TEXT: ‘When Joshua had reached a venerable age, God said to him, “You’ve had a good, long life, but there is a lot of land still to be taken. All you have to do is allot this land to Israel as an inheritance, as I have instructed you’ (Joshua 13:1,6 MSG). When life doesn’t go according to plan, it’s very easy to start the blame game, play the victim and think it’s someone else’s fault. It’s time to take personal responsibility. The sales slogan is very apt, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!” Peter reminded the Israelites that God’s promises were not just to those present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, but to their children and subsequent generations. Those promises are still true today for us. 1. Great leaders don’t last forever Moses died aged 120, and Joshua took his place. Now Joshua was old, having done all that God had asked him to do, but the tribes had not yet possessed their inheritance. Joshua had conquered the major cities and their kings. For him there would be no more fighting; it was down to the tribes as to how much of the land they would take. When Joshua died aged God did not instruct him to...
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TEXT: ‘For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation’ (Psalm 100:5 TLB). When I ask people, “Do you believe in God?”, if they reply “Yes”, I follow up with another question, “What do you think God is like?”. People say God is impersonal, indifferent, a power, uncaring, judgmental, but few, if any, reply that God is good! Yet this is exactly what our text declares. Jesus said, ‘No one is good, but God’ (Mark 19:17). Today’s Teaching unpacks the truth about our good God! 1. God promises good things – ‘Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”’ (Numbers 10:29). What a great mission statement for any church to adopt, if it really wants to reach out into the community. The invitation to come is backed up by the promise to treat well those who respond and journey together along the path God has chosen for that church. Unfortunately, not everyone who has entered a church for...
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TEXT: ‘The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you’ (Matthew 12:37 NLT). Jesus taught that what fills your heart will fill your mouth, when He said, ‘How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say’ (Matthew 12:34 NLT). The words we speak can have a great influence on our lives. The Bible says the tongue is like a rudder that steers the ship in any direction, although the ship is thousands of times greater in size (See James 3:4-5). Our tongue is so little compared with the rest of the body, but it can have a powerful influence over our body, whether for good or bad. The Bible has much to say about the importance of speaking the right words. 1. God knows what is being spoken on earth – ‘You must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak’ (Matthew 12:36 NLT). For men to have to give an account, there must be a record kept. That’s the blessing of being saved as Jesus wiped out the accusations written down against us (See Colossians 2:14). God knows what we are saying; whether inwardly thought or outwardly expressed....
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TEXT: ‘He said this to stretch Philip’s faith. He already knew what he was going to do’ (John 6:6 MSG). How did Jesus respond with the right reaction in every time of testing and confrontation? It was due to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. He promised the same help for us too, ‘Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit’ (Mark 13:11 NLT). In Luke Chapter 4, there are several times when “But” was a correct and positive reaction to a situation, and Today’s Teaching considers these. 1. When fighting temptation – ‘And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” (v3-4) Sometimes we don’t resist temptation because we want to yield to it, and we think it will not matter if we do. Not so Jesus! ‘This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses since he had the same temptations we do, though he never once gave way to them and sinned’ (Hebrews 4:15 TLB). The first temptation of Satan was met with a firm “But”...
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TEXT: ‘So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:17-18 NLT). Today’s Teaching has studied the words: Faith, Precious and Submission. The last word in this series is “Suffering”. In Part 1, we studied “The suffering of Christ”. Now we consider the suffering of the Christian. Jesus said, ‘Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you’ (John 15:29). Paul prayed, ‘That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings’ (Philippians 3:10). He wanted to identify with Christ, in line with what God told him at his conversion, ‘For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake’ (Acts 9:16). Suffering is an inescapable part of Christianity. The Suffering of the Christian A. Key Areas in which Christians can suffer (i) Through Deterioration, Disease and Death This is physical suffering due to the ageing process, illness and death itself. Ever since Adam and Eve’s disobedience, mankind has...
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