G’day and welcome to Partakers Christian Podcasts! Join us for uplifting Bible teaching, inspiring readings, heartfelt worship, powerful prayers, and fascinating church history. Whether you’re new to faith or growing deeper in your journey, we’re here to encourage and equip you. 🎧 Tune in, interact, and be inspired—wherever you are in the world.
Episodes
2 hours ago
2 hours ago
Psalm 127
A Song of Ascents. By Solomon
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat
- for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
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14 hours ago
14 hours ago
25. The Christian Disciple and the Armour of God
Paul writing in Ephesians 6v13-17: “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery darts of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
We have learnt previously something of satan’s strategy. Satan wants you, as a Christian disciple, to compromise your faith. He wants you to be fearful. He wants you to have doubts and blasphemous thoughts. He wants you to be a hedonist that only thinks of themselves and living a materialistic life. He wants you to put off till tomorrow what you can do today. He wants you to be an individual, instead of being involved in your local Christian community. At times we feel like giving up being a Christian disciple with the pressure applied on us by sin & temptation. The thoughts that satan implants in our minds like “Did God really say that?” or in the insatiable thoughts of lust, revenge or pride. Doubts set in. Guilt appears constant.
To help His people, God has designed spiritual armour for us to wear during our constant battle with sin & temptation. This armour is what God wears according to Isaiah 59v17, when He goes out to battle! What are the hallmarks of this spiritual armour? Cast all thoughts of a Roman soldier out of your mind!
- · Truth - know, understand and live truth. Our lives are to be controlled by truth as revealed in Scripture. When we know truth so well, we can recognize the lies that we are told!
- · Righteousness - live a righteous life. Live the truth! When we started as a Christian disciple, before God we were given the righteousness of Jesus! But that righteousness needs to be lived out in the lives of Christian disciples. If it isn’t, then satan will attack!
- · Gospel - be ready to share it and rely upon it. Because we have peace with God, we are able to withstand without fear the attacks of the enemy! We have peace with God, but we are also to exhibit peace with others. Where peace is, the discord of our enemy cannot prevail!
- · Faith – show total trust in God for your life. The faith we have is a defensive weapon against the mistruths that come into our head: lies, blasphemy, lust, greed, selfishness are all little darts thrown at us by satan. By maintaining our trust in God’s promises and God’s power, these little darts are extinguished.
- · Salvation - assurance of salvation. Be assured! Let your mind be controlled by the Holy Spirit, so that you are not led astray. Your salvation rests in nothing apart from God’s promises and Jesus’ righteousness!
- · Bible - read and study God’s Word. The Word of God, the Bible, is our attack weapon! That is why we are to study it and learn from it, trusting in the Holy Spirit to lead and reveal it to us! We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus according to 2 Peter 3v18 and that is only achieved through studying the Scriptures! Then when we hear that nagging little voice that says “God didn’t say that”, we can say “Oh yes, He did!!”
- · Prayer – talk to God. This is how we are energized! Fighting in our own power is useless! When we talk to God, we strengthen our relationship with Him! When we ask other Christian disciples to pray for us, the Church unity is strengthened! A solo Christian is an anomaly. Except in extreme circumstances, there is always a way to ask for prayer and help.
How do we put on the armour? It is not through some mystical, deep and secret process that the spiritual armour is put on. If it were, not many of us would be wearing it! It is revealed, whenever we resist the works of satan, and don’t listen to the lies he tells us in our head. When our marriages, reflect the sacrificial love that Jesus has for the church, our spiritual armour is displayed. When children are taught the Gospel and instructed in the Lord, our spiritual armour is being worn. When we are diligent in the workplace, our spiritual armour is exhibited. When God is glorified in your life, you are wearing the spiritual armour! When are living fruitful lives for God, and giving all glory and honour to Him without compromise, we show we are wearing our spiritual armour! We can stand up for Jesus and say with honesty and integrity that He is our Lord and our master. When we meditate on God’s word, we nourish our minds with the truth of salvation! When we tell others of this message of peace with God, our enemies flee!
When we ask others to pray for us, as Paul did, we show we are part of the Church, the beautiful bride of Jesus! All these and more, reflect that as Christian disciples, we are clothed in spiritual armour. It is our own responsibility to wear it and use it with confidence. We are to be alert to the prowling of our enemies and relying solely on God’s power to overcome sin and temptation. In our own strength we will surely fail, but by using God’s strength and clothed in His armour, we will prevail and overcome. The Christian disciple prevails and is an overcomer when reliant solely upon the God they seek to serve wholeheartedly.
For more to think about please do read for yourself Psalm 1. Ask yourself the following questions, writing them down if you can, and see how you respond or react to them. Then why not share your answers with your spouse or a close friend, so that you can pray over any issues together.
Q1. What are the contrasts between the ways of the godly and the ways of the ungodly?
Q2. In what ways am I bearing fruit in my life for God and showing I meditate on His word?
Q3. What can I do this week, to stop somebody walking down the path that leads to destruction?
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2 days ago
2 days ago
Psalm 27
By David.
27:1 Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
27:2 When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh,
even my adversaries and my foes,
they stumbled and fell.
27:3 Though an army should encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me,
even then I will be confident.
27:4 One thing I have asked of Yahweh,
that I will seek after,
that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life,
to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.
27:5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me secretly in his pavilion.
In the covert of his tabernacle he will hide me.
He will lift me up on a rock.
27:6 Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me.
I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent.
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.
27:7 Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice.
Have mercy also on me,
and answer me.
27:8 When you said, “Seek my face,”
my heart said to you,
“I will seek your face, Yahweh.”
27:9 Don’t hide your face from me.
Don’t put your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me,
God of my salvation.
27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
then Yahweh will take me up.
27:11 Teach me your way, Yahweh.
Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.
27:12 Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen up against me,
such as breathe out cruelty.
27:13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.
27:14 Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage.
Yes, wait for Yahweh.
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2 days ago
2 days ago
Who/what is God?
I have had people say to me, I believe in God’s existance but I don’t need to study the Bible to know Him! But belief in His existence is not enough! Even satan and his demons believe in God’s existence! It is only through the Bible we can study God and His relationship with the universe. All we can know about God is not contained in the Bible, but the Bible contains all we can know about God during our earthly life! That is because God is infinite and beyond our limitations of space and time! Yet the God we as Christian disciples follow and worship, is knowable through the Bible. This means that God is a personal God and not a remote being. That is a key to studying Him! He wants to be known and has given us the Bible in order for us to do so.
How can we know about God?
In the Bible, what we know of God are the fundamental qualities or powers of His being. The Bible elucidates statements about God, by God, through which we try and understand God, using our finite minds. The Bible reveals God to us! God is spirit, yet a personal and infinite being (John 4:24). He is one in substance, nature and being and incapable of division (Deuteronomy 6v4). Yet He is three coequal people, or the Trinity! It is through the Bible we discover what pleases, angers, offends, or gives joy Him!
The words revealed in the Bible describe His attributes! The fact we are able to take hold and understand this about an infinite God is evidence that God desires to be known by humans! So what are some of the attributes of God? There are two different kinds of attributes: natural and moral.
1. Natural Attributes
a. Transcendent - God's self-existence apart from and independent of creation. This reflects God’s majesty and greatness. Romans 11:33; 1Chronicles 29:11; 1Kings 8:27
b. Immanent/Omnipresent - God is wholly present everywhere. God fills the universe in all it's parts without division Psalm 139:7-12; Jerermiah 23:23-24
c. Omnipotent - God has power to do all things that are the object of power. With God all things are possible Luke 1:37. He is El Shaddai or God Almighty. Jerermiah 32:17-18 Nothing is too hard for you.
d. Omniscient - God has perfect knowledge of all things - actual, past, present, future and possible. 1 John 3:20 God knows all things; Psalm 47:5 Infinite understanding.
e. Infinite - God has no limits. He has an internal and a qualitative absence of limitation. Boundless activity - Romans 11:33; 1Timothy1:16; Psalm 147:5
f. Immutable - God is unchangeable. Malachi 3:6 - I AM God and I change not; Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
g. Eternal - God is without beginning or end. He is the alpha and omega. God is outside of time - time is in God, and He is free from the succession of time. God lives in the eternal present - past, present and future, are NOW for God - He is the I AM YAHWEH Exodus 3:14. From everlasting to everlasting you are God. 1 Timothy1:17; Psalm 102:7
h. Spirit God is a free personal Spirit
· God is not material. He is invisible and indestructible. John 4:24; 1Timothy1:17; 1Timothy6:15-16
· God is Life Jn 14:6. Energy & activity!
· God has Personality. Self-consciousness & communicative!
2. Moral Attributes
a. Goodness - absolute perfection. Seeking creations' welfare.
- Love - God is love 1 John 4:8-10. God communicates and gives of Himself.
- Grace - God gives us what we do not deserve. God's riches at Christ’s expense Ephesians 2:7; The unmerited goodness of God John 1:16.
- Mercy - God does not give us what we deserve. The goodness of God to those in distress - tenderness & compassion (Ephesians 2:3-5)
- Long-suffering - God is slow to anger. God longs to forgive (Exodus 34:6-7)
- Truth - John 14:6 The revelation source and foundation of all truth is God/Jesus
b. Holiness - moral excellence and perfection of God. Separation from sin. What God is!! Heb 7:26 "Be holy, for I am Holy".
c. Righteousness - Holiness in action. God's actions conform to His Holiness. Justice deals with the absence of righteousness. Sin must be dealt with – (Genesis 18:25 & Psalm 89:14)
Why do we study this God?
There are at least 4 reasons!
a) Avoids confusion! As we study God, we come to know truths about Him and are able to discern what are true and false facts about Him! "Truth combats error" Satan distorts scripture to put people off the truth.
b) Truth develops character 2 Peter 1:3-9 - The strongest Christian disciples are those with a good growing knowledge of biblical truth. Since study increases our knowledge of God, it increases the possibilities of love, growth and service of the Christian disciple. We study it to put it into practice! What we believe about God, affects our behaviour! James 1:22 says "We must be doers of the Word not just hearers of this is to be effective."
c) We are commanded to grow in our knowledge of God - 2 Timothy 4:2-4
d) This God is to be worshipped and part of our service and submission to this God, is that worship is given to Him alone (Deuteronomy 5v6-9). As humans we are created in His image, and as Christian disciples we were bought at a price when Jesus died on the cross and we accepted Him as our Lord and saviour. He is due our worship and reverence! It is on worship that I hope to discuss next time!
One of the best books regarding getting to know God is the appropriately titled “Knowing God” by JI Packer - it’s a thoroughly modern and readable classic! For more to think about, please do read for yourself 2 Peter 1:3-9. Ask yourself the following questions, writing them down if you can, and see how you respond or react to them. Then why not share your answers with your spouse or a close friend, so that you can pray over any issues together.
Q1. From my knowledge of God, what do I find comforting?
Q2. From my knowledge of God, what do I find disturbing?
Q3. How has my knowledge of God grown and affected my behaviour since I became a Christian disciple?
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3 days ago
3 days ago
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord! Praise him, you who serve the Lord,
2 you who serve in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate his lovely name with music.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own special treasure.
5 I know the greatness of the Lord- that our Lord is greater than any other god.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.
7 He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.
8 He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals.
9 He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people.
10 He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings-
11 Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever; your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation.
14 For the Lord will give justice to his people and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
16 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.
17 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.
18 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
19 O Israel, praise the Lord! O priests-descendants of Aaron-praise the Lord!
20 O Levites, praise the Lord! All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord!
21 The Lord be praised from Zion, for he lives here in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
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3 days ago
3 days ago
Joy Gets Its Hands Dirty
Leviticus 18 & 19 & Mark 12:28-34
Introduction
From Mark 12, we see that Jesus said that the whole of the Law, including these verses from Leviticus 18-19, is summarised as “Love God and love all other people”.
The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “I am the Lord your God. 3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. 4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. 5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.(Leviticus 18:1-5)1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3 ‘“Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
4 ‘“Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 ‘“When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.
9 ‘“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:1-10)28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’
29 ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” 31 The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.’
32 ‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28-34)
Repeatedly in this book, God has said “Be holy, for I am holy”. But what is holiness? As we have glimpsed in the last 2 weeks, holiness is what separates God from all His creation. For God alone is holy and full of glory. Remember what Aaron had to do when entering the holy of holies on the day of Atonement? He had to create a wall of smoky incense, so that he wouldn’t glimpse God’s glory and holiness and be struck down dead, like his sons Nadab and Abihu. Holiness is in fact the sum of all God’s attributes. God is holiness and holiness is God.
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4 days ago
4 days ago
Psalm 40
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
40:1 I waited patiently for Yahweh.
He turned to me, and heard my cry.
40:2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay.
He set my feet on a rock,
and gave me a firm place to stand.
40:3 He has put a new song in my mouth,
even praise to our God.
Many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in Yahweh.
40:4 Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust,
and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
40:5 Many, Yahweh, my God,
are the wonderful works which you have done,
and your thoughts which are toward us.
They can’t be declared back to you.
If I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.
40:6 Sacrifice and offering you didn’t desire.
You have opened my ears.
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
40:7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come.
It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
40:8 I delight to do your will, my God.
Yes, your law is within my heart.”
40:9 I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly.
Behold, I will not seal my lips,
Yahweh, you know.
40:10 I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart.
I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not concealed your loving kindness
and your truth from the great assembly.
40:11 Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh.
Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me.
40:12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me.
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up.
They are more than the hairs of my head.
My heart has failed me.
40:13 Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me.
Hurry to help me, Yahweh.
40:14 Let them be disappointed and confounded together
who seek after my soul to destroy it.
Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.
40:15 Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, “Aha! Aha!”
40:16 Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
Let such as love your salvation say continually, “Let Yahweh be exalted!”
40:17 But I am poor and needy.
May the Lord think about me.
You are my help and my deliverer.
Don’t delay, my God.
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4 days ago
4 days ago
A God of Joy and His people
Introduction
Book of Leviticus
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5 days ago
5 days ago
Psalm 144
A psalm of David.
1 Praise the Lord, who is my rock.
He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.
2 He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.
3 O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,
mere mortals that you should think about them?
4 For they are like a breath of air;
their days are like a passing shadow.
5 Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.
Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.
6 Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies!
Shoot your arrows and confuse them!
7 Reach down from heaven and rescue me;
rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies.
8 Their mouths are full of lies;
they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God!
I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
10 For you grant victory to kings!
You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.
11 Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies.
Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.
12 May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants.
May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace.
13 May our barns be filled with crops of every kind.
May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands,
14 and may our oxen be loaded down with produce.
May there be no enemy breaking through our walls,
no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares.
15 Yes, joyful are those who live like this!
Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.
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5 days ago
5 days ago
Obedient Service of God
Introduction
Take for instance the food laws. We know in the New Testament that all food is now permissible, whereas under the Old Testament, certain foods were not permitted to be eaten. In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter had a dream in which all food was declared clean!It is also wise, not to see them as merely a list of "not do" statements, but also as "do statements".
Rather, we should see them as a love letter from a God who wants to save His people from distress and anxiety in order to give them a life of peace, unity, health and a joyful life in all its fullness.All these laws were to lead ancient Israel to be a holy nation. Holiness was about being set apart for a purpose and making wise, conscious decisions about what was right or wrong. It involved being obedient to God and keeping His decrees and regulations.
Being holy, involved having a lifestyle, which was contrary to the cultures surrounding them. To be holy was a lifestyle choice of worship, to reflect their holy God.They were called to be loyal! Called to be distinct! Called to worship! What has all this got to do with us? Where does the Day of Atonement and these laws fit into the life of a Christian in the 21st century? We will take a look in the third part in al little while!
Outline:
Introduction
- Great joy Leviticus 9:22-24
- Great tragedy Leviticus 10:1-11
- A God of Judgement
- A God of Wrath
- So what’s all this got to do with us today?
- New Covenant?
- Called to service
- Judged for our service
Conclusion
Listen to the mp3 file to see what this fabulous piece of Scripture is about and how it is relevant to you today...