Pastor Jo's Blog » Word of God

Sermon: Blessed with Believing Abraham

Pastor Jo — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:13:22 +0000

Abraham could not have imagined how blessed he will be when he walked out of his hometown and family into an unknown future in an unknown land. But before he died God showed him the vastness of that blessing, one that extend beyond his own household, his own time, and even his own people. God’s covenant with Abraham is as effective today as it was in his day to those who believe in Christ, because He was the Royal Seed of Abraham through whom all the nations of the earth as blessed with God’s abundant grace.

This sermon is a journey into many secrets ad keys that will unlock the blessings of the promises of God for today’s believer.

Title	Blessed with Believing Abraham
Date Preached	April 11, 2010
Outline	view the outline
Listen/Download MP3

The Word of Promise Audio Bible

Pastor Jo — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:59:31 +0000

The Word of Promise Complete Audio Bible is a brilliant work! Having heard an audio sample of the product, I knew I’ve got to have a copy of this for my family… Related Posts:Can You Read the Bible and Enjoy It? New Life Harvest Holds First "Amazing Bible Prophecies" Sunday Listen to Great Sermons Online

From the Pulpit: The Godhead

Pastor Jo — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:47:21 +0000

The God of the Bible could well be the most argued Divine Being in history. There are numerous views Christians hold, depending on the denomination that they are in. The Bible is clear, however, on the doctrine of the Godhead. The one, true God who revealed His power and Godhead in His creation is now revealing Himself through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sermon Title:	The Godhead
Text:	Acts 17.24-31
Outline:	[PDF File]
Listen/Download MP3:	Download link

Let Bible Prophecies Light Your Way

Pastor Jo — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:47:23 +0000

In a time when tragedy after tragedy is striking the world in so different places, it is not unusual to see fear, hopelessness and despair in the lives of many. In the news, in the streets, in the office, even in church, people are feeling the hard times. Nobody, it seems, knows how to react with whatever’s going on these days.

But God has given us hope and comfort in the form of Bible prophecies. The apostle Peter wrote this in his second epistle:

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
~ 2 Peter 1.19

Our precious brother William Branham preached one of his sermons with the title, “Modern Events are Made Clear by Prophecy”. God’s Word is the single most important source of wisdom and understanding for all ages. Like a light that gives light in the dark of night, the Scriptures enlightens our understanding of the present time and the current events.

Indeed, God’s Word has taught why the world is becoming more dangerous, and why people’s morals are so low men and women are practically walking naked in public. God’s Word also tells us why there are so many versions of the Gospel in our day, and why heart disease is the number killer disease of the modern age.

These are times, but we can stay calm take comfort in the fact that God has seen all these even from the beginning so that we can be sure that no danger can touch even one single strand of hair on our head other that what He has allowed by His sovereign grace. Even then, we know that all His plans for us are for our own good.

Let God’s words light your way in these times.

Walk In Harmony with God

Pastor Jo — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:43:13 +0000

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. ~ 1 Confusion 14.33

Have you ever gazed at the vast sky on a clear night? We call it Universe, but earlier people used to call it Cosmos, which means order because they noticed how orderly the stars, and the planets, and the galaxies are positioned in that vast space.

God, the God of peace, who created the heavens and the earth, has ordained them all to be in such a place at such a time so we can gaze at the majesty and glory of God.

When man chose to live outside of God’s presence, chaos and confusion took over and filled all the days of his sinful life. There is no peace to the wicked, says God, for only He can bring peace and order to mankind.

But now the we have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ, we can live and walk in harmony with God, and enjoy the many benefits of His peace. Not that there will be no more problems, or trials that will stand in our way. Our peace is in the assurance that God is still in control of His vast universe. If can take care of the stars and galaxies out there, surely He can take good care of you and me. And He does.

Help Bring People to God's House

Listen to Great Sermons Online

Pastor Jo — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:29:30 +0000

Are you looking for ways to enrich your encounter with the Word of God? Do you feel like you need to listen to good, old-fashioned, heart-stirring sermons everyday? If you’re reading this article online, chances are you already have access to a wide selection of great sermons freely available to everyone through the World Wide Web.

Message Audio – Sermons by William Branham [click here]

Message Audio featuring sermons by Bro. Branham

The Voice of God Recordings, Inc. has so far the largest collection of the sermons of Brother Branham. From 1947 to 1965, the prophet’s sermons in Jeffersonville and in places where he preached were recorded on reel tapes, the current technology of that time. These were collected over time, their quality refined, and made available in hard and soft copies and for streaming online.

Thanks to the people at VGR, you can now listen to all the available sermons online. To listen or download your own copy, simply type the title of the sermon or a key word and hit enter. A list of available sermons will appear on your screen and you can listen rightaway by clicking on “stream”. You can also read while you listen by clicking on the PDF link. Try it now.

Free People’s Mission [click here]

Free People's Mission features Bro. Frank's sermons

Free People’s Mission Krefeld, Inc. is the center of the world reaching ministry of German Pastor and MissionaryEwald Frank. His global work has brought him to about 140 countries all over the world in the last 50 years. He continues to visit at least 2 cities every month to preach the Message of the hour.

Their website offers his latest sermons at the mission center, where hundreds of believers from all over Europe and other countries gather to listen to his sermons delivered every first weekend of the month.

To listen to his sermons, go to the “sermons’ page from the navigation bar and select the date that you want to listen to. To participate in their services, just go to “live Services’ from the navigation bar and follow the instructions on the next page. Try it now.

Happy Valley Church Sermons [click here]

HVCJC offers great sermons from Ptr. Donny Reagan

Happy Valley Church of Jesus Christ offers all the sermons preached in its pulpit for streaming. Your can follow Pastor Donny Reagan on his sermon series, as well as other preachers in their fellowship. The streaming service is available in audio and video formats, and can be downloaded for free.

To listen online, just click on the format of your choice (audio or video). The videos are Windows Media Player compatible. You can also download a copy of the sermon or order a hard copy for your library.

Interestingly, Happy Valley Church also offers live streaming of their services. So if you feel like it, you can participate in their services from the comfort of your home, provided your DSL service can handle the bandwidth. The site’s homepage shows how long do you have to wait till their next service. Try it now.

Prophetic Revelation Audio and Video Sermons [click here]

Prophetic Revelation offers great Bible teachings

Singaporean Missionary and Pastor Richard Gan has an extensive collection of his audio and video teachings available to everyone through his website. His ministry brings him to many African, south Asian and Pacific countries to minister the Word of God.

Cloverdale Bibleway [click here]

Cloverdale Bibleway Church offers live and recorded sermons

Cloverdale Bibleway Church of Surrey, BC, Canada, is blessed with gifted ministers, from Pastor Eddie Byskal to four full time ministers. Fortunately, all their sermons can be accessed for free right in their website. From the navigation bar click the ‘Services’ and choose the sermon title. Then press ‘play’ at the top left side of the list and choose whether you want the video or audio.

You can also download the available format or puchase a DVD copy of the sermon. The site also offers live services. When you click on the ‘Live Streaming’ link a new window will show you the time to the next service. Try it here.

Other Sites

There are other sites that offer great sermons. Sermon Index is a collection of select sermons from the last century, from old-fashioned preachers in the denomination circle. Or, you can go to World Challenge, Inc. and find select sermons by David Wilkerson and others.

This is a small collection of sites that minister to the need o

Where is the True Church?

Pastor Jo — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:10:10 +0000

Question: Where is the true church today?

This is probably one of the most common questions people throw at Christians. The argument is that, with so many churches today claiming to be the Church of Jesus Christ, either they are all true or none at all. Unfortunately, majority of today’s people stand on either of the two.

Answer

My short answer is this: the true church can be found the Bible, in the Book of Acts to be exact. That was the church established by the Lord Jesus Christ with the coming of the Holy Spirit upon 120 persons who were waiting and praying in Jerusalem ten days after He ascended up to heaven. When the apostles spread out, they went from city to city preaching the gospel and established congregations where people came to receive the faith. Those were the true churches of Christ.

Now for the longer answer. To claim that one belongs to the true church today is not quite easy because we will have to prove a lot of things. I believe the following guidelines can help those who are searching:

1./ The true church today should be standing on and preaching the doctrine of the apostles.

There is – and there can only be – one Gospel. It was personally handed down by the Lord Jesus to His apostles, and you cannot find it anywhere else except in the Bible itself. The falling away, which started in the latter days of the apostles, has come a long way and produced innumerable versions of the Gospel, that we needed a restoration message that will call us back to the Word of God.

2./ The true church today should have experienced a calling out from organized religions and religious systems, to a Bible-centered faith and living.

If we are to be a church, then we have to experience the very meaning of the word. Ekklesia, the Greek word from which the word church or iglesia was taken, means a called out assembly of people. A church then is a people who were called out from wrong beliefs and un-biblical systems of faith to the true Word of God. Jesus called His disciples out of religious then present. So were the saints who responded to the Message. Today God is calling His people out so they can come in to Christ by accepting His pure and unadulterated Word.

3./ The true church today should be living a holy and godly life under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Holiness and godliness are virtues imparted by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word. The words of Jesus has the power to make a clean and holy life out of sinners. Where true Gospel is preached and believed, holy lives manifest and abound.

4./ The true church today should be joyfully waiting and preparing for the promised return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since the days of the apostles, the saints have been mocked and laughed at for this very reason. There are even more scoffers today, and they make fun of the Christian faith especially with regards to this doctrine. But the true saints are not moved. They hold on to the promise because every passing year draws them ever closer to the coming of Christ.

God is Open for Conversation

Pastor Jo — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:14:30 +0000

One of the most important features of a good company is live online support where customers have the opportunity to get help or voice their concerns and feedback. In the world religions, however, there is hardly any form of two-way interaction between the gods and their followers. That is, except the Christian faith. The God of the Bible is unique in many ways, and one of them is the openness that He offers to His creation and believers.

Consider this verse from Isaiah 1.18:

“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”

In this verse God declares his openness for conversation.Unlike most of today’s rich dads who provide things for their kids but are mostly unavailable for heart-to-heart talks, God is deeply concerned with man’s well-being and is willing and ready to hear our complaints and concerns.

The Bible is replete with stories of conversations between God and His servants, even ordinary men and women. When Hagar was thrown out of the house of her masters, God answered her prayers and saved Ishmael her son. Hannah also, who prayed fervently and continuously for a child, was heard and healed of her barrenness.

When the works of Christ on earth were finished and He ascended to heaven, an even greater privilege was opened to mankind. Christ, by means His death on the cross, has paved a new and living way that leads right to the very throne of God. (Hebrews 10.19-22) And we are encouraged to boldly come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4.14-16 NIV, emphasis mine)

Conversations with God is not only beneficial in that we can voice or thoughts and concerns in God’s ears. God’s words has the power to cleansed us from our sins. When we follow God and listen to His voice in our hearts, we experience the sanctifying power of the Word. Jesus once said to His disciples that they were cleansed by the words that He has spoken to them. (John 15.3)

Again, God invites us in Isaiah 43.25, 26:

“ I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
Put Me in remembrance;
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be acquitted.”

Friends, I pray you never turn this very great opportunity down. God is open to you and to everyone. People misjudge God only because He has been misrepresented. Don’t judge the God of the Bible until you have talked with Him. That’s fair enough, don’t you think?

Our Heavenly Home

Pastor Jo — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:19:02 +0000

From my childhood I used to sing the song “Mansion Over the Hill Top”. It was one of the most loved songs among Christians because it gives hope especially to those who are not us fortunate as others are in terms of finances. But did God actually promise a literal home for the believers in heaven? Do you ever wonder what Christ did actually mean when He said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you”? (NKJV)

Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians gives us a very clear understanding on this subject. He wrote:

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed , but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

- 2 Corinthians 5.1-4

Clearly, Paul tells us here that we have a house, which is actually a ”heavenly body”, prepared in heaven that we go to once we live our earthly body. It is building, signifying permanence compared to this earthly tent where we presently live in. And it is eternal.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the Apostle Paul duscussed the issue of resurrection body. He proved that there is a heavenly body that we receive from Christ, the Lord from heaven, just as there is an earthly body that we inehrited from the first Adam, the man from the earth.

Then he went on to prove that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom”. By which meant this earthly will not be able to enter into the heavenly realm. Hence, there will be a body change for those saints, both living and dead, at the time of the Lord’s return.

Just how wonderful it is to live in such a body, we can only imagine for now. Paul said he groaned in his body, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with that house from heaven.

But Job msut have seen something of the same. In his suffering, he received hope and comfort that his Redeemer will stand on earth in the last days. He also declared this:

If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter , one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:

Then he is gracious unto him, and saith , Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.

His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth.

- Job 33.23-25

Can You Read the Bible and Enjoy It?

Pastor Jo — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:22:15 +0000

I believe that Bible reading can be as enjoyable as anything we do under the sun. It should, anyway, because after all, it is the Bread of Life for our soul. But it takes a little extra effort, and perhaps investments, to grab the attention of say, the children, and make them see the importance of the Bible.

The Bible of course is not just any ordinary book. It is a rich resource of spiritual insights and wisdom that can only be understood with the help of th Holy Spirit. Paul argued this effectively when he said:

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2.11)

Even then, the Bible should not be misunderstood as a puzzling book that only smart men can decipher. Indeed, God has revealed His plans, not to the wise, but to babes in heart. (Matthew 11.25) The Bible is simple enough for even the least educated to understand.

Here are my simple ideas that can help anyone get back their passion for Bible reading.

Decide to read the Bible for your own spiritual benefits. What do eating, working, playing, and watching TV have in common? They are actions that we decide to do every day. Why not reading the Bible? Why not read the Bible when you can learn so many things from God from its very ages? I’m convinced that unless we make a decision to step into a spiritual journey with the Book. (If you want to know what the Bible means to you and your faith, read this article.)

Set a time and a place for you to read your Bible. There is a saying that goes, “a place for everything, and everything in its place.” In a world that’s getting more crowded and noisy, God’s Word requires that we set aside a place and time if we want to gain the wisdom It offers freely. Find your self a corner where you can focus on your reading. It can be any place in your house, in a park, or a coffee shop. In my younger days I used to bring my reading materials outdoors, usually under the shade of a tree, where I read for hours with nothing to disturb me (except the chicken in our back yard). When I moved to the city, my favorite reading hangout was any coffee shop that is cozy and quiet. (Starbucks!)

Now, one reason we cannot stand reading the Bible is because we usually reserve the time when we are most tired, stressed and totally spent. Why not give the most active time of your day to Bible reading? The early morning is also a good time to spend with your Bible.

Bring your tools with you. Consider Bible reading as a task as well as an adventure. Why? Because when you go on an adventure trip, you will want to bring tools with you to help you along the way. That’s why. Read your Bible with a pen and a notebook and probably a dictionary and other reference materials that can help you discover and understand the meaning of words and things. You will also want to write down your questions, the ideas you discovered, the wisdom you learned, and things to do later. Now that’s an adventure!

Decide which way to take the trip. There are a number of ways you can begin your Bible journey. Basically, the Bible as a book consists of biographies, historical accounts of places and records of ideas and cultures of the ancient days. The Bible is also a book of wise sayings, love stories, doctrinal expositions and prophetic utterances. Whichever way you start the path will surely lead you great adventures with God and His people, and will unravel spiritual riches that are definitely out of this world.

Write as you read. As I’ve mentioned earlier, write all your discoveries because it is one of the surest way of not losing them. Don’t trust your mind.

Don’t end your reading session without giving yourself an assignment. Having an assignment that you will work on helps you look forward to your next Bible reading session. You can take not of things that you might do to supplement your Bible reading. Is there anything you will need to ask to your Pastor or parents? You can use your friends, the library or the Internet to supplement and expand your learning.

Treat yourself afterwards. Better yet, bring your things to your favorite coffee shop so you can read and enjoy your favorite blend.

Also, you can try reading with a group of friends. This is very interesting when you have friends who want to read and share at the same time. This is exciting, I tell you.