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

The Spirit of Faith is described in 2 Corinthians 4:13: "we (1) BELIEVE and therefore (2) SPEAK." Pastor Derek shares about (1) believing God's Word with our heart, and then (2) speaking it forth with our lips. Faith in Jesus Christ connects us with God and His grace. We see how we express and release our faith through words and actions. This message emphasises the importance of our submission to God and of boldly speaking our faith.

Pastor Derek shares the dramatic story of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead after 4 days in John 11, a great prophetic Sign of His victory over both spiritual and physical death. By this Messianic Miracle, Jesus validated His claim to be (1) the Resurrection and (2) the Life, the One who will raise us from both (1) physical and (2) spiritual death, if we believe (trust) in Him.

Join Pastor Derek Walker of the Oxford Bible Church as he delves into John 4, exploring the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Discover the profound lessons on spiritual rebirth, overcoming barriers, and the promise of living water through the Holy Spirit. This teaching highlights the inclusive nature of Christ's message, offering salvation to all and emphasising the New Covenant of worship in spirit and truth.

Join Pastor Derek Walker from the Oxford Bible Church as he delves into the concept of spiritual rebirth, exploring Jesus' teaching in John 3, and how they relate to His first miracle of turning water into wine. Derek shares how God accomplished the rebirth of our spirit in the New Birth, and describes the nature of our New Man (our regenerated spirit). Learn about the role of the Holy Spirit in the new birth and the importance of accepting Jesus as your Saviour. This enlightening sermon is a deep dive into the Christian doctrine of being born again and how it shapes the life of believers.

Join Pastor Derek as he delves into the story of Jesus' first miracle: turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. This video explores the significance of this event as a sign of Jesus' divine power and its meaning for believers. Discover how this miracle symbolises transformation and the abundant life offered through faith in Christ. Pastor Walker explains the spiritual message behind the miracle, encouraging viewers to invite Jesus into their lives for a personal transformation. The first sign-miracle of Jesus in John 2 was turning water into wine, which was a demonstration of what He will do for us if we believe in Him. This is a picture of our New Birth and our ongoing transformation by the Spirit of God. The way this miracle happened shows that we must give Jesus the right to turn our water into wine, by submitting to His Lordship.

Join Pastor Derek Walker of the Oxford Bible Church as he delves into 2 miraculous events from the life of Jesus, illustrating how these miracles teach us to walk in victory over sin, satan, and circumstances. Discover the deep spiritual lessons behind Jesus calming the storm and walking on water, and learn how these acts of faith can empower us to overcome life's challenges through the Power of God's Word. 2 miracles of Jesus demonstrate how we can walk in victory over the power of sin, circumstances and satan: (1) The crossing to the other side of Galilee through a storm, and (2) Walking on the Water. God has called us to be overcomers, who go over, not under!

Join Pastor Derek Walker of the Oxford Bible Church as he explores the profound theme of Miracles and Voids. This insightful sermon delves into how God performs miracles in our lives, emphasising the importance of creating voids for His Word & Spirit to fill. Discover how to prepare your heart to receive God's blessings and experience spiritual growth. God works miracles in our lives by His Word and Spirit, but He also requires the presence of a receptive VOID in us, into which He can speak and which He can fill with His life. So, there are 2 ingredients to every miracle of God: (1) God's SPIRIT and WORD, which are the active agents of the miracle, and (2) a receptive VOID, which is necessary to receive a miracle. This is illustrated with a number of examples.

Join Pastor Derek Walker and host Howard in this engaging Q&A session, tackling a wide array of religious and societal topics. From the role of Christianity in modern politics to the historical significance of biblical events, this episode offers profound insights and discussions. Key topics include the impact of recent political decisions on religious communities, the interpretation of biblical prophecies, and the challenges of living a faith-based life in today's world. Tune in for thoughtful perspectives and spiritual guidance.

All Temples give God’s blueprint for us as His ultimate Temples. Man fell into sin & lost God’s Presence, but He’s restoring us to be His Temples – He’ll dwell within us & shine out of us forever. All the different Temples encode different aspects of His ultimate Temple, each providing a piece of the puzzle. We get the whole picture by putting together the revelation from them all. (1) Our SPIRIT = HOLY of HOLIES, (2) our SOUL = HOLY PLACE, (3) our BODY = OUTER COURT. We’re made with His THRONE in our SPIRIT to live under His authority. When we receive Christ & He’s enthroned within us, we discover our true identity, ability & personality, for His Spirit of grace flows from His throne to fill & transform our souls & empower us to do His will & be fruitful. Christ is the perfect human Temple; God was enthroned in His spirit and His Spirit filled His soul & flowed out of Him. But we were born spiritually dead, so His Spirit did not indwell us. Christ came to make us into true Temples, like Him. So, He died as our SIN OFFERING to take away our sins, and as our BURNT OFFERING to give us His perfect righteousness. Mercy Seat = ‘Place of Propitiation’ where God’s righteous judgment is fully satisfied by the Blood. He sees the Blood & declares us forgiven, so He’s now free to bless us. Once the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat & accepted by God, Israel came under mercy for another year. But she had to repeat this ritual every year signifying man’s sin wasn’t yet put away (Heb 10:1-4). Christ accomplished this (Heb 10:5-10). So, Tabernacle rituals pictured what Christ would accomplish in establishing the New Covenant in His Blood in the Heavenly Temple, and activating it in His redeemed human Temples (Heb 9:7-12). As the High Priest, He offered Himself as the final Sacrifice and took His Blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies, and sprinkled it on God’s Throne, the Mercy Seat, as full payment for our sin & every blessing of grace (Heb 4:16). His Blood in Heaven ever speaks on our behalf, and is the basis for the everlasting New Covenant (Heb 12:22-24). Having done this, He sat down to signify His finished work, and entered into His work as Mediator of the New Covenant for His people (Heb 1:3, 10:11-12, 9:23-26). The Heavenly Temple is an image of God’s ultimate Temple (Man), so when we receive Christ, He also sprinkles us with His Blood & sanctifies us to Himself (1Pet 1:2, Heb 9:13-14). By His Spirit, He entered our holy of holies, and applied His Blood to our spirit, cleansing it from all sin & sanctifying it to Himself, making it a perfect new creation, and then sits enthroned there by His indwelling Spirit, to mediate the new covenant in our lives. This happened at our New Birth. He activated the New Covenant in us, so we’re now under grace. We became a functioning Temple. Having sprinkled & cleansed us with His Blood (Heb 9:13-14), He now brings us into our inheritance (v15). It's a Throne of Grace, for the Lamb’s Blood has been accepted by God on our behalf, and He sits at God’s right hand dispensing His River of Grace to us (Rev 22:1-2). This also pictures us as Temples, with Christ enthroned as Lord in our spirit, releasing His river of grace from His throne in our spirit, flowing down into our heart & life. The trees = thoughts & emotions in our soul. As we trust in Christ who lives in us, and submit to His Lordship, we receive His river of blessing into our hearts. When God entered the Tabernacle, He sat in His glory, enthroned on the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, and there He met with Moses & spoke with him (Ex 25:21-22). Likewise, He sits on the throne in our spirit, His base of operation in us. 3 items in the HOLY PLACE (Heb 9:1-4) = our SOUL: *(1) MENORAH = our MIND, illuminated by the oil of His Spirit. *(2) TABLE of SHOWBREAD (‘the Bread of the Presence’) = our EMOTIONS, kept ever fresh from God's Presence, shining from the Holy of Holies. *(3) The ALTAR of INCENSE next to the Holy of Holies = our HEART or WILL, at the deepest part of our soul, called the Golden Censer (‘the Place of Incense’) in Heb 9:4, where it’s described as belonging to the holy of holies. Thus, our HEART is the junction & connection between our SPIRIT & SOUL, receiving God’s life from the spirit, so that it flows into our soul (Heb 4:12, John 7:38). By God’s design, the heart should be under the spirit’s control, so a worshipping heart is necessary to receive God’s grace into our souls. As we submit our hearts into God’s Hand (the Holy Spirit), He can guide & empower us (Prov 21:1). To reign in life, put our heart into His Hand (His Spirit), who manifests in us as rivers of living water. In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant containing 3 items, hidden under the Throne (under His control) = 3 aspects of God’s grace, He wants to release into our soul by His Spirit: (1) the Tablets of the Covenant, (2) Aaron's Almond Rod that budded, and (3) the Golden Pot of Manna (Heb 9:3-5)

Explore the divine blueprint of God's Temples and learn how they reflect His ultimate Temple: redeemed man in Christ. We're designed to be Temples of the Living God, in the image of Christ, the perfect human Temple of God. In union with Him, by His Spirit, He transforms us into His image from glory to glory. God’s will for us as His Temples is to be filled with His Spirit, who indwells our holy of holies (SPIRIT), and also wants to fill our holy place (SOUL) and our BODY. The Tabernacle with all its furnishings was made according to a Divine Pattern (Ex 25:9,20, 26:30, Num 8:4, Acts 7:44, Heb 8:1-6). So, the earthly Tabernacle was made after the image of the heavenly Temple. The primary fulfilment of the typology of the Tabernacle is Jesus Himself. God came down to dwell among His people, by dwelling in a perfect human Tabernacle (John 1:1-14). The prophetic picture of the Tabernacle was perfectly fulfilled in the human nature of Jesus (Col 2:9). He was also filled with God’s glory through the indwelling Spirit. He was the perfect prototype human Temple of God, the basis for all future human Temples of God. By His death & resurrection, He made it possible to multiply Himself in us, like a seed planted in the earth & rising again in multiplied form (John 12:24). When anyone receives Jesus, they are put into union with Him and become living stones in His Temple built on Him, their living Foundation, and He begins to change them into His image - first, by recreating our spirits in the New Birth, then by transforming our souls, and finally by glorifying our bodies. So, Christ is not just the fulfilment of the Tabernacle pattern, the perfect human prototype Temple, but also, the transforming power that changes us into His image as God’s Temple, on the basis of His death & resurrection, so that we also become Temples of God, like Him. Thus, the pattern of the Tabernacle of Moses is primarily fulfilled in Christ, and 2ndly in us, His Body. God now lives in us, and wants to shine His glory through us. To make this all possible, on the Cross Christ fulfilled the Law of the Burnt Offering (Lev 1:1-12) & the Sin Offering (Lev 4:1-35). During the first 3 hours on the Cross, He offered Himself up as a sweet-selling burnt offering to the Lord (Eph 5:2). He identified with us and offered Himself for us, offering up His perfect human righteousness to God, to be accepted on our behalf, so that in Him we might be possess & be covered in His righteousness. On the basis of this aspect of the Cross, His righteousness is offered to us as a free-gift. From noon until 3pm, He fulfilled the type of the Sin Offering. He who knew no sin became sin for us on the Cross (2Cor 5:21). God signified this in the heavens by turning the sun to darkness, a picture of the radiant Sun of righteousness being covered with the darkness of our sin. In His Atonement, He paid the penalty in full for all our sins, so we can be forgiven, if we trust in Him. As our Sin-Offering, He took our sin and the punishment we deserved, releasing God's forgiveness & mercy to us, and as our Burnt Offering, He released His righteousness & life to us as a free-gift of grace. Christ's Altar of Burnt Offering is the everlasting power source for all of God’s human Temples forever, for He gave Himself for us to release His everlasting righteousness & life, which will uphold us for all eternity. The truth that His Sacrifice is forever effectual in satisfying God and in releasing His grace to us is revealed in the Law of the Burnt Offering (Lev 6:8-13). His act of obedience in offering Himself up for us on the Cross provides for us an abundant everlasting source of grace (Rom 5:8-21). By His once for all perfect offering, He gave us His righteousness, grace & life, as our everlasting possession. As one moves toward the Holy Place of worship, after the Altar of Burnt Offering was the Laver (Ex 40:30). (1) He sacrificed Himself on the Cross for His Bride (represented by the Bronze Altar), so that (2) He might sanctify & cleanse us by the WASHING of His WORD (the Bronze Laver) - Eph 5:26. The LAVER represents God's WRITTEN WORD, which reveals His LIVING WORD – Christ, the source of eternal life (John 5:39-40). As we look into the Mirror of God’s Word, the glory of the Person & Life of Christ is revealed to us, and His Spirit cleanses us from sin & sanctifies us to God (2Cor 3:18). The more we're cleansed & sanctified, the closer we can draw near to God to fellowship with Him and know Him (Heb 12:14, Matt 5:8). The Holy of Holies represents the spirit of man, in which was: “the Ark of the Covenant, in which were the Golden Pot of Manna, Aaron’s Rod that budded & the Tablets of the Covenant” (Heb 9:3-4). These 3 items in the Holy of Holies correspond to the 3 items in the Holy Place, for the soul is made in the image of the spirit, designed to express & manifest the life & nature of the spirit.