Revelation (Program #7) – The Local Churches

The practical revelation of the churches on the earth is a very crucial matter.  It’s a matter of the churches practically as they are expressed and seen on the earth, not the universal church globally. It’s interesting that this revelation follows in chapter 1, very closely with the matter of the Lord’s coming again. Is this coincidental or is there a purpose?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Genesis (Program #50) – Living by Faith (1)

This one should be very instructive and helpful to anyone desiring to live by faith.  We’ve seen before that we really need to look at Abraham, Isaac and Jacob collectively if we are going to get a full picture of God’s calling.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Revelation (Program #6) – Joint Partaker In the Tribulation Kingdom and Endurance Jesus

Revelation is a book that shows us the Coming of the Lord Jesus. As no other book in the Bible, it’s mentioned in the very first chapter in verse 7, “Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him…” This verse is the subject of untold Bible studies. But just two verses later, is a verse that is often overshadowed by verse 7, yet it’s a verse that we should surely not miss if we are those who really love His Coming.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Genesis (Program #49) – The Progress in Answering God’s Calling

Our life study today is dealing with progress in answering God’s calling.  A central item in God’s call to Abraham was the necessity for him to cross a river.   What does this mean?  The explanation should take into account both literal and the spiritual significance of this.  Literally, Abraham had to cross a great river in order to go from one realm, the land of Chaldea into the realm, the good land into which God was calling him.  Spiritually speaking, this points to the reality of the experience of baptism.   Elsewhere in the Scriptures, when God’s people were to go from one realm to another, they pass through water.   Noah passed through water to get into the realm of God’s new creation.  The children of Israel passed through the water of the Red Sea and again through the water of the Jordan.  All of these may be understood and rightly as types of baptism.  When God calls us, we began in an old fallen realm.  God wants to bring us out of that realm into a realm where Christ is everything to us.  In order to make this transition by the Lord’s grace, we need so to speak to cross a river.  We need to pass through water which spiritually signifies death and resurrection.  So in summary, Abraham’s crossing the river indicates our need to go through death and resurrection in Christ signified by baptism in order to be transferred out of the realm of old creation into the realm of God’s new creation…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Revelation (Program #5) – The Coming Again of Christ

Nearly all Christians agree that the Bible reveals Christ is coming to earth again. The Book of Revelation particularly focuses on this point. But beyond this, there is much disagreement, much confusion on the matter. It seems to be contradictory in certain places in Scripture.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Genesis (Program #48) – The Motive and Strength of Being Called

Today we are going to look at the God of glory appearing to Abraham.   When you consider Abraham’s entire life, when you look at him in his entire history.  You’re looking at a person just like us.  He is called the father of faith.  There seems to be quite an impression from the Word that he is really a person of faith.  But when you look at the details of his living, he was a person just like us and actually very unbelieving.  If it weren’t for the appearing of God, he would just be in his unbelief.  But the very appearing of God infused him to the uttermost.   In principle, I would say, what kind of person was he?  He was really like a kind of unbeliever; the Lord would say something, he would say yes but then actually he just live out the opposite.  Really what was required, what was needed for God, the God of glory to appear to him over and over and over again and it’s just like us.  I am so grateful that the Lord came to me again and again and again so that we can be infused with Him as the unique faith in this universe.  Abraham is called the father of faith but actually he did not have one drop of faith.  All of his faith came from the appearing of the God of glory, infusing him with Himself as the very believing element.  This is the kind of person he was, apart from the God of glory, he had no faith.  He was not a believing person.  But Hallelujah, the God of glory appear to him over and over and over again, so he has been infused with this dear person as the very believing element.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Revelation (Program #4) – The Triune God In Revelation

Of all the books in the Bible, Revelation is quite unique in the way that it reveals things.  John told us himself that this is a book of signs.  But these signs often convey not just the future events of prophecy, but the basic items of the faith as well. Among the basic and fundamental signs it gives us, is to show God to us in His Trinity.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Genesis (Program #47) – The Background and Origin of God’s Calling and the Experience of the Called Ones

Genesis is broken into three sections and now we are just beginning to get into the third section, a very encouraging section that deal with God’s calling.

Although Genesis is a rather lengthy book, it is divided into 3 main sections.   The first concerns God’s creation.   The second deals with Satan’s corruption and his leading man into a corrupted state.  The third concerns God’s coming in to save man through His calling and His all-sufficient grace.  God’s creation deals not only with the original creation but as we have pointed out in several earlier messages, God’s re-creation and further creation climaxing in mankind created in God’s image.

The second section concerns Satan’s activity mainly behind the scene to lead man further and further into the fall in at least 4 stages.  Man fell in Genesis 3 away from God by disobeying Him.   Man fell again in Genesis 4 by turning away from God’s ordain means of salvation.  In Genesis 6, man fell unto the flesh and became polluted and then even after the flood and the institution of human government, man continue to fall and the whole human race rose up in defiant rebellion against God.  At that point, God no longer dealt directly with humanity as a whole but determine to work along another line by calling out a new people, a new race for Himself…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Revelation (Program #3) – The Testimony of Jesus Particular and Consummate

Revelation is a book that shows us many things in many unique ways and among the focal points of this book surprisingly is the churches of God.  Notice the term “churches” and not just the more generic term “church”.  What did these churches look like in Revelation.  What they look like is our subject today.   As we consider the 7 golden lampstands among other things in the book of Revelation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Genesis (Program #46) – The Significance of God’s Calling

Our life study today is dealing with the significance of God’s calling.

For our introduction today, we will say something about the relationship between the great figures of the Old Testament in the accomplishment of God’s purpose.  God had a fresh start with Noah in chapter 9 and He seems to be starting new again here in chapter 12 with Abraham.  What is the significance of these new starts?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS