1 Peter (Program #12) -Growth in Life and Its Results (2)

At times the apostle Peter’s way of writing in his New Testament epistles seems very strange.  Though his content is quite high, he breaks many rules of composition by mixing metaphors and awkward use of grammar.   For example in chapter 2 of 1 Peter he describes the spiritual nourishment in the word of God by comparing it to the nourishing milk of a nursing mother for her new born babe.  But then without any apparent transition the metaphor changes to Christ being a stone for the building up of God’s house.  As a work of literature we might have a ground to criticize Peter, but as a conveyor of rich spiritual content, we will see today that Peter’s writing is full of the divine thought and deep experiential enlightenment.

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Exodus (Program #14) – Jehovah’s Name and His Covenant

In Exodus, the Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand that Pharaoh release God’s people from slavery.  But rather than yield to God’s demand, Pharaoh rebuffed, even humiliated Moses, a man of God.  A predictable discouragement followed and Moses complained openly to the Lord.  But the Lord shows this critical moment to reveal Himself to an even greater way to Moses, His called one.  Have you seen Jehovah, the great I AM in the midst of your setbacks?  Stay with us, as we get another view of our Savior God on today’s life study.

This is a very precious word today.  Moses was sent by the Lord to Pharaoh to make God’s demand to release the people known.  But he is rebuffed by Pharaoh and no doubt he was expecting a much different outcome.  At the end of chapter 5 he revealed his discouragement to the Lord and then the Lord responded by revealing His name to Mose. more…

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1 Peter (Program #11) -Growth in Life and Its Results (1)

What is it to grow spiritually?  Well, many think that to grow as a Christian is simply to acquire more Scriptural knowledge through diligent study of the Bible.  But genuine spiritual growth as apostle Peter indicates in his first epistle, is to take the word of God not merely as doctrinal knowledge but rather, as food as nourishment.  In fact he likens nourishment in the Word to milk, nourishing a growing infant.  This picture in 1 Peter confirms the genuine growth in the Christian life is organic and not academic.

We have been regenerated with a divine life of God.  And just as new born babe, our first requirement is to take the real nourishing supply so this divine life can grow within us.

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Exodus (Program #13) – God’s Demand and Pharaoh’s Resistance (1)

During the captivities of God’s people, Israel, God had near direct dealing with the tyrannical Pharaoh as he held God’s people in against God’s demand to let them go.  Pharaoh in this ancient story represent God’s enemy, who resisted God’s demand and refused again and again. This story depicts not just the situation in that ancient time, today’s Pharaoh is still resisting God and occupying God’s people with so many distracting and enslaving items.

Today’s broadcast again brings us to the Old Testament book of Exodus.  As we look at this well-know battle between God and His enemy.  A battle that occupy some 10 chapters in Exodus.

In the section today covering God’s dealing with Pharaoh, many people know this passage of the Old Testament or at least some of the items in it.  But we will see something today that will be very fresh, very connected to our own experience of the Lord.

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1 Peter (Program #10) -The Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (8)

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we accept the Bible as truth.  John 17 says specifically, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”  And so when we come to verses such as John 3:16 for example, “for God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”  We take that as truth without question.  But are we satisfied merely to accept the objective fact that God surely loves us or have we  in fact experienced His love in a personal and subjective way? 

The apostle Peter was one, whom no doubt knew the objective teaching of God’s love.  But it must have been his deep and personal experience and appreciation of the loving Savior that prompted him to write in the deeply and experiential manner that we find in his New Testament epistles.

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Exodus (Program #12) – The Three Stations in Fulfilling God’s Purpose

As the children of Israel were called by God in Exodus 3 to make their exit or exodus from Egypt, they were directed to 3 different stations that will ultimately be a part of their journey.  First to the wilderness, then to a mountain and finally to a land flowing with milk and honey.  These stations represent 3 stages in the journey of all God’s people.  What stage are you at?

Our message today gives us an overview of the book of Exodus and a picture or series of pictures, depicting the various stages in our Christian life.  To see these stories form the Old Testament in such a way is to bring real spiritual light to us and illuminate the way more clearly for us to go on with the Lord is really the point of this whole life study.  It seems that Witness Lee has no heart just to study the Bible in the way of history or doctrine.

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1 Peter (Program #9) -The Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (7)

In chapter one of his epistle Peter contrasts our former way of living or literally our manner of life which was vain with our present manner of life, we should be holy. Vain of course means empty, without meaning.

Well, all of us must surely confess that our life before we were regenerated were categorized by sin. But Peter points out that even more our life were vain, empty and without purpose. Yet we had been called to a holy manner of life.

14: “..Do not be fashioned,” Peter writes, “according to the former lusts in your ignorance;”

15 “But according to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also be holy in all your manner of life;”

How can we have such a living, such a manner of life that becomes holy? Peter’s further word in this chapter becomes a very great help to us.

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Exodus (Program #11) – The Purpose of God’s Calling

The story of Moses is really the story of God’s calling.  Moses was surely called by God.  The account of this calling is both riveting and captivating.  How we admire a man like Moses so useful to God for His purpose.  But what about us?  Is God also calling us?  And if so, what is the purpose?  Stay with us today, and you might be surprised to find out that God is calling us and calling us for the very same purpose He called Moses.

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1 Peter (Program #8) -The Full Salvation of the Triune God and Its Issues (6)

All genuine Christian experience is based on truth. The truth or reality convey in Scripture forms the base or foundation of all our real spiritual experience. Peter’s first epistle in the New Testament very much illustrates this point. The first twelve verses in chapter one lay out some of the great truth of the whole Bible.  Such as our being chosen according to the foreknowledge of God and our being regenerated unto a living hope and unto an incorruptible, undefiled and unfading inheritance, an inheritance that Peter shows us should be our portion, not just in eternity but also today. The in verse thirteen Peter goes on to tell us that based upon all these rich divine truths, we should gird up the loins of our mind and soberly set our hope on the grace that is ours at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

If we take Peter’s way, if we give ourselves to the word in this way, we will find that our own love and experience of the Lord as well as our love for one another will be greatly enriched and strengthened as well.

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1 Peter (Program #7) – Peter’s Well-Speaking Concerning the Triune God

The apostle Peter opens his first epistle with a long and truly marvelous blessing of the Triune God.  This blessing occupies ten of the twelves verses and these verses are full of wonderful, spiritual expressions based not on mere praise to God for His mighty works of creation and even salvation but are full of Peter’s well-speaking of all three persons of the God-head concerning what God has done and will do subjectively in all of His chosen ones.

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