Beloved

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Psalms 35:1-28

Psalms  35:1-28 ESV

Psa 35:1  Of David. Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! (2) Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! (3) Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!” (4) Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! (5) Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away! (6) Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them! (7) For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. (8) Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it–to his destruction! (9) Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation. (10) All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?” (11) Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. (12) They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. (13) But I, when they were sick– I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. (14) I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning. (15) But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; (16) like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth. (17) How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! (18) I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. (19) Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. (20) For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. (21) They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!” (22) You have seen, O LORD; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! (23) Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord! (24) Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! (25) Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, our heart’s desire!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.” (26) Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! (27) Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” (28) Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. Continue reading →

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The Sovereignty Of God In Salvation

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

A.W. PINK’S

THE
SOVEREIGNTY
OF GOD

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN SALVATION


“O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out” (Rom. 11:33).

“Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9); but the Lord does not save all. Why not? He does save some; then if He saves some, why not others? Is it because they are too sinful and depraved? No; for the Apostle wrote, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). Therefore, if God saved the “chief” of sinners, none are excluded because of their depravity. Why then does not God save all? Is it because some are too stony-hearted to be won? No; because it is written, that God will “take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 11:19). Then is it because some are so stubborn, so intractable, so defiant that God is unable to woo them to Himself? Before we answer this question let us ask another; let us appeal to the experience of the Christian reader. Continue reading →

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The Shepherd

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Luke 15:3-7 So he told them this parable: (4) “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? (5) And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (6) And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ (7) Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

THEN a shepherd has at last overtaken his poor, silly, wandering sheep, he does not straightway fall to scolding or beating it for having cost him so much toil and trouble. No; but he observes that it is very weary, that it has torn itself among thorns, and cut itself among jagged rocks, and therefore he first tenderly sees to its wounds, and then bears it back to the fold in his own arms. Poor trembling sinner, the gospel has at length laid hold upon you; you cannot longer run into the paths of sin, grace has stopped your mad career, and made you tremble at the guilt of sin. Continue reading →

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Remembering Biblical Principles For Christian Women in the Digital World

Young Women and Discretion

by Walter E. Isenhour

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness . . .  that they may teach the young women to be sober . . . to be discreet, chaste . . .  that the word of God be not blasphemed” —Titus 2:3-5.

In the fifth verse of the second chapter of Titus the aged women are to teach young women “to be discreet.” What does it mean to be discreet? It means to be prudent, judicious, cautious; wise in conduct and management, especially as to matters of propriety and self-control.

A young woman who measures up to these qualities in mind, heart, soul, spirit, and life certainly rises above the degrading principles of sin and wickedness. Her life is one of nobility, beauty, usefulness, and sublimity. She sets examples before her husband, children, and neighbors that areworthy of emulation. They know her life is hid with Christ in God. She possesses the Spirit of our Lord, and this enables her to discern between the evil and the good, and to avoid evil, error, and anything and all things that would mislead her. She likewise shields her husband and children from evils and errors, sins and wickedness, that they are environed with. At least she warns and cautions them against such, and shows them the higher, better, holier, and more beautiful and worthwhile things in life.

The discreet woman is possessed with the spirit and ability to adopt “means to an end,” and of course this means that which brings her and the family to a good end. She avoids the means that would injure her life, character, soul, and influence, and that would likewise injure her family and those about her. She must realize that what she takes into her life will have its effect, through the years—and will bring her to a good end, only as the means are good. She knows that the good will work out right, while the bad will work out wrong. She realizes that the good is a means to a good end, but the bad is a means to a bad end. Therefore she takes into her very soul the good and rejects the bad. She is discreet. Those who know her realize that she is a woman of great and commendable discretion. Continue reading →

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For Whom Did Christ Die? – The Children Of God

John 11:52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

By Don Fortner 

John11:52
Our great, sin-atoning Substitute laid down his life and died for the children of God. According to the prophecy of Caiaphas, Christ was to die, not for the nation of the Jews only, but to “gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad” throughout the Gentile world. Redemption and adoption belong to the same people. Those who are predestinated to adoption by Christ are said to have redemption in him through his blood (Eph 1:5,7). This blessing of adoption, in the full enjoyment of it, in the resurrection, is called “the redemption of the body”. The resurrection is called the redemption of our bodies because redemption, in so far as the application of it is concerned, will not be complete until our very bodies are redeemed from all the consequences of Adam’s fall (Rom 8:23; Eph. 1:14; 4:30). Continue reading →

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The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception

There is a vast number of “Discernment” ministries out there and this is wonderful, but we must guard not to fall into a trap of un Biblical discernment. I was there once myself and have fallen hard believe me. Be discerning when you visit a “Discernment” blog/website. There are few Biblical ones out there. To speak the truth in love should be foremost the  most outstanding character when warning others of false teachings.

Eph 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, – Gills Commentary  explains it so clearly. ~  Continue reading →

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Contentiously Contending

By Anton Bosch 

Pastor Bosch explains why he wrote these articles in his Foreword:

I wrote the articles in response to several decades of participation with, and observation of, many apologetic or discernment type ministries. While I see a great need for watchmen who will faithfully sound the alarm at the attacks of the enemy, I also see the need for those involved in this vital ministry to go about this work in a godly way.

I am deeply concerned that many who involve themselves in these ministries do so for the wrong reasons and/or with the wrong attitude. In the process they cause more damage than the very error they are trying to correct.

My intention with these humble words is not to discredit or discourage those who sound the alarm, but to exhort such to use the right methods, with the right attitude. I also wish to warn those believers who have become aware of the great deception going on in the Church that a wrong attitude is just as erroneous as wrong doctrine. It does not help if we have our doctrine straight but our attitude does not accord with the Spirit of Christ.  Continue reading →

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Be Careful What You Read

By on Jun 15, 2012

“Take heed what you hear” (Mark 4:24): the word “hear” obviously includes what is read, for that which is written or printed is addressed to the ears of our intellect. Few people today realize the urgent need for “taking heed” unto what they read. Just as the natural food which is eaten either helps or hinders the body—so the mental food we receive either benefits or injures the mind, and that, in turn, affects the heart. Just as it is harmful to listen to the rubbish and poison which is being served from the great majority of present-day pulpits—so it is exceedingly injurious to the soul to read most of what is now being published. “Take heed what you hear” and read! But let us seek to be more specific.

The only thing which is really worth calling “religion” is the life of God in the soul-commenced, carried on, and consummated solely by the Holy Spirit. Hence, whatever does not bear the impress of the Spirit’s unction, should be rejected by the Christian: for not only can unctionless messages do us no good—but what proceeds not from the Spirit—is of the flesh. Here, then, is the test which God’s children ought to apply unto all they hear, and here is the balance in which they should weigh all that they read. True, there are varying degrees of the Spirit’s unction. As it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual—there will be a varying amount of wetness from the faintest moisture of dew—as compared to the copious shower. As there had to be “salt” in every sacrifice (Lev. 2:13), so every discourse or article proceeding from the Spirit’s aid, is “seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). But O how very much today is devoid of spiritual savor and flavor! Continue reading →

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New Apostolic Nuttiness.

Listen, read or watch the complete sermon below. Continue reading →

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Justin Peters A Call for Discernment South African Seminar Tour Mp3’s

We will update this page as Justin tours South Africa for the next 2 weeks.

A call for discernment (A sermon)

Preached by: Justin Peters
Sunday, June 3, 2012 – 08:30

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5) Question and answer

Preached by: Justin Peters
Saturday, June 2, 2012 – 11:3

4) The hurt of healing

Preached by: Justin Peters
Saturday, June 2, 2012 – 10:30

3) Mangled manifestations

Preached by: Justin Peters
Saturday, June 2, 2012 – 09:00

2) Dangerous doctrines

Preached by: Justin Peters
Friday, June 1, 2012 – 20:00

1) Why discernment?

Preached by: Justin Peters
Friday, June 1, 2012 – 19:00

 

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Thank you to Antioch Bible Church for the resources provided as free downloads. please click on picture to visit the website that contains many wonderful resources !!

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How We Got The Bible

John F. MacArthur, Jr.

Ever since Eve encountered Satan’s barrage of doubt and denial (Gen. 3:1-7), mankind has continued to question God’s Word. Unfortunately, Eve had little or no help in sorting through her intellectual obstacles to full faith in God’s self-disclosure (Gen. 2:16,17).

Now the Scripture certainly has more than enough content to be interrogated, considering that it’s comprised of 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,173 verses, and 774,746 words. When you open your English translation to read or study, you might have asked in the past or are currently asking, “How can I be sure this is the pure and true Word of God?”

A question of this kind is not altogether bad, especially when one seeks to learn with a teachable mind (Acts 17:11). The Scripture invites the kinds of queries that a sincere student asks. Continue reading →

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Rumours of Monsters and numbers that go bump in your energy drink

I recently read the book Man of Sin, The: Uncovering the Truth about the Antichrist by Kim Riddlebarger. Below are highlights of the book I would like to share with you. I enthusiastically recommend this book, as it gives the eschatological perspective from the Amillennial side and it sure makes a lot of sense of an intricate subject. It has put many things into perspective for me and provides the answers to many questions.

Since I began using the internet as a born again believer, a sinner saved by grace, through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), I have read (and not understood!) so many different view points on the end time Eschatology.  There is so much deception out there and we really need to discern and pray, to be able to sort the biblical truth from the lie. The reading of Riddlebarger’s book,  has been instrumental in my better understanding the end times.

A video clip floating around in cyber space is also not True !! Do not believe this man in the video clip ! Continue reading →

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Antichrist, Great Tribulation, Rapture, 666, and the Second Coming of Christ, but what do the Scriptures say?

timthumb (2)

Four Views of the End Times – Teaching series DVD

Speaker Dr. Timothy Paul Jones

What does the Bible actually say about the end times that lead to the return of Jesus Christ? TV shows and movies throw around words such as Antichrist, Great Tribulation, Rapture, 666, and the Second Coming of Christ, but what do the Scriptures say? The differing ideas that divide believers into four major points-of-view are examined in the Four Views of the End Times. This DVD-based study (for personal or group use) explains each view objectively including:

  • Preterism
  • Historicism
  • Idealism
  • Futurism

and the issue of the millennium including: Continue reading →

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Beware ! of the Wide Road that Leads to Destruction

“Joel Osteen openly and confidently says how broad his message is – he’s not even disguising himself any longer as a servant of righteousness. The tickled ears continue to follow him, but the sheep do not follow the voice of a stranger.”   Quote by Justin Edwards

John 10:27-30  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  (28)  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  (29)  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  (30)  I and the Father are one.” Continue reading →

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Concerned To Discern

By on Apr 17, 2012

Does anybody care?

A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;  The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?Jeremiah 5:30-31, KJV

As could be agreed upon by most believers, Christians have the right, even the duty, to evaluate and hold accountable to Holy Scripture those who profess the evangelical faith but who, for reason of their manifest beliefs and behaviors, appear to be departing from the faith.[1]

Jude told his readers to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). To shirk this responsibility means that believers are being disobedient to the faith once for all delivered. To all Christians, the Spirit gives His anointing which places upon them the responsibility to discern the “spirit of truth” from the “spirit of error” (1 John 4:6; 2:20-21, 27). To the congregation at Rome Paul wrote:

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Romans 16:17-18 (Compare Philippians 3:17-19.) Continue reading →