Tag Archives: Word of God

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How to Start a Power-Packed Effective Church: Lessons from Thessaloniki

Podcast: Light on Life Season Ten Episode Eighteen

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How to Start a Power-Packed Effective Church: Lessons from Thessaloniki

How does one pioneer a power-packed effective church? That’s the question today. We are going to take a look at how the call of God and the zeal of the Lord upon the Apostle Paul turned into a power-packed Church in one of the ten most influential cities in the Roman Empire, the city of Thessaloniki. Now, one thing is certain from the following illustration — this is not how Paul did it. You know, about 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. In the first year, this group of pioneers established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. In the third year, the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness. In the fourth year, the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway? Is that wild or what? Here were people who had the vision to travel three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But, once they got there, in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision1 F.B. Myer said, that the church that refuses to be a missionary church will become a missing church. the Apostle Paul didn’t get saved to sit — He got saved to be sent. The result of his obedience to go? The powerful church at Thessaloniki. How to Start a Power-Packed Effective Church: Lessons from Thessaloniki, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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How to Become an Expert at Swinging the Sword of the Spirit of God

Podcast: Light on Life Season Ten Episode Fourteen

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How to Become an Expert at Swinging the Sword of the Spirit of God

We’ve arrived. Today, we take a look at the final piece of the armor of God, the Sword of the Spirit. What is the Sword of the Spirit? Well, the scripture says that it’s the Word of God. So, our interaction with the Bible is necessary when we engage the levels of devils that come against us to steal, kill, and destroy. One gentleman, Robert Boardman wrote an article entitled, The Neglected Exercise, What will you miss if you don’t read your Bible every day? In it, he said that in the early 1970s, he accompanied a small tour group into a country that was difficult to enter. In one city of about 500,000, we found only one church left open by the authorities. All over the city, we could distinguish former church buildings turned into museums, warehouses, offices, or military barracks. In that solitary open church, we joined about fifteen bystanders, including several youths, watching a stand-up worship service. The worshipers numbered ten elderly women, one elderly blind man, and a handful of children. A priest wafted incense and recited some incantations. Then he brought out a huge, bejeweled Bible, carefully unlocked it, and read a portion from the Old Testament and another from the New. He then locked the Bible and, to our astonishment, one by one the eleven elderly worshipers came by and reverently kissed the ancient Holy Book. As we came out of that forlorn but open church building, many thoughts raced through our minds. One thing we were sure of was that the onlooking young people were thinking, If this is Christianity, it deserves to stay in the Middle Ages. What we saw was a ritualistic, clergy-dominated religion where the people had no access to a Bible of their own. It was locked away from them. How many versions of the Bible do we have in the free world? Hundreds I’m sure. I have an invaluable study book called The New Testament from 26 Translations. Do you and I take advantage of the unlocked, abundant versions of the Bible in our homes and libraries? Or do our negligence and apathy make the Bible a locked book? That was Robert Broadman’s insightful comment. Let me ask you a question based on what you’ve heard. How does the Bible become the Sword of the Spirit that it needs to be if you treat it as a locked book? How to Become an Expert at Swinging the Sword of the Spirit of God, that’s the focus of this week’s Light on Life.

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Just Who Is Jesus to You? Encore

[Tweet “it’s not important what the devil has to say. What’s vital is what you have to say after he gets done talking. “]

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One Necessary Component You Need for Spiritual Growth in God

The Bridge Commentary: The Epistle of First Peter

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The Word of God is the Key to Spiritual Growth

The earliest African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in their private devotions. Each one reportedly had separate spots in the thicket where he poured out his heart to God. The several paths to these little ‘Bethels’ became distinctly marked; and when anyone began to decline in devotions, it was soon apparent to others. They would then kindly remind him, saying, “Brother, the grass grows on your path yonder.”1 Being regular in your time with God is a key to spiritual growth as the Apostle Peter lets us know in his second epistle.

Why You Don’t Have to Be Sick in Light of the Bible

[Tweet “You can be saved for a whole pile of physical years and still be a spiritual infant.”]

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The Word of the Lord Is Like A Fire

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The Word of the Lord Is A Fire

How’s Your Fire?

Jeremiah said the Word of the Lord in him just lit his heart up like fire.

Jeremiah 20:9 (GW) — 9 I think to myself, “I can forget the Lord and no longer speak his name.” But ⌊his word⌋ is inside me like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I wear myself out holding it in, but I can’t do it any longer.

If you think about the Word of God long enough, if you ponder it and meditate on it like the Psalmist David did in Psalm one,

Psalm 1:1–3 (GW) — 1 Blessed is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers. 2 Rather, he delights in the teachings of the Lord and reflects on his teachings day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted beside streams— a tree that produces fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. He succeeds in everything he does.

You will come to a place just like Jeremiah where His Word is so strong in you that you can’t hold it in. You have to just let it go.

[Tweet “Is God’s Word like a fire shut up in your heart?”]

We met this colorful gentleman in Ocho, Jamaica while on vacation. For more of our travels check out our Instagram account.© 2017 Emery Horvath
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Why You’re Bored in Church and How to Overcome It

The Epistle of Galatians

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In last week’s blog, we looked at one of the first signs to look for when people are disconnecting from their first love. The scriptures warn us about taking this path. They warn us about abandoning our first love (Revelation 2:4). The Greek word ‘abandon’ means ‘to give up’ or ‘to let go’. Jesus knows where your heart is. He knows if you’re giving up or letting go. Which way are you trending, up or down? In today’s post, we are going to look at the second sign people transmit when they are considering defecting from the from the ranks: boredom. If you’re seeing this sign in yourself, beware.

[Tweet “Boredom stems from the thinking when you hear the Word and say, “I already know that.””]

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#S2-050: More of Why Renewing the Mind Is Important for Soul Development [Podcast]

Soul Power for Your Present Hour

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One gentleman said he met a young man not long ago who dove for exotic fish for aquariums. He said that one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium you put it in. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet. 1 You can be a six inch Christian or you can become a six foot tall fully matured full grown believer. To expand, to grow, to develop you have to go bigger in your thinking. Get out of the small tank of worldly thinking and jump into the great ocean of the knowledge of God found in His Word.

This is part two of the Series entitled, ‘Soul Power for Your Present Hour’. You can find Part One ‘Why Renewing the Mind is Important for Soul Development’ here and Part 2 “Why Renewing the Mind is Important for Soul Development” here.

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#S2-044: How You Can Overcome the Tools of Satan [Podcast]

The Believers Authority in Christ

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Writing in Moody Monthly, Carl Armerding recounted his experience of watching a wildcat in a zoo. “As I stood there,” he said, “an attendant entered the cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage.” He observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another corner of the enclosure. Armerding remarked to the attendant, “You certainly are a brave man.” “No, I ain’t brave,” he replied as he continued to sweep. “Well, then that cat must be tame.” “No,” came the reply, “he ain’t tame.” “If you aren’t brave and the wildcat isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.” Armerding said the man chuckled, then replied with an air of confidence, “Mister, he’s old—and he ain’t got no teeth.” 1 That’s an accurate description of Satan the roaring lion who seeks to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is a defeated lion with no teeth. But, that doesn’t stop him from making a bunch of noise. In order to enforce his defeat, and to shut his mouth, you have to learn to call his bluff. You can do it if you know his devices.

This is part three of the Series entitled, ‘The Believer’s Authority in Christ’. You can find Part One ‘How to Terrorize the Terrorist Encore [Podcast]‘ here and Part Two ‘How to Stop Satan from Pushing You Around‘ here.

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#S2-038: Why is Faith Important and Who Has It? [Podcast]

Real Bible Faith: How It Works

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Although the first Pilgrims established a peaceful relationship with the natives in America, the following generation struggled with bloody warfare. The war between Pilgrims and Indians, known as King Philip’s War, began in 1675 and lasted fourteen months. In March 1676, a group of nearly fifteen hundred Indians attacked the village of Rehoboth. Nathaniel Philbrick writes, “As the inhabitants watched from their garrisons, 40 houses, 30 barns, and 2 mills went up in flames. Only one person was killed—a man who believed that as long as he continued reading the Bible, no harm would come to him. Refusing to abandon his home, he was found shot to death in his chair—the Bible still in his hands.” 1 What is the point here? Reading the Bible is not enough. You have to believe it. You have to act on it. We’ve been talking the last month on the subject of divine healing. The linchpin required to make healing a reality in your life is faith in God’s Word. In this weeks’ Light on Life we are going to begin to take a look at the subject of Real Bible Faith.

This is part one of the Series entitled, ‘Real Bible Faith: How It Works’. You can find Part Two ‘How to Release Your Faith with Words’ here

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#S2-037: How to Hold On to What You Got [Podcast]

Healing for the Sick God's Way

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In the previous four podcasts, we have endeavored to hone the point that you need faith in order to receive healing from heaven. We have tried to get you to see you need to go the Word route first before you go the prayer route, the medical route or any other route. Putting God first in all things is good Bible order. This is a striving for the highest kind of faith. The highest kind of faith takes God at His Word. You will find this is the best way to receive. Why? Because it’s one thing to receive from God. It’s another thing to hold on to what you have. It takes faith to receive anything from God but it also takes to hold on to the blessing you’ve received. We will see how all this works together in this week’s edition of Light on Life.

This is part five of the Series entitled, ‘Healing for the Sick God’s Way’. You can find Part One ‘How to Get Faith for Healing’ here, Part Two ‘How to Put Yourself in the Word for Healing’ here, Part Three ‘Why Calvary is the Home of the Double Cure’, and Part Four ‘Why Hearing is the Most Necessary Healing Component‘ here.

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#044: How to Grow in Faith: Five Questions to Ask Encore [Podcast]

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The Word of God says that ‘faith comes by hearing’ – it does not say that faith remains once it has come. You may have faith today for your healing, but that does not mean that you will have faith for healing tomorrow. We can never get away from the subject of faith. You always have to study it, because you always need faith. Once you get faith established in an area in your life, it is much easier to maintain that faith level. It’s hard to build a house initially; it’s easier to maintain it once it has been built. Let’s look at five questions that will help you build and maintain a vibrant faith life.

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#040: How to Grow in Faith: Five Questions to Ask [Podcast]

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The Word of God says ‘faith comes by hearing’ – it does not say faith remains once it has come. You may have faith today for your healing, but that does not mean that you will have faith for healing tomorrow. We can never get away from the subject of faith. You always have to study it, because you always need faith. Once you get faith established in an area in your life, it is much easier to maintain that faith level. It’s hard to build a house initially; it’s easier to maintain it once it has been built. Let’s look at five questions that will help you build and maintain a vibrant faith life.

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How to Grow in Faith: Five Questions to Ask

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The Word of God says that ‘faith comes by hearing’ – it does not say that faith remains once it has come. You may have faith today for your healing, but that does not mean that you will have faith for healing tomorrow. We can never get away from the subject of faith. You always have to study it, because you always need faith. Once you get faith established in an area in your life, it is much easier to maintain that faith level. It’s hard to build a house initially; it’s easier to maintain it once it has been built. Let’s look at five questions that will help you build and maintain a vibrant faith life.