Job (Program #2) – The Trials of Job (1)

The Old Testament book of Job tells the story of a man whom God allowed to be touched and even damaged by Satan himself. The natural or even religious thought would say that this must have been because of God’s judgment upon Job due to some some sin or failure at his part. But let’s consider for a moment what the Bible has to say about this man, Job. In chapter 1:6-8, “Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them…And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.” It’s remarkable isn’t it? For not only does the Bible reveal that Job was not a sinful man, quite the opposite it says that he was perfect and upright; and one in whom God even boasts of his goodness. So the age old question persists – Why then did God allow Satan to strip this righteous man of his possessions, his family, his health and even his most prized attainment, his integrity? That’s the subject not just of our program today but really this entire life study of the book of Job.

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Ezra (Program #3) – The Return of the Captivity under the Priestly Leadership of Ezra

Deep within every Christian, there is a desire to be free from any kind of captivity of the enemy, Satan. If you agree with that, then you would want to stay with us right here for the next half hour as we discuss the return of the captivity under the priestly leadership of Ezra.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old Testament, we call these books the recovery books because according to the history that is presented in the Old Testament before Ezra at end of the books of Chronicles, God’s people Israel had been carried away from the land of Israel into the land of Babylon – so they were there in their captivity. And then a certain time God came in to bring a remnant, a small number not all of them but a small number back to the land of Israel, the good land that He had given to their forefathers. So these we call the recovery and these books we call the recovery books.

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1 John (Program #18) – The World and the Things in the World

One of the interesting words in the original language of the New Testament is cosmos. This Greek word is normally translated in the Bible as “world”.

In John 3:16 “For God so loved the world (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son..” to save it.  Yet in John’s epistle we are told not to love the cosmos, because it’s impossible for us to both love the world and love God the Father at the same time.

The reason that we as believers need to flee and any attachment of the world is that the world is a mask for God’s enemy, Satan.

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1 Peter (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

Of all the disciples called by the Lord Jesus in the gospels, probably the one we can most readily identify with is Peter. Simon Barjona as he was known before the Lord changed his name to Peter. In John chapter 1 was as impetuous as he was fervent and often found himself as the target of the Lord Jesus’ reprove.

Recall for example in Matthew chapter 16, Peter’s sympathetic suggestion to the Lord that He should keep Himself from the suffering of death that He knew awaited Him. “get behind Me, Satan” was the Lord’s reply. “You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.” How could Peter possibly recovered from such a stinging rebuke?

And of course it was also Peter, who denied the Lord three times during the hour of trial preceding the actual crucifixion. Yet only days later it was this same Peter who stood on the day of Pentecost and usher thousands into the kingdom with his powerful and dynamic speaking.

And not only so, in his two epistles, Peter uses language and phrases so rich and full of high and profound meaning that we can’t help but marvel at the power of God’s full salvation. That this unlearned fisherman could write such thing. Listen to his word in 1 Peter,

1:18 “Knowing that it was not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, that you were redeemed from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers,”

19 “But with precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ;”

Welcome to our first life-study of the book of 1 Peter.

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Judges (Program #6) – The Miserable History of Israel’s Forsaking God (5)

In the varied history of the nation of Israel that is recorded in the book of Judges, we have of course the interesting and well known story of Samson.  Endued with the power of the Spirit, he was mighty and fierce in his struggle against Israel’s enemy the Philistines but he had a very specific failure that gave Satan, God’s real enemy the ground to tempt him and and ultimately defeated him. Of course the beautiful Philistines woman, Delilah  typifies this failure.  Samson indulgence of the lust of his flesh led to his down fall. The story of Samson and the warning that we as God’s people today must take from this case is our topic on this life study of the Bible.

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Deuteronomy (Program #20) – The Rehearsal of the Law (14)

Warfare is a big topic in the Bible, what is warfare to a christian?  The New Testament talks about it and especially in Ephesians chapter 6 and most Christians are aware that there is such a thing as spiritual warfare.  Of course the Old Testaments records many battles fought by the children of Israel and we know that these typify the spiritual battle that believers are called to today. We probably also realize that our fight is against Satan and his forces of darkness but in any battle it’s crucial to understand not only who you are fighting against but positively what you are fighting for?  As we see Moses preparing Israel as an army as they were about to enter into the good land.

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Numbers (Program #21) – Fighting (2)

We all know the story of Israel’s forty-year long journey in the wilderness.  Their journey, though unnecessary long, wasn’t aimless or without a goal.  They had a definite destination, the good land, the land of Emmanuel, today’s Israel.  This land as we have seen before, is a type and even a picture of Christ, of our Christ, who is our goal and destination.  But as we’ve seen, God also has an enemy who opposes Him and frustrates His people, bringing in a kind of warfare in the spiritual realm.  The book of Numbers touches this warfare repeatedly.  Today we come to chapter 22 where the tactic employed by Satan against God’s people Israel changes dramatically,  This program is full of much insight.  We really pray that the Lord would shine in this word today.

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Leviticus (Program #30) – The Cleansing of the Leper (1) & (2)

The clear and proper understanding of Old Testament books such as Leviticus shows us pictures that portray graphically and vividly man’s true condition contaminated by sin and death.  Unclean from natural birth and leprous within and without.  This is surely man’s condition apart from God’s intervention but motivated by His great love and desire for man to be His eventual eternal counterpart. God does not leave us in such a condition.

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Leviticus (Program #29) – Uncleanness Issuing From Within Man (2) & (3)

Leviticus like several books in the Bible mentions the ancient disease of leprosy.  Why was leprosy given such attention in God’s revelation to mankind.  Well, leprosy is associated with one of the basic factors of man’s sinful condition and that is rebellion.  Who among us is free from rebellion? Maybe not in dramatic outward demonstrations but within even in its own most subtle manifestations rebellion lurks perpetually beneath the surface of almost every person.

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Leviticus (Program #17) -The Sin Offering Christ for the Sins of God’s People (3)

In this universe there are only two sources, God is one source and His enemy Satan is the other.  Most often we find ourselves somewhere in between these two sources and usually not conscious of being under the influence of either one.  We may think that we are basically neutral doing our best to do good but occasionally slipping into sin.  But in fact there is no neutral, everything we do, everything we think, say or even feel has its origin in one or the other of these two universal sources.  To be free not just from sin but from the very source of sin is the focus of the offerings presented to us in Leviticus.  Especially when we see the spiritual applications of these offerings that are developed in the pages of the New Testament.

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