Bethel Church Temple TX Podcast (Sermons‪)‬ Bethel Church

God's Waiting Room

May 5, 2024 Elwyn Johnston


James 5:7 - 11

Verse of the Week: “after waiting patiently Abraham received what was promised.” Hebrews 6:15

Be patient when…



You don’t know the outcome.


“The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it” James 5:7

“Be still, and know that I am God” Psalms 46:10






Be patient when…



You are misunderstood or rejected.


“For examples of suffering and patience…look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” James 5:10






Be patient when…



You don’t understand.


“You have heard of the patient endurance of Job” James 5:11

“When Job’s three friends saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust

into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to

Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.” Job 2:12 & 13







Wait…



Confidently


“But as for me, I will watch confidently for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

“I will wait until my change comes.” Job 11:14


“God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13







Wait…



Continually


“I waitfor the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope.” Psalm 130:5

“Don’t complain about each other” James 5:9

“It is good to wait silently for the salvation of the LORD.” Lam. 3:26







Wait…



Courageously


“let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9

“No one who waits for My help will be disappointed.” Isaiah 49:23

“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

your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5 & 6

“strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” James 5:8

“after waiting patiently Abraham received what was promised.” Hebrews 6:15

Come and Connect

April 28, 2024 Elwyn Johnston


Matthew 11:28 – 30

Verse of the Week: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

1.Come to Me

“Come to Me” Matthew 11:28

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” John 14:6

“you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32




 



Remind yourself of God’s character


“The LORD is the one who personally goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8



See the situation as God sees it.


“nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18 & 19







2. Connect with Me

“Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me” Matthew 11:29

“My yoke is “easy.” Matthew 11:30

“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” Dt. 22:10


“Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” Ephesians 4:24

“whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things” John 14:12







Learn Christ’s…



Priorities of life


“You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind….Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mt. 22:37 & 39




 



Plans for our lives.


“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33




 



Promises for our lives


“I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28

“you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29




 



Emotional peace – peace with self


“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” Colossians 3:15




 



External peace – peace with others


“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18










Eternal peace – peace with God


“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

Roller Coaster

April 21, 2024 Elwyn Johnston


1 Thessalonians 5:16

Verse of the Week: “Rejoice in the Lord always” Philippians 4:4

1. Continual joy

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11

“Rejoice in the Lord always” Philippians 4:4



 Get rid of sin




“Restore unto me the joy of my salvation” Psalm 51:12



Walk in obedience


“God gives…joy to those who please Him.” Eccl 2:26



Spend time with God


“in God’s presence there is fulness of joy” Ps. 16:11

“you have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” John 16:22

“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24



Walk in forgiveness


“filled with rage. Haman had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews”




Esther 3:5 & 6






2. Contagious joy



Focus on Jesus


“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Lord God is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” Hab. 3:17 – 19



Focus on the needs of others


“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25



Focus on the end


“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb. 12:2

LifeSavers

April 14, 2024 Elwyn Johnston


Galatians 5:22 & 23

Verse of the Week: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you” John 13:34









1. The Spirit produces the fruit

“Let us love one another, for love is from God” 1 Jn 4:7

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” Romans 7:18


“a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.” John 15:4

The works of the flesh is what sin does through us.

The fruit of the Spirit is what God does through us.






2. Fruit is the proof of my relationship with Jesus

“This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples” John 15:8

“You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.” Matthew 7:16

“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“I die daily” 1 Corinthians 15:31

“Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes it so that it will bear more fruit.” John 15:2

“Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked…I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers….I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas….I have known hunger and thirst…I have been cold and naked. 2 Corinthians 11:25 - 27






3. We proclaim our love for God by the way we love others.

“this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?” 1 John 4:20

“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:16

The Cheerful Giver


April 10, 2024  Ashley Richardson












Three Ways to Give:








Time
Talent
Treasure


2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”







James 5:14-16 states “14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”







1 Corinthians 12: 14-20 “14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”

Beatitudes – How We Share Christ


Matthew 5.1-10

5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to

him. 2  And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of

heaven.

Christian VALUE SYSTEM

This sermon is the BEST known teaching of Jesus which is the least understood and

the least obeyed. They are basically the descriptions of what Jesus wanted His

followers to be like and to do.


LADDER EXAMPLE (insert picture)


Overview of the Character Traits:

1. Putting Our Trust in God

2. Repentant Lifestyle of our Sins

3. Learning Humility & Gentleness

4. Righteous Living


5. Showing Mercy and Compassion

6. Growing More Holy

7. Making Peace

8. Rejoicing Through Persecutions

Growing MORE Holy

8  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

OPENING QUESTION:

WHEN and WHY is it difficult for us to live out in our actions what we believe in our heart?

PURE: (Popular Interpretation)

katharós, of uncertain affinity; clean (literally or figuratively):—clean, clear, pure.

Clean and Pure

1. Physically

2. Levitical Sense (Ceremonial or External)

3. Ethical

PURE IN HEART:

World asks…How do we find happiness? FOLLOW YOUR HEART

Jeremiah 17.9 -- The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Soren Kierkegaard - “Purity of heart is to will one thing.”


One scholar wrote, “the single-minded, who are free from the tyranny of a divided

self.”

In the ancient Greek, the phrase pure of heart has the idea of straightness, honesty,

and clarity. 

1. Guileless:

2. Transparent:

3. Sincerity


Making Peace

9  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [a]  of God.


First Thought:

Ones who break up the fights between two parties.

Not conflict, but peace….

1 Peter 3.11 -- let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

Hebrews 12.14 -- Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Romans 12.18 - If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Peacemakers:

This does not describe those who live in peace, but those who actually bring about

peace, overcoming evil with good. One way we accomplish this is through spreading the

gospel, because God has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).

2 Corinthians 5.17-21

17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. [b]  The old has passed away;

behold, the new has come.  18  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to

himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 


And this is Evangelism:

We make peace between man and the God whom they have rejected and offended.

Who are the peacemakers?

1. One who is bringing good into others’ lives

2. One who is bringing men to God

3. Does not mean an easy-going person. Someone to RUN OVER.

4. One who actively sets out to make PEACE.

5. The peacemaker is one who points men to God, that they might surrender to God

and have peace.


SUMMARY:

Be the ONE LIFE that makes PEACE on the Earth for God.