New Beginnings Church of Astoria: Recent Episodes
Pastor Peter Outar
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The Golden Lampstand was in the Tabernacle. It pointed to the light of the world, Jesus Christ
A "Good Friday" sermon on the relationship between the Passover in the Old Testament and the Crucifixion in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 5:7 - "........Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us". See also Exodus 12:1-13
The 5th sermon in the series "See Jesus in the Tabernacle". A continuation of last week's sermon, tells us about the bronze wash basin pointing to the cleansing and washing that will come from Christ.
Sermon 4 in the series "See Jesus in the Tabernacle" (see playlist for all related sermons). The Bronze Wash Basin was another implement in the Tabernacle and likewise pointed to Christ and the walk of the believer. The priests had to wash in the bronze wash basin before entering into the tent of meeting, the Holy of Holies, to meet with God. It is a picture of the Redeeming Work of Christ which was to come some 1500 years later where He would redeem us from sin, wash and cleanse us so that we may come boldly before the throne of Grace. Verses used:Exodus 30:17-20I Peter 2:5I Peter 2:92 Timothy 3:16-17John 16:7-8Ephesians 5:26John 15:31 John 1:7-9
Third sermon in the series "See Jesus in the Tabernacle". Come through the Gate, and be confronted by the Brazen Altar and what it represents in Christ.
Second sermon in the Series - See Jesus in the Tabernacle. The Gate to the Tabernacle, is a foreshadowing of Christ who was to come.
Quote from Augustine used in this sermon:
"I probed the hidden depths of my soul, and wrung its pitiful secrets from it, and when I mustered them all before the eyes of my heart, a great storm broke within me. I flung myself down beneath a fig tree and gave way to the tears which now streamed from my eyes. For I felt that I was still the captive of my sins, and in misery I kept crying. “How long shall I go on saying tomorrow, tomorrow? Why not now? Why not make an end of my ugly sins at this moment?”
It was then he heard the sound of a child singing a song “take it and read, take it and read”. He could not remember ever hearing a song like that, even as a child. So he decided to open the scripture and read whatever he came across. The verse below from Romans 13 is what he read:
Romans 13:13-14 - Let us walk [c]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
The finished work of Christ at the Cross is a double blessing! Not only are we saved and reconciled to God, but the power of sin over our lives was broken!
Often times we are trapped. Trapped in situations, toxic relationships, sinful habits, dead end jobs, fears, and even prisoners of what's in our minds. In the early church, Peter was trapped in prison, Arrested and held pending an sentence to death. God got Peter out. Miraculously. As God did for Peter, God will get you out!
We have an inheritance in Christ, ultimately eternity in heaven, but on this earth too.
Pentecost - the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, baptizing the 120 in the upper room in the Holy Spirit and empowering them for service. But what are the origins of the feast of Pentecost? Was it observed in the Old Testament and if so what did it mean? The church and the power of the Holy Spirit in believers is not coincidental, in fact it was always the plan of God.
Jacob was desperate for the Lord to work on His behalf. Ezra paused and declared a fast, desperate for God as they headed back to the holy land. King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast when the nation was surrounded and facing invasion by enemies. We are no different. We need to come to a point where we are desperate for God to act on our behalf, and fight the battle we face!
Believers in Christ do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. When the enemy sets up strongholds in our lives, the Lord has promised to crush them. The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty IN GOD. You will see the Lord crush these strongholds and every false accusation raised against you by the enemy, if only you stand on the promises of His new covenant.
Jesus said "if you love me keep my commandments". Where do we find the strength and power to keep His commandments (laws and rules)? The answer lies in the New Covenant, where the Lord put His Holy Spirit in the believer to "cause you to walk in His ways" (Ezekiel 36:27). Rely completely on the work of Christ at the Cross and the Holy Spirit in you to find power to walk holy.
The Cross of Christ is much more than about salvation. It is about sanctification and setting us free from sin, empowering us to live in holiness. If you are struggling in your walk, know that the answer is not in your own will power and your own efforts, but in the finished work at the Cross.
Jesus referred to the New Covenant right before His crucifixion. The importance of this New Covenant (agreement or contract) in the life of the believer lies not only in saving us, but in keeping us and giving us the power for holy living. For those who struggle, who wage battles with sin, who fail ad fail everyday, what Christ brought to pass in the New Covenant is for you.
When Christ was crucified and said "it is finished", sin was paid for and the veil of the temple was torn in two and shattered, indicating that now we can approach God through His Son. But it wasn't just payment for our sins, it was the breaking of every curse in our bloodlines, if we but only step into relationship with Christ by receiving Him as Savior and repenting of our sin.
Today as we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, marking the occasion of Jesus rising from the dead, it is time to reflect on the Resurrection and what it means to us. As a believer in Christ, what does Jesus rising from the dead have to do with your life today? (SEE ALSO GOOD FRIDAY SERMON ON THE AGONY OF GETHSEMANE)
The Garden of Gethsemane was where Jesus agonized over His coming fate at the Cross. The reason for His agony was far beyond just the physical suffering He would endure, it had to do with the Cup He would drink. The agony of Gethsemane was far beyond we could imagine.
Jesus enters the Holy City Jerusalem, riding on a donkey while the crowd shouts Hosanna! A lowly donkey had the esteemed honor of carrying the King of Kings on that day. In this Palm Sunday sermon, what can we learn from that donkey?
The Christian life is the abandonment of a life spent satisfying our own desires and living for our own purposes. God has called us to something higher, to no longer live for ourselves but for Christ, who died for us. We do not lose when we do this!!!! In fact it is in this that we are blessed and experience the deepest relationship with God. (Includes Communion at the end of the sermon)
God's will concerning you is central to your prayer life. We can have faith and believe for the impossible once we are in accordance with His will.
We are to know and prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How do we do that? How do we find the will of God for our lives or while making major decisions? Here are 5 ways how we can know the will of God for our lives in every decision.
Jesus said that His food was to do the will of the One who sent Him. The will of God is good and perfect. In doing the will of God, Jesus experienced a supernatural empowerment that was beyond anything that earthly food could have done for Him, establishing a model for us to follow and be led into a satisfaction, joy and peace beyond what we could ever know in the natural.
God asked Elijah the prophet "What are you doing here Elijah?" There are times in our lives when God may ask the same of us, about why we are in a certain tough place in our lives. In our answer, God will show us the reason and the solution to our pain.
Many people are dealing with depression in these times. The prophet Elijah suffered a period of despair where he ran away and asked God to take his life! As God ministered to and restored Elijah, so He will do for the depressed, and the means God uses to restore are the same as they always were. Arise, and feed on that which gives you supernatural strength.
In rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, Nehemiah and the people faced opposition and discouragement from everywhere. The godly principles Nehemiah followed combined with the presence of God through it all saw to it that not only was the task completed, but the lessons they learned are available for us to use today to defy discouragement.
We are to trust in God. God gives us specific instructions on how this is to be done so that we receive help from our God who is all powerful, ever present and all knowing in these uncertain times.
God promised the people wandering in the desert honey out of a rock if they would only listen to Him and turn to Him. Honey out of a rock....sweetness and pleasant things out of a hard, rough, place in life. This is available to us today, if we but turn to Christ the Rock.
The pool of Bethesda was a place of sickness and disease, filled with those awaiting a miracle healing. It is there that Jesus approaches a man laying there for 38 years and asks if he wanted to be made well. Into our darkest periods of life comes Jesus with the same request. Our answer is often similar to the man's, but God's mercy is so great that He extends to us not only a command, but the power to do what He says.
Toward the end of his life David, the great king of Israel, slayer of Goliath and psalmist, worshiper of God, looks back and makes an observation of all his years and trials he has faced. It is an observation that fits us today - we are never abandoned by God.
Old and confronted with bad news that he may now lose two more of his sons, the patriarch Jacob utters the words "all these things are against me". There are times in life when we feel the same, when darkness surrounds us and hopelessness enters as it did with Jacob. But God showed Jacob that all these things were working together for good, just as He will show us.
The best that God has is available to us, part of the path that God has ordained for those who believe in Him to walk. Don't turn away from the blessings as the Israelites did in the wilderness. God wants to bring you out, if you are willing to look to Him and see yourself the way He sees you.
In troubling times when anxiety is high it is important to remember that God's not only full of promises but that God is able to preserve us by His word. As God preserved the Israelites in the desert, so He will preserve and keep you, "upholding you by the Word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3)
During a difficult time in Israel's history, the prophet Isaiah shared a word from God as to how he would face those times. In today's world of pandemics, uncertainty, worries and anxiety, the word from Isaiah applies to us today. Isaiah found the Lord to be his salvation, his strength and his song. You're going to come through this singing if you belong to Jesus
The Magi came from the East to worship the young Jesus Christ. How did they know He was born and how did they know about ".....His star"? The answer lies in the scriptures, linked with God's plan to reach us and draw us into relationship with him, removing the barrier of sin.
SONG / MUSIC WRITTEN AND COMPOSED BY NIKOS KLINE SUNG BY NIKOS AND AMANDA KLINE
Bethlehem in Christ's time was a small, downtrodden city, having lost its former prominence years ago. Yet it is there that Christ chose to enter the world and become a man. To those who are broken, crushed, have lost it all, it is them who find joy in the events at Bethlehem. Something good came to Bethlehem, and something good is coming to you if you open your eyes to see.
Bread is the very sustenance of life, the most basic food. Jesus said He was the bread of life, the very one who sustains us. He took the bread, He blessed the Bread, He broke the bread, He gave thanks. In these steps of His lie the very essence of His work and what it means to us.
In His dialogue with the Samaritan woman, Jesus told her there would be a time when we will worship in Spirit and in Truth. Worshiping in Truth is to more than in sincerity and from the heart. It is based on Christ and His finished work at the Cross, and leads you into the very presence of Almighty God.
Jesus speaks of a new worship, a worship in Spirit and in Truth. Not about dead religious rites and ceremonies, but about a vibrant worship arising to God, a worship in Spirit, regardless of places, times and ceremonies.
In Ezekiel 47 a Messenger shows Ezekiel the future temple and river that flows from the Holy Place down to the dead sea. Ezekiel finds himself walking in the river from the ankles until he winds up immersed in the river. Today, God wants us to not just walk in the Spirit, but to be immersed totally in the Holy Spirit, that like the river, life will flow to everything in us.
While watching the procession at the celebration of a Jewish feast, Jesus stands up to issue an invitation that is open to us today. To those who are worn out, stressed out, feeling empty, having a longing for something deeper, something holier, then this plea from Jesus is for you today.
In so many scriptures we are told that Jesus is Lord. We are well acquainted with Him being Savior but what does it mean that He is Lord? What does it mean for born again Christian believers that He is Lord of all, including their lives? The answer will revolutionize our lives the way it did the Apostle Paul's.
The Apostle Paul and his company were forbidden by the Holy Spirit from entering an area and not permitted to go into another. What do you do when God does not permit or blocks you from that which you desire? Like Paul, we will learn that what the Lord has for us is often better than what He did not permit. Even better than receiving the promise is the relationship with the Promisemaker.
In Biblical days, the shepherds anointed the sheep with oil before they led them out to pasture. The oil was soothing, healing, and comforting to the sheep. The Lord Jesus, our Great Shepherd, anoints those who belong to Him with the Holy Spirit to bring peace at all times, even in times of trouble.
In Isaiah 49 God makes a promise to the nation of Israel during their difficult times. Not long after, Israel proclaimed themselves forsaken and forgotten y God. What is it in us that makes us so quick to deny the promises of God and lose faith in His plan for us? The Lord's response to their unbelief is instructive us to do who wait on God, enduring trial after trial and affliction upon affliction, clinging to His promises.
David the Psalmist writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells of the day of his trouble. Each of us has a period in time when trouble or trials come into our lives. Like David, we too will find that the Lord is present and just one call away from answering us in our time of need.
Caught in a vicious storm, the disciples see Jesus walking on the water coming toward them. In our lives there are various trials and struggles that come at us like storms. Jesus' interaction with the disciples, particularly Peter, during this storm is an assurance to us that Jesus will be with us during those storms and that we too will walk on what threatens us. If only we have the presence and power of Jesus with us.
Jesus sent the disciples into a boat to cross to the other side. En route they encounter a massive storm that threatens to sink them. Where is Jesus? Why did He send them on this journey? Today we have the same questions as we are on this walk with Christ and encounter the storms of life that threaten to sink us. Like the disciples, may we find what we did not expect, that Jesus is in the storm with us. We are not forgotten.
This place. It is the place where Jacob found himself. Alone, afraid, destitute, depressed, lonely, hopeless, having no future and not knowing his fate. Yet in this place, God was the one who came to Jacob. In "this place" where you find yourself lost, alone, afraid and struggling is where God will come to you, through Jesus Christ.
Christians endure a battle within, one where Jesus identified the combatants as flesh (our own nature) and Spirit (that which is of God). About this war, the book of Galatians commands us to "walk in the Spirit". As believers in Christ, let us "walk in the Spirit" to obtain victory over the sin which so easily besets us and find the power to do that which is beyond our own abilities and effort.
Jacob found himself in a foreign land, called by God to return home, where his murderous brother Esau waited. Obedient to the call, Jacob meets a stranger who wrestles with him and breaks his hip. It is in this broken condition that Jacob finds the blessing of God. Might it be that what you are going through now is God breaking you down, so you deny self and every worldly method of achieving God's blessings? You too like Jacob can be broken so you never lean on the arm of the flesh for God's blessings.
Isaac and Rebekah had 2 sons, Jacob and Esau, the twins. While pregnant with the twins, Rebekah went before God to ask why she felt such a struggle within her and asks "why am I like this"?
Today Christians who love the Lord feel the same struggle, feel like there is a battle within us. And we don't know why and like Rebekah, ask God "why am I like this?".
The answer today is the same as it was back in Rebekah's day. The younger will rule over the older. Listen for more details.
The born again Christian faces a raging battle every moment. In fact, Jesus describes this battle very well in his chat with Nicodemus. That which is of the flesh is flesh and that which is of the Spirit is spirit. The flesh and the Spirit clash, but in Christ victory is assured for every believer once we follow the prescription laid out by the Lord.
A religious man, Nicodemus, sought Jesus at night and engaged in a dialogue with Him that revealed what Jesus taught of the human condition. Jesus instructions to Nicodemus resonate with us even today, as the prescription for the human soul is not self help or self improvement, it is a radical approach carried out by the Holy Spirit that will lead you to find newness of life.
The Bible says there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Yet why is it that when believers in Christ are faced with personal failure or sin, they tend to condemn themselves? True freedom from failure and sin comes from Christ and His finished work on the Cross. Find freedom from condemnation and guilt by receiving the mercy and grace and forgiveness of Christ, and the Holy Spirit will empower you for victory!
We hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but do we fully grasp what it means to us, or do we just assume we are Christian? In this sermon, walk thru what Christ did for us on the Cross and the foundation on which we must stand.
Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to a new life. Their first stop was Gilgal where God dealt with them regarding their past shame and disgrace. Each of us has our own Gilgal, a place where God wants to heal us regarding our past shame and disgrace and the overwhelming guilt we feel about it.
The ancient king Jehoshaphat was told that a multitude of armies is on its way to conquer his nation. Proclaiming a fast and entering into prayer, this king confesses that he does not know what to do. Thousands of years later, we are often to admit the same thing, that we do not know what to do as a multitude of problems and difficulties descend on us.
As God delivered Jehoshaphat and Israel, so too He will deliver those who belong to Him, in the same manner and with the same power.
Joshua is instructed by the Lord to take 12 stones out of the Jordan River over to the promised land that the Lord had brought them. What was the purpose? The stones were for a memorial, to remember the great miracle that the Lord had done for them. The Lord has likewise given us a memorial of living stones to attest to the glory of the Lord in bringing us through to the promises He has for us.
Before Jesus began His ministry the Holy Spirit descended (fell) on Him in the Jordan River. As we continue this Christian journey, we like the Israelites figuratively cross over the Jordan to take hold of the promises God has for us. He has empowered and filled us with the Holy Spirit to drive out the forces of darkness, win souls and operate with power in His kingdom. If you only let the Holy Spirit fall on you.
The Israelites came out of slavery in Egypt and were en route to the promised land before unbelief prevented them from entering in. Forty years later another generation got the chance and believed God. They crossed the Jordan River and took hold of their promise.
The believer in Christ to whom Christ is Lord and Master is called to more than just salvation, but to an inheritance not just in heaven, but a promise of blessings on this earth. But you've got to cross over. You've got to make the trip and follow the Lord who goes before you.
Joshua encounters God while alone with his thoughts, having no hope and n faced with a stronghold of the enemy in the middle of the wilderness. It is at these times in our lives, when we are alone, faced with insurmountable problems and lacking resources to overcome them that God makes Himself real to us. The lessons Joshua learnt are as real and applicable to us today as it was back then. God is for you, not against you!
Peter the disciple writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that we are not to think it strange when fiery trials come our way. We endure hardships and trials in so many areas of our lives and too often they are very painful. Yet we read in the Bible of 3 young boys who endured a literal fiery trial and came out of it without a scar. We too have the same presence of God in trials that they did, and like Job, we too will say that when He has tried us, we will come forth as gold.
James, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells us to count it all joy when we go through various trials. Joy? How can we experience joy when we are hurting, suffering and in emotional and physical pain? The answer lies in our understanding of trials that come our way. Trials designed by God to break us from the flesh and upon a total reliance on the Holy Spirit to bring us through, stronger than we were before. Yes, you shall make it through.
Sparrows are very small birds found in great quantities. To some, they are insignificant, but Jesus knows when every sparrow falls. Feel you are falling? failing? Take heart. He knows when every Sparrow falls.
We are told by Christ that if anyone desires to come after Him, that we need to take up our cross and follow Him. Find out what taking up your cross really means and why Christ modeled it for us.
The disciple John sees a vision of the risen Christ and falls at His feet. The words that Jesus say to Him apply to us today, from the Lord who is alive forevermore!
The people had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate a great feast. The city was bustling and perhaps festive, but here Jesus comes to the great city on a donkey, crying as He looked at it. Why? Because the people in that great city did not know the time of their visitation, nor the things that Jesus would do to ensure peace for them. There is a provision that Jesus made for our peace. If only many knew of this provision. If only we remember it. There is a provision for your peace thru Christ.
In the Old Testament books of the law the Lord instructs the people not to entertain "familiar spirits". What are these "familiar spirits"? And are we even conscious of them operating? In Ecclesiastes we are told there is nothing new under the sun. These spirits are in operation today to deceive, destroy and harass the Christian. But there is a power by which we overcome if we are not ignorant of the schemes of the enemy.
The Lord gives the prophet Zechariah a vision of a court room scene in heaven, where the righteous are accused by the enemy. It is a scene that plays out in the mind of the believer in Christ even today, where we listen to the accusations of the enemy regarding things in our lives that God has long forgiven and forgotten. Be reminded of your righteousness in Christ, when He pulled you from the fires of judgment and a life of ongoing sin.
Each of us has a will that we exercise daily. It is expressed in our actions by what we choose to do. Joshua exercised his will to serve the Lord, David willingly numbered the people when God did not tell him to. Each received the blessings or consequences. How is it that we find the power to willingly do that which honors God and avoid that which we know clearly is not His will? How do we align our will with God's will?
The enemy of our souls attacks not only our minds but our health. Job experienced the attacks on his body, and today we at times experience the same attacks our health. Though there are a number of reasons for poor health, the enemy of our souls sometimes targets us to destroy the temple, the tools for ministry and the investment God has made in us for His kingdom. But at the Cross there was provision for our healing, if we only take hold of it.
The Bible cautions us not to be deceived away from the simplicity that is in Christ. Our devotion to Christ is always under attack, to deceive us away from His finished work at the Cross. Who is out to deceive us and what are some of the things he is using to deceive us away from the gospel of Christ?
The Christian is subject to attacks on the mind each day and the story of Eve in the Bible illustrate clearly how this happens. In 1 Corinthians, Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit details precisely how this happens and none other than Jesus illustrates how to conquer these attacks.
In our walk with Christ, there is something we must know in order to reap the blessings that the Lord has prepared for us. Paul found what this was, and David always inquired of the Lord about it. Without it we will walk in despair, never achieving our full potential in Christ. And when we know it, we must do it.
There are opportunities each day to have an audience with a King. This great King does not govern a nation or a kingdom of this world, but He is the great King, the all powerful, all knowing, all present, unchanging Creator who became flesh, that we might know Him and see His glory. We can see Him work on our behalf if only we seek to have an audience with this great King.
Habakkuk asked God questions about his nation and his people and God answered him, not just once but twice. In God's answer was a detailed plan that would be fulfilled in an "appointed time". Are you praying and asking God for a solution in your situation, or a healing or provision? God will reveal His plan to you, and when He does, WAIT for the appointed time for it to be fulfilled.
NOTE: From Pastor Peter - PLEASE seek God in everything. There is no chance, or luck, in the life of the believer. If you are a Christian, saved by Jesus, then your path in life is ordained by God. Seek HIS plans for you, and not your own! Believe that God will reveal what HE wants to you! And then, WAIT for it!
So many times we pray and ask God for so many things and we don't seem to get an answer. Lord, why don't you answer us? In this message Pastor Peter details some of the reasons why God may not answer our prayer. What is it that God is trying to tell us? The Lord has a perfect plan for our lives and will not allow us to take less than what he has for us.
In Jacob's loneliness and fear, there appeared a Man who wrestled with Jacob. Who was this mysterious man, and why the wrestling match? There are times we go thru periods of fear and loneliness and actually find ourselves wrestling with God. Rest assured, like Jacob, these divine "wrestling matches" are for your good and His glory!
There are times we go through life with intense emotional pain, depression, misery, anxiety or illness. It is in these times that God's voice echoes loudly with a clarion call to prayer. Not just any prayer, but the prayer that overcomes by Christ.
For those who approach God, there is one thing that is vital, and that is faith. It is that which pleases God and brings the presence of God into our lives and situations. What is faith, and what are the 2 things about our faith that ensure the presence of God in our lives?
Wise men came from the East looking for Christ, the newborn King. They asked the question - where is He? Two thousand years later, many are asking the same question in their trials, difficulties, and sin. Where is He? He is no longer in a manger, He is closer than He ever was before.
Wise men came from the East bearing gifts for the young Jesus. How did these men know a king was about to be born, and what was the significance of the gifts they brought? It tells the story of the a great King, who came not from a faraway place on earth, but from heaven to be the Savior of mankind.
There are multiple instances of the Lord speaking to His people in the Bible. At this Christmas season, we read of Mary and Joseph hearing from the Lord. But does the Lord still speak to His people today? The Bible tells us that even today, the Lord is speaking to believers, ever ready to lead us and reveal Himself to us in the most difficult of times.
Armed with the promise he received from God, David pursued the enemy, overtook them and recovered all that the enemy had stolen from him AND more! So it is in the life of the believer in Christ. Let us put aside our apathy, stop procrastinating and go after what God has promised us! Let us retake the joy, time, loved ones, possessions that the enemy has stolen from us.
David the warrior returned home to find his settlement burnt and the families taken by the Amalekites. One would think this warrior would immediately chase after the enemy, but he did not. Instead this warrior waited on the Lord and received a promise before going to war.
In our lives, it is necessary to wait on the Lord and receive his divine strategies before we engage in spiritual warfare for that which the enemy has stolen from us.
David returned with his army to find their homes burnt and their families gone, and wept until they lost their strength. There was a feeling righteous anger, a feeling of desperation and grief at what they had lost? Are you angry at what the enemy has stolen from you, the joy he has robbed you of and the wasted time he has stolen? Then like David you need to come to grips with it. You will never fight for that which does not pain you to lose!
Caleb received a promise from God and followed thru on it in spite of every obstacle he faced. In the end God gave him victory and he received the promise he waited for. But it didn't stop there. Caleb left an inheritance to those who came after him. He took back what the enemy stole from him and left it to generations that came after him. And so will you, if you purpose in your heart to let the Lord go before you into battle.
The little heard of Caleb in the Bible seized on the promises of God and ascended a mountain of Giants to take what God had given to him. God has given us His promises and even made clear His intentions for us. It is time we be like Caleb and be ready to war for what God has ordained for us and not allow the enemy to rob us of our joy, families, and a rich inheritance in Christ.
Joshua was a worshipper, a warrior, a worker, and was called a servant of the Lord. What does it mean to be a servant of the Lord? A peek into Joshua's admonition to Israel shortly before he died gives us insight into what Joshua, this warrior for God, had his heart centered on.
The life of the Christian is not a static one. The Lord is always moving us on, taking us to a place of blessing, a place of promise. God's dealings with Joshua as he led the Israelites into the promised land is an example for us to follow as we seize the blessing that God has in store for us
We are bombarded with commercials for medicines and news about diseases, insomuch that it breeds a fear of sickness within us. What is our response in this time of pandemics and diseases? A look at King Hezekiah is instructive to us.
One of the fears we have is of people. People who drive fear and intimidation into us on the job, our surroundings, etc. A well known prophet in the Bible had a similar situation and ran away, fearing for his life. God's provision for him in his situation is instructive for us today.
The Lord told Moses that the promised land was given to them, and the people agreed that the land was great. Yet they refused to enter into it, making excuses for why they could not go in. Why? Because they saw obstacles. Fortified cities, strong people and giants in the land who would devour them. They feared. They feared failure, that they would fight and lose. This fear of failure is what paralyzes us and prevents us from moving forward into what God calls us to.
Feelings of terror, fear, anxiety, panic come the believer's way. Where do they come from and how do they get there? And what can the believer do to deal with the fear as it engulfs them? Listen and you'll find out.
Fear. Everyone of us has experienced that deep, terrorizing feeling, and it doesn't have to be in a bad part of town at night. We may experience that fear when we are sitting right at home. Fear, anxiety, panic. Where does it come from in the life of the believer? Why is the Christian so gripped with paralyzing fear that keeps them from stepping into the blessings that God has for them?
The rapture of the church , the Blessed Hope, will come upon us suddenly with the return of Jesus Christ for His church. But what should we be doing while we watch and pray for His return?
Jesus tells the story of a bridal party in a Jewish wedding waiting for the return of the Bridegroom. Five were taken and five were left. What was the deciding factor in who was taken and who was left in this parable of Jesus on the ten virgins.
The Church awaits a great event, one that will shock the world and complete the redemption of the believer. Are you ready for it?
This new life in Christ comes by the the work of Christ at the Cross. Here's a detailed understanding of what happened there and why we are considered "in Christ", our hope of glory.
The demon possessed man in Gadarenes had a memorable encounter with Christ where he was set free from his bondage. The actions of this grateful man after Christ told him to remain in the territory and carry out the mission given to him by Christ is a lesson for us even today. It's time to tell your story.
The disciple Peter was known for his impulsive, fleshly behavior. He loved Christ, but sought to do things his way, ending with him denying Christ and failing. However, we read of Peter later on as a force in the early church, preaching the first sermon and guiding the early church. What was it that transformed Peter from a failure to follower?
Jesus issued an invitation to come to Him and find rest. But between coming to Him and the actual finding the rest that Jesus offers lies more invitations from Christ that lead us to the rest He promises for our souls.
The Lord extended an invitation to the tired and burdened that is still in effect today? Are you tired and weary, struggling? Then Jesus has a word for you today.
Isaiah the prophet, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote of the rebellious who will find shame and humiliation. Their rebellion was not in some immoral or violent act, but in their failure to honor God in devising their own plans and taking advice from others instead of Him. Their return to the Lord would have given them a quietness and confidence that would be their strength.
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The Bible says Enoch walked with God and he was no more. God took him. What does it mean to walk with God, and what lies at the end of it for us?
The pool at Bethesda was a scene of misery, as the forgotten lay there waiting for a miracle. Then along came Jesus, royalty from on high, walking among the poor, blind, lame and paralyzed. One man walked out of Bethesda that day because Jesus came there. And you too can walk out of your own Bethesda, your own place of hurt and misery where you may even be tired of waiting for deliverance. Just because Jesus will come to you there too.
In the midst of an enemy approaching him and darkness surrounding him, the prophet Elisha was able to see the power and protection of God surrounding him. How is it that this man was so conscious of the power and presence of God in the midst of trouble and threats? How is it that we could have the peace and calm Elisha had in a time of darkness?
Jesus takes the hand of a blind man brought to Him for healing and leads the blind man out of Bethsaida. What follows is a remarkable transition from this man being blind to seeing clearly. The same way we are transitioned from being spiritually blind to understanding what God has for us. The main verse is Mark 8:22-26. Communion is observed after the message
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