COMMITTED to train men and women
to have minds for the Lord Jesus,
hearts for the truth, and
hands that are skilled to the task.

Sermons on Fundamentals of the Faith (Page 2)

GOD Never Fails

Since God is love and God never fails, LOVE cannot fail. God and Love are everlasting. It is interesting to know that God’s love in the Greek language is called AGAPE. This is a GREEK word that can only be found in the Bible. This word was specifically coined to describe a supernatural love, because it describes a supernatural Being, God Himself. The other Greek words that are translated into the English word Love are EROS AND PHILEO. Both of these love actions are temporary, originate with human beings and will be done away with one day. In other words, Eros and Phileo are not everlasting, therefore they will fail. Listen, God cannot fail, Agape love cannot fail, because God and His love is everlasting. All the other responses to people’s actions are temporary. They have no eternal value.
When we are troubled on every side, when things go wrong and people do us wrong, when we are hurting and frustrated, it is very difficult to see the eternal value of Agape Love. But that’s just us. Our eyes are fixed on the wrong thing. On people and on emotional and conditional love and acceptance.
When we are involved in the spiritual battle and it seems that our relationships with brothers and sisters in the Lord are going up in flames, we immediately go into the defensive mode. We will become REACTIONARIES.
And all our reactions are based upon EROS OR PHILEO LOVE. Remember, they are temporary, they don’t solve any problems. They simply ask for a truce. For the moment we have decided, even if it kills me, not to go on the attack. UNTIL NEXT TIME.
Not so with AGAPA LOVE. God is love and he is eternal. HIS LOVE IS ETERNAL. It never reacts to any circumstances. It is eternal, always there always available, never failing.
When we are willing to endure all things through the LOVE OF GOD, we then can be the LIGHTS THAT SHINE IN THE DARK WORLD.
Yes, God’s love ENDURES ALL THINGS FOR THE SAKE OF ETERNITY.
God created all of us. We are His creation and He has a specific purpose for all of us. However, it is not our job to find our purpose in life. Because finding our purpose and our place in this life IS NOT OUR GREATEST NEED.
Our Greatest Need is TO BE UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED.
This need can only be met by Our Creator Himself. It is God’s love, His AGAPE love that loves us unconditionally. He loved us while we were yet sinners, the Bible declares. In other words, God loved us just the way we are.
We are loved regardless of our mistakes and failures.

The Battle of All Battles

Jerusalem was filled with people that came from all over the world to celebrate the Passover, the feast God commanded the Hebrews to keep every year as a reminder that it was He alone who brought them out of slavery, out of the Egyptian bondage.
They did not deserve to be delivered, and they certainly did not pay a ransom to the Egyptians to be delivered.
It was a picture of what God is doing for His people, because HE PROMISED LONG AGO, that the spiritual battle of the ages, a battle which started in heaven itself and eventually was introduced to God’s creation in this world, will be won by God Himself, Victory will be declared by God Himself, and the battle of all battles will be settled ones and for all.
That was Satan’s goal all along. TO BE LIKE GOD. That’s the goal of all those who run around the churches claiming to have the same power God has to command Satan and his fallen angels to do their bidding and to command God what to do. Well, all in THE NAME OF JESUS. It’s the battle of all battles.
God uses truth to conquer lies, Satan, the father of lies, uses deception to conceal the lies. Deception is the most powerful weapon Satan has in his arsenal.
When Jesus, willingly, went to the cross, to be crucified for our sins, He did what the Father long ago promised would happen:
The seed, which is Christ Jesus, will win the battle of all battles, not by conquering Satan, but by submitting to the Father’s will.

What Time Is It?

So what time is it?
THE ANSWER: Time to make the very most of the time. Do not waste your time. It is time to walk with a purpose and a clear vision. If you have a vision, a purpose, a goal, to redeem the time, to make your time on earth count, you will have to follow the cause of your vision.
IT TAKES COMMITMENT, EVERGY, ENTHUSIASM, AND GIFTEDNESS TO REDEEM THE TIME AND TO KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS.
“As God’s people, we’re the ones who ought to be having the time of our lives! But it’s been my observation that far too many Christians look like they’ve been baptized in lemon juice!”
Chuck Swindoll

What Do You Long For?

What about those who call themselves followers of Jesus, people who have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and who want to follow the Lord wherever he goes, what is their deepest desire?
Of all the people who received an inheritance in the Promised Land, Caleb was the only one to completely drive out the enemy. And remember, it was Caleb who faced some of the most formidable enemies in the entire land. GIANTS WHERE LIVING THERE. Caleb had the longing to live where God promised him he would live one day. His longing was stronger than his physical limitations. Caleb longed to have fellowship and communion with God and God’s people. Caleb never longed for the approval of man, but he longed for the approval of God. He was not afraid of what the consequences would be if he longed for God’s approval and therefore would lose most friendships.

Revelation of His Treasures

When we walk with God like the prophet Jeremiah did, we can expect God to answer when we call upon Him. His treasures which are made available to His children are many times not in our reach, because we do not CALL ON THE LORD WHO WILL ANSWER.
“I don’t need another book on prayer. I know enough about prayer. I simply must take time to pray. We will never FIND TIME, we must TAKE TIME. Lorne Sanny
Listen, if you are equal, humanly speaking, to your responsibility, you don’t need God.

Walking With God

The question is: Was this walk with God the exclusive privilege of a few super saints? Did God pre ordain who can walk with him and who cannot walk with him? Could it be that many people who call themselves Christians cannot walk with God, because they have never been born into God’s family by the Holy Spirit? And so it is with those who believe by having put their faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ instead of counting on their religious self-effort.
What assurance do I have that I am a child of God?
“The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field.” Vince Lombardi
There is no such thing as a secular job or sacred job. 7 days a week we are all responsible to glorify God by OBEDIENCE TO HIM. That’s walking with God.

The Blessings of Goshen

Joseph divinely positioned and prepared for such a time as this by God himself, he is inviting his family to move to Egypt, and there they would live in a land called Goshen, which means: ‘DRAWING NEAR’.
But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. In other words, Jacob and his entire clan was exposed to incredible evil. That’s one of the reasons God wanted Jacob and his family to be separated from these people. When they went down to Goshen, the place was prepared by God for them. When we draw near to God, which means we are separated from the wickedness of this world. The Hebrew writer is telling us that Jesus’ blood allows us to enter into God’s presence at any time. There are blessings in Goshen, blessings we can only receive when we DRAW NEAR TO GOD. Separation from the ways of the world. Provision by God Himself. Protection from the judgment of God upon this world.

Are You Bearing God’s Image?

I would say, Joseph was bearing God’s image. This does not mean that Joseph was perfect. No human being is, except the man of God, Jesus Christ. Bearing God’s image means: Having a powerful faith in God and a positive response to others.
Judah and his brothers went from intellectual faith, to emotional faith, and eventually to transforming faith.They are now bearing the image of God. They are now acting according to God’s Word. Now it’s not just faith, now it’s faith that works according to God’s Word.
They all passed the exam of attitudes.
Humanly speaking, the average Christian would not bear God’s image when faced with people who have done them such wrong. We would demand from the guilty to feel some of the humiliation and shame we felt when they did wrong. We know that they don’t deserve anything good coming their way. BUT LISTEN TO JOSEPH, a man who bears the image of God.