Valley Gospel
A Pentecostal church experience.
Valley Gospel
God's Report
Have you ever questioned which parts of God's Word still apply today? In this thought-provoking message, we confront the fundamental question that has echoed through centuries: "Who has believed our report?"
Drawing from Isaiah 53's prophetic vision, we examine five crucial aspects of God's revealed truth that demand our complete acceptance rather than selective belief. The sermon challenges us to consider whether we truly believe God's report concerning salvation through Jesus alone, the continuing reality of spiritual gifts, divine healing, answered prayer, and the five-fold ministry.
The teaching presents a powerful case that Scripture comes not through private interpretation but through divine inspiration. "Men spoke from God, by the Holy Ghost," ensuring the Bible's perfect reliability in its original form. This foundation sets the stage for examining our faith in each key area.
Most compelling is the balanced approach to divine healing, where we learn that "all healing is divine to a believer," whether through medical professionals or supernatural intervention. This perspective bridges the false divide between "natural" and "spiritual" healing, recognizing God works through multiple channels to restore His people.
Particularly challenging is the examination of church practice through the lens of 1 Corinthians 14:26, revealing that biblical church gatherings should include not just teaching and worship, but also spiritual manifestations—a component many modern churches have abandoned.
The message culminates in worship celebrating that our God is able—capable of doing "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think." If you've struggled with partial belief or selective application of Scripture, this message offers a clarifying call to embrace God's complete report.
But not because of you, but because he is good and you will not have room to receive Him. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Our sole mission is to present the living truth of a risen Lord Jesus Christ to a remnant church and a lost world.
Speaker 2:Let's get into the service recorded live at Valley Gospel Church.
Speaker 3:Amen, chrissy, let's have an early start today. Okay, and I'm not sure why, just skipping through some of the Christian channels. It was a past inauguration in which Rick Warren spoke his invocation. I don't even had to be back in Obama's first or second term, but I heard him in his address reaching out to Islam and Hindus, and Jews, and Confucius and unbelievers, that all of them, regardless of their belief, they were secure in God's hands, that any of those and he listed all the religious, the religion's names, and said any of those can change your life and I guess, in the strictest sense of that phrase, maybe they can make you kinder or gentler or more loving. And all kind of belief systems and faiths abound in this nation in the world, but the one that changes your life for time and eternity, there is but one way. There is but one way. Our faith is not in generalities, in man's wisdom, in fads, in religions, in societal customs. Our faith must be laser focused on what I will call in this sermon this morning, god's report, his timeless truth revealed in his word, his holy Bible. The Bible is a treasure trove of wisdom, of revelation, of truth centered on one person, one person Genesis to Revelation. Centered on one person whose name is Jesus, the Christ. That's it.
Speaker 3:Initially, I asked Chris to read a single verse, but I want you to gain the context of this message. So, even though we're going to close with part of that, I want to start with it in case you're not off. So turn with Christi, please, to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. We're hanging out in Isaiah Colette. Isaiah 53. We're hanging out in Isaiah Colette.
Speaker 4:Isaiah 53, beginning with the first verse. Who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form, no comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him, stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Speaker 3:The prophet Isaiah called this his report, his report, and he lamented people's failure to believe that report. Today we're going to look at some key biblical issues and ask the same question that Isaiah asked do you believe God's report? Do you believe this is this report which is the title to this morning's message? The report, the report. Let's pray, heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you, lord, thank you for this old testament, glimpse into a new testament. Uh, understanding, lord, lord, help me to tie this all together as you would have it done, uh, between this prophetic word and and the reality of what we face and the issues we face today. Let today's word be a lamp unto our feet, a light to our path. It is in the name of your precious beloved Son we pray. Amen and amen, amen, please be seated. The prophet Isaiah proceeds in his God-inspired prophetic report, speaking on several facets of our great salvation that are found in Jesus Christ. We all recognize who Isaiah is prophesying about in those few passages. But he sets forth a caveat in his report that he delivers, that there will be those who will not believe. That there will be those who do not believe in the report that he shares. If you'll turn to 2 Peter 1. I'll get there. There we go. 2 Peter 1 and 20.
Speaker 3:Knowing this, first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of men, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost Above all. Above all, we understand that no prophecy of scripture, no report of no doctrine doctrine can came about by the prophets or by man's wisdom, didn't come. Oh, this is a good idea, let's do it this way, let's have this. It's of no private interpretation. And really, we look across the spectrum of religions today. We look across the spectrums of Christianity and their doctrines. Today, most of them are a private interpretation. That is what this denomination says we should do.
Speaker 3:So many times I've had to ask pastors, teachers, preachers, when they tell me well, this is what we believe. Well, where did you get it? Where did you? Can you give me chapter and verse, for what you say is a major component of your doctrine? Well, it came down it. And if it didn't come from here, I got to tell you it's worthless, it's without value. So how did scripture come into being? How did this come into being? Well, the Bible says men spoke from God, by the Holy Ghost. Men spoke. That's why Peter said no private interpretation. Men spoke what they received from God through an infilling, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Now, look some and you probably hear this all the time or from relatives that don't believe or friends.
Speaker 3:Well, there's so many trans translations. There's a whole, there's a lot of different translations and, if I'm being completely honest, some translations have some interpretive problems where they don't honor the original text or they take it out of context. But the Bible in its original form, in the Greek, in its original form, is perfect. It is without error. There is no error in the Bible. Well, no Translations may have issues, you know, and we have so many translations today I'm sure there are 10 translations addressed here today but in its original form it's perfect. And from I've been studying the Bible for some 45 years now and from my study, although I like to read a lot of the different translations, I find some of them really interesting and I like the way it uses modern terms. I believe the King James Version, or the New King James, is the closest to the original translation when you look back to the Greek manuscripts and understand it and, of course, me not reading Greek, I have to translate that as well, but I believe it to be close.
Speaker 3:And men like Isaiah and Jeremiah, peter, paul, john, heard from God and wrote what God revealed in what we call the Bible, in what Isaiah called God's report. God's report Bringing us to Isaiah's question to the nation of Israel, the timeless question through the ages, and the question that I will pose to each of you here this morning Do you believe God's report? Do you believe this? That's the bedrock here, because nothing else can happen in our relationship, in our Christianity, unless we believe his report. And what he gave me for this morning's message is do you believe his report pertaining to five issues, five tenets of faith, five principles upon which our Christianity is built? Do you believe his report pertaining to salvation? Do you believe his report pertaining to the gifts of the Spirit? Do you believe it in regard to divine healing how about answered prayer? And the fifth being the five-fold ministry in the church today? Those are five of the reports given in his work, many of them.
Speaker 3:There are many that we're not addressing in this report, but we'll look at these this morning. Firstly, do you believe his report that there is salvation in Jesus and Jesus alone. And I mentioned that, and I mentioned the inaugural address by Rick Warren because he said there's many ways to God, many ways we can get to God through any of those religions, maybe through a tree, a bush, a bee, a bird. Do you believe this report? Acts 16. All right, we're rolling now Acts 16 and 30.
Speaker 3:And brought them out and said Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. God has only one plan for the salvation of mankind. Angelic host, they said. They welcomed him back and they said so you left the care of the kingdom with 12 men and a handful of women. That's what you did. Yeah, that's what I did. Okay, tell us the backup plan, because you know what these people are going to do they're going to fail. What's the backup plan? There is no backup plan. There is no plan B. There are not many ways to God. There are not many Christs, as many teach today.
Speaker 3:A common teaching today is that all roads lead to Christ. They do not. I've even come to the point where I hesitate to use the term Christ. You all know what Christ means anointed one because we want to anoint others, and then they can have that title Christ. Because even though I, and I'm sure almost all of you, understand that that term, christ, is meant to be used in conjunction with the name Jesus the Christ or Jesus Christ, well, that was his last name, that was his family name. It wasn't Jesus the anointed one, amen.
Speaker 3:So many are telling us that we can find Christ in others, that we can find Christ in other deities, other systems of religion or belief system. I won't use the name, but perhaps the greatest evangelist of our time once said, prior to his death, that there are those who have never spoken the name of Jesus, but they'll be saved simply by their works and their faith in a God. And I pray it was only an old age misspeak, I do. I'm an old age misspeak, I do. Others say it's found. Christ can be found in angels or angelic beings or, in a word, we can speak it into being. We can just speak our salvation into being. Or we can find that Christ in a ministry or a church.
Speaker 3:But Peter says in Acts 4 that salvation is found nowhere else. Nowhere else we won't take the time to look it up, but it's Acts 4 and 12. For there is no other name under heaven given by which man can be saved, no other name, none. That's the only name by which we're saved. Believe in Jesus. Now, that's a bit of a bigger message there, in believing because the devil knows he's real but he's not saved. He knows who he is but he's not saved. So that's a little bit different, a little bit bigger.
Speaker 3:But look, jesus is not a concept, is the point that I want to make. He's not a type of Christ or one of many Christ. His name is Joshua, yahshua, hashem, hallelujah, jesu, jesus. Say it how in any language you want to. Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. He is Jesus of Nazareth. He was born of Mary, hallelujah. His dad was the Holy Ghost Glory. He was adopted by Joseph to be his dad. He is the bomb of Gilead. He is the rhema in the scepter, the Shiloh in the word. He's a lion of the tribe of Judah. That's who he is. His name is Jesus. He's the lily of the valley. He's the bright in the morning star. He's Jesus our King. He's Jesus our Redeemer. He's Jesus our Savior. He's Jesus, our returning champion.
Speaker 3:You see, it's only Jesus, because only Jesus endured the lash. Only Jesus allowed himself to be nailed to a tree. Only Jesus, hallelujah, was tortured and brutally murdered. Only he paid the price. Only he arose from. Listen to this. Only Jesus the Nazarene pursued death. You see, they think they talk about death overcame him and he died on Calvary, and I don't want to create an argument there. But Jesus pursued death. He chased it back to its dominion in the heart of Sheol. That's where he went to beat death and he came out leading captivity. Captive, hallelujah. Only Jesus put his sandal on the serpent's head and he wrote the inscription Tetelestai paid in full, it's finished, hallelujah.
Speaker 3:Have you believed God's report in regard to eternal life in Jesus Christ? Secondly, do you believe God's report as it pertains to spiritual gifts? First Corinthians First Corinthians 1. 7. 1 and 7. So that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that you come behind in no gift.
Speaker 3:Jesus began his church. I think we talked last week. The early church was called the. Ecclesia means the called out ones. The early church was called the Ecclesia means the called out ones. The Greek says with widespread manifestations. The early church, the Ecclesia, was with widespread manifestations of spiritual gifts, of gifts of the Holy Ghost, of healings and deliverance, wisdom, knowledge, catches of fish that tore the nets and overturned boats, and money that was found in fish's mouths Hallelujah, those gifts are the power of the church today, are the power of the church today. Well, pastor, don't you think that was for then? And you have to understand this. The modern church. We have microphones now. We don't need that.
Speaker 3:Romans 11, 29 says the gifts of God are irrevocable. Irrevocable Can't be taken away, can't pass away, they are irrevocable, they stand forever. He promised that you would have every benefit, denise, that you would have every benefit, denise, that you would have every weapon, every power of the Holy Ghost, until the very end. That's his promise. Not for the first century, not for a time or a period, not for a little bit, until we got the Bible or until we got microphones. You would have them until the end and they would be available to every believer. Just flip forward still in 1 Corinthians, 14., 14 and 26.
Speaker 3:How is it then, brethren, when you come together, every one of you has a psalm hath, a doctrine. Hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. Let all things be done unto edifying. This is really important. This might be the most important teaching that god has ever given me.
Speaker 3:That in the modern church, in today's church, in our church, in valley gospel church, this is an outline of what a church service should be comprised of. That's what was intended by the Lord, that's what was spoken by the apostle. Here there should be preaching of God's word, a word of instruction, a word of understanding, of discernment. There should be worship and music, worship and music, a hymn, a psalm, amen. There should be spiritual manifestations, supernatural manifestations, a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation, all for one purpose for the strengthening of the church, for the strengthening of the church, building ourselves up in our most holy faith. Today, most only well this is really a misstatement but most only practice.
Speaker 3:Two of those, and both the word and the worship are compromised across the spectrum. Worship isn't true worship. It doesn't touch the throne and the word is. Maybe we read one scripture and then go on to talk about what we had for lunch. They leave the third. Even if there is some component of worship in the word, they leave the third spiritual gifts to the first century. That's gone. That happened in the first century.
Speaker 3:For whatever reason that everybody cites, the apostle said all things must be done, didn't say one or two of them. It said all these things must be done in a church service. And all right, I'll get stuck here and I'll never leave. Let's leave it, judy to what your Aunt Hilda said. God said it. I believe it. That settles it. We'll just leave it alone.
Speaker 3:Number three do you believe his report concerning divine healing? All right, now we're going to get down to where we live, right? Psalms 103. Psalms 103.2. Hmm, let's start with one. Bless the Lord, o my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities and healeth all thy diseases, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. Let me say this to preface this part, and I got to tell you I don't know if this is a sermon or this is. I don't know what this is today, I really don't. All I know is that the Holy Ghost gave it to me, and let me preface this, and let me preface this All healing, all healing is divine to a believer, and if you open your minds, you'll see that this isn't hypocritical and that it's correct.
Speaker 3:All healing is divine, whether it comes through an MD, a dentist, an optometrist, a chiropractor or a surgeon. All healing is divine. Don't get stuck to where well, I really I don't understand people say well, they refuse medical treatment or we're not going to do this and unless the Lord specifically told you don't go to the doctor, I'm going to heal you. Unless he specifically said that to you and you're sure it's. Actually. It's actually an affront to the Lord to say, yeah, I'm not going to to a doctor. And you know, the people that withhold themselves from going to a doctor and won't take a surgery or a treatment or a drug in order to be well are the same people that wear eyeglasses and go to a dentist. I don't get it. I don't get it, but I won't take a pill. Or I won't go to see the doctor but they got bifocals on.
Speaker 3:Why wouldn't God just fix that Treatment, therapy, medication, if they're considered in prayer and as God's will for your well-being? You got to remember this. Everything that was made was made by God and placed here for your benefit, for his children. The appointment that you have with the doctor this week. It was already set up by God. He already has his hand in that. He's already got it, and maybe I and I get this all the time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but an atheist takes advantage of those same things. Why does? If this was all God's gift to his children? Why does an atheist take able to take advantage of those methods of healing? Well, he also, an atheist also uses the oxygen that we breathe, that God supplied. He also uses the sunlight that we bask in Amen. He uses the water that we consume, that God provided. Look God's glory. His provision is so powerful, so overwhelming, that it splashes everywhere. It hits everybody. We don't tie it to that well, it only take what so only Christians would be on this planet. That's not his way.
Speaker 3:In Mark 1 and 40, a man with leprosy came to Jesus, begged him that, if he would, he could make him whole, and, filled with compassion, jesus reached out his hand on this leprous man, touched the man and said I will Be whole. Be whole, be clean. How many of you believe that healing is for you today? However you receive it, however that healing comes about? Do you accept what Jesus said in Mark, that he was willing, or are we more like the leper that said if you would, I know you could? Which side do we lean on?
Speaker 3:Look, god heals two ways. He heals temporarily and takes our affliction away. I always, I always. You know someone that, lord, you need to heal me. You got to make. Eventually we're going to be unhealed, right. Eventually we're going to die. That's the deal. So, like, any healing that I would receive now is temporary and the permanent healing is well. The temporary is that he takes the affliction away from you. The permanent healing is when he takes you away from the aff. The permanent healing is when he takes you away from the reflection that maybe you think. Look, that healing might be for others.
Speaker 3:I like the testimonies. I love to hear people talk about someone who was healed, but but it's not for me. Jesus took our infirmities, jesus carried our diseases. Healing was a common experience in the early church. Healing, deliverance, healing should be common among believers today. Common among believers today. I believe we will see and are seeing an outpouring of supernatural healings in the latter day church. I believe we've only touched it, but I believe we're going to see an outpouring of healings like never before, maybe all the way back to the first century. He is the Lord that healeth thee.
Speaker 3:Do you believe God's report in respect to answered prayer? Answered prayer First John, wait a minute. First John, wait a minute. First John 5, 14. First John, 5, 14. And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him.
Speaker 3:Now this question is a little bit personal and quite deep and maybe a little bit revealing. Do you believe God's report that he wants to answer your prayer, that he hears and wants to answer your prayer, that he hears and wants to answer your prayer, or do we hope he does? We throw something up there and we hope that it comes to pass, but we really have no confidence or faith that it will. We don't really expect him to and maybe we don't even ask. You know, I say that all the time about prayer requests. Do we really even ask God regarding that prayer request? James says we don't have because we don't ask. That's pretty revealing. We don't have because we don't ask or we ask amiss.
Speaker 3:Matthew says if you believe, you'll receive. He states the fact. John says ask and you'll receive. We sang a song last week. I have come to receive of the Lord. Did we come to receive or did we come to hope?
Speaker 3:It might come to pass, that something might change, and really that's a huge part of why we gather together, of what church service is about. We come to church to receive a revelation, a word, an answer, an understanding from God in a situation we're going through or something that we face, that he'll make clear where we're at and he will reveal. So if we pray correctly, if we ask him correctly and directly Church, you would be surprised no, you'd be amazed at how consistently your prayers are answered. You know we think well, I got that one back then. I got that one when I got that 52-inch muskie. I got one. God is more interested in doing a work in you than for you, and I loved Weenie's testimony today because it speaks to just that. He's more interested in doing a work in her than for her. You got a doctor, they'll take care of it. It'll be good. I'm more interested in doing a work in you and what you might do for the kingdom.
Speaker 2:Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. We pray it was an encouragement and a blessing to you. You can contact us at Valley Gospel Church, 1069 Butler Logan Road, Springdale, Pennsylvania, 15144. We invite you to listen to this week's worship service that follows and tune in for next week's podcast.
Speaker 5:We heard this scripture already this morning Ephesians God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think. In the scriptures, god told Abraham is anything too hard for me? Job declared God, you could do all things. Jeremiah said ah, lord, god, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm, and nothing is too hard for you. God declares this about himself Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above anything that we could ask or think, anything that is humanly impossible. God is able. Amen, yes.
Speaker 1:God is able. He will never fail. He is almighty God, greater than all we need, greater than all we have.
Speaker 6:He has done great things. Lifted up, he defeated the grave Raised to life. Our God is able. In his name, we overcome. For the Lord, our God is able. God is with us, for he is on our side and he will make a way, far above all we know, far above all we hope. Lifted up, oh, he defeated the grave raised to life. Our god is able. Lift it up. He defeated the grave Raised to life. Our God is able. In his name, we overcome For the Lord, our God is able. Lifted up as though he defeated the grave Raised to life. Our God is able. In his name, we overcome For the Lord, our God is able, god is with us.
Speaker 1:He will go before he will never leave us.
Speaker 6:He will never leave us. God is for us. He has the open arms. He will never fail us. He will never fail us. God is with us. He will go before. He will never leave us. He will never leave us. God is for us. He has hope and arms. He will never fail us. He will never fail us.
Speaker 6:Lifted up, he defeated the grave Raised to life. Our God is able. In his name, oh, we overcome For the Lord, our God is able. Lift it up, oh, he defeated the grave, defeated the grave. Raised to life. Our God is able. We call his name the Lord and in his name, in his holy name, oh, we overcome. We will overcome For the Lord. Our God is able. Lift it up. He defeated the grave. Raised to life. Our God is able. In His name, we overcome, for the Lord, our God is able. Lift it up For the Lord, our God is able. Lifted up, we defeated the grave Raised to life. Our God is able. In his name, we overcome For the Lord. Our God is able. For the Lord, our God is able. For the Lord, our God is able.
Speaker 1:Praise you, jesus. I've heard people say that they were trying to find the Lord, searching for something they could feel, trying to figure out if Jesus was the Son of God and was the resurrection staged or real. When I'm asked just what I think did Jesus live or die? I just stand and boldly tell them what I think and why. Well, you can go down to a manger in the town called Calvary. Look for the Lord, but you won't find him Hanging on a tree. You can't go down to a garden when you'll see a borrowed tomb. Take a look inside, but all you'll find Is just an empty room. Jesus died, but he's not dead and he's coming one more time. He's alive. He's alive, lifted up.
Speaker 6:He's defeated the grave race to life. Our God is able. In his name, we overcome For the Lord, our God is able. Lift it up. He defeated the grave Raised to life. Our God is able. In his name, oh, we overcome For the Lord, our God is able. Lift it up. Oh, he defeated the grave. Oh, hallelujah, jesus Raised to life. Our God is able. We know your name, oh Lord, and in his name, in his holy name, oh, we overcome. We will overcome For the Lord, our God is able. Lift it up. He defeated the grave Raised to life. Our God is able. In his name, we overcome For the Lord, our God is able. Sing it again, able, lift it up. Oh, he defeated the grave. Praise to life. Our God is able and in his name, we overcome For the Lord, our God is able. For the Lord, our God is able. For the Lord, our God is able.