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A sharing of Christian video sermons delivered globally by Archbishop Foley Beach
Episodes
Sunday May 31, 2020
Sunday May 31, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)
In 1900, a Roman Catholic Nun obeyed the voice of the Lord, and she wrote to Pope Leo encouraging him to pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This request began a chain of events: a nun wrote a letter; a Pope and his Cardinals prayed; and the world received a Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit through many Christian denominations during a great revival in the early twentieth century.
Today, the world, along with all of us, needs to be renewed with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, initially, was about: people being filled with the Holy Spirit; people received Spiritual gifts; and people witnessing for Jesus. On this initial day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached a sermon. Afterwards, he was asked: “What must we do to be saved?”. Peter responded in Acts 2:38-39: “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’". These events of the initial Pentecost and from the various revivals of the 20th Century relating to the Charismatic Movements are normal Christianity; this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is what God intends for His people. If we are going to have a growing relationship with Jesus, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit who enables us to know and commune with the Lord. The Holy Spirit will never lead followers of Jesus in any thing that contradicts the Bible, God’s Word. In recent times, there have been teachings, regarding the Holy Spirit, that do not conform to the Bible.
Too many of us are trying to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit. The question is asked: “When do we receive the Holy Spirit?”. We cannot put God in a box regarding a timing for the receipt of the Holy Spirit. However, a better question is: “Have we received the Holy Spirit?”. We are told in John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.". Therefore, the real question should be: “Does the Holy Spirit have me?”. Until we surrender our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit cannot indwell our lives and lead us. The best answer to the timing our receipt of the Holy Spirit is: “We should receive the Holy Spirit every day.”. We should pray every day for the Holy Spirit to fill us.
We know that, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are given the “fruit of the Spirit”, as described by Paul in Galatians 5:16-26: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will bear the fruits of the Spirit and not the flesh. However, if we sin, we are not in the Holy Spirit. Pentecost reminds us that if we yield our lives to the will of God through the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the Holy Spirit; and we are given Spiritual gifts to witness for Jesus. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit; others see Jesus in us – this countenance of Jesus, seen through our lives, is the most powerful tool a Christian can have for evangelism.
Are you grieving the Holy Spirit or are you filled with the Holy Spirit?
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): Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Acts 2:38-39; Galatians 5:16-26; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Philippians 4:13; John 3:8; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 12:9-31; Ephesians 4:30-32; Psalms 50b:13-23.
ARCHBISHOP BEACH’S “CHAIRMAN’S LETTER” TO ANGLICANS GLOBALLY:
Beloved in Christ Jesus: Greetings in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
At Pentecost we rejoice that we are indeed ‘not left as orphans’ (John 14:18), but through the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon us in fulfilment of God’s promise. It is by the Spirit of Jesus in our hearts that we are able to cry ‘Abba! Father! (Galatians 4:6) and even though many of us may not be able to able to sing the praises of God together in this time of pandemic, may our hearts nonetheless overflow with praise and adoration to God who so wonderfully restores us through his Son in the power of the Holy Spirit!
But this work of the Spirit in our hearts is part of a much bigger picture. When my brother Primate Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit addressed the Kenyan nation on 25th May he began with a reference to Romans 8:22,23:
“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also, we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”
Much of his pastoral address is very practical, rightly directed to the pressing needs of those who are suffering, as are many in East Africa, not only from the impact of coronavirus, but also from locust plagues and flooding. But the biblical context he chose helpfully reminds us of the bigger picture of Pentecost.
Authentic life in the Spirit involves groaning as well as rejoicing. Disease is a sharp reminder of the pain, frustration and decay built into this present world order, but these things should not lead us to despair because the groaning of our hearts resonates with the whole creation in a deep sigh of longing that comes from the Spirit himself. And just as Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23), likewise the first fruits of the Spirit anticipate all that is to come. So, we can face the brokenness of the present, but with hope.
We can see that hope in action through the Anglican Church of Kenya’s B2B (Balcony to Balcony) service initiative where people have joined in worship from their balconies while churches around the world are reaching beyond their regular congregations with online services, even pressing forward with planting new churches as the Anglican Mission in England is doing.
So, we see that biblical ‘waiting’ is not merely passive but leads to action because of what we hope for. This includes a special care for the vulnerable. In my previous letter I mentioned the work being done in North America and around the world to meet the needs of those who have lost livelihoods. But there are other challenges. For example, my brother Primate Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba has strongly warned against an increase in violence, especially towards women, during the coronavirus lockdown.
Underlying all the anxiety about the current pandemic is of course the fear of death. Some have been affluent enough to sustain lifestyles which seek to deny this reality, but the virulence of this disease has broken that illusion allowing the Christian hope, imprinted in our hearts by the presence of the Holy Spirit, to shine forth with new clarity. As Archbishop Emmanuel Egbunu, Bishop of Lokoja in Nigeria, has so rightly said “If death meets you now, your inheritance is already waiting for your arrival.”
What better time than Pentecost to ask the Father to fill you afresh and anew with the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). The promise of Pentecost is that ‘you shall receive power’ (Acts 1:8) to be Christ’s witnesses. As all of us witness to the saving truth of the gospel in this broken and suffering world, may Christ be enthroned anew in our hearts and lives, and may we be daily sustained by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit until that day when we see him face to face!
Your brother in the hope and faith of Christ,
The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Covid-19 Pentecost: Be Filled with the Holy Spirit – Today, Covid-19 Issues Need an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday May 24, 2020
Sunday May 24, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
The Upper Room Part 1: The Promise of the Spirit (Apostles Anglican Church; Knoxville, TN)
In John:14, Jesus is on His way to the cross, and He is arrested – also, it is the night of the first Holy Communion and the washing of feet. Jesus and the Apostilles are in Jerusalem, and their activities begin in the “Upper Room” and move to the Garden of Gethsemane. In this text, Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit; and He tells how the Holy Spirit will work in our lives. Also, Jesus reminded the Apostilles of His prior teachings and that they should “let not your heart be troubled”.
In John 14:23, 26: Jesus is telling the Apostilles about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s role: “Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him . . . But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.’". Subsequently, Jesus tells the Apostilles that they “must be born again” of the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
After twenty-one centuries, how should we consider the Holy Spirit as followers of Jesus? We should consider that the Holy Spirit: 1) is very important for us as we follow Jesus because, like God, we are triune beings – body, soul, and spirit -- with our worship and communication with God being conducted through our spirit enabling us to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”; 2) brings the presence of the Father and the Son to be both with us and in us; 3) helps us to live our Christian life – our “helper”; 4) is our teacher to teach us to understand the Bible, how to pray and to acquire the other knowledge that we need to follow Jesus; and 5) while we may want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and our “pilot light is lit”, our “furnace is not engaged” to bring the Holy Spirit into our lives.
It is one thing to know Jesus in our lives, but it is another thing to love and obey Jesus in our lives. In other words, are you willing to let go of controlling your life and turn your life’s control over to the Holy Spirit – God’s will not your will be done? God does not force His will on you. You must seek Jesus to follow Him, and you must follow Jesus “in truth and in {Holy}Spirit”.
Therefore, the question becomes not “do you have the Holy Spirit”, but “does the Holy Spirit have you”?
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A CHILD OF GOD. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12f).
Scripture Reference (ESV): John 14:23, 26; John 3:3-8; John 4:24; John 7:37-39; John 14:15-17; John 15:26; Jon 16:4-14; Ephesians 2:1; John 14:16-17; Genesis 1:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20; Ephesians 5:18.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “In Times of Uncertainty and Fear, Seeking and Hearing God’s Voice Is Critical": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday May 17, 2020
Sunday May 17, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
The Interior Life – Part 5: The Conscience (Holy Trinity; Madison, MS)
Our conscience is that part of our soul that brings our hearts and minds into knowledge of God’s requirements and expectations for living a Godly life. In 1 Timothy 1:5, the conscience is related to love: “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”. Do we have a clear conscience before the Lord? There are three aspects of our conscience: 1) the part of our person that knows right and wrong within ourselves – our moral compass; 2) as Christians, our conscience becomes God’s moral compass within us; and 3) a reminder that we have sinned against God or our neighbor. The Holy Spirit deals with conscience first and not our intellect or emotion. What happens when we ignore our conscience: 1) we begin to dumb down the power of our conscience to speak into our lives; 2) even though our conscience speaks to us all the time, we begin not to hear it; and 3) our conscience becomes polluted by the world – a defiled conscience. Ignoring our conscience leads us towards self-deception and depravity.
How do we keep a clear conscience: 1) confess our sin to God as instructed in Hebrews 10:22-23: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.", and in 1 John 1:9-10: "We confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."; 2) make a confession of our sin to a Christian friend; 3) sometimes, we confess our sin to a minister; and 4) sometimes, we need to make restitution to those to whom we have sinned, when appropriate.
Our conscience is a mighty gift to us from God if we listen to it and keep a clear conscience.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: 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): 1 Timothy 1:5-6; Job 27:6; 1 John 1:9-10; Psalms 131:1-3.; Psalms 56:1-13.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Throughout the Bible, We Witness God’s Power; as a Follower of Jesus, You Witness God’s Power, Personally, in Your Life": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday May 10, 2020
Sunday May 10, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Are You Willing to Speak Up and Share Publicly Your Relationship with Jesus? (Resurrection Anglican Church; Woodstock, GA)
To what extent are you willing to share with others your relationship with Jesus? What price are you willing to pay, personally, so that others may know the good news of Jesus – the Gospel? What are you willing to go through to advance the Kingdom of God? In Ephesians 3:1-2, the Apostle Paul summarizes the price that he joyfully accepts to carry the news of the Gospel to the Nations: “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentile -- assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you.".
In Acts 26:19, Paul gives his public testimony, in his hearing before King Agrippa; and told the King and everyone in attendance that he, Paul, felt privileged to testify, to the Nations, about his conversion and his relationship with Jesus: “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.".
Paul was in prison facing a trial by the despotic Emperor of Rome, Nero. However, you may never have to go to prison or face death to communicate the Gospel; but you will face both physical and emotional discomfort as you become a visible follower of Jesus. While articulating the Gospel to others is important, the most effective way to communicate the Gospel is not by what you say but how you live – walk the talk and let others see Jesus in you.
The world, the country, your friends, and your family have so many issues and hurts for which Jesus and His Gospel are the answer; but we keep this good news a secret by our unwillingness to live a visible life walking the talk of the Gospel and sharing the Gospel. Do you have the faith and courage, and are you willing to share the Gospel? If you do, then pray for God’s guidance to you for His will and role for you.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Ephesians 3:1-21; Acts 9:15; Acts 26:12-23; Psalms 130:1-8.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “The Resurrection: Part 4 – Hearing God’s Voice": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday May 03, 2020
Sunday May 03, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Feeding of the 5000 (St. Andrews Episcopal Church; Ft, Worth, TX)
After John the Baptizer had been beheaded by King Herod, the Apostles that told Jesus of this news, also, suggested that they get away from the crowds of people into a desolate area in which they could rest and pray. Jesus and the Apostles went by boat. However, a large crowd of people followed Jesus and His Apostles onshore so that when Jesus arrived at the area in which they wished to rest. Jesus had compassion on the people that had followed Him. Therefore, He began teaching, in Mark 6:34, to a very large group: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.”. When Jesus’ teachings carried on late into the evening, His Apostles suggested that Jesus send the crowd away into the villages to buy food. Rather, Jesus asked His Apostles to determine how much food was on hand in the crowd; and they determined that they had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus blessed this food and, in Mark 6: 42-44, all the crowd ate from this food: “And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.".
In Mark’s teaching regarding the miraculous “feeding of the 5,000”, we see that Jesus’ compassion for the people was greater than His personal needs to grieve for the death of John the Baptizer and to rest. Upon His arrival to the intended personal resting spot, Jesus began, immediately, to minister to the people. Like Jesus and in order to receive what God knows that we require, we need to move our focus away from our personal desires and perceived needs onto the real needs of others. When we move our focus away from ourselves and to a “outward focus”, we become free to hear and to receive from God. As in Jesus’ “feeding of the 5,000”, God desires that we look to Him; to take what He has given us; and to give to those in need. No matter where we are or in what context of our life’s involvement in which we find ourselves, we need to be willing to be broken vessels for use by God for His purposes.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, 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): Mark 6:31; Mark 6:34; Mark 6:41; Mark 6:43; Psalms 10a:1-9; Psalms 11:1-7.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Resurrection: Part 3 – In Jesus’ Last Appearance to His Eleven Disciples, He Gives Us and His Disciples His Great Commission": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Apr 26, 2020
Sunday Apr 26, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Are You Filled with the Holy Spirit? (Highland Chapel; Chattanooga, TN)
When we believe in Jesus the Christ as our Lord and Savior; accept God’s Grace of Salvation; and follow Jesus, then God provides us with His incredible gift of the Holy Spirit. As we follow Jesus in our daily lives, it is difficult to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” as we are instructed in Ephesians 5:18: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,". God Himself comes to us in His presence as the third part of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us, in Ephesians 1:13, that when we become a follower of Jesus, we are “sealed with the Holy Spirit”.
Paul, in Ephesians, tells us that we only have two choices in our life relationship with the Holy Spirit: 1) we either “grieve the Holy Spirit” or 2) we are “filled with the Holy Spirit” – these two options, regarding the Holy Spirit, mean that, as we live our lives, we are either “strong in the Lord” or “we are not strong in the Lord”. In Ephesians 4:30, Paul speaks of “grieving the Holy Spirit”: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”. “Grieving the Holy Spirit” means that we hurt or wound God’s expectations for us as Followers of Jesus, as we live our lives, by not being “filled with the Holy Spirit”.
Most of Ephesians 4 and Ephesians 5 describe the binary positions of lives that “grieve the Holy Spirit” or are “filled with the Holy Spirit”. When we “grieve the Holy Spirit”, we limit the power of the Holy Spirit and our access to God through our personal relationship with Him. Therefore, anytime we sin we “grieve the Holy Spirit”. God, through the Holy Spirit, will make us aware of when we grieve Him: and we then have the opportunity for Confession and Repentance of our sin; therefore, we can continue to “be filled with the Holy Spirit” as God wishes and expects.
Are you grieving the Holy Spirit or are you filled with the Holy Spirit?
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A CHILD OF GOD.Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12f).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Ephesians 5:18; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 1:17; Ephesians 4:1; Ephesians 6:17-18; Ephesians 4:31; Ephesians 4:32; Ephesians 5:1-2; Ephesians 5:3-4; Ephesians 5:5; Ephesians 5:6; Ephesians 5:7-11; Ephesians 5:12-14; Ephesians 5:15-17; Ephesians 5:18; John 7:38-39; 1 John 1:8-9.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Because of Jesus’ Resurrection. You Are Forgiven of Your Sins and You Have Eternal Life – If You Have Faith, Confess, and Follow Jesus": at our Website: www.AWFTL.org/listen/.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Am I Going To Heaven? (Christ Anglican Church; Cashiers, NC)
Can we be sure that we are in a “right relationship” with the Lord? How can we be sure that we are “saved”? As a follower of Jesus and based on Scripture, the answer is a “resounding YES, we can be sure that we are saved”! As followers of Jesus, God has given us assurances of our Salvation in three different ways: 1) the witness of Scripture through the documentation of the work of Christ on the cross from God’s Grace as a means of Eternal Life; 2) the witness of the Holy Spirit which, again, is God’s gift to those who follow Jesus in faith and confession; and 3) the witness of the Holy Sacraments of our faith (i.e. Holy Communion, Baptism) that assure us of God’s work in our lives.
Because of your personal relationship with God, the relationship that you have because you are a follower of Jesus, you can say to God: “you died for My sins”. Your personal relationship with God should provide assurance of your Salvation. In the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, we are given the Comfortable Words of Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.". Also, we have the assurance, again from Scripture, in 1 John 5:11-13: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.".
Yes, as a follower of Jesus, you have eternal Life!
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: 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): 1 John 5:11-13; Hebrews 11:1; Romans 8:38; John 3:16; John 5:24; Philippians 1:6; Colossians 1:3-5; Colossians 1:12-14; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 4:13; Romans 8:13-17; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 2:8; Psalms 33b: 12-22.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “What does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do with Us? What are the implications for humanity?", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
The Upper Room Part 2: The Promise of Forgiveness (Christ Cathedral; Kampala, Uganda)
The promise of Palm Sunday and Holy Week leads us to look ahead to Jesus’ death on the cross, for our sins, and His Resurrection. Through Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead and God’s Grace, sinners like us can have Eternal Life if we confess our sins and have faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior -- we are forgiven!
After Jesus Resurrection, Jesus appeared to many people, including a group of more than five hundred, over a period of forty days. The primary messages of the Bible’s New Testament Epistles are Jesus’ death, Resurrection, and the power of Jesus’ Resurrection. From John 20:19-25, we learn that Jesus appeared to the Disciples in a locked upper room. The Disciples were afraid; but when they saw Jesus, their fear changed to joy. Jesus began His conversation with the powerful greeting of: “Peace be with you.”. In addition to His Peace, Jesus gave the Disciples the Apostolic commission of Go, make disciples, and to teach while communicating the Gospel; and Jesus told the Disciples and us how to “Go”. Additionally, Jesus gave His Disciples and us the power, through the Holy Spirit, to do the mission of His Commission: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20).
The Gospel is a message of both forgiveness and of judgement. With God’s Grace and our faith comes our forgiveness and our Eternal Life. In John 5:24, Jesus tells us that we not only have Eternal Life after our earthly death; but we have Eternal Life from the moment we accept the Gospel and Jesus as our Lord and Savior: “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.".
In Romans 8:38-39,we are given the message to communicate as we “Go”: “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.".
We have the eternal life-changing message that Jesus’ death, for our sins, and His Resurrection lead to our forgiveness. However, are we living this message in our lives, and are we delivering this message to others starting with our family and our neighbors – if not us, then who?
Today is the first day of Holy Week with events, in the life and death of Jesus, that are leading to our Salvation!
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): John 20:19-25; Luke 24:46; John 5:24; John 1:12.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Title: “Palm Sunday and Holy Week Lead Us Toward Jesus’ Death On the Cross for Our Sins and His Resurrection; Therefore, We Are Forgiven!", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
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Sunday Mar 29, 2020
Sunday Mar 29, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
The Upper Room Part 3: The Promise of Belief (St. Thomas Anglican Church, Athens GA)
A primary component of Jesus teaching methodology was to ask questions. Most questions asked regarding Christianity are directly answerable. However, it is not “doubt” that constrains people from believing and following Jesus; but it is their “resistance to giving up their sins” that constrains their belief and acceptance.
Important questions were asked by Jesus in His several appearances after His Resurrection from His Crucifixion and death. In the first reference in John 20 to Jesus’ appearance to His Apostilles, the Apostille Thomas was not present. Therefore, when Thomas was told of Jesus’ appearance, Thomas said that he would not believe in Jesus’ Resurrection until he could see and feel Jesus’ wounds from the Crucifixion. Jesus, knowing Thomas’ disbelief without physical evidence of His Resurrection, asked Thomas to feel His wounds. Afterwards, Jesus asked Thomas the implied question regarding Thomas’ “belief”, and Thomas answered with an answer that has resonated throughout the centuries: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:24-29): “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”.
Jesus went on to affirm Thomas’ belief in the face of compelling physical evidence, but Jesus acknowledged the power of the belief and faith by those of us who follow Him without physical evidence through our faith. So, for us who do not have the physical evidence of Jesus’ death and Resurrection, Paul tells us, in Romans 10:17, that: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”.
Do you believe?
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A CHILD OF GOD. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12f).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): John 10:19-30; John 11:15-16; John 14:5-7; Romans 10:17.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Title: “Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen and Yet Have Believed” – Do You Believe?", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO (“Jesus said to Thomas: “Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen and Yet Have Believed” – Do You Believe?“): www.AWFTL.org/watch,
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
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Saturday Mar 21, 2020
Saturday Mar 21, 2020
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
The Interior Life – Part 5: The Conscience (Holy Trinity; Madison, MS)
Our conscience is that part of our soul that brings our hearts and minds into knowledge of God’s requirements and expectations for living a Godly life. In 1 Timothy 1:5, the conscience is related to love: “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”. Do we have a clear conscience before the Lord? There are three aspects of our conscience: 1) the part of our person that knows right and wrong within ourselves – our moral compass; 2) as Christians, our conscience becomes God’s moral compass within us; and 3) a reminder that we have sinned against God or our neighbor. The Holy Spirit deals with conscience first and not our intellect or emotion. What happens when we ignore our conscience: 1) we begin to dumb down the power of our conscience to speak into our lives; 2) even though our conscience speaks to us all the time, we begin not to hear it; and 3) our conscience becomes polluted by the world – a defiled conscience. Ignoring our conscience leads us towards self-deception and depravity.
How do we keep a clear conscience: 1) confess our sin to God as instructed in Hebrews 10:22-23: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.", and in 1 John 1:9-10: "We confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."; 2) make a confession of our sin to a Christian friend; 3) sometimes, we confess our sin to a minister; and 4) sometimes, we need to make restitution to those to whom we have sinned, when appropriate. Our conscience is a mighty gift to us from God if we listen to it and keep a clear conscience.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A 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): Psalms 51:1-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 2:1-8; 1 Timothy 1:5-6; Job 27:6; Acts 24:16; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Matthew 6:22-23; 1 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; Titus 1:15-16; Psalms 36:1-4; Hebrews 10:22; 1 John 1:9; Romans 8:1-2; James 5:16; Proverbs 27:17; 2 Samuel 12:13; Luke 19:8; 2 Timothy 1:3.
THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Your Conscience as a Part of Interior Life", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB