Tag Archives: Following Jesus

A Left Handed Assassin And A Man With A Pointy Stick

Posted on March 7, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

Last week we looked at the first Judge of Israel, Othniel. Othniel was a representative of the Tribe of Judah, and a man who was filled with faith for the Lord. As we turn to Judges 3:12-13, we’re going to see that Israel was obedient to God as long as Othniel ruled. Once he died, we see there is no godly leadership. Without godly leadership, Israel once more drifts away from the Lord. We read:

Judges 3:12-13 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

The Devil Destroys By Demolishing Divine Design

With all the weirdness and “wokeness” in America today – the Black Lives Matter movement, the Radical Left, the LGBTQ2S+ movements, the “Use My Preferred Pronoun” madness, the Radical Feminism and push for Abortion, the Transgender Modification of young children, and on and on – you might wonder what in the world is happening to our country. What is happening is that Satan has mounted an all out offensive against the Divine Design of Civilization. Satan is attacking the FAMILY…. Continue reading →

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What Are You Looking For?

Posted on February 17, 2023 by bibleteacherorg

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Bible talks a lot about the glory of God. John saw the glory of God. The glory of God is the love of God. God loves us so much, that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”. God became Man – Perfect Man – so He could save us from our sins.

Kids Illustration: You might wonder what “sin” is. Sin is something that our God says NOT to do. Sin is an act that shows you don’t love God and don’t love others. Blow up a red balloon & draw a smiley face on it. Jesus came to this earth to teach us that sin is bad, and that God doesn’t want us to sin because it is bad. Sin hurts us. It pushes us away from God. Sin hurts our families. Pull a pin from the Cross, & pop a balloon. Sin is like this pin. It’s never good. But Jesus came to show us what God thinks about sin, and about us.

When Did We First See “The Word Become Flesh?”

When John the Baptist – the Herald of Jesus (we studied him last week) first announced Jesus to the world, what did he say and where did he say it? Read with me:… Continue reading →

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Is Your Salvation FORGED By God Or a FORGERY Of Religion?

Posted on October 30, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter eight. The message God put on my heart for you is:

Is Your Salvation FORGED By God, Or A FORGERY?

Opening: That may seem like a strange question, but I think its a very important question you MUST ask yourself before you leave this room. God doesn’t want you guessing about your salvation. We are told in 1 John 5:13, “These things (the Scripture) I have written to you, that you may KNOW you have eternal life”. God wants you to KNOW that you are saved. Not just religious, but saved.

“What’s the difference?”, you ask. I’m glad you asked!

Illustrate: The other day I went to Ollies – a local discount store – because they sent me a 15% off coupon for a complete purchase. You know me – I love free or discounted. I had bought a non-stick copper pan that was supposed to last forever from Ollies. “Forever” is about 3 years. Having received this discount I headed toward Ollies. Finding the newest “you can never scratch it, even if you throw it in a volcano” frying pan, I headed toward the checkout with my coupon and pan. I got in the shorter line.

Thank goodness, because “Religion” was in the longer line.

Religion is the devil’s tool. Religion has little to no love for God, and certainly loves only its follower. Religion attacked Jesus when He walked this earth. Religion persecuted the early Church. Religion crucified, stoned, and beheaded the Apostles. Religion boiled the Apostle John in oil. I can always spot religion.
Religion loves rituals, not relationships.

Religion is two people arguing in Ollies – not about salvation through Jesus – but on whether you should worship God on Saturday or Sunday. One believed you worship God only on Saturday. The other, on Sunday. Me, I think EVERYDAY!

As these two argued, I never – NEVER – heard them mention the name of Jesus, the Cross, or the empty Tomb. Let me talk for just a minute about the “Sabbath”, the seventh day of the week. Beloved, the שַׁבָּת Shabbâth, {pronounced. Shab-bawth} was NEVER given to the Gentiles, but to the Old Covenant Jew. Israel under the Old Covenant was commanded to have a WEEKLY Shabbâth (Exodus 20:8-9), a SPECIAL Shabbâth during the ceremonial feasts (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23; Numbers 28:18, 25-26;… Continue reading →

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Live Like You Are Beloved

Posted on September 20, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

I have always resisted the easy believism preaching of “God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life”.

This type of preaching became popular in the later 20th century church, and often pops up in the current culture as well. I do believe that “God loves you”. But I’m not sure how “wonderful” the plan for your life is, as “wonderful” means “to inspire delight, pleasure or admiration”.

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. But we live in a fallen world absolutely opposed to the Biblical Jesus. If you live for Jesus, expect – at best – discomfort!

That’s what 1 Peter chapter 4 focuses on: S-U-F-F-E-R-I-N-G! I have talked with other Pastors who tell me they’d rather focus on the love of God and future Heaven, than they would on the darkness of this world. But Beloved, we live in a dark world. Not too long ago Canadian Authorities chased two brothers Damien and Miles Sanderson who killed at least ten (10) people, and wounded eighteen (18) more with knives. Why did they do this? Because we live in a fallen world.

Every dark and evil thing in our world today can be traced to sin. It is sin that separates us from God. It is sin that drags people down…. Continue reading →

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Saved, You Will Be Sanctified

Posted on July 26, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

Whereas the Apostle Paul was used by God to talk about salvation, James is used of God to talk about sanctification. What are the differences between the two?
Salvation Is What Jesus Does FOR Us
Sanctification Is What God The Holy Spirit Does TO Us

We are saved by faith in Christ. Receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit into our lives. The Holy Spirit causes us to be “born again” as new creatures in Christ. The Holy Spirit causes us to be adopted into the Family of God. The Holy Spirit stays with us, guiding us into daily being more like Jesus. … Continue reading →

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The Church We Strive To Be

Posted on May 27, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

The three names “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus” are the Roman forms of the names for Saul of Tarsus (see Acts 13:9), Silas (see Acts 15:22,27,32; 1 Pet. 5:12), and Timothy (see Acts 16:1-3). The Church at Thessaloniki is located in an area that is predominantly Gentile in its culture. When Saul took on the name of “Paul”, he abandoned his Jewish privileges in order to reach out to the Gentiles in the name of Jesus. The name “Paul” in the Greek actually means “a little one”. The Apostle Paul did great things for Jesus because he minimized himself, but maximized serving the Lord. Paul was “little”, not “big” headed. Paul wrote of himself in humility, saying …

1 Corinthians 15:9 … I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Paul the Apostle not only minimized his office as Apostle, but also wrote:

Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Though Paul considered himself a “saint” (the Greek ἅγιος hagios, which means “a person set apart for God’s use”), he considered himself to be “less than the least” of all the Saints. On the other hand, when Paul considered his brokenness as a sinner, he wrote:

1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Paul did not see himself as someone “special”, but as a terribly broken person. His acceptance of his brokenness made it possible for God to use him in a mighty way. When we humble ourselves, Jesus can do great things for us. As the Apostle addresses the Church at Thessaloniki he says:… Continue reading →

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Baptist Distinctives #3: Jesus Is God Our Brother

Posted on January 20, 2022 by bibleteacherorg

During our “Snow Day” last Sunday, I listened to an online preacher talking about the Dangers of Idolatry. It was a very interesting sermon/ teaching, and very much enjoyed it. In the sermon the minister noted that “everybody worships something”, and that when God took His people out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership, one of the first requirements that God gave His people was:

Exodus 20:2-3 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

God identified Himself as Israel’s Savior, and Israel as a people saved. God commanded that His people have no other gods before the God Who saved them. God identifies Himself frequently throughout the Scripture, using the same terminology He uses in Exodus 20:2 ..

Deuteronomy 5:6 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt …

Psalm 81:10 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt …

Isaiah 43:3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior: I gave Egypt for thy ransom …

Hosea 13:4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no savior beside me.

God identifies Himself as Israel’s Savior.
God identifies Himself as OUR Savior.

When we make an idol of anything, if we worship anything or anyone outside of the God of the Scripture, we demean God our Savior. It is God Who saves us, and not we ourselves. When the commercials today say “Keep on doing YOU”, they are bidding us to follow idols. … Continue reading →

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