BECAUSE OF GOD’S GRACE 2 Samuel 7:8-9 “Now this is what you will say to my servant David: ‘This is what the LORD of Armies says: I took you from the pasture where you followed sheep so that you could be the leader of my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went, and I destroyed all your enemies in front of you. I will make your name famous like the names of the greatest people on earth. LET US NOT FORGET WHERE WE CAME FROM. LET US NOT FORGET ALL THAT GOD PROTECTED US FROM. WE DIDN’T GET HERE ON OUIR OWN. WE DIDN’T DEFEAT OUR ENEMIES ( SICKNESS, DISEASE, POVERTY, EVIL PEOPLE, ETC) GOD DEFEATED OUR ENEMIES FOR US BECAUSE OF HIS GRACE. WE ARE WHERE WE ARE TODAY BECAUSE OF THE GRACE OF GOD. WE MAY NOT BE WHERE WE WANT TO BE, BUT THINK ABOUT HOW BAD IT COULD BE, BUT IT IS NOT, AND IT IS BECAUSE OF THE GRACE OF GOD, AND BECAUSE OF GOD’S GRACE GOD WILL EVEN TAKE US TO A BETTER PLACE. GLOOORRRYYYY!!! HALLELUJAH!!! PayPal.me/donatetochurch Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
GOD KNOWS ALL. Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are everywhere. they watch evil people and good people. Ecclesiastes 12:14 God will certainly judge everything that is done. This includes every secret thing, whether it is good or bad. THINK ABOUT IT!!!! PayPal.me/donatetochurch Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
THE BIBLE SPEAKS TO US ABOUT GOD’S HELP DURING DIFFICULT TIMES.
Hebrews 4:16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Psalm 91:14-15 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 50:15 and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” Psalm 54:4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. 2 Samuel 22:33 It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. Psalm 125:1 For with God nothing shall be impossible. LET US REMEMBER AND BELEIVE THIS WORD FROM GOD. OBEY, TRUST, BELIEVE, AND RECEIVE!!! GLOOORRRY!!! HALLELUJAH!!! PayPal.me/donatetochurch Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL Psalm 145:17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. Proverbs 2:8 For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Psalm 40:11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. Lamentations 3:22-23 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. OUR GOD IS OUR PROTECTOR OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL WE CAN DEPEND ON GOD PayPal.me, /donatetochurch Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
YOUR PAST Philippians 3:13-14 ESV Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Isaiah 43:18 ESV “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Hebrews 6:1 ESV Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
LIVE GODLY Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com Deuteronomy 5:33 GW Follow all the directions the Lord your God has given you. Then you will continue to live, life will go well for you, and you will live for a long time in the land that you are going to possess. IF WE WILL LIVE GODLY, WE WILL LIVE A LONG LIFE, AND ALL WILL GO WELL FOR US. Psalms 34:19 ESV Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. IF WE LIVE A RIGHTEOUS LIFE, GOD WILL HEAR OUR PRAYERS, AND DELIVER US OUT OF WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE NEED TO BE DELIVERED FROM. TRUST, BELIEVE, AND RECIEVE. 1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” BE CAREFUL WHO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH. CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS CAREFULLY. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
WORD FROM GOD 1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 But test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. LET US RECEIVE THIS WORD FROM GOD. PayPal.me/donatetochurch Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
OUR GOD TEACHES US ABOUT DAILY LIFE. Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Psalm 118:24 ESV This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 121:7-8 GW The Lord guards you from every evil. He guards your life. [8] The Lord guards you as you come and go, now and forever. Psalms 68:19 GW Thanks be to the Lord, who daily carries our burdens for us. God is our salvation. Selah ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
GOD SPEAKS TO US ABOUT BUSY-BODIES Fools are. Pr 20:3. Avoiding a quarrel is honorable. After all, any stubborn fool can start a fight. The idle are. 2 Th 3:11 We hear that some of you are not living disciplined lives. You’re not working, so you go around interfering in other people’s lives. We order and encourage such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to pay attention to their own work so they can support themselves. 1 Ti 5:13 At the same time, they learn to go around from house to house since they have nothing else to do. Not only this, but they also gossip and get involved in other people’s business, saying things they shouldn’t say. Christians must not be. 1 Pe 4:15. If you suffer, you shouldn’t suffer for being a murderer, thief, criminal, or troublemaker. THERE ARE TOO MANY BUSY-BODIES IN THE WORLD, DON’T BE ONE OF THEM. PayPal.me/donatetochurch Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
WHO IS IN CONTROL? PART 1 I once read an interview with a woman whose home had been reduced to splinters by a tornado. Surveying the carnage, she told the reporter, “God wasn’t in this. God didn’t want this to happen.” Is that true? Is God swept along in the flow of catastrophes such as tornadoes, unable to intervene? Are the tragic events of our lives—disasters, disease, and death—out of God’s control? Those are important questions to answer biblically when you’re caught up in the whirling winds of a calamity. Many Christians believe that Satan is in control of calamity. In their view, Satan is almost equal to God in power—certainly he excels God in trickery. As you go through life, you always have to be looking over your shoulder, never sure when God might have his back turned, allowing Satan to run you down with some disaster God didn’t anticipate. Other people believe that you are in control of calamity, making yourself sick or causing a bad month for your business by speaking or thinking negative thoughts. In their view, if you think positively enough and have faith enough, nothing bad will happen to you. Who is in control: Satan, you, or God? The first two chapters of Job provide a definitive, reassuring, biblical answer. When a tornado flattens your home, a disease your health, or a death your family—when everything seems out of control—God is in control. Meet Job There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. (Job 1:1) Job was a real man who lived in Uz (an area of northern Arabia) during the patriarchal era—the time after the tower of Babel in Genesis 11, but before God gave the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Job was the epitome of what God wanted an Old Testament man to be. He was “blameless,” morally complete—there were no stains, spots, or blemishes on the garment of his holiness. He was “upright”—straight as an arrow in all his ways. He was a fearer of God; he approached life with a humble, awed devotion to God. And Job habitually turned away from evil. Trying to get Job to do evil was like trying to push together the negative poles of two magnets—when it came to evil, Job always swerved away to the right or to the left. In short, Job was a bright trophy on God’s mantelpiece of grace. Besides his impeccable character, Job had also been blessed by God in other ways. With ten children, including seven sons to carry on the family name, and a livestock portfolio second to none, it’s small wonder that the Bible calls Job the greatest man in all the East (1:2–5). Satan, the Accuser There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. (1:6) Among the angelic beings reporting to God was one called Hasatan, literally “the Adversary” or “the Accuser” in Hebrew. Later texts, such as Revelation 12:9, identify this being as the leader of the fallen angels, the devil, Satan, the same fallen angel who deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Job 1, that lying, murderous Accuser had come for his regularly scheduled report to God. The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” (1:8–11) When God lionized Job, the Accuser immediately went on the attack. “Sure, I know all about Job. Why shouldn’t he serve you? You give him everything he wants. But let me tell you a secret about Job that you don’t know, God. Job is only in it for the blessings. Job doesn’t love you; he loves what you give him. Take away his toys, and you’ll see the real Job. Job likes sugar and bubbles, but when you stop giving him what he wants, he’ll toss you aside like an empty soda can.” Satan was angry because God had thwarted his evil schemes by making “a hedge about [Job]” (v. 10). It was a hedge too high for Satan to climb over, too thick for him to cut his way through. In fact, Satan acknowledged that only one hand could cause calamity in Job’s life: “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face” (1:11, emphasis added). Who is in control of calamity? By his own admission, Satan isn’t. Without God’s permission, Satan couldn’t even make Job stub his toe. In verse 12, God gave permission to Satan to attack Job, but he also set strict limitations on Satan’s assault: Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” Some Christians believe that God is taken by surprise or is helpless to intervene when Satan is working his evil schemes. However, they don’t get that view from the Bible. Job 1 presents God as completely in charge of Job’s calamity. First, God was the one who pointed Job out to Satan, initiating the whole affair. Second, Satan could not lay a finger on Job’s possessions until he had God’s permission to act. Third, God strictly limited Satan, forbidding him to attack Job’s health at this point. Initiation, permission, and limitation—Satan was completely under God’s control. Further Evidence Not just the book of Job, but the whole of Scripture proclaims the fact that God rather than Satan is in control of calamity. For example, Satan is not the source of physical handicaps, birth defects, or congenital diseases. God made that clear when Moses stubbornly resisted God’s commission to lead his people because of his “heavy tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Exodus 4:11) I HOPE YOU FIND THIS QUICK STUDY TO BE OF INTEREST TO YOU. LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE FOR ME TO CONTINUE THE QUICK STUDIES. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
