TEXT: ‘And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of Truth’ (John 14:16-17). When Jesus was with His disciples, He was the One in charge. He did the teaching, the decision-making as to where they would evangelise and what message to preach. After training them, Jesus sent them out on their own, two by two, but they had to report back to Him how they had got on. But after Jesus died, was buried, rose again and ascended into heaven, who would be the director of operations? The Holy Spirit! Jesus clearly instructed the disciples to wait until they had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit before they started evangelising Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria and on to every part of the world. Today’s Teaching focusses on how the Holy Spirit as the director of operations, helps us to live the Christian life. 1. The Holy Spirit and Transition The Bible shows how the disciples made the transition from being with Jesus, to being witnesses of Him after He had ascended and they were left on their own. A. The Promise – ‘He will give you another Helper’ “Another” literally means “One who is exactly the...
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TEXT: ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’ (Matthew 6:33). God has made this promise, ‘For those who honour me, I will honour’ (1 Samuel 2:30). In fact, God’s response to our putting Him first is much greater than any cost to us. Our text challenges us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. In this study we will look at the reign of King Hezekiah and see how putting God first resulted in blessing, not just for him personally but for the whole nation. 1. Priority – ‘Seek first’ Hezekiah’s public demonstration of putting God first, started on the first day, of the first month, of the first year of his reign (See 2 Chronicles 29:3, 17). He obviously did not support his father, King Ahaz’s idolatry and locking the doors of the house of the Lord (See 2 Chronicles 28:24). Instead he planned to do something about re-opening God’s house once he was king and restoring true worship for the living God. When the opportunity arose, he acted immediately. Anyone can talk about changing things when they are not in a position to do so, but how do they act once they...
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TEXT: ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men’ (Daniel 4:17). One of the common objections encountered when evangelising is, “If there is a God, why doesn’t He do something about famine, poverty, sickness, wars, violence and inequality?” The perceived lack of divine intervention deceives many into thinking there isn’t a God. While the Bible says, ‘The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God”’ (Psalm 14:1), millions of level-headed people choose to ignore the evidence of a creator and an amazing creation, in favour of evolution and the ridiculous notion that something started out of nothing! The Book of Daniel contains some amazing prophecies that came through dreams and godly interpretations. One thing is clear from them all, God in heaven is well and truly in charge over what is happening on earth. Heaven rules, is a fact! 1. Globally King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that terrified him and he immediately sought the interpretation of it (See Daniel Chapter 2). Not wanting to be deceived by some clever explanation from the...
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TEXT: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near’ (Isaiah 55:6). The Bible records the last two named “people encounters” Jesus had before His trial and crucifixion. They happened at Jericho, shortly before His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. These form the basis for Today’s Teaching. Our text urges us to, ‘Call upon Him while He is near!’ As Jesus passed through Jericho, He spoke to Zacchaeus and as He left the city, He passed by Bartimaeus. What can we learn from their encounters with Jesus, the mighty Son of God? 1. They were excluded from normal life A. Zacchaeus – because he was hated (See Luke 19:1-10) He worked for the enemy, the Romans, and cheated his own people. He could never sleep easy, nor mingle freely with the crowds for fear of being attacked. He would always have been surrounded by personal bodyguards and Roman soldiers to protect him. This form of exclusion was entirely his own making. B. Bartimaeus – because he was blind (See Mark 10:46-52) Zacchaeus had great wealth but Bartimaeus had nothing and begged to survive. Some would throw him a coin every time they passed by, others would ignore his cry for alms, tired of seeing him sat...
Learn MoreMission to Rwanda: October 10th – 21st 2022 On Monday my flight left the UK at 6:00am via Amsterdam, arriving in Kigali at 7:15pm. It was a blessing to discover I did not need to purchase a visa. Eric, my conference coordinator was there to meet and transport me to my accommodation, the Saint Paul Centre in Kigali. Not much talking as I was tired from travelling. Eric came for lunch the next day and we went through the itinerary. Tuesday 5.00pm I spoke at the Source of Deliverance Church in Kigali. The pastor was amazed that God had given me a very similar message to the one he had preached the previous Sunday. There was a good response to God’s Word and in particular to the mission statement of Recovery Ministries, ‘Without fail you will recover all’. It was a blessing to see faith levels rise to the challenge and get back what the devil had taken. 4:00pm on Wednesday I preached at the Calvary Wide Fellowship in Kigali. The church uses a hired building while theirs is being renovated. It was wonderful to see almost every seat taken. The congregation was very responsive and many stood in response to the appeal. Leaders’ Conference, Gisenyi Thursday we travelled...
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