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Hear our podcast about the favour of GOD and God will establish you through the word.
Episodes
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
The Helmet of Salvation
Ephesians 6:17
When Paul mentions the Roman helmet, he identifies it as a helmet of salvation.
A helmet protects a soldier against damaging and deadly blows to the head. Spiritually speaking, the helmet of salvation provides hope and protects the mind against anything that would disorient or destroy the Christian, such as discouragement or deceit.
Perhaps the thought in Paul's mind was that the enemy targets the mind in spiritual warfare.
His attack, especially to a young, immature believer, usually seeks to dismiss the very existence of God. Doubts fly in the same way as a sword attacks the head.
It is then that you do not want a bag on your head instead of a helmet provided by the heavenly Master.
The assurance of salvation is there as protection over the mind.
The inner witness of the Spirit that we are God's children protect a person's mind as a helmet protects the head: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children” (Romans 8:16).
We can face every demonic attack knowing that nothing can separate us from God’s love.
Salvation and eternal life are gifts God greatly desires to give to mankind: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
Whatever trial or hardship, persecution, famine, danger, or sword that life throws at us, we know that we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. Paul says:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
When we know, deep down, that nothing can separate us from God’s love, not even demonic powers, angels, or demons, our minds are firmly secure in the Lord.
Book of Hebrews compares hope to an anchor, giving us stability and the ability to weather the worst of storms Hebrews 6:17-19
Our minds are the most significant battleground, and that is why it is so essential for us to win the battle in our minds.
To cover and protect our minds with the helmet of salvation, we immerse our minds in the truth of God’s Word that our salvation is complete and does not rely on us.
It is a finished work that God has accomplished for us.
Let us pray
Dear Lord, help us to rely upon you for protection. Help us to guard our mind against various aspects that can help us sink, and focus on what is important. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
The Sword of The Spirit
Ephesians 6:17
The samurai warriors of medieval Japan believed their swords had spiritual reality and power. These swords were always with them, from birth to death, whether in the bedroom or on the battlefield.
Those who made the swords approached their craft as a spiritual exercise, fasting, praying, and even wearing priestly white robes.
They mixed and hammered layers of hard and soft steel to forge swords that excelled in both sharpness and strength. To the warriors, these swords represented their honour.
We should take the sword of the Spirit with equal seriousness, for its truth and power come from God.
Spiritual warfare is real, for the Devil is scheming how to put stumbling blocks in our path, and if we trust in ourselves to fight these battles we will surely fall.
When we put on the full armour, we rely on His strength rather than relying on our own.
The sole offensive weapon in Paul's armour is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
There are two words used in Scripture for the word of God. There is the familiar word, logos, which is used in the opening verse of John's gospel: In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God (John 1:1).
Then there is another word, rhema, which is different in meaning. Logos refers to the total utterance of God, the complete revelation of what God has said.
Rhema means a specific saying of God, a passage or a verse that has special application to an immediate situation. It is the Word of God applied to experience in the natural.
The sword of the Spirit otherwise referred as Rhema is given to the believer. It is God`s word applied to a specific situation.
From Hebrews 4:12-13 , we understand that God's words are dynamic, purposeful, and powerful. They penetrate and judge us accurately, leaving no room for hiding or self-deception.
They wound us with razor-sharp edges when we harbour sinful attitudes or actions.
Prayer:
Dear lord, thank you for your word that can break open every bone, marrow, and pierce through. Help us to use it wisely, rightly to receive breakthrough. In Jesus name. Amen.
Blessings & Prayers
Pastor. Bobby Leonard
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
The Model of Christ’s Love
Ephesians 5:26-27
The husband’s spiritual leadership is most important to the family, it seems plain that the husband’s authority is not limited just to spiritual matters.
As we know, wives are to submit themselves “in everything to their husbands” (v. 24). But, the practical working of wifely submission are never specified in great detail.
Each family possesses a great deal of flexibility to decide how it will function. The husband is the final decision-maker when a couple cannot agree upon a choice between two or more godly options.
This preserves the principle of authority as per the biblical standards and helps ensure that chaos does not rule the home.
It would be at the cross, and the purpose of Christ, His work to unite all things in perfect harmony (Col. 1:19–20).
Christian husbands, however, are accountable to love their wives as Christ loves the church, and a passionate concern for the wife’s spiritual well-being is essential to this love.
The scripture reveals that the goal of our Saviour’s affection for His people is that He might present the church fully sanctified and flawlessly beautiful to all creation.
The husband is called to be the spiritual leader of his home, which requires that he take the initiative in family worship, helping his wife and children learn the things of God, and much more.
This should be the primary focus of his leadership doing whatever he can to further the sanctification of his wife and children.
Jesus’ love serves as the husband’s model, he must do all that he can to encourage her sanctification. Jesus’ love serves as the husband’s model, he must do all that he can to encourage her sanctification.
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, Just as you loved the church, help us to love our spouse so that the well being is maintained, the relationship is sanctified and flawless. In Jesus name . Amen.
Blessings & Prayers
Pastor. Bobby Leonard
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Prayer for Boldness | Ephesians 6:18 -23 |
There is a strong and powerful relationship between putting on the armor of God and praying.
These two things belong together, in fact, one grows out of the other. It is not enough to put on the armor of God, you must also pray.
It is impossible to divide these two. Putting on the armor is essentially something that is done in the realm of your thought life.
It is an adjustment of the attitude of your heart to reality.
Many of us who are Christians, struggle with prayer life. Sometimes we struggle to improve the quality as well as the quantity of our prayer lives.
We adopt an approach to start thinking about the armour of God, wear the elements before we can pray.
Having just finished an epistle on the nature of the church, Paul was well aware of this fact and humble enough to request prayer for himself while he was in prison.
He asks for intercession in today’s passage, specifically exhorting the Ephesians to pray for his boldness in proclaiming the mystery of the gospel. This gospel was the reason for his chains.
The apostle was about to go before the most powerful man on earth in his day — the caesar. Due to the intimidating arrogance of the Roman court, it would have been tempting even for him to avoid speaking the truth boldly.
Paul was never a foolish man. He had all the spiritual help he could get in fulfilling the call to preach to the emperor.
He needed others praying with him that he might wear the armor of God.
Paul’s final greeting to Ephesians includes a benediction that both peace and love with faith would be ours from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 6:23).
This is a fitting way to end the epistle, for peace has been an important theme of Ephesians, both the peace we have with God in Christ Jesus and the peace that results between brothers and sisters in Christ as we strive for unity based on love.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, help us and make us a vessel willing to stand for the essential truths of the Christian faith. Transform us to serve as a model to other believers. Help us to work together in unity. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Colossians 1:1-8
Where Hope Begins
When Paul wrote this letter, the church had lost the glory of the gospel and they forgot the importance of the gospel, not only for salvation but also for their daily lives.
Consequently, they were vulnerable to the deceptions of a Gnostic cult who entered the church. And attacked the very core of the gospel.
They taught Christ was not sufficient for salvation, and that the Colossians needed new spiritual knowledge for salvation.
So Epaphras, likely the concerned pastor, visited Paul to get counsel on how to address the teachings of this cult.
Paul says, every other religion teaches the necessity of works for salvation, without any assurance of truly being saved but the gospel teaches salvation given by grace through faith and it is a GIFT. (Eph. 2:8–9).
Faith includes trust, repentance, committing and to accept Christ as Lord of our life.
The important thing is to notice that hope produces faith, and faith in turn grows into love.
Hope is the root, faith is the plant, and love is the fruit. Thus, hope is foundational.
This gives rise to the question, what produces hope? We all desperately need hope.
Without hope men lose the desire to live. We have all had hopeless moments when we felt like saying, "What is the use of going on?"
What, then, produces hope? Here is Paul's answer, "hope stored up for you in heaven and which you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come unto you. (V5)
He moves on by saying the gospel is glorious because it brings hope which includes eternal life, resurrection of the dead and inheritance with Christ.
In Romans 8:17, Paul says everything belonging to Christ is ours, which includes the heavens and one day the earth (Matt. 5:5). The gospel is glorious because it comes with such great hope.
Paul said in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Salvation is a work of God’s grace, a gift to all who will receive it. It cannot be earned; it cannot be paid for; it can only be received.
Christ declared in Matthew 16:24 that if anybody is determined to come after him, must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow him. Becoming a new believer means, there is a change of attitude, purpose, direction and behaviour. They no longer do things for themselves, rather, they will bear fruits for God.
Paul also talked about their love for all the saints. We saw this supernatural work happen to the church at Pentecost after the Spirit of God was given, the rich began to sell all they had to give to the poor (Acts 2:45). Because of christ` love in us, we as believers go beyond to serve the community and to share the gospel, love one another without any selfish ambitions.
In 1 Corinthians 4:1, Christians are called “stewards of the mysteries of God.” God has given us the Word of God and the gospel, and one day we will be held accountable as his stewards thus believers are responsible for sharing it.
Ask yourself:
Do you still stand in awe of this gospel?
Do you still praise God for its works?
Are you still participating in the privilege of spreading the gospel to all the nations?
Let’s Pray:
Lord Jesus, help us to rest securely in You and to bring praise and honor to Your holy name. We believe in You we have a hope reserved for us in heaven. May this blessed hope overflow in an unshakable trust in Your word of truth. Let your love lead us to share the gospel with others. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Blessings & Prayers
Pastor. Bobby Leonard
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Growing up
Colossians 1: 9-14
A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He came hoping to find fruit on it but he found none.
So, he said to the vinedresser, 'Look here, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down, why should it use up the ground.
And the vinedresser answered him, 'Sir, spare it one more year. I'll dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good. If not, you can have it cut it down.'
The fig tree failed to bear fruit for three seasons, so the owner told the vineyard keeper to cut it down and put the ground to better use.
This is what Paul reiterated here as bearing fruit and every good work. And that's what he calls as growing up.
Paul knows that the Colossian Christians are living in a raging volcano of false teaching that has begun to erupt and engulf them, threatening to destroy the simplicity of the faith.
Paul highlights that the gnostic value, knowledge is superior. But Paul calls it as empty with knowledge. We cannot do anything. It must help us to change our way of living.
Hence his prayer for the Colossians are that
- They be filled in the knowledge of God's will, through the spiritual understanding and wisdom
- To bear fruit in every good word, growing in the knowledge of Christ, which will direct them in every walk of life.
There is nothing he can do physically from where he is since he is in prison. But spiritually, he is a powerful prayer warrior.
As he says, For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. This brings into their insight that he has been praying for them.
He outlines nine basic needs that all believers have and a model for us to pray for one another.
- Understand God's will in their life.
- Gain spiritual wisdom.
- Please and honor God
- Grow in the knowledge of God,
- Bear good fruit
- To be filled with God's strength.
- Have endurance and patience.
- Stay in the fullness of Christ love,
- Give thanks always
The apostle urges Christians to live and walk worthy of their calling.
This is the first thing that we are to do as believers. This is how our lives are impacting others, and what our actions make them think about God.
We are to please God in every way through our faith. I said in Hebrews without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith is what pleases Him.
Paul provides five significant benefits for all believers through Christ Jesus.
- He made us qualified to share his inheritance.
- He rescued us from Satan's dominion of darkness and made us his children.
- He brought us into the eternal kingdom.
- He bought our freedom from sin, and eternal judgment.
- He forgave all our sins.
Paul's example of prayer should cause us to evaluate both our commitment to praying as well as the content of our prayers.
We should pray to understand that we serve the rightful king, and hence our conduct should reflect our new allegiance with Christ Jesus, and not to fear the darkness.
As we pray, we should desire that those around us and the church as a whole will grow in the knowledge of God's will and ability to apply the knowledge of living and life worthy of the Lord.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, help us to live a life worthy of you and please you in every way, bearing fruits in every work, growing in the knowledge of you. We joyfully give thanks to you, who have qualified as to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Colossians 1:15-17
Master of the Universe
Paul knew that Jesus is God just as God the Father is God. It means that Jesus is the very stamp of God the Father.
Paul brings this truth boldly to the Colossian believers for two basic reasons. He is very concerned that these new Christians begin to grow up.
They must not remain immature believers born again but still filled with all the frailty and foolishness of the flesh.
They must grow up and become vigorous, exemplary, compassionate Christians, forsaking their apathy and hostility, and becoming whole people.
Paul understands they are in danger of losing their clear vision of Christ. That was the nature of the Colossian heresy which attacked the person of Jesus.
They were in danger, therefore, of losing a proper sense of the profound power and eminence of Jesus Christ in their own world.
Many true believers appear to have little sense that Jesus is active in their lives here and now.
Some churches seem to treat Jesus as the British treat their monarch. They treat their monarchs with great respect and reverence and pay much lip service, but they really do not expect anything from them.
The firstborn over all creation, This is not a statement about the creation of Jesus Christ because he cannot create himself.
• All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
• He is the “Firstborn over all creation.
• Firstborn” indicates his dominion over all things.
• The firstborn in Israel had the right to rule.
• Jesus has the right to rule because of his rank over all creation.
• He is the “firstborn” from the dead; this is His resurrection. He was the first to rise from the dead.
Dear Lord, help us to acknowledge your greatness, yet you are willing to be our savior. We thank you for your Victory on the cross for our SINs. Bless us. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
The Perfect Savior
Colossians 1:18-20
Jesus` status as the firstborn “from the dead” (Col. 1:18) is also significant because it shows us our place in history and assures us of our future destiny.
Our Lord’s resurrection has brought this future age into the present, and the people of God now experience a taste of the power of the age to come through the ability to resist sin by the Holy Spirit.
This future age will arrive in its fullness when all are raised from the dead, and our union with Christ assures us that we will then be raised unto eternal life just as He was.
The term firstborn is significant in the Old Testament because the Lord spared the firstborn sons of Israel during the first Passover via the shed blood of the lamb (Ex. 11:1–12:32).
During the Reformation, the Protestants and Roman Catholics argued strongly over the identity of the head of the church.
The Apostles identify only one head of the church, which is Jesus Christ.
A body has only one head, and Paul in today’s passage states explicitly that Jesus is this head (Col. 1:18).
Our Lord does appoint pastors and elders as undershepherds who help lead and guard His body during its earthly pilgrimage (1 Peter 5:1–5)
Because Christ is head of the church, He not only has final authority over the church but He gives life to the church.
why Jesus is the Head of the body?
First, he says, he is the beginning. The beginning of the church! He is the One from whom the church gets its life.
The Bible opens with a note, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
There is another beginning in the gospel of John In the beginning was the Word. That goes back even before creation.
Jesus is referred to be the beginning of the church, when the disciples saw Jesus, touched him, and handled him.
From the risen life of Jesus flows the new life of the church. That is what Paul teaches so clearly in 2 Corinthians 5, If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, all things have become new.
We are part of a new humanity that God is bringing forth upon this earth, a humanity that is bought with a price.
You are not your own, you are bought with a price.
He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Let Us Pray
Dear Lord, Thank you for the work on the cross through which you made us whole again. We praise you. Your resurrection has brought us hope for the present and Future. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Colossians 2:1-7
The Overflowing Life
Paul described his spiritual warfare and heartfelt care for the Colossians as a great conflict.
Paul was concerned about their understanding. He knew that their unity and enthusiasm were not just a matter of love, but also of growing together in God’s truth.
Paul was concerned about their enthusiasm. He knew that discouraged, downcast Christians are easy prey for the world, the flesh, and the devil.
For Paul, real riches were found in the believer’s full assurance.
Many lack full assurance about the character of God and are unconvinced that He is really good and loving.
Others lack full assurance of their salvation and wonder if their Christian life is for real.
Great freedom and confidence comes when we come to this full assurance.
Paul's concern is that he is very much aware of how easy it is to miss these hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ by being misled by false teaching.
They were influenced by Gnostic teachers who told them to seek the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, but not to seek them in Jesus.
Paul wrote, “You will only find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Jesus. He has them all.” It’s not wrong to seek after wisdom and knowledge, but we must seek it all in Jesus.
When Paul describes the truth of God with words like riches and treasures, he reminds us that God’s truth is precious and worthy of sacrificial seeking.
Those who told the Colossians to find wisdom and knowledge apart from the simplicity of Jesus were very persuasive.
Continuing with the thought from the previous verse, Paul did not see a Colossian church that was given over to heresy. They were under serious danger, but they were still in good order and displayed good faith.
We cannot perfect in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit; therefore just as you received Jesus, walk-in Him in the same way.
As Christians, we not only walk, but we are also rooted, and we are built up.
Just as a plant we are to be rooted; as the good seed had been already sown, it must take root, and the roots are to spread far, wide, and deep.
We are to be grounded; as the foundation has already been laid, we are to build on it.
As we grow up to be a habitation of God through the Spirit, We will bear much fruit.
Let Us Pray
Heavenly Father, Help us Lord to differentiate the false teachings that we might encounter even today in our lives. help us God to be rooted, to be build up in the full assurance that every knowledge that we seek is in you. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Saturday Aug 07, 2021
Colossians 2:8-15
Beware!
The apostle sees Colossian Christians, whom he has commended and encouraged up to this point in the letter, as facing a great danger of being taken captive by false teaching.
They are in danger of being kidnapped by error.
We would say they were in danger of being taken, hostage! That is something we hear much about in our day.
In several parts of the world today, ordinary tourists may suddenly find themselves taken hostage and denied their rightful liberties.
Paul sees a like danger facing Christians who are taken captive by wrong philosophy, wrong teaching, false doctrine.
Such things can deprive believers of their Christian liberty and hold them hostage for years, if not for the rest of their lives.
The philosophy that threatened the Colossian Christians was a strange mix of early Gnosticism, Greek philosophy, local mystery religions, and Jewish mysticism.
Gnosticism taught that God could not come into direct contact with the material world.
Paul took care to point out that Jesus is God, and He came in the body of His flesh.
The other weapon used Philosophy means simply "the love of wisdom. We are all much indebted to philosophers of the past, to Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and others, for their keen insights into the nature of reality and life.
The love of wisdom is a good thing in many cases.
What the apostle has in mind here, of course, is the danger the Colossians are facing becasue of bad philosophy.
The Colossian heresy promoted itself as traditional. It could trace some or many of its ideas back to traditions among the Jews or the Greek philosophers or both.
Paul here warned that the tradition of men has no equal authority to the word of God.
The Colossian Christians had to deal with a whole variety of false teaching.
Not only did they have wrong ideas about Jesus, but they also had wrong ideas about things like circumcision.
They were being taught that they had to be circumcised to be right with God. Paul makes it clear that they were circumcised, by putting off the sins of the flesh.
Paul says Gentile Christians find their true circumcision in their baptism.
Christians don’t need to be circumcised, they need to be baptized.
baptism does illustrate our identification with the death and resurrection life of Jesus.
We were buried with Jesus, and buried under the water. We are also raised with Him, and raised up out of the water.
We are not only made alive, but made alive together with Him.
Jesus not only paid for the writing that was against us. He also took it out of the way, and then nailed it to the cross.
He did everything possible to make certain that the handwriting of requirements that was against us could no longer accuse us.
Another aspect of Jesus’ work on the cross is that He disarmed principalities and powers.
These ranks of hostile angelic beings (Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 3:10, Ephesians 6:12) don’t have the same weapons to use against Christians that they have against those who are not in Jesus.
Paul writes this so that we have clarity of mind and thought and we follow what the bible says it is.
Let us pray:
Dear Heavenly father, We commit ourselves to what we have understood about you, your life, and the finished work on the cross. Let not the other elements drive any thoughts in to us. neither tradtions nor philosophies.
In Jesus Name. Amen.