10/20/15: The “I AM” Statements By Pastor Terry Gordon Jr.
The “I AM” Statements
Twenty-three times in all, we find our Lord’s “I AM” (ego eimi; Greek) in the Greek text of this
Gospel and here they are: John 4:26; 6:20,35,41,48,51; 8:12,18,24,28,58; 10:7,9,11,14;
11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1,5; 18:5,6,8. In several of these powerful statements He joins His “I
AM” with seven tremendous metaphors which are expressive of His relationship toward the
world, that of salvation and there is nothing more important.
The first one we come to is found in John 6:35; 6:41, 48, and 51. “I AM the Bread of Life.”
That is to say… the bread which gives life and preserves from death.
In John 6:26, Jesus emphasizes to the crowds which followed Him, were motivated by their
stomachs and the desire for food, rather than understanding the true spiritual purpose of
In John 6:2, Jesus rebukes the crowd for their materialistic views of His Kingdom. His
Kingdom was that of spiritual blessings and eternal life.
Next Month… “I AM the light of the world.”
Spirit Lead
Pastor Terry A. Gordon Jr.
10/13/15: “Staying Connected by Linda A. Skeen”—“Highway to Holiness”
10/13/15: The “Highway of Holiness”
Scripture tells us in Isaiah 35:8-10 there is a “highway” and a “road”.
- It reads, 8“A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be call the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it. But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with signing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
This “highway” was compared with the highway for the remnant of Israel in Isaiah 19:23. It was is as powerful as the highway that ran its way through the Red Sea as it parted in Exodus 14:29.
God prepared a “road” for the believers to follow straight onto the “highway” that leads us to Heaven. God pushes back the walls of trouble in our lives and prepares the way for us. (Isaiah 62:10) For the unbelievers (they who remain sinners) He says, “shall not pass over it”. (Isaiah 35:8)
Grace (Jesus) comes in following that scripture with… “Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.” This leaves us the hope of eternal life with the Lord although we are sometimes very foolish on the “road”.
Verse 9 of Isaiah 35 promises us (believers) that the lions and ravenous beasts can’t touch us and THERE WILL BE A DAY…that we won’t be sorrowful! That we won’t be tired! It will FLEE from us!
Our inheritance is the everlasting joy because we are the “ransomed of the Lord”!
10/3/15: “Walking in the Flesh…in the Sinful Ways of the World”
“Walking in the Flesh…in the Sinful Ways of the World”
The law can only show us our sin; it couldn’t save us. Jesus defeated sin by nailing it to the cross, putting
Sin, sickness, and disease were defeated at the cross. He was the perfect, “pure lamb” who was the
sacrifice for our sins; shedding His innocent blood. The blood of animals for years was the only temporary
nothing could wash away our sins permanently. We needed our savior, Jesus, to do this. His blood is
powerful. It conquered ALL!
He paid a debt He didn’t owe- our debt. He took the penalty for us so we wouldn’t have to. He became
sin. He took every sin, sickness, and disease upon Himself and put it to death on the cross. The price
was paid once and for all. It was our price to pay, but He paid it. (In full) Yet, we have to make a choice
to ask and receive forgiveness for our sins.
There are sins (ones we struggle with) which must be crucified.(put to death) Crucifying the flesh doesn’t
feel good, but the end result is life and peace. It was already crucified at the cross, but we must walk in it.
How do we walk in it? We walk in it by, His spirit. Filling our hearts, and minds with His word; prayer,
praise, and worship. You need to have a relationship, daily (moment by moment) with our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Knowing Him and abiding in Him. -Ref. John 15:1-9-
We must be filled with His spirit, the Holy Ghost, which is the power of God living inside of us; the same
power that raised Jesus from the dead.
This also changed Peter. He went from fearful and cowardly, to not afraid and full of boldness. He did not
fear man, only God in Holy reverence. –Ref. Matt. 26:33-35, 69-75; Acts.1:4-5, 8; Acts.2:1-4,14; Acts.
Our spirits are reborn, but we still live in a fleshly body, which we must bring into submission to God’s will.
This is putting to death the works of the flesh, desiring to have “Fruits of the Spirit.” (The character of
God) –Ref. Gal.5:16-25; Rom.8:1-12
Pastor Melany Blevins
9/25/15: “Staying Connected” by Pastor Linda A Skeen
“Staying Connected” by Pastor Linda A Skeen
Never Forget!
We can NEVER forget where we, ourselves, come from! Compassion as a Christian is
necessary!
The definition of the word “compassion” is by itself having “pity”. It is to be
sympathetic to someone’s sorrow or to have the ability of understanding or sharing the
feelings of another.
It could be something that is regret, or a loss… as in death. Sorrow is the state of
being in deep distress and can lead to a state of danger or to a great need. Whatever
the case, the subject of the strain has the ability to draw a lost sheep to The Shepherd.
We come to Jesus not because He is mighty, or because He can give us eternal life in
His Kingdom. Psalm 86:15 says, “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and
gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”
Matthew 9:36 says, “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with
compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no
shepherd.”
There are many other scriptures that we can refer to in order to guide us to the
conclusion of having compassion on others but the one we will leave with you has been
distinctly left for us as an example to model. Matthew 18:33 says, “Should you not also
have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” This of course
is referring to the parable of the unforgiving servant.
Anything other than forgiveness with compassion is ugly. We, ourselves, without
Christ’s compassion would spend an eternity in Hell.
9/8/15: The Blood of Jesus
“The Blood of Jesus”
Today we visit the writings of Saint John, the apostle whom Jesus loved…
It is 1 John 7:7 and reads as thus… “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. (KJV)
Clean is a word used by Hebrews to describe things that were ceremonially pure. (Lev. 11) In this particular verse the word cleaseth is used meaning, continues to cleanse us: to keep clean what is made clean. When we come to Christ, we are made clean by faith in His powerful work on the cross. Once justified, we can expect full redemption in His blood. Knowing this, we can live a life free from sin. Knowing that… if we do fall, the blood of Christ will wash us and continue to wash us; so we should never feel condemnation while living a repentant life style.
So tell everyone, about our precious savior who has made a way for us to be where He is.
Spirit Lead
Pastor Terry A. Gordon Jr.
