Blog Archives
Count It All Joy When Ye Fall Into Divers Temptations
By Paul Godfrey, Brisbane Church 2011. Audio: mp3
When we come to the Lord, we’re all excited and pumped. We’re just praising the Lord every step of the way and singing our songs. Nothing can get us down anymore until something gets us down and then we get into discouragement. We want to consider when Christian excitement, the energy that we receive ebbs away and when it ebbs away, does that mean we’ve lost our experience?
Jesus gives a parable in relation to receiving the kingdom of heaven, being converted and having a spiritual experience. This parable is revealed in the type of seed, and the sowing of the seed. Matthew 13 is the explanation of the actual parable. He gave it earlier in the chapter and now He is telling what it means and He comes to this part where the seed falls upon the rocky ground.
Matthew 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word of God, and anon with joy receiveth it;
13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. Read the rest of this entry
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07 Don’t Forget
Paul Godfrey
Audio:
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When you compare the righteous with the wicked, the wicked come to heaven’s door knocking expecting to come into heaven thinking the door should be open for them. The righteous look to heaven and long to enter in but in heaven no evil thing may enter yet the Lord says to the righteous, those who look to heaven conscious of their condition; “Come in.” The person may say, “Lord, no sin can enter into heaven. You are calling me to come in but as far as I understand nothing bad can go into heaven.” The Lord says, “Yes, I know that so come in.” Read the rest of this entry
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06 An Open Door
Paul Godfrey
Audio:
Whenever you have an open door, it’s an indication to come through. Someone opens the door for you, then you go through.
Genesis 5:21-24 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him. Read the rest of this entry
03 Safe Inside
Paul Godfrey
Audio: mp3
You are and I am a whole lot of decisions we have made in the past. What you have done when you were a child and teenager has impacted on who you are today. Does that make sense? Have you made the most important decision of your life? The first study I shared in this series ‘The gospel In Genesis’ was ‘A Chance to Choose’. The devil doesn’t give his people a chance to choose. Oppression and dictatorship doesn’t but God does. God gives His people freedom to choose life or death. That decision that we are to all make will make us somebody. We are based upon our decisions in the past. We have to understand that we ourselves, are progressive. Character is progressive, it never stops. It is like time or the tide, you can never stop your character development, you can’t stop it. If you lie in bed all your life, your character will be built according to that decision. You can’t stop it. You can’t choose not to make a choice. In fact if you choose not to choose, you have made a choice already not to choose. But sometimes as Christians, do you ever wonder whether you are the Lords? Do you ever think, has the Lord received me? Do I belong to God? Have I chosen Him? Read the rest of this entry
02 Your Face is Telling
Paul Godfrey
Audio: mp3
The best repairer is the manufacturer. In mechanics that’s a fact, whoever built the car is the best person to fix the car. We all need repairing. The whole world needs repairing and the best one to do that is the person who created it, the manufacturer of this planet. He can fix us. When we dwell upon the power of our God, really, is there any excuse, any reason for stress? When the Israelites came before the Red Sea, do you think they were a little stressed? Perhaps a bit more than a little, I think they were very stressed. Here is this big mass of water and it posed big issues considering the situation behind them and the situation beside them; big mountains, black Pharaoh coming after them and this water mass in front of them. If they considered that in the creation God divided the waters from the waters, they would understand that this little puddle of water before them was nothing that was beyond the capabilities of God. God can separate the waters. The Bible records that God sent a wind. That word ‘wind’ translates as spirit. When Noah was on the ark and the water was everywhere, it says that the Lord sent the wind and it dealt with the water. Read the rest of this entry
03 The Numbers Game
The Third Woe
By Paul Godfrey
mp3
We continue our study on the seven woes to the Pharisees and it is important to study these woes because Jesus was talking to his disciples and he said to them, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.
Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
A strong rebuke to the leaders in the days of Jesus. We know that all things happen for an example upon whom the end of the world has come. Hypocrisy the leaven of the Pharisees hasn’t actually left our world. We want to identify exactly what Jesus is saying. It is not too hard to understand exactly what he is saying. He is saying woe to the leaders because they compass and go around sea and land to make one proselyte and do we know what a proselyte is? A proselyte is someone in the days of Christ who was a gentile. To be made a proselyte was to come into the Jewish faith. They had to be circumcised but not only circumcised but they had to go through the doctrines that the Pharisees held and consent that they were true and to be willing to participate of the rituals of their faith and of their religion and then they were no longer a gentile. They were a Jew in the full meaning of the word. They were no longer classified as the seed of Abraham. Woe to the scribes and Pharisees, they go about to make one proselyte and when he is made you make him two fold more the child of hell than yourselves. Read the rest of this entry
05 Ready When You Are
Rebuilding Adventism Seminar
Study 5
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: 05 Ready When You Are
Jesus is coming. Do we want to be like Nehemiah? If we do it requires a strong decision to build up the old waste places. We will experience opposition if we do this work. The purpose of this seminar has not been for debating controversial issues but to set in a brief way the movement God has ordained to come out of the world. God is building His church upon the eternal rock, the rock of ages, Jesus Christ. This rock is in opposition to worldly customs and practises. Read the rest of this entry
06 The Harvest
Living Faith Seminar
Study 6
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Harvest
We must by willing to take up our cross and deny ourselves and follow Jesus for the path of faith requires a lot of hardship. We will be tested and we tried just like Jesus. Although we are crucified with Christ nevertheless we live yet not we but Christ lives in us. The life we want to live must be lived by the faith of the Son of God. If we will not live by faith we will be overwhelmed by the troubles that Christians and non- Christians alike will receive. No one is exempt. The Christian also receives chastening from God the Father for it says that any branch that brings forth fruit is pruned so it can bring forth more fruit. God’s obedient children are still under the discipline of the loving heavenly Father. That discipline is difficult. We have the privilege of reading the things that will be done to us. We will receive persecution and dark experiences. If we read our Bibles we will see the things written a foretime are written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope (Romans 15:4) Jesus prayed to His Father that He would send another Comforter the Holy Ghost. Do you know why the Holy Ghost is a Comforter? It’s because He will show you everything Jesus has said and when he comes he will: Read the rest of this entry
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05 The Fight of Faith
Living Faith Seminar
Study 5
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Fight of Faith
We cannot be justified by faith until we have received the seed into our hearts. Even though the seed has not grown yet into a tall plant to bring forth fruit, everything is there. As we receive the Word of God in its entirety whether we know everything or not, by that surrender and the willingness to follow the Lamb wherever He goes we are justified. Read the rest of this entry
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The Source of Loneliness
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Source of Loneliness
Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Read the rest of this entry
02 A Glorious System of Truth
Rebuilding Adventism Seminar
Study 2
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: mp3
The Sabbath day was given to us by God for a purpose. One of the purposes is to know he created the world in six days. It is to remind us from where we came. We can read that in Exodus 20. In Deuteronomy the reason for keeping the Sabbath is because the Lord bought us out of Egypt. The Sabbath is meant to do two things, not just to dwell upon God’s creation and his power in the origin of our world, but also to dwell upon the fact he has and is bringing us out of the world, out of Egypt. The Sabbath is a day to remember these things. He said remember the Sabbath to keep it holy because he doesn’t want us to forget the Sabbath. The LORD is really helping us with our memory. He says remember a day so we can remember our creation and our exodus out of Egypt. If we can remember the day we can remember everything else. The Bible says in Daniel 7 the dragon power will cast the truth to the ground and it will practise and prosper. As the saints were speaking together one of them asked how long would this go on for. The answer given was 2300 days then the sanctuary will be cleansed. The papal system over a period of generations pulled the truth of God down to the ground in the mind of the people. It wasn’t until the protestant reformation that there was the sound of hope. One by one the different truths started to come in their order. The truth never was restored by the protestant reformation in its entirety.
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The Name of God
By Paul Godfrey
There is a great blessing bestowed upon those who read and understand the book of Revelation. If we do this as it is in its purity we will be richly blessed but if we take something from this book, our names will be taken from the book of life. If we add to it, God will add to us the seven last plagues. In other words the book contains a huge blessing for those who read it as God intended and there is a huge curse upon those who disregard and change it. That should make us tremble. The Bible has a huge amount of power that we don’t want to disregard or read superficially. One major theme in the book of Revelation is the revelation of God’s people. As we look at the future written in this book, we can identify political financial and religious events so that we can identify where we are in relation to this book. Revelation 13 is a prophecy of the image of the beast that exercises all the power of the beast. History tells us that this beast is very terrible. The image of the beast exercises all the power of the first beast. It will command that all that don’t worship the beast to be killed. There will be no mercy in that decree. Then we come to Revelation 14:1.
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth
We need Jesus for the Bible says without him we can do nothing. Not a little bit, but nothing. It takes a bit to realise this fact because our natural heart believes it can do something. The something we think we can do is actually nothing. The Bible says we have sold ourselves for naught therefore we have nothing. Let us never think that nothing is something. If we think that something is nothing then the something is actually nothing. In Revelation chapter 3 is written the preparation we need to be fitted for the latter rain. Read the rest of this entry
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04 The Planting of Faith
Living Faith Seminar
Study 4
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: 04 The Planting of Faith
If we had been buried with him in baptism we’ll also be raised with him in the newness of life. The symbol of baptism is to depict the death that one is making because of the nature that they find themselves in. When the law has done its work the soul is in a pit of misery and as the soul realises it utter weakness and all it can do is cry. When someone cries, it’s always the loudest when they’re about to die. In that last bit of energy when you call out to the name of the Lord you will be saved. If you were in a comfortable situation and call out ‘help’ with real enthusiasm, how well could you do it? What if you were at the bottom of a cliff? The waves are raging and someone is listening, how loud would you cry? The circumstance creates the energy. You can’t fake it. When the shadows of death creep over you something changes in you and you can call out like nothing. That is what it means when it says ‘He that calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved’. This is Jesus prayer on the cross. You can verify it from the context of the whole chapter. Read the rest of this entry
07 Binding the Broken Hearted
The Consummation of the Everlasting Covenant
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: Binding the Broken Hearted
The experience of the 144,000 is most interesting. They have the most difficult war to overcome yet they stand victors on the great mountain of Mount Zion and the lamb is the source of their victory as they overcome him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. The experience of the 144,000 is what I’d like to talk of and their relief of their association. This study will be centred in Revelation 7.
He Spake and it Was Done
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: He Spake and it was Done
I want to provoke each one of you to a closer relationship with the Lord. In order to have a relationship with somebody we need to know them well. To know their thoughts better and also to know ourselves better. Many relationships today break up because of lack of knowing each other and misunderstandings. If somebody says something and you don’t know the thought behind what they are saying you can misconstrue what they are saying every single time. Is that constructive to a relationship? No. This is the same problem we have with God. If we knew His thoughts when He speaks we would understand Him better. If we knew ourselves better we would understand the dangers we have in misinterpreting things. Read the rest of this entry
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In the Image of God
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Image of God
Jesus taught that relationships are the greater weight of Christian progress. The Pharisees tithed with mint, anise and cumin but forgot the weightier matters of the law. Jesus says in a parable that a brother who judges another brother has a beam in his own eye. The mote that was being judged was a small problem in comparison to the relationship issues of judging one another. It is very important for Christians to relate well to one another and the world around them. This is what Jesus emphasised in His prayer. Read the rest of this entry
Understanding the Concept of Perfection
By Paul Godfrey
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Unto what type of man? A perfect man. Who is the perfect man? Jesus Christ. Does anyone disbelieve that Jesus was perfect? We will use Ephesians as the standard. In Revelation it speaks of measuring the people with a rod and the people have to come up to a standard. The definition of perfection is the standard of Christ. Read the rest of this entry
The Publican and the Pharisee Part 1
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Publican and the Pharisee
Have you ever been to court? Perhaps you’ve been sued or desired to stand up for your rights. How much stress did it cause? How much brain power did you engage in dwelling upon your case? When you receive a letter in the mail to say you’ve been summoned to court, you get this feeling that comes up and grabs you around the throat, especially if you’ve done something wrong. All that night you’ll go to sleep and be thinking about the events that have taken place and what they might say and what the result will be. The human mind upon earthly court cases is absolutely absorbed with going through the facts and events to put together your defense. All this is done before the date of appearance. Do you know that we all have been summoned to court? Read the rest of this entry
09 The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Read the rest of this entry
The Publican and the Pharisee Part 2
Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Publican and the Pharisee Part 2
Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Read the rest of this entry
The Serpent on the Pole
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Serpent on the Pole
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.
There is a principle of teaching and it is repeat and enlarge. As we have been through the studies so far, it is really saying the same thing in a different way. If you think about the first study the Passover lamb, the introduction was the whole salvation plan. It is an example of a type to Canaan. If you look at the lamb and the Passover, that in itself is a type of salvation. Read the rest of this entry
The Rebellion of Korah
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: Rebellion
It is my prayer that we will identify ourselves on our way to heaven. We saw that Israel is a life size allegory of what we will go through. It is a type. Everything that the Israelites went through is a mirror of what we will go through in reality. We see the bondage they got into from a yielding to sin. Some of us can identify if we are still in bondage. If we have felt how bad sin is God can bring us out and we can partake of the lamb. The physician comes to heal those that are sick and the bondage release comes to those who know they are in bondage. We identified the manna and the murmuring of the children of Israel in a previous study. When we are coming out of Egypt it seems that Egypt pursues us. We come to a point in our Christian walk where the first joy of the Christian work seems to run off. The past crowds us in but the Lord will deliver us from that. All along we can identify we are travelling along this path. Where are we? Along this path to heaven there is a rebellion. We will spend this time looking at rebellion rather than looking at Korah himself. When we read this text we will realise what this rebellion was all about that happened with Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Read the rest of this entry
3. How to Possess Peace
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: How To Possess Peace
Luke 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
The Tribulation of the Human Bosom
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: The Tribulation of the Human Bosom
Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Saltless Salt
By Paul Godfrey
Audio: Saltless Salt
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Jesus Christ is very good at taking volumes of knowledge and putting it down into a sentence. To impart a vast amount of knowledge and put it in such precise illustrations.
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
So much knowledge but yet it’s capsulated in a parable. It is the privilege of you and me to take these capsulated sayings that are full of huge dimensions like a seed is full of an oak tree and to get into that and understand all the DNA, all the information within this small capsule. It is our privilege to do such things. Read the rest of this entry
