Brooklyn Tabernacle - Audio Sermons Feed

The more like Jesus we become, the harder things will be. The spirit of antichrist in this world picks up the scent of Christ that we carry and says, “I hate that.” But when Satan comes at us with a one-two punch, let’s consider what Jesus went through so that we won’t grow weary and lose heart. Christ died for us; He loves us. He’s going to help us.

Jesus suffered. So will we. But Jesus knew how to handle the pain He endured: He looked ahead to the joy before Him. He knew that His suffering would end—and that the reward would be worth it. No matter what we suffer in Christ—hardship, disappointment, temptation, onslaughts of Satan—let’s fix our eyes on Jesus. He rejoiced. So can we. It will be worth it all.

Do you need more of God’s power to live a life that glorifies Jesus and draws people to Him? We don’t get it by being tough. We get it by dying to self. In our weakness, God’s grace is enough—and His power is made perfect in us. As we get to the end of ourselves, we’ll begin to live—and the power of God in us will draw others to Jesus Christ.

What are you going through today? Problems, anxiety, heartache? Fix your eyes on Jesus. Not only is He the originator of faith, but He also helps us in our own races of faith. He knows that we can’t do anything on our own, and He helps us as we’re running our long marathons. Whatever your need, you can trust God to help you today.

We’re not the first people ever to believe. Think of it: we’re successors in the school of faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Samuel. That’s why Hebrews tells us, “The great men and women of faith went this way first. Remember what you’re part of! Throw off everything that hinders you, and run with perseverance.” Let’s keep running the race today.

We’re in a race. And Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run our race “with perseverance.” Not only that, but we also have to stay on the course “marked out for us.” Are you running on the track God wants you on? Or are you fighting cultural, political, racial, financial wars? We need to run with perseverance, and we need to stay on track—in the race of faith.

A lot of people don’t like the word “sin.” It’s negative. But Christians have to deal with this issue, because Hebrews tells us to throw off “the sin that so easily entangles.” Jesus didn’t save us so we would put up with sin but so we would overcome! Let’s pray and root for each other to avoid sin at all costs—by the grace of God.

Ever tried to run with a ten-pound weight on your back? It slows you down. That’s why the writer of Hebrews told us to throw off “everything that hinders.” Whatever slows us down—staring at our phones, binge-watching a show, getting likes on social media—let’s throw it off. We need endurance. Let’s get in shape spiritually.

God doesn’t live in a building. He lives in His people, both collectively and individually. But Satan attacks, seducing people through false teaching and inciting division in the church. That’s why God has given us gatekeepers to protect His temple. Let’s discern God’s Word and keep out of the church all that would contaminate the people of God.

Too many Christians today have lost sight of heaven. They’re earthly minded. But the real reward of faith is not here on earth. How could it be when some of the heroes of faith were sawn in two, or beaten half to death, or lived in holes in the ground? No, our reward is in heaven. God’s got something better for us than anything on this earth.

There’s a dichotomy in faith. Sometimes it delivers, and sometimes it says, “You’re going to go through a rough patch, but hold on. Keep your testimony. Keep believing. Your reward will be greater on the other side.” Yes, things are hard, but it’s not the end of the world. Let’s not fear when difficult times come. Our citizenship is in heaven, and it’s a lot better there than anything we have here.

Too many of us quake when we’re challenged about being a Christian. “Well, I go to church, but I’m really not into it that much.” But the heroes of Hebrews 11 faced “jeers and flogging, chains and imprisonment,” and they stood—by faith. Let’s stand for the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. He’s watching, and we will get our reward.

Before He left the earth, Jesus told His disciples, “Tell people about Me. That’s your mission.” Where were they to start? At home. It’s hard to talk about missions around the world if we don’t start right where we live. But they couldn’t do this without power—and neither can we. Let’s ask God to fill us with His Spirit so that we can be His witnesses, starting at home and then to the ends of the earth.

Have you ever heard a preacher say, “Just have faith, and you’ll never have trouble”? The Bible says the opposite. Faith is a mystery. Sometimes we’re delivered from trials—and sometimes we’re strengthened in our trials. Let’s not be knocked down by persecution. Let’s be strong in faith, like the Old Testament saints were. Our real hope is in heaven.

Jesus is coming back, and when He does, He will ask each of us one question: “What did you do with the gift that I gave you?” We all have different gifts. But t’s not how much we have; it’s what we do with what we have. Let’s not be lazy for Jesus, like the servant who buried his gift in the ground. Let’s use what we have for the Lord and hear Him say, “Good job, faithful servant!”

Do you believe in miracles? Jesus said, “Only believe. All things are possible,” and no scripture says that He’s changed that. In Hebrews 11, “women received back their dead.” It’s rare, and God is sovereign over healing, yet He calls us to believe. Or maybe you have a son or daughter who is dead in sin. God can save them. Let’s draw a line in the sand and believe the Lord to raise our children to life.

We never know what God can do until we step out by faith into battle. The Old Testament heroes of the faith became powerful, where? “In battle.” They trusted God for victory and said, “Let’s go face this.” What battles does the Lord want you to fight in ministry, in your family, in His calling on your life? Let’s find out how powerful God will be when we face them in faith.

God loves to take weak people and make them strong. How? By faith. We’re all weak. But when Satan berates us and says, “How can you live for God? That habit is too strong. You don’t know enough verses. How will you stand for Christ in that job when people mock you?” we can go to God and say, “God, You love to turn weakness into strength. By faith, I trust in You.” God will make us strong.

What mountain are you facing today? The Old Testament men and women of faith conquered kingdoms—not by weapons but by faith. For those kingdoms that have to come down in front of us today, let’s not feel sorry for ourselves, complain, give way to anxiety. Let’s face the challenges and trust God. Faith is the victory. It overcomes the world, conquers kingdoms, and gets what’s promised.

Nobody’s perfect. Not even the Old Testament people God commended in Hebrews 11—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah. But God so honors faith that He mentioned these people by name. What an encouragement to us. So we’ve failed. So we haven’t had faith. We can overcome our failures and obstacles—not by trying harder but by faith. With God nothing is impossible. Let’s try Him, and we’ll see.

We don’t like the “s” word: suffering. But James makes it clear that suffering comes to all of us. Here’s the good news: every problem has a purpose behind it. God uses our difficulties to develop our maturity. Like Joseph, in our suffering we can say to the enemy, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

What honors God? Not perfection. Rahab, a prostitute, was honored by God. Why? She risked her life to side with the Israelites—by faith. If God was honored by perfect holiness, who would He honor? We’re all sinners. Rahab had some things to straighten out, but she dared to stand by faith. Let’s be courageous and stand for Jesus today. Faith always has its reward.

Sometimes walking by faith means doing things that don’t make sense. God told Joshua, “March around Jericho silently for seven days. Then blow the trumpets and shout!” The people must have wondered how in the world that would give them victory. But they did it by faith. Has God asked you to do something that you don’t understand? Walk by faith and not by sight.

Are you discouraged, thinking that God doesn’t care about your need? Too often we lose our grip on faith, but Jesus empathizes with weaknesses! The enemy wants to steal God’s blessing on our lives, but we need to fight back by approaching God’s throne of grace. What’s your need today? Don’t lose your grip. God has enough power to move the mountains in your life.

Maybe today you are facing a Red Sea. It’s scary, yet you hear God saying, “Move on. Go! Trust Me.” But those walls of water on either side! Will they crash down? We want a guarantee that God will take us safely through, but He says, “March! Go forward by faith.” Don’t panic; keep your eyes on Jesus. The just shall live by faith.

Do you believe that Jesus’ blood is enough to cleanse you from your sin? When God told Moses to put the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts to be saved from the death angel, he had to believe God. And by faith he obeyed. If you too believe God and apply Jesus’ blood to your heart and conscience, no judgment will come upon you, because Christ bore your judgment. Let’s do it today.

Moses saw the invisible. How? By faith. Too often we look at our deteriorating situations, and we get anxious and nervous and despairing. But when our hearts perceive God as His Word becomes alive in us, we see Jesus, and we know that we know that He is with us. Don’t look just at what you see physically. Look at God today, and see what He can do.

The church today has lost its awareness of our glorious hope: Christ’s return and our going to heaven to be with Him. But Moses understood it, for Hebrews 11:26 says that “he was looking ahead to his reward.” He thought, “God has something better for me down the road, and I’m going to walk by faith, even if I suffer.” No hardship is worthy to be compared with the glory that God is preparing for us.

Identifying with Christ can mean difficulty. Are we willing for that? Moses was. By faith, he said, “No, I’m not Egyptian; I’m Hebrew,” even though it meant leaving the palace and joining the mistreated Israelites. But hardship is only for a season. Jesus is coming back to take us home! Let’s leave the pleasures of sin and identify with Jesus today.

Moses had it all. He was Pharaoh’s daughter’s son, after all. Then he realized, “Wait a minute. I’m a Hebrew.” So by faith he said, “I’m not identifying with what’s easy. I’m identifying with who I really am in God.” We Christians can be so tepid. Who are you—Democrat, Republican, white, black, southern, American? Or by faith will you boldly say, “No, I’m a Christian.” Let’s be courageous. Let’s walk by faith.

What did Jacob, Joseph, and Moses have in common? They were so sure of God’s promises that they acted in faith—even when the answers didn’t come until after they had died! When the invisible promises of God are made real to our hearts, and we know with absolute surety what God has said, we act on those promises. Let’s believe God with all our hearts and then do what He tells us to do.

We go to church; we read our Bibles; we pray. But in Psalm 50, we find out that even when we’re doing all the right things, God still calls us to account sometimes. Why? Because we forget to thank Him. God judges His people and says, “Don’t just give Me your regular routine. Sacrifice thank offerings to Me!” Let’s thank God every day, every hour, for every single thing He does for us.

Some of us don’t believe that God can reveal anything—and our church services reflect it. But just as God revealed blessings to Isaac, and Isaac spoke them over his sons by faith, so the Lord will speak to us too by His Spirit. We don’t want fake emotionalism, but we do want the faith that the Holy Spirit wants to create in us. Let’s expect God to bring the supernatural to bear in our daily living.

Abraham had waited years for a son, but then God said, “Offer Isaac to Me as a sacrifice.” What? But God was testing him—and he passed the test. When God asks us to do what makes no sense, we can reason, like Abraham did, “God promised me good, so I know that He will make this work. He will never fail in His promise to me.” Let’s glorify God with our faith, believing that He will bring us through.

What are you tolerating in your life that’s offending the Lord? Even as Christians, we put up with things that hurt us and hold us back. Yes, we should be tolerant of people, loving them, being patient with them. But as Jesus told the churches in the book of Revelation, we should never tolerate sin. If we love the Lord, we should love what He loves and hate what He hates.

Is heaven on your mind? When we don’t have faith, we settle down on this earth—and our hopes and fears go up and down with news headlines and the market numbers. But God wants us to walk above all that by faith, focused not on this world but on the kingdom of heaven. If you’re worried about politics or the economy, get heaven on your mind. Our great hope is going home to be with Jesus.

A lot of people don’t believe that Jesus is coming back again. You can tell by the way they live. But to the men and women of faith in Hebrews 11, heaven was so real that they lived as strangers and foreigners on Earth. Faith brings a consciousness of God, His promises, the value of a soul—the invisible things of eternity. We can live by sight, or we can live by faith. Let’s walk by faith.

The faith of Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child started with a promise from God. Faith is not “If I believe hard enough, it’ll happen” or dreaming something into existence. It has to be initiated by God. Then, when His promise is a long time coming, we can keep believing, because God said it would happen. What has God spoken to you? Believe Him today. God is good.

Everyone God has greatly used throughout church history has had to leave what they’re used to and go to a new place. Sometimes we get our definitions more from our church cultures than from God’s Word, and God says, “Leave.” That’s what He told Abraham—and John Wesley, and George Whitfield, and William Booth, and many others. To be used by God, we need to step out in faith.

Too many Christians are not just in the world, they’re of the world. But anyone who is walking with Jesus by faith is a pilgrim on this earth. We should never settle down in this world, because God has something far better for us! Like Abraham, we should be looking forward to the heavenly city God has promised us and be shaped by its values. This world is not our home; heaven is.

There’s one thing that always accompanies faith: obedience. Abraham had no idea how leaving home and going to an unknown land would work out, but when God asked him to do it, he obeyed. What is God asking us to do? Let’s do it. Like Abraham, let’s believe God so completely that we don’t just intellectually agree with Him but we act on our faith in Him.

When Abraham got to the promised land, you’d think he would have built himself a nice, big house to settle down in. But he lived in tents, like a stranger in a strange land, his entire life. Why? He was looking forward to heaven. The promises of God were more real to him than the earth around him. By faith, let’s live as strangers in this world. Soon we’ll go home and see Jesus.

The first thing God ever said to Abraham was, “Get out of town. I have great plans to bless you, but not where you are.” Not everyone should leave home, but the greatest stories in the Bible are about people who left the familiar to go to something God had for them. It might feel scary, but when we step out in faith to obey the Shepherd, goodness and mercy will follow us all our lives

What would you do if God told you, “Leave your home, your job, your church, and I’ll show you where to go”? We like security, predictability, five-year plans. But Abraham didn’t even have a five-minute plan! He obeyed God, not knowing where he was going. That’s not emotionalism or fanaticism. It’s true biblical faith. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.

Noah didn’t see any rain, but when God told him to build an ark, he did it. By faith, he was sure that if God had warned of a flood, there would be a flood. God has warned us too of judgment to come—and He has sent us an ark named Jesus. Are you in that ark? By faith, trust Jesus, and when judgment comes, He will be your salvation.

For many of us, God is a subject in our minds that we study. But God is not a subject. He’s a living person. He is. How few of us have a living God! Our lives would completely change if we walked in the faith that Jesus is with us—listening to us, watching us, directing us moment by moment. This isn’t mysticism. It’s the life that pleases God.

God can be made happy, and He can be made sad. So what displeases Him? When we walk in unbelief. “I’m never going to make it; the world is against me.” That’s not faith. God rewards those who trust Him and come to Him and pray, “God, I’m asking You to meet my needs.” Remember Paul’s statement of faith: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Let’s make God happy today.

Paul, the greatest Christian we know of, said, “Pray for me.” He had been to the third heaven and seen things he couldn’t even talk about, yet he asked ordinary Christians to pray for him and his ministry. How much more do we, pastors and lay people, need prayer? Let’s not let pride keep us from asking others to pray for us. As we ask, Jesus will work through us in power.

As Christians, we have faith that God has washed away our past sins. But we also need faith to live for God every day. Actually, we need to trust Him hour by hour—talking to Him, praising Him, walking with Him. If God can keep us for one hour, then He can keep us for the next hour! Enoch understood that, and that’s why God was pleased with Him. Let’s trust God every hour today.

Not everything we do in the name of God pleases Him. Hebrews 11 tells us that God was happy with Abel’s offering—but not Cain’s. Why? Because Abel gave his offering by faith. We can serve God mechanically, out of duty or routine, or we can serve Him by faith—leaning on Him, trusting Him, communing with Him. It’s not our service alone that pleases God but our faith.

What problem are you facing? If God created the entire universe just by speaking it into existence, then no problem of ours is so big that He can’t handle it. Our God, who created everything out of nothing, is even tender enough that He sent Jesus to die for us and to touch our hearts with His grace and love. God never says to us, “I can’t do that.” Nothing is impossible with Him.

God is impressed by one thing: faith. Never once did Jesus say, “Wow, is that guy smart!” or “Did you hear the woman sing?” Instead, He commended people like David, Abraham, and Sarah, not because they were perfect, but because of their faith. These people banked their lives on God’s promises—and so should we. What’s concerning you today? Give it to the Lord, and honor God with your faith.

Too often we say, “I prayed on Tuesday, and now it’s Thursday, and nothing’s happened. God, where are You?” But we need to be like the men and women in the Bible who were commended for their faith. They so trusted God, so received His word to them, that they banked their lives on it. We can be confident and assured that whatever God has spoken to us, it is real. He will bring it to pass.

God doesn’t commend our intelligence; He knows everything. He doesn’t commend our wealth; He owns everything. He doesn’t commend our talents or abilities; He gave them to us! But faith? Childlike trust? That means so much to God. Stop worrying. Don’t be afraid. Whatever you’re going through today, put your hand in the hand of Jesus Christ, and say, “Lord, You have this.” And He does.

The Christian life begins with faith—but it also has to be lived out by faith. In other words, we have to persevere in trusting Jesus and not shrink back. If it wasn’t possible for us to shrink back from faith, why would God warn us in both the Old and New Testaments to endure? We can choose to panic or try to solve our own problems, or we can choose to trust the Lord. Let’s live by faith and see God deliver us.

There’s some funny business going on in Christian theology today. Since the Protestant Reformation, no one has ever said, like many Christians do today, “Fulfill your destiny, your dreams.” No. They said, “Do the will of God.” Our dreams could be whacked. In any decision or plan we need to make, we should say, “Lord, let me do Your will.”

Have you ever worn a mask—acting one way in church and another way at home? That’s what the religious leaders of Jesus’ day did, and when Jesus called them out for it, they killed Him. We’re all guilty of hypocrisy in one way or another. But it doesn’t matter what people think; what matters is what God thinks. Whatever we’re going to be, let’s be real.

When you trusted in Jesus, did you know that were signing up not just for peace and joy but also for suffering, persecution, and rejection? But Hebrews 10:35 encourages us: “Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Our focus is on eternity! Are things shaky in your life? Hold on to God. The best is yet to come.

The Christianity of the Bible includes suffering. The early believers faced insults, persecution, the confiscation of their property—and they did it joyfully. Christianity isn’t measured by pleasure, money, possessions, or dreams and destinies. God give us the courage to say “Thank You, Jesus, that we are counted worthy to suffer for Your sake.”

Are you going through something hard and the enemy or some carnal Christian says, “What’s wrong with you? Look, if you aren’t getting well, there must be sin in your life," or, "You don’t have faith.” But the early believers went through a great conflict of suffering, and they endured. Problems don’t mean that you’re not right with God! Rejoice. If we endure with Christ, we will reign with Him.

Is it possible that a believer could fall away from the faith? Or is it once you’re saved, you’re always saved? The warning in Hebrews 10:26–31 is to believers—people who have experienced grace and are now insulting grace. But let’s remember, “The Lord will judge his people.” We aren't the judges. In the end, God’s going to settle everything.

Today’s passage is a warning—written to Christians. Why would God warn believers of judgment except to tell us, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”? As Warren Wiersbe said, there are just enough warnings in the Bible that if we think we are standing firm, we should be careful that we don’t fall. Whatever our theology is, let’s stay close to Jesus today.

Today’s passage is highly debated by those who believe that once you’re saved, you can never lose your salvation. Others point to this passage to say that salvation can be lost. As we consider this, let’s remember that others are people whom Christ died for. We can leave things with Him. If we show mercy, we will receive mercy.

What does Easter save us from? Hell. As believers in Christ, the sobering reality of people facing eternity without God should stir our hearts. Jesus said that the road to destruction is broad and that many are on it. May the love of Jesus in us compel us to courageously share His gospel with others so that they too can be saved from darkness and brought to light.

Anytime a believer forsakes gathering with other Christians, unless there’s a physical reason that he or she can’t meet, that person is on the road to ruin. The gathering of the saints is of vital importance! In the midst of a dark and evil culture, we need each other. If you’ve given up meeting with other believers, come back. You can encourage others—and you will be encouraged too.

The test of a real relationship with the Lord is how we get along with people. Some of us say, “I love God. I just can’t stand people.” But Christians are not to isolate themselves from others. We are to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” We can spur others to love just by loving them. Why don’t we do it today?

Everyone in this world can let you down—your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, your best friend, your spouse. But God can never let you down. Why? Because He who promised is faithful. Every promise God has made to us He will keep! Let’s persevere in our faith, holding fast to the hope we have in Jesus.

What will ruin your day? A guilty conscience. But praise God, we can be free of a conscience that’s condemning us through the sprinkled blood of Jesus. Let’s walk in the light, confessing any known sins, and claim the power of the blood of Jesus Christ to keep our consciences clean.

God asks us to draw near to Him. What a privilege! But the fact that God asks us to come to Him means that we can be Christians and not be living near to Him. We can be distant, aloof, preoccupied with everything but the main thing. Do you need a fresh encounter with Jesus? Make the main thing the main thing today.

Do you want communion with God? Then you’ve got to have full assurance that you have a clean conscience. But this is easier said than done. If you are bound by guilt or some sin from the past, you who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are forgiven, and God has forgotten your sin. You can live today in newness of life, with a clear conscience and a heart sprinkled with the blood of Christ.

Satan says to us, “Think about your sins every day. God remembers them, and He has it in for you.” But God says, “Their sins I will remember no more.” What a gift! If you are being attacked about what you did, what you said, what mistake you made, accept God’s forgiveness, and let His peace and joy flood your soul.

Are you confident to enter the most holy place—the presence of our holy, perfect God? You should be, because Jesus opened up the way for us by His blood and His broken body. We get caught up in, “I met a movie star!” But because of what Jesus did, we who are weak and faulty can be with Almighty God! Since we have this new and living way, why not enjoy it?

Satan says to us, “Think about your sins every day. God remembers them, and He has it in for you.” But God says, “Their sins I will remember no more.” What a gift! If you are being attacked about what you did, what you said, what mistake you made, accept God’s forgiveness, and let His peace and joy flood your soul.

We can’t improve, no matter how hard we try. What we need is for God to put new hearts within us! That’s what the new covenant is all about. Instead of us fighting against our selfish nature, God puts His laws in our hearts and gives us a willingness to please Him. It’s not, “Come on, do better.” No, the Holy Spirit works in us, giving us new hearts to live out of. Praise God.

Waiting can be hard. But it might encourage us to remember that Jesus understands waiting. He waits today in heaven for the Father to say, “Go back to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords, make Your enemies Your footstool, and bring Your people to heaven.” Waiting is the ultimate sign of faith. Let’s wait with our Lord today, whatever our need might be. As we do, He will renew our strength.

Do you find it hard to extend mercy to people who curse God? Jesus doesn’t. After He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, Jesus didn’t obliterate His enemies. Instead He sat down at God’s right hand, where He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool. While He waits, the gospel is going out, and even persecutors of Jesus are being saved and transformed. Praise God for His amazing grace.

“I want to follow my destiny.” How many of us have heard that said? But when Jesus came to establish the new covenant, He said to His Father, “I have come to do Your will.” Destiny and dreams are not what the New Testament highlights. No, it says that he or she who does the will of God will abide forever. Let’s ask God to help us do His will today, wherever that might lead us.

The gospel is so simple. It’s just, “Behold, the Lamb of God. One look at Jesus will save you.” Religion imposes rules and rituals, but when Christ came into the world to pay the price for our sins, God did away with all that. We don’t need complicated teachings and practices. We just need Jesus and Him crucified.

Sin is so ugly. If you want to know how bad sin is, look at what Christ suffered on the cross. Many of us think that we are basically good people, but sin is so serious that the blood of animals couldn’t pay the price for it—only the blood of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, could save us. Let’s love Jesus for the great love He showed us first.

A lot of people don’t like to hear about the inferiority of the Old Testament. But the Word of God says that the Mosaic law is only a shadow, not the reality itself. The reality is Jesus! He calls us much higher than the Old Testament. Let’s serve God today not in the old letter of the law but in the newness of the Spirit, who gives us life.

How many of us who follow Jesus long for His return? Some of us are so locked into the things of this world that we don’t anticipate the coming of Christ. But Hebrews says that Jesus is coming back “to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Let’s be like the early Christians, who looked up every morning and said, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Let this be the day.”

People laugh at the idea of sin: “Don’t judge me! I do what I feel.” But Hebrews says that when we die, God will judge us. Those who reject Jesus will hear, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.” But those who put their faith in Jesus will be saved, because our sin was already judged when Jesus died on the cross. Have you put your faith in the Lord? You can do it today.

Jesus’ rule of life was one thing: find God’s will and do it. Yet the idea of yielding to the Lordship of Christ is foreign to many Christians. Are you on your own errand instead of God’s? God has plans for you! Live close to Him, and He’ll whisper them to you. Like Jesus, let’s find out what God wants us to do and be faithful to do what He says.