Psalm 27:13-14
There’s a testimony to be had in the midst of trial and sufferings that attests wholeheartedly to the faithfulness of a God who honours His Word!! “...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Heb. 13:5-6). This is the testimony of David, you can’t argue with it!! But for some of us perhaps, if we’re being perfectly honest with ourselves and more importantly, if we’re being honest before God, we have to confess that this is not our present testimony. We cannot confidently say as the writer of Hebrews; “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear…” The plain truth of the matter is that we are fearful and do not know in our current experience, the authenticity of David’s testimony and on account of this, instead of these words bringing peace and comfort to your soul, the words of the Psalmist are a source of agitation to you. The great challenge for the Christian in the midst of any hardship is to bring into living experience, that which is written!!! There is an experience to be had Brethren that can only be laid hold of by faith. Will we not put our trust in the Lord, that in our present day, we might live to see the goodness of God in the land of the living?
Part 22 – How do I Evangelise?
When we say that we are Christian, more often than not we attach a number of adjectives in front of the word in order to try to bring greater clarity as to the type of Christian we mean. Such adjectives include ‘born-again’ and ‘Bible-believing’. There is a third adjective that we also commonly use and that is ‘Evangelical’. When we use the term ‘Evangelical’, what we’re saying is this; we believe wholeheartedly in the saving power of the gospel and therefore seek actively to proclaim that gospel to a lost and dying world. The word ‘evangelical’, comes from the Greek word “euaggelion” which means a good message; good news, hence the word ‘gospel’ which in Greek is the word “euaggelion”.
Despite the pressures being laden upon us by the P.C. agenda of our day; we are not to shrink back from the mandate of proclaiming the good news of the gospel, set against the backdrop of the ruin and sinfulness of man. Admittedly, this is not a popular message in our post-modern society which detests absolutes. Yet, it is not bigoted to state that Jesus is the only way to the Father, nor is it unloving to tell men that unless they turn from their sin in repentance, casting themselves upon the mercy of the Saviour they will be eternally damned. If these things are true, which God affirms they are; then it is out of love that we are moved by the Holy Spirit to tell a lost humanity of the love of God towards them in sending His Son to be crucified for their sins and raising Him from the dead that they might be saved from the wrath come and have eternal life. May God help us in this weighty endeavour and lead us in this great calling to be Christ’s ambassadors!
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Testimony of a Former Jehovah's Witness
Jason Wright is pastor of Bourne Evangelical Church. In this testimony, Jason shares how he was marvelously saved out of the Watch Tower Society aka Jehovah's Witnesses. For ten years, Jason and his family were dedicated and committed members of Jehovah's organisation and gave everything to faithfully serve what they believed to be the true religion on earth. With the promise of Armageddon imminent, there was no time to waste. However, as time proceeded, Jason and his wife Jenny, became disillusioned and sought answers. As Jason searched the Scriptures, it pleased the Father to reveal His Son and after a long struggle, Jason and his wife came to find the true Jesus and left the Jehovah's Witnesses losing everything.
May God see fit to bless many as Jason and Jenny share their story.
Testimony of a Former Jehovah's Witness
Jason Wright is pastor of Bourne Evangelical Church. In this testimony, Jason shares how he was marvelously saved out of the Watch Tower Society aka Jehovah's Witnesses. For ten years, Jason and his family were dedicated and committed members of Jehovah's organisation and gave everything to faithfully serve what they believed to be the true religion on earth. With the promise of Armageddon imminent, there was no time to waste. However, as time proceeded, Jason and his wife Jenny, became disillusioned and sought answers. As Jason searched the Scriptures, it pleased the Father to reveal His Son and after a long struggle, Jason and his wife came to find the true Jesus and left the Jehovah's Witnesses losing everything.
May God see fit to bless many as Jason and Jenny share their story.
Part 21 – What Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
There is perhaps no other subject matter that has made for greater debate amongst Evangelicals and about which more varied opinions have been held, than the topic at hand in this 21st teaching part. For some, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues; for others, it is a second work of sanctification whereby one now receives the power to ‘live’ a holy life. Some would argue that this supernatural phenomenon ceased in the first century and therefore, although this experience is recorded in the book of Acts, it is no longer one that can be experienced today. One group argues that the baptism of Holy Spirit is not an experience subsequent to salvation but is rather synonymous with receiving the Holy Spirit at conversion. Another group argues that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience that is distinguishable and distinct from salvation, coming after the initial experience of being born-again. What are we to make of all these contravening statements? Where is one to go to try to clear things up and to shed light on this important topic? Thank God that as Christians, we do not have to resort to speculation, we have the Word of God upon which any experience might firmly be placed. However, being able to look at the Bible objectively can be very difficult, not least if one belongs to a denomination that has a party line that must not be crossed.
In this teaching, we shall seek as best as possible to lay aside preconceived ideas and in so doing, come to the Bible afresh in order to obtain answers to the question at hand, ‘What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?’
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Part 20 – What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit?
Modern 21st century man well makes a fitting boast on account of the vast array of his many accomplishments, they’re admittedly very impressive! In this century and the last, the world has witnessed staggering and unprecedented breakthroughs in every field of expertise, from medicine to engineering. Western civilization has never known such affluence, such protracted periods of peace and prosperity; such high standards of health and living on a universal scale. You say, what has this got to do with the subject heading of this Bible teaching? Everything!! I fear that the modern man with all his natural brilliance and expertise has lost sight of his need for God. It is one thing when the world does this, but when Christians follow suit, it is a very sad day indeed. Behold the Mega-Church with all its outward display of pomp and glory. It bears greater resemblance to a mini village complex than a Church of the Living God, and serves as an indictment; a testament to the fact, that whatever fallen man can accomplish the Church is only one step behind! No!! The Church of Jesus Christ is first and foremost a spiritual body of believers who’ve had a supernatural encounter with the Almighty and through the new birth have been grafted into Christ’s spiritual body. Jesus Christ is the spiritual head and from Him flows down to each individual member, every spiritual blessing and spiritual gift needed for the sound nourishment and spiritual growth of the entire body. These spiritual gifts are not mere niceties that make for a cosy addition; instead, they are crucial components needed for the building up spiritually of Christ’s Church.
In this 20th teaching part we examine Biblically the gifts of the Holy Spirit and ask ourselves, are these gifts for today?
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Part 19 – How Do I Pray and What Is Fasting?
As one opens the Bible and turns to the pages of the New Testament, one is struck by the sheer number of references and exhortations calling God’s people to prayer. As Christians, we cannot dispense of this holiest discipline since it is the very lifeline not only of the Christian but of the Church. Yet sadly, the prayer meeting has almost disappeared from view and if there is one, it is the least attended meeting of the week. What is prayer? Prayer in its most basic form is talking to God and includes in its function petitions, supplications, intercessions, praise, thanksgiving and worship. In this nineteenth teaching part, we examine some of these functions and explore practically and theologically the question, ‘How do I pray?’
Finally, there are times in our lives that call for desperate action; times of great calamity or urgent needs where prayer alone does not seem to cut it. It is during these times that we may resort not only to heightened times of prayer but enjoin to our prayers the discipline of fasting. We shall seek also in this teaching then to bring some practical help and guidance to this matter and in so doing, clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding prayer and fasting.
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Part 18 – Why Do Christians Suffer?
Of the top ten questions of all time, it ought to come as no surprise to us to learn that they’re the same as they’ve always been from the dawn of time; “What is the real meaning of life?” “Is there a God?” “What happens when I die?” Despite the exponential advances in technology, economics, medicine and science over the last half a decade; man with all his worldly wisdom is still no closer to being able to provide adequate answers to these crucial questions, nor will he ever be. This is because principally they’re not scientific questions nor are they even philosophical ones. Fundamentally at their core, they are theological questions. However, since man has cast off the wisdom of God in his own professed wisdom, man will search in vain to find the answers his soul so desperately seeks for and will never find them in this world. We could well add into the list of greatest questions of all time, “Why is there suffering in the world?” and more specifically, the question bearing the title of this teaching; “Why Do Christians Suffer?”
In this eighteenth teaching part, we seek to provide a Biblical answer to the question of Christian suffering.
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Psalm 73:25-26
It was not without a painful struggle and at the cost of many a night spent in agony, that the Psalmist came once more to find in renewed vision, the truth of the words that we find here in the 25th and 26th verses. “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever”. It’s one thing to profess one’s love for God the eternal Saviour in the times of plenty; in the days when the sun light’s its refreshing rays upon your soul; but when the thunder rumbles overhead and the storm clouds break? It’s then, when we truly discover the authenticity of that profession of love! Without the aid of physical comforts to spur us on; will we still in that place of testing, be able to say what we could in the absence of it; “Thou, O Christ, art all I want; More than all in Thee I find”.
Part 17 – How Do I Handle Relationships?
In this seventeenth teaching part, we look practically and biblically at how as believers in Christ, we are to relate to one another in the relationships given us by God. One only has to look down through the ages, beginning with the first offspring of the first man and woman; Cain and his brother Abel, to see that how God intended man to relate one to another has been seriously marred. Murder and war was never God’s intention! Broken homes and marriages; damaged and fractured relationships, were never his will. We live in in a world where such abounds and is on the increase. Even in the professing Church, we turn to find a better example and see the same broken relationships; failed marriages and Church splits. Surely there is a better way revealed in Holy Scripture, a way that we are called as Christians to walk.
We shall then look now at just three areas where the Bible offers practical help in preserving and nurturing relationships as children of God. These three areas include marriage; children and the Church.
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