A QUICK STUDY ABOUT LOVE, PART 4: ROMANS 8:28 “We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.” If ever you don’t understand what God’s plan is for you, remember that He loves you and is taking care of you — even if it feels like He’s putting you through some challenges first. JOHN 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life.” Never forget the love God has shown all throughout history for His people. Time and time again, He has proven how much He cares. 1 CORINTHIANS 1313 “Now faith, hope, and love remain—these three things—and the greatest of these is love.” Faith, hope, and love are three key virtues of the Christian religion. But without love, faith and hope would almost be useless. Once we truly believe in love (as God loved us as his children from the beginning of creation), then the virtues of faith and hope will be fully realized. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK STUDY TO BE A GREAT REFRESHER. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 GW The Lord says, “Get away from unbelievers. Separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.” The Lord Almighty says, “I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters.” Proverbs 14:26 GW In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have a place of refuge. 2 Corinthians 7:1 GW Since we have these promises, dear friends, we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit and live a holy life in the fear of God. Ephesians 5:1-2 GW Imitate God, since you are the children he loves. Live in love as Christ also loved us. He gave his life for us as an offering and sacrifice, a soothing aroma to God. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
GOD SPEAKS TO US ABOUT COURAGE Deuteronomy 31:6 BeDeuteronomy 31:6 strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. 2 Timothy 1:7 God didn’t give us a cowardly spirit but a spirit of power, love, and good judgment. 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Psalms 90:17 Let the kindness of the Lord our God be with us. Make us successful in everything we do. Yes, make us successful in everything we do. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
Things in Which God’s People Should Delight 1. The Lord Himself. “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord” (Isa. 58:14). Note the “then” of the soul’s condition in the previous verse, which makes the delighting in the Lord possible. 2. The Lord’s Will. “I delight to do Thy will, 0 my God” (Psa. 40:8). Christ is our Example, for imitation, and our Empowerer for inspiration in doing God’s will. 3. The Lord’s Word. “Thy testimonies also are my delight” (Psa. 119:24, 35). To delight in God’s Word is a sign of healthy spiritual life—Psa. 1:2. 4. The Lord’s Abundance. “The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psa. 37:11). The Lord not only favours us with His pardon, but He also feasts us with His promises. 5. The Lord’s Protection. “I sat down under His shadow with great delight” (Cant. 2:3). The shadow of Christ’s atonement is the protection which shields from God’s wrath. 6. The Lord’s Acquaintance. “Then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty.” The good of blessing all comes through being acquainted with Him—Job. 22:21–30. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS TO BE A GOOD REFRESHER. PASTOR ANERA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
The bible teaches us about the things of God In 1 Corinthians 1 1. The Will of God—v. 1. God’s will is revealed in God’s Word, and we know it experimentally as we walk in His ways. 2. The Church of God—v. 2. Some affirm, “It is the Church which makes Christians,” but God’s truth declares, “It is the Christians (Christ’s own) which make the Church.” 3. The Grace of God—v. 4. Grace stands for favour, strength, and beauty—God’s favour towards us, Christ’s strength in us, and the Spirit’s beauty upon us. 4. The Power of God—v. 18. God’s power comes in several ways. The Blood has power to cleanse, the Word has power to assure, His love has power to constrain, His peace has power to keep, His joy has power to gladden, His grace has power to enable, and the Spirit is the power of all power. 5. The Wisdom of God—v. 21. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge. The Lord knows how to apply His blessings to us. He tempers His blessings to each temperament and displays His wisdom especially in the Cross of His Son. 6. The Foolishness of God—v. 25. God could not be foolish in a positive sense, but comparatively it is so, for what seems foolish in the eyes of foolish men turns out to be the greatest and profoundest wisdom. 7. The Weakness of God—v. 25. There is more strength in God’s little finger than in all the combined hands of men. DID YOU FIND THIS QUICK REFRESHER TO BE HELPFUL? DO YOU ENJOY THESE QUICK REFRESHERS, SHOULD I CONTINUE SHARING THE QUICK REFRESHERS? PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
GOD TEACHES US ABOUT VIOLENCE: 1:8–19 My son, if sinners entice you … PROVERBS 1:10 THE BIBLE DOES NOT DESCRIBE how life ought to be. It matches how life is. The wisdom of Proverbs is reality-based counseling as we live in this fantasy-world of human invention. We see the blunt realism of the Bible in Proverbs 1:8–19. Why are we in the book of Proverbs at all? Because so much of life is a series of nuanced judgment calls. The Ten Commandments say, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Are you struggling with that decision today? Probably not. But even at this moment we are all creating social dynamics both subtle and powerful, and those dynamics are either life-depleting or life-enriching. What makes the difference is the wisdom of our life together as the church of Christ. Have you ever done something with the best of intentions, but then it exploded in your face—like pathetic Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons? Good intentions and wishful thinking can be oblivious to reality. But wisdom helps us create the chemistry—not rules but chemistry—of life at its best together in the new community of Christ. Wisdom does not theorize. Wisdom pays attention to the realities built into us by God our Creator. Wisdom humbly gives in to God’s design; it adapts and adjusts. A wise person notices, picks up on the clues, cuts with the grain, tears along the perforated line. Unwise people can be gifted, but they are trying to be healthy on junk food, or run high RPMs on low-octane gas, or get home by the wrong road, or swim against the stream of the universe. Sin is trying to succeed by ignoring reality. And that makes the devil the ultimate fool. He wants to reengineer the creation his own way. He is both evil and dumb. C. S. Lewis wrote, “The Devil is (in the long run) an ass.” But the book of Proverbs is where God speaks to us as our life coach, guiding us into the only real success that’s out there. In Proverbs 1:8–19 we hear two voices—the wisdom that is reality-based and the folly that is in denial. Wisdom is speaking here as a loving father. Fools are speaking here too. Their message is a kind of reverse-evangelism. They are inviting us into their dead-end lives. But God is calling us into the beauty of real human relationships. Here is what God is saying in this passage: Refuse violence. It is tempting, but it will destroy you. Wisdom will beautify you. But hold on here. Violence? That is a bad thing, we all know. But why is that message here? Has anyone ever said to you, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood” (v. 11)? In certain neighborhoods, that might happen. But still, this passage can seem surprising. As we have already seen, the book of Proverbs opens with a mini-introduction in 1:1–7, and then the rest of chapters 1–9 is the mega-introduction. Chapters 1–9 are a series of poems in praise of wisdom, preparing us for the actual proverbs in chapters 10–31. So, now we come to 1:8. We probably come to this verse thinking, “Okay, Mr. Super-Smart Wise Man, we’re ready. Tell us the positive difference wisdom can make in our lives.” And the first thing he says is, “Don’t join a gang!” Why that? Let’s get inside this and dig out the wisdom. There are three points here: the offer of wisdom, the warning of wisdom, and the promise of wisdom. I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE FROM THIS QUICK STUDY. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
Hebrews 13:16 ESV Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Proverbs 19:17 ESV Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 28:27 ESV Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse. Proverbs 11:25 ESV Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. SOME PEOPLE ARE TOO SELFISH, GREEDY, AND SELF-CENTERED, DON’T BE LIKE THEM. LET US BE A BLESSING UNTO THE ONES THAT STAND IN NEED, AND GOD WILL BE A BLESSING UNTO US. WE CANNOT OUT GIVE GOD. AS WE GIVE TO OTHERS GOD GIVES TO US. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
A QUICK STUDY ON DELIVERANCE, DELIVERER: (IT WILL BE VERY BENEFICIAL TO READ THE VERSES THAT I INCLUDED). Rescue from danger. In Scripture God gives deliverance (Pss. 18:50; 32:7; 44:4), often through a human agent. In the OT deliverance most often refers to victory in battle (Judg. 15:18; 2 Kings 5:1; 13:17; 1 Chron. 11:14; 2 Chron. 12:7). Joseph was God’s agent to deliver His people from famine (Gen. 45:7). The OT consistently stresses God as the giver of deliverance rather than the human agent. Thus Mordecai warned Esther that if she failed to act out her role as deliverer, God would provide another way (Esther 4:14). KJV also uses “deliverance” to describe the remnant that survives a battle or exile (Ezra 9:13). In KJV both NT uses of deliverance refers to release of prisoners (Luke 4:18; Heb. 11:35). Modern translations use “deliverance” to refer to rescue from danger in Acts 7:25; Phil. 1:19. A deliverer is one who rescues from danger. Two of the judges, Othniel and Ehud (Judg. 3:9, 15), are called deliverers in the sense of military heroes. More often God is spoken of as the Deliverer of His people (2 Sam. 22:2; Pss. 18:2; 40:17; 144:2). The picture of God as deliverer is paralleled with the images of a rock, fortress, helper, and strong tower. Acts 7:35 refers to Moses as a deliverer. Romans 11:26–27 refers to the Messianic King as the Deliverer who will take away Israel’s sins. The verb “deliver” is used in a wide range of contexts. According to Job 5:19–26, God delivers in seven ways: from famine, war, the scourge of the tongue, wild animals, to safety, abundant offspring, and long life. Scripture also speaks to deliverance from sin (Pss. 39:8; 79:9); the way of evil (Prov. 2:12); the power of evil (Matt. 6:13; Gal. 1:4; Col. 1:13); the law (Rom. 7:6); the body of death (Rom. 7:24); and the coming wrath of God (1 Thess. 1:10). God is the agent of deliverance in Col. 1:13 and Rom. 7:24–25. Christ is the agent in 1 Thess. 1:10 and Gal. 1:4, where He brings deliverance by giving Himself for sins. THERE IS A GREAT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION IN THIS QUICK STUDY. I HOPE YOU TAKE TIME TO REALLY RECEIVE FROM THIS QUICK STUDY. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM EVERLASTING SALVATION CHURCH OF GOD MINISTRIES PayPal.me/donatetochurch Church link: Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com
