdom, join the Sovereignty Movement and make sure you are a citizen of God’s eternal kingdom: admit your sin, believe in Jesus Christ, and confess Him as Lord!
If you are already a citizen of God kingdom:
- Renew your trust in God’s sovereignty
- Remember your true citizenship/kingdom
- Reconfirm your primary mission – seeking first His Kingdom and righteousness and making disciples (new heavenly citizens) of all nations!
Season 4; Episode 3
Romans 12:11 - "not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord"
Do you ever feel like you've run out of spiritual gas as a leader? In this message, Pastor Bob will explain how you can keep your spiritual tank full, your leadership focused and your love for Jesus red hot!
Season 4; Episode 2
Prokope = To advance forward while beating your breast in grief
Philippians 1:12 - "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel."
Philippians 1:25 - "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith..."
Pastor Bob gave this classic message at a Mentoring for Ministry Conference in 2008. Using Paul's example in Philippians 1:12-30, he expounds on the Greek word prokope, explaining how the gospel was advancing because of Paul’s imprisonment! Paul’s focus was not his own advancement, but rather the advancement of the gospel! Pastor Bob illustrates this truth with many fascinating ministry examples and encourages us to prokope through life's challenges as well!
Advance = Prokope = “To drive forward”
Pro = “Forward or toward”
Kope = “To beat the breast in grief”
A nautical term: “To make headway in spite of stiff headwinds”
A military term: “To advance in the face of obstacles, dangers and great opposition”
Season 4; Episode 1
This is a valuable and essential message for believers, particularly pastors and spiritual leaders. In 2009, Pastor Bob was asked to speak on the topic of Church Discipline at the Calvary Chapel Ministry Conference which had the theme of "Setting the Church in Order." It was an extremely helpful and the most requested message among the leaders there.
Over the span of 40 years of ministry, Pastor Bob used the biblical process laid out in Matthew 18 to pave the way for repentance and restoration for believers, particularly leaders, who were committing serious sins.
Definition of Church Discipline: "the corrective process instituted by Christ Jesus to bring about repentance, restoration and recovery to a sinning member of the body of Christ and to protect the church from the corrupting influence of sin".
MARANATHA!! = An Aramaic expression used by Paul in 1 Cor 16:22 meaning "Come, O Lord Jesus!" It is thought to have been used as an expression of Christian hope -- a watchword of the imminent SECOND COMING of the Lord.
Finally, in closing, John leaves us with one last thought., It is a word of benediction -- a benediction that is a fitting conclusion to our study of the remarkable, hope-filled, inspiring book!
Pastor Bob teaches on the New Heaven and New Earth, the Construction of the Holy City and the Glory of the Holy City! So much to look forward to!
Scripture describes this present time in which we live as an evil age and Satan is called “the god of this world,” (Eph. 5:16; 2 Cor. 4:4). But Satan's party is almost over. During the Millennium of Christ’s reign on earth, Satan and his demons will be bound and put out of action until the very end of the thousand-year reign of our Lord.
As I have pointed out repeatedly through the study of Revelation, the most logical and obvious interpretation of Revelation is a literal one. If the Bible is to be believed literally, then there will be a real Kingdom, for Israel, in Jerusalem, from the throne of David, by the Messiah, for 1,000 years.
With chapters 17-18 as a background, we are taken from weeping and mourning to joyful worship and praise, from darkness and doom to light and deliverance, from a series of woes to a series of jubilant announcements. In Rev 18:20 there was the call to rejoice over Babylon’s destruction. Revelation 19 is heaven’s response to that call.
In the last days the world will be driven by this desire to accumulate -- and its hub will be commercial Babylon, which we will study today.
To fully appreciate and properly interpret Rev 17 and 18, we must "unveil" or expose Satan's counterfeit efforts to be worshipped as God. Since the beginning of time he has had a two-fold strategy:
- To destroy God's divine and eternal plan
- To replace it with his own perverted counterfeit
The bowls of wrath are very similar to the plagues of judgment in Egypt and are also similar to the seven trumpet judgments of Rev 8-9. However, a careful study reveals some striking differences. In Egypt, the plagues were local, affecting only the Egyptians. The trumpet judgments also were partial, destroying only one-third of each thing. The final 7 bowl judgments, however, are universal in scope affecting the entire earth with an unprecedented intensity.
Revelation 15 is an introduction to the beginning of the end! The last outpouring of God's judgment on the earth -- the 7 bowl judgments. You may recall that the judgments in Revelation are presented in the seven seals (6:1-17; 8:1).
The 7th seal includes all of the 7 trumpets (8:1-9:21; 11:15-19). The 7th trumpet includes all of the 7 bowl judgments. Every successive series of judgments emphasize the dramatic crescendo of God's final, white-hot judgment on a rebellious, Christ-rejecting world.
As God looks upon the wickedness of man, his rejection of His Son and his worship of the beast, He is left with only 3 choices.
Rev 14 demonstrates just how far God will go to keep man out of hell.
Chapter 14 begins by revealing something quite remarkable. While the earth is plunging into the darkness of the influence of Satan, the Antichrist and the False prophet -- the 144,000 are invited to learn a new song -- the song of the redeemed!
The Unholy Trinity is a satanic counterfeit and perversion of the Holy Trinity of God. Satan's purpose is to deceive the world into worshiping himself instead of God.
Today as we study the beast from the earth who is also called "The False Prophet" (Rev 16:13; 19:20; 20:10), we will discover that this 3rd member of the Satan's unholy trinity is remarkably similar to the Holy Spirit in his work and ministry.
Before considering Rev 13, a brief review of tribulation conditions will help us better understand the world’s vulnerability to the Antichrist -- the beast from the sea:
7 Seal Judgments (Rev 6):
- Peace will be take from the earth
- There will be terrible, world-wide famine
- 1/4 of the world's population will be killed - 1.5 billion people
- There will be terrible earthquakes and cosmic disruptions
7 Trumpet Judgments (Rev 8):
- Hail and fire will fall and burn up 1/3 of all the world's vegetation
- 1/3 of the sea will be turned to blood
- A great star will fall and pollute 1/3 of all drinkable water
- 1/3 of the light sources are darkened
- A terrible plague of scorpion -like locusts tormenting for 5 months
- 200 million horseman will destroy 1/3 of mankind - another 1.5 billion
During the Tribulation, people will be looking for a deliverer more than at any other time in human history. All the other world’s false religions are merely precursors to the Great Deception that’s coming. At the peak of their desperation they will be ready to believe anything. They will be looking for a “savior.”
We left the Dragon [Satan] looking out over the sea with two things on his mind:
- The best strategy with which to persecute and destroy Israel
- The best strategy to persuade men to worship him above the highest God.
There are three primary characters revealed for us in this text:
- The woman = Israel
- The male child = The Messiah, Jesus Christ
- The dragon = Satan
Notice that this is not a battle between God and Satan, but between Michael and Satan. It is two created angels and their forces battling each other.
Satan has perpetuated the lie that he is God’s opposite. He is not God’s opposite. He is not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. He is only a created being. He can’t even go one round with God. In fact, in chapter 20:10 he will be thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
In 1992 a group of academics and historians compiled some startling information about war: Since 3600 B.C., the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed is equal to a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick. Since 650 B.C., there have also been 1,656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remainder ended in the economic collapse of the countries involved. (Today in the Word, June 19, 1992)
Who is ultimately behind this devastation? None other than Satan! It is what he does best. After all, John 10:10 tells us that "[Satan has come] only to steal and kill and destroy."
In today's text, Jesus Christ reveals or unveils the truth of the supernatural war that is taking place all around us. A war that will ultimately be finished only when the enemy is finally vanquished.
The world system and all its power and corruption is the result of the established universal dominion of Satan. But above it all God continues to remain sovereign over all and has worked out his plan to redeem and reclaim the earth and everything in it.
One day, not long from now, the final minutes of history will tick past and we will hear the great multitude that John heard in Rev 19:6 like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns."
Application:
Although the kingdom of God and His sovereign reign over it will be finalized in the last days, it also begins the minute you make God the King of your life. When you come to Christ, the kingdom shifts from you, your life and priorities, to God and His priorities. The earth which God created, and which He redeemed with His own blood, will soon be His own once more -- never to be lost again.
Some have suggested that the book of Revelation is not meant to be taken literally. However, if it is not to be taken literally, it has no real meaning. All one has to do is to look at fulfilled biblical prophecy and you will discover that every prophecy has a literal and obvious fulfillment. 500 of the Bible's 1,000 prophecies have already been literally fulfilled.
Now, as we consider these events, it is worth repeating a well known phrase; "When the normal sense makes sense, don't seek any other sense."
Therefore:
- The great city is identified as the literal city of Jerusalem
- The time periods are taken as literal time periods.
- The two witnesses are interpreted as two actual individuals
- The 3 1/2 days are a literal 3 1/2 days
- The earthquake is a literal earthquake
- The 7,000 who die are the literal casualties of the catastrophe
- The death, resurrection and ascension of the witnesses is literal
Why does God allow evil to go unpunished? Why does He allow human suffering and death? Why doesn’t God intervene in human affairs? When will God break is silence and punish the wicked?
Interestingly, many use the delayed justice of God and His patience as an excuse to refuse the gospel of Jesus Christ. But when they read Revelation, which is God's final corrective to evil in the world, they recoil in horror at the finality of His judgment. We're a very contrary people!
Chapter 10 is an intermission – a parenthetical interlude -- in the divine judgment of God. Chapter 10 centers on an open scroll which John is commanded to eat resulting in prophecy “about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
Last week we studied the first four Trumpet judgments.
Today we will study the 5th and 6th Trumpet judgments, called the three woes (Woe means "A state of deep sorrow or grief.")
A comparison with the 10 Plagues of Egypt. What was God’s purpose in the 10 Plagues of Egypt? What is God’s purpose in the Great Tribulation?
In this vision it is clear, despite God’s increasingly severe judgments upon the world, that the wicked maintain their refusal to repent. There is a purpose of love behind the judgments. They are to make plain the seriousness and final end of sin. They are to lead people to repent, to turn to God and be saved.
The apocalypse [unveiling] of Jesus Christ!
John is commissioned by Jesus Christ to "write what he has seen, what is now and what will take place later." As we noted, Rev. 1:19 is the key to interpreting the book.
In our study so far we have discovered that:
- Jesus Christ has very specific exhortations to the 7 churches of Asia Minor - Rev 2-3
- The church has been raptured and will be spared the coming wrath of God - Rev 4
- That the Lamb has opened the scroll which is the title deed to the earth - Rev 5
- There are various judgments that accompany the opening of the seals - Rev 6
- Salvation is possible even during the Tribulation: 144,000 and the innumerable multitude who will die a martyr's death - Rev 7
It is a terribly sobering thing to envision what John describes as the final days of the world as we know it. However, there are benefits to understanding and heeding the prophetic future:
- It brings perspective to what is important in life
- It serves as a warning to those who continue in sin
- It motivates us to share the truth with others
- It assures us of God's ultimate victory over sin and evil
Chapter 7 is a parenthesis between chapter 6 and 8 that precedes the 7th seal. The pause provides an answer to the question we were left with at the end of chapter 6, “Who is able to stand?”
In chapter 7 we see two groups who are able to stand during this terrible time:
- A godly remnant of the 144,000
- The great multitude in heaven.
God is going to set aside 144,000 Jews who will accept Jesus as the Messiah and He will protect them during the Tribulation period until their work of proclaiming the gospel is completed.
A great multitude of Gentiles will also be saved, but many of these will be martyred, and a multitude of the martyred dead will be found in heaven rejoicing in the presence of the Lamb and representing every tongue and nation.
It is an indication that even in the tragic closing hours prior to the Second Coming of Christ to the earth, countless souls will find Christ as Savior and be saved by His grace.
The Good News is that you don’t have to wait until the Tribulation period to receive salvation that Christ offers. Today, if you receive His offer of forgiveness and new life you can be confident that you will be spared the terrible judgment of God that is about to come upon the whole earth. You can also know with certainty that whether you leave this earth through death or rapture, you will enjoy the pleasures of heaven for all eternity!
In Revelation chapter 5, we found that the Lamb of God was the only One worthy to take the scroll, or title deed to the earth, from the hand of the Father and to open it. Now in chapter 6, we find Him systematically removing the seals from the scroll.
The opening of the seals initiates the most catastrophic times in human history. All the earth's tragedies combined will pale in comparison to the Tribulation period -- also referred to as:
- The Wrath of the Lamb
- The Day of the Lord
- The Seventieth week of Daniel found in Daniel chapter 9
Who will be affected? Everyone who missed the rapture of Rev 4:1
As we make our way through the book of Revelation, we'll discover that God’s judgments are progressive in their intensity. There are seven seals, each with a judgement. The seventh seal ushers in the seven trumpet judgements. The seventh trumpet judgement ushers in the seven final judgements -- bowls of wrath poured out on the earth. When the last bowl is poured out, God is finished judging. Jesus will then return, ushering in the millennial Kingdom, 1,000 years of peace.
As we noted in the last message, Revelation 4 and 5 comprise an introduction – a prelude of sorts—to the final events of human history.
Chapter 4 ended with the worship of Jesus Christ, the Creator.
Chapter 5 will end with the worship of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.
God spared nothing to rescue you from the penalty of sin -- eternal death -- and to redeem you back to God. Are you withholding anything from Him? Let Him break the seals to your heart and give Him the deed to your life!
Surrender your life afresh to Him right now and join all of creation in the worship of our great Kinsman Redeemer -- Jesus Christ!
As we begin chapter 4 of Revelation, we are entering the third division of the book. In chapter 1:19 we discovered that Revelation is divided into three chronological sections:
- What you have seen - Rev 1:1-20
- What is now - Rev 2:1-3:22
The moral and spiritual condition of the 7 churches - then and now.
3.What will take place later - Rev 6:1-22:21
Chapters 4 and 5 are an introduction to the final events of human history.
All of the messages to the churches of Asia are extremely practical, but none of the seven better addresses the conditions in the United States than the message to Laodicea, the church that had become lukewarm in its deceptive self-sufficiency.
Application: Are you spiritually lukewarm -- not too hot for Jesus, but not too cold? The church of Laodicea was and they didn't even recognize the signs of it. If you are lukewarm, there is a very simple remedy; Repent of your self-sufficiency. Answer the door of your heart that Jesus is knocking on! And let Him once again take His rightful place as master and ruler of your life!
This message focuses on the church of Philadelphia.
Application: Right now there is marvelous door of opportunity that God has opened:
- The door of Salvation
- The door of missionary outreach
- The door of service
These doors are open right now -- and opened widely! But a day will come when, as scripture teaches in Matt 25:10-12, these doors will be shut.
Pastor Bob delivers a message on the church of Sardis.
Pastor Bob: "I've often wondered what it would be like to have our lives turned inside out. To have our true inner condition exposed to the scrutiny of others around us. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, we are able, like the church of Sardis, to present an appearance of life even when all that remains are distant memories of spiritual vitality. And the greatest danger lies in thinking we are alive, when in reality, spiritual death is knocking at our door. This was the condition of the church of Sardis."
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
In this passage, Jesus directs his message to the church at Thyatira.
It's sobering to realize that we as a church can be doing many of the right things and still be tolerating what God finds intolerable. It's especially important in our politically correct times, to hold on to Jesus Christ and to avoid compromise that can lead to spiritual death -- just as surely as Jezebel's corrupt self-made religion resulted in her judgment.
Note: #4 of series is unavailable in audio form. Sermon notes will be online in near future.
Today's message is directed to the church at Pergamum.
Satan has two primary techniques that he uses to ruin a believer -- if he cannot make you knuckle under with hostility and persecution, he will begin to entice you and lure you into compromise. It is either intimidation or enticement. It is either the violence threat of death or it is the subtly of an angel of light. Pergamum is the church that is being undermined by corrupt practices, corrupt teaching and compromise.
Over the next few messages, we will be looking at the letters to the 7 churches. All these churches were located in the western half of Asia Minor – modern day Turkey and were specifically selected as representative of:
- 7 historic churches that existed in Asia Minor
- 7 types of churches throughout church history
- 7 churches typical of today
Today's message focuses on Ephesus = 1st century church (Pentecost – death of John)
In each letter to the churches there is a consistent pattern:
- A greeting
- A title for Christ (taken from chapter 1)
- A commendation for what they were doing well
- A criticism for what they were failing in
- A warning ("He who has ears, let him hear")
- An exhortation to repent
- A promised reward for overcoming
Pastor Bob introduces the Book of Revelation. This is Part 1 in a 31 part series (Revelation 2:8 audio is not available. Sermon notes will be available online soon.
The book of Revelation is a book of hope. It is about Christ and the victorious future that awaits those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. May God bless you as hear His Word!
"Blesssed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." (Rev. 1:3)
Taught at Crossroads Kauai in September 2006
For many, being a Christian means that we superimpose a Christian commitment over our existing lifestyle and dreams. Our moral and ethical choices change, but our life's purpose often remains unaffected by our new found relationship to Christ.
This message will challenge and inspire you to Go BIG for God! Adventure with God by Loving God, Loving Others and Making Disciples! God has called us to Live the EPIC LIFE, not the Epic Lie!
Crossroads Kauai 9-14-2014
We have so much to look forward to! This concludes the Heaven series
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Part 5 of 6 part series. This is Part 2 of Heaven, Our New Life.
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Part 4 of 6 part series. This is Part 1 of Heaven, Our New Life.
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Part 1 of a 6 part sermon series on Heaven that will enable you to look forward to Heaven, which includes a resurrected life in a resurrected body, with the resurrected Christ on a resurrected Earth. Pastor Bob taught this series in 2006.
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