Love for God and One Another
Love for God and One Another
1 John 4:1-21
February 14, 2021
Senior Pastor, Dr. Janet Cook
©2020 Praysers Ministries, Inc. d.b.a. River of Life Community Church
Note: Unless otherwise indicated all scriptures are taken from the NKJV
Love for God and One Another
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess [a]that Jesus [b]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Knowing God Through Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Seeing God Through Love
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
The Consummation of Love
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love [c]Him because He first loved us.
Obedience by Faith
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, [d]how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Invitation to Abundant Life
Invitation to Abundant Life
February 7, 2021
Elder Sylvia Garza
©2020 Praysers Ministries, Inc. d.b.a. River of Life Community Church
Note: Unless otherwise indicated all scriptures are taken from the NKJV
Isaiah 55
Ver.1 Everyone; The Servant’s redemptive work and glorious kingdom are for the benefit for all who are willing to Come.
He is saying Come, come If you are thirsty. Here he is taking about a spiritual thirst. The prophet Isaiah is inviting everyone to participate of the benefits we have with no money at no price. Benefits of the Kingdom are free because of his redemptive work.
Ephesians 2:8,9 Says: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not that of yourselves, it is a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast.
Ver.2 Not bread This is the bread of deceit and not the bread of life.
Proverbs 20:17 Says: Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
John 6:32,35 says Jesus said to them. I tell you the truth it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my father who gives the bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Sir, they said, from now on give us this bread. Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
Ver.3 Everlasting Covenant – Sure Mercies of David
David had been promised and ending dynasty, one that would culminate in the Messiah assuring continuation of the nation.
God is calling to incline our ear, to sharpen our listening, to seek him. That promise he made David is the same for us God does not change or move away from us we are the ones that move away from him.
Ver. 6, 7 Seek the lord – Isaiah tells us to call on the Lord while he is near. God is not planning to move away from us, we erect a barrier between ourselves and him.
2Corinthians 6:1,2 says: We then, as workers together with him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says; In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation.
Ver.7 Forsake Part of seeking the Lord is turning from sin. Now is the time to draw closer to God. Don’t wait until you have drifted to far from him that it’s difficult to get back to him.
Isaiah 44:22 says I have swept you away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me for I have redeemed you.
Ver. 8, 9 My thoughts, my ways Israel was foolish to act as if they knew what God was thinking and planning. His knowledge and wisdom are far greater than man’s. We are foolish to try to fit God into our mold to make his purposes and plans conform to ours.
Psalm145: 3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise: his greatness no one can fathom
Ver.10, 11 Rain, snow, Gods word moisture from heaven accomplishes it’s intended purpose in helping meet our human physical need. God’s word will likewise produce its intended results fulfilling God’s spiritual purposes.
Isaiah 41:19,20 Says I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together. So that my people may see and know, may consider and understand that the holy One of Israel has created it.
Ver. 12 Go out with Joy be lead with peace. Israel will return from her dispersion rejoicing in her deliverance and unbothered by her enemies.
Isaiah 54:10-13 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed says the lord who has compassion on you. O afflicted one city lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. Your sons will be taught by the Lord and great will be your children’s peace.
Worship in Spirit and Truth
PPT Worship in Spirit and Truth
January 31, 2021
Senior Pastor, Dr. Janet Cook
©2020 Praysers Ministries, Inc. d.b.a. River of Life Community Church
Note: Unless otherwise indicated all scriptures are taken from the NKJV
John 4:23 – 24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
- Have you ever wondered if we are more concerned with what worship does for us and less concerned with the object of our worship?
- It seems like it’s more about what we get not what we give.
The time is now….
It is time to be aware of what God is seeking
Romans 12:1-3 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
- Worship is living a life that is sacrificial, holy and pleasing to God.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
1 Cor. 2:14 states that “the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God…because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Peter 2:4-5 “As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
APOSTOLIC KINGDOM PRAISE
Kingdom Praise is about God’s will.
Matt. 6:33 – Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.
- It is our primary purpose as the church of Jesus Christ to work in the Kingdom.
Our thinking must change from “How can God bless me today?” to “God, what do You want to accomplish in the earth today? What is the will of the King?”
Psalm 110:2 “The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!”
- When we praise the King He comes and He begins to rule in our worship.
The Prophetic Movement revealed to us the Warrior in Christ.
1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil.”
The Apostolic Movement is revealed the Ruler in Christ, The King of Glory.
Revelation 11:15 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
The warrior nature and the ruling nature go hand in hand in possessing and ruling the land. “Thy Kingdom Come…”
Exodus 15:1-4 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
The Prophetic Movement – birthed in 1980’s has the Church moving from a passive Church of wilderness wanderers to a mighty Church of Canaan-land conquerors through the revelation of warfare praise. The understanding that praise is a weapon of war is helping the Church to possess the promises of God and tear down strongholds through the power of praise.
Ps. 8:2 “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength (Praise), because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.”
Praise H5797 – From H5810; strength in various applications (force, security, majesty, praise): – boldness, loud, might, power, strength, strong.
The Apostolic Movement – “Present Truth” currently underway in the Body of Christ is restoring the principles of godly Church government on the foundations of the apostles and prophets so the Church can demonstrate the Kingdom of God throughout all the earth.
God has restored the Prophets and Apostles to the Body of Christ
Ephesians 4:11-13 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
- The saints can take place and the Church can grow up into Her destiny of maturity and unity.
Do Not Grow Weary in Well Doing!
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Biblical Justice Series Pt. 4 – Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly
PPT Biblical Justice Series – Part 4
Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Senior Pastor, Dr. Janet Cook
©2020 Praysers Ministries, Inc. d.b.a. River of Life Community Church
Note: Unless otherwise indicated all scriptures are taken from the NKJV
What does the Lord require of you?
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”
In prayer this week the Lord said to me, “I will not ask you to do anything that I do not give you the strength, ability and resources to do. I will teach you and show you the way.” (JKC)
The Spirit of Truth
John 16:12-13 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (NIV)
God is faithful in all things and faithful at all times.
Duet 7:9 Know therefore, the Lord they God, He is God, the faithful God.
2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
- God cannot be unfaithful. He is faithful, it is His nature.
Psalm 89:8 Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
“Nothing can be compared to the faithfulness of God. He never forgets, never fails, never falters, never forfeits His word. God not only keeps his promises, but he is also faithful to keep his threats.” (JKC)
The Lord Loves Justice
Psalm 37:28 For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
- God will not forsake His people
- God renders justice for His saints
Joshua took a definite stand for God.
Joshua 24:14-16 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! (NIV)
- We need to take a stand also and commit to do it God’s way.
The Lord Waits
Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
- The Lord longs to have mercy on you so he waits on you.
- The Lord waits for you to do something so that he can justifiably do something on your behalf.
All His Ways Are Justice
Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.”
- This is the first time God is called “the Rock” in Scripture.
“The expression denotes that the Divine power, faithfulness, and love, as revealed in Christ and the gospel, form a foundation which cannot be changed or moved, on which we may build our hopes of happiness. And under His protection we may find refuge from all our enemies, and in all our troubles.” Matthew Henry Commentary
“God is true. He is faithful in His relationship to his people. We can safely rely upon God. Faithfulness is an essential part of God’s divine character. We can say we accept this divine truth, but His people need to act upon it. We can expect God to do all that he has promised He would do.” (JK)
Heb 10:23 says He is faithful that promised.
“There are seasons in our lives that are not easy. Still God is faithful. In the good times praise his name and in the bad times do the same. In everything give the king of king all the praise.” (JKC)
Romans 8:24-28 from The Passion Translation
24 For this is the hope of our salvation. But hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have? 25 So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment.
26 And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede[a] on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs[b] too deep for words.
27 God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings,[c] yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.
28 So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.