Galatians (Program #32) – Born of the Spirit to Receive the Spirit (1)

He therefore who bountifully supplies to you the Spirit and does works of power among you, does He do it out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith? Have you ever considered this word from the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3 in light of your own Christian experience?  What is it to receive the bountiful supply of the Spirit?  Many Christians today are even reluctant to talk about the Spirit, yet it’s clear from God’s Word that He desires to supply us with the Spirit, even bountifully. Receiving the supply of the Spirit is the focus of today’s life study of the Bible.

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Galatians (Program #4) – The Revelation of God’s Son in Us

As Christians, we may read or even study the Bible. But when we do, what do we come away impressed with? Miracles? Inspiring stories or teachings? The central revelation of the entire Bible is Christ. The Apostle Paul says in Galatians that it pleased God to reveal His Son in me. Do you see this wonderful Christ throughout God’s Word? Please stay with us as we focus on the revelation of God’s Son in us on today’s life study of the Bible.

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2 Corinthians (Program #40) – The Minister’s of the New Covenant (13)

2 Corinthians chapter seven is very unique in the New Testament. It’s hard to find even a thread of teaching or doctrine in this chapter. But rather we are allowed into Paul’s heart to touch the deep and intimate feelings that he has regarding the believers in Corinth.

7: 3…”you are in our hearts...”
7:4… “I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our affliction.”

This is the apostle, fully restoring and fully reconciling those whom he had previously rebuke for their many failures and sins in his first epistle to the Corinthian church.

Although we may only see his tender emotional feelings been expressed here. Under all is his strong desire for the church in Corinth even all the believers and the entire body of Christ to be brought up to the standard that he revealed in another of his epistle, Ephesians. Ephesians 4:16

16 “..all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.”

To see this link between 2 Corinthians 7 and God’s eternal purpose in Ephesians is rare glimpse into the depth of the riches in God’s word.

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2 Corinthians (Program #15) – The Ministers of the New Covenant (7b)

All genuine believers in Christ know that an essential of the Christians faith is that Christ our Savior is sinless. In fact the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians that He did not know sin. Yet the very same verse tells us that this One that did not know sin, was made sin. Here is chapter 5:

21 “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

What mysterious, marvelous language. He, Who did not know sin, was made sin on our behalf. We, who believed treasure the fact that He died for our sins. Yet do we really have the proper understanding, a proper appreciation of the fact that according to God’s word that He was made sin on our behalf?

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1 Corinthians (Program #38) – Dealing with Eating of Sacrifices to Idols (3)

1 Corinthians chapter 9 shows us two very significant factors in the ministry of the apostle Paul. First we see how pure he was. Pure in a sense that he had only one motive to be wholly in Christ and for Christ. He sought nothing for his personal gain. Second Paul was also faithful. Faithful because he saw his commission from the Lord in the gospel is a kind of stewardship with which he had been entrusted. Listen to these verses in 1 Corinthians

9:16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have no boast, for necessity is laid upon me; for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. If I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a stewardship.”

To read words such as these can’t help but convict us because we all become keenly aware of the impurity of our motives when we receive light from God’s word. But rather be discouraged we should take heart. For in other of Paul’s writing he opens the door to help all of God’s children to as such pure living and in such a faithful serving.

In Galatians
2:20 “I am crucified with Christ;”

and in this book 1 Corinthians chapter

6:17 “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.”

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1 Corinthians (Program #35) – Dealing with Marriage Life (3)

When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, it was very hard for those around Him to discern that what He was speaking was actually God’s word. Because unlike the prophets of the Old Testament He spoke as a normal man with normal language and never one time does the Bible record Him using the phrase “doth saith the Lord”. Yet He was the Lord and every one of His word was the word of God. What set Him apart from those of the Old Testament dispensation was incarnation. He wasn’t just speaking for God in the way of prophesy, He was God.  God incarnated to be a man. This principle of incarnation is the unique characteristic of the whole New Testament. Not just man under the influence or inspiration of the Spirit speaking for God but man so one with God in their life, in their living and even in their speaking that their words were God’s words.

1 Corinthians 7 is the chapter that illustrate this principle of incarnation. Not only is it applied to the Lord Jesus but even as it applied to the apostles and the apostle Paul specifically.

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Exodus (Program#59) – The Blessing Received by the Loving Seekers of God Through His Law as His Living Word (1)

The Bible is the most wonderful book of books.   God revealed that the words in it are the very breath and that He himself is embodied in it.  Yet to some, all they see are the controversies and seeming inconsistencies.  Even to us Christians at times,  it seems to be merely a book of history and hard to understand proverb.   Should we settle for this or do we need to be desperate to contact the living God each and every time we come to His word?

On this particular program, we encourage everyone who is listening to pray this prayer “Lord, while I am listening to this broadcast, help me to turn my heart to You all the ways.”

The Bible should always be something beneficial.  It’s the bread of life.  It’s God’s word.  Surely, it should always bring some kind of help to us.  But we all know at times, we come away seemingly with nothing.  Even sometimes we don’t touch God and we only see may be history or events.  And at other times it seems like there may be even contradictions that plague us and bother us, just leave people questioning whether it is even true or not. Is this what Paul the apostle meant in 1 Corinthians 6 when he said “the letter kills but the Spirit gives life”?

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Luke (Program #35) – The Ministry of the Man-Savior in His Human Virtues with His Divine Attributes from Galilee to Jerusalem (15)

What does the Bible say happens to a believer in Christ when he or she dies? Does it actually say that we are taken immediately to heaven? Well though this is the common thought among Christians, remember the question was “What does the Bible say?” We may think we know, but we may be in for a surprise when we actually look into God’s Word. We will find this very important section of scripture today in Luke 16.

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Zechariah (Program #4) – The Visions of Consolation and Promise (3)

Zechariah chapter 3 begins with a vision of three persons standing together. The first was Joshua, the high priest of Israel; and next to him was Satan, who was accusing him and opposing him. The third person standing just before Joshua was the Angel of Jehovah. This scene is repeated nearly everyday in the life of God’s chosen ones. Revelation chapter 12 tells us that Satan, the adversary of God’s people is constantly accusing them just as he was accusing Joshua before the Lord in Zechariah 3. And here the Lord deals with Satan and Joshua is relieved, not because he wasn’t guilty but because Jehovah cleansed him and justified him. When we find ourselves being accused by the adversary, the key is to do as Joshua did – not to hide or pretend – but to rely on God’s word to deal with both adversary and all of our feelings.

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Zechariah (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

During the days of the degradation of the house of Israel, God’s word was primarily limited to his overcomers, the prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. But as the people’s hearts began to turn back to the Lord, other prophets were still needed to bear Jehovah’s testimony and to release His speaking for His people in that age to accomplish His purpose and plan. Among these prophets were Haggai and Zechariah who shared in the captivity of Israel in Babylon but who were raised up by the Lord to accompany His people back to Judah and to encourage and exhort them to go back and rebuild the temple of Jehovah within Jerusalem.

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