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
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
For a believer in Christ Jesus, living a life of sacrifice is to live your life totally for Christ. You live as commanded by God in His word and as led by the Holy Spirit. You die to your old life and on a daily basis you resist temptation and crucify (put to death) sinful desires that keep you from following Christ (Luke 9:23). God wants us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, daily laying aside our desires to follow him; putting all our resources at His disposal and trusting Him to guide us; doing this out of gratitude that our sins have been forgiven (Romans 12:1). Jesus Christ is our perfect example of living a life of sacrifice. While He was here on earth, He did nothing of Himself, but acted in total surrender to the instructions of God, the Father, seeking only the will of His Father who sent Him (John 5:30). Remember, as a believing Christian, you have been crucified with Christ, and the life you now live should be by faith in Christ, who loved you and gave Himself for you (Galatians 2:20). Whenever God asks us to do something it will entail a sacrifice, and when we make that sacrifice in obedience, the door of the miraculous is opened unto us!
Numbers 23:19 NKJ “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
What we belief shapes our destiny. What do you believe? What God says about you, what you say about yourself, or what people say about you? Without doubt it is safer to believe God and not man. Man is shifty. The same mouth man uses to praise you is the same mouth man will use to crucify you. Man cannot always be trusted but God can be trusted. Psalm 118:8 says “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” The implication of Jeremiah 17:5-6 is that a person who places confidence in the wisdom, power, kindness, help, or faithfulness of any man or number of men, which ought to be placed in God only, is miserable. God does not change His opinion about you. He loves you with everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). God loves you completely and irrevocably. He always has and He always will. Man cannot be sustained by man but only by God his maker. God is your healer, and provider. He has your future in His hands. He has engraved you upon the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). God is your rock, your fortress, your strength, your buckler, the horn of your salvation, and your high tower (Psalm 18:2). Believe what God says about you and act on it. It is safer to believe Him!
Luke 1:37 ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
What a statement! If we just believed this, how different our lives would be! From birth we are trained to know our limitations. There are limits to everything, in the natural. It is a fact of life. But God has no limits. When we enter into the realm of the supernatural, we have to take off all the limits. We have to renew our minds with the truth that God is not like us. He can do anything. We have an awesome God whose power is so great that we cannot even comprehend it. He created the universe effortlessly by the spoken word. Yet many times we find ourselves wondering if our situation is too hard for the Lord. We cannot see how even God can pull us through. Jeremiah says of the Lord “Ah Lord God! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” Jeremiah 32:17. The Lord said to Jeremiah, ‘Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?’ (Jeremiah 32:27). The answer is a resounding NO! The only thing that limits God is our unbelief (Deuteronomy 7:17-19, Psalm 78:41). As a believer, redeemed by the finished work of redemption in Jesus Christ, you are commanded and commissioned to live by faith which is a life that trusts in God’s word (Romans 1:17). Craig Groeschel says “You don’t have to know every answer to every question to trust Jesus. It will always take faith.” Today, let us honor God by believing that nothing is too difficult for Him.
PROVERBS 6:2 NKJ “You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth.”
Words are powerful. They are the way humans express their decisions and desires. Words carry authority, in the spiritual and physical realms (Matthew 8:9). God created the world with spoken words (Genesis 1:1-31). Humans are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). Therefore, our words also carry authority. The words you speak are important and carry more weight than you may realize (Proverbs 18:21, Mark 11:23). Words can get you into trouble. And words can deliver you out of trouble (Proverbs 6:2, Matthew 12:37). Your words can reveal your heart and personality (Luke 6:45, Proverbs 17:28). The most powerful and life-giving words in the universe are those spoken by God the Creator. Fortunately for us, what God has said has been written down, in the Bible, for our benefit. So, we can, and should speak words that agree with what God says. When we do, the power of God is released, because it is God’s Word we are speaking. The Word of God never loses power. I pray that the Lord will set a guard over our mouths and keep watch over the doors of our lips (Psalm 141:3) and help us to watch our words and speak in agreement with His word.
1 Peter 1:8 ESV “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,”
Being a Christian is not supposed to be a burden but a delight. You are supposed to enjoy your salvation. Our enemy, through his lies, tries to give us a different picture. This does not mean we will never face tests or trials, but the promise of God is that we can have peace and joy even when we face trouble, because the Lord is with us and taking care of us (John 16:33). Joy is an important part of God’s provision for your life to be fulfilled. Just as God has provided air for you to breathe, God has provided joy for you. Joy should be the atmosphere in which you live (Romans 14:17). This will not happen if you focus on your circumstances. We must focus on Jesus to keep from having our joy stolen from us. The choice is ours. The joy of the Lord is given to us by His grace. It is not something we earn or achieve. But, like everything we are given by God’s grace, it must be received by faith (Romans 5:2). Instead of allowing our human feelings and circumstances to rule us, we should choose to rejoice in the Lord. Then we will experience His overflowing joy (John 15:11). The Word of God has been given to us so that we may have the joy of the Lord. God’s Word (the Bible) was not given to put you into bondage, but to make you free (John 8:31-32). Your life is not meant to be a constant struggle, but of joy. No matter how bad things may look around you, you can always rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 4:4). If this does not describe your life, then you are missing out on the full provision God has made for you. You must constantly remind yourself that you have the joy the Lord, you are full of joy, joy is flowing in your life, and you live in joy!
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”
Life happens to everyone, Christians and non-Christians. However, God expects you as a Christian to react to happenings in your life differently from non-Christian. The things happening in your life that are challenging your faith in God should not define you because they are temporary and subject to change. Our Lord Jesus Christ encouraged us to be of good cheers in this world filled with tribulations because He has overcome for us (John 16:33). Psalm 34:19 says the righteous may go through many afflictions, but the Lord will deliver him/her from all the afflictions. Micah 7:8 says the enemy should not rejoice when we fall because we will rise again. Isaiah 43:2 assures us of God’s abiding presence when we are going through all manner of trials, so we come out victorious. Talking about trials and temptations, James admonishes us to count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds so the testing of our faith can produce patience (James 1:2-4). Do not lose your joy in trials but be strengthened by the joy of the lord (Nehemiah 8:10). Maintain a lifestyle and atmosphere of joy. Free yourself from a mindset of gloom and doom. No matter what you lose never lose your joy. Enter into the realm of thankfulness. Never forget the ministry of angels to strengthen you during your lowest time. Angels are spoken of in the Scriptures as “ministering spirits,” sent forth to minister for those who are heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). Apostle Paul assures us that we may appear struck down but we not out (2 Corinthians 4:9). You may be working through some challenging situations right now but you are not stuck. There is a champion in you. Do not give in to the suggestions of the devil: Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).