Calvary Temple

Ever felt unworthy of God’s love, salvation, healing? In I Kings Chapter 13 we read the story of an unnamed prophet chosen by God to deliver a very strong message to the wicked king Jeroboam. The message said that God would destroy the altars to the king’s false gods and idols, and that the human ashes on top of the altar would be poured out in front of Jeroboam as a sign of the authenticity of the prophecy.

The king became so angry that he stuck out his arm and shouted to his soldiers to seize the prophet, and when he did, God sent judgment and withered his hand and froze his arm in the outstretched position.

The king had the audacity to ask the prophet, whom he was just about to have killed, to intercede in prayer to his God on his behalf and ask him to restore his hand and arm…and God chose to answer the prophet’s prayer on behalf of Jeroboam. Sometimes, even saints do wrong or make bad choices. We have a God who set up a system of intercession—we as saints intercede for the lost, the Holy Spirit intercedes with groanings for us, and Jesus intercedes for all to the Father.

In the familiar story in Mark 11:12-14 Jesus demonstrated to his disciples the need for believers to bear good fruit…it was representative of the Jewish leaders who had all the right trappings to appear outwardly righteous, but inside, were barren and void.

Later, in Verse 20 when the disciples commented about the fig tree being withered according to Jesus word, Jesus taught them about their own authority and responsibility, to speak instructions to their mountain, to be removed from their path. While this is very, very hard for some of us to grasp, it's Jesus' own words. ANd, what a beautiful time of speaking to our mountains we had!

Have you ever felt like you were going to perish? So did the disciples in Matthew 8:23-27. They were in the thick of a terrible storm, and their small boat was quickly filling up with water. They were surely aware of the miracles that Jesus, asleep in the stern of the boat, had previously performed but here, in this moment, they feared for their own safety.

While Jesus challenged them about their lack of faith, we can be comforted to know that he immediately recognized their fear and calmed the storm they were in. He saved them from peril and in doing so, built their faith and confidence in his deity, the One who speaks to the wind and the waves and they obey Him!

Jesus didn’t say that he would merely bring about resurrection, or CAUSE the resurrection to happen, both of which are true, but he said, I AM THE RESURRECTION—and the life. He was deity over death and deity over resurrection.

Resurrection from the dead and eternal life in fellowship with God are so are EMBODIED in Jesus and they can be found ONLY through RELATIONSHIP through faith in Him. Jesus echoed the covenant of old found in Deuteronomy 28:6, Blessed will you be in your coming in and in your going out when he said in John 10:9, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. He truly is the resurrection and the life!

Today we are looking at Exodus 12 to review the plague of Passover of the Death Angel, and how God made a way to spare the Israelites from death.

In addition, we will watch a video by David Guzik, centering on present-day Communion, and how it is related to the Passover—namely, Jesus Christ being our Passover Lamb!

Join us for guest evangelist Juanita Canavesio's study in 2 Kings 13:14 titled "How Much of God's Victory Do We Want? - There is a Whole Lot More!"

Join us for a study of Isaiah 6, where Isaiah encounters the Lord and is purified and commissioned to deliver a message to the people of Judah regarding the Babylonian captivity that will be repeated again by Christ during the Roman captivity.

God has a heart for the people of Israel, but as the Word says, whom He loves, He chastens. The message was that the people wouldn't see with the eyes, hear with their ears, or understand with their hearts (both in Isaiah's time, and again in Christs'), yet a remnant would arise who would embrace their Lord and Messiah.

Join us for our Sunday morning service, October 20, 2024, as we welcome an old friend of Calvary Temple - Juanita Canavesio.

In II Corinthians 3:18 the Bible says that we are being transformed into Christ’s image.  Many men of old walked with God and found favor with God; Enoch, Noah, Abraham.

We also must mature in the things of Christ the very same way the Children of Israel did—by doing his commandments, full immersion in his word, walking with him and, by loving one another. The Psalmist said the man whose delight is in the law of the lord is blessed and on his law he meditates day and night.

Sometimes the walk gets hard, and our faith will be tried and tested, but if we stay immersed in him, stay in love with him and with each other, he will produce a Christlikeness and maturity in us that we, and He will recognize. 

The writer of Hebrews 6:1-6 stresses the importance of knowing well the “elementary doctrines” of Christ.  Because if we haven’t mastered these, we cannot move on to more mature matters in Christ. 

Specifically,

·      Repentance from dead works

·      Faith toward God

·      Instructions about baptisms

·      The laying on of hands

·      The resurrection of the dead

·      Eternal Judgment 

The instruction is that we must grow up in Christ, because it’s impossible to restore those to repentance who have tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, tasted the goodness of the word of God, and the powers of the age to come and then deny God and fall away.  Advice we must heed.