What Satisfies God?
God was pleased to punish Jesus because He knew that through His punishment, His offspring (you and me) would be able to be forgiven and enter into relationship with Him, as sons and daughters of God. The very next verse says, “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.”
Enter Boldly
To enter “boldly” would not imply that one is sheepish, questioning whether or not he belongs, or if he is welcome. Boldness means coming with confidence with expectation of promised results – simple faith – the ingredient that so many are missing.
God has done His part. Jesus came and died, providing a way for us, and God even tore the veil as a sign, and tells us to come boldly in His word. Grace (God’s part) is complete. Now it is up to us to go boldly and trust that the promises of God are true (2 Cor. 1:20). Faith is our part.
The True Nature and Will of God
At the Lord’s Supper just before being arrested, Jesus said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” (John 14:7-8) Phillip misunderstood what Jesus was saying, and so do so many Christians today. They want to know the will and nature of God, yet can’t seem to come up with anything reliable. In this teaching we will explore God's nature, and descover what the life of Jesus shows us about who God truly is.
Laying On of Hands
“While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.” (Luke 4:40) Jesus often healed people while laying His hands on them. Jesus told His disciples that this was a model for them also, saying that the believer would “lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:18) Descover why laying hands is so prevelant in the New Testament, and why it is important to us today.
Faith For Healing
You can see that Jesus did not say, “You’re healed” and then just go his way – had He done that the man may have not gotten up and may have never been healed. Jesus told the man to get up and take his mat and walk. The man had been sick for thirty-eight years, and Jesus says, “Walk!” There must have been faith in the heart of the man, as he did get up, and was completely healed. Had the man lied there, we could assume that he had very little faith.
Is Healing For Today?
If you came to me, would expect me to give you one million dollars? Of course not, because I have not told you that I wanted to give you that money, and therefore, you would have no confidence that I would give you the money.Instead, you would simply beg and see if I would give you something. This is how we often are with God, because we do not understand what His will is. Knowing God's will about healing could change your life... or even save it.
The Gospel: Good News, or Bad News?
It is no wonder that we would think such thoughts today. Today, we are more merits-driven than ever. When things are going good and we are on a “mountaintop,” we subconsciously think that our good behavior got us there. So it should not surprise us when, in the times we feel so down and depressed, that we think that our behavior has upset God and so now He is pushing us away. This is the logic of many believers, and many churches today; but this is a lie.
God's Grace
God’s grace is always sufficient. To the young man struggling with his identity and just can’t see what direction to go– God’s grace is sufficient. For the middle aged man who could lift a city, but can’t put down one bottle of whiskey – God’s grace is sufficient. To the old woman who weeps at every though of her husband, now passed away – God’s grace is sufficient.
The God I Know
God is not keeping a record of every time we mess up. He is not cheering for us to fail. Instead, God delights in us prospering, and He cheers us on. God Almighty believes in our abilities a lot more than we believe in His.
Praise: Gratitude of the Heart
Praise is not merely a show of hands, a shout of exclamation, or the singing of a beautiful hymn. Can I I praise by clapping my hands? Yes. Is clapping my hands, praise? No. Let me explain briefly.
Who We Are
We are suppose to be kingdom people with kingdom authority and kingdom living with a kingdom mindset – the truth however, is that many Christians are not joyful in the least bit. So man believers are run down, hopeless, depressed and simply burned-out.
Songs of Deliverance
When we approach a problem in our reasoning and our own strength we will undoubtedly fail. We must come before Almighty God and ask for Him to lead us into freedom and sing over us His songs of deliverance.
Expect The Impossible
What might happen if we started asking for, and trusting God for the impossible in our lives everyday? We just might see miracles as an everyday part of our lives. God wants us to walk in the since of knowing the impossible...
Just Take It!
So often we beg and plea for things that are promised us by God. Is God a liar? No. Do we have to trust and do something else?
Habitual Sin
Many times, we sin - we feel so bad, and we try to discontinue our sinning; but despite our efforts to do good, we continue to do evil. Why is this