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  • Pastor Todd Weston's Blog

RLA Pastor's blog

ENCOURAGEMENT

2/23/2015

 
I experienced the power of encouragement this past Saturday.  Some friends registered Sheri and I to run in the Edison Festival of Lights 5K.  The race begins in downtown Fort Myers, makes its way down Cleveland Avenue, does a U-turn in front of Lee Memorial hospital (a good place to stop for an oxygen treatment or possible brain transplant!), goes back into the downtown district, and concludes near Centennial Park.   

The signal was given to start the race and a mass of humanity began moving forward.  Pretty soon Sheri and I were clipping along at a good pace.  It’s amazing how adrenalin kicks in and enables you to do more than you ordinarily could. But pretty soon the adrenalin dissipates and that’s when something else sets in - PAIN!

Fortunately, the streets were lined with spectators who were there to see the parade that would follow the 5K.  That’s when I experienced the power of encouragement.  About the time I began to wonder what had possessed me to subject myself to this torture and was seriously considering the brain transplant, I heard people shouting motivating words like: “Great job!” “Doing good!” “Keep it up!” “You can do it!”  From starting line to finishing line they were there cheering us on.  What a difference they made.  I actually beat my old time by 2:23.

If encouragement is such a powerful thing for someone running a 5K, think what it can do for those running the race of faith.  Life can be discouraging enough at times, and the devil is right there to fan that flame. Let’s not add to it.

Instead, let’s be quick to encourage others.  Rather than tearing others down with our words, let’s build them up.  Rather than criticizing a fallen runner, let’s lend a hand to help them up.  Look for a reason to compliment.  Search for motivating words.  Overlook the negatives and find something good to say.  

Who knows?  Maybe your encouraging words will be the very thing that keeps someone in the race.

Pastor Todd Weston  

BIBLE PROPHECY

2/9/2015

 
Prophecy (the foretelling of future events) makes up a large part of the Bible.  There are 1,239 prophecies in the Old Testament, and 578 in the New Testament.  This gives a grand total of 1,817 prophecies in the Bible.  About 27% of the Bible is prophetic in nature.

The first prophecy in the Bible is found in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”  This is not only the first prophecy in the Bible; it’s the first messianic prophecy (a messianic prophecy is one that relates to the first coming of Jesus Christ).

The context of this prophecy is the Fall of Man.  Adam and Eve had just sinned by eating the forbidden fruit.  God Himself declared the prophecy to Satan, the instigator of the Fall.  God informed Satan that a Promised One would come.  He would be a member of the human race – the offspring of the woman – and would undo the damage done.  While Satan would bruise His heel, He would crush the serpent’s head, all of which happened at the cross.  Jesus was bruised; Satan was crushed! (Colossians 2:15; 1 John 3:8). 

That is the first Bible prophecy.  It’s about the first coming of Jesus Christ.

The last Bible prophecy appears in Revelation 22:12.  Again, it’s given not by a prophet but by the Lord Himself.  Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”  The first Bible prophecy was given in the gloom of humanity’s fall.  The context of this last prophecy is the darkness of the end times.  Paul described these days as perilous times (2 Timothy 3:1).  Jesus said they would be unprecedented times (Matthew 24:21).  The Last Days will be marked by abounding sin, increasing hatred, growing deception, and rising persecution.

Like Adam and Eve standing in the shadow of the curse, the end-times Church will face spiritual darkness unlike anything the world has ever known.  Already, it’s settling down upon us.  But this last Bible prophecy is like a shaft of light splitting the darkness, “Behold, I am coming soon!”

That is the last Bible prophecy.  It’s about the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Notice, both prophecies are messages of hope!  The first said, “He is coming!”  The second says, “He is coming again!”  The two prophecies are like bookends encasing the entire Bible with a message of hope.  Here we find the purpose of prophecy, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).  

God’s Word gives us hope in a dark world.  The prophecies and promises of the Bible enable us to look up and lift up our heads with hope even in troubled times, for we know that our redemption is near!

Pastor Todd Weston

GENERAL AND SPECIAL REVELATION

2/2/2015

 
General and special revelation are the two ways God has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity.  This is clearly seen in the 19th psalm.  The first six verses of the psalm speak of general revelation; God revealing Himself through natural means (nature).  

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.  They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world” (Psalm 19:1-4, NLT).  

Through the creation itself God reveals Himself to the whole world.  Because this revelation is so unmistakably clear Paul concluded, “They are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).  No one can stand before God on the Day of Judgment and claim ignorance.  The revelation is obvious to all and therefore understood by all.

The next five verses in the 19th psalm (vv7-11) speak of special revelation.  While general revelation happens through natural means, special revelation occurs through supernatural means.  The most common form of special revelation is the Bible.  Did you know that the Bible is a miraculous book?  God miraculously guided some 40 authors over a period of about 1,600 years to record His message to all mankind, and to do it without contradiction or error.  That’s amazing!

Furthermore, the Bible is alive.  As the inspired Word of God it speaks directly into our lives with amazing authority and accuracy.  The Bible is also the standard by which other forms of special revelation (i.e, dreams, visions, prophecies, interpretations, etc.) are judged.  Speaking of the written revelation of God to mankind, Jesus made this statement to the unbelieving Jews of His day, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).  God is revealed in His Word.

Of course, Jesus Himself is the ultimate form of special revelation.  He is the Word made flesh.  As He told His disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).  Like the wind that blows where it will that cannot be stopped, such is the revelation of God to the world.  He will make Himself known.  And we have a role to play in this through the carrying out of the Great Commission – all the church taking all the gospel to all the world!

To respond correctly to general and special revelation is to be innocent of the great transgression (Psalm 19:13).  The greatest sin of all is that of unbelief.  To turn a blind eye to the Creator of the universe and ignore the Author of the Bible is the greatest transgression possible.

God’s purpose in revealing Himself to all humanity is to bring us to a point of belief which results in salvation, for whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life!  This is the reason for it all.  It’s what God is after.  

Pastor Todd Weston

    Pastor Todd

    Lead Pastor
    River of Life
    Assembly of God

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