Sermons

“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe to do it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” God is very specific in His instructions to us so that we would worship Him in a way that is pleasing to Him. The world has other ideas about worshiping God, ways that are contrary to God’s instructions. Learn in this sermon how the doctrines in Hebrews actually outline and parallel the Holy Days that God commanded in the O.T., further explaining their meaning for us today.

Did Paul teach that we don’t have to keep the law? Not at all! This first in a two-part study of Romans and Galatians will show that the point he was trying to put across was that keeping the law does not justify us–does not make us righteous. There is still the death penalty, and only God can provide the means to remove that penalty. Man cannot make himself righteous.

God is looking for a people who are willing to CHOOSE to live by His laws and REFUSE to go the way of this world! We are to learn from the past, but not dwell on it. God is judging us for how we live now, with a focus on our future. We are called to be DOERS! We are to be INVOLVED in the fulfillment of His purpose. This sermon will help you understand God’s purpose and what it is we are called to do.

Why is sin so bad? God’s laws are living laws–they produce results no matter what we do. If we please God, He blesses us. If we do wrong, we cause harm to ourselves and others. We truly reap what we sow–either good or bad. The Bible gives many specific examples of how wrong actions actually return to the sinner in the same manner as was intended for someone else.

It is not God’s intent to destroy His people, but He deals with them as is necessary so as to bring about repentance. Israel would not repent and faced serious punishment unless they did. God urged Israel to seek Him spiritually, individually, with a repentant heart and a changed attitude. What about us? Do we sincerely seek God in this way?

Why did God allow Satan to try Job? Because Job was so righteous in his own eyes that he thought he should not suffer trials. He focused on what he had done according to the law and failed to see the intent in his own heart. God says that there is no one who who doesn’t sin. God had to bring Job to repent of his self-righteousness so that he could eventually be in the Kingdom. God also works with us through various trials so that we can learn the lessons that we need to learn in order to be in His Kingdom.

After Christ died and was resurrected, He still had to be accepted by the Father, as represented by the Wave Sheaf Offering. He was the FIRST of the firstfruits. In Ancient Israel, the firstfruits of the early harvest were given to the Levites–the priesthood. We who are spriritual Israel today–spiritual firstfruits–BELONG to Christ. God intends that we make use of His gifts to us–His Word and His Spirit–to make changes in our life. What changes? Putting sin OUT! God is in the process of enlarging His family, and He will not allow sin to come before Him!

Job was “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” Why, then, did he suffer such affliction? While Job’s friends groped for answers to this question, Job sought only to justify his own righteousness. He had, in fact, become proud of his righteousness, but failed to see that that was his problem.

The people of ancient Israel (descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob) were a people who were chosen by God for a special purpose. However, they turned against God, becoming self-centered, covetous, and inflicting social injustice. Amos brought a warning message from God about their impending punishment if they didn’t repent and change their ways. There is a parallel lesson for true Christians today, who are called “the Israel of God.” Judgment is now on us and we must repent and to turn to Him before it is too late.

Sin is like a drug–it never satisfies–and its grip on us is totally destructive. Sin destroys the will–the mental faculty by which the mind makes choices and then carries out the choice. We can become hardened and calloused to the fact that we are even sinning. But God has called us to RULE OVER SIN. Just how can we do that? This sermon will help you understand the nature of sin and how to put it out of your physical life, indeed, for the sake of your eternal life.

God used Amos to warn Israel of the error of their ways. They had become wealthy and prosperous but instead of setting the right example for the nations around them so that they, in turn, might learn about God’s way, Israel had became corrupt and idolatrous, mixing truth with error. This book could just as well have been written to the end-time churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea.

Jesus Christ, as a human being, was sinless. He died so that OUR sins would be forgiven and so that we would be reconciled to God. Why was this necessary? What does His sacrifice mean to you? This message will deepen your understanding and your appreciation of the mercy God extends to us through the sacrifice of His Son.

What value can be placed on human life? How can you determine what your life is worth? Your true worth can only be measured by God’s value system–the way of give–not by Satan’s system–the way of get. Examine yourself against the example of Christ to see how you can add value to your performance in this life.

Do we, like Jonah, profess to fear God, then turn and run away from our responsibility to Him and refuse to do His will? Or are we willing to do the job God gives us to do? Many important lessons can be drawn from this interesting study of Jonah.

The entire physical world we see is patterned after the spirit world we don’t see. In fact, humans were created in the very image and likeness of God the Father and Jesus Christ. And though we see suffering in the world, there will come a time when there will be no more sorrow, no more crying, no more death–when God creates a new heaven and a new earth. Just WHEN and HOW that will happen is very well explained in this message.

The predominant attitude of the end-time church is described as Laodicean. What does this mean? Could you have the heart of a Laodicean? Before you answer, learn from this sermon what God defines as Laodicean, then consider where you stand–hot, cold, or lukewarm.