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Bethesda Shalom

Bethesda Shalom , "House of Mercy and Peace". A small independent Bible believing Church located in Wolverhampton, England; endeavouring to hold fast to truth and stand fast in love by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Now displaying: January, 2023

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Jan 30, 2023

2 Peter 1:1-12

Doctrine matters! Foundations matter!  Everyone wants to build but if there are no foundations upon which to build, the building’s not going to stand.  We must begin with foundational matters/those great positional truths of Scripture - they are anchors to our soul. But we must never allow ourselves to settle there. We must be poured out into the vessel of experience. Too many Christians have remained for too long settled on their lees, living in the realm of the positional and never coming down to the land of the experiential. 

In this sermon, we look at the glorious truths that Peter furnishes for us and the exhortation which follows to live in the reality of this.

Jan 28, 2023

Blessings and Curses Pt. 2

The Bible is full of commandments from God with attached blessings to them.  Conversely, there are other verses in the Old Testament with attached curses.  With that in mind, it might well be said, “What’s the need for this teaching? Blessings and curses are Biblical.” However, as one compares what Derek Prince teaches, to that which Holy Scripture teaches, there are fundamental and major differences.  As one looks in the Old Testament at the theme of blessings and curses one will find that it exists in the framework of covenant relationship.  In Deuteronomy 28 (and the parallel passage in Leviticus 26), God lays before His covenant people Israel, a number of blessings and many more curses, conditional upon their obedience or disobedience respectively.  What would you think, if one was to take the covenantal blessings and curses given to Israel and use them as a universal framework for all mankind today?  That’s precisely what Derek Prince does.

In this ninth teaching part, we look at a list of blessings and curses drawn up by the late Derek Prince and ask the crucial question, “Can a Christian be cursed?”  Are generational curses operative in the life of the blood-bought children of God?  What about the common saying, “No curse without a cause?”  We provide Biblical answers to each of these questions in this ninth teaching part.

Download teaching notes (pdf)

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/9_Blessings_and_Curses_Pt2.pdf

 

Jan 23, 2023

Matthew 24:1-5

As nears our Lord’s return, the Word of God tells us that widespread deception will mark the generation that shall witness the Second Coming of Christ.  When the disciples asked our Lord saying, “...Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Mt. 24:3).  The first words out of Jesus’ mouth were, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (vs. 4).  Of all the many things He could have said, and of all the many things He went ¬on to say; first thing’s first, He warns the disciples against deception; “Take heed that no man deceive you”. 

As a Pastor/shepherd, I see so many of God’s people in this late hour, wandering hither and thither, “...scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd”. Brothers and Sisters, I want to be straight with you, this is no hour for wandering about, there are prowling wolves out there waiting for their dinner, and guess what’s on the menu?  You got it...SHEEP!!  If there’s one thing I’ve learned not to do as a Christian, that is to ignore the warnings given to me in the Word of God.  When God warns us, He warns us for a reason and He says, "TAKE HEED" because there are genuine consequences for not doing so!  Part of our being ready for when Christ comes is being found in truth.  Not only must we be found abiding in holiness when He comes; but we must also be found abiding in the truth! 

Jan 21, 2023

 Blessings and Curses Pt. 1

In the introduction to a book written by Derek Prince, titled, “Blessing or Curse”, one is met by the following words. “In the 1970s Derek Prince began to unfold for believers an astonishing, life-changing teaching from the Bible that few people had ever heard. It was a thoroughly scriptural and God-blessed message about blessings and curses. This startling revelation—which he would continue to develop and gain spiritual insight about over the next three decades—has profoundly influenced several generations of theologians and preachers. More importantly, it has provided a simple key to a better life for hundreds of thousands of Christians all over the world”.

Just as in the 1960s, when Dr. Prince began unfolding for believers a message about deliverance that few people had ever heard, so in 70’s he began doing the same again but this time from the standpoint of blessings and curses.  In this teaching, we begin to examine this strange and peculiar teaching through the lens of Holy Scripture.  Far from it being rooted in the word of God, we shall discover that what Derek Prince taught concerning the laws that govern blessings and curses and the vehicle through which they come, namely words, is not only unbiblical but has its origins firmly rooted in the world of the Occult!

Download teaching notes (pdf)

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/8_Blessings_and_Curses_Pt1.pdf

Jan 16, 2023

Psalm 61:1-4

As one walks through this fallen world, it seems that pain and sorrows are the appointed lot of man.  Sinners and Saint alike taste of these bitter waters, but the added comfort for the child of God is the knowledge, that whatever trials are traced upon his dial, they are done so by the Son of love.  Be this as it may, God’s people do not always recognise it as so.  In times of great calamity, rather than looking to the Lord, they can draw away from Him 

This sermon is an encouragement to those enduring hardship to look to the Lord!  “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Ps. 61:1-2).  

Jan 14, 2023

Self-Deliverance

As one examines the various techniques employed within the deliverance ministry, it becomes quickly obvious that they are greatly wanting in terms of Biblical support.  Where in the Bible do we see Jesus leading the demonised in a prayer for deliverance at the end of which they begin expelling demons themselves? Where do we see Jesus conducting mass deliverance services?  Not only are these practices non-existent, the Word of God contradicts them!  Jesus cast out demons in the power of the Holy Spirit and by the Word of His authority.  The Gospels inform us that He ministered to individuals, one by one, though they thronged him in great numbers. 

According to leading proponents within the deliverance movement, believers have been given authority by Jesus Christ to cast demons out of themselves.  Where in the Bible do we see the demon-possessed delivering themselves?  In this seventh teaching part, we shall continue to peel back the layers of this harmful movement and bring its teachings to the judgment bar of God’s Word.

Download teaching notes (pdf)

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/7_Self-Deliverance.pdf

Jan 9, 2023

2 Kings 5:1

There’s nothing like sitting before an open Bible, with an open heart, asking that the Lord might breathe upon the text and illuminate one’s understanding.  Ah, to have those rhema moments where the text of Scripture seems to leap from the page, where the Word of God is comprehended from His Spirit to our spirit, there’s nothing that compares like unto it. 

Fasten your seatbelt, as we go for a ride through chapter 5 of the Book of Second Kings to learn lessons from the life of Naaman the Syrian.

Jan 7, 2023

Expelling the Demons

We have spent considerable time exploring the realm of deliverance ministry – a movement impacting the lives of millions of Christians worldwide.  In the last teaching part, we examined the teaching of Dr. Derek Prince and Frank Hammond as it relates to how demons “supposedly” enter a person.  In this sixth teaching part, we want to look at how they “supposedly” leave.

We shall first undertake a brief survey of the New Testament to see how Jesus and the disciples cast out demons. Having done this, we shall then turn our attention to look at how leaders within the deliverance movement cast out demons.  You are going to see that the two stand poles apart and the biblical evidence supporting the “expelling” of demons (as they maintain), is non-existent.  You are going to have to make a choice, whether to stand on the side of man’s word or to stand on the side of God’s Word. 

Download teaching notes (pdf)

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/6_Expelling_the_Demons.pdf

Jan 1, 2023

Revelation 22:7-15

Many have endeavoured through the ages to predict the date of Christ’s Second Coming.  In the 1830s, a Baptist minister from New York by the name of William Miller began publicly sharing his newfound belief, that Jesus Christ was going to return around the year 1843.  This belief began to gain momentum across denominations, and by 1840 it had become a nationwide campaign with between 50,000 and 100,000 followers.  This growing group was dubbed ‘The Millerites’.  When 1843 passed without Jesus coming, one of William Miller’s followers, a  preacher by the name of Samuel Snow, pinpointed an exact date for the Lord’s return — October 22, 1844.  Such was the expectation and hope placed in the October 22 1844 date that many of those devout Millerites cast in everything, giving away all their possessions.  If my dates are correct, today marks the beginning of a new year, January 1st, 2023, and what do you know? Jesus hasn’t come back yet!! When October 22 1844 came and went without the Lord coming, William Miller’s followers were left devastated, their hopes dashed into pieces!!  Many were left to pick up the pieces and begin the painful process of rebuilding their lives from scratch.  This event became known as the ‘Great Disappointment’. 

If the Millerites had cared to consult the Bible, it would have saved them a great deal of disappointment! What did Jesus say? “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Mt. 24:36).  Though we know not the day nor the hour, we can know the season.  All around the signposts of prophecy declare the soon return of Jesus Christ.  It is one thing to read the signs and another to allow these signs to move us to readiness to meet the Lord. A cry goes forth from the heart of God, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready”.

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