Bible Lessons Learned from Three Powerful Evangelistic Sermons
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Barbara Brabec’s
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Personal Musings about Life
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June 2025
Bible Lessons Learned from
Three Powerful Evangelistic Sermons
Of Scribes and Chronicles * The Procedure of Faith
On Whom Do You Lean for Support?
Three examples of how I get more from Bible Study by journaling what I’m learning and then incorporating notes taken as I read related books and listen to or watch sermons by favorite pastors.
Of Scribes and Chronicles
I took the following notes while watching one of Jentezen Franklin’s enthusiastic sermons titled “This Is Not Your Final Chapter.” I discovered this pastor on TBN TV in 2021, and he helped me get through the pandemic and still inspires me today. He is the senior pastor at Free Chapel in Gainesville, GA.
The above sermon gave me insight into the importance of biblical scribes, who were always at hand to record everything a king said or did. Grabbing a pen or scroll, they recorded every word the king was saying to those he was meeting with, and then they would chronicle that record into a scroll the king could review at his leisure.
Pastor Franklin asked, “Where do you think business people got the idea of recording the minutes of a meeting in writing?” He explained that this practice harkened back to biblical times when kings depended on scribes to help them document their lives. “Ezra was such a scribe,” he said, referring his listeners to the book of Esther, chapter 6. The story here is that King Xerxes couldn’t sleep one night because something that happened was bothering him. So he ordered his scribe to get the book of the chronicles of his recordings to be read to him. It revealed that Mordecai, whom he had ordered to be hanged for something he now learned he did not do, had exposed two of the king’s officers who guarded his doorway and conspired to assassinate him.
For how Mordecai escaped death, how the real villain was revealed and hanged, and how Queen Esther saved the Jewish nation, read Esther 6 in your Bible for a fascinating Bible story, and/or listen to the sermon linked to above. For more of Franklin’s sermons, visit his YouTube channel.
My takeaway from this sermon was that we need to focus not on where we’ve been, but on where God is leading us today. When God speaks to your heart, journal or chronicle what you’re hearing and feeling. Or, as Pastor Franklin put it, “He is still watering the next chapter of our lives, and we should never put a period where He has put a comma or a dash. What you’re experiencing now is not your final chapter.”
Related Articles: “Scribes Were Masters of Hebrew Law”
My article: “Documenting Your Christian Journey.”
The Procedure of Faith
Faith is a tough lesson because most of us want the security of knowing the whole plan before taking the first step. It’s a lot like a baseball game. In walking with God, we always have to take step one before we have any idea of where steps 2, 3, or 4 are going to take us. As Frederick B. Wilcox put it, “Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” Throughout your Christian life, your faith is going to be tested, and every test will bring a new lesson.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” 1:2-3; NLT).
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12; NLT).
What’s the procedure of faith? Here’s what I took away from a sermon by David Jeremiah, whose title I failed to note:
“Do not ask about tomorrow when today is before you.
“Do not ask about next month when today is yet to be lived.
“Take God at His word, one step at a time.
“Jesus tells us to take each day as it comes, to give our attention to what God is doing now. When we begin to brood about the future, we end up with double trouble. All the anxiety and worry that belongs to tomorrow will be ours today, and it will still be there tomorrow. And we will not have done anything at all to reduce it one little bit.”
“There’s a space in your heart that belongs to God alone. Until we place Jesus Christ on the throne of our hearts, we will always be at war with God.” – David Jeremiah, from a sermon on “The End of War.”
David Jeremiah is the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, CA, and founder of Turning Point Ministry. An evangelical preacher with an obvious passion for Bible prophecy, he’s been a part of my walk with Christ from the very beginning. The author of countless books on all areas of Christian life, his passion in his later years has focused on what I’m studying most today: Bible Prophecy. Of it, he says, “There may never be a time in history when end times prophecy is more aligned with current events than it is today,” and his many prophecy books prove it. But any book by him will be faith-building, and any of Jeremiah’s sermons could be life-changing for anyone who is searching for God.
A helpful Resource:
Favorite Bible-Teaching Ministries and Pastors—
those I've followed throughout my walk with Christ,
with special comments about each of them.
On Whom Do You Lean for Support?
In a sermon by Steven Furtick entitled “Embracing Limitation,” I related to this comment: “When you let your past experience regulate access to your future, you will always be stuck in a stage of life that can no longer accommodate what God is saying to you in this season.” (There is so much of value in this sermon that I have no space to discuss, so I encourage you to click the link for a video of the sermon and a transcript you can refer to later.)
My main takeaway was how Pastor Furtick made me see advice from others in a new light. Sometimes, the support system we’ve built in our lives results in our getting upsetting advice from well-meaning friends or family members. This may make it difficult for us to hear what God is speaking to us. So be careful about leaning on the wrong people and listening to the wrong voices. Instead, consider the arms you may be leaning on when you should be leaning on the everlasting arms of God. (“The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you” (Deut. 33:27; NLT).
Be especially careful about leaning on the advice of someone who doesn’t share your faith. Sometimes, we need to pull away from everyone, spend time with God, and just listen for what He is trying to get us to hear.
May we trust in God’s plan for our lives
and hear what He is calling us to do.
P.S. Visit the HOME page for Timely Quotes and links to Featured Articles of the month. Musings About Life posts are archived and identified as such on the Christian Encouragement Table of Contents page. Tidbits On Life Bulletins are archived here. Thanks for linking others to Barbara Brabec’s World. Comments to this post are invited, and emails are always welcomed and answered as soon as possible.
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Brabec Bulletins
Published in 2025
Note: After 25 years, I have ceased publication of my monthly Brabec Bulletin with the June issue to give me time for other writing I want to do.
June 9, 2025: New Perspective on Words, Writing, and the English Language: The Power of a Single Word, The Men Who Ruined English Spelling, Why You Should Journal Your Life, and Insightful English Language Quotations. As Barbara ceases publication of her Brabec Bulletin after 25 years, she ends with a Bulletin for all those who write for pleasure or profit, love words, and are fascinated by the wonderment of our beloved English language.
May 7, 2025: Living in the Margins of Life and How to Find Time to Do It All. This Bulletin was inspired by an email from a publisher friend, Betty Chypre, many years ago. What I learned from her about managing time still resonates with me today. Maybe with you, too.
April 7, 2025: Protecting Yourself from Money and Privacy Thieves. Expert Tips from Pros: Data Brokers Cashing in on Your Social Security Number * Everything Amazon Knows About You * Four Common Signs of a Scam * Update on My Dark Web Experience * and Solutions to Three Windows 10 Problems.
March 5, 2025: How to Exercise Your Brain as You Age. Our brain needs special care once we pass age 65. This information may help you or someone you love keep dementia or Alzheimer’s at bay. Doing this is not only about stimulating your mind but engaging your whole body.
February 6, 2025: Getting Past Your Mental Roadblocks to Success. Perspective on looking back at your life to see how it’s playing out, ways to grow old gracefully, Bible prophecies coming true, and 5 rules for joyful living.
January 6, 2025: Has Your Identity Been Leaked in a Security Breach? Most likely, yes, which means your identity is on the Dark Web. If cybercriminals don’t have your personal and financial information yet, they will keep trying to get it so they can sell it on the Dark Web to buyers who could destroy your life.
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