Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

Two miracles of Jesus demonstrate how we can walk in victory over the power of sin, circumstances and satan: (1) The crossing to the other side of Galilee through a storm, and (2) Walking on the Water. God has called us to be overcomers, who go over, not under!

There are 2 ingredients to every miracle of God: (1) God's SPIRIT and WORD, which are the active agents of the miracle, and (2) a receptive VOID, which is necessary to receive a miracle. This is illustrated with a number of examples.

The Sacrifice of Praise is when we thank God before we see the answer or manifestation, based on His Promise and His Name (Hebrews 13:15). This opens up a spiritual highway through which God can move (Psalm 50:23), as seen in Jehoshaphat's victory over a massive enemy army (2Chronicles 20), and Jonah's deliverance from the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2), and what happened to Paul and Silas when they prayed and sung praises in prison at midnight (Acts 16).

The Spirit of Faith is described in 2 Corinthians 4:13: "we (1) BELIEVE and therefore (2) SPEAK." Derek shares about (1) believing God's Word with our heart, and then (2) speaking it forth with our lips.

The Beauty of the Lord is His Holiness - the sum and perfection of His moral attributes. When we trust in God and surrender to Him, He imparts His holiness to us through His Holy Spirit.

One common objection to the claim that it is God’s will to heal His people is Paul’s THORN in the FLESH. Many say that it was a sickness that God gave Paul to keep him humble, and that when Paul asked to be healed God said 'No.' In this video, Derek proves that this interpretation is wrong. The key questions are: (1) what is Paul’s Thorn?, and (2) where did it come from - from God or the devil? The answers are made clear in God's Word. We also explore the significance of God's answer to Paul: "“My GRACE is sufficient for you, for My STRENGTH is made perfect in WEAKNESS.” We also see how this principle was demonstrated in Paul's life, when he was stoned to death.

Israel's sin resulted in her capital city being sieged by the Syrians and experiencing serious famine. When the king repented, Elijah prophesied that within 24 hours, the siege would be lifted and Israel would possess abundant provisions. However, this promise could only come to pass if God's people believed His Word and acted on it. We see how God brought His Word to pass through 4 heroes of faith, namely 4 lepers, who rose up at twilight, and marched their March of Faith to the Syrian camp.

When the lepers acted (marched) on the Word of God, then God’s power was released. When the 4 lepers marched, God’s army marched with them, and as a result, the enemy fled in terror and victory was assured! It was only when they acted in faith, walking on the Word of God, that Heaven marched with them, resulting in total victory and abundant provision.

Likewise, for God’s promises to be fulfilled in our life, we must rise up out of passivity, and do what God tells us to do, and march our March of Faith. When we arise and march our March of Faith, walking on the Word of God, we are not marching alone, because God and His army will march with us, causing the enemy to flee in terror before us, and bringing us into the full possession of His promise. If the 4 lepers could do it, then so can we!

God wants us to live today to the fullest. God has designed us to live ONE DAY at a TIME. A great life is made up of lots of good days. We need to learn from the past and plan for the future, but we need to learn to LIVE in the NOW. He wants us to focus all our energies into TODAY. The best way you can prepare for tomorrow is by living today well.

In this teaching we look at the healing of a leper (Luke 5:12-15). This is the first of 4 Messianic Miracles, which were specific signs of the Messiah. The others are casting out a dumb spirit, healing of a man born blind, and resurrection after 3 days - the sign of Jonah. The special significance and symbolism of Leprosy in the Bible explains why it was a Messianic Miracle. God uses leprosy to teach us about sin. That’s why it was treated differently from all other sicknesses. Leprosy is a picture of sin (Isaiah 1:18), which is why the Bible only talks about the cleansing of a leper. Derek shares how leprosy is a picture of sin. The healing of a leper is a picture of Messiah saving us from sin, for we were all spiritual lepers. Since only Messiah can save us from our sin, it was appropriate that only Messiah can cleanse lepers, which is why it was a Messianic Miracle, so when Jesus healed lepers it was a special sign proving He was the Messiah. The cleansing of the leper in Mark 1:40-44 is a picture of how a sinner receives salvation from the Lord, who is full of compassion for us.

2 chapters are devoted to what the priests should do with lepers. Leviticus 13 told them how to diagnose leprosy. Leviticus 14 told them what to do when a leper was healed. While the priests constantly practiced Leviticus 13, they never practiced Leviticus 14, for no leper was ever healed in Israel! They came to conclude that only Messiah will heal lepers. There was a prescribed Ceremony for leprosy that was ordained in the Leviticus 14, that the priests had to fulfil whenever a leper was healed. When Jesus sent the leper to go to the priests to verify his healing and perform the Ceremony, that was a testimony to them that the Messiah was on the scene. This Ceremony which involved 2 BIRDS. It revealed the basis upon which leper was healed (Leviticus 14:1-7). This Ceremony gives us a wonderful picture of the Atonement of Christ. God is declaring that the cleansing and healing of the leper was accomplished through the Atonement. Since leprosy represents both (1) sin and (2) sickness, this Ceremony shows both (1) that we are CLEANSED from SIN, and (2) that we are HEALED from SICKNESS through the ATONEMENT of Christ. This confirms that Healing is in the Atonement. Healing from sickness and cleansing from sin is only possible through Christ's Atonement - that is what the ceremonial Law of the Leper proclaimed.

Isaiah 12 is a prophetic song describing how New Covenant believers have a spring of everlasting life within them. Derek explains how we can draw water from these springs of salvation by praise, prayer, witnessing, singing and shouting.