Sermons

Basing our belief in the Bible, we must know that what we believe is correct. The return of Jesus Christ serves as a case in point for us to consider. Up to this period some incorrect assumptions have led to unfulfilled expectations. Three areas are explored to answer how we have the beliefs we now hold: by deception and disobedience; by revelation from God; and, by obedience to God. The Bible plainly shows that the return of Jesus Christ is a foremost theme of God’s prophetic revelation. Christians must not become disheartened, because we have been warned that many both have and will stumble over the timing of Christ’s return. Our instruction is to remain faithful to the end.

Can we ever reach perfection in this life? Is there a time when we can say, “Now I am perfect”? Is perfection static, or is it a process?

Does it matter whether or not we strive for perfection? If it is true that we can never become perfect in this human flesh, why should we even try?

Does God command us to be perfect? If He does, does He command us to do something that He knows is impossible for us to achieve?

The Feast of Firstfruits is one of the most important days in the overall Plan of God. God gave His Truth to Israel and established the Old Testament Church on the day of Pentecost while in the process of leading them (in that first year of the Exodus) out of the land of Egypt. And on the first Pentecost after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection from the dead, after having been accepted by the Father as the First of the Firstfruits, God sent His Spirit as a help to those He would call in this lifetime, upon repentance of their past sins, baptism, and the laying on of hands by His ordained Ministry.

If those called of God are successful in their calling, remaining true to God and His established Way of life, they will be among those referred to as the Firstfruits of the Lord, Jesus Christ being the First of the Firstfruits.

The day of Pentecost pictures these Firstfruits of the Lord. Pentecost can be viewed as their day!

Christians need to understand how well they are living their lives. A question to explore this is, “Am I truly living in the WAY of righteousness?” Jesus Christ revealed a pattern of living. In fact, this lifestyle early on became known as a “way” of living, and its adherents were easily recognized in contrast to the worldly way of living. Furthermore, it takes God’s help through His Holy Spirit and by that gift we may actually have the mind of Christ in us. We can have great assurance in all of this, because both the Father and Jesus know to whom the Spirit is given, and they know who is practicing righteousness.

On the Day of Pentecost, God gave His Spirit to the New Testament Church. God sent His Spirit with a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. It is therefore no surprise that God describes His Holy Spirit many times as a Spirit of Power. This is so, as God is identified with Power. God wants to share His power with us. To a limited extent, God’s powers are already available to us today. We need to prove to God, in the way in which we use those powers today, that we will never abuse God’s limitless power in the future.

God is concerned for those He has called into His Truth – His Way of Life. He tells us we are to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Truth. David illustrates that Truth belongs to God. Yet, God sends forth His mercy and His Truth. We who have been called into this Way of Truth are to abide in God’s Truth.

No man can come to Christ and God’s Way unless the Father calls Him. Yet, today, God is not calling all men to His Way. But God is not a respecter of persons, and every person who has ever lived or who will live in the future will have his opportunity to eternal life by receiving God’s Truth. God will, however, deal with each person based upon His time schedule (1 Cor 15:23).

When we in the Church of God think in terms of “The Truth”, we have in mind God’s “Way of Life.” This Way is discussed in God’s Word, “The Holy Bible”! While the Bible does speak of truth in the more conventional terminology; 1) whether or not facts given are true or false, and 2) the truth as an attribute of one’s character, we generally think in terms of the more frequent usage of the terminology used in the Bible, “the Truth” as it relates to the very Character of God and of His Way of Life.

The Bible warns against false worship over and over again. Christians need to be certain that their worship is true and acceptable. Who we worship is very critical matter. Examples of worship in the lives of Abraham, David and Jesus Christ show the tremendous rewards of true worship. The Bible also speaks of grave and fateful warnings of a coming time of enforced false worship. We are to prepare now by making certain that our worship is true, and we are to teach and warn others of these things. Regardless of what we face, we must worship God.

Christ taught us to pray: “Your Will Be Done, On Earth, As It Is In Heaven.” In order to ask God in a meaningful way that His will be done on earth – -and especially in our lives, we have to meet certain requirements. Otherwise, we cannot expect an answer to our prayers. These requirements include knowing and understanding God’s will, agreeing with it and desiring to do it, and, receiving God’s strength to do it. When we submit to God, He will see to it that His Will is done.

The modern descendants of the house of Israel will suffer devastating punishment and national captivity for their sins prior to the return of Jesus Christ. The Bible contains very specific conditions for blessings from God as well as His warning of severe punishment for disobedience. In spite of warnings from God, the history of Judah and Israel was that they ignored the message of the prophets who were sent to them. Along with preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, a warning of punishment is to be given in our generation–both to Israel and to the nations of this world.

The so-called Christian world is deceived and confused regarding God’s gift (that of eternal life which is offered independent of works), and our reward, which is dependent on works. It is important how we live based on what we know — how well we perform.

Our reward has to do with rulership. We will be able to beautify life — to guide and to help others to live a peaceful and happy life, in accordance with God’s way. Ruling others means, helping them to live God’s way of life. We must develop the desire to do so today.

In times of trials, we must look beyond the present and focus on the future, as to how we can serve others on a great scale.

The really good news for each of us is that the struggle to keep sin out of our lives will have an end. In the Biblical account of Abraham and his descendants, we find both good and bad examples of those who sought to answer God’s calling. The lesson is one that transcends mere physical blessings of this life. The true promised land is the Kingdom of God–the end of our struggle and our final victory over sin.

A battle is going on — at least, it should be going on — in the mind of every converted Christian. It is very important to realize that our human carnal mind was hostile toward God before our conversion, largely due to Satan’s influence. Even after conversion, Satan will try to continue to bombard us with his evil thoughts. We must therefore refuse to permit evil thoughts to settle in our minds and our hearts. Instead, we must replace them with right thoughts. God’s Word, Faith and the Understanding that God knows every thought that we might think, can help us to win the battle of our minds.

God has called us to be involved in the fulfillment of His great purpose. We must be sure we understand that purpose and what we are to do to have a part in it.

How important are God’s Truths? How important is His Law, His Statutes, His Judgments? How important are the days He has established as Holy? The Scriptures tell us that our “eternal lives” depend on how we relate to these Truths!

The importance of self examination going into the days of unleavened bread to see how we are doing when compared to an employees performance review done annually by ones employer.

While the Church of God celebrates Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, the world, including Orthodox Christianity, celebrates Easter — that is, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and, in some countries, Easter Monday. Why do they do it, and why don’t we? Does it make any difference? This sermon will show that it makes a world of a difference. It is so important that we can safely say that it is a matter of life and death. It is a matter of accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. It is a matter of receiving forgiveness of sins, or of still living in sin, being cut off from God. If we believe in the Good Friday crucifixion and the Easter Sunday resurrection, we are rejecting the only sign that Christ gave to the people of His time that He was the Messiah — namely, that He would be for three days and three nights dead in the grave, and that He would afterwards raise from the dead.

The commonly held definition of the word “saint” as generally used in both secular and religious settings is different than that of the Bible. The Bible reveals that “saints” is a designation to the company of God’s people and applies to ALL believers–that is, to all who live holy lives based on God’s calling and selection. As used in the Bible, the term saint or saints conveys righteousness or goodness as illustrated by godly and holy character along with consecration (being set apart by God as His own). Furthermore, along with the remarkable opportunity to be called at this time, Christians, who the Bible also describes as saints, bear a great responsibility and accountability to God.

Today, let us examine Biblical principles showing us HOW to keep God’s weekly and annual Holy Days. They are Feast days, to be kept holy. Our inward and outward appearance, especially while we are attending services, should reflect the holiness of those feast days. We should realize that God the Father, Jesus Christ and the holy angels are watching us, and that we are appearing before the God and Creator of the universe — a great King of splendor, beauty and quality. We are to dress up and we are to pay attention to what is being taught. We also need to prepare for the commanded eight-day-attendance of the Feast of Tabernacles, by carefully setting aside our Second Tithe for this purpose.

A cycling super star who confronted, and beat cancer in the 1990’s made a simple but very profound and incisive statement that “Pain is Temporary but Quitting Lasts Forever”. This truly sums up the way of life that we’ve been called to. We can, and we all do get temporarily discouraged at times but we are not alone in this and the Christian way of life is a calling and a full time career – and if we permanently forsake it then we have, in effect, quit forever.