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

Two 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!

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.

The Sacrifice of Praise is when we thank God before we see the answer or manifestation, based on His Promise and His Name (Hebrews 13:15). This opens up a spiritual highway through which God can move (Psalm 50:23), as seen in Jehoshaphat's victory over a massive enemy army (2Chronicles 20), and Jonah's deliverance from the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2), and what happened to Paul and Silas when...

The Spirit of Faith is described in 2 Corinthians 4:13: "we (1) BELIEVE and therefore (2) SPEAK." Derek shares about (1) believing God's Word with our heart, and then (2) speaking it forth with our lips.

The Beauty of the Lord is His Holiness - the sum and perfection of His moral attributes. When we trust in God and surrender to Him, He imparts His holiness to us through His Holy Spirit.

One common objection to the claim that it is God’s will to heal His people is Paul’s THORN in the FLESH. Many say that it was a sickness that God gave Paul to keep him humble, and that when Paul asked to be healed God said 'No.' In this video, Derek proves that this interpretation is wrong. The key questions are: (1) what is Paul’s Thorn?, and (2) where did it come from - from God or the devil? Th...

Israel's sin resulted in her capital city being sieged by the Syrians and experiencing serious famine. When the king repented, Elijah prophesied that within 24 hours, the siege would be lifted and Israel would possess abundant provisions. However, this promise could only come to pass if God's people believed His Word and acted on it. We see how God brought His Word to pass through 4 heroes of fait...

God wants us to live today to the fullest. God has designed us to live ONE DAY at a TIME. A great life is made up of lots of good days. We need to learn from the past and plan for the future, but we need to learn to LIVE in the NOW. He wants us to focus all our energies into TODAY. The best way you can prepare for tomorrow is by living today well.

In this teaching we look at the healing of a leper (Luke 5:12-15). This is the first of 4 Messianic Miracles, which were specific signs of the Messiah. The others are casting out a dumb spirit, healing of a man born blind, and resurrection after 3 days - the sign of Jonah. The special significance and symbolism of Leprosy in the Bible explains why it was a Messianic Miracle. God uses leprosy to te...

Isaiah 12 is a prophetic song describing how New Covenant believers have a spring of everlasting life within them. Derek explains how we can draw water from these springs of salvation by praise, prayer, witnessing, singing and shouting.

After the Rapture, all believers will stand before Christ to give an account of our lives. This is not a judgement to determine our salvation or condemnation, but to receive our eternal rewards. Derek discusses the 4 classic passages on the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-13, 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, 1 Corinthians 4:2-5, and 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

When we received Christ, He (Christ in us) became our firm Foundation (1Corinthians 3:11). In order to build our whole life on Christ, we must develop a strong Devotional Life with Him, in which we put down our roots of faith deep into God, and turn away (repent) from our old life of depending on self. In this way we increase our heart connection with Him. This is where we cultivate our FAITH towa...

Galatians 6:16 is a key verse in the theological debate about Israel: "as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, AND upon the Israel of God." Replacement theologians, who teach that the Church has now replaced Israel in God's purposes, point to this verse (in fact this is the only verse to which they can point) and use it to say that the Church is now the Israel of God....

Paul generally dictated his letters to a scribe, and then wrote the greeting at the end in his own handwriting, to personalise and authenticate the letter. But in Galatians 6:11-18 he wrote his whole conclusion in his own handwriting, using large letters (v11). He clearly wanted to put great emphasis on these final verses. In them, he contrasts the 2 kinds of religion (the 2 ways of salvation and...

Galatians 6:7 sets forth the general spiritual law of sowing and reaping: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." This applies to sowing financial seed (6:6), and it also applies to every area of our lives. God has built this law into the nature of reality, like Newton's 3rd Law of action and reaction - whatever you put out will come back on you, b...

The Foundation for our Christian life is Jesus Christ Himself, who lives in us, when we believe the Gospel and receive Him as our Saviour and Lord (1Corinthians 3:11, Matthew 7:24-27). God has given us the MILK of the Word, so that we may grow spiritually from being a baby to being mature (1Peter 2:2, 1Corinthians 3:1-3). We grow to maturity by receiving and obeying (putting into practice) the MIL...

The Foundation of Jesus Christ was laid in us, when we heard and responded in faith to the Gospel of Christ by receiving Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour (1Cor 3:11). Once the Foundation of Christ has been laid, we need to build upon that Foundation by hearing and obeying (doing) the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 7:24-27). The first 2 foundational doctrines in Hebrews 6:1-...

In this Series, we study the Foundational Doctrines of Christ. By hearing and doing the teaching of Christ, we build our lives on the ROCK - Christ Himself, the only true and firm foundation (Matthew 7:24-27, 16:18, Isaiah 28:16, 1Corinthians 3:11). Hebrews 5:12- 6:3 define the 7 key Foundational Doctrines of Christ, the Elementary Principles of God, the Milk of the Word, that we need to master be...

In Galatians 5:13-24, Paul revealed how the Holy Spirit empowers us to fulfil God's Law of Love, and in v25 he applies this to our life together in the Church, saying: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk (march together) in the Spirit." This requires us to not be focused on ourselves, always comparing ourselves and competing with each other, but rather through humility of heart we can enjo...

Two keys to success in God are (1) connect with His will and grace by having a willing (submitted heart), and (2) when He speaks to you obey with all your heart and refuse to quit, until it is done. Derek illustrates this WINNING ATTITUDE from 2Kings 13:14-25, with special application to Prayer and Intercession.

Both these Psalms reveal the spiritual warfare that is taking place in the time between Christ's Resurrection and Ascension and His Second Coming, and the part that we can play in enforcing His victory, as we represent Him in the earth. We need to learn to operate from His position of victory as we deal with the forces of darkness.

This inspirational Psalm reveals the goodness of the Lord. As we submit to the lord and our Leader and Owner and listen to Him and stay close to Him, He will protect us and lead us into all His covenant provisions. Derek shows how all 8 of the Covenant Names of God are represented in the Psalm. When Jesus said: "I am the Good Shepherd" in John 10, He was claiming to be the fulfilment of Psalm 23....

Having compared the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit (v16-23), and described our proper attitude to the flesh (v24), Paul concludes by describing the attitude we should adopt towards the Holy Spirit, saying: "If we (1) LIVE in (receive our life from) the Spirit, let us also (2) WALK in (line with, keep in step with) the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). These describe the 2 keys to bearing...

We continue our study of the 9-fold fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, the character of Christ that the Holy Spirit is forming within us, as we are led by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. The first 3 (love, joy, peace) are primarily to do with our relationship with God, the next 3 (long-suffering, kindness, goodness) describe out attitude toward others, and the final 3 (faithfulness, meek...

The Fruit of the Spirit is formed in us through the working of the life of Christ within us, through the Holy Spirit flowing out from our reborn spirit. This fruit of holiness is formed by the initiative and grace of God, but our co-operation is necessary. God works in us both (1) to will and (2) to work His good pleasure. He (1) forms the attitude of Christ in our soul, and then (2) empowers us t...