Bethesda Shalom

In this message, Harold brings an urgent call for the Church to rediscover the awesome fear of the Lord in a generation where by and large, the fear of God is non-existent! This message is part of The Sanctuary Conference 2015.  For information about future conferences please visit: http://www.sanctuaryconference.co.uk For more messages and teachings by Harold Vaughan, visit:  http://www.christlifemin.org

In the day and age where so much division exists in the Body of Christ, particularly over secondary matters of doctrine, pride and offence; a powerful exhortation is delivered by Paul calling the Body of Christ to unity in obedience to the high priestly prayer of Jesus Christ as found in John Chapter 17.  Whilst the wold calls for a false unity, our prayer is that the true Bride of Christ would again cry out for true unity!!   This message is part of The Sanctuary Conference 2015.  For information about future conferences please visit: http://www.sanctuaryconference.co.uk For more messages and teachings by Paul M. Williams, visit:  http://www.bethesdashalom.org

1 Samuel 17:1-54 Behold the specimen of a man...Goliath of Gath, the champion of the Philistines!!  For 40 days, morning and evening, this ferocious giant challenged the armies of Israel to put forward a man to fight him.  Fear gripped the armies of Israel as they looked upon Goliath's huge and menacing stature, concluding in the natural that there was no hope!!  Dear Christian, what is the Goliath in your life?  Will you not trust the Lord to give you the victory over this fearsome foe?  See the shepherd boy David who by courageous faith in his God, brought the fight to this Philistine and took his head off!!   This message is an exhortation for Christians to overcome the Goliath in their life.  Say not, I am weak and have no power; say not that the foe is too strong…who will set their eyes to the LORD of hosts and prove their God in the hour of conflict?  I trust that we might be found such ones!!   

John 1:43-47 Our Lord said of Nathaniel..."Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!  He who searches the hearts of men and tries the inner most thoughts and intentions could say of this man that he was the genuine article and not a fake.  I wonder...could Christ say such words of you and I; "Behold a Christian indeed, in whom is no deceit"?  The missing ingredient and the root cause of so many living double lives today is that they are not REAL before the only one we CANNOT fool - God.  Dear soul, when we try to hide our sin from God, it shows that there is no fear of God in our lives! This message is a passionate plea for all God's people to come out of the dark and into the light.  "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13).

Romans 1:13-16 In the day and age in which we live, an ascending cry is being heard, sounding forth from those dissatisfied with the old paths.  It is a cry for the "new"; change has become the buzz word of our day, out with the old and in with the new!!  Society fueled by the Western media now prides itself that it is at last emerging from the puritanical and bigoted age of Victorianism, to a new liberalism without moral absolutes, where man is now free to make up his own morality.  No longer is it popular to talk about sin, no longer is it acceptable to hold and promote a moral worldview based upon the Word of God; there is simply no stomach for it!   Sadly, in an effort to reach this post-modern generation the Church has changed and adapted its message; the gospel is out and clever methodologies are in.  Dear brethren, we must resist such a temptation, Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel for he know that it was the power of God unto salvation.  Paul determined to know only one thing among a peo

Joshua 24:13-15 Brethren, we are living in unprecedented times; all around us, to our left and right, before and behind lies the world with all of its lures and attractions.  To be a Christian in this generation, in this hour, in this location calls for a special effort on our part and a single-mindedness birthed out of a conviction that though living in the world, we are not going to be of this world!  The missing ingredient in Western Christianity is sanctification!!  We are called by God to be saints "holy ones".  God is indeed seeking a last days people, even calling forth in our day such a people, who might have written across their lives like the High Priest of Israel had engraved across his forehead, "HOLINESS TO THE LORD".   Its high time that we rise up to be the people God has called us to be and to put away from our midst the strange gods and to incline our heart fully unto the Lord God of Israel!!  May God give us the grace to so do!

Luke 1:80 "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last.  And when I am dying, how happy I'll be, if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee".  The words of C.T Studd still live on and continue to speak to the depths of our hearts!  Brethren, I believe with all my heart that God is doing a work in these last days in preparing a people for Christian service.  It is not a work done in the open but one done in obscurity in the wilderness.  "...the child...was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel" (Lk. 1:80).  Is God doing such a preparation in your life and heart?  A preparation for service?  Oh! that the cry of our hearts might be that He might get the glory of our lives this side of eternity!!!  A prophet is not  born in a day!  Those who God uses, He first prepares and trains for service.  Who will lay aside their own business to seek's the Father's?   Who is willing to be brought into that place of obscurity and there to lay hold on God in the secret pl

Psalm 27 Jim Cottington Pastors a Church in West Sussex and is a council elder for Christian Ministerial Fellowship International (CMFI).  In this sermon, Jim gives great encouragement and an exhortation to believers to stand fast and firm in the last days in which we find ourselves.  May the Lord minister to you through this sermon and provoke your heart to seek His face of the Lord in these difficult times!  Be encouraged dear Saints!!  

1 Peter 1:13 The great commentator Albert Barnes in commenting upon the Christian's war against the prince of this world, wrote: "Satan does not carry on an open warfare. He does not meet the Christian soldier face to face. He advances covertly; makes his approaches in darkness; employs cunning rather than power, and seeks rather to delude and betray than to vanquish by mere force. Hence, the necessity of being constantly armed to meet him whenever the attack is made. A man who has to contend with a visible enemy, may feel safe if he only prepares to meet him in the open field. But far different is the case if the enemy is invisible; if he steals upon us slyly and stealthily; if he practices war only by ambushes and by surprises. Such is the foe that we have to contend with - and almost all the Christian struggle is a warfare against stratagems and wiles."   On of Satan's master stratagems as a deceiver and a lier, is to trick us into thinking that the thoughts he plants into our minds are really our own thou

Hebrews 3:6-12 The common notion held by many when it comes to belief in God is "seeing is believing".  The cry goes forth, "show me and I will believe".  Many hold faith to be simply a leap in the dark; but the Bible rejects this idea and rather teaches that faith is a firm persuasion based upon an encounter with the living God!!  Faith is a conscious decision to place ones trust and confidence in One who is trustworthy; to place one's faith in One who is faithful!!   This message seeks to bring out the root of the sin of unbelief.  The children of Israel beheld the terror and glory of God firsthand; they heard His voice as thunder and beheld His gory as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night!!  They saw the manifest power of His might as He parted the Red Sea and they saw His tender kindness as He fed them with Manna from heaven!!  Yet in spite of this, they refused to be persuaded of God's goodness and faithfulness and refused to be convinced of God's trustworthiness.  Through their hardened hearts,

Matthew 18:21-35 As Christians, we are duty bound and under solemn command by the King to keep the records clean when it comes to our debtors.  We are called by the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive those who have sinned against us and the Bible makes no allowances and no apologies.  Yet, there are many professing Christians who Sunday after Sunday, pour into Churches shouting hallelujah's with hands raised and yet are harbouring unforgiveness in their hearts towards others.  The Lord tells us plainly that our horizontal relationships with men affect our vertical relationship with God and that if things are amiss with our brother, things are amiss with God and we need first to sort things out with our Brother before offering worship to God!! This sermon brings a challenge to the Body of Christ and seeks to bring out the nature of true forgiveness, and the wickedness of unforgiveness.  May God grant us grace to ponder this message and to be not hearers only but doers of His Word!!

Proverbs 11:13 The Bible speaks of a particular member of our body, so small and yet so powerful; "a little member, and boasteth great things...a fire, a world of iniquity...setteth on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell...an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (Jms. 3).  Which member is this the Bible alludes to?  The tongue!! We are exhorted, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain" (Jms. 1:26).  As believers bound to the royal law of love, the word of God charges us strictly that we should not give ourselves to gossip and slander but rather we should love our fellow man!!  This message cuts to the very heart of the matter and exposes the malicious spirit behind gossip and slander.  The challenge goes forward with conviction calling believers to abstain from such talk.  May God give us grace to heed!!    

1 Peter 2:11 The largest Christian newspaper in the world "The Christian Post", in an on-line article dated October 28th 2011, titled "Pornography in the Pew - A Hidden Sin, reported from leading surveys that 50% of Christian men and 20% of Christian women are addicted to pornography, 60% of Christian women admitted to significantly struggling with lust.  37% of pastors admitted that they struggle with internet pornography and 51% said that its a source of temptation.  More than half of pastors surveyed (57%) said that addiction to porn is the most sexually damaging issue in their Church.  56% of divorces involved one party having an obsessive interest in pornographic websites. Brethren there is a pandemic of sexual lust sweeping the evangelical Church ranging from the pulpit to the pew!!  Lust dear soul is a beast, that if not slain will destroy all in its path and take a soul down into hell!!  A sobering call goes forth in this message calling the Body of Christ to sexual purity both in thought and in deed.

Luke 12:15 There is today in the West, what some call the “dream”, but I call deception and God calls wickedness!!  It is the sin of covetousness.  Behold how it has slain its ten thousands.  See the miserable plight of those leaving the poor habitations of the developing world and coming over to the West, chasing the dream and the lie that promised wealth brings with it, promised happiness and fulfilment.  Behold the faces of the rich and wealthy, see their countenances; ask them if you will…”has money, wealth and material possessions brought to you that which your heart longs most for?  They will answer with a resounding NO!!  Jesus warned us:  “Take heed, and beware of covetousness”!! This message is an exhortation to the body of Christ, to flee from the sin of covetousness.  In this sermon we break down what covetousness is, what lies at the heart of it and its relationship to idolatry.  We take a look at the seriousness of this sin called covetousness which has become common place in our Western culture

Genesis 4:1-9 If we could truly see how many have been slain and homes destroyed; the strife, the rivalry, the bitterness and resentment resulting from the sin of jealousy and envy we would be lost for words!!  Whole Churches have been split and homes left in tatters under a false guise and pretext, when the real issue underlying the destruction is the spirit of jealousy and envy!!  King Solomon put it fearfully in Proverbs 27:4 when he said:  Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?  Though envy often wears the guise of a smile and a hug, it has concealed in its hand a dagger, which it seeks to drive into the very back of the one it so embraces!! How do you respond when a friend is exalted in place of you?  How do you respond when you are greeted with the news of the success of your fellow neighbour?  How do you respond when a thing you so desire, another from your own midst receives in your place?  Is your countenance one of favour towards such or one of suspicion?  Are

Proverbs 16:18It has well been said that the sin of pride is first and chief among all other sins and indeed is the very root of all sin!!  Pride simply put is having an inflated view of our own worth; it's arrogance and haughtiness; it is to usurp the throne of God which is His rightful seat alone.  How so you say?  In essence, pride says: "I will do what seems best by me" or in the word's of Satanist Aleister Crowley, "do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law".  Though the clear command and express will of God has gone forth, pride asserts that it will nonetheless do what is best in its own eyes!!This message calls those who have lost their way in going away from God to return again to the LORD.  God promises, "...return unto me and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 3:7).  The problem is; this response is one which only the humble in heart can make.  The question is, will you humble your heart and return again to you first love?

Exodus 12:15-20Spiritually, what sort of year has 2014 been for you?  Have you grown in spiritual maturity?  Have you deepened and maintained spiritual disciplines?  Have you been the spiritual shepherds of you home?  If the answer is an honest no, then it is more than likely that leaven has made its way into your home and has begun its corrupting influence in your life, the lives of your family and the life of the Church!!  In the New Testament, leaven is a symbol of sin.  Due to the powerful property changing properties of leaven the Scripture warns believers of the dangers of allowing sin to go unchecked in their lives and the need to purge it out from their midst. As we close out this year, an exhortation is given in earnest, calling every Christian to make a diligent search for any traces of leaven, beginning first in their own life, with the end purpose in view of purging their house of leaven!!  May God give us the grace to heed and to act upon what we hear in this message!!

How We Got Our Bible (Pt.12)In this final part in the series 'How We Got Our Bible' we explore the differences and similarities between some of our most popular English translations of the Bible  that are out there today.  We answer such questions as:  What is a formal equivalence translation and a dynamic equivalence translation?  How can you tell the difference?  What is a good translation of the Bible?  Should a Christian use a paraphrase Bible as their main Bible for study?  What about Eugene Peterson's, The Message?  Is it a reliable translation or has there been deliberate attempts by Eugene Peterson to corrupt the Word of God in the name of inclusion?  Is the NIV a reliable translation?  We seek to answer these questions and more in this final part of the teaching as we explore the topic of Bible translations.Download notes (pdf)http://traffic.libsyn.com/bethesdashalom/5c_The_Translation_of_the_Bible_Pt3.pdf

John 12:24 Set before us in the verse at hand is the key to the Christian walk!  How many books have been written, how many sermons preached, giving the five-step formula to Christian success, when the essence and heart of the matter is contained in this single verse before us.  Why is it that men for the most part don’t like the key that Jesus extends, but instead prefer in vain to cut their own key?  It has to do with the cost of that key!!  We all want the finished product, but we don’t all want to pay the asking price!!  God has a blueprint for the Christian life and it has to do with an instrument of death, upon which we are to die daily.  Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it beareth much fruit.   This message explores three areas in the Christian life in which the Christian is called to deny himself, pick up his cross daily and follow Jesus; firstly in the battle against sin; secondly in sufferings and persecutions and lastly in waving our rights as be

How We Got Our Bible (Pt.11) The battle rages today in some evangelical circles as to which the are best Greek manuscripts to use in translating the New Testament.  Some argue that the Byzantine manuscripts are more reliable because there are far more of them, whilst others argue that the Alexandrian manuscripts are more reliable because though fewer in number, the age of the manuscripts are far closer to the original.  All modern Bible translations today with the exception of the NKJV and a few others are based on the Alexandrian type-text which has been the case since the controversial publication of the RV Bible in the 1880's.  Up until that time, all English Bibles had been based on the Byzantine type-text.  Why the need to change this?  Are the modern Bibles corrupt? Which Greek text is the most reliable?  Does it even matter?   We seek in this teaching to answer these questions and to explore the position of a growing group within conservative Christianity who hold that the King James Bible is the absol