Episodes
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
Sunday Sep 20, 2020
If You Knew that You Would Die In the Near-Term, How Would You Spend the Remainder of Your Life?
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
Today, do you live your life as the country singer Tim McGraw says in his song, “live like we were dying”? Jesus tells us in today’s Lessons from the Gospel of Luke, that acquiring wealth is not, per se, wrong; however, Luke’s Lesson is that we are a fool if we center our life around accumulating wealth. It is difficult for us to have many possessions without these possessions “possessing us”. In Luke 12:15, Jesus says that: “. . . Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Jesus is telling the brothers in Luke 12:13-14 that covetousness (i.e. greed) will wreck all aspects of our lives. In Ephesians 5:3, Paul classifies the sin of covetousness (i.e. greed) with other sins such as “sexual immorality: “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.".
Jesus illustrates His position regarding covetousness (i.e. greed) with Parable of the Rich Fool, beginning with Luke 12:16. The “Rich Fool’s” life was all about himself and his possessions and without a consideration of God or the needs of others. Therefore, in this parable, God took the life of the greedy “Rich Fool”.
If you knew that, in the near-term, you would die, how would you spend the remainder of your life? Would you focus on the assimilation of new possessions and experiences; or would you reaffirm your commitment, as a follower of Jesus, to Jesus’ Great Commandment and His Great Commission? Would you, like the country singer Tim McGraw says in his song, “live like we were dying”?
Beginning in Luke 12:22, Jesus tells His Apostles about the prioritization of their lives’ focus, especially as their focus relates to their “anxieties”. In Luke 12:29-31, Jesus summarizes His teaching to His Apostles with a model for our life focus: “And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.".
If our lives are centered on greed and the accumulation of passions and wealth, our lives will not be rich in the Presence of God.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:13-34; Mark 7:21; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; Philippines 4:19; 1 King’s 10:4.
WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “As a Christian, You Are Equipped for God’s Purpose; Be Courageous and Let Others See Jesus In You for God Is With You”: www.AWFTL.org/watch
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Aug 16, 2020
Sunday Aug 16, 2020
In Prayer, Take Stock of Your Life Priorities and Remember You Live to Kingdom Priorities and Not Your Own
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
From the Gospel of Luke (12:32f): Our Realities Speak to Our Real Priorities
The goal for us by Jesus is to live to kingdom priorities and not our own priorities. In Luke 12:32f, Jesus speaks to His priorities for us by declaring that He has given His followers His kingdom. Living in His Kingdom sets Jesus’ priorities for us. In Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life, Rev. Warren presents five kingdom priorities: 1) worship; 2) fellowship; 3) discipleship; 4) ministry; and 5) evangelism. By being in fellowship with God, we can discern His priorities for our lives.
Luke 12 speaks to two priorities for God’s kingdom: 1) being ready followers, and 2) and being a responsible steward. To be a ready follower of Jesus, we must: 1) be ready to give; 2) ready to go and serve the Lord; and 3) be ready to greet the Master. For the kingdom priority of being a ready steward, we must answer the question: “After being entrusted with God by much, are we being responsible for His gifts?”. With our trust in God, God, the Creator of the Universe trusts us – is your life worthy of God’s trust? It is a deep privilege to know God’s will for us and His trust for us. God will give us the tools and power to be good stewards of the trust that He has provided us if we are in fellowship with Him – God wants to bless us if we seek and follow His will for us.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17).
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A CHILD OF GOD. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12f).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:32-48; Romans 14:17; 1 John 3:1; Psalms 147:1-20.
WEBSITE LINK: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “As a Christian, You Are Equipped for God’s Purpose; Be Courageous and Let Others See Jesus In You for God Is With You”: www.AWFTL.org/watch
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
From the Gospel of Luke (7:36-50): "Compassion Unpacked"
Luke 7:36-50 describes the compassion of God revealed to those who come to Him in humility and faith. In unpacking Luke’s Gospel reference, Luke is relating a dinner party taking place in the home of a Pharisee. The Pharisees’ thought that their attempts at righteousness would earn them more favor with God, but their focus was outward not inward and in their hearts. The Pharisees were always in Jesus face attacking Jesus and trying to dismiss His teachings.
In the Scripture references from Luke and Matthew below, Jesus gave strong words of description and condemnation regarding the Pharisees’ hearts and behaviors. However, there were many Pharisees that were Godly and spiritual men. We need to be careful that we do not become twenty-first century Pharisees like the Pharisees identified by Jesus in Luke 7. Like the Pharisees, many of us know the Word of God; but we need to be careful that we do not become judgmental and self-surviving, thereby, missing the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit and forgetting to apply the love and Justice of God in our lives and relationships.
Jesus is at this dinner party, in Luke 7, given by a Pharisee, and we are told that a sinful woman comes into the party. The woman comes up behind Jesus and weeps with such intensity that her tears fall on Jesus’ feet. The woman, after her earlier conversion, is probably overcome with the conviction of her sinful life and remorse, thereby, becoming a servant to her Lord. In these actions of conviction and love toward Jesus, Jesus explains, to Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7:47, that: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”.
Simon the Pharisee represents many modern day “church people”. We can get caught up in our personal righteousness. We get used to the presence of God and His peace in our lives, but then we encounter a new follower of Jesus. They, before their conversion, were living in the ways of the world without God’s peace. Now, these new believers are so excited with their new life; and their outward manifestation of their conversion may not “fit” with our personal Christian behavioral norms. Sadly, too many modern Christians judge and condemn these new believers rather than loving, encouraging, and embracing these new believers. After all, none of us deserve the forgiveness of God: “I am who I am by the Grace of God through Jesus.“.
God wants to have a heart-to-heart talk with us. Therefore, if there is anything in our lives blocking our talk with God, we must remove it – we need to open ourselves to what God will do for us if we will just let go of our life impediments. We must pray for God’s guidance to keep us from becoming judgmental, self-righteous, self-centered Christians like the Pharisees in Luke 7.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 7:36-50; Matthew 5:20; Luke 11:37-44; Luke 15:1-7: Matthew 23:13-19; Matthew 23:23-36; Psalms 55b:13-23.
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Today, the World Needs to be Renewed With an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit - a Global Spiritual Awakening”: www.AWFTL.org/watch.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB
Sunday Sep 29, 2019
Is What You “SAY” About Your Priorities In Alignment with What You “DO”?
Sunday Sep 29, 2019
Sunday Sep 29, 2019
MESSAGE SUMMARY:
From the Gospel of Luke (Luke 12:32-48): Our Life’s Priorities
A Priority is a preference or a precedence established by order or urgency. Your priorities are reflected in your actual behavior and actions not by what you say are your priorities. In other words, is your “say” in alignment with your “do”? In Luke 12:32-48, Jesus is speaking to His priorities for us. Jesus begins this passage in Luke 12 by telling those in attendance, followers of Jesus like us, that He has given them His Kingdom. Also, Jesus defined our priorities for being in His Kingdom. We are created to become like Jesus – we were made for a mission. We need to be in a personal relationship with God so that we know what His priorities and His will are for us.
Luke 12:32-48 speaks to two priorities of the Kingdom: 1) Luke 12:33-40 – “being a ready follower of Jesus”; and 2) Luke 12:41-48 – “being a responsible steward of the Kingdom”. Are we ready to follow Jesus, and do we make ourselves available to follow Jesus – is being ready for Jesus our priority? Are we afraid to be ready for Jesus when He has given us the Kingdom? In this passage from Luke 12:32-48, Jesus gives us three things that provide a context for following Him: 1) be ready to give; 2) be ready to go; and 3) be ready to greet the Master.
To be a “responsible steward”, is not so much “what we have been given as our charge: rather, the focus of our “stewardship responsibility” should be what we do with our charge. It is a deep privilege to know what God wants us to do, but if we are not ready to follow God’s will for us while being a good steward, our priorities are not in alignment with God’s priorities. God’s justice is based on our knowledge and obedience, and we are accountable for what we know. God wants to bless us; but when we refuse to follow His will, we miss out on His blessings for us.
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13).
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:32-48; Romans 14:7-9; 1 John 3:17; Psalms 39:1-13.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/
WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Are You Committed to Spending Personal Relationship Time with God Through Prayer?”: www.AWFTL.org/watch.
A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.
DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB