Read Bible for Yourself

It is clear from Scripture that King Cyrus had to do three key things in order to receive the hidden treasures of darkness, etc., which God promised him through Isaiah’s prophecy: 1. Believe the Word of God 2. Set Israel free 3. Restore Israel’s lost glory It was surely shocking to Israel to hear Isaiah prophesy God’s blessings for an unknown gentile king, Cyrus, calling him God’s anointed (45:1) and one to whom God will give the hidden treasures of darkness and the riches from secret places (45:3). When the prophecy was fulfilled about a century and half later, when Cyrus became king, the chroniclers preferred to refer rather to Jeremiah’s prophecy of the same event, apparently because that left out the prosperity of Cyrus (see 2Chron. 36:20-23) What prompted Cyrus to set Israel free and pay for the rebuilding of the temple is apparently his encounter with Isaiah’s prophecy either through reading about the history and prophecies of the people of Israel or a through a ...

From the Christian point of view, unbelievers are people who do not live according to faith in Jesus Christ. They may know or even admire Him, but they do not believe He is worth the following He demands. We Christians live among many unbelievers; and an awareness of their types would not only help us maximize our impact on them, but also save us unnecessary heartaches, especially from those who appear to be part of the Church (you may read Ephesians 5: 1-16 for an Paul’s overview). In this write-up, I present briefly the characteristics of the typical believer and discuss six types of unbelievers and how we may live with them. Three Typical Characteristics of the Believer (Based On Mt 11:29) ·          Salvation-Oriented Lifestyle: They live a life of grateful sacrifice, knowing they have been spared eternal damnation through the sacrifice of Christ, they are compelled by the love of Christ to live and work for the salvation of ot...

Jesus prayed for His own deliverance in the spirit of His need for endurance and service. We also pray that we are able to do and finish what we have been saved, called, and committed to do.  Bible Readings In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (Heb 5:7 ESV) This same Jesus (Acts 2:36) 1. He emptied Himself (Php 2:1 – 11) 2. He prayed to one able to save Him (Heb 5:7) Our Deliverance This same child of God 1. Emptied herself a. Repented - Ac 2:37 b. Denied herself of ‘right’ to worldly pleasures - Lk 9:23 c. Committed to pursuing the Kingdom of God (dedicated to making people enthrone Christ in their hearts, move away from evil and serve Him with transformed lives) - Mt 6:33 2. Prayed to one able to save her a. Because she realizes that repentance means loss of unjust means, Discipline and Fid...

Main Reading:Mt. 3:1-12; 5:21-6:9 INTRODUCTION The Baptist’s ministry marked the turning point from life regulated by the Law and tradition to life empowered by the Holy Spirit. Indeed John declared that he was just calling people to a baptism that marked their turning away from the old self-preserving lifestyle. Jesus would take over from there, baptizing them with the Holy Spirit and Fire into a self-sacrificing lifestyle. On arrival, Jesus immediately outlines the character traits of those who will receive His power through believing in Him. In this sermon, we take a brief look at the lifestyle and message of John the Baptist, and examine some key aspects of Holy Spirit enabled lifestyles that characterizes us followers of Jesus Christ. A PEEK AT PRE-CHRIST RIGHTEOUSNESS Until Christ came, God’s people, the Jews were supposed to exhibit the most excellent of lifestyles on the Earth, since they were guided by the Law of God given through Moses. However, even their king...

The Bible talks about THREE TYPES OF LIFE: NATURAL : It is the one that began when God breathed into the man he formed out of dust and ends when people breathe their last. “ Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and the man became a living being” (Gen 2:7).   When God created humans, He elevated them above other creation. Humans had to cooperate and rule over creation. When humans sinned, they were corrupted and rather sought to dominate, humiliate and even murder other humans. They even began to worship nature which they were supposed to rule (Rom 1:23, 25, 29-32). Vengeance was the main justice they knew, so the endless cycle of retribution condemned humanity to eventually wipe itself out without redemption. ABUNDANT : It is the return of humans to the glory of God whereby they no longer seek to dominate other humans made in the image of God, nor worship creation. “ I have come that they may have...

The Necessity of Shedding the Outmoded and Wrong Conceptions of Prayer MAIN READING: 1 Timothy 2:1-7 INTRODUCTION Prayer was crudely started by human beings in an attempt to seek spiritual intervention in the difficulties of natural life, but God has responded through the imagery of the Law of Moses and the sending of the Messiah to fully grant a permanent way out of sin and its consequences. It is however not strange to find people still stuck in the old crude ways of prayer rather than the perfect way provided in the Messiah. This essay identifies the three stages of the ‘evolution’ of prayer to demonstrate the worthlessness of sticking to the first two and why the third is the only acceptable way. A. BEFORE AND OUTSIDE THE LAW People have always prayed, figuring out how to reach God (and other spirits or deities) through a variety of means. Before God gave Israel the Law through Moses, a major means presumed to achieve this was making sacrifices....

Arise, Shine, Manifest His Glory (Be Used by God) Main Readings: Isaiah 60:1-5, 18 and Acts 9:1-15 When I asked the those in the meeting to write down five things they want God to do for them, and five they believe God wants to use them for, they were very swift about the first, and started chewing the pens and pencils when we came to the second. Classic Israel, Saul and us? The stories of Israel and Saul are ours who also receive the salvation of God. We are also prone to presuming that we must be special to God, and that we need to be protected against unbelievers and dangers at all cost, under the guise of protecting the Name of God. Inadvertently, we begin to “use” God, rather than allowing Him to use us. We set our own agenda and ask God to bless it, whether it is His will or not. We refuse to arise (declare the saving power of God), shine (show forth the superior character of Christ enabled by the Holy Spirit in us). Thus we fail to manifest Christ (show true hu...