Biblical Manhood, Part 1of4, Pastor Phil Sessa

1Corinthians 16:13-14, “13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love”

Society is ever so confused about the identity and the role of men in this day and age. At one time it would seem, they were to only provide for the family, and be strong and rugged individuals. Women were to be at home and submissive to their husbands. Now society seems to want to reverse the roles and identities of the two genders, and desires men to be more feminine, and women to be more masculine with the ungodly women’s liberation movement. In order to look at this issue through the lens of truth, one cannot look through the ever changing winds of this confused society, but rather to the unchanging truth of God’s Word. With that said look at the final instructions Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in his first letter to them.

What Are Signs For? Evans Olang

Mark 16:16-18,” … And these signs shall follow them that believe…”

We as believers have been privileged to be part of things the Lord is doing partially because we are His children and He desires to let us in on what He is doing. He may never explain the process but definitely we will know the outcome. Because He is the reason for the outcome, we understand that He is not a man that He should lie neither is He a son of man that He should repent, if He has said it, surely enough, He will do it.

I Am Not Dead Yet, Part 2of2, Evans Olang

2Kings 7:1-20, “And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, why sit we here until we die?”

And the four leprous men reasoned and moved, vs. 5-6″And when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of Chariots, even the noise of horses, even the noise of great host: and they said one to another, Lo, King if Israel has hired against us the kings of Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us”. When these men moved, God took over.

Hated For The Light, Pastor Phil Sessa

Acts 23:12, “And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.”

Paul was known by many as a troublemaker against the kingdom of darkness. I don’t know who these Jews made their vow to, and who it was that would curse them, but they were not going to kill Paul, because God would not allow His servant to die at this time. The thinking of these Jews was so warped because they were willing to come under a curse to kill Paul; however they failed to realize that they were already under a curse, the curse of sin. Deuteronomy 28:15 – 68 and Psalm 1 show this very clearly.

Give Me My Wings, Evans Olang

Psalm 55:1-23, “… So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest”

We are facing tough times especially economic crisis. Everyone is affected in these tough times. The magnitude may be small or great but the fact remains life is tough. We as believers many times have promised the world that if they come to Jesus, all their troubles will disappear. Many have responded to the call expecting comfort and good life. When everything did not go as they expected, they abandoned their faith. You and I have to address this early in our Christ walk this question, “Why do we serve Christ?” It’s been said, “life is not fair but God is good”, situations and circumstances will not make Him less of Himself, He is the same forever. So understanding that we will always be faced with situations leads us to address them.

Strength Is Not In Your Position, Part 2of2, Evans Olang

2Chronicles 20:1-25, “vs. 12…For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

If our strength is not in our position and if God tells us that we still have to go against what we called on Him for, let us see where we fit in His plan of fighting for us. Twice the king and his people were told to go against their enemies. In the last message I wrote that you and I are still required to report to the battlefield.

Strength Is Not In Your Position, Part 1of2, Evans Olang

2Chronicles 20:1-25, “vs. 12…For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Have you ever had some of those days you feel you do not have enough to accomplish a task? Looking at what you need to do, then sizing it with what you have leads you to believe that unless a miracle happens, there is no way you can have it done. 2Chronicles tells us of king Jehoshaphat who did that which was right before God. He followed the footsteps of David. As king, he had his own battling troops no doubt, yet in one occasion he was faced with a fierce battle. Instead of one army’s threat, he had several to face. He was to fight the Moabites, Ammonites among others. He looked at what he had, what he was to face and what he needed and saw how short he was in succeeding unless he had back up.

Persevering While Waiting, Evans Olang

Psalm 40:1-4, “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his Trust”, Hebrews 10:35&36, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (NIV)

This verse ties with the next few verses we will look at. Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry”. The word wait has different meanings, sitting down waiting for someone or something is one meaning, the other means busy doing something for others (serving). Waiters wait on people in restaurants. I believe this is what the Psalmist is telling us that he patiently served the Lord (waiting) while petitioning his needs before Him. In his faithfulness in serving, the Lord was able to hear his cry and attend to Him. “…Cast not your confidence which has great recompense of reward” Not confidence in man or self, confidence in God who we cry out to.

What You Have Is What You Need, Evans Olang

Exodus 4:1-5, “…So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod””

God can use you because He has placed something in you to work with. You may not know what it is but it’s there. We all have different gifts and talents given by God. There is something about being together in unity that paves away for gifts and talents to be realized. God allows us to have different measures of gifts when shared, our growth increases. The bible says that we collectively are like a human body that has hands, legs, head etc. They are all working together and not able to function fully without the help of the other. The legs cannot tell the hands “I don’t need you” neither can the mouth tell the eyes that it does not need it. They all have different functions but they all work together. Psalm 133:1, “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”