Tag: The Minor Prophets

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Sermon Audio: Malachi: God Speaks We Listen
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Malachi 1-4
Duration: 20:38
Size: 10.1 MB

The Minor Prophets
Malachi: God Speaks We Listen
Malachi 1-4

The interesting part about this book is that each time God speaks, the people responded with a rebuttal–a question of defense or denial.

They have turned cold towards God and the things of God. God has lost His place in their heart and lives.

God is actively engaging with His people in a personal and loving way. He is communicating, but are His people listening.

It is not so much a matter of IF God is speaking, but rather, whether we are listening.

It is those little sounds, soft and inward, quite imperceptible sometimes, that distracts us from distinguishing God’s Word.

Guard those short spans of time you have when you are alone and not doing anything, like commuting from home to work.

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Sermon Audio: Zechariah: Empowered By His Spirit
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Zechariah 1-14
Duration: 21:58
Size: 10.1 MB

The Minor Prophets
Zechariah: Empowered By His Spirit
Zechariah 1-14

Zechariah encourages the nation to respond to her privileged, covenantal relationship with God by rebuilding the Temple and returning to the worship of God in the light of a glorious future when their Messiah comes and establishes His Kingdom.

If it is God’s will and God’s work, then only through the power of His Spirit can it be done.

God’s work is done through our human efforts but not by our efforts.

The lamp-stand in the Scriptures generally depicts the church, believers in Christ.

The Lord says, any challenges you face, any obstacles to My plan, as great as a “mighty mountain” (4:7), will be removed.

Focus on His promise and not the problem. Choose to look to God. He will always be there

You cannot be too small for God to use; you can be too big for Him to use.

God removes the obstacles and turns our small gifts into wonderful things that can be used to please Him and glorify His Name.

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Sermon Audio: Haggai: Establishing Priorities
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Haggai 1-2
Duration: 23:31
Size: 11.1 MB

The Minor Prophets
Haggai: Establishing Priorities
Haggai 1-2

Haggai spoke to the Israelites that had returned after 70 years of captivity.

Nothing was done to rebuild the house of God and the people have become apathetic and complacent.

Without the Temple of God, there won’t be the worship of God. And without the worship of God, the people are left without a spiritual compass.

There is something here for us to think about: We always seem to find the time for the things we really care about.

At its core, the real issue is not about time; it is an issue of priorities.

If we try to go for these without God, we can never be fulfilled.

Seek the Blesser and you’ll have the blessings. Seek the blessings (things of this world) and you may miss the Blesser.

Don’t be too concerned about the looks, the number of people, or the size of the church. Be concerned rather with the Glory of God.

We live for the audience of One. In everything we do, we glorify our heavenly Father!

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Sermon Audio: Zephaniah: The Three Lies We’ve Believed
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Zephaniah 1-3
Duration: 22:57
Size: 11.1 MB

The Minor Prophets
Zephaniah: The Three Lies We’ve Believed
Zephaniah 1-3

The key to this book is the phrase “the Day of the Lord.” It’s a common phrase used in the prophetic books but Zephaniah used it more than any other prophet.

Complacency looks harmless but it is deadly. Man will self-destruct eventually, if nothing is done to arrest this digression (or regression).

God wants us to live the way He has intended, so that we can enjoy life to its fullest–one that is good, abundant, righteous and free from sin.

This is the attitude the Lord is looking for. Stay humble and seek God.

The truth is we all need Him. Be humble and seek Him. Don’t lean on self-confidence, it cannot give you success.

Those who throw themselves before God and ask for mercy will get it.

One writer sums it well: God will intervene in history, even catastrophically, to judge humanity’s complacency and indifference, and to restore men to the conditions of blessing that He originally intended for them to enjoy.

God is no different today than He was then. We would do well to seek Him first, in every area of our lives.

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Sermon Audio: Habakkuk: God of the Unexpected
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Habakkuk 1-3
Duration: 21:45
Size: 10.6 MB

The Minor Prophets
Habakkuk: God of the Unexpected
Habakkuk 1-3

Israel has fallen and Habakkuk ministers in Judah and struggles with the problem of evil in his days.

The structure is simple–Habakkuk complains to God, God answers him, he launches into a second complaint, God replies and then he responds with a song of worship.

We can pour out your heart to God without fear. The Psalmists do that often–1/3 of the Psalms are laments–expressing frustrations, disappointments and even anger towards God.

Time does not work against God. It works against us–we rush for time, we fight against time, we try to beat the clock.

The Babylonians had just defeated the Assyrians, and the Lord is going to use them against Judah.

Even if we do not understand, can we trust Him enough not to put any expectations on Him?

This is the reason why we can trust Him even though we do not fully understand or agree with His ways.

Habakkuk is not trying to be optimistic. The challenges are there, but he is willing to trust God and put his hope in God.

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Sermon Audio: Nahum: The Wrath of God
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Nahum 1-3
Duration: 18:41
Size: 8.96 MB

The Minor Prophets
Nahum: The Wrath of God
Nahum 1-3

The book of Nahum comes some one hundred years after the prophecy of Jonah.

It’s obvious that God has intended these messages to be heard by His people. God is consoling His people.

God is delaying sentencing, so that man will have a chance.

Life will always have its troubles and struggles, but circumstances don’t define our life.

It is certainly true that God loves the sinner but hates his sin, as we sometimes say. But that is only part of the story.

You cannot just preach the God of wrath without the God of love, but the wrath of God grows out of his love, is a manifestation of his love.

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Sermon Audio: Micah: True Worship
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Micah 1-7
Duration: 22:30
Size: 10.3 MB

The Minor Prophets
Micah: True Worship
Micah 1-7

We need to be deliberate in making time for God, to think about His Word, His workings in our lives, and His concerns.

They have all the outward forms, but their hearts were far from God.

God says, the best worship you can give Me is not the offering of the best calves or the most, thousands of ram, but to do what I have shown you.

If worship is an encounter with Christ, then it happens every day and everywhere.

The poor and needy are always on God’s radar screen. People are God’s concern.

If the Lord dwells in my heart, and is the Lord seated on the throne of my heart, then I am an agent of change for my world!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:34 — 11.1MB)

Sermon Audio: Jonah: Merciful God
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Jonah 1-4
Duration: 22:34
Size: 11.0 MB

The Minor Prophets
Jonah: Merciful God
Jonah 1-4

God is eager to forgive. He is glad that people are given second chances.

Whether the prophet comprehends God’s mercy is left unknown.

God is the God of the second chances. In fact, God creates the second chances.

God is relentless in giving His people warnings and opportunities to repent.

The fact that the people of Nineveh are alive, that sinners are alive and well today, is because God is holding off His judgement through mercy.

Jesus came showing mercy and lives were changed.

We pray that our hearts will be filled with His love, so that His mercy and grace can flow, unhindered by our pride and prejudice.

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Sermon Audio: Obadiah: The Pride of Your Heart
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Obadiah 1-21
Duration: 21:26
Size: 10.2 MB

The Minor Prophets
Obadiah: The Pride of Your Heart
Obadiah 1-21

Obadiah reveals God’s stern words to Edom, a nation South of Judah.

The trouble with Esau and his descendants was pride. Obadiah states, “The pride of your heart has deceived you”.

We are self-sufficient when we think or feel that we’re in charge, and that our future is in our hands.

It is sometimes good for us to experience this sense of helplessness, because then we will know that we need God.

Their pride blinds them to the needs of their fellow brothers in Jerusalem.

We are taught by Jesus not to rejoice over the downfall of our enemies, but to love them and pray for those who persecute us.

It is clear from this passage that being apathetic is an issue to God.

Man is called to humble himself before Almighty God. There is hope for those who keep their trust in God.

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Sermon Audio: Amos: Enduring Grace
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Amos 1-9
Duration: 22:20
Size: 10.9 MB

The Minor Prophets
Amos: Enduring Grace
Amos 1-9

Amos saw a vision–God standing by a wall that has been built true and straight.

So, Amos came and lifted up, in a sense, a mirror for them to look at themselves and judge for themselves.

God was telling them, if they continue to go down this road, they would face dire consequences.

God will not punish without warning.

God never condemns anyone. John 3:17 tells us very clearly. Jesus came in our world to save us, not to condemn us.

God does that in our lives, giving us His messages through friends, sermons, experiences we had, to remind us of our need to return to Him.

The book of Amos is the call of God for man to return to Him and His ways.

The Bible is the revelation of God–His being and His doings, His will and His ways.