Podcasts about in i kings

Title: “Let No One Deceive You” Part 3 Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 FCF: We often struggle fearing the deception that is to come. Prop: Because all who did not receive the love of the truth will be deceived, we must let no one deceive us. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we'll read yet again the text starting in verse 3 and going to verse 12. Today I'll be reading from the Legacy Standard Bible but you can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. You'll notice on the screen that this is part 3 of this sermon. If you have not heard parts 1 and 2, I would encourage you to catch up on the teaching Paul has given regarding the man of lawlessness. The previous two sermons are foundational in understanding what is going on here and how we are to think about the end times. However, the sermon today, although relying on some of the conclusions we've made in the last two sermons, is by far the most standalone of the three. The message today is terrifying. It is gut wrenching. Because it speaks of a time when God is truly done with giving mercy to people who have rejected Him. And although God has done similar things in the past – it has never happened like this and only once on this scale. It is also terrifying because it remains in a context which emphasizes that many of the people who are being discussed here who have rejected God, are those who at one point believed in Him. But as terrifying as this message is – there is hope and comfort in holding fast to saving faith. Let's read once more. Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Gracious, Merciful, and Holy Father, You have endured the wickedness of men for thousands of years. You are longsuffering, extending mercy to all and allowing men to profane Your name and reject Your Son while You continue to bless them and give them common grace. But one day You will remove Your Restrainer and allow the man of lawlessness to come forth. One day Your mercies will end. One day Your common grace to wicked men will cease. And one day You will judge the world. I pray that even now You would be merciful and gracious to those in this room. Speak now words of comfort to Your people through this text…but Gracious God, send Your Spirit to open the eyes of the blind here and speak words of terror to those who are perishing. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] ”It is the creed of every sound evangelical church that those who do go back to perdition were persons who never really believed in Jesus.” A.A. Bonar “None sink so far into hell as those that come nearest heaven because they fall from the greatest height.” William Gurnall [Slide 3] “To forsake Christ for the world is to leave a treasure for a trifle…eternity for a moment, reality for a shadow, all things for nothing.” William Jenkyn “To see a ship sink in the harbor of profession is more grievous than if it had perished in the open sea of profaneness.” William Secker [Slide 4] “The essence of apostasy is changing sides from that of the crucified to that of the crucifier.” John Stott “Scripture does not need to be denied for apostasy to begin: all that is needed is that scripture takes second place in our calculations.” Iain H. Murray Let these words prepare your heart for the preaching of God's Word today. I.) The Man of Lawlessness will be powered by Satan to deceive all the perishing, so we must not let ourselves be deceived. (9-10) a. [Slide 5] 9 - whose coming is in accord with the working of Satan, i. The LSB has put hash marks into the previous verse to set it off from what follows in verse 9. ii. This is incredibly helpful because for we western English readers, this would be quite jarring, since we would assume the “coming” he is talking about now is still the coming of Christ. iii. What we don't see that would make this even more jarring, is that in the Greek the word for “coming” is… parousia. Advent. iv. However, Christ will not come in accord with the working of Satan. v. Paul is going back now to the topic of the man of lawlessness. And Paul intentionally points to the mockery of Satan here by using the same word he has used repeatedly to refer to the return of Christ. Only this time he refers to the coming of the man of lawlessness. vi. That the man of lawlessness comes in accord with the working of Satan, clarifies and affirms that the man of lawlessness is indeed a man. vii. Much like Judas Iscariot was a man who was possessed by Satan Himself, so also this man of lawlessness is a man that will come in accord with the working of Satan. viii. This is probably an idiomatic way to say that this man too will be possessed by Satan. ix. Now just like the scriptures always see Judas as culpable for his own actions… he was not a victim… so also this man of lawlessness is not a victim either. x. This man will do and say things that are so egregious and so infamous that he could not be a mere man. xi. And this man will go along with it, willingly obeying his father the devil. xii. Again, this points to the mockery of Satan. xiii. Jesus did and said things that indicated that He was no mere man too, all in willing obedience to His heavenly Father. But this Anti-Christ figure will have an advent that is similar but will do the opposite. xiv. But that isn't the end to the similarities. b. [Slide 6] with all power and signs and false wonders, i. Part of the working of Satan happening for this man is that he is coming with all Satan's power and influence. ii. He will be able to perform signs and wonders, all of which will be false. iii. How do we determine if a sign or wonder is false? iv. Scripture gives two criteria 1. [Slide 7] In Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Yahweh clearly says that if a prophesy does not come to pass, then they know that what the prophet said was not from Him and that prophet has spoken presumptuously and should be put to death. 2. [Slide 8-9] Let's go to Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and read this together. Because what if the signs and wonders do come true? What if they are effective? a. Notice what God says… b. If a prophet performs signs and wonders that come to pass but they advocate worshipping other gods, they should not listen to that prophet. Why? c. Because Yahweh sent (take note of that. Yahweh sent) that prophet to the people to test their love for Yahweh. d. Then God reinforms them of the command. They should walk after Yahweh, fear Him, obey His commands, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. e. But the prophet should be put to death for His attempt to mislead God's people. v. [Slide 11] The wonders and signs the man of lawlessness commits won't be false because they won't be powerful, effective, or come to pass. They will be false because they will be used to encourage people to worship him instead of Yahweh. Or to worship him as Yahweh or Jesus Himself. vi. We know how our Lord Jesus is coming next. He is coming on the clouds. He will gather us to Himself. That is how we will see Him next. In the air. vii. EVERY ESCHATALOGICAL FRAMEWORK AGREES! viii. Remember that my friends. Remember God's people. We will see Him next in the AIR. ix. No matter what signs or wonders a man does on earth… He isn't Christ if we don't meet Him in the air. He isn't Christ if we must go to Him. The Real Jesus will bring us to Himself. We will be CAUGHT UP. c. [Slide 12] 10 - and with all the deception of unrighteousness i. Another key factor that is hinted at in Deuteronomy 13 was that a person bringing signs and wonders that advocates for the breaking or distorting of God's laws – cannot be sent from God. ii. Jesus Himself said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. How can the real Jesus appear and lead people to conclude that living unrighteous lifestyles is… fine? iii. That disobeying the law of God… is fine? iv. Did Jesus do this at His first advent? v. He fulfilled the law, but He never rejected it or broke it. Nor did He ever advocate His followers do so. vi. As loving as He was to sinners and as much as He healed people what did He say? “Go and sin no more!” vii. He said, “Your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees.” viii. He said, “You must be holy as my heavenly Father is holy.” ix. When Jesus walks this earth again… x. HE WILL NOT TREAT SIN WITH KID GLOVES. xi. In Isaiah 11, where Paul pulled the reference to Christ consuming the man of lawlessness with His breath, in that same context it says that in that day “they will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain. “ xii. The man of lawlessness though, will be a man who advocates a reversal of God's laws. Perhaps emphasizing love and peace over righteousness and blamelessness. xiii. Indeed, his only law is that all must worship… him. xiv. But what Paul says next is absolutely essential for a proper understanding of this time. d. [Slide 13] for those who perish, i. Notice that the power, the lies, the signs, these are all aimed at a specific group. ii. The perishing. iii. The bible gives us warnings and we must absolutely heed them. But just because the warnings exist doesn't mean that there is a chance that God's promises won't be fulfilled. iv. God has promised that He will seal all His people until the day of redemption. v. Just because the bible gives warnings of falling away and believing a lie doesn't somehow make God's promises null and void. vi. Instead, we must look for a way to make both truths of scripture stand with all their strength without contradiction. vii. And the church has, for thousands of years, understood that it is by hearing the word of God that we receive faith. Not just faith to believe on Christ but faith to believe all that God has said. viii. God's word is effective to produce change in the hearts of God's people. His Word will not return void or empty. ix. Warning passages accomplish their purpose to cause true believers to be alert and vigilant. x. This is the means God uses to prevent them from falling away and succumbing to a lie so powerful that if it were possible the elect would be deceived. xi. Paul makes it clear, that the man of lawlessness will be able to deceive ONLY those who are perishing. Why? xii. Because true believers, believers that have genuine faith, will heed these warnings, continue to reject sin and pursue Righteousness, and continue to believe God. xiii. Paul writes this as a comfort to a church whom he is convinced is counted worthy of God's Kingdom, whom he is convinced received the gospel in power. He is not uncertain about their identity as children of God. Therefore, this comment is designed to give them comfort. The perishing are the ones who will be deceived. xiv. So, they must not let themselves be deceived. xv. But why are they perishing? e. [Slide 14] because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. i. The wording here is actually quite important. 1. The expression we might expect is that these people who are perishing would be those who did not believe the gospel. Or perhaps that they did not believe the truth. Or that they did not receive the truth. 2. But that isn't what saves a person and eliminates their possibility of being deceived by this Satanic Superman. 3. Christ Himself said that in the last day there would be many who said to Him, “Have we not prophesied in your name, and performed miracles and cast out demons in your name, but I will say to them depart from me lawbreakers, I never knew you.” 4. Paul says that people who did not receive THE LOVE of the truth are those who are perishing. 5. Only those who cherish the truth will be saved. 6. What does it mean to cherish the truth? We'll get to that, because a little later Paul is going to give us the opposite of this. Just hang tight for now. ii. So, the deception of the man of lawlessness will reach all the perishing because they didn't receive the love of the truth. What does that mean? iii. Right now, the gospel call goes out to all men. All men are given at least natural revelation that there is a Creator God who must be worshipped and obeyed. And all men are called to repent and believe the gospel. iv. But one day that general call will stop. v. At some point – when this man of lawlessness steps on the scene, the general call of the gospel to all men will no longer be available. vi. That isn't to say no more will come to saving faith in Christ at this time… vii. God may still effectually call people to Himself. viii. But those who are perishing, those whom God has not elected, will believe the lies of the man of lawlessness. f. [Slide 15] Summary of the Point: Paul has presented who the man of lawlessness is and the blasphemies he will commit. He has discussed when he will come and how he will end. Now, Paul reveals how he will deceive and who will believe him. The perishing, whether they have professed Christ or not, all those who have not received the love of the truth will believe the power, signs, and wonders of the man of lawlessness, and will be deceived into unrighteousness. God's general call to all men to repent and believe the gospel will ultimately go extinct as all the perishing are given over to the lies of this man. If we are truly elect of God, and we have received the love of the truth, we will not succumb to these lies. But how do we know we are elect and have received the love of the truth? We do not let ourselves be deceived. We hold fast to what we have been taught. We trust God no matter what our senses say. [Slide 16 (blank)] Transition: Perhaps you wrestled with that statement regarding the gospel call. Perhaps you were uncomfortable thinking that there will be a time when God is going to stop calling all men to believe the gospel and will only call those who are elect. Well, if you struggled with that. Buckle up. It is about to get very uncomfortable. Paul will now reveal how it will be so that all the perishing believe the lies of the man of lawlessness. II.) In order to judge them, God will actively reprobate the perishing, so we must not let ourselves be deceived. (11-12) a. [Slide 17] 11 - And for this reason, God sends upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, i. For this reason – meaning because the perishing have not received the love of the truth. ii. God is not forcing them to not receive the love of the truth – but as a response to them not receiving it… God will act. iii. Why do I say that the general call of the gospel will cease? iv. Because God will send a different message. He has already sent the gospel call to all men. v. But He has not sent out another message to all men yet. vi. All the lies and deceit and questioning of God's truth today is all generated by the lies of demons and by evil men. vii. But one day they will not be the only voices spreading misinformation. viii. One day, God Himself will send an influence that deceives the perishing. ix. Ok. Stop right there. We all know that God cannot sin. Specifically, we know that God cannot lie. So how can we interpret this differently so God isn't lying. x. Well does this text actually say that God will lie? xi. It doesn't. xii. It says that God will send a deluding influence. The Greek word for “influence” here suggests it is strong and inescapable. xiii. Notice that it does not say “allow” either. The Greek word here, translated “send” cannot mean that God simply is “allowing or permitting” this influence to occur. The Greek word means to cause to go somewhere. xiv. God will cause a deluding influence to go to the perishing. xv. God isn't lying, He is sending someone or something to lie to the perishing. xvi. Why? xvii. So that they will believe what is false. xviii. The general call of the gospel ceases because God sends something to make sure they believe something else. xix. Why would God do this? b. [Slide 18] 12 - in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. i. God wants to make sure that every single person who is perishing, is justly judged. 1. This phrase here is the explanation of what it means to NOT receive the love of the truth. It means to not believe the truth but to take pleasure in unrighteousness. 2. These are not, however, two items. They are one. 3. The New Testament often defines genuine belief as belief unto obedience. To have saving faith is to love righteousness. So, if we see someone taking pleasure in unrighteousness, they cannot believe the truth, no matter what they say they believe. ii. But attentive bible students might wonder why God needs to send a deluding influence at all. iii. If God did nothing, wouldn't they still be judged? iv. [Slide 19] The answer is yes. 1. The doctrine of election is a doctrine of God's intervention. a. In order for anyone to be saved, God must intervene. b. No matter what kind of Christian you are, you must believe that God saves us and must intervene to do this. c. Otherwise, you are a Pelagian and a heretic. d. God's elect are those whom God has chosen, according to the counsel of His will and based on nothing of us, to intervene for and rescue from our sin. e. The others that God has not elected will not inherit salvation, but not because God has intervened to keep them from salvation. Rather they will not inherit salvation because God has chosen to NOT intervene for them. f. God judges them according to THEIR deeds which are evil. 2. In short, all men are deserving of judgment and wrath because of their sin. God intervenes for some by electing them to salvation. v. So, what is different here? vi. God is no longer passive. He intervenes… but in order to assure that the perishing are judged for their rejection of the gospel and their unrighteousness. vii. This is what we would call the doctrine of reprobation. God closes and seals the door actively rather than passively. The outcome is the same, but God's activity in the matter is markedly different and it signals an end to God's mercy and common grace toward the perishing. viii. And the really interesting thing is, although we've only seen God do this on this scale once in the global flood, it was not accompanied by God sending a lie. But we do have smaller cases of this happening. 1. [Slide 20] In I Kings 22, King Ahab had long heard the prophesies of Micaiah. God's prophet. Yet Ahab continued to refuse the counsel of the Lord. He continued to ignore and dismiss what God said. a. God determined that Ahab's time… was up. That it was time for him to be judged. b. To ensure that Ahab would earn His judgement to the fullest, God met in a heavenly council. He and angelic beings took council and God determined the course of action. c. He determined that a spirit must go and deceive Ahab. In that setting a spirit stepped forward and volunteered to be a lying spirit to the prophets of other gods and encourage them to tell King Ahab that he should attack a city because he would be victorious. A lie. d. Of course, God's prophet told Ahab that he would fail and even relayed the story of this heavenly council. e. But Ahab continued to choose to believe these false prophesies rather than believe God's prophet. f. Would Ahab had suddenly changed his mind and listened to Micaiah had God not done this? No. He wouldn't have. g. But that is not what the story is about. h. It isn't about Ahab's rejection of God… it is about God's rejection of Ahab. i. And that is what makes the story so harrowing. j. Ahab rejecting God, is just par for the course. k. But God rejecting a King of Israel to the point that He sends a lying spirit to convince Him to continue to DISOBEY Him? That is what is terrifying. 2. [Slide 21] In 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 we see the same thing. a. We see God being fed up with Israel's disobedience under David's rule. b. The text of Samuel says that God incited David to take a census, and 1 Chronicles says that Satan enticed David to take a census. c. So, which is it? d. The devil is God's devil remember? e. God used Satan to accomplish His will. Which was to incite David to disobey so that God could judge Israel. f. Would they have earned His judgment without His intervention? g. YES!!! h. Again, this says more about God than about man. i. God's mercy does come to an end. At some point, God says, enough. ix. [Slide 22] And that is what is terrifying here friends. x. Wicked people loving their sin and rejecting God's truth? That has happened since Cain killed Abel. That isn't new or scary. xi. God sending a delusion to make sure ALL THE PERISHING reject Him? That is God rejecting, forever, those who are not His people. And that my friends… has never happened before. xii. There will be a day when God says… “I'm done with wicked mankind.” xiii. And it will coincide with a day when another says… “I'm God, I accept you as you are, come and worship me.” xiv. And everyone who hasn't received the love of the truth… will believe and worship that Satan empowered man. c. [Slide 23] Summary of the Point: For their comfort, Paul shows the Thessalonians that one day those who are persecuting them will be given over to the worship of the man of lawlessness. One day they will be judged. Paul's thought isn't quite complete. He will continue through the rest of the chapter to encourage them with positive news for them. But it is important that they know the end of the wicked. In order to judge them, God will give over those who did not receive the love of the truth to a reprobate mind so that He may judge them. They will believe and worship the beast and succumb to the pleasure of unrighteousness. So, what are the Thessalonians to do? Keep believing what they were taught. Hold fast and stand firm in the truth and do not let themselves be deceived. Why? Because with this man of lawlessness will come a great apostasy too. They must hear the warning of this passage and not let themselves be deceived, for only those who are truly elect will do so. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and directs our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 24] In his correction of the lie that the Thessalonians have allowed themselves to believe, Paul has reminded them of all that he had taught them concerning the man of lawlessness. And in these concluding thoughts about him, Paul reveals his influence and who will be deceived by him. There is no doubt that Paul does this to draw a contrast between the Thessalonians and those who will be deceived. He will make that even more apparent with next week's text. But the fact remains, that when the man of lawlessness steps on the scene, he will be empowered by Satan to convince all those who did not receive the love of the truth, that he should be worshipped as Yahweh. God is not passive in this, but rather than intervening to prevent this, God's mercy has reached an end, and God will send along with him a deluding influence to convince all the perishing to believe his lies. God will give them over to reprobation so that He may judge them for their love of unrighteousness. Paul's opening application to the Thessalonians remains the application. Don't allow yourself to be deceived. First must come the apostasy and the man of lawlessness and the deception of the perishing. Then and only then will the Day of the Lord come and the Lord return to gather His people to Himself. Don't believe anything but what we have already taught you. Otherwise, they too will succumb to the lies of this man and the deluding influence of God. But what does this mean for us? How can we be sure that we don't let ourselves be deceived? 1.) [Slide 25] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the perishing are those who do not receive the love of the truth. a. Notice once again Paul's wording here. b. They do not receive the love of the truth. c. But wait a second, doesn't the bible simply talk about belief, faith being the way God unites us to Christ? d. It does. e. Isn't this a contradiction? f. Not at all. g. Just as we use the same word to talk about different aspects of the same thing, words like the cup which could mean 8 fluid ounces or just a drinking receptacle, so also the bible uses words differently depending on context. All doesn't always mean all. Call doesn't always mean the same thing. And as John the apostle demonstrates in his gospel, believe doesn't always mean the same thing. h. Here Paul is defining the kind of faith that saves. The kind of faith that unites us to Christ. It is not a faith that merely receives the facts. It is not a faith that merely respects the authority of the name of Jesus. i. The kind of faith that is saving… is a faith that receives the truth… and loves it. j. If salvation is a gift, we've all received gifts that we love. We have also all received gifts that we… do not love. k. We are warned in the gospels, that of the four soils of our hearts, three of them receive the gospel message. But only one produces fruit and is, therefore, useful to the farmer. l. The test of true and genuine saving faith is not in whether or not you believe in God or in Jesus… it is whether or not you love and cherish the truth of the gospel in your daily life. Is it precious to you to reflect on how you were once a sinner, doomed to hell, and Christ died to set you free? It is precious to you that Christ gave you His righteousness so that you could be declared righteous before God's judgment? Is it precious to you that the Lord sends His Spirit to all who are His and He enables us to live in obedience to Christ in an ever-growing way? Is it precious to you that Christ has united you to an assembly of people locally and universally who hold you accountable and encourage you? Is it precious to you to look hopefully toward Christ's coming as you live holy lives in preparation for His Kingdom? m. This is why when Paul later characterizes those who will be deceived, he says both that they did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. n. In order to be saved by faith – it has to be a God-given kind of faith. What kind is that? One that propels you to seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness… first. o. Only those who love the truth… will deny the lie. 2.) [Slide 26] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the man of lawlessness will deceive the perishing. a. Everyone else. b. No matter what you say you believe. No matter how much time you've spent coming to church, reading your bible, or praying. c. Everyone who does not love the truth and take pleasure in righteousness. Everyone who does not seek God's Kingdom first and His righteousness. d. Everyone else… will worship the man of lawlessness as God and submit to His rule over their lives. e. Fearing that they will lose their jobs, their possessions, their land, their homes, their wealth, they will take his mark and worship him as God. f. And mark my words… a good percentage of them will be those who have claimed to believe on Jesus. Many of them will have said the sinner's prayer. Many of them will have gone to church and come from a Christian family. 3.) [Slide 27] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that in the last days God will give over the perishing to a deluding influence. a. See it doesn't all come down to this man of lawlessness' cunning or his power. b. Paul doesn't give him all that credit. And Paul doesn't want to mislead the Thessalonian church. c. This man of lawlessness will be a Satanic Super Man… but if God wished to oppose Him, this man would not deceive even one. d. The fact of the matter is that when this man steps on the scene, when the restrainer is removed, God will actively send an influence, probably Satan himself, to deceive every single person who has not received the love of the truth. e. He will do this not because they have not already earned their judgment. But because He is done with evil mankind. He is ready to remake the world. His Kingdom is coming in full. f. Why will this man be so successful? The short answer? Because God wants him to be. g. But… 4.) [Slide 28] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that the elect will succumb to the deluding influence. a. In spite of the strength of the lie, based on this text, based on what Paul will say next, and based on the other promises in scripture – we must not conclude that God will allow any of His elect to be deceived by this deluding influence. b. Jesus said that in those days, IF POSSIBLE, the elect might be deceived. Jesus' wording leaves no room for misinterpretation. It isn't possible. c. The question then that must be asked, is how does God preserve us? 5.) [Slide 29] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The Perseverance of the saints is primarily about God preserving us. a. The statement, “Once saved always saved.” Is technically true but oftentimes it communicates something that the bible flatly rejects. Even in this text. b. Just because you have professed Christ doesn't mean that you are saved. And just because you are saved, doesn't mean that you don't need to persevere. c. This doctrine must be primarily about God. d. God gives to all His elect a faith that endures. So much so that if we see our faith fail, it is not because we have lost it or because we did not persevere. It is because we were not given saving faith. We were a soil that received the message of the gospel but it did not produce fruit. e. The apostle John says of people who walked away from the faith, “that left us because they were not of us.” Not, “they left us because they are no longer of us.” f. God is the primary agent in preserving His people and enabling them to persevere… g. But… that doesn't mean we are passive. 6.) [Slide 30] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must not let ourselves be deceived. a. We are not passive in our own perseverance. b. Instead, God's true children will take warning passages such as these and, with fear and trembling, they will cling all the tighter to the gospel of Christ and the pursuit of holiness and righteousness, without which none will see God. c. God's true children will see the coming of this man of lawlessness, his empowering by the Devil, and God's active role here, and they will run back to what the scriptures teach and reject the lies even when all their senses tell them it is truth. And even when it will cost them everything. d. We must hold fast and stand firm in what we believe. e. So when we combine the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints with our role in persevering we realize that though we are certainly not passive in persevering… we are also… Praise the Lord… NOT ALONE. 7.) [Slide 31] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that Jesus accepts us as we are. Believing this is a symptom of not receiving the love of the truth. a. There is a teaching alive and well today that insists that Jesus accepts us as we are. b. Now what could be meant by that teaching is that there is no prerequisite to repenting of sin and trusting Christ. c. Meaning you don't have to be perfect in order to believe on Jesus. You don't have to have stopped sinning in order to become a Christ follower. You don't have to join a church, get a tattoo, be circumcised or any other prerequisite. d. If that is what is meant – then this is true. e. However, oftentimes this message ends up being – Jesus accepts you no matter what lifestyle you choose to keep living. Jesus will never ask you to be someone you aren't. Jesus just wants to love you for who you are. f. This… is a lie. g. Jesus died because of who you were. Jesus died because you fall short. You miss the mark. You are not good enough. That is why Jesus died. To pay for your shortcomings and to make you like Him. To change you. He died to make you a NEW CREATURE. Old has died… and new is taking its place. h. Jesus says in order to be His disciple you must crucify yourself… daily… and follow Him. i. He told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and follow Him. j. Christ's message is clear. k. Turn from your sin, follow Him and sin… no… more. l. There is no such thing as a Christian who loves his sin and Jesus too. m. There is no such thing as a Christian who dislikes God's law. n. There is no such thing as a Christian who loves this world. o. They simply… do not exist. p. They may call themselves Christians… but in the last day… they will be deceived, take the mark and worship the Anti-Christ, so that God may justly judge them. q. Jesus is so not satisfied with who you are, that He submitted to death to change you to be like Him. r. If you disagree – its time to really listen hard… 8.) [Slide 32] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” In the last days, many that profess Christ today will take the mark of the beast and worship him as God. a. The tension in the scripture is clear. b. Although God by grace alone unites His people to Christ's sacrifice through giving them faith in His Son, the kind of faith that God ALWAYS gives, is a faith that changes the person to whom it is given. c. When God gives faith, it is like when someone gets hit by a bus. d. Their life is going to be different from that day forward. It will change… because it must. e. The soil of the heart is prepared by the Lord to receive His truth and produce fruit. f. All other soils may look like they have received the truth… but things choke or scorch them to death. g. There will be many in that day who have prayed a prayer and accepted a cheap grace that forgives sin and asks nothing of them. A grace that has less to do with you being a citizen of God's royal family and more to do with keeping you from going to hell. h. But the same grace that keeps you from hell, makes you into a citizen of His family and conforms you to His standard. It's a package deal. You don't get one without the other. i. So how do you avoid being yet another dupe? How do you avoid standing at the judgment seat of Christ wondering why the books containing your works did not prove you were His? j. You must be born again. You must have your heart prepared by God to receive the love of the truth. k. How do you know God has done that for you? l. Well – is He stirring you now? Do you feel the Spirit of God pulling on you now? That is a pretty good sign that your heart is ready to receive the love of the truth. m. So, turn from sin. Turn from your pleasure in unrighteousness. Turn from worshipping and pursuing things on earth. Money, relationships, careers, possessions, lusts, passions… n. Turn from your desires, your pursuits, your will o. Lose your identity so that you can be absorbed into Christ's. p. Trust Him and love Him and what He has done for you. Love Him so much that He becomes your first priority. q. Submit to His rule over your life as your one and only King. r. Trust Him and love Him enough to leave all other things you trust and love behind. s. Then… and only then… will you start to see the Lord change you into His own possession. t. If that is you today… don't wait to tell someone. u. Don't walk out the door and think -I'll just tell them later. I'll just call them later. No. v. If you need to follow Christ. If you are done following you. Tell someone you know is a Christian here. We would like to rejoice with you and help you in the next steps. [Slide 33 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the church father Augustine of Hippo In a vast wilderness full of snares and dangers, look! At your enabling I have cut off many of them, thrusting them out of my heart. And yet so many of these things buzz on all sides about my daily life. Do I dare say that nothing of this sort catches my attention, or causes even the slightest interest? True, I do not spend time in the worst kinds of entertainment, I do not dabble in astrology or the occult. I detest all those sacrilegious mysteries. And I owe you my humble and singlehearted service, O Lord my God. Yet the enemy, with tricks and suggestions, looks for a way in. So I beg you, by our King, even if I am far away from consenting to the enemy, may it ever be farther and farther away. You enable me, and will enable me, to follow you willingly, doing what you want me to do. We ask this for ourselves in Jesus' name, Amen. Benediction: Now may He who raises the poor from the dust, The needy from the ash heap; And makes them sit with nobles And inherit a seat of honor. Bear you through troubled days, To you who trust in God's unchanging love. Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.

This sermon explores how God meets us when we feel lost, overwhelmed, or unsure of what's next. In I Kings 19, Elijah wasn't where he was supposed to be, but God still showed up—not in the wind, not in the fire, not in the earthquake—but in a gentle whisper. And sometimes, it's in the quiet that we hear God most clearly. If you've ever felt like you're in a cave—emotionally, spiritually, or mentally—this message is for you. God's voice still speaks, even in the silence.

Send us a textRemember in Numbers 11 when God told Moses to choose 70 men and He said that he would take of the spirit that was upon Moses and put upon them. In I Kings 22 it reads; But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”  I believe that the question that must be asked by those who are so taken with this man is, what spirit has left Donald Trump and entered into the spirits of the men and women of God? What spirit has left Donald Trump and entered into the pastors and body of Christ to bring about such negative influence, hatred, disruption and division? What spirit has left him or that's still upon him and has now entered those who are sitting in pews as well as standing in pulpits today? And please let me bottom line this question; Not just what spirit but what demon has left Donald Trump and entered into the spirits of the Christians who follow him? To hear more of what our Father is speaking to us in this episode click on the buzzsprout.com link or go to your favorite podcast app and search for 'This Is the Voice of the Prophet' then look for the title "HOW TO DIVIDE AND CONQUER THE CHURCH AND BODY OF CHRIST! PART 3Support the show

Find today's show notes: https://watwm.podbean.com/. For more information and to engage with Woman at the Well Ministries, visit us at http://www.watwm.org or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/watwm. Where the presence of God is there is provision.  In I Kings 17 we see a beautiful account of how God provides, sustains, leads, and guides.  I Kings opens with Elijah, a prophet of God, following the commandments of the Lord and going exactly where God tells him to go.  There is a drought and God is telling Elijah where to go to have the water he needs.  God personally feeds Elijah using the ravens He has instructed to bring Elijah bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening.  Elijah's obedience to God allowed him to be where he needed to be to receive the blessings of God.  Are you where you are supposed to be?  Are you prepared to receive the blessings of God?  Join us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a journey through the scriptures revealing the goodness of God.   Mentioned in this Episode I Kings 17   Quotable Kim-isms “Elijah hears from God, turns, and obeys what God asks Him to do.” “Doesn't it make sense that we should feast on the Word of God in the morning and the evening, in the same way Elijah was provided for in the morning and the evening?” “When we come to Jesus, we need to be emptied of the world.” “Can those around you bank on the fact that you're going to follow and obey God?” “Contagious obedience is on full display in the account of Elijah and the widow.” “Our lives are meant for more than just ourselves.” “When multiple obedient people come together, amazing things happen!” “When He directs you, He will provide for you!” “When we follow Him, that's when we live in the abundance and the blessing.” “Faith prevailed. Obedience created abundance. Blessings flowed and the presence of God provided.” Listen Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Podbean Social | Facebook | Instagram This podcast is brought to you by Woman at the Well Ministries and is supported by our faithful listeners.

In I Kings 17 we are introduced to Elijah, an unknown man headed to an unknown place sent by God to learn how to trust God in practice. Are you practicing trusting God on the drive, at the table, and in the quiet? Standing on the mountain and experiencing the glory of God begins by standing with God in the everyday.New here? Click here: https://thechurchatcw.com/connectDownload our CCW App: https://thechurchatcw.com/ccwapp

In I Kings 17 we are introduced to Elijah, an unknown man headed to an unknown place sent by God to learn how to trust God in practice. Are you practicing trusting God on the drive, at the table, and in the quiet? Standing on the mountain and experiencing the glory of God begins by standing with God in the everyday.New here? Click here: https://thechurchatcw.com/connectDownload our CCW App: https://thechurchatcw.com/ccwapp

There is no title like the one in Psalm 92. It was used for worship on the Sabbath days. Lev. 23:3 shows us that the Sabbath was a day of worship.  The Psalm praises God's lovingkindness and faithfulness. These attributes of God are especially highlighted in the Psalms. Recently in our study of the Psalms, Psalm 89 used both of these terms 7 times. The last time these words were used the author was questioning what happened to God's lovingkindness and God's faithfulness- 89:49. Psalm 92:2 emphasizes that God's lovingkindness and faithfulness are still present.  In vs. 4 the works of God are contrasted in vs.7, 9 with those who did iniquity. The works of God are contrasted with the works of the wicked.  Compare the planted tree in Psalm 92:13 with the planted trees in Ps. 1:3 and Jer. 17:8. Both the palm tree and the cedars of Lebanon of 92:12 are mentioned in connection with the temple of the LORD. This is significant in light of the mention of God's house in 92:13.The temple was made from the cedars of Lebanon according to I Kings 5. In I Kings 6:29, 32, 35 carvings of palm trees were in the temple. This also reminds us of the Garden where all kinds of tree grew- Gen. 2:9. Vs. 2, 15 use the same word declare in the NASB. From the beginning of the Psalm to the end of the Psalm God's lovingkindness, faithfulness, and uprightness are declared.  Compare vs. 15 to Deut. 32:4. How does Jesus fulfill Psalm 92? Please listen and see. 

In I Kings 9:5 there are two pertinent words that were used in that verse. Those two words are forever and never. God promised Solomon that the throne would be established forever and never would their fail to have a successor from David's lineage on the throne of Israel. However, with those promises there were stipulations that Solomon had to follow as his father David had. Is there a never and forever that God has promised you for your family? Have you taught your children, grandchildren and decendants what they must do in order to receive them? Solomon had to walk in integrity and obey God's word as his father did. It's the same for us so we must live lives of integrity and obey God's word before our descendants in order for them to learn to live accordingly so that they may receive these never and forever promises from God. Listen to this weeks episode of the podcast, This Is the Voice of the Prophet entitled The Forever and Never Promises of God. Click on the buzzsprout.com link or go to your favorite podcast app and look for This Is the Voice of the Prophet.Support the show

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 853, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: let's mess with texas 1: Educated at Phillips Academy, Yale and Harvard, this part-time Crawford resident was born in Connecticut in 1946. George W. Bush. 2: Since 1935 this agency that originated in the 1820s has operated as a branch of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety. the Texas Rangers. 3: This state bird of Texas belongs to the family Mimidae. the mockingbird. 4: From 1846 to 1859 this ex-Tennessee governor was a U.S. senator from Texas. Sam Houston. 5: Born in 1921, this Mission, Tex.-born senator served with Jack Kennedy, knew Jack Kennedy and hey! you're not Jack Kennedy!. Lloyd Bentsen. Round 2. Category: breaking up 1: The Doors recorded for 2 years after the death of this lead singer before calling it quits. Jim Morrison. 2: This duo fell apart after Annie Lennox went on sabbatical. Eurythmics. 3: This "Heart of Glass" group fronted by Debbie Harry shattered in 1982. Blondie. 4: The death of lead singer Kurt Cobain put an end to this band in 1994. Nirvana. 5: This "amphibious" Santa Barbara band that sang "All I Want" and "Walk On The Ocean" croaked in 1998. Toad the Wet Sprocket. Round 3. Category: blue and the gray 1: Daniel Hough, the Civil War's first fatality, died not in battle but in an accident at this fort. Fort Sumter. 2: The siege of Vicksburg in 1863 gave the Union control of this river. Mississippi River. 3: Less than a month after graduating last in his class from West Point, he made his first stand at Bull Run. George Custer. 4: Though relieved as Union Army chief in March 1862, he continued to lead the Army of the Potomac until November. George McClellan. 5: Robert E. Lee lost nearly a quarter of his troops in this bloody Maryland battle of 1862. Antietam (or Sharpsburg). Round 4. Category: maltin on the movies 1: (Leonard Maltin starts things off.) I once wrote that only a real-life Grumpy could fail to love this 1937 animated feature. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 2: Steve Martin's first starring feature, Maltin describes it as "The misadventures of a terminally stupid man". The Jerk. 3: (Leonard Maltin continues.) I've called this 1941 classic "A stunning film in every way" and Orson Welles was only 25 years old when he made it!. Citizen Kane. 4: Maltin tells us this 1951 classic was "gorgeously filmed on location in the Belgian Congo". The African Queen. 5: (Leonard Maltin wraps up the category for us.) What Hitchcock did with this 1960 film was brilliant. Imagine, killing off your major star in the first portion of the film. Psycho. Round 5. Category: in the bible 1: Jesus cleansed the temple by casting out all that was sold within and said, "Ye have made it a den of" these. thieves. 2: "Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?" he asks in chapter 7 of his book. Job. 3: In the Book of Judges, his Nazirite vows brought him great power but his passions brought his downfall. Samson. 4: According to Deuteronomy 7:25, neither the silver nor gold of these shall be desired, for they are an abomination. idols (or graven images). 5: In I Kings 2, this man sat "upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly". Solomon. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

In I Kings 3 you can read about a question God asks of Solomon. "Ask what you wish me to give you?" Solomon's answer may surprise you. God asks us the same question. We can answer that question through prayer today. What will your answer be?(00:00) - Welcome to The Extra Mile    (01:43) - Gaining Wisdom from Others    (04:06) - How to Inspire Children to Be Servants of God (06:27) - What Would You Ask God to Give You?If you would like to contact us, feel free to email us at the.emile.pod@gmail.com

I have heard this phrase thrown around for years, “We are to serve the Lord.” What in the heck does that mean? Psalm 100 says to do it with gladness. Joshua said, "As for he and his house, they will serve the Lord." OK. But what does that mean? Elijah is called to serve the Lord in I Kings 17-19 by confronting a wayward king and an idolatrous nation. You also see him serving Obadiah, and the widow with words of encouragement. You may serve the Lord as a full time ministry worker or as a business person or a parent. Question: Is there a common thread that runs through all our shared experiences of serving the Lord? Possibly. In I Kings 17:1 and in I Kings 18:1, Elijah is to go to the King and tell him what God is up to. Maybe that's the idea of serving the Lord. It's going to others and sharing what God is up to in order to bring about a renewed heart of passion for the Lord, a revival of spirit. Sometimes people need a pat on the back, other times we need a kick in the pants. My belief is we need both at times. God uses those he has commissioned to serve Him (all of us) to help others in their spiritual pursuit of the Lord. Elijah served the Lord.

In I Kings 18:21, Elijah is pleading with the Israelites to make up their minds and choose who they were going to follow. One day it's the Lord, the next day it's Baal. It all depended on who/what they thought could provide for them, help them, or make them happy in the moment. The truth is that if Elijah were alive today, he would ask a lot of us the same question. Maybe not about Baal and God, but about our significant other and God, our preferences and God, or our money and God. How long will you waver? How long will you trust in both your God and your idols?

Discouragement is often a part of our lives and we long to see the fruit of our labors. In I Kings 19, we learn that Elijah also experienced discouragement and […]

In I Kings 22 we read about Micaiah, a prophet of the Lord, who was right when 400 prophets were wrong. Often the lone voice speaks for God when the vast majority are deceived. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/phil-mitchell7/message

In I Kings 10, The Queen of Sheba is fascinated by the rumor of Solomon's wisdom. So, she pays him a visit. Through her visit, she learns that his wisdom is not only manifested through what he says when answering her difficult questions but the way that it manifests through the people and the things around him. How does this inform how we think about mentorship? That's what I ramble on about. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/seasonedwithsalt/support

Download II Corinthians 1-4 We are starting a new book in the Church Stream. The Apostle Paul is addressing the church of Corinth in a 2nd letter. We are reading from The Message this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Jesus we thank you for the gift you give us that fills our lives with joy and purpose and gracious mercy that saves us. Amen. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth a second time. This time he is addressing the believers in the Achaia region also. In Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church he was instructing a splintered body of believers. They were disorderly.  Unsanctification/sexual matters/immorality and ebullience were problems, They were even suing eachother, and their competitions regarding the Communion were silly; just wrong (?who brought the most elaborate food to the event?! -yeesh). Simply put, they were a bustling church but they were divided and had not been loving.  Many were duplicitous as there was debate and tension over how to conduct their lives in a city where paganism had been the rule for centuries. Titus had caught up with Paul during his third missionary journey. The purpose was to relay that Paul's 'year-and-a-half' in Corinth had done much good. There was however a faction in Corinth (imagine that!) that was raising the question whether Paul was authentically one of the Apostles of Christ. The latter was a slickly calculated attempt to discredit Paul since he had spoken to issues 'spot on' in his first letter.  The naysayers knew there were things that needed to be remedied and they preferred to deride Paul v.s. grow in their faith. For them it was more natural to act like hucksters, change the subject - turning the focus to Paul being an illicit source of leadership. So Paul goes right at this topic in his second letter.  He had founded the church in Corinth and he knew what he was doing since he was getting direction from the Holy Spirit. 1 - Paul's greeting is rich and warm as he had met with Titus after escaping a brush with death in Ephesus. And despite notable unsavory matters in Corinth, they were a loyal group who in many ways wanted to know Jesus better. Paul is realizing more-so all the time, the suffering that accompanies mission work and Christian service. He is relieved to meet up with Titus but there had been anxiety involved from his hearing of situations in Corinth. All in all, the time with Titus was of a comfort that strengthened Paul.  He needed to remind the Corinthians that he was delayed because of hardship along the way, not because he was fickle. Paul is not like that. 2 - the chapter opens with talk of discipline. The scalliwag who had a "relationship" with his stepmom [he was exhorted in I Cor. 5] was a painful mess that called for discipline.  Apparently that discipline had been administered come the time Paul is writing II Cor. so Paul is sounding conciliatory by now. It had been a painful pilgrimage, but prayerfully it is dealt with and over by now.  Paul had been so embroiled, hoping this matter would get settled that he had scuttled right past an evangelistic opportunity in Troas to tend to the trouble.  Be that as it may, Paul experienced triumph in Christ and the Providence that walking with Christ had brought him everywhere Paul traversed. Yes, some men violently rejected Paul's message but that came with the territory and Paul was content regardless. 3 - the opening issue here is most likely Paul refuting the n'ere-do-wells traveling from Jerusalem that trolled the Empire and insisted that the new Christians adhere to the Law of Moses namely to circumcision [along with the rest of the Law!]. And as they traveled they always touted their reference letters from the Sanhedrin who sent them along with their resumes hoping that would enhance reverence for them as they traveled ... to cause trouble for Paul! Paul smacks 'em pretty soundly here. These Judaizers were proud of their resumes, while Paul was gratified by the Church he planted; the Corinthians themselves who were testament to his anointing by God Himself.  The Law of Moses was the last word on righteousness in the former era but Jesus is the one we are to look to now. He is the Light. Only Jesus can bring us into the Presence of God. Following the Law only has one ... following a set of laws that do not save. 4 - Paul's calling and mission in entirely consuming joyful assignment. Persecutions at any and/or all levels are not going to intimidate or sway him in the least. The joy of following God is that great for him. Paul noted that there were souls who were blinded to God's Love - that's the only explanation for people rejecting God. Paul's analogy of clay pots has become a timeless illustration.  Valuable documents were preserved in clay pots. These pots weren't necessarily much to look at but the value of the contents altered history. With the Spirit of Christ living in us; as "jars of clay", we then become lives that transport, transmit and divulge value that translates into eternal wonder and also blesses the clay pot in a glorious way.  The joy of the whole process blossoms into a beauty that overtakes everything as we follow Paul's instruction and immerse ourselves in Jesus' grace. The theme that reoccurred each day this week surfaced to be "what are we going to do with the sin?" In Leviticus 1-6, most of the offerings brought to God were for sin; accidental or deliberate, simply bring it to God and therein it is redemptive.  In I Kings 11-14 the matter came home for Solomon. He had gathered foreign/pagan women like people collect anything collectible. What would Solomon do with this sin? He was king and he did it because he could and he wouldn't put this matter away. It altered and corrupted the nation forever.  Psalm 78-79 was a litany of God's faithfulness contrasted against the Israelites' sinfulness. Would God's love ever get them to turn from their shameful sin? Their sin had caused them to be routed. When will this obvious memo ever 'sink in'?  Jeremiah brought up their sin as a nation and --> they attacked Jeremiah, not the sin. They would be sent into exile for this. Also ignoring the lesson from the yoke Jeremiah put on would end up being costly. We'll read about that next week.  Amos bellowed that the whole region was living sinfully. And all were impenitent as well.  They would burn for it. John/Baptist, in Luke, was preaching powerfully against sin. People repented and were baptized. It was marvelous.  In Corinth, Paul was doing some follow up regarding a man in the church who was living in terrible sin and ... it turned out that by then the matter was rectified and propriety had been restored.  The memo this week is that sin shall be dealt with God's way or it will only continue to get worse - and more so until things are handled God's way.

I Corinthians 13-14 We are in the Church Stream reading the Apostle Paul's direction to the Corinthians. We are in the New Living Translation. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Stream | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis "Lord, let love be our main characteristic.  Amen." 13 - The Corinthian Church had many colorful characteristics.  They were gifted. The fellowship was boisterous. They had faith. They had affect in Corinth.  Their feasts were impressive . . . But they were not loving.  Paul needed to remind them to be loving. They needed to be patient and kind with each other.  The rudeness needed to stop, et cetera.  You know the passage and it bears daily repeating.  It was time for the church to grow up, quit the games and be loving. The school-yard-like competition and posturing and tab-keeping needed to stop now - make that immediately. 14 - The Corinthians had forgotten the purpose of Pentecost - to reach out and edify a person that normally could not be communicated with. The speaking in tongues was reducing to a contest in Corinth that edified no one.  Prophesying was more important since it blessed whole bodies of people. The matter of speaking in tongues is dealt with rather comprehensively by Paul here in this chapter. Some churches today need to brush this over so to quell some squabbling that becomes unnecessary and distracting to the good of the Kingdom. Paul gives a hearty paragraph of instruction next about how to conduct an orderly worship service. Just like "Robert's Rules of Order" is needed to keep meetings on track, Paul needed to write this to keep worship services edifying. The Kingdom couldn't afford for worship services to fray off in dozens of needless directions. People from many other cultures were pouring in to worship services and structure was needed.  Who should speak, in what order, the evaluation that should take place.  There shouldn't be a peanut gallery of cat-callers to question the speaker during service.  And interestingly enough, Paul was concerned that the new comers not be stunned by the babbling in foreign tongues, hence get the impression that church was for weirdos, and then they'd leave and be gone.  This would not be a good pattern.   Paul wanted church to be orderly and edifying.  We need to want the same. The theme or the thread that ran through this week distilled out to be "Let's Build Something for God"  The Exodus passage with the Tabernacle actually going up is an inspiration in the desert for sure!  In I Kings 4ff, Solomon is laying out the framework of a glorious Kingdom and he gets to building the Temple and His Palace and many other beautiful structures.  David in Psalm 69:9 declared to God, "passion for your house has consumed me,"! [need to be passionate about something before it can be built]  and Psalm 72 rings with an overtone of Christ returning to reign supremely. In Jeremiah 18/19 the illustration of the potter, the clay and the broken pottery, God is asserting that the people of God must be built up a certain way. And if they won't allow God to build His way, then they must be smashed and God will start over after some seriously severe buffeting and discipline.  Joel portrays a huge cycle of locust coming through to clean them out. It will be complete devastation. God urges prayer, mourning, fasting and restoration so that he can, ... [you're right]---> restore and build them up again, for He promises to send HIs Spirit.    Mark 15-16 has Jesus tried (falsely), tortured, crucified, dead, buried, risen and His followers are told to take the message to the whole world [to build the Kingdom!}  Paul is reminding the Corinthian church to build one another up and be loving in doing so.  There's a lot of whining about churches and persnickety judging that goes on. Well, this is a misperception.  Church is where people are built up because they can learn and grow and thrive because they find acceptance.  Hooray for God as He builds His Kingdom.

In I Kings 22:51 - 2 Kings 1:18, Ahab fades from our story but Elijah is called into confrontation with Ahab's son, Ahaziah. Unfortunately Ahaziah “walks in the ways of his father and mother” and discovers the emptiness of pursuing a life apart from...

Hearing God's Voice Gentle Whisper What are you doing here?  God is asking the question, not because He does not know. He wants us to process the question In I Kings 19:9-15 God did not speak in the wind, or the earthquake or the fire, but He spoke with a gentle whisper.  Listen to God - Jesus said – Listen to voice of God Important future – Hearing, understanding & obeying the voice of God when He speaks to you. He doesn't speak because of your: Background Color of your skin Education Your experiences Opinions of other's reputation Prerequisites of Hearing God Repent Obey Motivation Know His love for you Understand He wants you to have wisdom – things that are good Stop talking, starting listening – be quiet (Be Still and know I am God) God speaks through The Bible Holy Spirit Prayer Circumstances Conscience My pastor My Small Group My Church George Muller – English Pastor Prayed Heart in state no preference – not my will but God's will No impression or feeling – because we can't trust our feelings Seek will of Holy Spirit connection with Bible – Word of God Providential circumstances Continue in prayer until God Answers God will give you peace! Cultivate a close relationship with Jesus:  Spend time, talk, invest, and learn about Him. Are we serious enough to hear?

Kids church time – John 3:16-17A ministry word of the Lord: Do not be anxious for anything but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving make your requests before God. (Phil 4:6)To the angel of the church of Thyatira, His eyes are like blazing fire. (He sees everything.) His feet are like burnished bronze. (He can stand and not fall. This is unlike the statue of Nebuchadnezzar.) His feet are strong and he will not be shaken. He says He knows their deeds and He sees love, faith, service and perseverance. But there is something wrong. They tolerate Jezebel who calls herself a prophet.This is a message for us today. If we have love and faith, we can stay on track. We need perseverance. The devil is a liar and he will use lies to keep us away from the truth.Who was Jezebel. In I Kings she was a deceiver. She used her husband (Ahab) to conquer people. She came from a pagan town. Her god was Baal and she hired 450 prophets to work for her to worship Baal. Ahab was foolish and went along with her in everything. She proceeded to lead all of Israel into the worship of Baal. She tried to kill the prophets of God. She came up against Elijah and all of her prophets were killed that day.In Revelation, Jezebel is a prophet who is leading Christians into sexual immorality and idol worship. As we know, God hates this. We need to check our love. Are we loving the way we are supposed to? Are we holding on to our faith in God? Are we serving God the way that we should? Hold on and do not give up hope. Reject the evil. There are lies and liars everywhere. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you won’t lose your way.Sardis looks like it is alive but God know it is dead. Wake Up! If you are dead, obviously you can’ wake yourself up. But Jesus can!The church of Philadelphia is the other church about which Jesus only had good things to say. Philadelphia is a Greek word that means brotherly love. Jesus says He is the one who can open doors that no one can shut and close doors that no one can open.

'"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. ' Deuteronomy 28:1-2 Voices we hear: God’s The enemy’s My own will People (both Godly and un-Godly) 'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. But his delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ' Psalms 1:1-6 Discernment - Knowing the voice of God apart from all other voices. There is a struggle in our mind between the voices and who will will listen to. Every day we “hear voices” of both temptation and good guidance. The Right Voice He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying: We hear God’s voice when we: Read the Bible Listen to preaching Listen to Christian music on the radio Are in prayer In I Kings 19, Elijah was running away from Jezebel, hiding in a cave because she had promised to have him killed. He was listening for God - there was wind and earthquake, and fire but these were not the voice of God. Instead, it was a still, small voice. What we can take from this: We have to turn down the other voices to tune in to the voice of God God’s word trains our ears to hear God’s voice In Galatians, Paul was worried about members of the church because of the presence of wrong voices. There was a Jewish/Christian faction that was trying to impose traditional Jewish laws on the new Christians (like dietary restrictions, circumcision). Listening to the wrong voice was a major concern for the early church and it still is today. In I Kings 13, Jeroboam was the king of God’s people, but he was making sacrifices to idols. The “Unknown Prophet” confronts Jeroboam, cursing the altar and the false god. Jeroboam ultimately had to decide if he was going to listen to the voices of the people and the false prophets, or the voice of God. In the end, Jeroboam decided to listen to God. In a strange twist, the Unknown Prophet himself ended up listening to another voice that was not God. Because of his disobedience, the Unknown Prophet is eaten by a lion! We must learn to recognize counterfeit voices - Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice. They will not hear the voice of a stranger.” “...everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37

“PRAYER is nothing else but the application of the heart to God, and the interior exercise of love. Paul commands us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).” Excerpt From A Short Method Of Prayer Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon Ons het soms so baie om te vertel, so ingestel op ons behoeftes, dat ons nie luister nie. God wil hê ons moet luister, en dan met Hom praat oor wat Hy oor wil praat. Wat is op God se hart? The Lord Jesus calls you to it. He says "...men ought always to pray."( Luke 18:1) He encourages us to enter a life of prayer. Elijah was a "man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit" (James 5:17,18). Elijah told Ahab: "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (I Kings 17:1). In I Kings 18, we are told how the heathen prophets on Mount Carmel desperately called on their god, Baal, but he answered them not. On the other hand, we read that when Elijah prayed to his God, fire came down from heaven. This great victory on Mount Carmel defeated idolatry and brought the nation back to God. Acts 4:24-31 Church praying - Acts 12:5 Church for Peter while he is prison Heb 13:18 Pray for us 2 Thes 3:1 pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored 1 Thes 5:25 Brothers, pray for us 2 Cor 1:11 Help us in prayer Phil 1:19 through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance Col 4:12 - Epaphras… always struggling on your behalf in his prayers Intersession is one of the most important spiritual excercises and duties of being a Believer. Prayer that focusses only on my needs and wants, are the prayers of spiritual infants, but those who choose to grow in the Lord, must learn the art of intersession. Intersession is where we intercede, go between, speak on someone's behalf before God. Instead of acusing someone befor God, we intercede. This is ultimately what the Son is doing before the throne continually. (Ro 8:34 See also Isa 53:12; Heb 7:25; 1Jn 2:1) The Holy Spirit is also interceding for us. (Rom 8:26) God wants us to pray for another. terwyl julle met alle gebed en smeking by elke geleentheid bid in die Gees, en juis daartoe waak met alle volharding en smeking vir al die heiliges Eph 6:18 See also Broeders, bid vir ons. 1Th 5:25; EN berei tegelykertyd ook herberg vir my, want ek hoop dat ek op julle gebede aan julle sal geskenk word. Phm 22; Bid vir ons, want ons is oortuig dat ons ’n goeie gewete het, omdat ons in alles goed wil wandel. Heb 13:18-19) even for our enemies. (Mat 5:44) This is ultimately and primarily what intercession is all about. Is to pray for those who deserves no mercy. (Isa 53:12) So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV)(Isa 59:16) God is calling His whole church, His body to the ministry of intercession. It is not only the spesial ministry of some, we are all called to pray! if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV) How do we intercede? We must be careful that we do not pray the problem or become taletellers. The first way of intersession is: identificational repentance. Look at these spesific examples. It is important that we understand that we're not repenting on their behalf, each man will stand judgement for his or her own sin. But the intersessor is asking God not to impute their sin, by identifying with the sinner. The righteous uses his standing w

Throughout the Bible, we read of the subtle power of small things. In I Kings, the prophet Elijah sent his servant to look for a rain cloud seven times. At last, the servant said he saw a little cloud as small as a man’s hand coming up from the sea. Elijah told him to hurry, because the rain was coming. Sure enough in only a moment, “the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain fell.” Proverbs speaks of the wisdom of tiny ants, the cunning of tiny hyraxes making their homes in rocky crags, the organization of migrating locusts, and the agility of lizards, making their way into kings’ palaces. Jesus taught that the tiny mustard seed could grow into the largest of plants. Though only a youth, David the shepherd boy was able to conquer the mighty Goliath. Therefore, let these words of Lisa Firestone’s be our prayer today: “Though I be small, God, give me the grace to be love’s beacon while I’m in this place. Help me be all I can for the human race. Use me, Spirit, though I be so very, very small.”