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Each week a new verse-by-verse Bible study podcast given in expository style. Join us and see the Bible come alive as we study the truths that God‘s Word has for us.
Episodes
Sunday Dec 31, 2017
Sunday Dec 31, 2017
We are studying the future period called the Tribulation Period that is described in the book of Revelation. During this time Satan will seek to destroy the saints, dominate the world, and cause the world to worship him. Satan will have two agents to do this work, the Antichrist and the False Prophet. The book of Revelation in chapter 13, describes these two agents as beasts that come out of the sea and the land.
The first agent is called the Antichrist and this antichrist is going to be the devil's messiah. He's going to be the one who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he is god, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is god. Remember this about the devil: the devil doesn't want casualties; he wants converts. He wants people to worship him.
The second of Satan’s agents will be the False Prophet. The Antichrist will have an agent who is going to declare him to the world. He's going to have someone who is going to be the one who is his consultant, his person to make him popular and known to the world. This person is the False Prophet.
Satan is a fake, he is a fraud, he is a counterfeiter, and his greatest desire is set his stars above the stars the almighty God. He intends to do this by imitating everything God has. The Bible teaches the Holy Trinity of God, which is made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Satan intends to imitate this Holy Trinity of God with an unholy trinity. In the unholy trinity, Satan, or the dragon, is the anti-father, the beast of sea is the anti-christ, and the False Prophet is the anti-holy spirit.
Thinking of it this way will help us understand the work of the anti-holy spirit. When we think of the true Holy Spirit, what is the work of Holy Spirit? What does He do in the believer’s heart? He causes them to love and to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing that Satan is a counterfeiter, we can then assume that the anti-holy spirit will cause people to worship the Antichrist.
Click on the link below to hear a message on the two agents that make up the Devil’s duo during the Tribulation period. Even today, you have a choice, the beast or the Lamb. The Lamb of God who says, "Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest," or this beast out of the sea that's going to come out of the boiling, writhing sea of humanity. If the rapture is near, and it may be, the beast is alive and well today on Planet Earth, waiting in the shadows, waiting to step onto the stage.
If the trumpet were to sound today, and it may, and we heard a voice from heaven saying, "Come up hither," and we may, if Jesus were to step out of the glory today to receive His own, would you be ready? Are you saved? Do you know that you're saved? Are you absolutely ready for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Are you? I would not go without Jesus Christ 24 hours for anything you could offer me. Why would you go one day without the Lord Jesus Christ? You say, "Well, get right with God, you may die." Friend, get right with God, you may live!
Amen.
Sunday Dec 17, 2017
Sunday Dec 17, 2017
The word attribute is defined as, a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something. If I were to ask you to give me the attributes of the Antichrist, what would you say? Is he human? Is he ugly or hideous in his appearance? Can he perform miracles? Is he charming? Is he alive today? Will he be able to predict the future? No, he cannot. People do not know the future.
Do you know who else does not know the future? The devil. Actually, the devil is hideously beautiful, and brilliantly stupid. Why do I say this? Because he thought that he could overcome God. The Bible tells me that he is going to fail at this in a most spectacular way.
But there is one, and only one, who can prophesy, and that is God. It is a Biblical truth that only God knows the future.
Isa 46:9-10
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
KJV
Indeed, only God can prophesy, and the amazing thing is that God has enabled us to know the future straight from His own Words. Thank God that we have in this Bible a more sure word of prophecy, and we need to study it today, because no Christian living in these times can afford to be ignorant. The sands of time are running low for our generation, and history, as we know it, is headed for a climax.
Standing in the shadows in history is a man known as the antichrist, the beast, the man of sin, the son of perdition. This beast has many aliases, but in spite of all of his aliases, he has one heart and one motive. Over the next couple of weeks, there are five things that we need to learn about this beast. Our lesson today is going to focus on where he came from and a discussion of his attributes.
Click on the link below to hear a message on the character of Antichrist.
Amen.
Sunday Dec 10, 2017
Sunday Dec 10, 2017
We are studying a period in the future called the Tribulation Period. It is a time which begins after the church is raptured out to meet the Lord in the air. It is a seven-year period of great tribulation and chaos. It is filled with war, disease, famine, and overwhelming demonic activity. During this Tribulation Period, Israel has many earthly foes, but Israel’s biggest enemy is Satan. John describes him as the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan. He is called a dragon, because he is so fierce. He is called a serpent, because he is so subtle. He is called the devil. The word devil means accuser because he is the accuser of the brethren. He is called Satan. The word Satan means adversary. Israel is in a spiritual fight with Satan.
As believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are also in a spiritual fight with Satan. Satan has a plan to destroy your witness. He has a battle strategy to defeat you as you do the work that God has given you to do.
In our message today, John speaks of the saints of the Tribulation Period when he says, And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Satan, who is cast out of heaven once and for all, now is here upon the earth. He is filled with violent rage. He knows that things are closing in on him. He's like a cornered animal. He begins to fight against the saints with an intensity that he's never known before, and so there is a battle on earth during the Tribulation Period.
And even though, Satan and his minions, the Antichrist and the false prophet, slaughter untold millions upon millions of people, Satan does not defeat these saints. Instead, the saints gained victory over Satan. And what I want you to see in our message today is that John gives us the three-part formula that the saints used to gain this victory over Satan. And the wonderful thing about this message is that you can use that formula today in this age, or in any age to lead a victorious Christian life by defeating Satan’s plan for your life.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can gain victory over Satan in your life by the blood of the Lamb, the word of your testimony, and loving not your life even if it means you must die for Christ.
Amen.
Sunday Dec 03, 2017
Sunday Dec 03, 2017
God has not turned His back on Israel. He has not forgotten them, and He has not abrogated any of the promises that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Every promise that God has made, God will fulfill completely, and He will fulfill it just as He planned to do so from the foundation of time. God’s plan is on schedule, and that plan includes God’s chosen people, the people of Israel. Israel is God's yardstick. Israel is God's measuring rod. Israel is God's blueprint, and Israel is God's program for what He is doing in the world. Each of us stand here today blessed because of Israel. The Bible that I hold dear to me is a Jewish book. I serve a Jewish Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. And God has made Abraham a blessing to all the nations of the world.
Yet, the nation Israel has a satanic foe. Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation describes this foe as a great red dragon. John says that he is red because of his bloodlust. He is a murderer. He is called a dragon, because he's so fierce. He is called a serpent, because he's so subtle. He is called the devil, and the word devil means accuser because he's the accuser of the brethren. He is also called Satan, and the word Satan means adversary. Satan hates Jesus, and he hates the Jew. As Bible believing Christians, we are to love Jesus, and we are to love the Jew, if for no other reason than the fact that Satan hates them.
Satan is indeed a powerful foe, but he is also a defeated foe. Jesus Christ defeated Satan when He died on the cross and then rose victoriously from the grave. Satan is on his way down, and all those who follow him will go down with him. First, Satan was cast down from his lofty place in heaven where he was the anointed cherub, ministering praise to God, but still given access to heaven in order to accuse the brethren. Yet there is a time coming when even that limited access is taken from Satan and he's cast down to the earth. And then he's going to be cast into the bottomless pit, the abyss. Then, he's going to be taken out of the abyss and put into the lowest hell, and that's where he will spend eternity and he won't be ruling there in hell. He won’t be in charge of anything down there. He will simply be in the worst kind of torment, for all of eternity.
The one who said, I will exalt myself above the stars of God, will be brought down into the lowest hell. When Satan fell, he took a third of the angels with him. Every one of those angels, that chose to follow Satan, is going to be brought down to the lowest hell with him. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. God did not make hell for you. God made hell for the devil and the devil's angels. That tells me if you do go to hell, then you will be an intruder there. You will be going someplace you were not meant to go to, for Hell was not made for you. But if you chose to follow Satan, instead of Christ, then just like these angels, that will be your destiny. Why in the world would you choose to follow a loser? I have made my choice, and I am following the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you have made your choice for the Lord as well.
Click on the link below to learn about Israel’s satanic foe, and how you can defeat him and live a victorious Christian life.
Amen.
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Let me begin this post with a few personal questions.
1) Do you have a cause worth living for?
2) Is what you are living for, worthy of Jesus’ dying for?
3) When you get where you are headed, where will you be?
When you put our short, mortal, lives in the context of eternity, many of us are shoveling smoke and plowing water. When this world is done, much of what we have done will make no difference whatsoever. Think about it, how much of what we have worked so hard for in this life, will extend beyond the grave, or will even exist after Jesus Christ destroys this world and creates a new heaven and a new earth?
Years ago, Reader’s Digest had an article that said in order for a person to have a meaningful life, they need three things. First, they need someone to love. Second, they need something to do. Third, they need something to hope for. I think Reader’s Digest is right, but they did not say who or what that something was. That something is Jesus Christ. He is the One we love, the One we serve, and One in whom we hope. Jesus Christ is the only One worthy of my love, my life, my all, and yours.
The fifth chapter of Revelation talks about the One who is worthy, Jesus Christ. And it brings home the fact that each of us will never have satisfaction and fulfillment, or understand why God created us, until we come to worship Him.
Click on this link to hear a sermon on just one of three things that this chapter says about why our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is worthy of our worship.
Tuesday Dec 06, 2016
Tuesday Dec 06, 2016
Why do people listen to false teachers? What is the appeal that they bring?
Certainly, nobody likes to hear that they are living a life that is displeasing to God. Most people’s first reaction to that message is that they live good lives, they help other people, they don’t do any bad things like steal, or lie, or hurt others. So, how could that be displeasing to God? People would rather hear that man is inherently good, that the meter which determines right from wrong, and good from bad, is an evolutionary thing, that it changes as society’s morals change. That which was wrong in our parent’s day is no longer wrong today, and they want to hear someone tell them that is a good thing. That those who preach and teach otherwise are homophobic, racist, and hateful.
People who want to have followers, lots of followers, know that this is true, and so they deliberately say the words people’s itching ears want to hear. We see this in the pulpits of our churches, and in politics, on every side. We see it in our colleges. We see it on our media, TV, movies, and social networks. If you want to get a bunch of likes in social media, say the politically correct things, say the things their itching ears want to hear.
However, the gospel message of Christ is not a negative message, it is a joyous message. It is not a message about do’s and don’ts, it is a message about life, eternal life. It is a message about the unconquerable love of God for His creation, man, even when man totally rejects Him. It is a message about the sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave for the ruined human race. How He chose to die for the sins of the world so that man might find eternal life. How salvation from an eternity in Hell is a free gift of God, by the grace of God alone, through faith in Christ alone, and by Christ alone.
Yet, this is not the message that tickles the ears of those that want to hear the popular message, the feel good message, and the socially correct message. People want to hear that their destiny is within their ability to earn, by what they do, and by how much they give. The false teacher, or the predator teacher, knows this and gives that person tasks to perform, and places to send their money. They can then look at their fellow members and say, See what I have done, see what I have given. They feel good about themselves, right up to the point they stand before God on Judgment day.
We said last week that it is wrong to tell a lie, it worse to teach a lie, but it is monstrous to teach a lie about God. These false teachers know that the words they share are a lie about God. They know that their lies are drawing people away from the true gospel of Christ, and they know that people will spend an eternity in Hell because of their lies. They know this, and they count the money they have earned by these lies all the way to the bank. That is their motive. They covet wealth, power, and an immoral lifestyle.
Listen to this podcast to learn about how these false teachers, who are ever present, are deceiving many, and God’s assurance that He will judge them for their lies.
Sunday Sep 25, 2016
Sunday Sep 25, 2016
This week we are going to talk about how to be an effective church member. So, as I was preparing this lesson, I got to thinking about the role of a church member. And to be honest, compared to the pastor, church members have it pretty easy. All they have to do is show up on Sunday for worship services, and maybe again on Wednesday night just to add a little extra learning.
I mean, it is the pastor and the church staff who are supposed to do all of the work of the church. If there are people to witness to or souls to save, call the pastor. If there are letters to send out, call the church secretary. If there are people to visit either as prospects, or at the hospital, or home bound, that is what the associate pastor is supposed to do. If there are teenagers or children to be mentored and taught, that is what the youth minister and children’s director are for.
Now, members may need to bring some food, every once in a while, for a fellowship or a funeral, but all of the rest of the stuff like cleaning the church, replacing light bulbs that have gone out, or repairs around the church, that is what we pay the staff for. My job as a member is to sit in that chair or pew on Sunday morning, stay awake during the sermon, say amen when the preacher says something good, and then go on my merry way letting the staff take care of everything else. Right?
If I tore up the bulletin into little pieces during the sermon to keep my mind occupied, it is my job to leave it on the floor of the sanctuary for the janitor to pick it up. If something is not right with the building, it is my job to find the maintenance guy and let him know about it. If we are not singing the right kind of music to suit my taste, it is my job to let the music director know. If the sermons are too long, and the pastor is causing me to be late for the buffet line at the local restaurant for lunch, it is my job to tell the pastor about that, right? He needs to know the problems he is causing.
Now, I hope everyone knows that I am being sarcastic here, and most people would say that this is not really true. It is not the job of the shepherd to make more sheep, it is the sheep who make more sheep. Right? I also know that there are a lot of pastors out there saying, hey, he’s not being sarcastic at all, that is just what my members think and do.
So maybe we start looking at actions rather than words. Think about it. When was the last time you made a new sheep in God’s flock? When was the last time you saw something that needed to be done for the church, and you just took care of it? A visitor needed to be shown around the church, and you just did it. A fellow brother or sister in Christ was at the hospital and his family needed a meal, or to be prayed over, and you just did it. A paper towel dispenser in the bathroom was empty, and you refilled it. You didn’t tell somebody about it, so they could fix it, you just did it.
We live in a secular world where people get paid to take care of all of our needs. The buildings we work in have maintenance personnel. The streets we drive on have repair crews and cleaners. The restaurants we eat at have servers. So we have this expectation that a church works in the same way as the secular world, but does it?
Are the offerings we give to the church best used to maintain the building and pay the salaries of the staff, or touch souls for Christ? Now, make no mistake about it, I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else. I have often called the maintenance guy to take care of a problem, and in some cases, he probably would prefer we let him know about it, rather than doing a poor job of it ourselves, making the job harder for him. But the core of my question is what should our attitude be about our service for God? Should we expect others to be the servants of God, or are we, the members, the servants of God?
Listen to this podcast to learn how to be an effective church member. How we are to wear the garment of humility, how we are to deal with all of our problems and worries, and most of all, how we are to stand and resist our true adversary, Satan.
Sunday Dec 06, 2015
Sunday Dec 06, 2015
Monday Nov 30, 2015
Monday Nov 30, 2015
Monday Mar 04, 2013
Monday Mar 04, 2013
As a believer, you have been placed in this world as the ambassador of Jesus Christ. Your mission is to share the gospel of Christ. Satan hates everything that God does, so he has placed his own agents in the world right alongside the ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Their mission is to dilute the message of the gospel of Christ. They are to deceive those who hear the message of Christ with their own version of it. They are to destroy the message of the gospel of Christ. The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares is a story from Jesus that describes the world that we live in today. How God's messengers are hard at work, and what Satan is trying to do to stop it. Listen to this podcast to discover how believers are to respond to the work of Satan's agents and what will happen at the time of the harvest.