Our Sermons
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.
Psalm 111:10
Exodus 5:22 “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?”
Moses knew it was not going to be easy to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, but he was probably shocked at the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart, despite the many miracles that God did through him (Moses). Exodus 5:22-23 describes Moses’ disappointment and discouragement. Moses discovered for himself that being in the will of God does not mean you will be free from opposition, attacks, and challenges. So, when you face opposition, it does not mean you are doing the wrong thing. It probably means you are doing the right thing. Sometimes we think that once we commit our lives to Christ and choose to follow Him that we will never face any battles. Instead, we find ourselves facing opposition from the devil. We experience pushback from unexpected sources. It may be from our families, our friends, fellow believers in Christ, and from nonbelievers. That is called spiritual warfare. The moment you become a Christian, you enter into a spiritual battle. Either you will choose to fight and win, or you will choose not to fight and ultimately lose. Either you will gain ground in this battle, or you will lose ground. There are no other options!
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2 Peter 1:4 “ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.“
God has made a lot of promises to us in the Bible. In fact, 2 Peter 1:4 describes them as “exceeding great and precious promises.” But all too often, we neglect to claim the promises. For example, God has promised that we will never be alone in life. Sometimes you may feel as though you are all alone, but you are not alone if Jesus Christ is your Lord (Hebrews 13:5). In Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) the Lord says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” God also promises to get us through whatever we are facing. Maybe you are going through a hard time right now, and you are wondering whether you will ever get through it. God will get you through. He will be with you every step of the way. He has said, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2 NLT). God is with you even when you “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4). We all know what it is like to have someone make a promise to us and then break it. But when God makes a promise, we can take it to the bank. He keeps His promises!
Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
The difficulty of adapting to freedom is well-known in the prison community, where in some cases, once released prisoners deliberately commit crimes in order to return to the familiarity of structured prison environments. Of course, we are all familiar with the account of the Israelites who having been set free from their bondage in Egypt, shortly thereafter started making comments suggesting they wanted to return (Exodus 16:2-3). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul addressed spiritual bondage (Galatians 4:8-9 NIV): “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? Thankfully, God has shown us a way to adapt to the freedom we have in Christ. To be set free from the bondage of sin, we must become servants of God and one another. In real meaning, true freedom is actually exchanging one form of bondage for another. When we replace the bondage of sin with the willingness to be a bond slave of Jesus, only then do we experience true freedom.
Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
The desire for a good life is what often drives people to be selfish and unkind. They want good things for themselves only. But as Christians we must be selfless, kind to one another, compassionate, giving, and forgiving. There are benefits of being kind. When you express kindness to someone, they are naturally inclined to be happy about it, and express their happiness through smiles, thanks, and praises. They are happy and you are happy and fulfilled. Being kind improves your health, relieving you of stress and anxiety. Through acts of kindness, people get to like, respect, and trust you, thus making it easier to reach them with the gospel. When we take the route of kindness, rather than anger, selfishness, or hate, we create room for forgiveness, repentance, and a Godly way to resolve relational problems. Acts of kindness inspire people to spread kindness, thus creating a peaceful and loving society. Being kind is an act of faith. As someone said, “Kindness is all about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and thinking about what you would have done if it were you, who was them.” Let us stop hate. Be kind to people!
Philippians 3:13 NIV “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,”
We all have a past, and in that past, we all experience some sort of pain and/or suffering at times. Whether it is painful memories, disappointments, frustrations, loss, or something else, facing challenges in life is expected (John 16:33). This journey of life is not guaranteed to be a bed of roses, as everyone goes through painful times. Many people cope with the negative emotions just fine. But there are many who do not cope in a positive way. The pains are real, and I do not make light of them, but God has provided way of escape and healing in His Word that are more real than your pain. Healing the past and the pain associated with it is vital to experiencing a more peaceful, joyful, and satisfying future. One of the ways to heal the past is to avoid a “victim or poor me” mentality. It is time to really face and embrace past hurts and hang ups, forgive any wrongdoers (Ephesians 4:32), including you. What happened ten years ago or even ten minutes ago is done. Make a quality decision to get rid of past pain and hurts. Let them go. I know that it is not easy, and it is certainly a process that takes time. I want to encourage you today to heal your past through forgiveness to clear the way for future success!
Ephesians 4:27 “Neither give place to the devil.”
The Bible warns us explicitly to not give place to the devil in our lives. We are warned to be sober and vigilant, so we are not devoured by the devil (1 Peter 5:8). If you give the devil even one tiny place in your life, he will seize the opportunity to move in and take control. The devil is always seeking a way to get his foot in the door of our lives. He has no good intentions toward anyone, and he does not even love his own. The thief [the devil] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). Satan wants to shake each of us as hard as he can to knock us out of the body of Christ and to separate us from the vine, Christ Jesus; but we must never let him succeed. You have to be careful when you feel someone has hurt you because that is when it is easy for you to give place to the devil. Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, revenge, rebellion, evil speaking, and despair are major avenues through which the devil can work his deceptions; so you have to get rid of them (Ephesians 4:31). When you get angry, keep it under control and get rid of it quickly, because if you let it stay, it will ruin you (Ephesians 4:26). Instead of letting hurt and anger get the best of you, you must forgive (Ephesians 4:32). You can resist the devil by being steadfast in the faith! Let those who think they stand take heed lest they fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).