By faith the people of old gained approval

Today I would like us to think about people who do have faith in God.

  • Some who do have faith in God do not please God
  • Others do please God by their faith. e.g., Many people of old pleased God by their faith

Why did these please God by their faith, while others who had faith did not please God?
Let’s be reminded of just how these people of old pleased God by their faith, so that we can imitate them …

The Kingdom

Is the kingdom of God a physical or a spiritual kingdom? The disciple, even after spending so much time with the King still didn’t quite understand this concept. So before his Ascension, Jesus gave them instruction about power. But was it one last lesson on obedience or something more? Today we look at what kind of government God had intended for his chosen people.

Behold the Goodness and Severity of God

Behold the Goodness and Severity of God – If God and Jesus so Love us, how can he send us to Hell? Some people have trouble with this scenario but when we better understand God’s nature, we can see how this is so. Take sometime to listen and hopefully be blessed by todays Sermon. Please see below for scriptures used in todays sermon. The Goodness of God Righteous/Holy Psa 145:17 Life Gen 2:7-9 Mercy/Lovingkindness Psa 100:3-5 Longsuffering Psa 86:15 The Cross Isa 53:2-11 The Severity of God The Destruction of the Old World Gen 6:5-7 The Proposed Destruction of His People Exo 32:7-10 The Lord Pours out His Fury Like Fire Lam 2:1-17 The Judgement Seat of God The Day Of Judgement Psa 9:7-8 Jesus is the Righteous Judge Joh 5:22-24 Jesus will send the Righteous to heaven and the Unrighteous to Punishment Mat 25:31-34

False fake miracles, signs, and wonders

  1. Miracles, signs and wonders do not happen today.
  • It should be obvious that miracles do not happen today when we consider just some of Jesus’ many miracles.

2.  There is no need for miracles, signs and wonders to happen today.

Miracles, signs and wonders proved that the doers of them were from God, because only God can do such things:

  • e., Only God:
    • 72:18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders.
  • Jesus:
    • 10:37-38 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
    • Jn. 3:1-2 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
  • Jesus’ disciples:
    • Mk. 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.

Jesus and His apostles saw to it that many of these things were written down, and when they were written down there was no more need for the miracles, signs and wonders to be performed in each succeeding generation:

  • 20:30-31 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

 False/fake miracles, signs and wonders occur even today

What about those who testify to “supernatural experiences” that have supposedly happened today?

(i)  Some are simply liars.

This may sound harsh, but such lies have made by many religious people in the past:

  • g., 1Ki. 13:18 He said to him, “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'” But he lied to him.

(ii) Others might be sincere, but they are deceived.

Again, sadly, there have been many such sincere but deceived people down through the years:

  • g., 1Ki. 18:25-29 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. 27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

 

  • Rom. 10:1-2 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

The Bible is its Own Best Dictionary

Words in the Bible can have their meanings changed in society over time.

  • Therefore modern English dictionaries can sometimes wrongly define Bible words.

If you want to know what a word means in the Bible, then pull out the Bible itself and look up all the different places where that word is used! The bible is its own best dictionary.

We look at 11 bible words misunderstood today

  1. church
  2. saint
  3. priest
  4. Christian
  5. baptize
  6. minister
  7. pastor
  8. love
  9. miracle
  10. hades
  11. antichrist