by avministry | Aug 28, 2022 | Sermons
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Genesis 28:10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
Genesis 28:11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because
the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his
head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
Genesis 28:12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth,
and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending
and descending on it.
Genesis 28:18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he
had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
Genesis 28:22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house,
and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.
Genesis 28:10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
I. SEND ME THE PILLOW THAT YOU DREAM ON.
Genesis 28:11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because
the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his
head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
Send me the pillow that you dream on,
So darling, I can dream on it, too.
II. JACOB’S LADDER: THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN.
Genesis 28:12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth,
and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending
and descending on it.
Genesis 28:13 And behold, the Lord stood above it …”
1. Jesus is the stairway to heaven.
John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold,
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
John 1:48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered
and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,
I saw you.”
John 1:49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God!
You are the King of Israel!”
John 1:50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you
under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
John 1:51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall
see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son
of Man.”
2. Jesus is the One who connects heaven and earth.
1 Timothy 2: 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,
the Man Christ Jesus,
3. Jesus is the only ladder and stairway to heaven.
John 10:1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold
by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Genesis 28:12 “… and there the angels of God were ascending and descending
on it.
Genesis 28:13 And behold, the Lord stood above it …”
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those
who will inherit salvation?
Jesus is not only your way to God; Jesus is God’s way to you.
Every blessing that we receive today comes down that ladder, that stairway.
Genesis 28:13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord
God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie
I will give to you and your descendants.
Genesis 28:14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall
spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you
and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Genesis 28:15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and
will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what
I have spoken to you.”
Genesis 28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is
in this place, and I did not know it.”
Genesis 28:17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
Song lyrics
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place
I can feel His mighty power and His grace
I can hear the brush of angel’s wings
I see glory on each face
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am
there in the midst of them.”
Acts 17:27 “… He is not far from each one of us;
III. THE STONE PILLAR OF REMEMBRANCE.
Genesis 28:18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he
had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of
that city had been Luz previously.
Genesis 28:22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house,
and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.
Genesis 13:4 (NLT) This was the same place where Abram had built the altar,
and there he worshiped the Lord again.
We must let the altar alter us.
Genesis 28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is
in this place, and I did not know it.”
Genesis 28:17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
by avministry | Aug 21, 2022 | Sermons
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1 Samuel 17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from
him and were dreadfully afraid.
1 Samuel 17:40 And he [David] took his staff in his hand, and chose him five
smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had,
even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
THE GIANTS WE HEAR CAN CAUSE US TO FEAR
1 Samuel 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine,
they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
THE GIANTS WE SEE CAN CAUSE US TO FEAR
1 Samuel 17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him
and were dreadfully afraid.
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can
be against us?
1 Samuel 17:29 And David said, …”Is there not a cause?”
I. THERE’S NO NEED TO FEAR, UNDERDOG IS HERE!
1 Samuel 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself
five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch
which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
2 Samuel 21:22 “These four were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by
the hand of David and by the hand of his servants”
1 Samuel 17:40 ” …five smooth stones from the brook … and his sling was in
his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
Historian Robert Dohrenwend writes, “Goliath had as much chance against David,
as any Bronze Age warrior with a sword would have had against an [opponent]
armed with a .45 automatic pistol.”
Judges 20:16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were
left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss.
II. BIG TALK, NO ACTION!
1 Samuel 17:41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the
man who bore the shield went before him.
1 Samuel 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained
him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.
1 Samuel 17:43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me
with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1 Samuel 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your
flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
III. THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S.
1 Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword,
with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
1 Samuel 17:46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike
you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the
camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth,
that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
1 Samuel 17:47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save
with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our
hands.”
IV. LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!
1 Samuel 17:48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to
meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and
he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into
his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
1 Samuel 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone,
and struck the Philistine and killed him.
Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked]
every day.
Psalm 7:12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and
made it ready.
Psalm 7:13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth
his arrows against the persecutors.
1 Corinthians 1:27 “… and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty.
Matthew 17:20 “… I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will
say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing
will be impossible for you.
V. CUTTING THE SNAKE’S HEAD OFF!
1 Samuel 17:50 “… But there was no sword in the hand of David.
1 Samuel 17:51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword
and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And
when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
1 Samuel 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to
Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
Genesis 3:15 “… He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
2 Samuel 7:12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers,
I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will
establish his kingdom.
1 Samuel 7:13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne
of his kingdom forever.
VI. FINDING OUR CHAMPION JESUS.
Ezekiel 34:24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince
among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Luke 1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
1) One man David and one man Jesus fought for all.
2) Like David, Jesus stood in the middle.
3) David and Jesus disarmed and destroyed the devil once and for all.
4) Jesus fought the giants of “sin, law, death” for me, and won.
by avministry | Aug 14, 2022 | Sermons
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1 Samuel 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they
encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.
1 Samuel 17:3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel
stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
1 Samuel 17:4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named
Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
1 Samuel 17:10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give
me a man, that we may fight together.”
1 Samuel 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine,
they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
1 Samuel 17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from
him and were dreadfully afraid.
Fear of failure can be a powerful giant to overcome.
I. THE GIANT-SIZE CHALLENGE.
1 Samuel 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle,
and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between
So-choh and A-zekah, in E-phes Damm-im.
1 Samuel 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they
encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.
1 Samuel 17:3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel
stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
1 Samuel 17:4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named
Goliath, from Gath,…
1 Samuel 17:8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to
them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and
you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down
to me.
1 Samuel 17:9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants.
But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
1 Samuel 17:10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give
me a man, that we may fight together.”
1 Samuel 17:16 (GNBUK) Goliath challenged the Israelites every morning and
evening for forty days.
The Enemy Always Challenges God’s People.
Matthew 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among
the wheat and went his way.
1 Samuel 17:29 And David said, …”Is there not a cause?”
1 Samuel 17:25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come
up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills
him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his
father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
II. THE TALE OF THE TAPE.
1. IN THIS CORNER IS THE CHAMPION GOLIATH.
1 Samuel 17:4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named
Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
1 Samuel 17: 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with
a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
1 Samuel 17:6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between
his shoulders.
1 Samuel 17:7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron
spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.
The word “champion” literally means “the man of the space between [two armies].”
He is a substitute, the “man of the space between” who battles on behalf
of his people.
He does what they cannot or should not do.
2. IN THIS CORNER IS THE SHEPHERD BOY DAVID.
1 Samuel 17:33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this
Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from
his youth.”
1 Samuel 17:28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men;
and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come
down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?
I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to
see the battle.”
People will try to talk you out of what God has talked you into.
III. THE REAL WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE.
1 Samuel 17:38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze
helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.
1 Samuel 17:39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for
he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for
I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
1 Samuel 17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s
sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
1 Samuel 17:35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its
mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and
killed it.
1 Samuel 17:36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised
Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”
1 Samuel 17:37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw
of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this
Philistine.”And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
When our problems become bigger than the God we serve, we have a problem!
2 Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God …”
Nobody mentioned what God could do but David.
1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ,…”
Lyrics from “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus”
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.
IV. THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S.
1 Samuel 17:47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save
with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our
hands.”
by avministry | Aug 7, 2022 | Sermons
1 Peter 2:6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion
a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means
be put to shame.”
1 Peter 2:7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who
are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone,”
1 Peter 2:8 And “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble,
being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
I. TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE, JESUS IS A “CORNER STONE”.
1 Peter 2:6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in
Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious …”
1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,
I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
Matthew 7:25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
1 Peter 2:6 “… and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
Someone has said, “Often on the rock I tremble, faint of heart and weak of
knee, but the mighty Rock of Ages never trembles under me.”
1 Peter 2:7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; …
1 Peter 2:7 “… but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders
rejected has become the chief cornerstone,”
II. TO THOSE WHO DISBELIEVE, JESUS IS A “STUMBLING STONE”.
1 Peter 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence,…
John 8:19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
John 8:41 “…Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; ”
Matthew 15:12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that
the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
John 6:59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is
a hard saying; who can understand it?”
John 6:61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this,
He said to them, “Does this offend you?
John 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him
no more.
John 6:67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
Matthew 11:3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
1 Peter 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence …
YouTube wrote:
“Our team has reviewed your content, and, unfortunately, we think it violates our
hate speech policy. We’ve removed the following content from YouTube:
What did Pastor John MacArthur say.’
“There is no such thing as transgender. You are either XX or XY. That’s it. ”
1 Peter 2:8 “A stone of stumbling … even to them which stumble at the word …
Matthew 21:44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever
it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
C. H. Lenski says, “It should read, A stone of stumbling and a rock that knocks
their brains out.”
Lyrics Scandalon by Michael Card:
He will be the truth that will offend them one and all
A stone that makes men stumble
And a rock that makes them fall
Many will be broken so that He can make them whole
And many will be crushed and lose their own soul
Within the wall—66,000 people die every day in a lost condition
Every 10 seconds —- 26 people die in our world
And of those 26 people —- 2 are Buddhist — 4 are Hindu —- 5 are Muslims
8 are secularists — 7 are of the Chrisitian faith of which 3 are Protestants
Every 10 seconds at least 20 individuals die without Christ never having escaped
the gates of hell
by avministry | Aug 1, 2022 | Sermons
1 Corinthians 10:4 And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that
spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but
chosen by God and precious,
1 Peter 2:5 You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
I. COMING TO THE LIVING STONE.
1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone…
II. REJECTING THE LIVING STONE.
1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, …”
John 1:11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
III. RECEIVING THE PRECIOUS STONE.
1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but
chosen by God and precious,
IV. BECOMING A LIVING STONE.
1 Peter 2:5 You also, as living stones,
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the
Son gives life to whom He will.
2 Peter 1:4 “… become partakers of the divine nature”
Granite may crumble, but this is LIVINGSTONE!
David Livingstone was a living stone because of the Living Stone.
V. BUILDING OF LIVING STONES.
1 Peter 2:5 You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house…”
1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion
If everyone was a church member like you what kind of church would we have?
1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are
God’s building.
1 Peter 2:5 “… a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, …”
