Harbor Rock Tabernacle

We all fight against the temptation to sin. So when Jesus came to earth, He endured every temptation and test there is, yet without sin. He did to fulfill the Law, identify with us, and show us our need for His salvation and help. The worst temptation He faced was from the devil in Matthew 4, when He was alone and hungry, and under intense pressure. The enemy especially attacks during our times of...

When we are under stress, we can internalize, externalize or be self-destructive in response. So much of it is based on "what if?" and "fear of missing out", which causes us to be fearful and anxious. In Mark 6, Jesus modelled and taught us a different way. He showed the value of time with the Lord, faith in His unseen provision, and courage in His presence. HIs example of focus on what is importa...

Every person deals with some level of worry. But worry has costs--it damages our faith, impacts our health and thinking, and can control our lives...especially when we value our thoughts over the Lord's. In Jesus interactions, He met people consumed by worry, stressed because they prioritized things of this world. In showing them that this is damaging and blocks their faith, He also reveals a bett...

One of the most challenging people Jesus encountered in His ministry was a man possessed by demons. Unclean, in bondage, living among death, and tortured in his soul, this man is a broader representation of mankind as a whole--anyone who hasn't yet trusted Jesus as Saviour and is still living under the control of sin. And yet, all people have knowledge of the Truth about God and their own spiritua...

When people are hurting physically and emotionally, we have the opportunity to minister to them like Jesus did, showing love and leading them to His grace. Even as believers, our flesh can become irritated or too lenient, but in Mark 5, Jesus models the right response to two people who were hurting. His calm, kind, undistracted approach laid the groundwork to call them to big faith. As they humble...

Some of the most difficult interactions we have in life are with people who are very proud and arrogant. Arrogance is pride at it's extreme--an overexaggerated sense of self with condescension and control mixed in. It warps our thinking and ruins our relationships. One person near Jesus who showed this very subtly was Judas Iscariot. He betrayed Jesus, but before that, exhibited the traits of arro...

There are some people we deal with who are difficult and hard to love. While it can be a result of something out of their control, others choose to be harsh and defensive. When Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well, she was the picture of poor decisions, proud isolation and a search for love and meaning. Jesus sets an amazing example of speaking truth in love, showing her understanding and grace,...

Jesus always responded to difficult people and situations by giving us a holy, humble example. He was persistently criticized by people like Pharisees, who unfairly accused Him of blasphemy, sedition and disobeying the Law, but He met that with calm, gracious and wise statements centered on the Truth. None of us likes to be criticized, but when we are, we have to look at ourselves first, to assess...

The areas of our lives that serve as tents--character, marriage, family, friends, work and ministry--all should please the Lord and be places where we can build altars. Even though he was righteous and blessed, Noah became careless and calloused about that, regressing into impurity--which characterizes the approach of the world. That was a sharp contrast to the Rechabites, who were unwavering in t...

In the Bible, a tent signified a dwelling where people lived--a place of protection, refuge and even community. They were also a spiritual metaphor, sometimes a picture of negative decisions, and other times, a picture of God's leading and blessing. For Lot and Abraham, where they pitched their tents showed a contrast of heart and priorities, and remind us that if we can't built an altar where we...

The steadiness of the Early Church rested in the simplicity of their approach. Simply being filled with the Holy Spirit, being faithful to their calling and fervent about the Lord gave them a powerful effectiveness that is unmatched by anything we try to do now. Since the enemy's biggest tactic to limit our influence is to attack our depth and consistency and our distinctiveness as Jesus' disciple...

Despite the heavy opposition the 120 and Paul faced, they remained unflappable, with a powerful calmness that was not normal. But often, the fact that being a believer doesn't exempt us from difficulty can tempt us to question the Lord's leading. One benefit of being Spirit-filled is that we are given a special insight into the invisible work of the Lord. Focusing on His power, control and faithfu...

We are blessed to hear from our missionaries in Kenya, as they talk about how the Lord has been working in their lives and ministry.  Video of this service is also available:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fhtc0RyJFM

The enemy tempts us to be spiritually discouraged by promoting fear and frustration, to push us toward shallow selfishness. That is indicative of the Last Days, when people will be marked by arrogance, rebellion, lack of self-control and love of self and pleasure more than love of God. As the world becomes more volatile, people are dissatisfied with the results of that behaviour, and look for real...

When false charges were brought against Paul in Caesarea, the accusations were based on feelings, emotions and perceptions, which is typically how the enemy tries to fight truth. But Paul was strong in destroying their arguments. Knowing that God is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance, he showed his areas of theological agreement with his accusers, while detail...

With the Bible's undeniable emphasis on walking by faith, the strength of our convictions, the maturity of our walk, and the effectiveness of our ministry rests on one truth:  Being certain that we can fully trust the Lord. Even as a faithful servant of God, the apostle Paul had this tested when he was guarded from a hostile crowd by the Romans, and detained awaiting trial. Jesus appeared and stoo...

When the apostle Paul was threatened by a crowd in Jerusalem, he spoke to them to try to persuade them to trust Jesus. Rather than a theological or philosophical defense, instead, he described how his life had been completely transformed by Jesus. Using 5 important details, he explained how his eyes had been opened--away from self-sufficiency and works, to being saved by God's grace. His speech se...

One of the most common issues believers deal with is how to discern the will of the Lord for our lives. This shows up in Acts 21, where Paul was determined to follow the Spirit's leading to go to Jerusalem, where he knew he would be arrested and likely martyred. When his friends heard this, they tried to talk him out of going, not out of contradiction over the word he had received, but out of sadn...

As the apostle Paul makes his final trip through many of the cities he had impacted with his ministry, he offers final words of exhortation, fervently urging them to stay strong in their commitment to the Lord. These powerful words of encouragement also spur us to be faithful no matter what our circumstances, to not fear what seems impossible, and to always speak what is spiritually profitable, fe...

The Early Church faced constant opposition, especially as they lived for the Lord without shame and proclaimed Jesus with truth and power, calling people to trust Him. The enemy constantly tries to co-opt Jesus' power and authority, but the Lord works in extraordinary ways when Jesus is magnified. We can fight the confusion and lack of logic the enemy promotes, as he tries to push a humanistic nar...

When the apostle Paul went to the very wicked city of Corinth, he met a couple who became important, trusted partners in ministry. Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers like Paul, and their maturity and commitment to the work gave Paul confidence,. The Lord also reassured Paul not to be fearful about opposition, because He had a hidden provision--which also reassures us that when we trust in His pr...

One of the reasons the apostles were so effective in Acts is that they saw opposition as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. They knew the devil fights hard against us because he is jealous of Jesus' victory, and stirs up people to be offended by the Word and our faith. When Paul's heart became provoked by how sin blinds and deludes people's minds, he went into the public space and explained h...

As the Gospel expanded in Europe in Acts 16, Paul and his team found it important to keep the focus on correct doctrine and discernment from the Spirit, and away from preferences. They recognized that not every obstacle and experience of suffering is a spiritual attack--sometimes, it is a God-ordained shift in direction. So they continued on, defending the Gospel and proclaiming the freedom that c...

A significant conflict took place in Acts 15, as Paul and Peter challenged Jewish believers who demanded that Gentile believers be circumcised inn order to be saved. The apostles knew that this theological deviation would essentially negate the work of Christ and damage the message of the Gospel. So they handle conflict in a Godly way, holding fast to the truth of God's Word to explain the error o...

When the passion of his experiences and the effectiveness of his ministry in Ephesus had worn off, Timothy lost heart when opposition came and he wanted to leave the work. Writing from jail, Paul encouraged his young protegee to look at the genuine faith and commitment of his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. Having overcome obstacles of conviction, nationality and divided marriages, these women...