Bethel Church LJ Podcast

Bethel Church LJ Testimonies with Bobby Fortner | 5/29/2024

1 John 5:11- And this the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son.

The Overlooked by Marty Murray

Your walk with Christ should be even deeper and stronger than a tree rooted by a water source. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught and you will overflow with thankfulness. So many in this nation are living in a state of ungratefulness and a lack of thankfulness, I know why. They have no true relationship with Jesus Christ, God has not overlooked you God sees you right where you are.Let your lives be built on Him.

 

Lessons from the Prophet Micaiah Part 5

I  want to acknowledge the boldness and the courage of Micaiah to declare the Word in the midst of such a contrary situation. Although faced with opposition and certain dire consequences for speaking the truth of God’s Word, he did not acquiesce. He is a shining example to all who aspire to proclaim God’s Word. He is a model of what it truly means to be a faithful herald, preacher, and prophet of God. In the NT, the apostle Paul counseled Timothy as he faced mounting pressure and opposition. Paul himself was facing prison and death for his proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In spite of this he wrote to Timothy saying:

2 Ti 4:1–5 (NKJV) I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

The Development of Christian Character

When we face trials, we do not face them as the world faces them. When the world faces trials, peace is a subjective peace which finds its source in the absence of adverse circumstances. It is a peace that is based on feelings, when everything is good, I have peace.

The peace Jesus gives us is objective, it finds its source in the unbroken relationship we have with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son! It is not dependent on circumstances or feelings, it is a reality in the Christian’s life by virtue of the blood that was shed, the redemption provided through the cross of Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God in Christ that is imputed to us by grace through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

And because of this assurance we have in Christ, we stand as a light in this world, a testimony that reflects the glory of God.

Pentecost Sunday

As a Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not limited by space and time. He can be anywhere and everywhere at the same time. Likewise, since we were created as tri-partite beings (Spirit, Soul, and Body), the Holy Spirit was made to and as we have already pointed out, does indwell those who have been born again. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in our spirit.

The Spirit Of Elijah Rests On Elisha

Elisha received the prophetic mantle of Elijah as the primary prophet to the nation. What we learned through the scriptures today is, even though he had received and was also actively moving in the anointing, Elisha has to learn how to grow in it and with it.

Through the revelation of what Elisha did, we learned some things that he did right, and my contention is that we also learned from some things he did wrong. Just as Elisha had to learn how to flow in the prophetic anointing so that it would benefit God’s people, so must we learn to do the same.

In short, even though he was walking in greater power, Elisha was learning that he hadn’t stopped being a servant to become a prophet. He was a prophet, it’s just that in this prophetic role, he he had to learn how to serve not just one man, but how to serve his gifting to the nation.

Lessons From The Prophet Micaiah Part 4

(5/8/2024)

The Word of God is truth. It draws a dividing line between what is right and wrong in the eyes of God. We cannot redefine truth based on what is acceptable or not in culture, or what we feel should be right and wrong. It is God’s prerogative alone to do so. In the end, God’s Word will be the final judge over our lives and how we live in conformity to it.

The Double Portion of Elisha

We found that both Elijah and Elisha knew that the end of Elijah’s ministry and life was near. Elijah’s departure would necessitate someone to take over what Elijah had developed. Elisha, although the likely successor, would be put through a series of “tests” to see whether he would indeed be the person to receive the mantle that was on his mentor. In the end, he did receive the mantle and became the next major prophet in Israel as he fulfilled his divine purpose and call in the service of God on behalf of the people of God.

Lessons From The Prophet Micaiah Part 3

What we learned today is that the Word of the Lord is given to not only inspire, and to instruct, but also given to inform. It shows us God’s perspective on the circumstances we find ourselves in. This dynamic is called prophetic insight, and it is God’s revelation to us of how He sees the situation. God’s Word is still going out and informing us of His will today. How about you? Will you believe the report of the Lord?

Becoming Like Him

What does the God’s love look like? Jesus was and is God’s nature made visible. But what He said, and by how He lived, He demonstrated God’s love to us. What we saw today is that in stark opposition to the world which is always wanting to use others that they may go up, true love willingly goes down in service to others that others may go up.

Why did He demonstrate this principle to us so definitively? Because, once again, we become what we behold. It’s so that we would become like Him and in doing so, truly be a reflection of Him so that we might reveal His love and His glory to the world around us.