The momentous happenings surrounding the Day of Pentecost picture and fulfill many events in the master plan of God.
Along with the promise of God giving His Holy Spirit to those called to be in the first resurrection as firstfruits, we understand that this is just the beginning, and God’s plan–the good news of salvation–will eventually include the reconciling of the entire world!
God’s people need God’s help, today, in these very troubling times. And that help is available to those who diligently seek it. Jesus told the apostles just prior to His return to the Father to assume His position there at the right hand of the Almighty, having completed His purpose at that time here on the earth, that they would “receive power” when the Holy Spirit had come upon them.
The help of that Power is available to the people of God today, who diligently seek it!
When Satan rebelled against God, he did not believe that he had to be obedient to God. He thought he did not need God and could live without him. He influenced Adam and Eve to think the same way. The human societies which were built were all founded on the concept that we don’t need God to tell us how to live. Man created selfish societies, and became products of the same. Christ came to offer man solutions to their problems, but man did not accept Him. People were motivated by their own selfish pursuits and did not want to give them up. When God called us out of this present evil world, He showed us how to get rid of selfishness. We are to overcome selfishness, if we want to be in God’s Kingdom.
According to the warning from Jesus Christ, the end of this age finds parallels in the age just before the Flood. We need to understand what the Bible relates about the Flood and find the application to our own lives and to our own time and to the future our generation will surely face.
The trials through which we suffer benefit us in many ways. Scripture tells us we learn from trials, patience and endurance, humility and obedience, thankfulness, and that these trials help us to draw closer to God as we strive to the perfection God desires to see within us. God tells us these trials will do us good in the end!
How should we approach the trials we daily encounter? God gives to us understanding in His Word as to what our approach should be!
Seven points are outlined in this sermon for dealing with trials as they come our way!
When reviewing the subject of alcohol in the way it is treated in the Bible, we should be able to see some important lessons from the Biblical teaching. We will note that alcohol is not bad, per se, and that it is actually a blessing for the society and the individual, if consumed properly and in moderation. However, alcohol abuse will lead to terrible curses. Alcohol is a gift from God, to be used in moderation and with respect. It is not to control our lives, and we are not to become addicted to it. Alcohol abuse can also be compared with spiritual abuse, as in both cases, the abuser loses clear vision.Play Video
When there is a change in government–when a new leader takes the place of the former leader–there is usually a period of time between election and inauguration during which administrators are chosen to help govern. In a similar way, Jesus Christ has qualified to replace the ruler of this world along with its current administrators–Satan and his demonic forces.
Those whom God calls to be in the first resurrection are offered roles in the Kingdom of God as rulers under Jesus Christ. We must learn to subject ourselves, now, to God’s will as Jesus Christ continually administers the Church of God in preparation for the fulfillment of God’s vast master plan for His enduring Kingdom.
Having come through the Days of Unleavened Bread for another year, do we fully understand how we are to come out of sin? Is it something you even need to worry about since you are a baptized member of the Church and have God’s Holy Spirit within you? If you need to be concerned, how do you approach the problem?
Belief is a powerful motivator, but it is not complete by itself even when someone believes what is true. Unbelief, that is, not believing whether true or not, epitomizes someone who is right in his own eyes. One of the lessons we should apply from observing the Days of Unleavened Bread concerns whether or not we believe God. Israel of old, in spite of God’s miraculous intervention on their behalf, did not believe God, and those adults who were delivered out of bondage failed to enter the promised land because of their unbelief.
Moses had died. God had not used Moses to bring the people into the Promised Land. Rather, a new leader — Joshua — was sanctified by God to do so. The fall of Jericho has great prophetic and symbolic meaning for us today. Jericho fell on the last day of unleavened bread, after the Israelites had been “baptized” in the river Jordan, had been circumcised, had eaten the Passover, and had circled the city of Jericho for seven days — beginning with the first day of unleavened bread. The fall of Jericho and the conquest of the Promised Land do not just stand for coming out of sin, but they also include entering into God’s righteousness. The events surrounding Jericho’s fall also show God’s warning to this world for 6,000 years, and they symbolize the destruction of this present civilization — modern “Babylon” — and the beginning of the Millennium.
