Bethesda Shalom

Mark 11:1-9 Brother Stephen from the Lifeboat Fellowship bears the burden of the Lord with a message of challenge, conviction and hope!  Whom the Lord sets free is free indeed!!

Part 6 According to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, love for Jesus Christ is manifested by one’s obedience to the Ten Commandments; without obedience to these commandments, no man shall enter the kingdom of heaven. The goal of this teaching is to establish what commandments Jesus had in mind when He said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love” (Jn. 15:10). In addition to answering this question, consideration shall be given to arguments raised by Seventh-day Adventists to support their claim for the continuing binding nature of the Ten Commandments.  Download teaching notes (pdf) https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/6_Answering_Adventist_Arguments_for_Law.pdf  

Hebrews 4:14-16 So much of contemporary Christianity is built on hype, but the problem with hype is that it gets you nowhere because hype has no foundation.  God has given us three-quarters of a million words of solid text upon which to base our confidence so that our faith is not found flapping in the wind.  In this sermon, we consider Jesus as our High Priest and the promise that is given us to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find help in times of need.

Exodus 15:11 If ever there was an aspect of God’s character that desperately needs to be rediscovered among the ranks of Evangelicalism in our day, it is the holiness of God!! We’ve lost the fear of God in the house of God because we’ve no comprehension of the holiness of God!  We’ve grown accustomed to the familiar because we’ve lost the sense of reverence and awe in the handling of the things of God.   Can I remind you that the God with whom we have to do is HOLY?  He does not fall into the category of the common — He CAN’T!  He’s totally and utterly removed from every created thing in the universe, including the universe itself, because He’s altogether of a different KIND!!  Humans belong to the humans kind and animals, the animal kind; there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars — there is the glory of the angelic host, and then there is the glory of God!!!  Tell me, what other “kind” can we place in the category of God?  HE EXISTS IN A CATEGORY ALL OF HIS

Part 4 The question that has plagued the Church of Jesus Christ for the duration of its 2000-year history is the question that shall be answered in this teaching.  The oldest heresy in Christianity was not the denial of the deity of Christ. The oldest heresy can be traced to the fifteenth chapter of the Book of Acts, to a sect of men who came down from Judea to the Gentile congregations of Antioch and the surrounding regions, who began teaching the Christians that Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved (Acts 15:1).  Thank God that this question was not left open for proceeding generations to play guess-work.  The answer to the question; Is the Law of Moses binding upon Christians?, was answered conclusively 2000 years ago in the first council of Jerusalem, and its conclusions have been set out in that 15th chapter of Acts.  One would think that this evidence would be enough to turn any law-seeking believer away from such pursuit and to guide them back to safety.  The fact remai

Psalm 23 There are times when God calls His people to pass through the valley.  Passing through the valley of the shadow of death is never easy but can I say with absolute conviction, that Jesus hasn’t left you to walk alone!!  The final words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew are these: “… and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Mt. 28:20).  It’s one thing knowing this with the head, but it’s another thing intermingling this truth with faith!!  Many people have a head full of knowledge but a heart void of experience!  This sermon is a challenge to the Body of Christ for vital reality in the realm of faith and to experience the fullness of the grace of God.

Part 3 Ellen G. White had over 2000 visions during her lifetime and the content of those visions resulted in over 100,000 pages of writings which the Seventh-day Adventist Church consider to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and a continuing and authoritative source of truth. Ellen White claimed that her visions and writings were not simply expressions of her ideas, but originated from God. What do you call a prophet who prophesies things that don’t come to pass?  What do you call someone who steals from others' works while trying to pass them off as writings inspired by God?  In this teaching, further investigation is given to Mrs White’s prophecies and writings to determine whether or not she was a prophet called by God.    Download teaching notes (pdf) https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/3_Was_Ellen_G_White_a_Prophet.pdf  

Part 2 The Seventh-day Adventist Church arose out of the Great Millerite Disappointment of 1844.  The nineteenth century saw a literal explosion in the number of cults and religious groups springing up in the United States. Early on in Adventist history, Ellen G. White stamped her mark as a prophet, claiming to receive visions from God which guided and shaped the movement. Without Ellen G. White, there is no Seventh-day Adventism.  In this teaching we take a look at the early beginnings of Seventh-day Adventism and in particular, the nature of Mrs White’s visions and the substance of her writings.  What does make of someone who teaches others one thing regarding the eating of meat, while at the same time eating meat herself?  I shall allow the evidence to speak for itself. Download teaching notes (pdf) https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bethesdashalom/2_Ellen_G_White_and_Adventist_History.pdf  

Philippians 2:19-24 This sermon is an urgent call to Christian love!   The clip following the sermon is from a message called "Something is wrong" by itinerate preacher Richard Owen Roberts of International Awakening Ministries.

Part 1 In 2023, the Seventh-day Adventist Church saw more additions to its membership than any year since its founding in 1863.  In 1961 the Seventh-day Adventist Church had a global membership of about a million.  Today they have a membership of more than 22.7 million, meeting in more than 100,000 Churches, spanning some 215 countries worldwide.  Without question, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of the fastest-growing organisations in the world vastly outnumbering the global membership of Jehovah’s Witnesses. When one goes to the official website of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to look at their statement of ‘Fundamental Beliefs’; upon first glance, one finds nothing of real concern.  They believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, substitutionary atonement and salvation by faith as a gift of God’s grace.  However, Seventh-day Adventists are adept at saying one thing out of one side of their mouth while taking it back out of the other.  In

1 Peter 1:13-16 J. C. Ryle was the 1st Anglican Bishop of Liverpool.  In his classic book titled, “Holiness”, he wrote the words.  “He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people, has yet much to learn. Whether he knows it or not, he is dishonouring our blessed Lord, and making Him only a half Saviour. The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require; not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them, but also to sanctify them”.  In this second and final sermon part, we examine the command to holiness and the means to holiness.  As we move from the classroom of theory onto the field of experience, may the Lord bless you!

Exodus 39:30-31   Whenever the topic of holiness is brought up in the company of Christians, it is guaranteed to provoke one of two responses, either uneasiness or delight!  Now granted, those feelings of uneasiness may be down to the fact that a professing believer is not living as they ought; maybe they are living in secret sin and know that by preaching such a topic as holiness, they will be disturbed.  Then, there are those who love Jesus dearly, but have been scarred by those who preached to them a form of holiness “so-called” which was nothing more than evangelical legalism!  As we approach this sacred subject, rather than jump straight into the practical, I want to begin with the concept!  So many err in their understanding of holiness because they fail to comprehend what holiness even is. Let us then first understand what holiness is. 

Luke 15:1-2 If one was to stop you and to ask, “What is God like?”, I wonder what answer you’d give?  What attribute would come first to mind?  Would it be God’s holiness or omnipotence?  His omniscience or His omnipresence?  You ask me, “What is God like?”. What attribute comes first to mind when thinking about His person?  I return my answer at once; GOD IS LOVE!   Without question, this is His crowning attribute without which we would all be damned forever. In this sermon, we look at the heart of God our heavenly Father.  May the Lord bless and encourage you.

Romans 8:14 There’s one feature of the Holy Spirit’s leading that I’ve learned from experience, one that is widely attested to in the Sacred record, and that is the spontaneity of His leading!!! When the Holy Spirit speaks to His people and desires to lead them, it will always require faith to respond!!   In the moment of suddenness, we are given a window of time to obey.  #1. We must recognise the voice of the Holy Spirit, #2. We must be willing to sacrifice, #3. We must step out in faith!! 

Psalm 32:1-5 If we are to move forward in our walk with Jesus in the year ahead, we must learn to deal honestly with God as His Spirit comes in searching power to discover the true nature of our hearts. William Gurnall that old Puritan put it well when he said, “Sincerity is that property to which pardoning mercy is annexed.  True, indeed, it is that Christ covers all our sins and failings; but it is only the sincere soul over which he will cast his skirt”. C.H. Spurgeon said, “The lesson from the whole is this: be honest. Sinner, may God make you honest. Do not deceive yourself. Make a clean breast of it before God. Have an honest religion, or have none at all. Have a religion of the heart, or else have none. Put aside the mere vestment and garment of piety, and let your soul be right within. Be honest”.  This sermon calls for a frank and full confession so that we might receive full forgiveness! 

Proverbs 22:3 It’s one thing for an unsaved man to be a fool, but for a Christian to be counted as a fool?  It’s a great shame and a reproach and ought never to be!  He has the internal light of the Holy Spirit and the external light of the Word!  This sermon is an exhortation to the acquisition of wisdom. “O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart” (Prov. 8:5). 

Judges 8:29-35 If there’s one thing to take away from history, it’s that good things never last!!  If this is true of history in general, it is certainly true of revival history.  Where the blessing of God has been poured out upon a people in special seasons of refreshing, it seems only ever to be short-lived before alas the tide of evil comes back in and the people return to bathe again in the insidious waters of iniquity.  While the man of God was alive, the people served the LORD, but when Gideon was taken out of the way, the “...children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god” (vs. 33).  They went from revival to ruin in a single generation!  They went back to the pool of vomit from which God delivered them.  My dear people, I wish I could say that this was an isolated phenomenon never to be repeated, but even in my short life as a Christian, I have seen so many return again to feast upon the mess from which Christ delivered them only years prior!  They forg

Part 13 Every cult without exception denies the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  Although they may utilise concepts such as grace and faith, what is written outside the box is never what’s inside.  In the world of cults, grace becomes synonymous with payment because when everything has been said and done, the cult member is working to earn salvation.  At the very best Jesus died on the cross to give mankind the possibility of obtaining salvation.  He has merely opened the narrow gate but now it’s left to those who would obtain it to labour.  It is for this reason that whether Jehovah’s Witness or Seventh-day Adventist; whether Mormon or Roman Catholic, when the question is put to them; “If you die tonight, do you have 100% assurance that you are saved”?  The answer that one will be met with again and again is; “I can’t say for sure, it’s up to God”.  With this one simple question and the answer returned, the futility of the cult's works-based system of salvation is

Judges 8:22-28 The secret to obtaining heaven’s revival blessing; the key to unlocking heaven’s grace is humility. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6).  But when God exalts a man, it’s then when things have the potential to go desperately wrong.  My greatest fear is not this side of the victory, it’s what happens on the other side — after God has given the victory.  In this first of two sermons, we examine the warning against making idols of God’s blessings.