Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

A big hindrance to faith is CONDEMNATION (sin consciousness, guilt, shame and inferiority). So we must bring these things to God, confess our sins, and receive His forgiveness and cleansing by faith (1John 1:9)! Then, we overcome the accuser by pleading (declaring our faith in) the Blood of Jesus.

Isaiah 53 describes what Jesus did for us on the Cross of Calvary. Verse1 says the Arm (power) of the Lord is revealed to those who believe the Report of Isaiah 53. This Report declares that the Messiah took our SICKNESSES as well as our SINS (v4), so that we might be forgiven and made whole.

The DILIGENT take responsibility for their lives, and are quick to do what they ought to do, avoiding excuses to delay. The sloth is passive and weak, unwilling to act until he 'feels' like it, so he gets stuck in a rut, and blames others for his failures. Derek shares 10 practical Steps for developing Diligence.

To be SLOTHFUL is to KNOW what to do, but be SLOW to do it (like a sloth). The opposite attitude to cultivate is DILIGENCE. A sloth waits for perfect conditions and feelings before acting, rather than just doing it. The result is failure and disorder. The Book of Proverbs helps us to overcome our slothfulness.

What is a true saving faith? Is it just believing in the Gospel? Can you receive and trust in Jesus as your Saviour without receiving and submitting to Him as your Lord? Since sin is rebellion against God, can we be saved without submitting to God? What is the repentance God requires for us to be saved?

At the heart of the Bible is the Divine Romance, pictured by the love story in the Song of Songs. We see how Jesus our Bridegroom fulfils the Jewish marriage customs, in winning and marrying His Bride. The Bride must now prepare herself for the soon Coming of her Divine Lover as the Morning Star.

The classic Temple Mount is in perfect harmony with the Biblical data, in contrast to the City of David theory (e.g.1Kings 8:2-6). Derek answers its 5 main arguments: (1) The Temple is in Zion, (2) Jesus' Prophecy (Matt 24:1-2), (3) Gihon Spring, (4) Josephus, & (5) the small cultic area in the City of David.

Although the classic Temple Mount has always been accepted as the true location of the Temple, a new theory by Ernest Martin claims it was in the City of David. However, the Biblical origins of the Temple with Abraham (Gen 22), David (1Chron 21), and Solomon (2Chron 3:1) disprove this theory.

Derek shares the history of the Temple and its importance, and how God will use it in the Tribulation to call Israel to faith in Christ, before antichrist desecrates it. Today it is at the centre of a great spiritual warfare, part of which involves a recent theory challenging its accepted location, which Derek refutes.

Pastor Derek concludes this Series by describing the sequence of events at the Lord's Return, the Judgments and Resurrections in the 40-day Interval that immediately follows, the Millennium, the Final Rebellion, the Destruction of the Universe, the Great White Throne and the Lake of Fire, and the Eternal State.