Sermons by Archbishop Foley Beach

Be Strong & Courageous

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Be Strong & Courageous (Commencement -- Reformed Episcopal Seminary; Oreland, PA)

We have been equipped, as God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:11-12, for God’s purposes in our lives: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.". In Joshua 1:9, God commands us to be strong and courageous because He is with us. Also, God gave Joshua truths that would confirm God’s support in His command of Joshua: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”.

Often the Lord has called or commanded us to do something in His service, but tough decisions for us arise for us when we are not fully committed to obey God; and we fall into disobedience. When we obey God’s commands, He steps into lives with support for us to achieve His command. Also, God instructed Joshua, in Joshua 1:6, to be “strong and courageous”: “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.". We must be “strong and courageous” to do the will of God when we are called. Additionally, God commanded Joshua to be committed to the Word of God.

Courage is acting and speaking even though you are afraid. If you follow God’s call and seek His will to live and act in His Word, there is no reason to be overcome by fear because “your God is with you wherever you go”. After God’s grace through Jesus, God is in us through His gift to us of the Holy Spirit. You get strong by exercising the “muscles” of your faith and commitment to God’s will and His word – often pushing your “commitment to God” beyond levels you thought possible. Spiritual strength comes from having God with you and in you.

 

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): Jeremiah 29:11-12; Joshua 1:9; Joshua 1:6; Joshua 1:7; James 1:22; Hebrews 10:23; Joshua 1:8: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 28:16-20. Ephesians 6:10-12.

 

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WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Be Strong & Courageous”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

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Five Needs of Fathers

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Introduction -- Father's, we need to understand God's expectations of Fathers. In Ephesians 6:4, Paul defines God’s expectations of fathers: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.". Also, Proverbs 22:6 presents what expectations we might have if fathers adhere to God’s expectations: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.". Dads are to bring up their children in "the way they should go" (their calling).

Discipline, wisely administered by fathers, is an important attribute and need for fathers, as the author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 12:9-11: “. . . we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”.

Today’s Message -- The Five Needs of Fathers: 1) Companionship – As God said in Genesis 2:18, the majority of men were made not to be alone; 2) Respect – honor, appreciation, respect, as Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:33: “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."; 3) Know How to Face Temptation -- when we are tempted (temptation is not a sin), God will provide us a way out of succumbing to the temptation, 1 Corinthians 10:13; 4) Not to Be Foolish -- Proverbs 13:20; and 5) and Remember that God, the Father, Expects You to Be a Father -- Ephesians 6:4 and Proverbs 22:6, tells us that fathers are to train their children so that their children are raised: “in the way he should go’ and in a way that meets God’s expectations of both the father and the child. Men are motivated when they know they will be held accountable, and God is holding us accountable for how we fathers raise our children.

There is a void of faithful men and fathers today; therefore, fathers’, should ask God to help you to be faithful as a father. Fathers should hope that, when we are judged by God, that He tells us: “Well done good and faithful servant!”.

“God, how many more {hours, days, and years} do I have, as a father, to meet your expectations and to receive the joys of being a father”.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 22:6; Genesis 2:18; Proverbs 19:22; Ephesians 5:33; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Proverbs 13:20; Hebrews 12:9-11.

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

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The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)

In 1900, a Roman Catholic Nun obeyed the voice of the Lord, and she wrote to Pope Leo encouraging him to pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This request began a chain of events: a nun wrote a letter; a Pope and his Cardinals prayed; and the world received a Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit through many Christian denominations during a great revival in the early twentieth century.

Today, the world, along with all of us, needs to be renewed with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, initially, was about: people being filled with the Holy Spirit; people received Spiritual gifts; and people witnessing for Jesus. On this initial day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached a sermon. Afterwards, he was asked: “What must we do to be saved?”. Peter responded in Acts 2:38-39: “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’". These events of the initial Pentecost and from the various revivals of the 20th Century relating to the Charismatic Movements are normal Christianity; this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is what God intends for His people. If we are going to have a growing relationship with Jesus, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit who enables us to know and commune with the Lord. The Holy Spirit will never lead followers of Jesus in any thing that contradicts the Bible, God’s Word. In recent times, there have been teachings, regarding the Holy Spirit, that do not conform to the Bible.

Too many of us are trying to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit. The question is asked: “When do we receive the Holy Spirit?”. We cannot put God in a box regarding a timing for the receipt of the Holy Spirit. However, a better question is: “Have we received the Holy Spirit?”. We are told in John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.". Therefore, the real question should be: “Does the Holy Spirit have me?”. Until we surrender our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit cannot indwell our lives and lead us. The best answer to the timing our receipt of the Holy Spirit is: “We should receive the Holy Spirit every day.”. We should pray every day for the Holy Spirit to fill us.

We know that, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are given the “fruit of the Spirit”, as described by Paul in Galatians 5:16-26: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will bear the fruits of the Spirit and not the flesh. However, if we sin, we are not in the Holy Spirit. Pentecost reminds us that if we yield our lives to the will of God through the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the Holy Spirit; and we are given Spiritual gifts to witness for Jesus. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit; others see Jesus in us – this countenance of Jesus, seen through our lives, is the most powerful tool a Christian can have for evangelism.

Are you grieving the Holy Spirit or are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

 

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): Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Acts 2:38-39; Galatians 5:16-26; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Philippians 4:13; John 3:8; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 12:9-31; Ephesians 4:30-32.

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Are You Filled with the Holy Spirit? (Highland Chapel; Chattanooga, TN)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

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Are You Filled with the Holy Spirit? (Highland Chapel; Chattanooga, TN)

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Are You Filled with the Holy Spirit? (Highland Chapel; Chattanooga, TN)

As we follow Jesus in our daily lives, it is difficult to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” as we are instructed in Ephesians 5:18: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,". When we believe in Jesus the Christ as our Lord and Savior; accept God’s Grace of Salvation; and follow Jesus, then God provides us with His incredible gift of the Holy Spirit – God Himself who comes to us in His presence, in the third part of the Holy Trinity, as the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us, in Ephesians 1:13, that when we become a follower of Jesus, we are “sealed with the Holy Spirit”.

Paul, in Ephesians, tells us that we only have two choices in our life relationship with the Holy Spirit: we either “grieve the Holy Spirit” or we are “filled with the Holy Spirit” – these two options, regarding the Holy Spirit, mean that, as we live our lives, we are either “strong in the Lord” or “we are not strong in the Lord”. In Ephesians 4:30, Paul speaks of “grieving the Holy Spirit”: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”. “Grieving the Holy Spirit” means that we hurt or wound God’s expectations for us as Followers of Jesus, as we live our lives, by not being “filled with the Holy Spirit”.

Most of Ephesians 4 and Ephesians 5 describe the binary positions of lives that “grieve the Holy Spirit” or are “filled with the Holy Spirit”. When we “grieve the Holy Spirit”, we limit the power of the Holy Spirit and our access to God through our personal relationship with Him. Therefore, anytime we sin we “grieve the Holy Spirit”. God, through the Holy Spirit, will make us aware of when we grieve Him: and we then have the opportunity for Confession and Repentance of our sin; therefore, we can continue to “be filled with the Holy Spirit” as God wishes and expects.

Are you grieving the Holy Spirit or are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

 

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): Ephesians 5:18; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 1:17; Ephesians 4:1; Ephesians 6:17-18; Ephesians 4:31; Ephesians 4:32; Ephesians 5:1-2; Ephesians 5:3-4; Ephesians 5:5; Ephesians 5:6; Ephesians 5:7-11; Ephesians 5:12-14; Ephesians 5:15-17; Ephesians 5:18; John 7:38-39; 1 John 1:8-9.

 

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WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Are You Filled with the Holy Spirit? (Highland Chapel; Chattanooga, TN)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

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Come Holy Spirit

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Special Introduction – The Spiritual Discipline of Giving: We are challenged by God to bring our whole tithe into the storehouse (church) because God tells us that we cannot out give Him. After all, everything we have is from God. Our gifts to God should be from our first fruits and not our last fruits. Developing the discipline of returning our first fruits to God breaks the hold of materialism on our lives.

Today’s Message – Come Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is God Himself. The Holy Spirit is a presence of God in the Trinity of one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells us, as our counselor, always pointing to Jesus in truth. People are not convicted and converted in their hearts and minds to become followers of Jesus without the Holy Spirit. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our churches, not much will be accomplished.

It is impossible to be a Christian and to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit. The character of Jesus’ followers is manifested through their lives bringing forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit, as presented in Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control . . .”. Otherwise, our lives will only reflect the fruit of the flesh as presented in Galatians 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these . . .". The Holy Spirit seeks to work through us in a way that those around us see the fruit of the Spirit and not the fruit of the flesh.

What do people see when they look at Your life? As followers of Jesus, we need to live through God’s gift to us of the power inherent in the Holy Spirit.

 

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): Malachi 3:8-12; Proverbs 23:5; Genesis 1:2; Psalms 1:39; Acts 1:4-5; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Hebrews 9:14; Luke 1:35; Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 14:16; Acts 2:42; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:6-7; John 3:4-8; John 14:16; John 16:7; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:18.

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Where Is Your Interior Life Leading You? {The Interior Life – Emotional Maturity: Exercising the Mind – Part 4 (Christ Church; Atlanta, GA)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

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Title: The Resurrection -- Part 3: Jesus Gives Us His Great Commission Just Before His Ascension

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Introduction from “The Resurrection -- Part 3: Jesus Gives Us His Great Commission Just Before His Ascension:

At Jesus last appearance to His Eleven Disciples as a group and just before His Ascension, Jesus gives His Great Commission to us and to His Disciples. In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus commissions or, indeed, commands us: “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”.

Jesus, in Matthew 28:16-20, has commissioned us and commanded us to: Go, Make Disciples, Baptize, and to Teach everything that he has taught us (e.g., the Bible, our walk with the Holy Spirit) to the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Remember again, that this commission and commandment (i.e. “as you go”) was the last thing that Jesus, as the Incarnate God-Man, told His Disciples and, therefore, us before His Ascension into Heaven to become solely God again.

Because of the Resurrection and God’s Grace, we have the opportunity for Salvation and Eternal Life; and God has given this opportunity to others next door and around the world, through us, if we Go, Make Disciples, Baptize, and Teach!

Today’ Message – Hearing God’s Voice:

In John 10:1-18, Jesus presents the picture of the Shephard and the Shepherd’s relationship to His flock. Shepherding, in the First Century, was an intense and demanding occupation with the need for the Shepherd to lead and communicate with His sheep and to prevent “false shepherds” from stealing sheep. In communicating with His sheep, the sheep learn and listen for the Shepherd’s voice which protects the sheep from “false shepherds”. Jesus tells us, in John 10:7-11, that He is the Shepherd and only through and with Jesus can we enter into the Gate, which is our Salvation and Eternal Life:’ So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’”.

Jesus tells us that the sheep will hear His voice; therefore, if we are followers of Jesus, we should hear Jesus voice – we are all called to be Jesus’ sheep.

How do we know the voice of Jesus our Good Shepherd? To hear and know Jesus’ voice, we need to consider: 1) we must “enter through the Gate” – the “Gate” is only Jesus; 2) we must be a sheep (i.e. must be saved and have a personal relationship with Jesus) of the Good Shepherd to hear and distinguish His voice from the “false shepherds”; 3) we must learn to listen – God’s voice can present to us in many ways, especially through the Holy Spirit – the Holy Spirit gives us an insight into the mind of God and puts our mind in sync with God; 4) the voice of Satan is discernable from the voice and message of Jesus; and 5) we must obey the Lord as we listen – in the New Testament, the words “hear” and “obey” are the same; and God wants to guide and direct us.

Ultimately, God tells us: “Be still and know that I am God.”.

He is Risen, and He is alive today!

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

Scripture Reference (ESV): Matthew 28:16-20; John 21:1-14; Acts 1:8; John 3:3-8; John 10:1-27 ; Ezekiel 34:22-24,31; Psalms 23:1-6; John 5:25; Ezekiel 1:28; Ezekiel 43:2; 1 Kings 19:12; Isiah 30:21; Ephesians 1:17-18; Hebrews 3:7.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Where Is Your Interior Life Leading You? {Nurturing The Interior Life – Exercising the Mind – Part 2] (Camp House; Chattanooga, TN)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

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Marriage – A Current Assessment (Christ the King Anglican Church; Birmingham, AL)

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Marriage – A Current Assessment (Christ the King Anglican Church; Birmingham, AL)

Marriage and the family, in current decades, have been under attack to the degree that marriage is now losing its value in our culture.

In Mark 10:6-9, Jesus speaks to God’s plan for marriage: “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’”

In our culture’s attacks on marriage and the family, we see ten ways in which marriage and the family have been and are being perverted: 1) US Supreme Court’s decision on same sex marriage – as followers of Jesus, we don’t believe the courts have the right to define/redefine marriage as established by God; 2) sex before marriage is becoming the norm; 3) sex outside of marriage has become acceptable; 4) the prevalence of divorce; 5) acceptance of cohabitation; 6) birth of children out of wedlock; 7) multi-spouse marriage; 8) escalation and the acceptance of pornography; 9) the acceptance and practice of abortion on demand; and 10) the acceptable “choosing” one’s own gender by some people. These perversions of marriage and the family are chipping away at the value and importance of marriage and the family in the US – even among Christians. Too many of our Christian young people don’t know why they should get married -- this diminution of marriage’s value is a failure, mostly, of the Christian Church.

Many Christians, today, are being deceived and led away from God’s Word by the Evil One (e.g., John 10:10). Therefore, we need to read and understand God’s Word, especially as it relates to His plan for marriage that Jesus posits in His quote from Genesis in Mark 10:6. Throughout history humans have corrupted God’s beautiful plan for His Creation. In Mark 10:7, we see God’s pattern for marriage. In Mark 10:8, we are provided with God’s purpose for marriage; and the product of this “one flesh” is children. By becoming “one flesh” in marriage, the man and women become a “new trinity” – husband, wife, and the Lord. In this “marriage trinitarian relationship”, each child is brought into this family relationship in the same way that we, as followers of Jesus, are brought into our personal relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit through the Gospel. In Mark 10:9 we see God’s expressed permeance of marriage.

God’s design and plan for marriage, as presented by Jesus in Mark 10, is ideal for us as humans, our nation and our culture; but His plan is being increasingly perverted. Therefore, what should we do, as followers of Jesus, about these “attacks on marriage”? We can: 1) stand up, speak up and speak God’s truth – Christians need to stop be trampled upon by this divergent culture; 2) model good and Godly marriage and family life to the culture; 3) you teach your children, you not the church/school/government, about God and His plan for marriage and the family; and 4) pray and ask God to intervene in these attacks and to support our seeking to achieve His plan for our own marriage and the family – prayer does change things, and it brings the power of God.

We are blessed to live in an incredible time in history, but the plan and fabric that God designed to keep us together and thriving – marriage and the family – is being perverted. However, we, as followers of Jesus, hold the key to stopping this perversion though getting our own family and marriage in line with God’s plan and then witnessing and voting to stop this perversion – the time is now.

 

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): Mark 10:6-9; John 10:10; Genesis 2:21-25.

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Marriage – A Current Assessment (Christ the King Anglican Church; Birmingham, AL)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

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The Upper Room Part 1: The Promise of the Spirit (Apostles Anglican Church; Knoxville, TN)

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

The Upper Room Part 1: The Promise of the Spirit (Apostles Anglican Church; Knoxville, TN)

In John:14, Jesus is on His way to the cross, and He is arrested – it is the night of the first Holy Communion and the washing of feet. Jesus and the Apostilles are in Jerusalem, and their activities begin in the “Upper Room” and move to the Garden of Gethsemane. In this text, Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit; and He tells how the Holy Spirit will work in our lives. Also, Jesus reminded the Apostilles of His prior teachings and that they should “let not your heart be troubled”.

In John 14:23, 26: Jesus is telling the Apostilles about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s role: “Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him . . . But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.’". Subsequently, Jesus tells the Apostilles that they “must be born again” of the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

After twenty-one centuries, how should we consider the Holy Spirit as followers of Jesus? We should consider that: 1) the Holy Spirit is very important for us as we follow Jesus because, like God, we are triune beings – body, soul, and spirit -- with our worship and communication with God conducted through our spirit enabling us to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”; 2) the Holy Spirit brings the presence of the Father and the Son to be both with us and in us; 3) the Holy Spirit helps us to live our Christian life – our “helper”; 4) the Holy Spirit is our teacher to teach us to understand the Bible, how to pray and to acquire the other knowledge that we need to follow Jesus; and 5) while we may want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and our “pilot light is lit”, our “furnace is not engaged” to bring the Holy Spirit into our lives.

It is one thing to know Jesus in our lives, but it is another thing to love and obey Jesus in our lives. In other words, are you willing to let go of controlling your life and turn your life’s control over to the Holy Spirit – God’s will not your will be done? God does not force His will on you. You must seek Jesus to follow Him, and you must follow Jesus “in truth and in {Holy}Spirit”.

Therefore, the question becomes not “do you have the Holy Spirit”, but “does the Holy Spirit have you”?

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM A 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).

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – Am I Ready to Pray? (Grace Church; Bude, Cornwall, UK)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

 

Scripture Reference (ESV): John 14:23, 26; John 3:3-8; John 4:24; John 7:37-39; John 14:15-17; John 15:26; Jon 16:4-14; Ephesians 2:1; John 14:16-17; Genesis 1:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20; Ephesians 5:18.

Jesus Appears Again

Message Summary:

Repentance is a turning away from evil.

In Luke 24:15, Jesus appeared again after His resurrection: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.". Most Christians around the world see Easter not as one day but as the Season of Easter, lasting fifty days. During this Season of Easter, Jesus appeared many times to many people, including several encounters with His disciples and the Apostles along with an appearance to a group of more than five hundred people. On the fortieth day, Jesus ascended into Heaven. After Jesus Ascension, He appeared to Saul, who became the Apostle Saul, on Saul’s trip to Damascus.

Beginning in Luke 24:36 (“Luke’s Great Commission”), Jesus opened the Apostles minds spiritually to the Gospel; and the Gospel is summarized in “five truths” – the Gospel is a: 1) “double historical event” – Jesus death and His Resurrection, which really happened; 2) “double proclamation” – repentance (the Gospel demand) and forgiveness (the Gospel offer) of sins will be preached in His name; 3) “double reach or focus” – the preaching of the Gospel was to begin in Jerusalem with the Jews, but it was to be extended to all nations; 4) “double validation” – validated by the prophecies of the Old Testament and the Apostles’ witness through their writing of the New Testament; and 5) “double sending” – Jesus promised the sending of the Holy Spirit to His Apostles, and the sending of the Apostles to the nations of the world in the power of the Holy Spirit..

If Jesus was speaking to His Apostles in Luke 24, what is He saying to us, His modern-day disciples, about two thousand years later? Jesus is telling us, today, the same thing that He told His Apostles in Luke 24!

 

Today’s Affirmation: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO – “Praying with Perseverance (Fowery Parish; Cornwall, UK)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

 

Scripture Reference (ESV): Luke 24:36-49; Psalms 119:18-20; Romans 1:16; Acts 1:8.

Surprise – Jesus is Not Dead; Jesus Is Alive to All Who Accept Him in Faith

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Surprise – Jesus is Not Dead; Jesus Is Alive to All Who Accept Him in Faith

Surprise effects people in different ways. When Mary Magdalene entered Jesus’ tomb looking for Jesus after His crucifixion and death, she was surprised in John 20:15-16: “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, [2] ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).".

Jesus was dead, but He did not remain dead. Through Jesus resurrection, He arose from the dead as was seen after the resurrection by Mary Magdalene, the Apostles, and many others over the forty-day period until His Ascension – all were surprised when they saw Jesus alive after His death on the cross.

Today, two thousand years later, many people are surprised to learn that Jesus is not dead. It is not until we come to Jesus in personal faith that we realize that Jesus is alive – our realization of Jesus immortality is not from an intellectual awareness, but our realization of a living Jesus comes through a personal, experiential faith-based relationship with Jesus in our lives.  Evil and sin are all around us sinners; and as Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.". Therefore, without a living Jesus, our eternal death is the only outcome. Also, societies attempting to function without a living Jesus are on a pathway to “pure evil”.

Easter changed all this for us who come to Christ and follow Him. Jesus is alive for us. For those of us who believe in Jesus, things happen to us personally in our lives: 1) our sins are forgiven – part of Jesus’ resurrection is the power we are given over our sins and sinful nature, as Jesus tells us in Matthew 26:28: “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”, some of us are surprised that our sins are forgiven with our faith but without our performance of some “works”; 2) eternal life is made available to us – having a personal relationship with God for eternity is eternal life; and 3) Jesus is with us in the surprises that life throws our way – we have to come to Jesus in repentance and faith, however, too many of us live our lives as if we believe that Jesus is dead.

Christ is risen! Is Jesus resurrection a surprise to you? If so, ask Jesus, through your faith, to come into your life right now; let a living Jesus and not the twists and turns of your life surprise you.

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S EASTER VIDEO – “Easter -- I Am the Resurrection – (Holy Cross Anglican Cathedral; Loganville, GA)”:  www.AWFTL.org/watch.

 

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

 

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

 

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): John 20:11-18; Romans 6:20-23; John 20:1-10; Luke 24; Acts 10:39; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:16-19; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Psalms 103:12; John 17:3; John 3:36; 1 John 5:11; Hebrews 13:8; Hebrews 13:5.