Partakers Christian Podcasts

Psalm On Demand - Psalm 139

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

² You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.

³ You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.

⁴ You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

⁵ You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

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⁷ I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

⁸ If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.

⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-

¹² but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

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¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.

¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

¹⁶ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

¹⁸ I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

¹⁹ O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!

²⁰ They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.

²¹ O Lord, shouldn't I hate those who hate you? Shouldn't I despise those who oppose you?

²² Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

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Bible Thought - WOW Word - Temptation

WOW Word - Temptation

~Today Alphy the WOWChurch Cat shares about

the WOW Word Temptation!

 

Agghhh! Temptation! Temptation to sin! We all face them as Christian disciples.

Who are we tempted by? We are tempted by the arch-enemy, the devil! We are tempted by other people to disobey! We are tempted by our old nature fighting against our new nature given to us by God!

But that’s what we as Christians are facing when we are tempted to sin and disobey God! When you are tempted to disobey God, either in action or inaction, you are not to touch it – just like you wouldn’t try to stop a chainsaw with your hands!!

Christians face constant temptation to disobey God and sin. However temptations are common experiences for all Christians. God allows temptations, but He will never let you be tempted beyond what He knows you can handle – that’s His promise. And even more, He always provides a means of escape from temptation! Paul wrote about that to the church in Corinth and we read that in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has come your way that is too hard for flesh and blood to bear. But God can be trusted not to allow you to suffer any temptation beyond your powers of endurance. He will see to it that every temptation has a way out, so that it will never be impossible for you to bear it.” WOW!

Temptation it must be noted is not sin. If it was, Jesus the sinless one would not be sinless! Rather it is the giving into temptation that causes us to sin. By dealing with temptation at the very moment it confronts you, you show you are living a life worthy of Jesus Christ.

Here are some short guidelines to help us deal with temptation:

• Remember the need to love God with a greater love than whatever is tempting us (1 John 2:15).
  
• Acknowledging and remembering that sin’s power was nullified by Jesus’ death on the cross (Romans 6:11)
  
• Remembering that as Christian Disciples, we are to continue living under the control of the Spirit’s power (Galatians 5:16) – the Holy Spirit who lives within you! WOW!.
  
• Remembering that you are as a Christian to be living a moment-by-moment dependence in faith on the Holy Spirit’s power, and make a conscious decision by an act of your will to benefit from the Holy Spirit’s power and assistance. He will help you if you ask!

Remember to continue to grow as a Christian! The key to growing as a Christian Disciple is to submit everything to God and keep on submitting everything to God. If you are growing as Christian Disciple, you are grow more in love with God, and therefore your desire to sin and disobey Him becomes increasingly less.

Finally, here is a WOW for you! Remember that the Holy Spirit lives inside you, and greater is He that is in you than anything else in the world (1 John 4:4). Now that is a comforting thought, because it means we don’t face these temptations alone! How easily that is forgotten!

So next time you are faced with temptation to sin and disobey God - pray and ask for God’s help! But be prepared for the answer, because it may not be the answer you expect! Be alert to the possibilities! If you have specific sins that entangle you habitually, ask that the Holy Spirit will help you avoid the temptation! It may also mean that you are to avoid the situation or circumstance where you are being tempted. You could also get close friends to pray for you as you also pray for them!~

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Bible Thought - WOW Word - Evangelism

WOW Word - What is Evangelismddddddddd~

All Christian Disciples are called to do the work of evangelism. Not everyone is called explicitly to be an evangelist, such as Billy Graham. However. All Christian Disciples and Disciples are called to tell and show others about Jesus Christ and the good news which He alone can offer. That is evangelism. I know it is a word that scares a lot of people who call themselves a Christian. But what can we learn and overcome to do this basic of the Christian faith? Download the mp3 using the link below to learn more.~

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Sermon - Remember Who You Are

Colossians 3v1-4

“Remember Who You Are!”

3:1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.

3:2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.

3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

3:4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.

 

In the year 1993, I slipped into a coma on a Saturday evening during my sleep.  But that story is a bit of a bore and not really important. After a couple of days in hospital, I woke up and there was a face of a pretty woman peering down at me, smiling and asking "Do you remember who you are?"  My response was "Of course I do!!  But who are you, and what have you done with my wife". And that is a similar story for those of us who are Christians.  If we are listening, we are constantly being reminded by God the Holy Spirit, of our status before God if we are His children.  The Holy Spirit is always there behind us, reminding us, that we are now His children and not His enemy, and therefore to stop living as if we were His enemy.  In these verses, Paul reminds us of our identity. This morning we are going to look at primarily our new identity and five facts about our Christian identity...

1. What are we to do with this Jesus if we claim to be his followers and in relationship with him?

a. We died with Christ (3a).
b. We are raised with Christ (1a).
c. We live with Christ (4a). 
d. We are hidden with Christ (3b). 
e. We will be glorified with Christ (4b).

2. Jesus - fully human

3. Jesus - fully God

 

Recapitulation

• Remember who you are.
• Remember your identity.
• Remember you have died with Christ,
• Remember you have been raised with Christ.
• Remember you have new life in Christ - NOW!!.
• Remember you are hidden with Christ - NOW!!.
• Remember you will be glorified with Christ when He comes again.

Conclusion

Therefore let us conclude.  We are to focus our minds on Him for heavenly reasons.  We are to let heaven fill our thoughts. In another translation, verse 2 reads "habitually set your mind on things above".Jesus was fully-god and fully-man.  It is this Jesus we claim to follow.  Be assured of your identity. Remember who you are.  Stop sinning and remember who you are - a child of the living God.  Cast off all that hinders your Christian growth.  Live for Him and make a difference in a world that is dying without knowledge of Him.  Most of all, as a motivation to aspire to live a perfect life in honour of Him  - remember who you are, and I don t mean just your name!!  Remember....

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Prayer - Psalm 29

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of the mighty,

ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name.

Worship Yahweh in holy array.

3 Yahweh's voice is on the waters.

The God of glory thunders, even Yahweh on many waters.

4 Yahweh's voice is powerful.

Yahweh's voice is full of majesty.

5 The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars.

Yes, Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes them also to skip like a calf;

Lebanon and Sirion like a young, wild ox.

7 Yahweh's voice strikes with flashes of lightning.

8 Yahweh's voice shakes the wilderness.

Yahweh shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 Yahweh's voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare.

In his temple everything says, "Glory!"

10 Yahweh sat enthroned at the Flood.

Yes, Yahweh sits as King forever.

11 Yahweh will give strength to his people.

Yahweh will bless his people with peace.

 

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Partakers Bible Thought – Bible Covenants

Partakers Bible Thought

“31 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD,
‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.
33 ‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts. I will be their God,
and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbour,
or say to one another, “Know the LORD,” because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the LORD.
‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’ ”
(Jeremiah 31:31-34)

In the ancient world and in the Bible, Covenants were common in all kinds of life, and not just between God and humanity. For instance where a powerful nation had taken over a weaker nation, a covenant was in place to give benefits from the powerful nation to the weaker nation, such as protection as well as sanctions if the weaker nation rebelled.

As a Christian today, you are living under is called the "New Covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Prior to this "New Covenant", there were 6 Covenants between God and humanity. What where they? What do all these Biblical Covenants have in common? What does this New Covenant have to do with you and I as Christians in the 21st Century?

Let’s explore these words together, download and listen to the podcast!

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Bible Thought – Revelation 1:12-20 - John meets the Ascended Jesus

John meets the Ascended Jesus

 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.  Revelation 1:12-20! 

 

Jesus has made an appearance to his close friend and disciple, John! Jesus is now the resurrected and ascended King of Kings and Lord of Lords! In Revelation 2 and 3, this Jesus sends messages to seven groups of people who have taken Him up on that offer of salvation!: the first century churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Here Jesus tells the churches to keep doing, stop doing and be blessed! But first, lets look at Jesus, Himself!

Jesus description

Jesus holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. Jesus who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again! Jesus, who has the sharp, double-edged sword, is the Son of God and whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. Jesus Christ, who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars! Jesus Christ, who is holy and true and holds the key of David. Jesus Christ, who opens what no one can shut and shuts what no one else can open. Jesus Christ, who is the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.

Keep doing!

To these 7 churches, of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Jesus praises them individually and separately! They are to continue doing such things as working hard for the Gospel, remaining faithful, not tolerating evil, not being seduced by false teachers, for persevering and enduring hardship and not growing weary. Jesus praises them for being faithful through suffering, poverty and persecution for His sake. Jesus praises them for remaining true to Him and for not renouncing their faith! Jesus, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, being ever gracious to His followers.

Stop doing

But He also rebukes them and commands that they stop doing certain things! They are to stop listening to various false teachers and prophets, being swayed by their clever and seductive words and actions. He rebukes because they have forgotten that they are to love Jesus above all and they have forsaken him. In his rebuke, Jesus commands that they repent, that is to ask Him for forgiveness and be willing to turn away from the false teachers, false prophets and false way of living.

Be blessed!

To all those who persevere, overcome and are victorious, Jesus will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. To all those who overcome and are victorious, they wont be hurt by the second death. To all those who overcome and are victorious, Jesus will give the victor’s crown! Those who overcome and are victorious, will be given authority over the nations! To those who overcome and are victorious, they will be in the temple of God, never to leave it! Jesus will do the most extraordinary thing, of writing on them the name of God, the city of God and His new name! To those who overcome and are victorious, their name will be in the book of life, and Jesus will acknowledge them before God the Father and his angels. Then finally, for those who overcome and are victorious, they will sit with their Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, on His throne, just as He was victorious and sat down with His Father on his throne. That’s you and me if we hold out to the end!

Again, I ask, who do you say Jesus is? But further, what are you going to do with this Jesus and let Him do to you?

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Saturday Story - CS Lewis

Saturday Story

People meeting Jesus 

The story of CS Lewis...

Today, we hear the story of perhaps one of the foremost Christian thinkers of our age – CS Lewis. Let’s look together at how and why he started his own Christian journey and the relevancy of Jesus Christ to his life! It may not be what you have heard it said to be! Come and listen to his story of faith...

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Thursday Story - Malcolm Muggeridge

Thursday Story

People meeting Jesus

 

The story of Malcolm Muggeridge...

Today we are looking into the 20th Century again, this time at Malcolm Muggeridge. He was, by his own volition and renown, a determined sceptic and vocal non-believer. Until that is, he encountered Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Come and listen to his story of faith...

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Wednesday Wisdom 5 - Proverbs 5

Wednesday Wisdom

Proverbs 5

G’day! Welcome to Partakers and to Wednesday Wisdom, where we are listening to what the Bible has to say through the Wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Come on in!

Today it is Proverbs 5. Download this episode using this link

1 My son, attend to my wisdom, and bow your ear to my understanding:
2 That You may regard discretion, and that your lips may keep knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6 Lest You should ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that You can not know them.
7 Hear me now therefore, O you children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

8 Remove your way far from her, and come not near to the door of her house:
9 In case you give your honour to others, and your years to the cruel:
10 Lest strangers be filled with your wealth; and your labours be in the house of a stranger;
11 And You mourn at the last, when your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

15 Drink waters out of your own cistern, and running waters out of your own well.
16 Let your fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17 Let them be only your own, and not strangers’ with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of your youth.
19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and be You ravished always with her love.
20 And why will you, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his goings.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be trapped with the cords of his sins.
23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

That’s it for today! Come back every day to Partakers Podcasts to hear something to encourage and uplift you as a Christian disciple, regardless of where you are in the world. You can also purchase our books via Amazon at Pulptheology.com

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