Bethesda Shalom

Romans 15:25-33 Having dealt already at length concerning the matter of Christian love, in a variety of Christian contexts throughout this most blessed epistle to the Romans; it is not surprising that once again before long, Paul revisits this great theme in what is yet another application of its manifold beauty!!  Its depths can never be plummeted, its heights never scaled – inexhaustible, indispensable, exceeding all limits, uncontainable, unexpendable – LOVE!! In the verses before us in this sermon, we find yet another application of love as it pertains to Christian giving.  We take a closer look at this expression of love and allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves on this important matter.  “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10)  

Romans 15:20-24 The 19th century has been dubbed “the greatest century of missions”.  In 1793, the modern missionary movement was birthed into being by a young Baptist minister by the name of William Carey.  Over the next 100 years, missionaries were sent out from this tiny country of Great Britain, to every corner of the world.  Whole tribes were converted from pagan idolatry and disciples made from every nation!  In just 100 years, the world went from being 25% evangelised to 51% evangelised with the number of professing Christians more than doubling!  In 1900, just under half of all international missionaries came from the British Isles!  Fast forward 100 years to the 21st century and that figure now stands at a shameful 3.75%!! This sermon is a wake-up call and a challenge to the Body of Christ to rise up in this generation and to make themselves available and willing to step out into missionary endeavour as God would lead!!

Romans 15:14-19 In my 16 years of being a Christian, I have found that within the professing Body of Christ, there generally exists two extremes when it comes to understanding the person and work of the Holy Spirit.  On one extreme, there are those who sacrifice biblical doctrine on the altar of experience and those on the other extreme, those who sacrifice experience on the altar of learning.  This sermon is a call to a middle ground; the Bible in one hand, governing our experience in the other.  To accept a spiritual experience outside the framework of Holy Scripture is a sure recipe for deception; yet to deny a genuine work of the Holy Spirit operating within the God given parameters of the Word of God is to do great insult and injury to the person of the Holy Spirit and to render the Body of Christ a spiritual handicap.  We take a look at a biblical approach to understanding the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:8-13 There are many mysteries in the universe yet unsolved by man; veiled from his sight, concealed from his understanding; beyond his comprehension.  Such mysteries have always fascinated mankind, beholding the wonder and the splendour, yet at a loss how to furnish an adequate explanation.  The Apostle Paul spoke much of the mystery of the gospel.  The prophets of old foretold of a future time when the Gentiles would join the household of Israel to praise the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The fact that this was going to happen was no mystery yet the “how” of this revelation was!  Two people groups, poles apart, separated by the Law.  Yet Paul expounds this great mystery of the gospel, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel! 

Romans 15:1-7 It’s one things to fight a common enemy without – wars are fought and won on such a basis.  One army sets themselves in array against another and a bloody battle is fought until one side gains the victory.  However, it’s quite another thing altogether when the enemies of a man are those within his own household; those within his own ranks!  How then shall the battle be won?  Indeed our Lord well summed up the tragedy and the certainty of defeat when he said:  “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mk. 3:25). This sermon is a challenging exhortation for the body of Christ to grow up into Christian maturity; to put away the infighting and pride and instead to seek to forbear with one another in love and in so doing to preserve the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace!!

Romans 14 There are some things in the Christian religion too great to move; truths that are non-negotiable, not open for debate, off limits and out of bounds!  These great doctrines of our faith pertaining to the person, nature and work of Jesus Christ and the means by which salvation comes to man are not open for discussion!  To dispense of these pillars is to destroy the very foundation upon which Christianity stands.  That said, there are matters of less importance, matters of Christian conscience which do allow for a difference in application and flexibility within the growing members of the Body of Christ. In this sermon, we seek delicately and biblically to set out in love matters pertaining to Christian conscience.  Which issues are matters of conscience and which are morally binding?  How are we to conduct ourselves toward one another on matters of conscience?  All these questions and more, we seek to answer in this teaching sermon.    

Romans 13:8-14 The Word of God is clear…”If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (1 Jn. 4:20).  Brethren, be not deceived, our love for Him who we cannot see is manifest to the degree that we love one another!!  When we think of the great love that He has demonstrated towards us in sending His Son to die on the cross – Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!!! Dear Brethren, owe no man anything, but to love one another!  The Lord’s coming is at hand and the night is far spent – It’s high time to awake out of sleep and to walk as children of the light!!!           

Romans 13:1-7 Great misunderstanding exists among some believers regarding our relationship to governing authorities.  Some boast that they have only one King to whom they owe their allegiance and thus they break the law of the land!  Paul takes very strong objection against such a view and instructs believers that they are to recognise that governing authorities have received their seat of power from God.  God’s ministers they are, to execute wrath and justice in His place!  As Christians we are not to be rebels in our cause but rather we are to subject ourselves to those God has placed over us.  In this sermon, a clear exhortation is delivered for Christians to be law abiding citizens.  Recognising on one hand our citizenship in heaven, but on the other, our citizenship on earth; it is not Caesar or Christ, but both, so long as the law of Caesar does not contravene the law of God!!

Like a man with only 30 seconds to live in which to speak his departing words; Paul with his finger on the trigger, fires out no less than 32 heart searching commands.  Each command is like the bullet of a trained marksman, finding its way to its given target!  Every word counting to encourage, reprove, exhort and edify the Body of Jesus Christ.  If there was a word to sum up the vast array of words found in the passage before us, it would be the word love!  If there was a container in which the whole sum of words could be stored, it would have written across it the word love!! This sermon is a mighty challenge and a call to earnest examination of the heart and conduct.  The single greatest sign of maturity in the life of a Christian is not how much knowledge is contained in one’s head but rather, the degree to which one’s life is conformed to a life of love.  

Romans 12:3-8 As one considers the general perception of what Church is supposed to be, one cannot help but sense that there is a great misunderstanding on the part of many regarding this matter.  Content it seems the great crowds are, Sunday after Sunday, to pour rank and file into a building to occupy the pews and receive their full.  Yet, Jesus’ great high priestly payer in John 17 was that His body the Church would be one; united in a love so evident that the world would believe that we are His disciples! Wrong perception breeds wrong attitude, which in turn breeds wrong conduct.  In this sermon the picture of a functioning body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies is set firmly before the listener.  Are you operating in your calling/gifting and if so, to what degree of sacrifice and service?  Oh that we might be not just be receivers and takers!  Would to God that we would become givers, serving and blessing one another in our calling and gifting, growing up as one body

Romans 12:1-2 Well the words of an old hymn serve to adorn the passage of Scripture before us – A Living Sacrifice.  “I fail to find a sacrifice, or fitting gift to bring:  Earth’s treasures have too little worth to offer to my King.  My gift is small, it is my all, accept it Lord I pray; let self be slain, let Jesus reign, within my heart alway”.  Oh, dear soul…is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?  What yet remains to give Him who gave all to us?     The world is ever seeking to fashion us into its pattern but we must hold fast and withstand that temptation.  The exhortation given by the Apostle Paul in this twelfth chapter of Romans is for Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their mind in order that they might prove that good and acceptable and perfect will of God and in so proving to grow up in maturity.     

Romans 11 When one surveys that peculiar and special people group known as the Jews; one would think them to be altogether cast off by God.  How so few it seems have come to saving faith in Messiah; how many vehemently oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ!!  With a deep groaning and an inescapable burden for his people, Paul lays down the case as to why it is absolutely not the case that God has cast off His covenanted people Israel!!     With careful exegesis and passionate preaching, the case is made in this sermon teaching in favour of Gods continuing plan for national Israel in the salvific purposes of God.  Their rejection on account of divine judgment has proven to be the blessing of the nations; their partial hardening, the coming in of the Gentiles!!  Yet there is coming a time when God shall turn His mercies back again to His covenant people as foretold by the prophets and in that day all of national Israel shall be saved!!

2 Corinthians 13:7-11 David delivers a very challenging message on the great need for believers in Christ to become mature in the faith.  So many are waddling around at the first stages of infancy when they ought by now to be young men and fathers in the faith.  Many are content to sit inactive on the side lines and wonder why there is no spiritual growth and maturity in their lives.  In love and gentleness, David sets the record straight and exhorts the body of Christ to walk in obedience to the call of God upon their lives as it pertains to Christian service.  It’s not in the "sitting" that one grows spiritually, but rather it is in the “doing” of Christian service that one develops spiritual muscles and begins to grow in spiritual maturity.

In his final teaching, David Nathan concludes by delivering a stirring message on the person and work of The Holy Spirit in and through the end-times church. David Nathan begins by dispelling unbiblical teachings and long held traditions regarding the agency and ministry of The Holy Spirit, followed by a very strong rebuke and impassioned plea for the body of Christ to once again seek the baptism of The Holy Spirit that we may be His witnesses amidst the impending persecution in this last and wicked hour.

David shares his hearts burden regarding the coming wave of persecution that he very strongly believes the Church in the west is set to experience.  David cries aloud for believers to prepare themselves for such an hour as is yet to come.  God will give us the grace needed to stand, but we must understand and recognise the times and the seasons we are living in and in so doing to make the preparations necessary for the coming storm!!   

Persecution is no longer some detached notion concerning oppressed Christian brothers and sisters from some distant land, but the reality of impending tribulation for believers is happening right here and now! The very foundations of the Christian faith are being eroded right before our eyes; society and governments are becoming increasingly secular and anti-Christian; the trampling and disregard of biblical values is taking place at an alarming and unprecedented rate! Are we really ready for the coming storm? Paul M. Williams challenges the church to faithfully prepare for what’s ahead!

In this teaching session, Chris Lawson exposes the dangerous occult practices of visualisation, guided imagery and inner healing, its implications and how it is influencing the church.

Probably one of the most disturbing trends in the evangelical church today is the increase of “heavy shepherding” and “Spiritual Abuse” being inflicted on church members by their leaders. What are the identifying marks or symptoms of spiritual abuse? Are there any Biblical/practical steps that can be taken if you or a loved one are ensnared? In this session, Chris Lawson warmly and candidly shares first-hand experiences of how he himself was a victim of spiritual abuse and how he found complete victory in Christ!

All around souls give way…a war is raging and to the battle the Christian soldier is called!  On the left they peel away to deception, and on the right they fall on account of sin.  This sermon is an exhortation for Christians to finish well the race that set is before them.  Prepare to be challenged, prepared to be encouraged, Onward Christian soldier the clarion call has sounded forth!! 

David Nathan, Chris Lawson, Roger Oakland and Paul M. Williams answer questions from those attending the Sanctuary Conference 2016