TEXT: ‘Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh”… but Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord’ (Jonah 1:1, 3). As I was reading in the book of Jonah, that he didn’t want to obey God and go to Nineveh, I wondered why God didn’t just get somebody else to go instead. After all, the saying goes, “One volunteer is worth more than ten pressed men!” As I thought about this, several key things came to light and these form the basis for Today’s Teaching. 1. God does not like us saying “NO” to Him – ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice’ (1 Samuel 15:22). When we refuse to go, it’s saying to God, “You really do not know what you are doing by asking me!” When Moses replied, ‘Please, Lord, send someone else’ (Exodus 4:13 TLB), God got angry with him. The Bible says, ‘Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?’ (Hebrews 12:9 ESV). Say “No” to sin and Satan’s temptations, but say “Yes” to God. Obedience was what made David special to...
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TEXT: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me’ (Luke 4:18). Just as Jesus waited until He could say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me”, before He started His public ministry, so His disciples were told to do the same. ‘And now I will send the Holy Spirit upon you, just as my Father promised. Don’t begin telling others yet—stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven’ (Luke 24:49 TLB). The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian Church that the Holy Spirit had been given as a guarantee, that what Jesus was preparing for them, really was for them and they would experience all of it (See 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5 and Ephesians 1:14). He also reminded them that everything they received, whether then or in eternity, was all through the Holy Spirit. Today’s Teaching focusses on some of the things the Holy Spirit does in us and for us. 1. The New Birth – ‘Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts’...
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