Sermon Notes & Videos
2020-12-25 | Genesis 44-47 | Emotional Tug-of-War
As we move about in our everyday lives, nothing is more evident than the constant emotional tug-of-war in which we live! Life is filled with constant psychological battles, which we can choose to fight in the flesh or in the Spirit. Truthfully, none of us likes dealing with the issues that have forced such battles.
However, it is also evident that Christians today have, in many ways, been wrongly led to believe that the moment they receive Christ as Savior, life will all of the sudden become easier, such battles will become a thing of the past, money will flow in, sickness will remain at bay, and everyone will get along. And the list of Grated thoughts can grow ad nauseam! You’ve heard this type of preaching; I have too! Do such beliefs have a place in the minds of Christians living solely for the Kingdom? If so, was Peter then wrong when he said, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil?” (1 Peter 3:17) Let’s find out!
What we learn from today’s Scriptures is that instead of the zero-issue life, the battles we face don’t come about by mere happenstance. They are orchestrated by God and they should most definitely not become wasted opportunities. Let’s not pass up these opportunities, both to develop a more theologically sound way of handling such situations, and in turn, to advance God’s Kingdom.
2020-12-18 | Genesis 41-44 | New Wineskins
It would seem that in creation mankind was clothed only in the skin on his body and in that form he reflected the glory of God. Something happened when sin came into the world. He looked upon the glory of his own body, and instead of seeing the glory of God, he became afraid and attempted to cover what he now saw as “nakedness.” What took place next has great prophetic significance. God saw man’s new sense of embarrassment over his original glory and accommodated him by causing him to be covered with a “new skin”, an animal skin, a certain downgrade.
This downgrade would now plague mankind into the future and does not seem to have a complete resolution until the revealing of the sons of God, at which time “creation is restored.” Our ultimate hope is to be clothed with a restored heavenly image so we shall not be found naked, like Adam.
The theme of being clothed in either sin and shame or glory and righteousness, is something that is well-defined in the life of Joseph. And we will see the exact pattern in the life of every believer as he is sanctified from glory to glory. And putting on a new skin that reflects this glory is something that our Savior taught about in a short parable: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Time to put on your new wineskin!
2020-12-11 | Genesis 37-40 | Between Two Verses – Prepped for Power
There is no doubt in my mind that we live in one of the most important prophetic times in history. I am sure many men over the centuries have made that claim, but if I had to make my argument for the case I would say we are at the crossroads for two massive reasons. In the United States and by extension globally, because of the position the U.S. holds in the world, we have come to this great divide.
On one side we have those who will boldly proclaim that there is One God, and that He has revealed His image to us, first in Genesis when He made man and woman in His image, told them to marry and to be fruitful as a family, and then again He revealed Himself through His One and only Son.
On the other side we have bold declarations that gender is fluid, and therefore there is no definitive distinction between a man or a woman. Marriage is irrelevant and certainly, even if considered, is not reserved for the union of a man and a woman, which of course has redefined the family. And then there is the assault on being fruitful, with the mass annihilation of the unborn child. These violations add up to the very denial of His image.
This concludes with one side saying, “There is One God and He has One Son,” and the other saying, “There is no God.”
Then we have the people of God, Israel, throughout history, with a reputation of killing the prophets. When the conviction of their words reached Israel, in many cases, instead of repenting, they simply killed the messenger. Today, in the church we have done much the same. The Church was originally established on the Apostles and Prophets with Christ as the Chief Cornerstone, and yet today, the church is run by Pastors only, with almost zero Prophetic oversight. This has yielded a divided church with minimal power in the world. The Prophetic authority must come back into the church to re-establish the Separation of Powers needed for the Body of Christ to finish what we are here to do.
At present, the Supreme Court of the United States is about to make a choice whether to intervene in the 2020 presidential election or not! The Separation of Powers in our government (three branches) was modeled after the Scriptures, the King, the Priest, and the Prophet. Today in the church that would translate to the King of Kings, the Pastoral, and the Prophetic. In government, the King is the Executive Branch, the Priest is the Legislative Branch, and the Prophetic is the Judicial Branch. The Supreme Court will either fulfill its Prophetic duty or it will not. Either way, you, the church must be ready! Are you ready? Today’s teaching will help you prepare to see with prophetic eyes.
2020-12–04 | Genesis 32-36 | Spiritual Tenacity — For Those with Ears to Hear
Jacob wrestled with God all night long and when God insisted he let go, we notice a different side of the son “who dwelled in tents.” Jacob’s response was a resounding, “I WILL NOT let You go!” Yet, the Hebrew words behind the scene give us even greater insight into how violent this encounter truly was, and how tenaciously Jacob resisted. The adverb, “I will not” has a permanent and resolute quality as it modifies a verb, in this case, “let You go!” “I will not” demands absolute prohibition of “let you go.” Yes, Jacob is violent in his encounter: forceful, ferocious, intense, potent, and furious; and Jacob is tenacious in his engagement: locked-on, relentless, fixated, resolute, and steadfast!
What does this mean for us? Spiritual tenacity and violence require a well-developed sense of who God is, plus an unadulterated understanding of who you are to God. Yahweh is steadfast, never lies, and is, of course, infinitely capable of doing what He promised. We are the wild cards in the relationship. If we fail to recognize who we are to Him, it is easy to get swept away in a flood of anxieties, doubts, and Spiritual Amnesia. Yahweh will certainly do His part; will you do yours? Y’shua taught us, “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
If you want on the team, it’s going to take some violent and tenacious wrestling with God. To do so, you must invest as much time as it takes to know God intimately, and spend equal time learning who you are to Him! I promise, accomplish these and you will never stumble! “Therefore, brethren, [as a team member] be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” II Peter 1:10 NKJV
2020-11-27 | Genesis 28-32 | A Nation Divided
Each week as I explore the portion of scripture we will be studying, I wait on the Lord to highlight something to me. Sometimes it’s something big right there in the text; and sometimes it’s an idea that just jumps off the pages. You know, the Word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than a two edged sword, and it pierces us right down to the core. This week I saw the great controversy that emerged when Jacob fell in love with Rachel, but was forced to marry Leah first. “That’s how we do things around here,” Laban insisted.
This launched Jacob into the midst of a baby war. What jumped off the pages was that Leah birthed the line that became the priesthood and the Messiah, and Rachel birthed the line of Joseph who saved Israel from extinction and seems to be the representation of the Church. History has recorded the great schism as Israel became a divided nation after King Solomon’s death, and later both kingdoms were exiled for disobedience! Benjamin, Rachel’s second son and Jacob’s twelfth, became the only tribe to land in both kingdoms during the exiles! And Paul, the Jewish Apostle to the Gentiles, was from the line of Benjamin. Wow! Jews and Gentiles uniting as “One New Man!” Y’shua taught us that a kingdom divided cannot stand, so today, as we live in a divided nation, never before has unity of the faith been more crucial.
2020-11-20 | Genesis 25-28 | The Impetuous Seed
Impetuous: impulsive, rash, hasty, reckless, heedless, foolhardy, imprudent, injudicious, ill-conceived, ill-considered, unplanned, unreasoned, unthought-out, unthinking, precipitate, precipitous, headlong, hurried, rushed. Anything but a cautious and sober-minded decision. For years I have taught my children, “Stop…think before you do anything.” At one point I had rubber bracelets made with these words on them: “What would dad think?” I’m not joking; I forced my children to wear them.
How many times have you wished you could stuff your words back into your mouth? As they leave your lips you’re thinking, “please no!” I am sure Esau felt that way the moment after his belly was full. “Sure, take my entire inheritance for a bowl of soup.” No more impetuous words were ever spoken. Let’s take a trip through the Bible and find the many instances when man spoke too soon, without thinking, sometimes extensively. It never works out well. We will land in the modern day and see how this is playing out in our world, even now.