Nampa Gospel Fellowship: Recent Episodes
Dan Sandford
In our third Sunday of Advent we are looking at the theme "Peace". Without Christ there can be no peace. Peace WITH God is through Jesus Christ. And the peace OF God is through Christ.
Joy, according to John Piper, is a "Good feeling in the soul, produces by the Holy Spirit, as we see the beauty of Christ in the Word and in the world." That is our topic this morning, and a framework for the points in this message.
Hope. It came in Jesus Christ, and can be ours today. This hope is the confident expectation of the fulfillment of all the promises of God towards His child. And though that is future, it has a practical effect now, in strengthening us to persevere, securing us, causing joy within us, and emboldening us as messengers of that hope.
What do we do when we dislike or disagree with our government? According to Romans 13, and 1 Peter 2, we submit ourselves to them, as all authority is appointed by God. The exception is when they command us to do what God has forbidden, or forbid us to do what God has commanded. Then we submit to the higher authority, God Himself.
God's judgement against blatant hypocrisy. And God's call to repentance and restoration.
All those who have trusted in Christ for forgiveness of sins and everlasting life, have now become ambassadors to the world for Christ's sake.
Riches can't save someone else from death, can't save yourself from death, and can't buy you security. It should not be trusted in. Trust rather in the One who is able to save all who come to Him, and grant them everlasting life - Jesus Christ.
We are called to praise God, cheerfully, publicly, and intelligently. We have infinite cause to praise, because of our infinite all powerful God, and all He has done
God is your security when the world has gone made, and God is your peace when the enemy attacks. Contemporary application from an OT example. The LORD is my refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Psalm 44 lays out principles for how to handle defeat. 1. Remember what God has done. 2. Be realistic about your current situation. 3. Pray asking God for renewal. And the fourth point, taken from the book of Romans; Never Give Up!
If Psalm 42 is the cry of the discouraged, then Psalm 43 is the prayer for the discouraged. In this Psalm the psalmist asks God to intervene for Him, to restore him, and to establish him.
The emotional turmoil of King David, and tools we can gain from it to help in our dark days.
Psalm 40. "He has put a new song in my mouth - Praise to our God" This is a song of deliverance, faith, and exaltation.
Sin always has consequences. We see from Psalm 38 that sin has a spiritual effect, a physical effect, and a relational effect. And none of these effects are good.
When you see evil succeeding and when those who do right suffer, what is your response? Trust God and do good. He has all things under control, and He rewards and judges eternally.
In the might of the Lord and the armor He has provided the believer is able to be victorious over sin and Satan. We must never forget our dependency upon God though. Pray always. Pray all kinds of prayers. Pray in the Spirit. Pray alertly. And pray for others. Ephesians 6:18
In the Armour of God from Ephesians 6 we see the standing of the believer, and the call to stand accordingly.
Taking a look at the Armour of God. How is it possible to be victorious in the Christian walk? How is it possible to resist the cunning craftiness of Satan? By being strong in the Lord and the power of His might, while equipped with all that God provides the believer for victory.
Father's day. Is what concerns you a good reflection of your character, or a bad one? Be concerned about Godly things.
We can rejoice in suffering when we realize what suffering produces, as experienced by Paul.
The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost to indwell and abide with all those who repent of their sin and trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and everlasting life. If you are His child, You Are Not Alone, for He lives in you!
A word of encouragement in these chaotic days. Cry out with David, see the words reflected prophetically in Christ, and echo them yourself as you trust in God.
The Christian life is hard work, but it is also God's work, so we can rest in Him to accomplish His will through us.
Do we really believe what we say we believe? If we do our lives will reflect it. This is kind of a hard hitting message to wrap up this series. There is no point in affirming truth if all we do is give lip service to it.
The resurrection is certain, is universal, and is a cause for joy to those in Christ and a cause for fear to those who are not.
The church is one of the most overlooked doctrines, and misunderstood entities. It is the body of Christ. That is not figurative, but is literal and spiritual. The church is universal; that is every true believer is a part of it. The church is local. All believers are to be gathering together in local visible expressions of the universal church.
Believers must live by the Spirit. The Christian life is impossible to live by the flesh.
In this tenth part of the series "Essential of the Faith" we affirm the Acsension of Christ, His Mediatorial Work, and His Personal Return in Glory and Power.
Two key doctrines of the faith. As we examine the essentials we cannot over-look or obscure these fundamental truths! Christ died in the place of every believing sinner, and Christ rose from the grave, defeating sin and death.
Part 8 of this series, Essentials of the faith. This concerns the person of Jesus Christ, affirming the Biblical truths of the virgin birth of Christ, His sinless human life, and His divine miracles.
The Essential essential, the person of Jesus Christ. We affirm; "One Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, god manifest in the flesh."
The second essential of the faith is that there is "One God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
Essential of the faith; The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, and entirely trustworthy, the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct
First essential of the faith; Holy scriptures as originally given by God; divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy, the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
Unity in Essentials, Liberty in Nonessentials, and Love in All Things. Today we look at the third part of that adage. Whether in Christ, or outside of Jesus Christ, we are to love people. Simply put regardless of how hard it may seem to do.
Extend liberty (freedom) to fellow believers in areas that are nonessential. We each stand before God as Lord and Master. Don't try to take that position upon yourself.
Introduction to the essentials of the faith. The first one being "Unity in Essentials." Is it true? Must it be so? And does unity in essentials mean we must not unite with those who do not hold to such essentials?
In Joseph we see the specificity of trials, the purpose of trials. In God we see that trials produce change, and bring great rewards. It is well worth it in the end, for Our God is good, and is in control.
God allows and causes trials in our life. From the story of Joseph we learn that those trials are specific, and those trials affect change. God knows what He is doing through them.
Fear turns a blessing into a curse, our ordinary concern into overwhelming uncertainty, or ability in incapacity, and our victory into defeat. Do not give in to fear, but walk by faith. Taken from teh story of Joseph.
In Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream we see three keys to understanding God's voice (revelation); Serving God when we can't hear Him, Prompt to speak of the Lord, and Promoting God rather than self.
God is sovereignly in control of every detail, even when we can't see Him, or see good. He is orchestrating all things for His glory, and His children's good.
Though we are inundated by temptation, we can and must have victory. It is possible through the indwelling power of Christ. But be ready and willing to suffer the consequence of obedience; rejection by the world, but blessing at the hand of God.
Though temptation may be unavoidable, victory is attainable through the power of Christ within you. Predetermine your response to temptation, have right reasoning about the horror of sin, and respond aggressively.
Every situation is bearable, and can even be rejoiced in, if we are confident in God's abiding presence.
No matter the difficulty of our responsibility, or how great the opposition, we can always be assured that if we are obeying God He will accomplish His purpose in us and through us. He is in control.
God grants grace as He chooses, and He is perfect and just in doing so. We cannot control that, but we can control (by His Spirit) our response to that. Looking at the life of Joseph.