This is a good listen and the explanation is very clear. I have listened to this again and decided to post it for all my Christian lady friends and also for their spouses. May you be blessed and see the Biblical truth.
Elmarie
Bible reading
What is conviction of sin?
From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled
“An Old-Fashioned Conversation,” delivered March 16, 1873.
The Lord shuts us up to hopelessness and helplessness in order that he may come, as a God of grace, and display his abounding mercy. All our hope lies in him, and all other hopes are delusions. The great work in conversion is not to make people better, so that they may come to God on a good footing, it is to strip them completely and lay them low, so that God may come to them when they are on a bad footing, or rather on no footing at all, but down in the dust at his feet. The Son of man is come to seek and to cave that which is lost, but it wants* God himself to convince men that they are lost; and the Spirit’s work of soul-humbling is just this – to get man to feel so diseased that he will accept the physician; to get him to feel so poor that he will accept the charity of heaven; to get him to know that he is so stripped, that he will no longer be proud of his fig leaves, but will be willing to take the robe of righteousness which Christ has wrought out.
Discerning Discernment
Discerning Discernment
The Meaning and Significance of Hebrews 5:12-14 in the Christian’s Call of Discernment
By Ryan Habbena
“What is your spirtual gift ?” I have heard this question asked and answered many times. In my experience, the most common response to this inquiry is: “I have the gift of discernment.” When asked what this means, the person often answers, “I can automatically tell when something is evil.”
The Scriptures speak to the subject of discernment in various ways. While the Bible indeed affirms “discernment” as a spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:10),1 the truth is that all Christians are called to be “discerners” (see 1 John 4:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). The question then naturally follows: “How do we acquire the ability to discern?” There are those who would answer in unison with the above example, simply stating: “I just know it my heart! I just know.” Note, for instance, Neal Anderson’s take on this subject: “Spiritual discernment is our first line of defense against deception. The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in every believer, and He is not silent when we encounter the counterfeit. Discernment is that little ‘buzzer’ that goes off inside when something is wrong.”2 While the Holy Spirit has indeed taken up residence in every believer, rather than relying upon an automatic, subjective “buzzer” that is supposed to “go off inside,” we are informed in Hebrews that believers are equipped with discernment via different means. Hebrews 5:12-14 speaks directly to this subject. In what follows I will engage in some “basic exposition” on this central text regarding discernment. Following this I will apply its teaching to how we all are called to be trained discerners in order to avoid the deception that surrounds us.
Demons and Magic
One of the best explanations I have heard on this subject – I pray this brings the truth to many – Elmarie
January 14, 1973
The subject upon which we will be speaking tonight is one that perhaps has captured the attention of many of us in our particular modern day because it exists, in a certain sense, as a kind of a paradox. This is a very intellectual day. This is a day when men pride themselves on being rational. This is the era that is after the rational era in the sense that we’ve all discovered what logic means and what rationality means. And yet it is the midst of just such…such an era of education and higher learning and rationality and logic and all of these things that there seems to be a tremendous boom in the occult, the mysterious, the mystique, the things which are supernatural and which are irrational, unreasonable, and beyond education. And it’s becoming such a practical thing that it seems as though it hits us in every place in every way.
“Is the Doctrine of Election Unfair?”
By John MacArthur
In spite of the clarity with which Scripture addresses this topic, many professing Christians today struggle in their acceptance of God’s sovereignty — especially when it comes to His electing work in salvation. Their most common protest, of course, is that the doctrine of election is unfair. But such an objection stems from a human idea of fairness, rather than the objective, divine understanding of true justice. In order to appropriately address the issue of election, we must set aside all human considerations and focus instead on the nature of God and His righteous standard. Divine justice is where the discussion must begin.
What is Divine justice? Simply stated, it is an essential attribute of God whereby He infinitely, perfectly, and independently does exactly what He wants to do when and how He wants to do it. Because He is the standard of justice, by very definition, then whatever He does is inherently just. As William Perkins said, many years ago, ‘We must not think that God doeth a thing because it is good and right, but rather is the thing good and right because God willeth it and worketh it.’
The BIBLICAL Role Of A Woman
I was given the links to these two short video clips, by a friend and and sister in Jesus Christ. This one of the best biblical explanations concerning the place and role of the woman in the church and as a Christian wife and mother. I thought it good enough to share with you all. There might be somebody out there who would benefit from better understanding our place and role in a Biblical sense. It is also our duty to adhere to the Word and it clearly spells out what the Lord expects of women.
In today’s post-modern society with women’s liberation movements world wide it is not correct for us to agree with and adhere to the world, but to follow our Lord’s instructions. The teaching of the Apostle Paul spells it out so clearly in his words in 1Tim 2:12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet”. Often I have encountered women who say that this verse indicates to them that women should be reduced to being pregnant and in the kitchen, and be a slave to her husband although this is not at all what Scripture tells us. It is my prayer that these short clips bring joy and peace to the hearts of those women who do not understand this teaching. Blessings in His name. Elmarie
To see the video clips ….
Rejecting Synergism and Returning to Monergism
by Bob DeWaay
Recovering Reformation Theology
”For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9)
A key idea in the contemporary evangelical movement is that revival can be engineered. The Purpose Driven Web site says, “Peter Drucker called him [Warren] ‘the inventor of perpetual revival’ and Forbes magazine has written, ‘If Warren’s church was a business it would be compared with Dell, Google or Starbucks.’”1 The Purpose Driven movement can cite this business management guru approvingly only because they have a faulty theology of human ability. For example, Rick Warren says, “It is my deep conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart. . . . It may take some time to identify it. But the most likely place to start is with the person’s felt needs.”2 If this were true one could use modern marketing principles to sell people on their need for Christian religion and convince them to convert in order to find satisfaction of their felt needs. But it is not true.
Furthermore, it might surprise many people that this idea is not new. Charles Finney first proposed it one hundred fifty years ago. Finney wrote, “A revival is not a miracle according to another definition of the term ‘miracle’ — something above the powers of nature. There is nothing in religion beyond the ordinary powers of nature. It consists entirely in the right exercise of the powers of nature. It is just that, and nothing else.”3 Finney wrote more: “A revival is not a miracle, nor dependent on a miracle, in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of the constituted means — as much so as any other effect produced by the application of means.”4 Finney’s position that there is some innate power in man that can be motivated by some discoverable process makes an engineered revival plausible.
Ritualism Among the Reformed
Dr. Paul M. Elliott
Colossians 2:11-17, Galatians 5:1-6
We are presently in the section of Colossians chapter two where the Apostle Paul deals with the danger of legalism in the life and thinking of the believer, and in the life and ministry of the church. As we begin today, let me read this tremendous statement for you once again. And if you are able to open your own copy of God’s Word as you are listening today, I trust you will do so. Colossians chapter two, beginning at verse eleven. Paul writes this:
In Him [that is, in Jesus Christ] you [that is, you who have believed on Christ] were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [that is, in the cross of Christ].
Handed Over to Satan?
John MacArthur – Grace to You – Bible Q & A
(1 Corinthians 5)
I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:5)
Paul makes clear the action that should have been taken to discipline the man who refused to repent of and forsake his blatant immorality. He should have been excommunicated, removed from your midst.
When the Corinthians were assembled to take disciplinary action Paul would be with them in spirit. The apostle had taught them as a pastor, was now writing them for the second time (1 Cor. 5:9), and intended to continue to give them his counsel and encouragement in doing the Lord’s will—even when he could not be with them in person.
Preach the Bible as the Word of God
on Jul 16, 2010
We must present the Bible as the Word of God, not the words of men, but the Word of the living God: God speaking about Himself; God speaking about men; God speaking about life; God telling us what He is going to do about a fallen world. That is what we need to preach with certainty, with assurance. Let us tell the people about its marvel that though it contains sixty-six books, written at different times and in different centuries, there is only one message. Let us tell them about fulfilled prophecy. Let us point out to them how things prophesied and predicted hundreds of years before the events were actually verified in the fullest and the minutest detail. Let us tell them they do not know it. It is for us to proclaim the Word of God, and especially at this critical time in history. Let us tell people something about its message. It is the only book that explains life. It is the only book that explains the world as it is tonight. We have been told now for nearly a century that the world is advancing, that man is becoming more and more perfect, that with more and more education and scientific knowledge there will be no more war.
The Love of God
John MacArthur – Grace to You
“The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:5-8
Salvation ushers believers into a love relationship with God that lasts throughout eternity.
An invasion of Error: A Review of Bill Johnson—When heaven invades earth
By Apprising Ministries special correspondent Bob DeWaay
Bill Johnson of Redding, California has become a popular teacher in one of the latest iterations of the Signs and Wonders movement. His book, When Heaven Invades Earth, reveals his underlying theology.
Johnson believes that there will be a great end-time revival that will be initiated by an “Elijah generation”[1] (a concept from the heretical Latter Rain movement) that shall transcend all other generations of Christians in regard to their ability to do great works of power. Johnson claims the following about himself and associates: “We will carry the Elijah anointing in preparing for the return of the Lord in the same way that John the Baptist carried the Elijah anointing and prepared the people for the coming of the Lord” (Johnson: 184)[2].
Supposedly these elitists will set off a great revival of signs and wonders greater than those of Jesus. This miracle explosion, they expect, will cause a great revival before the return of Christ. Johnson states, “I live for the revival that is unfolding and believe it will surpass all previous moves combined, bringing more than one billion souls into the Kingdom” (Johnson: 23).
All of Grace
OF THE THINGS which I have spoken unto you these many years, this is the sum. Within the circle of these words my theology is contained, so far as it refers to the salvation of men. I rejoice also to remember that those of my family who were ministers of Christ before me preached this doctrine, and none other. My father, who is still able to bear his personal testimony for his Lord, knows no other doctrine, neither did his father before him.
I am led to remember this by the fact that a somewhat singular circumstance, recorded in my memory, connects this text with myself and my grandfather. It is now long years ago. I was announced to preach in a certain country town in the Eastern Counties. It does not often happen to me to be behind time, for I feel that punctuality is one of those little virtues which may prevent great sins. But we have no control over railway delays, and breakdowns; and so it happened that I reached the appointed place considerably behind the time. Like sensible people, they had begun their worship, and had proceeded as far as the sermon.
Charismatic Chaos – Does God Still Give Revelation?
(Part 2 of 13 of the Charismatic Chaos (Sermon Series)
I want to just preface the message tonight, really a study of an issue rather than a text, which is a little unfamiliar to us, as normally we’re in certain text of Scripture.
But I want to preface it with just a couple of comments. First of all, I want to say that I’m very much aware of the fact that not everyone who is associated with the Charismatic movement is engaged in the kind of extreme error that we will be, from time to time, referring to. There are people who are more moderate. There are people within the Charismatic movement who, themselves, are very, very concerned about the heresies and the aberrations that exist within that movement. And so the movement runs quite a wide gamut and there are people at all different points.
However, there are some salient features and elements in the movement that we’re endeavoring to deal with and illustrate to you. Again, I ask you to keep in mind that not everyone in the movement would affirm all these things. There are various and sundry different kinds of viewpoints.
Evangelical Churches Promoting Islam?
on Jun 24, 2011
No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. (1 Corinthians 10:20-21)
Islam Becomes Favorite Evangelical Fetish
For at least the past six years now online apologetics and discernment ministries like Lighthouse Trails Research, as well as here at Apprising Ministries, have warning about the growing infestation within evangelicalism of critical thinking skills-numbing corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), such as that taught by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster along with his spiritual twin and Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard.
For the Love of His Truth 