Jul 30, 2023
Divine Providence – Introduction
Divine Providence - Introduction
 
Four purposes/goals for this series:
1. To give us a bit of a “change of pace”.
- This is a topical series rather than an expository one.
- It will give us a chance to look at scriptures that we will not otherwise come across for a long time.
2. We will learn many other truths from God’s word in addition to teaching on divine providence.
3. To change the way we think about God working in our lives daily.
- To change from a cultural worldview, to a biblical one.
4. To allow this doctrine to comfort us, give us hope, and correct sinful fear and worry in our lives.
- Despair, fear and anxiety/worry evaporate when we come to know that we live under a God who aggressively provides for His children.
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  • Jul 30, 2023Divine Providence – Introduction
    Jul 30, 2023
    Divine Providence – Introduction
    Divine Providence - Introduction
     
    Four purposes/goals for this series:
    1. To give us a bit of a “change of pace”.
    - This is a topical series rather than an expository one.
    - It will give us a chance to look at scriptures that we will not otherwise come across for a long time.
    2. We will learn many other truths from God’s word in addition to teaching on divine providence.
    3. To change the way we think about God working in our lives daily.
    - To change from a cultural worldview, to a biblical one.
    4. To allow this doctrine to comfort us, give us hope, and correct sinful fear and worry in our lives.
    - Despair, fear and anxiety/worry evaporate when we come to know that we live under a God who aggressively provides for His children.
  • Jul 23, 2023Thessalonians – Final Words
    Jul 23, 2023
    Thessalonians – Final Words
    Thessalonians - Final Words
     
    Sanctify
    - to purify, to cleanse, to make holy
    - to set apart, to separate from profane things
     
    To what degree will I be sanctified?
    A: Completely – to the full end.
    - to the full image of Christ.
     
    What part of me will be completely sanctified?
    A: All of you – the entirety of your being.
     
    Two Dilemmas in our sanctification:
    1. Our righteousness is all from Christ; not our doing...
    - yet we are to strive earnestly in our sanctification.
    2. The power for our sanctification is from God Himself...
    - yet we are to strive earnestly in our sanctification.
  • Jul 16, 2023Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies 4
    Jul 16, 2023
    Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies 4
    Testing Prophecies 4
     
    What is “fruit” in Matthew 7:16-20?
    1. Words/actions/character
    2. The result of their ministry
    - Not success in terms of numbers and size.
    - What are the words/actions/character of their followers?
    3. Doctrine (is also a fruit)
     
    Four Scriptural Tests For Testing Prophecies:
    1. Deuteronomy 18 – Accuracy (applicable for predictive prophecy)
    2. Deuteronomy 13 – Doctrine (do they teach about God accurately?)
    3. Matthew 7 – Words/actions/character (know the root by the fruit)
    4. 1 John 4 – Doctrine/source (the incarnate Word; the written Word)
  • Jul 9, 2023Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies 3
    Jul 9, 2023
    Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies 3
    Testing Prophecies 3
     
    1. God sometimes grants to the kingdom of evil, the ability to work signs, wonders and even predictive prophecies that come to pass.
    - A prophecy coming true, DOES NOT mean its source is from God.
    - Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:9-11; Rev. 13:13-14, Acts 16:16-19
     
    2. We are to be a people whose faith/nourishment comes from HEARING or READING the Word about Christ.
    - We are NOT a people who put faith in what we see or experience.
    - Deut. 4; Rom. 10:17; John 20:31; Rom. 15:4; Matt. 11:20-24
     
    3. What is most important about a prophet is that he leads people to know, worship, and believe in the true God.
    - A true prophet teaches the doctrines of God/Christ accurately.
     
    4. This test is one where God does the testing.
    - God purposely uses false prophets, with great abilities, to test His people and thereby separate the genuine from the false.
     
    5. This test of God’s, will reveal who loves Him with all their heart and soul.
    - It is love for God that motivates us to test prophets carefully.
    - It is love for things other than God that leads to being deceived.
     
    6. This test includes discerning a true prophet from a false one; but also then, to purge the “evil (prophet) from among” us.
    - It wasn’t enough to just expose him, but they were to dispose of him.
  • Jul 2, 2023Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies 2
    Jul 2, 2023
    Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies 2
    Testing Prophecies 2
     
    It is a very serious thing for anyone to claim that they are speaking words that come from God.
    - The one source we know is from God is the written word.
     
    Predictive prophets/prophecy can only be tested AFTER the outcome has happened.
    - We have something better – the living word to guide us.
     
    “Prophets” who “miss” on a prophecy should never influence us in the future.
    - This is a very objective test with a life sentence.
  • Jun 25, 2023Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies
    Jun 25, 2023
    Thessalonians – Testing Prophecies
    Instructions for Life in the Church 3
     
    Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, speaks...
    ...the Apostles write it down...
    ...when we read what they wrote...
    ...we hear what the Spirit is saying to us.
     
    Four Ways We Quench The Spirit:
    1. By not listening to the Spirit and thus not knowing God’s will for us.
    2. By obeying the desires of the flesh over the desires of the Spirit.
    3. By worshipping God in ways that dishonor Him.
    4. By walking in fear, rather than boldly in faith.
     
    Notice:
    We are not asked to blindly trust what anyone says.
    We are to test everything BEFORE we trust it.
    Paul uses “good” & “evil” rather than “true” & “false”.
    We are to test a prophecy to know its source.
  • Jun 18, 2023Thessalonians – Instructions for Life in the Church 2
    Jun 18, 2023
    Thessalonians – Instructions for Life in the Church 2
    Instructions for Life in the Church 2
     
    Holy Spirit-given “faith perspectives” that are necessary in order to carry out these commands:
    1. A belief that God will someday bring perfect justice to all evil. (Ecc. 12:14, Deut. 32:43, Matt. 12:36, Matt. 16:27, 2 Thess. 1:6)
    2. A view that God is working in every situation – even our suffering. (Phil. 1:12-14, 2 Cor. 12:7, Acts 4:27-28, Rom. 11:11, Acts 8:1-4)
    3. A belief in an absolute sovereign God. (Rom. 8:28, Eph. 1:11)
    4. A hatred of sin, and desire to be like Christ. (Rom. 5:3-4, James 1:2-3)
    5. A trust that suffering for Christ has eternal reward. (2 Cor. 4:17, Luke 6:23)
    6. A deep love for Christ and the mercy we have been shown. (Acts 5:41)
    7. A deep love for those for whom Christ died – His Church. (Col. 1:24)
    8. God’s own glory is His highest pursuit. And our greatest good comes when He is most glorified.
  • Jun 11, 2023Thessalonians – Instructions for Life in the Church
    Jun 11, 2023
    Thessalonians – Instructions for Life in the Church
    Instructions for Life in the Church
    1 Thessalonians 5:12-14
     
    Noutheteo (Greek)
     
    - to admonish, warn, exhort, counsel
    - literally = to place in the mind
     
    Unruly
    - out of order (disorderly)
    - out of step – out of line
    - some have “idle”
     
    Fainthearted
    - KJV – feebleminded
    - literally “small souled” “small spirited”
    - timid, discouraged, fretful, depressed, worried, anxious
     
    Weak
    - Those who are weak through lack of knowledge.
    - Those who are weak in faith – struggle to believe. (Rom. 4:19)
    - Those who are weak in battling the flesh. (2 Cor. 11:29, Matt. 26:41)
    - Those who are weak in conscience. (Rom. 14:1-2, 1 Cor. 8:7-10)
    - Those who are weak physically – the sick. (James 5:14)
  • Jun 4, 2023Thessalonians – The Day Of The Lord
    Jun 4, 2023
    Thessalonians – The Day Of The Lord
    We Are Not Appointed to Wrath
    Goal: That we would be a people who are prepared for any trial and tribulation that may lie ahead of us.
     
    Question 1: If your ____________ is taken from you; will you still rejoice in the Lord?
    Question 2: What are you doing today to arm yourself in order to be better prepared for that Day?
     
    First, from the context of this verse...“wrath” = God’s eternal wrath on the unsaved.
    Second, from the context of this whole passage...“wrath” = God’s wrath on the unsaved in the DOTL.
    Third, we must distinguish between God’s wrath and God’s judgment/discipline on family of God.
    Fourth, we must distinguish between God’s wrath and “tribulation”.
    Fifth, we must distinguish between God’s wrath and Satan’s wrath.
    Sixth, many scriptures show that the God’s wrath on the wicked and His deliverance of the saints will happen at the same time.
    Seventh, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly and hold the unrighteous for judgment.
  • May 28, 2023Thessalonians – The Wrath of God
    May 28, 2023
    Thessalonians – The Wrath of God
    The Wrath of God
     
    Salvation (what are we saved from?)
    Sin – the penalty, power, presence of sin
    - Matt. 1:21; John 1:29; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 6:1-11; Col. 2:13; Eph. 1:7
    - symbolically, by the removal of leaven
     
    Satan – captivity to, and accusations of Satan
    - 1 John 3:8; Rom. 8:1, 33; Col. 1:13; 2 Tim. 2:25
    - Pharaoh and his army being drowned
     
    Death – the last enemy – separation from God
    - Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:26; Heb. 2:9; John 5:24
    - Crossing the Red Sea on dry land
     
    God’s wrath – judgment, eternal torment
    - John 3:36; Rom. 3:5-6; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Thess. 1:10
    - Passover lamb appeases the destroyer angel
     
    1. God’s wrath is just.
    - God’s anger is not like man’s anger.
    - God’s anger is the right, controlled, necessary, and measured response to the belittling of His holiness.
    - Wrath is not an attribute of God, but a response that is generated because of His attributes.
    - God is slow to anger.
    - God will someday repay to all, with perfect justice, that which is deserved.
     
    2. God’s wrath helps us understand, appreciate and love Him.
    - There are attributes of God that cannot be understood rightly without considering His wrath.
    - God’s wrath is the best metric we have, to be able to fully grasp His other (more abstract) attributes.
    - We cannot fully appreciate the gospel, without considering the wrath of God upon Jesus on the cross.
    - We cannot be fully devoted to God without embracing His wrath against sin/evil.
    - God’s wrath brings Him glory.
     
    3. God’s wrath is being revealed now...and...it is being stored up for a future judgment.
    - God’s wrath upon the wicked is already being released.
    - Those who are unrepentant are even now “storing up” wrath against themselves. God has set a day when He will
    judge the earth and it will be a “day of wrath”.
     
    4. God’s wrath for His children whom He loves, is fully satisfied in Christ.
    - Jesus Christ is the only man who can withstand the great and terrible wrath of God ... and survive.
  • May 21, 2023Thessalonians – Awake and Sober for the Day of the Lord
    May 21, 2023
    Thessalonians – Awake and Sober for the Day of the Lord
    Awake and Sober for the Day of the Lord
     
    7 Characteristics of a Person Who is “Awake and Sober” and Ready for Christ’s Return
    1. One who has a constant awareness of the extreme priority of the eternal over the temporal. (Matthew 24:36-51 / Matthew 25:1-13 / Revelation 16:15)
    2. One who is serving the Lord faithfully, in the areas that Christ has called them to serve. (Luke 12:35-48)
    3. One who is being watchful in guarding the faith of other believers from those who will distort the truth. (Acts 20:27-32)
    4. One who is watchful through prayer and thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2)
    5. One who is on the alert for the deceptions, temptations, and schemes of the devil. (1 Peter 5:8-10)
    6. One who is faithful to strengthen and stir up others in the church. (Revelation 3:1-3)
    7. One who has fixed their hope fully on the coming of Christ; who has a mind that is set on things above and lives every day as if it were the last. (1 Peter 1:13)
  • May 14, 2023Thessalonians – Revelation 19-20
    May 14, 2023
    Thessalonians – Revelation 19-20
    Revelation 19-20
     
    The Three Main Views of Eschatology
    Premillennial View
    Postmillennial View
    Amillennial View
  • May 7, 2023Thessalonians – 2 Thessalonians 2
    May 7, 2023
    Thessalonians – 2 Thessalonians 2
    2 Thessalonians 2
  • Apr 30, 2023Thessalonians – The Return of the Lord Part 3
    Apr 30, 2023
    Thessalonians – The Return of the Lord Part 3
    Harpazo - to seize, carry off by force - to snatch away – to claim for one’s self - to take away in a violent fashion – not gently Apantesis - to go out to meet the one coming with the intention of returning to the starting place
  • Apr 24, 2023Thessalonians – The Return of the Lord Part 2
    Apr 24, 2023
    Thessalonians – The Return of the Lord Part 2
    The Return of Christ Characteristic of Christ’s return: 1. He will return with all the saints who have died. 2. All saints, whether alive or dead, will receive the same end destiny, at approximately the same time. 3. He is coming to be present here with His saints. 4. It will be a loud, noisy, and very obvious event. 5. He sets the creation free from its bondage to decay and causes the ‘resurrection of the righteous’ to new life. - Those who have died and those who are alive, together receive new glorified bodies that are like His; bodies that are imperishable and can be with Him. Parousia - to be alongside - arrival as the first stage of being present - the state of being present at a place Trumpets were used to signal: - an alarm – the coming of an enemy/danger - a battle cry in war - for a gathering or assembling of people - a celebration or feast day - the inauguration of a new king - the coming of the Lord
  • Apr 16, 2023Thessalonians – The Return of the Lord
    Apr 16, 2023
    Thessalonians – The Return of the Lord
    The Return of Christ Four Goals of 1 Thess. 4:13 – 1 Thess. 5:11 1. What does the text say and mean? 2. What does the text say and mean in light of other scriptures? 3. Speak authoritatively, yet humbly. 4. We are a church that is eagerly looking for Christ’s return. Characteristic of Christ’s return: 1. He will return with all the saints who have died. 2. All saints, whether alive or dead, will receive the same end destiny, at approximately the same time.
  • Apr 9, 2023Easter 2023 – Jesus in the Garden (His Arrest) Part 2
    Apr 9, 2023
    Easter 2023 – Jesus in the Garden (His Arrest) Part 2
    Series: (All)
    Easter 2023 - Jesus in the Garden (His Arrest) Part 2 Matthew 26
  • Apr 2, 2023Easter 2023 – Jesus in the Garden (His Arrest)
    Apr 2, 2023
    Easter 2023 – Jesus in the Garden (His Arrest)
    Series: (All)
    Two Applications For Our Faith 1. Two Gardens have determined the status of all men: - in one, the first Adam made us sinners. - in one, the last Adam made us righteous. 2. The passive obedience of Christ in the garden: - saves us through His sacrifice on the cross. - becomes an example for our own passive obedience.
  • Mar 26, 2023TRUTH
    Mar 26, 2023
    TRUTH
    Series: (All)
    How true believers can discern between truth and lies when it is not addressed in scripture.
  • Mar 19, 2023Contend for The Faith
    Mar 19, 2023
    Contend for The Faith
    Series: (All)
    Profile of a False Teacher 1. Ungodly (v. 4) 2. Morally perverted (v. 4) 3. Deny Christ (v. 4) 4. Defile the flesh (v. 8) 5. Reject authority (v. 8) 6. Blaspheme holy angels (v. 8) 7. Rely on Dreams (v. 8) 8. Ignorant (v. 10) 9. Self-destructive (v. 10) 10. Grumblers (v. 16) 11. Malcontents (v. 16) 12. Self seeking (v. 16) 13. Arrogant speakers (v. 16) 14. Showing favoritism (v. 16) 15. Scoffers (v. 18) 16. Cause divisions (v. 18) 17. Worldly minded (v. 19) 18. Devoid of the Spirit (v. 19)