Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: Ex 23:14
You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread... Ex 23:15
and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year... Ex 23:16
This week Pastor is talking about the three feasts of Passover. While he quickly explained the three feasts I will not take the time to do so here. The real topic for this week is the seven promises God makes to the Nation Israel if they obey Him and keep the feasts. To hear Pastor Stan's explanation and the entirety of the sermon follow the link below to the podcast.
"So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water... Exodus 23:25b
...bread and water... can easily be taken to mean He will bless with what we need to survive, which would be a good thing. Hunger is far more common throughout human history then plenty. However, it is important to always take scripture as a whole when we seek to understand God 's nature. In 1Kings 17 Elijah the prophet has just informed the evil King Ahab that famine was about to strike the land. Then God told Elijah to get away and hide by the Brook Cherith...
"And it will be [that] you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." 1Kings 17:4
Even though famine would strike all of Israel, God provided for His servant Elijah. So Elijah went to the brook and drank the water and the Ravens brought him bread and meat day night until the brook dried up from lack of rain. It was at this point God told Elijah...
"Arise, go to Zarephath, which [belongs] to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." 1Kings 17:9
Elijah goes, finds a widow, asks for food and water and she gets it for him. No questions asked. She knew he was coming and was aware she was to provide for him. It almost seems like God knew the famine was coming and had set up a plan to provide for Elijah well in advance. Is it possible that He knew that "unexpected" hospital bill would come to you? Could He have possibly been aware that your car would break down right before you paid your tithe this month? The story gets better though. When Elijah asks for water she goes and gets water, when he asks for food...
So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I [am] gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." 1Kings 17:12
She knew that she only had a small bit of food, and no more was coming. This was to be she and her son's last meal. What does Elijah say? "Fuget about it"(bad Italian accent) go get me the food and God will bless you. What would you do? Well I know what she did...
So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for [many] days.The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah. 1Kings 17:15&16
Because she gave of what was most precious God gave her everlasting. She gave her last bit of food and God fed her until the rains returned. God promised to provide for Elijah, but instead of just giving him enough to survive he received such abundance that the widow and her son were also fed. God not only wants to meet our basic needs, but He wants us to prosper so that we can be a blessing to those around us in need.
Read Luke 10:30-35. The Good Samaritan. When the man was beaten and hurt, the Samaritan man saw him and had compassion, paid an innkeeper to care for him and saw that he was made well. For the Samaritan to do this he had to have money to give. If the Samaritan had only had enough money to survive he would not have been able to bless the injured Jew. God is never caught off guard by our hardships. Rest assured that what ever challenges you face God has already made plans to provide for you. Have faith and obey God and the provision God will be waiting for you.
God Bless,
Recommended reading: 1Kings 17, Exodus 23 and Luke 10.
FWC Podcast
Friday, April 22, 2011
4/10/2011 - 4/17/2011 Seven Promises: Promise Two
Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: Ex 23:14
You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread... Ex 23:15
and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year... Ex 23:16
This week Pastor is talking about the three feasts of Passover. While he quickly explained the three feasts I will not take the time to do so here. The real topic for this week is the seven promises God makes to the Nation Israel if they obey Him and keep the feasts. To hear Pastor Stan's explanation and the entirety of the sermon follow the link below to the podcast.
"But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. Exodus 23:22, 23
Here God promises us that if we obey Him He will crush our enemies on our behalf. You might like to know that none of the nation states mentioned above still exist. As a matter of fact they stopped existing once the Israelites obeyed God and wiped them out. God does not promise we will live amicably with hostile neighbors. He promises to declare war on our behalf. Paul the Apostle asks the question...
If God [is] for us, who [can be] against us? Romans 8:31
All of the different "ites" mentioned in Exodus were actual nations with armies the Children of Israel had to meet face to face. It is interesting to note that God does not promise to deliver them FROM their enemies, but IN TO their enemies. Only after the Jews stand an fight will God bring the victory. What "ites" do you face in your life? Do you see challenges as armies too strong to defeat or as plunder waiting to be taken? It is not likely you face hoards of armed men waiting to kill you, but maybe you face financial trouble. Maybe your "ite" is marital trouble or your kids are rebelling. These are not small challenges to the one facing them, but God has promised you the victory. Above He promises that our obedience guarantees His full attention will be given to our enemies and they will be defeated.
We as children of God have inherited the birthright of children of the King. Paul goes on to say...
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
There is no need for timidity when we face the Giants in our lives. Go boldly, love fearlessly and never tread lightly when standing up to your enemies. If God be with us who can be agianst us?
I want to leave you with this battle cry: The Giants are defeatable, the Grapes are attainable, and I am no Grasshopper!
Recommended Reading: Exodus 23, Romans 8 and Ephesians 6.
God Bless.
FWC Podcast
You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread... Ex 23:15
and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year... Ex 23:16
This week Pastor is talking about the three feasts of Passover. While he quickly explained the three feasts I will not take the time to do so here. The real topic for this week is the seven promises God makes to the Nation Israel if they obey Him and keep the feasts. To hear Pastor Stan's explanation and the entirety of the sermon follow the link below to the podcast.
"But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. Exodus 23:22, 23
Here God promises us that if we obey Him He will crush our enemies on our behalf. You might like to know that none of the nation states mentioned above still exist. As a matter of fact they stopped existing once the Israelites obeyed God and wiped them out. God does not promise we will live amicably with hostile neighbors. He promises to declare war on our behalf. Paul the Apostle asks the question...
If God [is] for us, who [can be] against us? Romans 8:31
All of the different "ites" mentioned in Exodus were actual nations with armies the Children of Israel had to meet face to face. It is interesting to note that God does not promise to deliver them FROM their enemies, but IN TO their enemies. Only after the Jews stand an fight will God bring the victory. What "ites" do you face in your life? Do you see challenges as armies too strong to defeat or as plunder waiting to be taken? It is not likely you face hoards of armed men waiting to kill you, but maybe you face financial trouble. Maybe your "ite" is marital trouble or your kids are rebelling. These are not small challenges to the one facing them, but God has promised you the victory. Above He promises that our obedience guarantees His full attention will be given to our enemies and they will be defeated.
We as children of God have inherited the birthright of children of the King. Paul goes on to say...
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
There is no need for timidity when we face the Giants in our lives. Go boldly, love fearlessly and never tread lightly when standing up to your enemies. If God be with us who can be agianst us?
I want to leave you with this battle cry: The Giants are defeatable, the Grapes are attainable, and I am no Grasshopper!
Recommended Reading: Exodus 23, Romans 8 and Ephesians 6.
God Bless.
FWC Podcast
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
4/10/2011 - 4/17/2011 Seven Promises: Promise One
Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: Ex 23:14
You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread... Ex 23:15
and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year... Ex 23:16
This week Pastor is talking about the three feasts of Passover. While he quickly explained the three feasts I will not take the time to do so here. The real topic for this week is the seven promises God makes to the Nation Israel if they obey Him and keep the feasts. To hear Pastor Stan's explanation and the entirety of the sermon follow the link below to the podcast.
Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Ex 23:20
This is a powerful promise because here God not only promises to send Angels to keep us on the right path in life, but that path will take us to the "place" He has prepared.
"In My Father's house are many mansions; [fn] if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2
So in Exodus there are two meanings of what the place is. On earth He is promising to lead the Israelites into the promise land but He is also promising that we will go to God's House that Christ has prepared for us. In Exodus the Jews must obey the feasts, in John 14:1 we must believe. Think about this, not only is God promising to be with us throughout every day of our lives to show us the right way to go, but He is also working ahead to prepare a "place". Here on Earth this means that blessings await all of God's children, we need only to believe and obey Him while staying on the path He has set before us. Pastor has said many time that God wants us to have success here on Earth.
It is important to pause here and clarify one common misunderstanding. Success means different things to each of us. For some it might mean wealth, but for others wealth could be destructive. God knows what is best for each of us, but He does desire that we do not live in want. So Pastor Stan has said many times that God wants us to have good relationships, enough to eat and good health.
This is the first of seven posts covering the seven promises God made in Exodus 23.
Recommended reading: Exodus 23 and John 14.
FWC Podcast
You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread... Ex 23:15
and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year... Ex 23:16
This week Pastor is talking about the three feasts of Passover. While he quickly explained the three feasts I will not take the time to do so here. The real topic for this week is the seven promises God makes to the Nation Israel if they obey Him and keep the feasts. To hear Pastor Stan's explanation and the entirety of the sermon follow the link below to the podcast.
Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Ex 23:20
This is a powerful promise because here God not only promises to send Angels to keep us on the right path in life, but that path will take us to the "place" He has prepared.
"In My Father's house are many mansions; [fn] if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2
So in Exodus there are two meanings of what the place is. On earth He is promising to lead the Israelites into the promise land but He is also promising that we will go to God's House that Christ has prepared for us. In Exodus the Jews must obey the feasts, in John 14:1 we must believe. Think about this, not only is God promising to be with us throughout every day of our lives to show us the right way to go, but He is also working ahead to prepare a "place". Here on Earth this means that blessings await all of God's children, we need only to believe and obey Him while staying on the path He has set before us. Pastor has said many time that God wants us to have success here on Earth.
It is important to pause here and clarify one common misunderstanding. Success means different things to each of us. For some it might mean wealth, but for others wealth could be destructive. God knows what is best for each of us, but He does desire that we do not live in want. So Pastor Stan has said many times that God wants us to have good relationships, enough to eat and good health.
This is the first of seven posts covering the seven promises God made in Exodus 23.
Recommended reading: Exodus 23 and John 14.
FWC Podcast
Saturday, April 2, 2011
3/27/2011 Genesis to the Maps
Today Pastor Stan talked about the importance of understanding the entire Bible. Often Christians will disregard the Old Testament believing it to be irrelevant and out dated. "We live under grace, that is the law and it does not apply to us." This is an interesting theory since the Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews:
I find this fascinating because, if Jesus Christ is the same as he has always been and if He is the Son of God then why would we disregard several thousand years of historical records showing us how God interacts with man.
The simple point here is that Jesus Christ has always been, He is God, and therefore was the one who breathed life into Adam and Eve, He parted the Red Sea and dropped mana from heaven. He is also the one who instructed the Israelis to build the Ark of the Covenant and how to carry it. This is where we picked up the story in Exodus chapter 25:
And they shall make an ark of acacia wood...(v10)
They were given specific instructions on how to build the Ark and how to carry it. For many years the Ark had been held by the Philistines, neighbors and enemies of the Nation of Israel. God sent David to retrieve it in 2Samuel chapter 6:
Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand.(v1)
David got very angry at this point and wondered why he had bothered to even go get the Ark. He refused to allow it to enter his Capital City. Why did God strike this loyal servant dead? Obedience. God told the people of Israel how the Ark was to be transported Exodus and David put it on a cart. God is not impressed with partial obedience. He wants our hole selves our hole hearts and our entire beings. David later brought the Ark into the City of David and through a party to celebrate.
The lesson here is simple and timeless, Christ died so we could have eternal life. There is nothing we can do to earn God's love or His forgiveness. What God does expect from us after we have received this gift of eternal life is our love and obedience. We love Him because He first loved us and we obey because we are grateful for what He has done.
In conclusion, Pastor Devin started the morning giving us his
"Formula for Success"
1) Speak the Word,
2) Meditate on the Word and
3) Live the Word
Just remember, to be successful this formula must include the entire Bible, Genesis to the maps.
God Bless
Family Worship Center podcast
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews13:8
I find this fascinating because, if Jesus Christ is the same as he has always been and if He is the Son of God then why would we disregard several thousand years of historical records showing us how God interacts with man.
The simple point here is that Jesus Christ has always been, He is God, and therefore was the one who breathed life into Adam and Eve, He parted the Red Sea and dropped mana from heaven. He is also the one who instructed the Israelis to build the Ark of the Covenant and how to carry it. This is where we picked up the story in Exodus chapter 25:
And they shall make an ark of acacia wood...(v10)
And you shall make poles of acacia wood...(v13)
You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them.(v14)
The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.(v15) They were given specific instructions on how to build the Ark and how to carry it. For many years the Ark had been held by the Philistines, neighbors and enemies of the Nation of Israel. God sent David to retrieve it in 2Samuel chapter 6:
Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand.(v1)
And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God...(v2)
So they set the ark of God on a new cart,...and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart(v3)
...Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.(v6)
Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.(v7)
David got very angry at this point and wondered why he had bothered to even go get the Ark. He refused to allow it to enter his Capital City. Why did God strike this loyal servant dead? Obedience. God told the people of Israel how the Ark was to be transported Exodus and David put it on a cart. God is not impressed with partial obedience. He wants our hole selves our hole hearts and our entire beings. David later brought the Ark into the City of David and through a party to celebrate.
The lesson here is simple and timeless, Christ died so we could have eternal life. There is nothing we can do to earn God's love or His forgiveness. What God does expect from us after we have received this gift of eternal life is our love and obedience. We love Him because He first loved us and we obey because we are grateful for what He has done.
In conclusion, Pastor Devin started the morning giving us his
"Formula for Success"
1) Speak the Word,
2) Meditate on the Word and
3) Live the Word
Just remember, to be successful this formula must include the entire Bible, Genesis to the maps.
God Bless
Family Worship Center podcast
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