Bethesda Shalom

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 When God put to Satan the question, “Hast thou considered my servant Job” (Job 1:8), Satan did not say, who is he?  Instead, he engaged with the question and responded by saying; “Doth Job fear God for nought?” (Job 1:9).  It appears from this verse that this righteous man was well known to the prince of darkness.  Have you ever considered that your name is also known to the armies of hell?  This puts a whole new dimension on spiritual warfare.  Having not just one scheme but many, Paul instructs us to “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).  Satan’s wiles not only involve the planned assault of the individual believer but the planned assault of the Church body collectively.  There is one particular weapon in Satan’s arsenal through which is able to destroy a local Church more quickly than we can ever know!  The great deception of this sin lies in its seeming harmlessness.  This vice comes so readily to us as humans and i

1 Corinthians 13 You cannot have opened the Bible long, before in every book, you’re confronted with the royal command, calling us on to fervent love!  The New Testament epistles spare no end of space in urging us to fill up this command and there’s not a single New Testament epistle that does not contain some exhortation on love!!  Amongst the many beautiful chapters in the Bible, must surely be found the thirteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  Outside the life and example of our Saviour, there’s no clearer setting forth of the attributes of love than is found in this chapter. In this sermon, we place our focus on just one of the fifteen attributes; love thinks no evil.  May the Lord speak to all of our hearts on this greatly important aspect of love. 

Knowing the Bible for Yourself (Pt. 1) As one opens the Bible, one quickly comes to discover that what they hold in their hand is not a single book, but a volume of ancient literature (some 66 books).  In fact, there are some 780, 000+ words all found sitting within a careful and purposeful grammatical structure with the oldest sections being more than 3 ½ thousand years in age and the most recent, 2000 years!  There are many different ways in which God could have communicated his will to mankind; he could have appeared at a given location every fifty years to speak to man in person or sent an angel to speak on his behalf.  Instead, God in His sovereign wisdom has chosen to communicate His message to mankind through the medium of written language.  In this first teaching part, we ask the question; “Why do we need to interpret the Bible?” As soon as one begins to read any literature, the need for interpretation comes immediately into play!!  This not only applies to the Bible, but all pieces of literature, bec

1 Peter 5:5-6 There are things in this Christian walk that are greatly to be desired, and then there are those things that are indispensable.  Love, holiness, faith, and love…these are precious virtues that are not desirables to be added to the list of Christian attributes – these are absolutes!!  Added to this list is also found the like precious virtue of humility. In this sermon, we ponder at length the exhortation found in 1 Peter 5:5-6.  We there discover that two different attitudes on the part of man, summon two radically different actions on the part of God.  “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble”.  Which attitude of heart will you choose to walk in?

James 1:22-25 I have come to realise that a man can be in love with the concept of holiness and make the fatal error of equating form with substance!!  He thinks that because he has the form, he has the substance!  Ever do we need to be on guard against this kind of self-deception!  What saith the half-brother of our Lord? “…be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (Jms. 1:22).  To hear only and to do nothing about it is to deceive ourselves! Having good intentions and the words to along with it are not the same thing as having the actions to back it up.  The challenge goes forth with strength in this sermon to put rubber to the road and to enter into a life of holiness!!

Matthew 7:13-14 Sometimes as Christians, we can forget that our Lord not only said that the gate was strait; He said also that the way was narrow which leads to life eternal!  Not only a narrow entrance, but a confined path also to traverse; and on account this He said that they’d be few that ever find it!! This sermon is aimed at two groups of people, of which everyone finds themselves belonging to one.  Group number 1, are those yet to enter through the strait/narrow gate.  They’ve seen its gloried from a distance and have approached unto it for further inquiry; yet, they’ve still to cross over its threshold.  Group number 2 are those who having crossed the threshold of the narrow gate, onto the narrow way, have yet to finish the journey and to cross the threshold into life.  May the Lord speak to each heart!   

Revelation 22 Some 33 parts on and some 65+ thousand words later, we finally come to the final teaching part in our Revelation series. With the old earth passed away, and the former heaven gone forever, John saw a new heaven and a new earth, and the holy city—the New Jerusalem—coming down from God out of heaven.  In chapter 21, John described this glorious city, and in the first part of chapter 22, he continues to do the same.  There’s no escaping the parallels that exist between the first paradise in Eden, and this second paradise.  What was lost in the curse has now at the end, been restored, not only to an equal state but to one far exceeding it in every degree! The chapter concludes with a series of warnings.  The end is at hand and the Lord instructs His Church.  “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Rev. 22:20-21).

Matthew 10:27-33 We read in Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe”.  Man is prone on every side to fear, not least in the face of pending danger. God’s desire is that we would not be overcome by fear, but rather that we would trust Him!  This sermon is an exhortation for the blood-bought children of God, to place their total confidence in the Lord.  Where faith toward God abounds, fear has no resting place; but where fear abounds, we can be assured, faith is wanting!  “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there”.

Luke 23:35-43 The people and the rulers, the soldiers and the criminal —each one hurled their abuse and insults with guided precision—it was open season on the Son of Man.  In the eyes of the mob who had gathered to express their contempt of Jesus, the suffering spectacle which hung before them was proof positive that this man was getting all that He deserved of God’s righteous indignation.  What were they to make of a suffering King?  In truth…not much!  However, amongst the taunts and the sneers, a voice of penitence was heard from one of the criminals being crucified alongside Jesus and a plea so profound; “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”. In this sermon, we endeavour to unpack this statement to see the priceless treasure revealed therein.  We then close by asking the question, what are we doing with the light that God has shone into our hearts.  May the Lord speak to each one of us.

Revelation 21 Every book has a start and a finish; a beginning and an ending.  The Book of Revelation is no exception to this rule and as we begin part 32 of our studies, we cross yet another milestone in our journey through this book.  No longer are we going up the mountain...having reached the peak, we’re now descending on the other side of the Jordan, heading towards the finish line. With the New Jerusalem firmly in our sights, we can pick up the pace and encourage ourselves that it was all worth it!  The cross, the battle, the war, the struggle; captivities and martyrdoms...all that is now behind us and eternities glories have opened up their arms to receive us in the Lord! In this teaching, we gain an insight into what is in store for believers in the new heavens and new earth along with the new Jerusalem.

Psalm 85:6 As Christians, we’re never stationary for very long; we’re either moving closer to the Lord or further away from Him.  We all experience flutterings from time to time along the way, but it’s over those protracted seasons of drift where we suddenly realise that our love has grown cold, and our standards have fallen.  O that the Lord might revive us and kindle again a sacred flame on the mean altar of our hearts in order that we might live wholly and only for Him!! 

Psalm 90:2 Men in this life, give themselves to the numbering of many things.  The rich man numbers his pounds and the poor man his pennies; the farmer numbers his cattle and the shepherd numbers his sheep. Whatsoever is valuable to a man, that will he number so as not to allow so much as a crumb to fall to the ground in waste.  As we begin not only a new year but a new decade, what have you made it a priority to number? Time is of the essence and our lives are on countdown.  Life is so short and eternity is but a breath away.  As we move into this New Year, may the cry of our hearts be, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

Revelation 20:7-15 Upon the return of Jesus, His glorious appearing shall bring to an end this current Church age which has spanned the last two millennia, and a new age will begin, lasting for half that time.  The question that we want to answer in part 31 is this; what happens after once the thousand years have come to their end?  What we have recorded in the pages of Scripture is very brief, to say the least—much of it remains a mystery yet to be revealed at the Coming of our Lord.  That said, a large portion of the little that we have been given is found in what now remains of the last three closing chapters of Revelation (ch. 20-22).  In this teaching, we explore two main themes, the Gog and Magog war followed by the great white throne judgment.

Revelation 20:1-6 When the disciples asked Jesus; “...Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6), what did they mean?  If one was to ask such a question today in the vast majority of the theological colleges across the Western world, one would receive an answer that would be far from adequate in explaining the true nature of the disciple’s inquiry.  You see, for many today, the concept of a millennial kingdom does not even figure into their eschatological thinking.  For the amillennialist, the future kingdom of God is the present kingdom of God, and any hope of a golden age of righteousness and peace upon the earth is certainly not realised in some distant event, but in the last 2000 years of Church history as the gospel has been being preached in all the world.  For the postmillennialist, they would acknowledge a coming golden era of some arbitrary length, but they would argue that this “millennium” of triumphalism will be ushered in by the Church and not the Lord Jesus at

Ephesians 4:17-32 There are some Christians who never mention the name of our adversary, for fear of giving him undue attention.  You’ve all heard I’m sure, the well-meaning sentiments of a dear soul that has said in their enthusiasm; “I don’t give HIM any glory by even mentioning his name!”.  Now I do understand the thinking behind such a statement, but the question is, is it Biblical?  I was a teacher for a number of years, and when a pupil was playing the fool in class—seeking for attention and would-be followers—I usually didn’t give them the satisfaction of playing their game by bringing “undue attention” to them.  Instead, I would choose at times to employ the strategy of “ignorance”, and sure enough, they soon got tired of the show when they saw that they were not getting the crowd they’d hoped for!  However, what if, that pupil was to pull out a knife, am I still going to play dumb?  It’s one thing to have an irritant in the class, and quite another to have a potential murderer!!  The Bible doesn’t po

Revelation 19:11-21 All that has gone before us in past chapters, is preparing us for the one pinnacle, supreme event that is to appear in this chapter, namely the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The single greatest event in history without exception, to which the prophets of old bore witness, was Messiah’s first coming. The single greatest event to take place after this, to which again, the prophets of old bore witness, is Messiah’s Second Coming!  It is for this momentous event, that all of nature and history awaits, not least those of us called and chosen in Him!  In this twenty-ninth teaching part, we look at this fascinating topic and its timing.  Come, Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

The Father’s Pruning Shears – Paul M. Williams John 15:1-6 On a traditional vine that has been trained, there is a main with thick horizontal branches coming off from the trunk.  All along the branches, at regular intervals are knuckles (spurs), out of which grow pencil-like stems called canes.  It is on these canes that the grapes will grow; however, grapes will only grow on canes that are one year old which means there is a need for pruning every single season to remove the old wood. It’s been said that grapevines are probably pruned more extensively and more aggressively than any other crop.  When farmers prune, they remove the majority of wood produced the previous season – up to 90 percent is pruned away!!  Last year’s season of fresh long canes (of many feet) will be trimmed right back to several inches and the older canes bearing the fruit which grew the season before that (i.e. those that are now two years old) are completely removed from the branch!  As one walked by at pruning season, the untrained

Matthew 23:25-28 I’m sure that you’ve heard of the cat with nine lives – so the old English proverb goes, “For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays".  One news story reported how that a cat in the US city of Boston survived a fall from a 19-storey window, only bruising her chest!  It’s one thing to talk with lightness about the nine proverbial lives of the kitty, but the man with two lives, is no joking matter – multitudes of Churches up and down the land are plagued by this blight.  As one understands correctly the title of this sermon; the man with two lives has nothing whatsoever to do with the concept of staying alive, but instead, speaks of duplicity, of feigned living, of hypocrisy and two-facedness.  In this featured sermon, we look at the lives of the Scribes and Pharisees and in so doing, we discover the nature of their hypocrisy.  This is a very searching and challenging sermon, yet one that is most needful if we are to really go on with the Lord.  May God give us gra

Revelation 19:1-10 A heard is cry coming from heaven; “...the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready”.  This, to the Western mind, seems strange language upon first sight.  In what sense are we to understand this seeming conundrum?  How can the Church be identified as the wife of Christ before the marriage?  In order to understand this, we must understand marriage in the context of Jewish culture.  In this 28th teaching part, we turn our attention to this great marriage supper and the need for the bride of Christ to make herself ready for her Bridegroom’s coming! 

Isaiah 26:3 The Christian soldier is never stationary in His efforts to hold the ground of victory taken for Christ in His life.  He knows full well, that yesterday’s victories could well turn to tomorrow’s defeat.  We are in a war and this is no time for lightness, nor is it time to be found sleeping at the post of duty.  The Word of God charges us to take to arm us for the fight, the whole armour of God that we might be able to withstand in the evil day of Satan’s special assault!  Of all the armoury listed in that great chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians, there’s one piece of the armour that is distinguished from the rest “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Eph. 6:16).  This sermon is an exhortation to faith!  An exhortation to not allow the lies of the enemy to penetrate our minds.  God has promised to keep those in perfect peace, whose mind are stayed on Him, because they have placed their trust in the Lord!!