Episodes
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
God Wants Us to Live In His “Hope” and His Word, through Bible Scripture, which Gives us so Much “Hope”
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Special Feature -- God Answers Our Prayers If We Ask:
God stands ready to answer our prayers, but He only answers after we ask, as we are Told in James 4:2: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.". God’s answers our prayers with “Yes”; “No” or “Wait”. God’s answer to our prayer, irrespective of His answer, very well may not be at the speed which our technology-driven culture of impatience has as a driving attribute. However, God is Sovereign in everything, including His answers to our prayers. God answers prayer in His time.
Today’s Message – God Gives Us “Hope” In His Unchanging Promises In His Word:
In Psalms 42:5-6a, 43:5, we are told that, in all circumstances, God is our “Hope”: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God .". Today, followers of Jesus live in a time of both turmoil and uncertainty with issues like Covid-19, cultural dissonance, and civil discourse providing an overarching context that can lead us to fear, doubt in our faith, and feelings of “hopelessness”.
These issues of today, that drive our uncertainties and fears, have impacted America profoundly, including Followers of Jesus. However, as Followers of Jesus, we know that none of these issues are taking God by surprise. Yet, so many of us are discouraged, downcast, depressed, and fearful. Too many of us have lost “Hope”. Proverbs 13:12 tells us: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,". Without “Hope”, we are like ships sailing without a harbor. God wants us to have “Hope” in our everchanging world! “Hope” is the anticipation of a good future; “Hope” is having faith and believing that God is working out His purposes in the World and in my life. Here are some of the things we can say about “God’s Hope” for us through His: 1) promise of Eternal Life; 2) abiding presence with us; 3) answering of our prayers; and 4) His unchanging promises in His Word.
God has given us His Word, which contains hundreds of God’s promises, and His promises are filled with “Hope”. We can be assured that the Bible, with God’s promises, is God’s Word based on 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”. Bible Scripture, God’s Word, is powerful when we put it into action in our lives, as we are told in Romans 8:24-25: “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.". Therefore, the Bible’s Scriptures give us “Hope” because they provide us with God’s promises like God’s promise of Eternal Life. We are told, in Romans 8:38-39, that nothing can separate us from God’s Word and, therefore, can separate us from God’s promises of “Hope”: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
The Bible provides many promises from God for our “Hope”; but, ultimately, God promises, in Philippians 4:13, give us the strength for all that is necessary to achieve our “Hope” in Him: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.". In 1 Peter 1:3-5, the Apostle Peter tells us that God has given us “Hope” through being reborn in a new life as a Follower of Jesus: “. . . he{God} has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”.
In the times in which we live today, God wants the Followers of Jesus to Have all the “Hope” that He provides. Also, God provides His Peace and Love that solidify our “Hope” in Him: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me”? Hope in God”!
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Past Failures. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Grace. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Matthew 6:8; James 4:2; Psalms 42:5; Proverbs 13:12; Psalm 43:5; Proverbs 10:28; Proverbs 23:18; John 3:16-17; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 7:7; Proverbs 3:5-6; Joshua 1:8-9; 2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:24-25; Romans 8:26; Romans 8:28; Romans 8:35; Romans 8:38-39; John 1:9; Luke 11:5; James 1:5; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4; Philippians 4:13; Philippians 4:19; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Jerimiah 29:11; Lamentations 3:31; Psalms 33:18; Psalms 62:5; Psalms 71:5,14; Psalms 119;47;
WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “We Have “Hope” in Today’s World of Fear, Doubt, and Feelings of “Hopelessness” Through God’s Abiding Presence With Us and In Us", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “We All Need “Hope” in Today’s World of Fear, Doubt in Our Faith, and Feelings of “Hopelessness”; and God Is this “Hope””: www.AWFTL.org/watch
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
We All Need “Hope” in Today’s World of Fear, Doubt in Our Faith, and Feelings of “Hopelessness”; and God Is this “Hope”
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Special Feature – Our Peace and the World’s Peace: There are five different ways that “Peace” is used in the Bible: 1) attribute of God; 2) a fruit of the Holy Spirit: 3) state of mind – condition of one’s heart; 4) absence of conflict – between peoples or countries; and 5) and a “right relationship with God” through Jesus.
Jesus does always bring His Followers a personal “Peace” through our Salvation, by God’s Grace, as God’s “Peace that passes all understanding”. However, Jesus tells us that His ways are not always our ways; and Jesus does not always bring “Peace” to and in the world. The world has tribulation; but Jesus has overcome the world. However, Jesus tells us, in Luke 12:49-56, that He, also, brings “division”. Today, like in the time period of Luke’s Gospel, we need to pay attention to God’s signs in the world. If we are serious about being a Follower of Jesus today, we need to listen to Jesus in Luke 12:49-56. Jesus begins His sermon, to many thousands starting in Luke 12:49, with His “fire of persecution”: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! In this passage, “fire” does not mean the Holy Spirit; “fire” means the “fire of persecution” – which is “when the Gospel is preached without compromise”. This “fire” is the hostility that occurs when the world hears the Gospel preached without compromise and rejects Jesus and His Gospel.
Today’s Message – We Are All in Need of “Hope” Today, and God Is our “Hope”: In Psalms 42:5-6a, we are told that, in all circumstances, God is our “Hope”: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Today, followers of Jesus live in a time of both turmoil and uncertainty with issues like Covid-19, cultural dissonance, and civil discourse providing an overarching context that can lead us to fear, doubt in our faith, and feelings of “hopelessness”.
God is our “Hope” in this ever changing and threatening world. “Hope” is the anticipation of a good future; “Hope” is having faith and believing that God is working out His purposes in the World and in my life. God, Himself, as He has revealed Himself in Jesus and by trusting in His promises as revealed to us in the Bible are the basis of our “Hope”. Here are some of the things we can say about “God’s Hope” for us through His: 1) promise of Eternal Life; 2) abiding presence with us; 3) answering of our prayers; and 4) unchanging promises.
Initially, our focus is on “God’s Hope” that He has given us for “Eternal Life”. We are all going to die, but God’s Grace and promise to the Followers of Jesus for “Eternal Life” places an entirely different perspective on dying, as Jesus tells us in John 5:24-25: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.". God not only has given us “Eternal Life”, through His Grace to the followers of Jesus; but God wants us to know and have “Hope” in the certain knowledge of our “Eternal Life”.
In addition to the Gospel’s messages of “Hope” directly from Jesus, Romans provides more assurances of our basis for “Hope from God”, as in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”. Also, Paul’s expression of “God’s Hope” is profoundly expressed in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.". In Philippians 1:21-24, Paul again expresses his “Hope” in an earthly life lived in Christ for service to the Kingdom of God but also his “Hope” in his death for his “Eternal Life” with Jesus: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”.
God wants us to have “Hope” in Him through His assurance of our “Eternal Life” – His “Hope” for us.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:49-56; John 16:33; Psalms 42:5-6a; John 3:16-17; John 5:24-25; John 11:25; John 17:3; John 20:30-31; 1 John 5:13; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:38-39; Philippians 1:21-24; 1 Peter 3:15; Romans 15:13.
WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “As a Christian, You Are Equipped for God’s Purpose; Be Courageous and Let Others See Jesus In You for God Is With You”: www.AWFTL.org/watch
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Watch the World Today Through the Lens of Jesus’ Teachings; “I came to cast fire on the earth . . . {and} division”
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Introduction: Jesus does always bring His Followers a personal “Peace” through our Salvation, by God’s Grace, as God’s “Peace that passes all understanding”. However, Jesus tells us that His ways are not always our ways; and Jesus does not always bring “Peace” to and in the world. The world has tribulation; but Jesus has overcome the world. However, Jesus tells us, in Luke 12:49-56, that He, also, brings “division”. Today, like in the time period of Luke’s Gospel, we need to pay attention to God’s signs in the world.
Today’s Message: If we are serious about being a Follower of Jesus today, we need to listen to Jesus in Luke 12:49-56. Jesus begins His Simon, to many thousands starting in Luke 12:49, with His “fire of persecution”: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! In this passage, “fire” does not mean the Holy Spirit; “fire” means the “fire of persecution” – which is “when the Gospel is preached without compromise”. This “fire” is the hostility that occurs when the world hears the Gospel preached without compromise and rejects Jesus and His Gospel.
Jesus continues, in Luke 12:50, with: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”. Jesus uses “baptism” to refer to His immersion in death and His separation from the Father on the cross, but death would not hold Him. Continuing with Luke 12:51, Jesus tells us: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”. How does this statement of “division” rather than “Peace” reconcile to Jesus’ other statements regarding His bringing “Peace” into the world? This apparent contradiction, regarding Jesus and His “Peace”, can be addressed by considering the five ways the word “Peace” is used in the Bible [as presented in the audio teaching]: 1) an attribute of God; 2) fruit of the Holy Spirit: 3) a state of mind; 4) absence of conflict; and 5) being in right relationship with God through Jesus. Therefore, when Jesus, in Luke 12:51, says that: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”, Jesus is referring to the Bible’s use of “Peace” regarding an “absence of conflict”. Jesus is telling His followers that He, the Gospel, and they [His Disciples} have come to disrupt and confront the world. However, Jesus wants to have “Peace” in the other four contexts of “Peace”.
In Jesus, we do have “Peace”; but when we do stand with and for Jesus, “division” and conflict are created. In this passage from Luke, Jesus wants His followers to know that following Him will have a cost in terms of conflict and worldly tribulation. Many in and of the world will not tolerate our communication of the Gospel. Jesus is not saying that “division” is good or bad. Rather, Jesus, in John 17:22-23, expresses His desire, to the Father, for His followers to all be one with Him and the Father. However, Jesus is warning us that “division” is inevitable because we are human and sinners.
Jesus ends His message to those assembled, in Luke 12:54-56, with: “He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?’". In this passage, Jesus was pointing toward His purpose on earth and the cross; but no one understood His message at the time period of His teaching in Luke – they could not read God’s signs. Do we see and follow God’s signs, or do we miss them and become party to creating “divisions”? Are we listening for God’s Word in our lives and in the life of the world – are we watching the world today in the context of Jesus and His teachings?
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:49-56; Luke 3:21; John 14:27; Judges 6:24; Romans 15:33; Philippians 4:9; Romans 16:20; Ephesians 2:13; John 16:36; John 17:22-23.
WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “As a Christian, You Are Equipped for God’s Purpose; Be Courageous and Let Others See Jesus In You for God Is With You”: www.AWFTL.org/watch
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB