Bethesda Shalom

Leviticus 25:20-22 When God asks us to trust Him, seldom is it ever convenient for us to do so.  As human beings we like things to be smooth and pain-free; we don’t cope too well with being inconvenienced.  “So long as what’s being asked of me doesn't threaten my comfort, then I’m happy to consider it”.  But when God comes asking in a matter requiring my obedience, nine times out of ten it will come at a personal inconvenience to me.  You say, Pastor, why does it have to be on this wise?  Why can’t God make it easier for us?  My simple answer is...God wants us to trust Him!!! 

Revelation 21:1-7 One day there shall be a new heaven and earth, where the sea shall be no more.  One day there shall come down from God out of heaven, a new Jerusalem prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  One day a great voice shall be heard out of heaven saying, “...Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Rev. 21:3).  One day God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes and there shall be no more crying or sorrow!  One day there shall be no more death, neither shall there be any more pain for these former things/earthly things shall pass away. Oh Brothers and Sisters, what precious things shall be ours one day!!

Matthew 11:28-30 It’s been rightly said, the devil makes work for idle hands, but did you know the devil can be just as much in business as he is in idleness?  If he can’t get you one way, he’ll get you another way, and one of his most disguised weapons is placing upon the backs of well-meaning Christians, the burden of false guilt!  A true burden from the Lord is a burden to be given back to God in prayer.  It has an outflow/release value through which the pressure can be eased.  By way of contrast; a false burden has no outflow, it’s a pressure cooker if you like without the release valve!!  It is a counterfeit — it’s not a genuine article.  It sometimes feels like the real, but alas, it soon reveals itself to be a fraud.  The pressure is seemingly there, but upon inspection, instead of a pure conviction, the pressure/burden is tainted with accusatory blame and wave after wave of false guilt.  One quickly realises, this is not the life-giving conviction of God the Holy Ghost but rather the life-sucking co

Exodus 32:26 The question posed by the title of this sermon is one of great importance. There are many questions a man can be asked and understandably, there’s an order of importance to each one.  “What do you want to eat for dinner?” is a valid question, and whilst it is meaningful, i.e. we do have some feelings about how we answer, we wouldn’t consider the question to be critical.  Compare that with other questions, like, “Who do you want to marry?”, or “Who do you want to include in your will”, and I think you get the point I’m trying to make.  In enquiring of the Lord, what it was that He would have me to bring to share with you, I have not been able to shake from my thinking a question that has gone round and round in my mind.  You say, what’s the question?  In six words I give it to you; “Who Is on the LORD’S side?”. 

1 Peter 3:7 One of the chief reasons why prayer has been abandoned en masse amongst the assembly of God is because of unbelief.  God’s people, whether they want to admit it or not, do not believe in a God who answers prayer; and because of this the prayer closets are empty and the corporate prayer meetings have long been forsaken!! As one looks at the weekly calendar of Church activities, one will find every sort of meeting going, from Zumba through to tiny tots, but to see any serious coming together for the purpose of prayer, one will generally look in vain to find even the slightest whiff.  This sermon is not aimed at the prayerless but at the praying.  In it, I ask the question; “Why do the prayers of God’s people largely go unanswered?”  In answer to it,  I present five Biblical reasons, hindrances to answered prayer.

Acts 12:1-5 It is with joy, I am able to enclose this month's featured sermon, titled "Only God Could Have Done It!".  May it be a blessing to your soul. What farmer sows the precious seed, never expecting to reap a harvest? What fisherman goes out to sea, casting out his nets but never expecting to receive a catch?  On the contrary, a vineyard is planted in hope of new wine, and the foundations are laid in the hope of a building being raised. Could you imagine a man going out to find gold with the predetermined mindset of finding only a rusty bit of old tin?  Could you imagine a beggar, sitting by the roadside fully persuaded that by the end of the day, he’d be no better off?  Why, he wouldn’t bother leaving his shack, he’d give up the ghost there and then!  No one operates like this, even in the worst of environments, hope, no matter how small, keeps the souls of men from fainting!  If it is thus in the world, why is it that when it comes to prayer, so many of God’s people have cast off this enduring qual

Matthew 26:41 No one ever plans to go adrift, just like no one ever plans to get lost!  Nine times out of ten, it happens through complacency and lack of watchfulness.  We take our eye off the ball, we lose sight of the dangers of the environment we’re in, and before long, it suddenly dawns upon us that we’ve lost our way!  In this sermon, a warning shot is fired across the bow, warning the Church against spiritual drift.

Romans 6:14 What strongholds are you pulling down at present in your life?  Does sin reign unchecked in your life?  Are you gaining mastery over sinful lusts and passions, or are they gaining mastery over you?  Does sin have dominion over you or do you have dominion over sin? Brothers and Sisters, we must vow to fight!  We’re in a war and as God said to Cain, “...sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him” (Gen. 4:7).  You say, but Brother, the sinful desires are so strong, I can barely resist the pull towards evil!  I hear you! But can I ask you this question, which man are you feeding?  The carnal man or the spiritual man?  Your flesh or your spirit?   There’s a principle that holds true, “...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).  If I sow a field full of tares/weeds, then it should be of no surprise if when I come back after several months, the field is overgrown with weeds!!  I’m not going to find a healthy crop of wheat Maize, for that

1 Corinthians 4:20 The desperate need of the Church in this perilous hour is not to discover another five-step program for Church growth.  See where the arm of the flesh has gotten the Bride of Christ, she looks just like the world!! Where is the cutting distinction?  Where is the Kingdom of God in the midst of her?  Where is the unfettered reign of Christ and the overflow of His Spirit?  Instead, we’ve exchanged divine power for earthly power; God’s wisdom for man’s wisdom, and the saddest thing about it is, God’s people don’t know it any other way!!  They’re happy to have it so!!  The number one question that should be being asked is not, “How can we get people back into Church; but how can we get God back in!!”  FRIENDS, WE NEED GOD!!  We need urgently to recover again the power of the Kingdom of Heaven, “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20).

As Jason walks you through the Scriptures, may the Lord richly bless you as you learn about sanctification.

Matthew 25:14-30 Which one of us doesn’t like to hear the words “well done”?  Whether from a boss at work, or a family member in the home; those two simple words spoken in sincerity mean so much!  Who doesn’t like to be encouraged?  Children especially rejoice to hear the words “well done” — as a former teacher, I can vouch for that first-hand and as a daddy, I can say the same. When you tell a little one “well done”, and you say it with heartfelt meaning, watch their tiny faces respond as they beam from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat!  There’s something about the human race, it matters not how old we are, there’s a God-given trait within our DNA, a desire deep inside to please others in a job well done.  This sermon is an appeal to Christian service—a call to faithfulness in the talents entrusted to us by the Lord. 

Session 4 of 4 The Sanctuary Day Conference 2023 Click below for more information about The Sanctuary Conference: www.sanctuaryconference.org Listen to other sermons by Stephen Riddell: https://www.lifeboatfellowship.com/

Session 3 of 4 The Sanctuary Day Conference 2023 Click below for more information about The Sanctuary Conference: www.sanctuaryconference.org Listen to other sermons by Paul M. Williams: www.bethesdashalom.org/

Session 2 of 4 Click below for more information about The Sanctuary Conference: www.sanctuaryconference.org Listen to other sermons by Stephen Riddell: https://www.lifeboatfellowship.com/

Session 1 of 4 Click below for more information about The Sanctuary Conference: www.sanctuaryconference.org Listen to other sermons by Paul M. Williams: www.bethesdashalom.org/

Hebrews 11:5-6 Stephen Riddell brings a Holy Spirit anointed word on what it means to walk with God.  Stephen is an elder at The Lifeboat Fellowship, Dungannon, N. Ireland.  It was our privilege to have Stephen bring the Word of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20 The account contained in 2 Chronicles 20 concerns a certain king named Jehoshaphat; a godly king, who though not perfect, was a man of tremendous faith who feared the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David. Throughout his 25-year reign as the King of Judah, Jehoshaphat witnessed firsthand, the supernatural hand of God in delivering him out of a number of precarious situations in which his life was placed in great jeopardy. Here stands an account of one such deliverance that I trust shall be a challenge and an encouragement to you.  I want to present to you three lessons in faith. #1. FAITH’S TRIAL, #2. FAITH’S ANSWER, and #3. FAITH’S REWARD

2 Kings 5:13 If there’s one thing that I came to learn quickly as a newborn babe in Christ, it was this: it’s not everything that God asks of us, we’re going to understand.  In fact, many times, what God asks seems foolish when brought to the bar of natural reasoning.  There are many reasons why God sets things up this way, not least for the testing of faith and for the glory of His name.  Faith forever stands diametrically opposed to sight as north stands opposed to south and east to west.  Sight believes because it sees, but faith believes because God said it!   “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).  In this sermon, I endeavour to set before you, three accounts of where God’s people were instructed by God to do things that on face value seemed foolish and against all human logic.  Their faith and obedience are an inspiration for us all and in every case, the Lord worked in miraculous power to bring to naught the wisdom of men. 

1 John 2:15-17 They tell us, “...nothing’s built to last”.  It’s not always that I agree with what “they” like to tell us, but in this instance, they’re spot on!! I like walking, and at odd times my path leads me into farming land.  I love standing by the gate and looking out at the wheat fields, the ripened heads swaying in the wind.  Upon my journey, I sometimes see an old clapped-out tractor with a rusty plough lying amidst the undergrowth.  Immediately my mind begins to wonder, “...there was a day when this tractor ploughed these fields and this plough didn’t have a spot of rust upon it. One day when the tractor’s engine was started for the first time, its brand-new coat of paint shone with pride.  I wonder how many sat in its seat?  I wonder are they still alive?”  You, know there’s something about history that fascinates me but there’s one thing about history that forever holds true — what was, no longer is, and what it shall one day no longer be. This sermon is an appeal to flee from covetousness and

Hebrews 11:1-3 If there were just two words that I would have you take away with you so as to keep in memory, it would be these two words, “BY FAITH”.  No less than 16 times within the 40 verses that span the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews; the words, “By faith” appear. Beginning with Abel, the son of Adam, the names of men and women are chronicled and the mighty victories that they wrought by faith are held in review for our remembrance. Abel, Enoch and Noah.  Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob. Joseph, Moses and the Gentile harlot Rehab. All had one thing in common, one thing that wrote their name in the book, they believed God!!  Brothers and Sisters, I can think of no greater experience as a Christian than when God asks you to stand this side of faith and to trust Him.  Against all odds, against everything that the natural eye would say otherwise. To take God at His Word and to simply say, “God I believe you and  I’m going to trust you”, is the story of the heroes and heroines of the faith!!