Bethesda Shalom

Part 22 – How do I Evangelise? When we say that we are Christian, more often than not we attach a number of adjectives in front of the word in order to try to bring greater clarity as to the type of Christian we mean.  Such adjectives include ‘born-again’ and ‘Bible-believing’.  There is a third adjective that we also commonly use and that is ‘Evangelical’.  When we use the term ‘Evangelical’, what we’re saying is this; we believe wholeheartedly in the saving power of the gospel and therefore seek actively to proclaim that gospel to a lost and dying world.  The word ‘evangelical’, comes from the Greek word “euaggelion” which means a good message; good news, hence the word ‘gospel’ which in Greek is the word “euaggelion”.  Despite the pressures being laden upon us by the P.C. agenda of our day; we are not to shrink back from the mandate of proclaiming the good news of the gospel, set against the backdrop of the ruin and sinfulness of man.  Admittedly, this is not a popular message in our post-modern society wh

Testimony of a Former Jehovah's Witness Jason Wright is pastor of Bourne Evangelical Church. In this testimony, Jason shares how he was marvelously saved out of the Watch Tower Society aka Jehovah's Witnesses. For ten years, Jason and his family were dedicated and committed members of Jehovah's organisation and gave everything to faithfully serve what they believed to be the true religion on earth. With the promise of Armageddon imminent, there was no time to waste. However, as time proceeded, Jason and his wife Jenny, became disillusioned and sought answers. As Jason searched the Scriptures, it pleased the Father to reveal His Son and after a long struggle, Jason and his wife came to find the true Jesus and left the Jehovah's Witnesses losing everything. May God see fit to bless many as Jason and Jenny share their story.  

Part 21 – What Is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? There is perhaps no other subject matter that has made for greater debate amongst Evangelicals and about which more varied opinions have been held, than the topic at hand in this 21st teaching part.  For some, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues; for others, it is a second work of sanctification whereby one now receives the power to ‘live’ a holy life.  Some would argue that this supernatural phenomenon ceased in the first century and therefore, although this experience is recorded in the book of Acts, it is no longer one that can be experienced today.  One group argues that the baptism of Holy Spirit is not an experience subsequent to salvation but is rather synonymous with receiving the Holy Spirit at conversion.  Another group argues that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience that is distinguishable and distinct from salvation, coming after the initial experience of being born-again.  What are we to make of all these contravening

Part 20 – What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit? Modern 21st century man well makes a fitting boast on account of the vast array of his many accomplishments, they’re admittedly very impressive!  In this century and the last, the world has witnessed staggering and unprecedented breakthroughs in every field of expertise, from medicine to engineering.  Western civilization has never known such affluence, such protracted periods of peace and prosperity; such high standards of health and living on a universal scale.  You say, what has this got to do with the subject heading of this Bible teaching?  Everything!!  I fear that the modern man with all his natural brilliance and expertise has lost sight of his need for God.  It is one thing when the world does this, but when Christians follow suit, it is a very sad day indeed.  Behold the Mega-Church with all its outward display of pomp and glory.  It bears greater resemblance to a mini village complex than a Church of the Living God, and serves as an indictment; a tes

Part 19 – How Do I Pray and What Is Fasting? As one opens the Bible and turns to the pages of the New Testament, one is struck by the sheer number of references and exhortations calling God’s people to prayer.  As Christians, we cannot dispense of this holiest discipline since it is the very lifeline not only of the Christian but of the Church.  Yet sadly, the prayer meeting has almost disappeared from view and if there is one, it is the least attended meeting of the week.  What is prayer?  Prayer in its most basic form is talking to God and includes in its function petitions, supplications, intercessions, praise, thanksgiving and worship.  In this nineteenth teaching part, we examine some of these functions and explore practically and theologically the question, ‘How do I pray?’  Finally, there are times in our lives that call for desperate action; times of great calamity or urgent needs where prayer alone does not seem to cut it.  It is during these times that we may resort not only to heightened times of p

Part 18 – Why Do Christians Suffer? Of the top ten questions of all time, it ought to come as no surprise to us to learn that they’re the same as they’ve always been from the dawn of time; “What is the real meaning of life?” “Is there a God?”  “What happens when I die?”  Despite the exponential advances in technology, economics, medicine and science over the last half a decade; man with all his worldly wisdom is still no closer to being able to provide adequate answers to these crucial questions, nor will he ever be.  This is because principally they’re not scientific questions nor are they even philosophical ones.  Fundamentally at their core, they are theological questions.  However, since man has cast off the wisdom of God in his own professed wisdom, man will search in vain to find the answers his soul so desperately seeks for and will never find them in this world.  We could well add into the list of greatest questions of all time, “Why is there suffering in the world?” and more specifically, the questio

Psalm 73:25-26 It was not without a painful struggle and at the cost of many a night spent in agony, that the Psalmist came once more to find in renewed vision, the truth of the words that we find here in the 25th and 26th verses.  “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever”.  It’s one thing to profess one’s love for God the eternal Saviour in the times of plenty; in the days when the sun light’s its refreshing rays upon your soul; but when the thunder rumbles overhead and the storm clouds break?  It’s then, when we truly discover the authenticity of that profession of love!  Without the aid of physical comforts to spur us on; will we still in that place of testing, be able to say what we could in the absence of it; “Thou, O Christ, art all I want; More than all in Thee I find”.

Part 17 – How Do I Handle Relationships? In this seventeenth teaching part, we look practically and biblically at how as believers in Christ, we are to relate to one another in the relationships given us by God.  One only has to look down through the ages, beginning with the first offspring of the first man and woman; Cain and his brother Abel, to see that how God intended man to relate one to another has been seriously marred.  Murder and war was never God’s intention!  Broken homes and marriages; damaged and fractured relationships, were never his will.  We live in in a world where such abounds and is on the increase.  Even in the professing Church, we turn to find a better example and see the same broken relationships; failed marriages and Church splits.  Surely there is a better way revealed in Holy Scripture, a way that we are called as Christians to walk.   We shall then look now at just three areas where the Bible offers practical help in preserving and nurturing relationships as children of God.  Thes

1 Samuel 23:1-14 Perilous times face the Church of Jesus Christ in the days ahead for Christians living in the West.  Look outside the Western world and see; our Brothers and Sisters worldwide, suffer persecution for the cause of Christ.  It is with firm conviction that I believe that our times of freedom are coming swiftly to an end and that we shall in like manner also suffer persecution for our stand in Christ.  In light of this, God is wanting to prepare His Church to stand.    Where is your trust and your confidence found and upon what ground are your feet planted?  If ever there was a thing that will test the authenticity of your answer it will be the blazing fire of persecution!  In that day, your trust had better not be found in another for that day shall reveal it.  Christ alone, in Him alone must our trust alone be found.

Colossians 2 There has never been a point in its 2000 year history that the Church of Jesus Christ has not had to contend against false teachers and their damnable doctrines. Even in the first century, within a decade and a half of Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension, the apostles found themselves contending earnestly for the faith against the errors of the false Judaizers and later on, the early Gnostics.  As nears our Lord’s return, we are witnessing the rise of many sects and movements which by stealth are sucking in those once sound in the faith.  One such sect is not new; but is seeing a resurgence in our day, namely that of the Judaizers, under the auspices of the Hebrew Roots movement.  This sermon is a flat refutation of their damnable heresies and a passionate plea for the Body of Christ to shun all such sects which have as their goal the aim of leading men away from the simplicity which is in Christ the Head, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and to ruin men’s soul

Part 16 – How Do I Overcome Sin? Perhaps no greater area deserving of our attention is the question posed as the title of this teaching part; “How Do I Overcome Sin?”  Ask the average Christian this question and you’re sure to be greeted with a mixture of responses.  I hear one say, “why are you worried about sin, it’s been dealt with at Calvary; the grace of God has covered all sins, past, present, and future”.  Another, I hear say “didn’t Paul struggle with sin?  The things he wanted to do he didn’t do and the things he desired not to do those things he did; what’s the problem?  Join the club!  If the great Apostle Paul couldn’t gain the victory over besetting sins then how much less us sinners?”  In this sixteenth teaching part, we tackle the issue of overcoming sin head-on, clearing up some of the misconceptions surrounding this matter and providing biblical answers to questions such as; how do I overcome sin?  What does it mean to walk by the Spirit and how does one overcome besetting sins?  May God see

Jeremiah 6:16 The great dilemma of the “remnant Church” in this land of ours is that it knows all the right things in their head but when one looks to see this translate on the race track, the rubber never seems to meet the road!!  I fear that we’ve become experts in exposing the error that’s outside while our own house lies in ruin!  The pressing need among the professing remnant Church in these Last Days is for God to send into our midst a “Nathan the prophet” who can point the finger into our very hearts and cry “Thou art the man” (2 Sam. 12:7).  In this final part of a three-part message, the emphasis is moved from the heart to the feet.  A plea from God is heard sounding forth of a merciful and loving God who is calling His people home.  Who will hear His call; who will heed His call; who will come back home? At the start of this sermon, a testimony is given at the request of those who had invited Paul to share how he came to live by faith going into full-time ministry.   This message was shared at the I

Jeremiah 6:16 I find it quite amazing and oft at times it shows our age; when mixing with the young they speak of things pertaining to today; yet when mixing with the aged, they speak of the things of yesteryear, remembering the days of old and how things used to be!  There's a saying; “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” - and how true this is.  To realize the worth of a prized possession, in light of its passing, and to yearn for it again is grief enough; but to have never known that prized possession in the first place is grief the more!!  The bottom line is this; you cannot miss what you’ve never had and you cannot mourn what you've never experienced.  I fear that we are living in a generation that is so far removed from the Biblical standards of godliness known to our forefathers of old, that what we now call normal Christianity, would a generation ago have been considered reprobate!!  Before one can walk along the old paths, they must first know what they are.  In this second part of a three-p

Jeremiah 6:16 In this generation of newfangled fancies and innovative ideas and inventions, we’re told that old is bad and new is good; that which belonged to yesteryear must needs to be buried in order to make way for the new thing God’s wanting to do today.  Friends, on every hand I witness a Church trying its level best to be relevant to a world that’s so disgusting and vulgar that no Christian has any business ever trying to imitate it.  There is a great need in these last days for the people of God to ask again for the old paths. In this first part of a three-part message, we set the landscape and call the people of God to prepare their hearts as to how they intend to respond.  Before one can turn again to the old paths there must first be a sincere willingness on the part of man to enquire again and to ask in earnest for the old paths. This message was shared at the Israel and Prophecy Meeting March 2008

Part 15 – How Can I Know If I’m Saved? Perhaps the number one question in many a Church a pew is “am I really saved?”  “Am I really a child of God, born-again from above?”  Though such words might never be expressed from the mouth, in the heart these thoughts ravish many a poor soul and are a constant thorn of discouragement in their side that never seems to disappear.  The common answer given when one finally plucks up enough courage to approach the pastor is that Satan is to blame and that what they are experiencing is nothing more than the cunning wiles of the devil.  Now, for some, this truly is the case; the accuser of the Brethren is the primary cause of their doubting as he assaults their faith with lies and slanderer.  I often find that those subject to this kind of spiritual attack tend to be new believers, babes and infants in Christ.  What however are we to think when those doubting their salvation are those who have professed Christ for five, ten, twenty years?  Clearly, in this situation, unless

Psalm 23 Hindsight is a wonderful thing Brethren but in the midst of trial, we don’t have hindsight for our comfort.  Yet what we do have, more than this, is the Word of God; His sure and faithful promises which are yea and amen in Christ! As though restricted by space, with a limited palette; the great Psalmist paints the canvas with words deep from within which from time immemorial have served to be a source of great refreshment for many a weary Saint.  Of this 23rd Psalm, Spurgeon wrote; “...what the nightingale is among birds, that is this divine ode (poem) among the psalms, for it has sung sweetly in the ear of many a mourner in his night of weeping, and has bidden him hope for a morning of joy”.  

In this final part of a series of sermons on revival, David puts as central the role of faith in revival. To listen to more of David's teachings, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/user/HighlandWayWhisky    

David shares in this second part of three teachings the need and role of intercessory prayer in revival. To listen to more of David's teachings, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/user/HighlandWayWhisky

David shares in this first part of three teachings his burden for revival, the need for revival and what constitutes true revival. To listen to more of David's teachings, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/user/HighlandWayWhisky

Part 14 – What Is a Disciple of Jesus Christ? There exists a terrible misconception amongst many professing believers in Christ about what constitutes a true Christian.  Some when asked, point to a time and date when they said a sinners prayer; others refer to a Church membership roll with their name upon it!  Some still would direct you to their baptismal certificate signed by the pastor.  As human beings, I tend to find that we always want a formula that will produce the desired result and on face-value, there’s nothing wrong with that.  On the day of Pentecost, many Jews who came under the sound of Peter’s preaching were deeply convicted of their sin; the KJV says that “…they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).  The Philippian jailor while still trembling said to Paul and Silas “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).  In each case, the question is not dodged and a firm answer is given; Paul and Silas re