Sermon Notes & Videos
2021-01-29 | Exodus 13-17 | The Sin that Leads to Death
We are called to love and pray for our enemies—a high calling indeed. But, are we called to do the same for Yahweh’s enemies? I think the answer is certain; we are not to pray FOR them but ABOUT them! But, what about them?
There is no doubt that the line a man crosses to the place of no return is difficult to understand, but let there be NO DOUBT that such a line exists. In the Old Testament the line was demarcated with a public voluntary commitment to worship Yahweh and crossed when returning to worship other gods, yet insisting that it was okay to do so, and having total peace about it. Joshua called it a “witness against yourself.” I don’t believe this included ignorance or accidents or self-deception. It seems to be a moment of knowing and yet still purposely doing so. In the New Testament it is simply referred to as blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, or grieving the Holy Spirit, or the sin that leads to death for which no amount of prayer can remedy.
God calls these line-crossers wicked; they hate Him and have become His enemies. As such, let us agree that all sorts of curses and destruction are coming upon these enemies of His. And we need not identify those who today hold this dreadful title because they are perfectly capable of identifying themselves. They arrogantly raise their hands and openly declare, “Pick me, pick me, pick me!” They place their hand upon God’s Holy Writ and make promises while they aspire to evil and boldly stand for beliefs and practices which Yahweh calls abominations. They openly declare by their proclamations and actions that “There is no God!” Yes, they arrogantly live lives filled with sin that leads to death. Yes, we must pray, not for THEM, but instead ABOUT them. It’s a simple prayer. Father, please show the world Your vengeance against those who hate You!
2021–01-22 | Exodus 10-13 | Darkness You Can Feel
Each week the Scriptures challenge us with something new. No other book can affect us like that; literally, you can read the same old words and be impacted in a brand new way. The Word is living and active and sharper than a two edged sword! This week as I read through the final three plagues before the exodus, these words gripped me; “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” It was a blackness so black that the people could feel its weight on their skin and they could see absolutely nothing. It was a complete absence of light.
It stirred something as I contemplated the appropriate title for such a teaching: Unimaginable Darkness, Total Blackness, and Darkness Within. Finally, I simply settled on these terrifying words: “Darkness You Can Feel”. There was no light in Egypt. Can you imagine such total darkness that you could literally feel it? That was Egypt’s final step before complete devastation. But there was light over the children of Israel in Goshen and their deliverance was near. Today, I sense that a total darkness is near in all the “Egypts” in the world. And once again God’s people will see the deliverance of the
Lord.
2021-01-15 | Exodus 6-9 | Fire, Worms & Warring Angels
The ancient battle rages on. There have been many playwrights and players along the way, but the storyline is always the same. Men would rather be worshiped as gods than worship God. Whether it was Pharaoh, king of Egypt, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go (Exodus 5:2),” or, Herod [Agrippa I], king of Judea, “And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man (Acts 12:22)!””man has long fought to steal the honor due only to Yahweh.
The outcome is never good. Men who arrogantly receive the accolades reserved for God alone always meet with a dreadful fate. Fire, worms and warring angels, among other horrible outcomes await all who challenge Yahweh’s ultimate authority. And it’s sad to say, but right now we are witnessing the same obstinance by world leaders. Strap in, “Look among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded! For Yahweh will work a work in our days which you would not believe, though it were told you.” Habakkuk 1:5
2021-01-08 | Exodus 1-5 | Fear God or Fear Man
We are living in a time in which governments are behaving more and more as if they are God. In truth, if we pay close attention, we can see that they continually devise ways, like in the days of old, when kings and magistrates DEMANDED worship. By force, either by written or oral decree, kings would require allegiance to themselves, instead of the God in whom the people believed, the God in whom they preferred to serve and worship. While we are yet to see such ultimatums, “Worship the king or die!” the time may not be too far off. Many indicators point to a day quickly approaching when believers will be forced to privatize their worship in order to exercise any worship at all. May it always be said of us, those who identify as the children of the one and only Most High God, that we would fear God instead of man!
We have already witnessed business owners being persecuted and sued, and some businesses caused to shut down, for not providing services they deem to violate their closely held religious convictions. Legal battles have ensued over religious liberties between establishments and the government. Secular authorities’ attempt to impose cooperation with same-sex unions and late-term abortions. And this year, under the guise of pandemic restrictions, they have even forced the closure of Churches throughout the nation. The list of issues against the believer is long and growing every day.
It’s time to take the gloves off! Who do you Fear; do you Fear God or do you fear man? Ultimately, government bureaucrats are pushing to create a godless society at the behest of a sin-riddled world. We are living in a postmodern, pluralistic society in which people are being indoctrinated to believe there is no ultimate source of truth. As such, there is no ultimate source of morality, and at the very core, they’d like you to believe that we owe allegiance for who we are and to what we can aspire, to their very rulership. I don’t know about you, but I can’t vote for that!
2021-01-01 | Genesis 47-50 | Ambassadors with Swords in Chains
Here we are, facing our greatest enemy. We could be standing in the garden with Y’shua on the night of His betrayal, or standing with Moses at the edge of the sea on the night of our deliverance from Egypt. “Draw the sword and fight or stand still and see the deliverance of Yahweh?” that is the question. Look around you this very day. Do you feel the danger; do you feel your enemies pressing in against you? Do you feel the need to prepare, to ready for the fight, the need to defend yourself and your family against the tyranny? We are poised at the precipice of a PROPHETIC MOMENT in history. What is the Lord asking us to do? Should we “cut off the ear of our foe” or “be still”?
Today we explore the final chapters in the life of Joseph, a man who had many opportunities to raise the sword against his enemies. What can we learn from his life? What can we learn from the heart of the man who said to his adversaries (may I paraphrase?), “I’m Joseph, do not be afraid; it’s all good. I’m not God and He had a plan all along to use my chains as a means to become an ambassador to the most powerful nation on earth. And He did it all so He could save you! So no, I have no sword to lift against you; now stand still and see the deliverance of the Lord!”
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.