Podcasts about Verse

As studiers of the Word, we have to correctly study the Old Testament (covenant) in light of our New Covenant, so we don't put ourselves in bondage. Here are a few things to keep in mind about the differences in the covenants. __________ Matthew 19:7–9 NLT, Acts 17:29–30 NIV, Galatians 3:10–13 NLT, Deuteronomy 28:1–2 KJV, Deuteronomy 28:15 KJV, Malachi 3:8–10 KJV, Galatians 3:14 NLT, Genesis 12:2–3 KJV, Matthew 23:23 NLT, Leviticus 27:30–34 NLT, Hebrews 7:11–16 NLT, 1 Peter 2:5 NLT, 1 Peter 2:9 NLT __________ Partner with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com/partner Connect with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com __________    

Imagine a world where some of Islam's fiercest opponents unknowingly become its greatest supporters. At times, even the most determined disbelievers play a key role in fulfilling God's Divine plan. In today's video, we'll explore powerful examples of how this has happened throughout history.

We're back with Midsummer Tidings from the Mojave, with solstice verse from Sam Clemens & Shakespeare, too. Plus a new campfire story from our recently concluded springtime series in Joshua Tree. Desert Oracle Radio (c)(p) 2017-2026 http://DesertOracle.comSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/desertoracleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave Myers discusses 2 Kings 4:1—“A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.'”

Hear ye, devoted listeners of the macabre and the spirited alike! This week on the Scary Spirits Podcast, we mark the anniversary of a most curious and thrilling motion picture: the 2012 horror spectacle, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, first unleashed upon audiences on June 22nd. Join your esteemed hosts, Karen and Greg, as they discourse upon this audacious tale—where history and horror are bound together in a most unnatural union. With both wit and keen observation, they examine the legend of a president who wages a secret war against the creatures of the night. To accompany this evening's proceedings, a specially crafted libation—“The Lincoln” cocktail—shall be raised, offering a bold and fitting tribute to the film's dark and daring spirit. Whether you are a devotee of vampire films, alternative history horror, or cinematic curiosities, this episode promises lively conversation, chilling insights, and a toast worthy of remembrance. Tune in to the Scary Spirits Podcast—where horror and cocktails meet in perfect union. The Lincoln Cocktail Recipe • 2 oz Angel’s Envy Bourbon Finished in Port Wine Barrels• 1/4 oz ruby port syrup• 2 dashes Angostura® bitters• 1 dash orange bitters• orange twist garnish Instructions Add all ingredients into a mixing glass. Stir over ice. Strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist. Source: angelsenvy.com A Brief Synopsis: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter reimagines the 16th US president as a secret slayer who discovers that vampires are secretly controlling the American slave trade. After a vampire murders his mother, Lincoln dedicates his life to the axe. ultimately fighting the undead not just for revenge, but to win the Civil War. Some of the topics discussed and highlights of this episode include: Karen gives us a brief description of the novel the film is based on. We learn that Nancy Lincoln died of milk sickness. Judas was paid in silver when he betrayed Jesus, creating the vampire lore about silver. Mary Todd and Stephen Douglas did in fact date. Dr. Karen tells us all about sunscreen. It wasn’t available until 1932. Greg works in a reference to the band Kiss. Our rating of the film: This movie was pretty good. It only took us 2 cocktails to get through it. Take our online survey! We want to know more about you! Please take our survey. All questions are optional and you can remain completely anonymous if you prefer. Tell us what you like or would like to hear more of! All music on the Scary Spirits Podcast is provided by the band “Verse 13”. Please check them out. You can listen to all their music on their Bandcamp page. Get social with us! Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram Subscribe on YouTube to watch Greg attempt to make all the featured cocktails Follow @ScarySpiritsPod Questions, comments or suggestions? Shoot us an email at info@scaryspirits.com As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a small percentage of qualifying purchases through our links.

This episode of the Bible Explained Podcast delves into Hebrews 13:7-14, where Jenn emphasizes the importance of scrutinizing leaders and their conduct. The way the American church is set up can promote narcissism, with a single leader at the top, but this is not a scriptural system: The Bible calls for a system of shared leadership with checks and balances to ensure that no one leader goes off the rails. Imitate the faith of your leaders, but only if their conduct is in line with Scripture. Elders should be held to high standards, as seen in 1 Timothy and Titus, where specific guidelines are laid out for who can and cannot be an elder. The importance of not being carried away by various and strange teachings, and the need to double-check all theology with Scripture. Christians must separate themselves from the world and its teachings, just as Jesus did when He went outside the camp to suffer for our sins. Related episodes: 1 Timothy 5:17-25 - Avoiding Extremes When It Comes To The Pastor 1 Timothy 3:1-7 - 15 Qualifications For Pastors and Elders 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - What Is The Rapture, And Did It Already Happen? Leviticus 6:24-30 (From Creation) - The Sin Sacrifice and the Washing of Water After you're done with that, check out these websites: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnh-aqfg8rw Ko-Fi - https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries Website - https://www.p40ministries.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p40ministries Contact - jenn@p40ministries.com Books - https://www.amazon.com/Jenn-Kokal/e/B095JCRNHY/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk Merch - https://www.p40ministries.com/shop YouVersion - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/38267-out-of-the-mire-trusting-god-in-the-middle Check out LifeAudio for other faith-based podcasts on parenting, studying Scripture, and more:www.lifeaudio.com Need help memorizing Scripture? Check out Verse in the Chorus: https://www.youtube.com/@VerseintheChrous Become a Coffee-Tier member to gain access to The Bible Explained on Fridays: https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries Support babies and get quality coffee with Seven Weeks Coffee https://sevenweekscoffee.com/?ref=P40 Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

There's a ton of debate in theological circles about whether or not God has forsaken Israel. Today we're looking at Isaiah 49 where we'll see that God will continue to be faithful to the people of Israel and His covenant with them. Likewise, we'll see that even the Gentile believers will have a role in God's plan of redemption for His people. Join us in this key study in this key chapter!  DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1.    Have you ever felt as though you disappointed someone? How did it feel? How do you think the faithful remnant of Israel would have felt knowing that they had disappointed the Lord? 2.    The podcast mentioned that Isaiah 49 contains the second "Servant Song" in the Book of Isaiah (the others are Isaiah 42, 50 and 52-3). What is a "Servant Song"? Who are these referring to? Why do we need to know that these passages are unique in the Book of Isaiah? 3.   The background to Isaiah 49 is that the people have broken their covenant with God. Think back to our previous studies in this book. How has Isaiah shown the people that they have broken their covenant? 4.   In verse 1, who is speaking? Quickly skim this chapter with this "speaker" in mind. How does the fact that this is the Servant speaking help us understand the heart of this chapter? 5.   The opening verses of Isaiah 49 let us know that the Servant is a specific individual. What do these first few verses tell us about Him? 6.   The podcast mentioned that in verse 3, the Servant is the "New Israel". How does this give us a window into Jesus' preincarnate work among His people (in verse 4)? 7.   According to verse 5, who (or what people) comprise this "New Israel"? In verse 6, who is also included in this new nation? In verse 6, why would it be too small for the New Israel to be limited to just Israel and Judah? 8.   Verse 7 describes the Servant as one who is despised and abhorred by his own nation. How was this fulfilled in Jesus' earthy life? Verse 7 also says that the kings of the world will come to Him. How has that borne out to be true throughout history? 9.   In verse 8, the Lord gives the Servant as a covenant for the people. Think back to our study of Isaiah 42. What covenant would this be? Glance over at Matthew 26:28. How did Jesus inaugurate the covenant? 10.  Read over verses 9 to 13. What are some ways that this new nation or kingdom is described? Is this a place you would want to live? Do we see these kinds of promises in our world today? When will they be fully instituted? 11.  In verse 14, why would the people be afraid that the Lord has forsaken them? What is the Lord's response in verses 15 & 16? How do these words of encouragement show God's love for His people? How did Jesus fulfill these statements in His own ministry to His people? 12.  What does the Lord promise to do for the people in verses 18-23? How are they exalted in the world? How are these promises reaffirmed in other places in scripture? 13.  What kind of protection does the Lord promise for His people in verses 24-26? How does this remind us to keep praying for God's people? How often do you pray for Israel? How often do you pray for Christians around the world? 14.  As you think over the principles from Isaiah 49, how does this chapter help us see that God has not forgotten or forsaken His people and His covenants with them? Yet also, what role will they have in the New Israel when it is finally and fully established? Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon just in time for the Genesis relaunch in January! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

South Dakota Poet Laureate Bruce Roseland discusses "Our South Dakota," a new collection that features 90 South Dakota poets.

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Ten and Verse Forty Eight

There is something directing your life. You’re not doing this on your own. You’re either under the influence of the world and the flesh, or you’re under the influence of the Holy Spirit. One of these guides your thoughts, your attitude, your perspective and your actions – and your life looks radically different depending on your influencing factors. Look around my friend – if you aren’t pleased with what’s growing in your life, it may be a result of what you’re attached to – because whatever you’re attached to is drastically influencing every area of your life. Paul writes in Galatians and tells us of what is naturally produced in our lives when we’re attached to Jesus. Growing in Jesus means God’s Holy Spirit is influencing you. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, you are different than you would be on your own. Different things grow in your life. You are given a different perspective with different priorities. And the beautiful thing is, it happens so naturally. This isn’t something you will or force, it just grows. We’re given a list of 9 fruits that grow in our lives as a result of the direction of the Holy Spirit and it’s inner influence: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. These are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, meaning what grows from connection. And really think about the real life circumstances and struggles you woke up to today – what you need to face this is right here within the list of things that grow from within you when you’re connected to Jesus. Your answer … CONNECT TO JESUS! You don’t have to force this. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. The Holy Spirit will work within you to produce precisely what is needed and it will come from inside you, naturally producing in your life. Now maybe you’ve heard of the Fruits of the Spirit before. Maybe you even have them memorized and can ramble them off. Maybe this is brand new to you. Awesome. This is for you. Exactly where you are, in this season of life, with what you’re facing. Love for you. Joy for you. Peace for you. Patience for you. Kindness for you. Goodness for you. Faithfulness for you. Gentleness for you. Self-Control for you. I bet you can identify someone in your life who needs this too, huh? Someone who is lacking joy. Someone lacking peace. Someone living without kindness or faithfulness or self-control. What is happening in their life? Maybe that was you at one time. Or maybe that is a current struggle. Why is that? Scripture is actually quite clear. We don’t have to guess and wonder. When you lack the things that grow in our lives under the direction of the Holy Spirit it’s because you’re NOT under the direction of the Holy Spirit. You’re not connected to Jesus. You’re connected to the world and you’re under the influence of your flesh. We don’t have to hate the person who is without kindness and goodness, we have to see it for what it is. This is a hurting soul who either has never connected to Jesus or has become disconnected. We must love them enough to point them back to Jesus and back to his life-giving connection. Back to the direction of the Holy Spirit. It’s not our responsibility to change them. That’s the job of God’s Holy Spirit. YOU ARE NOT THEIR HOLY SPIRIT. Before we jump into the Fruits of the Spirit and this list of beauty that naturally begins to grow in our lives through connection with Jesus, we have to know about the other side of the list. You see there are two very clear lists. A list of what your life looks like WITHOUT the direction of the Holy Spirit and WITH the direction of the Holy Spirit. If you were to take a piece of paper and draw a line down the center, you would have two columns. On the left you could label that column “Without the Holy Spirit”. On the right you could label that column “With the Holy Spirit”. The column on the left is described in Galatians 5: 19-21. The column on the right is described in Galatians 5: 22-23. Let’s begin with making the list in the left column. Galatians 5: 19-21, When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: • Sexual immorality • Impurity • Lustful pleasures • Idolatry • Sorcery • Hostility • Quarreling • Jealousy • Outbursts of Anger • Selfish Ambition • Dissension • Division • Envy • Drunkenness • Wild Parties • Other Sins Like These Well that was yucky, wasn’t it? Yip, that’s what our lives become without the influence of God’s Holy Spirit. This is what we naturally get ourselves into. Our nature is sinful and leads us into some absolutely yucky things in our lives. Look around … there it is. We can see it in our own life or in the life of someone we love. Why has this happened, why do they act that way, why do they continue to do these things … because as verse 19 says, they have “followed the desires of their sinful nature and the results are very clear.” You’ve been asking why. That’s why, my friend. This is a matter of influence. The wrong influence creates the wrong results. The wrong direction grows the wrong fruit. For anyone with the wrong fruit growing in their lives, this is a matter of the wrong influence coming through the wrong connection. Maybe not a bad person, a bad connection. Have you ever traveled internationally and tried to plug your electrical device into a foreign outlet? It doesn’t fit. If you force it, you’ll blow something up. You could burn the whole building down! Some of us have lives burning down around us because we’ve plugged into the wrong thing. We’re connecting to things we simply weren’t created to be connected to. Over the next few weeks we’re going to do a deep dive on the divinely beautiful things that grow in our lives when we’re connected to Jesus and abiding in him. We’re going to grow in this process. It’s going to be so good for us to see the works of the Holy Spirit that happen so naturally in our connection. But first, we’re going to look at the column on the left. The yuck. The consequences. This is where you life will be without Jesus. Very clearly, this is what happens. Verse 19 in the NLT says “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature …” NIV says, “These are the acts of the flesh …” MSG puts it like this, “It’s obvious what type of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time …” There it is – when we try to do this on our own, when we do what we want, follow our own feelings, focused on self, letting our flesh lead the way, these are the messes we create for ourselves and others. Maybe you’re in one of those messes right now, either self-created or created by someone else. You’re living in that left hand column all while the Holy Spirit is inviting you to jump to the other side of the page and get on the right side. Is that possible? Absolutely! That change can begin today. Looking at our column on the left listed in verses 19-21, there are a few words we may not fully understand. So, let’s not skim over them, let’s understand. The first 3 are all sexual sins: Sexual immorality, Impurity, Lustful pleasures. These are things we all fall into without the direction of God’s Holy Spirit within us. It’s natural. We get all twisted up. We seek love in the wrong places and boy do we find it in all the wrong ways. There, we get stuck in tangled webs and suck others into that web of destruction. The next word on the left side are may be a little more unclear: Idolatry. It’s easy to assume that’s not us, nor is it anyone we love … but often it is. Idolatry is putting anything or anyone above God. Anything that gets God’s place becomes our idol. Anything we value more, anything we trust more, anything we seek first. Our spouses can become our idol. Our jobs can become our idol. Our image, our money, our hobbies can become our idols. And guess what – that happens so naturally in this world. Without the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, we are making stars our guide, we’re allowing horoscopes make our decisions, and putting flawed humans on pedestals thinking they hold our answers. Jesus is calling us back. Back to connection with him. Our lives naturally change when we connect with him. Recognize what is growing in your life – if it’s on the left side realize you’re on the wrong side, connecting to the wrong thing that is threatening to burn your whole life down. Your answer, CONNECT WITH JESUS. Let the Holy Spirit become your guide and influence. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Jeremy Lallier discusses Daniel 3:18—“But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Have you maintained a faithful, straight walk in Torah? Or have you gotten “off the path” a little or a lot? Do you sense a call to return to the path, to Yahweh? Taking us to Jeremiah 29:12, Rabbi Steve Berkson points out Yahweh's pattern of behavior toward His people. When He needs to correct covenant behavior, He starts with small, subtle nudges and then uses more severe measures to get our attention. If He determines that we are not listening or responding, we will be turned loose to “play with the pigs” and, hopefully, come to ourselves and return to Him and the Covenant. • What's the first thing one should do when returning to Yahweh? • What is “hedging an apology”? • What does it mean not to seek Yahweh with all your heart? In Isaiah 55:6, two things are mentioned – seeking Yahweh while He can still be found and calling on Him while He is near. • What causes Him not to be near? What separates you from Him and creates distance? • Why do we not fully understand and accept His ways? • What are 3 things that will forever be in the Kingdom of Elohim? From there, Rabbi Berkson takes us to Lamentations chapters 3 and 5, where we see the formula for a prayer of repentance. • Have you ever been contrary to the Covenant out of rebellion? • What does “renew our days as of old” mean? Then we hop back to Jeremiah 6:8-17, where we see that the Torah is much more than just “The Law”; it is for our instruction. Yahweh wants us to be ‘instructed' by Him. • How can our ears be “uncircumcised”? • Why does Yahweh want to see us walk out His instructions? • What is “greedy for gain”? Verse-by-verse and step-by-step, Rabbi Steve Berkson takes us on a journey of discovery, learning how to covenant with our Creator and Father, which, from time to time, requires us to turn around and return to His Word so that we can have a sure entrance into His Kingdom. https://mtoi.org The MTOI App https://mtoi.org/download-the-mtoi-app https://www.facebook.com/mtoiworldwide https://www.instagram.com/mtoi_worldwide admin@mtoi.org (423) 250-3020 Join us LIVE (all times Eastern): • Torah Study, Fridays 7:30 pm • Shabbat Service, Saturdays 1:15 pm Streaming available on YouTube, Rumble, MTOI App, and mtoi.org

Living Stones Church - Our passion at Living Stones Church is to be the kind of church described in the Bible: A Culture of Faith. Together we love to actively pursue Spirit and Truth.

Living Stones Church - Pine Trees - Our passion at Living Stones Church is to be the kind of church described in the Bible: A Culture of Faith. Together we love to actively pursue Spirit and Truth.

Getting "passed over" by the Lord is not a good thing, especially when we're talking God returning His people back to the Promised Land. Today we study Isaiah 48 and see how God warned His people about the coming judgment and confirmed His message through prophecy, but they still would not listen. Yet, He still has a plan for them that results in greater glory to Himself. Join us for another soul-nourishing study in the Book of Isaiah! DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1.    The recipients of the message of Isaiah 48 shifts from prophetically addressing the exiles and returns to focus on the contemporaries of the prophet Isaiah. Thinking back to our previous studies in the book of Isaiah, what was the spiritual condition of Judah at this time? 2.    Read over verses 1 & 2 and look for the irony that they contain. Why does the Lord focus on the "name" and "origin" and "invocations" of these people? Although they did these things outwardly, was it sincere? How might a church today have the right name and doctrine but be insincere in its worship? Why is insincere worship of the Lord met with His disapproval? 3.    In verses 3 & 4, how did the people respond to the Lord's Word? Why do you think they had come to respond like this? 4.    According to verse 5, why was the Lord so clear in His prophecies? What was He trying to show the people? Were they likely to receive His message?  5.    In verses 6 to 11, why does the Lord act? What was He doing among the people? For what purpose?  6.    In verse 9, why does the Lord withhold His wrath? Does this surprise you?  7.    In verse 11, what does the Lord seek? Why is it best for Him to seek this? How should this be our life goal as well?  8.    Verses 12 & 13 present a high view of God. What do the people need to know about God? Why? Do you believe these truths about Him? If so, how have they changed how you view yourself and the purpose of your life?  9.    Verse 14 gives another prophecy regarding Babylon. What does the Lord say He will do? What was it, about Babylon, that would have made this promise difficult to believe?  10.    How is the Trinity evident in verse 16? What does this tell us about the united nature of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? How does this show their distinct personhood?  11.    In verse 22, what peace is Isaiah talking about here? Why is it withheld from the wicked?  12.    The podcast ended with several questions. Are you easy to teach? (Why or why not?) Do you embrace what your learning? When God is trying to teach you something, do you resist it? Or do you purse learning what He would have you do know?   Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon just in time for the Genesis relaunch in January! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

Every Sunday Night we will be diving deeper into specific chapters and verses throughout the bible. We created this service to provide a space to equip our church family with a deeper knowledge and understanding of scripture.We invite you to join us on Sunday Nights at Captivate Point Loma!-----Join us for service online or in person every Sunday at 8am, 9:30am, 11am, 12:30pm, & 5pm (PST).Connect to Captivate! - https://shorturl.at/nKxQuDownload the Captivate App to Stay Connected! - https://shorturl.at/5PfXPIf you want to share how God is moving in your life through this ministry, please let us know at info@captivatesd.com!Decided To Follow Jesus? Sign up to receive a copy of our “I Have Decided” booklets - https://shorturl.at/93CHSGet plugged in!Next Steps - captivatesd.com/next-stepsVisit - captivatesd.com/visitCommunities - captivatesd.com/communitiesIf you would like to support Captivate financially you can give online through our website by clicking here captivatesd.com/giving Need prayer? Please let us know! - https://captivatesd.churchcenter.com/people/forms/597023For more information about Captivate Church, visit captivatesd.com or follow us on our social media platforms below.Instagram - Instagram.com/captivatechurchsdFacebook - facebook.com/captivatesd

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Ten and Verse Forty Seven

Verse by verse teaching.

Wednesday 06-17-2026. Verse-by-Verse through Hebrews.

Did You Put the Veil Back Up? Discussion Questions for Hebrews 9: Hebrews 9 says the old covenant had barriers, veils, priests, repeated sacrifices, and limited access. Where do you still tend to live as though there is a barrier between you and God? What would change if you believed Christ has brought you all the way in? The priests entered the outer room continually, but the Holy of Holies was entered only once a year by the high priest. How does this contrast help you appreciate your daily, personal access to God through Jesus? Do you relate to God freely, or do you still feel like you need to "wait outside"? Verse 12 says Jesus entered the holy place "once for all" and obtained "eternal redemption." What does "once for all" do to the idea that you need to keep proving yourself, re-earning forgiveness, or getting spiritually "re-cleansed"? Verse 14 says the blood of Christ cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. What are some "dead works" believers today might still rely on to feel okay with God? How is serving God different when it comes from a cleansed conscience instead of a guilty one? Jesus is called the mediator of a new covenant. What does it mean to you that your relationship with God is not determined ("mediated") by your performance, your consistency, or your spiritual résumé but by Jesus Himself? Hebrews 9 connects forgiveness with blood, sacrifice, and covenant. Why is it important that forgiveness is not God "looking the other way," but God fully dealing with sin through Christ? How does that make forgiveness feel more secure? Where do you need to stop standing outside the veil and start living like someone who is always inside the Holy of Holies?

What Worship Is Jonathan Parnell Download Psalm 100,Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!2 Serve the Lord with gladness!Come into his presence with singing!3 Know that the Lord, he is God!It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,and his courts with praise!Give thanks to him; bless his name!5 For the Lord is good;his steadfast love endures forever,and his faithfulness to all generations.Last Sunday, my family and I had the joy to worship with Kenny Ortiz and his family at Horizon City Church in Orlando. For those of you who don't know Kenny, he was a pastor here at Cities before we sent him out to Florida a few years ago to plant Horizon City. And it was so good to see him and spend a little time with him — and we had a funny moment together …Each of my kids had new backpacks they were toting around, and Kenny had the same kind — I think it's pronounced ‘Os-pree.' It's a backpack for hiking. Well, they have straps that buckle across the front, and my kids figured out right away that there's a whistle attached to the buckle. It's kind of discreet, but the kids figured it out, and so they, of course, were walking around blowing this whistle. Pastor Kenny sees this, realizes he has the same kind of backpack, with that same buckle, and that same whistle, and he says: “Hey, I never knew what that was!” And of course he starts blowing the whistle too. There was a lot of whistling going on! It was a funny moment!And Kenny made this a great moment. Because he thought it was incredible that he had this thing for so long, that was literally right under his nose, and he didn't know what it was. We've probably all been there before about something, but look, one thing I hope we never say that about is worship. This thing we do together on Sundays, and what we're called to do in all of life — we need to know what it is.Because being a worshiper is most fundamentally who we are as humans. Being a worshiper of Jesus is most fundamentally who we are as disciples of Jesus.Our worship of Jesus is the most important action we ever do as humans — so we should understand what we're doing when we worship.Psalm 100 helps us here.Today we're gonna look closely at Psalm 100, and I want to show you three truths about what worship is.The first is this:1. Worship is a declaration of our allegiance. We're gonna see this right away in verse 2, but before we get there, let me remind you about the context: Going back to Psalm 93, we're in a section of psalms all about the reign of the Lord, or the final coming of the Lord in judgment and salvation. And we established (back in Psalm 97) that what's in view here is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. These psalms are talking about the end of the world when Jesus returns in final judgment for his enemies and salvation for his people. And our response on that day as his people, as those saved by Jesus, will be worship — it'll be praise, thanksgiving, gladness, joy, singing — all the happy words we see in these psalms. That's what we're gonna do together with all of creation. Psalm 100 is right in line with this theme we've been seeing.In Psalm 100, the reader is commanded to worship God now with seven different imperatives. I'm gonna read all of them, starting in verse 1, but follow with me and see if you can spot them:Verse 1: Make a joyful noiseVerse 2: Serve the LordCome into his presence (v. 2b)Verse 3: Know that the Lord, he is God!Verse 4: Enter his gatesGive thanks to him (v. 4b)Bless his name (v. 4c)There's no doubt this whole psalm is about worship, but I want to call special attention to verse 2, that first line: “Serve the Lord with gladness!”What does that word “serve” mean?What Does It Mean to Serve?The word for “serve” is interesting because it can literally mean to work and serve as a servant, and it can mean to worship. And in a lot of cases, it has a double sense. To worship God is to serve God, to be submitted to him, to swear allegiance to him. That's what's intended most times when this word is used in the Old Testament. And it was Israel's biggest problem. Their problem was who they served. For example, in the Book of Deuteronomy, first, God is very clear. He says, Chapter 6, verse 13:“take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods …”Then he says, Chapter 8, verse 19:“And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.”11:16,“Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them…”So one thing we know for sure here is that worship must mean more than an experience a few times a month on Sundays. Instead, worship is about an all-of-life allegiance, and it is a choice. It's a choice between two options: You either serve other little-g gods (bad idea), or you serve Yahweh, the one true God. Those are your choices.Those are the choices that Joshua set before the people of Israel in the Book of Joshua, Chapter 24. This is an epic scene in the Old Testament. Joshua gathered all of Israel, and he addressed all the people. He reminded them of their history and all that God has done for them from the calling of Abraham to the rescue from Egypt to the possession of the Promised Land, and he said, to all the people: “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord …” (v. 14) He said:“choose this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (v. 15)It was an amazing moment. Joshua is saying, Me and my house are devoted to the one true God! My allegiance is to him — it's to Yahweh alone. That's what it means to serve the Lord, and that's what Psalm 100, verse 2 is getting at. To worship God, to serve him, is to declare your allegiance to him. It is about loyalty to our true King!A Daily ChoiceAnd we basically have that choice every morning when we wake up … Imagine, when you wake up, that Joshua says to you, personally: Hey, choose this day whom you will serve. Who's it gonna be? …And don't rush the moment . …Of course we know the right answer, but really think about it: at the end of the day if you were to assess your time and your energy, and what you give your best attention to, and what motivates you, who are you serving? Is it comfort? Reputation? Success? Power? Money? Who's it gonna be? To whom is your highest allegiance?Look, when it comes to worship, the real contrast throughout the storyline of Scripture is not worship versus non-worship, but it's who you worship: either you will serve the Lord or you will serve something else.Church, serve the Lord.And that is one reason Sundays are the best day of the week. Worship is more than a Sunday experience, but man, Sundays are important. Because on Sunday, the first day of the week, is the day that launches us into the next six days. We come together to say to God, before one another, “As for me, I will serve the Lord.”And of course we serve him with gladness. Let's not act like it's a hard choice. The way of Jesus is the only way. He alone has the words of life! We are gladly all in with Jesus. Worship is a declaration of our allegiance.2. Worship is congruent to our existence. We see this in verse 3. This is actually the center of the psalm — the center of the seven imperatives. The psalmist says, verse 3: Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.This is very straightforward. Get this: we worship God because he made us.This logic is repeated in all the great Confessions. I love how the 1689 London Confession puts it. This is Chapter 2, paragraph 2. The Confession says: God is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands; to Him is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further pleased to require of them.What it means to be a creature is that our Creator has the authority to require our worship. Because: God is God; we are not God; God made us.Resistance to CreaturelinessAnd look: the spirit of the age hates this fact. The mindset of the world, people of the world, hate the fact that they are made. They can't stand it. Because they worship the Self. We've talked about this recently: that in our sin, humans want to be their own gods. They want control over reality — even if it means murdering their pre-born children or mutilating their own bodies. They want to be gods to themselves. And the best explanation I've ever read of this is by the late theologian John Webster. He describes the essence of sin as the despising of our creatureliness. He writes:“To be a creature is to have one's being in relation to God, for ‘to be' is ‘to be in relation' to the creator, and only so to have life and to act. To be a sinner is to repudiate this relation, and so absolutely to imperil one's life by seeking to transcend creatureliness and become one's own origin and one's own end.” (Webster, Holiness, 84)The people of this world, dead in their sins, hate that they are creatures — and we know what this is like. It used to be all of us!In sin, you try to do everything you can to pretend you are not creature, you try so hard to be you're own god … but the problem is that there was a time when you did not exist. You did not exist, and then, when you did come into existence, you had nothing to do with it. That's what it means to be made.Have you ever thought about that?The Wonder of Being MadeI was thinking about this last week. We were having family dinner, and it was a beautiful moment together, it just hit me. I said: Y'all there was a time when none of us existed. …We had no existence at all. We were simply not. But then, we did exist. We do exist. We're here right now. Because we were made!And so what do we do as those who are made? We worship our Maker! It just make sense!The worship of God is congruent to the basic truth that he created us.And here are two very practical things we do with this — First is for parents, for moms and Dads (and since it's Father's Day, I mean this especially for Dads.) Here it is: 1) Teach your children that they are made. When Elizabeth was a toddler and just learning to talk, Melissa and I did a little catechism with her, and one of the first questions was, “Who made you?” Except we didn't ask that way. We would say it like this: “Elizabeth, who made you?” And she would say, “God!”And recently I asked all of my kids that question, and they all got the answer right. They all said God.And look, I know I'm not a perfect dad, and I'd never claim to be, but I feel pretty good about this one. Parents, we can all do it. Teach your children that God made them. And their eye color, and their hair color, and their skin color — it's all wonderful because God did it. And second, for all of us …2) Be amazed that God made you. It is so good to be made! It is so good that God is God; we are not; and God made us! And yes, we owe him everything — like the 1689 says, to Him is due whatsoever worship, service, or obedience he requires. But remember, the worship we owe him is not drudgery for us, but it's actually what satisfies the deepest longings of our soul. It's why we were made! It's why we exist!Psalm 100, verse 3: “It is God who made us and we are his!” Worship is congruent to our existence.3. Worship is grounded in the character of God. This is verse 5. And it's the verse that grounds everything said in verses 1–4. It's the ultimate reason why we … make a joyful noise, and serve the Lord, and come into his presence, and know that he is God, and enter his gates, and give him thanks, and bless his name.The reason we worship God is “for” — verse 5 — or because:the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.We worship God because he is worthy of worship, and his worthiness is evident in his character.That is what this verse is saying, and the grammatical construction makes that clear: Worship God because of his character — and in particular, because of his goodness.And we see this construction and this reason show up over and over again from Psalm 100 onward. Now we're gonna see this, but let me go ahead and tell you:Psalms 106 and 107 start the same way: “Oh give thanks to the Lord ... for he is good.”Psalm 117:3, “Extol him, all peoples ... for great is his steadfast love toward us.”Psalm 118:1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord ... for he is good.”Psalm 135:3 “Praise the Lord ... for the Lord is good.Psalm 136:1 “Give thanks to the Lord ... for he is good.”And then in Psalm 136 the psalmist repeats 26 times that God's steadfast love endures forever.Church, look, the Lord is good; his steadfast love really does endure forever. That's why we worship him. It's because of who he is, and who he is is good.Even in the Valley?But you might say: “Pastor, it doesn't seem that way for me right now.”Maybe you're going through a season of suffering. Maybe you've been battling discouragement and disappointment, and you feel stuck. You're just in the pit and you don't know what to do. You certainly don't ‘feel' the goodness of God where you are, and yet you hear this call to worship God for his goodness — and we just need some help here. I want you to know that even in the valley — in your valley, in your pit — God is still good, and you can worship him. In fact, your praise from the pit has a unique glory and sweetness to it that honors God more, shames the devil, and baffles the world.And I was trying to think here of some historical examples — like who are the saints in church history who have modeled this for us? There are many.But then it occurred to me: God has given us examples within our own church. The Examples God Has Given UsI think about Jen Jacobs, who died in 2022 at 38 years old. She had been diagnosed with cancer and fought hard, and I remember being at her house one day with a small group of people surrounding her, trying to bring encouragement. And Jen couldn't even open her eyes, but she wanted to sing the song “Good, Good Father.” And we did: we all sat there and sang “You're a good good Father, that's who you are!”And then I think about Kayla Rigney, our dear sister who died two years ago at 35 years old. She also battled cancer, and used to help lead worship on Sunday mornings. And one Sunday, the last Sunday she ever sang up here, she stood right there, half her hair was gone, and she led us in singing:I love You, LordFor Your mercy never failed meAnd all my days, I've been held in Your handsFrom the moment that I wake upUntil I lay my headOh, I will sing of the goodness of GodChurch, do we realize the examples God has given us? … right under our nose.And then of course I think of our dear sister Jean Swenson, who for decades was bound to a wheelchair after being paralyzed from the neck down. Jean modeled for years that we don't measure the goodness of God by our circumstances, but that our circumstances must be interpreted through the goodness of God. We start there! We start with: God is good.And because God is good, he therefore must have good purposes in hard things. Jean was an example for us of what her friend, Joni Erickson Tada, has been saying for over fifty years: “God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.”And that is his goodness. And church, we're gonna worship him because he's good. No matter where we are. And what God has done to prove his goodness is that he sent his only Son here. While we were sinners, when we deserved nothing but his wrath, God showed us his love in that Jesus died for us. Jesus took our sins upon himself. He suffered in our place. He defeated sin and death, and he has given us himself. We are united to him by faith. We are forgiven and free. Heaven is our home. Eternal joy is our future. Church, we can worship him now. And that's how we're gonna close. I get that there are some moments in life when we might say, about certain things, “Hey, I never knew what that was!” But Cities Church is not gonna say that about worship:Worship is a declaration of our allegiance.Worship is congruent to our existence.Worship is grounded in the character of God. And at this Table, this morning, we worship him. The TableEach week this Table directs our hearts to the cross of Christ where God's goodness displayed. If you're not a Christian, this is a moment for you to believe. Right now, wherever you are, turn from your sin and trust in Christ. Ask Jesus to save you, and he will save you. That is our story as Christians, and that is who this ritual meal is for. This is a soul-reviving cordial where we remember the goodness of God to us through the cross of Jesus Christ.Brothers and sisters, we who trust in Jesus, let us eat and drink together, and give him thanks.

The Gospel | Romans 13:1-7

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Ten and Verse Forty Six

Who Does the Lord Know? (1) (audio) David Eells, 6/21/26 We received a question regarding Matthew 7:23 and how these people could say they know the Lord, and yet the Lord says, “I never knew you”. Also, Some people think that they are lost people, or that they were never really saved. And so I thought we could look at that today and identify who the Lord knows and those whom the Lord said He never knew. Let's look first in Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. The Bible talks about false prophets quite a bit in both the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes they don't appear to have been apostate, but in some cases, they definitely are. This is true in 2 Peter chapter 2; and the Christians he's talking about there. I believe the whole chapter really is about false prophets. 2Pe 2:15 forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; Of course, the only one that can forsake the right way is somebody who's been there, and obviously, they are being an apostate or fallen away in this case. For instance in 2Pe 2:20-21 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. 21 For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. This and many other scriptures clearly refute the ”once saved always saved doctrine.  Another good example would be in Jude 11 Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. 12 These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; This includes those who fell into the error of trying to be “a profit” instead of a prophet. But I just wanted to make that point, because some people say that all false prophets are lost people, and that's just not the case. Of course, a lot of times, when we talk about Christians, we really should identify Christians the way the Bible identifies Christians, and not the way the worldly church identifies them. The way the worldly church identifies Christians now is those who have been born in spirit. Their spirit has been born from God, and they have a new spirit. But it is more than that. that's not the way the scriptures identify as Christians. Scriptures identify Christians as those who walk and talk the way Christ walked and talked. Also, there's a big difference between somebody who's just been born in spirit and those who walk the way Christ walked, because you can have Christ's spirit and not live His life as Paul exhorted Christians in Rom 8:13 for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. That's an exhortation given to those who have the spirit of Christ because he went on to exhort that those who have the spirit of Christ should go on to receive the Spirit of God. Everyone who is born of God receives the Spirit of Christ and today, that's called a born-again Christian. As we read the text, we'll see that “Christian” is identified scripturally as something completely different. So keep that in mind that I'm talking about Christians in the way that the church uses the term, those who have been born in spirit. Back to Mat 7:16 By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; (Again, now he's not just identifying prophets. Now he's broadening the scope. And in the next few verses, he uses the word “every” several times. So he's broadening the scope to talk about everybody, not just false prophets.) 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Now, this same verse is used in Matthew 3:10, where John the Baptist is rebuking the Covenant people of God; those religious leaders who made their stand on believing that Abraham was their father. Mat 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: 9 and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  I want you to notice here that He's talking about the Covenant people, thinking that because they were children of Abraham, they were entitled to God's blessings. And John told them that that's not the truth. The truth is, only bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance brings you into God's blessings. I think this is a good exhortation for Christians today, because Christians think, “Well, I'm a Christian, God's my Father so I can just go and do what I want to do now.” But this is not so. It says every tree that doesn't bring forth good fruit among us is hewn down and cast into the fire.  The scripture also says in Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away:… Notice: Every branch in me… Now that can be no other than God's people, right? We're all responsible to bring forth fruit. The fruit is what identifies us as Christians, and the fruit here, as we see in the text, is the actions of your life. The fruit is love, the joy, the peace, the righteousness; all those things that Christ was and is. The actions of our life are the fruit of the inner life, that's what He's talking about; the fruit. Along the same line in several of Jesus's parables, He came looking for fruit on the fig tree. He wasn't looking for fruit on a tree that wasn't supposed to bring forth fruit. He was looking for fruit on a tree that was created to bring forth fruit. It is the fig tree that identifies God's people. Luk 13:6-9 And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. 7 And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? 8 And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou shalt cut it down.  Notice: The Lord is the one who's going to cut it down. The Lord is long-suffering with us to bear fruit, but be that as it may, we've been given a certain amount of time to bear that fruit, and I think that's what He's talking about in Matthew 7, because as He goes on in Mat 7:20 Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Now he's identifying fruit as doing the will of the Father. The fruit of the Spirit is doing the will of the Father. He goes on to say, 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? Let me make a point here. Do you suppose that it's possible that an apostate Christian could prophesy? I mean, prophesy from the Lord? We have examples in the scriptures of false prophets who prophesied in the name of the Lord. A good example is in 1 Samuel 19. This is talking about Saul after he had fallen away from the Lord; in fact, he had been rejected by the Lord. It says 1Sa 19:23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? Now, some people say, well, because he stripped off all his clothes, that doesn't seem like a godly thing to do, but I think what the Holy Spirit was showing to people around him was that he was walking naked before the Lord. He wasn't dressed up with Christ. He didn't have on his wedding garment, so on and so forth. He had fallen away in his works, because remember when we studied the garment, it symbolized your works, right? In Revelation 19, the righteous acts of the saints were the garment that the bride is wearing.  Now, I want you to notice this too; this same man had a demon that was sent from God to him. 1Sa 18:10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand; 11 and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was departed from Saul. Now this is the same Saul whom the Lord had departed from, who later prophesied in the name of the Lord, because the Spirit came upon him. Here, he prophesied in verse 10 by an evil spirit. He had obviously become a false prophet. Was it always that way? No, it wasn't always that way. He was the anointed of the Lord. But yet he became a false prophet. He became what we would know today as an apostate Christian. He was rejected in 1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king. So he had been rejected by the Lord, received an evil spirit by which he prophesied, and later even prophesied in the name of the Lord when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Now, going back to what I consider to be probably apostate Christians in Mat 7: 22 …Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name,… And some people say, ‘Well, that wouldn't be possible if this person did not know the Lord at all to be able to prophesy by thy name.' And the point I want you to see here, too, is that it says by thy name and not in thy name; in the original, it says by thy name, meaning they could be prophesying true enough, but they weren't in the name. They weren't getting a reward because they weren't abiding in the name of the Lord. Another point, it says, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 12, when they accused Him of casting out demons by the prince of demons, Beelzebub? Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons. 25 And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. You know, I think you'll find that Satan doesn't cast out Satan; that even the most apostate Christians, because of their Covenant relationship with the Lord, still have authority to do that and can do it. I've seen people that the Lord identified to me as false prophets and actually did prophesy wrongly, and I've seen them cast out demons too. They had the Covenant relationship because of the Jews. The seven sons of Sceva were Jews. You see, the Jews were casting out demons. This wasn't new to the Jews to cast out demons. They had been doing that. And because of Covenant relationship, the Jews got healing, and they got deliverance. Even today, people, because of Covenant relationship, before being completely rejected by God, they can still cast out demons.  I know of a false prophet in particular who has identified too many people who cast out demons; in fact, he cast them out with me. Let me say this: a person who is lost, who does not know the Lord, how do they cast out demons? Those who have no Covenant relationship with the Lord; how do they cast out demons? Their father manifestly is Beelzebub, so how do they cast out demons? Well, what happened to the seven sons of Sceva when they tried to use “by Jesus whom Paul preacheth” to cast out demons in Acts 19:13 and then got whipped? They did not know the one who was creating the New Covenant. I think the point is that you have to be in some kind of a Covenant relationship in order to be casting demons out, because Satan doesn't cast out Satan.  The One who lives in you now casts out demons. 1Jn 4:4 … greater is he that's in you than he that is in the world. Who's in the world? Satan. Does Satan cast out his own kingdom? Jesus said, No, he doesn't do that. Well, here's the point. Were they casting the demons out by the Spirit of God or were they casting them out by Satan? Jesus said they couldn't cast them out by Satan. The lost people's authority is Satan. The one that lives in them is Satan. The point I'm making about these people here, these false prophets, is that many of them are apostate Christians. Remember, an apostate is one who is falling away from the truth and the grace of God. And it's somebody who is obviously saying, Lord, Lord, (so they obviously believed in their heart that Jesus was their Lord) Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy and by thy name cast out demons and by thy name do many mighty works? Notice they were not “in” thy name but God permitted this “by” thy name as a witness of Jesus. Who is it today that we know that is doing this in the name of the Lord, if it's not somebody who is abiding in His name, which is far more powerful?  I was in a situation where a preacher and his girl friend were trying to cast many demons out of a man who chased them out of the building. Previously the demon possessed man chased  the preachers deacon through a plate glass door, shattering it, and sending him to the hospital. So, they sent for me and told me their story. They watched from the doorway as I approached this man who thought to do the same to me. By the grace of God he cowered and was delivered. Many today are in “by” mode, meaning they are using the name of the Lord and not doing it in the name. I agree that some people profess the Lord and don't know the Lord or haven't been sent by Him. And all false prophets are not apostate Christians or just lost deceivers. ; not all of them. And I'm convinced that there is some chicanery going on even in Christian circles. I don't know if any of you are familiar with it, but I've been among some of them where they see a demon behind every bush. They cast demons out daily from everybody's flesh. But a lot of that's not demons, it's just run away flesh.  Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Now here's the point: is there such a thing as a Christian who's been born in spirit that God spoke to and said, “I don't know you” or “I never knew you?” Yes, we have examples of that. But first, before we get away from this, I want to read on because He says, I never knew you depart from me you that work iniquity. What is it for the Lord to know you? I want to look at that and what that means. When he says depart from me ye that work iniquity verse 24 went right on Every one therefore; (Meaning: He's talking about the same thing as just before this verse.) Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. 26 And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: Notice, He didn't say whether you had the spirit of Christ or not; it all has to do with obedience. The difference between a foolish man and a wise man is strictly just one word; obedience. The born again spirit filled with the Holy Spirit gives us power to obey through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. Our text deals with the fruit, which has to do with whether you're obeying. So the main difference between the wise and the foolish is hearing the words and doing them. Notice that both men here in this text heard the words, but only one obeyed, and that was the wise man. 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof. And this is the test that follows. I want to make that point before we go on because I want to look at the foolish virgins briefly, because God spoke to them, and He says, I don't know you. Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Again, what's the difference between the wise and the foolish? It's just one thing, being a hearer and a doer by the anointing of God. 3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. We know that in Pro 20:27 The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, Searching all his innermost parts. The spirit of man is the lamp of the oil. And the oil being the life of God or the Holy Spirit is to be in that lamp. And there's a vessel that the wise virgins took with them that was also full of oil; that obviously the foolish did not bring. What do you think the vessel is that also has the oil? We've talked about the difference between the born again spirit and the born again soul, which is your mind, will, and emotions. This is the fruit of the Spirit being born in the soul.  The person who had just a born-again spirit, but brought forth no fruit in the soul through obedience will be rejected. They were not bearing the fruit of obedience so they could be born again in the soul. The vessel that they brought with their lamp is the vessel of their physical life because that's where you bear the fruit of the oil. That's where you bear the fruit of Christ to be seen by the world. Now, even the foolish virgins here had oil in their lamp or spirit. So you can't classify them as non-Christians? Or, what we've been calling Christians. You understand? Verse 5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. This was another question someone had a while back about a word, so I went and looked it up. It's the Greek word, kosmeo. Kosmeo is the word we get cosmetics from. And it simply means ‘to arrange or to adorn'. It's not implying that their lamps were out and they lit them, you understand? It's just talking about adorning or arranging their lamps. They chose to translate it trim in this text; I don't think that's a very good word to use. To trim is to bring the wick up so the light shines best. Continuing in Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. Notice that - the door was shut. That was ominous because that door being shut is mentioned in other places in the scripture, like in Luke 13:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour. He said, I know you not. Now these virgins did have oil in their lamps. So obviously what the Lord means by knowing you is more than just receiving a new spirit, a born-again spirit. There must be fruit born of that spirit life in order for the Lord to know you. And I want to look at that too. Before we go there, let's look at Luke too, because it has a very close parallel to this door being closed. Luk 13:25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; … (Obviously the same text there.) and he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; 26 then shall ye begin to say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets; 27 and he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. See, so many people are relying on their relationship with the Lord by what they know, by who they're connected with, by the fact that they're a Christian, that they've accepted Jesus as their Savior, but they're using none of the criteria of the scriptures. The only basis that God rebuked any of these people was for their disobedience. And we know that the only way we can obey is by having faith in the Lord and being filled with His Spirit. If we have faith, we'll obey. We'll overcome the sins that we struggle against because we fight the good fight of faith. It's not by works. I'm not trying to magnify our works; I'm trying to magnify the Lord's works through us. The criteria by which the Lord is going to judge any of us is going to be works. And he says to them, because of their evil works, not because they weren't Christians, because it's obvious to me from Matthew 25, and what we just read here, that He's talking to His children. But He says, I know not whence ye are… What causes the Lord to know us? First of all, many people are going to be found in this situation. In Matthew 25, there were 10 virgins. It was talking about the time of the coming of the Lord, how that five were ready, and five were not. That's only half of the people mentioned; half were not ready to meet the Lord, and half were. The very next parable is the parable of the talents, and again, there's no paragraph indentation, so He just goes on in Mat 25:14 For it is as when a man, going into another country, (In other words, he's telling you, watch, I'm going to show you the same thing in another way.) There were three groups at that time who had each been given talents. And one-third of them were rejected because they didn't bring forth the fruit that God put in, right? Doesn't the Bible say a third of the stars of heaven will be cast down to the earth? How come it was half of the virgins and yet a third of those with the talents? Because the virgins are those who are living on the earth when the Lord returns, and these men with the talents are standing before the judgment after death, after resurrection, you see? We're talking about those who are living at the time the Lord returns in order to be caught up to be with the Lord. What about the people who die? There are obviously three groups. A third of the stars of heaven were cast to the earth in the Book of Revelation. That's a third of the people. The scriptures say that Abraham's seed are as the stars; also, Jacob. The stars are likened to God's people. In Jacob's dream of the stars, they're the children of the bride chamber; it's in many, many places. There's the star glory in 1 Corinthians 15; the star glory is a person who's manifested star glory with the Lord. And some go on to moon glory and sun glory. But a third of the stars of heaven are being cast to the earth, and it goes on in Rev 6:13 and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. That's not talking about angels, that's talking about God's people not coming to maturity. You see, this is what's happening to a third of the stars. And yet of the people who are alive and remain, half of those people do not enter to being with the Lord. During this end time many will fall in the great falling away. They were called, twice dead and plucked up by the roots. Do you suppose that if your lamp is going out, you would be called twice dead? I do and that's what he's talking about; there's a great falling away happening right there. I think during the tribulation period, probably a third of the Christians are going to take the mark and spiritually die, and out of the ones that are left, half of them are going to be rejected. This is what I feel from these two parables. In the parable of the sower in Mat 13, three out of four did not bear fruit and were rejected. But let's look now at the Lord and how He knows us. You know that the Lord foreknew a group of people in Rom 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: Let's see who the Lord knew. Okay, it's really important that we know who He foreknew because He didn't foreknow every Christian. I can prove that to you Notice who he's talking about; who was foreknown. Now, that's not knowing what's going to happen before it happens. Foreknew is like Adam knew his wife. The word ‘know' implies an intimate relationship. Rom 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: These people whom He foreknew here is not talking about He foreknew that they would overcome. He knew this person. He knew their nature before the world was created. Watch, it says, For whom He foreknew, He foreordained. (Everybody that He foreknew, He foreordained.) Notice to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Notice now, there's no way out of this verse. If you start in on one end of it, you've got to come out on the other end of it. The ones He foreknew, he foreordained, (He predestined) to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. So, everybody that God foreknew from the foundation of the world will be conformed to the image of His Son. That doesn't mean everyone that we call ‘Christians'. So, Jesus pointed out this group; He called them 30-60 and a 100-fold fruit. Fruit of what? The fruit of Christ. The 30-60 and a 100-fold are going to be conformed to the image of Christ. These are the ones He foreknew. What is it to know God? Did God know anybody who was not in Covenant relationship? No, He didn't. I'm going to make this point at the very beginning that God only knows one family in all the earth, and that family is born again spiritual Israel. Amo 3:2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities. Now keep that in your mind that the Lord has only known Israel from the foundation until now. Even though Israel was changed in the New Covenant, it's still Israel. He makes a point back in Rom 9:6 … For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel: In other words, ‘real Israel' is going to be picked out of the midst of mans ‘Israel'. You understand? Because remember, For many are called, but few chosen. Mat 22:14 That word chosen is eklektos, or elected. And Paul exhorts us to give diligence to make our calling and election sure. (2Pe.1:10) This group of people in Romans 8 was called and elect because in verse 33, he said who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? … So, he's specifically talking about the elect, not just the called. Now, everybody who's the elect has to be called because the word call means invited. You remember when Jesus came to the Jews, they were invited, but they all weren't elect, and the reason was that they didn't accept Jesus. So it's only Israel that He knows and specifically only those who are of faith in the Promises.  Let's look at Rom 11:1 I say then, Did God cast off his people? God forbid. He cast off all but the elect who are born from above for they are His people. There were some Israelites that He didn't cast off because Paul said, For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. So God didn't cast off the chosen or elect Israelites. But there were other Israelites that He did. 2 God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Notice that. Nobody that God foreknew did He cast off. You know why? Let's read on, and we'll see why. 2 God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Or know ye not what the scripture saith of Elijah? how he pleadeth with God against Israel: 3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election (or chosen) of grace. Now the remnant is according to the election of grace. Notice that Israel did fall away, but not the elect, not the chosen, not the foreknown. Watch. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. In other words, by no more of your works, no more works of the law, are you going to be justified before God. 7 What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, … Notice, the elect or the chosen will obtain it. The foreknown will obtain it, and they will not be cast off. See, we're identifying something here. There were many people called out of Egypt who fell in the wilderness and did not make it to the Promised Land. The Bible says many are called, but few are chosen or ‘elect'. Who are the ones He foreknew? The many called or the few chosen? So, obviously, from this text you can see very clearly that the ones He foreknew were elect, meaning chosen, and they obtained it. Why did they obtain it? Let's see what it means to be known by God. Look at this verse very closely in Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 for if God spared not the natural branches (Israel), neither will he spare thee. 22 Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23 And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.  The point I wanted to make is in verse 26 And so all Israel shall be saved. So what about all those who were cut off? They were Israel. They were called, but they were not elect. Remember what we saw back at the beginning of the chapter: those who were called and fell away in the wilderness. Those who rebelled against God, the ones whose hearts He hardened, He said, But the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened. (Rom.11:7) Who is Israel? Who is the Israel that God foreknew? It's the elect. It is the foreknown. What about the rest of them? He didn't foreknow them. You know why? Because they didn't endure to the end in faith and obedience.  I want you to notice that everybody who was not foreknown and who was not written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world is going to be deceived and fall away. Everybody. We're talking about those called who fell in the wilderness. That's talking about the world, the flesh, everybody who is not foreknown is going to be deceived by the Beast.  Look at Rev 13:8 And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain. Notice, it's everyone who is not written or not foreknown. Many Christians are called, meaning invited, but will not come to prove to be the elect, or chosen. They won't obtain the promise because of unbelief and are broken off. You understand what I'm saying? Remember they do not obtain the promise because they do not endure in faith. You can't obtain the promise that way. Look at Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come. So everybody whose name was not written there is going to be deceived, but everybody whose name that is written there will see through it. They are the elect; they will obtain. They are the foreknown; they will obtain. They will be the ‘Paul out of Israel', who God chose to go on and to bear fruit.  Today, we see Israel as a type of Christianity. Out of that, there are some who are going to go on and be obedient. Because obedience proves your faith. If you have no obedience, if you do not obey, if you are not a doer of the word, you have no proof for your faith. The way God is going to prove that you walk by faith is by your works. Everyone who walks by faith will overcome. If we walk by faith, we will overcome the trials in this life; the sin, the works of the devil; we will win.  There's another point I want you to see. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, in Ephesians, where it also says God chose us; that's the word eklektos in Him, before the foundation of the world. Now, if Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, when was He manifestly slain? Not until 2,000 years ago. Now, if our names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world, when are they manifestly written in the Lamb's Book of Life? They're manifestly written in the Lamb's Book of Life when you're born again. Therefore, you were foreknown just as Christ was foreknown. You see that? It is really important that you follow this now. It's manifest when you're born into the Kingdom. In God's plan and His foreknowledge. Just like Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, but He wasn't killed then. When God set His plan into manifestation, Jesus was sacrificed. But it might as well have been because God calls the things to be not as though they were.  So, when you were born from above you were written in the Book of Life. I'm not talking about in God's plan that He foreknew. I'm talking about when manifestly your name was written in. Because everyone who's born of God is written in His Book. But remember, the ones that He foreknew from the beginning were those who endured to the end and came into the manifestation of Jesus. Psa 87:4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me: Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: This one was born there. 5 Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her; And the Most High himself will establish her. 6 Jehovah will count, when he writeth up the peoples, This one was born there. Selah. The point is, when you're born into the Kingdom, that's when God writes your name. He said, Rejoice not that you have power over the demons, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (Luk 10:20) So here's the point. Everybody that's born, including all of those that came out of Egypt, were written in that book. But some were blotted out. Who was it that was blotted out, before the full manifestation of Jesus? Remember, we're talking about those whom He foreknew before the foundation of the world who came into the image of His Son. But according to Rev 3:5, He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life,…. So you've got many names written in manifestly, and those who don't overcome are blotted out. Before what? Before the full manifestation, the ones who were foreknown. So all the Jews who came out of Egypt were written at that time. Also, every Christian who receives a new born-again spirit from God is written at that time. But only the ones who endure to bear fruit were foreknown. Therefore, of those who fall in the wilderness, He says, I know you not. I never knew you. Why? He didn't foreknow them. What was the main difference between those two groups of people, the wise and the foolish? The main difference was that they both heard the word, but only the wise became a doer of the word. In both Matthew 7 and Matthew 25, the difference between the wise and the foolish is the same. And yet, clearly, even the foolish had oil in their lamps. But their oil was going out. See, there's a great falling away coming because of tribulation, because of trials and people are going to fall away. Look at Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life, And not be written with the righteous. There will be those who will be written in Zion but the sinner in Zion will be destroyed out of it. Look in Isa 4:3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem; 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning. God is doing a work of purging from the church those who are walking in wickedness, those who are guilty of blood, and walking in disobedience.  This scripture is very plain about being blotted out: Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life, And not be written with the righteous. There's another one where Moses was interceding for the people in Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. 33 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. So those who are written among the living, those who have manifested fruit, those who came into the image of Christ through the Word. Those who are written at the end are going to be the ones that He foreknew. They're going to be the elect, the ones that He chose. He exhorts us in 2Pe 1:10 Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: Look at 2Ti 2:19 Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his: and, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness. See, the Lord knows them that are His and that's going to be the ones who depart from unrighteousness, so he's exhorting everybody that names the name of the Lord to depart from unrighteousness, to depart from iniquity. See, we're finding out who the Lord knows. Do you know who He knows? He knows Jesus. He knows the name, which is the nature and character of Jesus. Can you imagine God having relationship with us as Adam did with Eve? (That's what the word ‘know' means.) Imagine God having a relationship with somebody who is contrary to His nature? Do you understand that? God cannot know someone who is contrary to His nature and Word. 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God".   Just like He commands us Christians not to choose an unbelieving mate, right? Why did He tell us not to choose an unbelieving mate? Because we're not to know anybody with a contrary nature. What fellowship has light with darkness? So God knows and sows the Word who is Jesus. To the extent Jesus is in you, that's to the extent God knows you.  Who did Jesus say the Father would love? Every Christian? No, He didn't. Joh 14:23…If a man love me he will keep my word: and my Father will love him and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. What is the proof that you love God? Jesus said several times that the proof that you love God is that you obey his commandments. This is the one He knows. 1Co 8:3 but if any man loveth God, the same is known by him. In other words, we are proving our love for God by walking in faith and obeying His commandments. The ones that God knows or foreknew are the ones that love Him. Why? Because they not only hear the Word, they do the Word. The ones that God knows will come to know Him because of the foreknowledge part, like I said. It's in the mind of God. It's calling those things that be not as though they were. God spoke, and ever since He spoke this plan, it's been coming into existence. Don't miss it!  It was Jesus Who was foreknown to die for the world, but He wasn't manifest until Calvary. And you, who were foreknown to be in God, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, weren't manifest until you were born. Of those who are born and walk by faith and overcome and endure to the end, Jesus said, they shall be saved. Those who endure through the wilderness and enter into the Promised Land; they are the types of the elect. The very thing that causes you to go on is faith and if you don't understand that, then you can't overcome it anyway. Ever since Exodus chapter 3 the Lord revealed Himself to Moses. But you know Moses didn't know the Lord? He confessed it in Exodus chapter 33. He did not know the Lord. We are coming to know the Lord. The Lord is the nature of Jesus Christ.  And the more we come to know that nature of the real Jesus, the more we're coming to know the Lord. The one the Father knows, or even foreknew, was Jesus, because He was of like nature. God can only know that which is of like nature. Jesus said in Joh 14:9 If you have seen me you have seen the Father. He doesn't know the worldly person. He doesn't know the wicked person. He knows the righteous man that's inside of those who love Him. Exo 33:12 And Moses said unto Jehovah, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, See, the Lord had told Moses, I know thee by name. You know what the word ‘name' means? It's the same in the Hebrew as it is in the Greek. It's nature, character, and authority. The Lord told him, I know thee by name, and thou hast found favor in my sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show me now thy ways, that I may know thee. The Bible talks about the Jews, how they knew the doings of the Lord, but Moses knew the ways of the Lord. There's a difference in knowing His doing and knowing His ways. If you know His ways, you can walk with Him. If you only know His doings, sometimes you're just going from judgment to judgment. …that I may know thee, to the end that I may find favor in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  And in verse 17 And Jehovah said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken; for thou hast found favor in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, Show me, I pray thee, thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; Moses found out the name of the Lord in Exodus chapter 3. He told him the exact name. YHWH, I AM THAT I AM. So obviously, he's talking about a different name here. He's talking about the real name here.  Verse 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name (the Shem) of Jehovah before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live. Moses represented the Law; you couldn't come into the likeness of Christ through the Law. So he didn't get to see the face of the Lord, but we have a promise in 1 Corinthians 13. Moses didn't see His face; he spoke to Him face to face, but he didn't see His face. There's a difference. We can speak to the Lord face to face, but not see Him. Now there's a difference. He spoke to God face to face, but he didn't see His face. For man shall not see me and live. In other words, as man, you can't know Him. And as man, you are not known by Him. 1Co 15:50 Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. It is your spirit man that can know Him and be known by Him. The Holy Spirit helps our infirmity that we can know Him and see Him.  But He goes on to say, 21 and Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock: (The only place you can see God is standing upon the rock, right? That's Jesus, and you have to stand upon the Word of God.) 22 and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand until I have passed by: 23 and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back; but my face shall not be seen. Now, when He revealed the name of the Lord, the Lord said He was going to proclaim His name. It wasn't YHWH because He told him that 30 chapters before. Look at Exo 34:5 And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah. 6 And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, (YHWH; it's YHWH, in the original, that's what He said.) a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth; 7 keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. This is His Nature, Character, and Authority, Which is the meaning of Name. Now, He just proclaimed the name of the Lord. But what Moses didn't know, and he asked God to show him, ‘Show me thy ways, so I'll know the one who's going with us.' See, this is knowing God. Knowing this person whose name represents the I AM, that's knowing God. The opposite is also true. God knows the same nature. He knows Jesus Christ. He knows Jesus in us. And it is Christ in us by Word and Spirit that is the hope of glory. Remember in Romans 8, the ones He foreknew, and you go all the way to the end of the verse that says, He also glorified. Everyone He foreknew, He glorified. Now in 1Co.13: 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. So knowing fully is seeing God face to face. Moses said, ‘I don't know You; reveal Yourself to me.' Therefore, he could not see Him face to face. Coming to maturity, bearing fruit, or manifesting Christ's likeness is coming to know Him face to face. It is coming to know Him fully as I was fully known. Who is going to come to know Him fully? Only those who were fully known will come to know Him fully and will see Him face to face.  Moses himself said, ‘I don't know You yet.' By the Law, you can't know God face to face. That's why Moses didn't enter into the Promised Land as a type and a shadow because the Law could not make perfect. It's also why Moses couldn't see God's face; he could only see His shadow, His back parts. Did you see that? By the Law, all they could see was shadow, so God said I'll let you see My hinder parts but He wouldn't let you see His face because by the Law you can never come to know God. It's only by His grace that you can come to know God.  Now Moses was asking for this, ‘Let me know the One Who's going to go with us.' In the New Testament, our Moses is Jesus; He did know God face to face. And we're coming to know God face to face through His grace and through His sacrifice. But the ones that are going to fully know God are the ones that were fully known by God before the foundation of the world. All the rest of them are going to fall away, just like those people in the wilderness. They were written in, but blotted out before coming to the fullness of God, which was what? The Promised Land. Did you know that, as a child, we can speak to God face to face? And God can speak to us face to face as a child of God. And the reason we can speak to God as a child is because of our Covenant relationship. But coming to know the Lord is seeing Him face to face by faith. 2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. That's coming into His nature, coming into His life, coming to know Him. Moses knew the literal name, Y-H-W-H, but he didn't know the One that name just represented. Remember we build on the foundation and we need to able to stand upon the rock when the wind blows and the rain beats against that house. Look, what is the firm foundation of God that stands? It's the name of the Lord. And that everybody who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness. We can't stand on that rock in our own strength. I know I've shared this vision that my wife had years ago, how that I was standing on this rock wearing what was like metal leg braces.  The ones who are foreknown are going to stand on that rock of the Word and this shows us it won't be by their own strength, but by the strength of the Lord. So that's why it's our faith that counts. If it were by our works, it would be our strength that would cause us to stand but it's not. We can praise God for this, because it's not by our works. It's by grace, and the only way to get grace is faith in the promises. I thank God that Jesus freely gave us this salvation that we're talking about. We can accept it by faith without trying to work it up in ourselves. Everybody seems to go through that stage of trying to earn their salvation and failing miserably because it's got to be freely given by grace. It's got to be the strength that God supplies, and God supplies that strength by simply believing the word of God, not walking by sight, but believing the word of God. We believe that Jesus took away our sins. Initially we can't see that, but as we believe that He did it will happen. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We proclaim and confess the word; that's standing upon the rock and that's the only place you can see the Lord. Right now, maybe we speak to Him more face-to-face than see Him face to face. But we're going to know fully, if we walk by faith, even as we were fully known. Can you imagine that? You're going to know God fully as you were fully known. That's a tremendous promise! I mean, we want to know God, and gradually, the more we stand upon the rock, the more we're going to see His face. It's progressive, it's not an instantaneous thing.  When Moses stood upon the rock and the Lord proclaimed the Name, He proclaimed the nature of God there. This is the way God is, and yet, we're only learning the nature of God a little by little, line upon line, here a little and there a little. We're learning His nature. A lot of people are building things upon the foundation of God that have got to be torn back down, like in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. People build on it, the wood, hay, and the stubble of their own works, own doctrines, and religious establishment. All those dead things have to be burned back down by tribulation, and then start over. We build upon the foundation, which is Christ. There's no other foundation that can be laid that will work. That's what Paul was saying. Some people are on the shifting sand, yet some who are really on the right foundation, but they're building wrong things on the right foundation, the right foundation being that Jesus took away our sins.  But again, you can make the same mistake the Pharisees made in making of no effect the Word of God by their traditions. This is what the worldly church is famous for. This is what the Jews were famous for and Jesus rebuked them several times for that. If you make of no effect the word of God by your traditions, you're not standing upon the rock, and you're not going to see His face.  We have to come to know this Lord. We have to humble ourselves to His word. People have ulterior motives for believing what they believe, which is religion's way; they have different reasons for believing what they believe and they don't like to be wrong. They want to be seen as right. They live purely for the glory of men. And so they never change their mind even when you can show them all the verses in the word. They're building other things on the foundation and those things are going to be torn down by tribulations that are coming. Hopefully, many people will repent and rebuild the right things on the right foundation and bear fruit. That's why tribulation is coming. It's coming to tear down, to shake, the things that can be shaken, shake them right down to the ground so that God can rebuild the truth. There's going to be a great outpouring of truth in the tribulation period for those who love the truth. But sadly, for those who will believe a lie, there's great deception coming. That deception is going to blot a lot of names out of the Book of Life so that those who are foreknown will be there alone. Those that are left in Zion will be holy, you understand, because the spirit of fire has cleansed it, so the way is to walk by faith, to stand upon the Word of God continuously, and not be swayed by the traditions of men, by Babylon's wood, hay and stubble. Babylon really has been around since, as people say, the Tower of Babel, but really the nature of Babylon has been around since the very beginning. Religion is supplanting God's way. The problem is, all we like sheep have gone astray, each one after his own way, and that's why we've got so many religions. But we've got God's standard to go by. God's way, and you really can't accept anything else. Religion's ideas, how to organize the church, and how to do the works of God. Religion's ideas are Babylon. God's people, historically, the Jews were taken captive by Babylon, and will later be delivered from the bondage of Babylon to build Zion, and that's really the Christian walk. Every Christian starts out taken captive to Babylon. That's the false ideas of ways God wants things done, false ideas of the nature of God, the name of God, and their false image of Jesus. Everyone needs to be delivered from all that. Their false teachings, church doctrines, traditions of men, etc., and go to Zion where the truth is. The Lord Jesus is our Zion; the true Word is our Zion. It's seeing God the way God wants to be seen; it's knowing God the way God wants to be known, and without knowing God the way God wants to be known, He doesn't know you. Do you know who God knows? It's the inner man, the seed of Christ that's on the inside of us. God knows Him.  And the point is, if we're not like those virgins taking the vessel of oil along with the lamp with the oil, then we're not bearing fruit in the area of the soul. Their lamps went out because they didn't carry the oil in the vessel. In these days, people don't think it's necessary to obey. But bearing fruit in the area of the soul comes from obedience. Peter said that, and it's something we need to see. 1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: 23 having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. In other words, we're still being born again; we're being born again in our soul. And our souls are being purified, and we're walking in holiness. Heb 12:14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: 1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. 3 And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. And Jesus said in Joh 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he that is from God, he hath seen the Father. Who is Christ in you. For a more complete teaching on those who are chosen and the elect, see our book Predestined Called and Elect on our Website.

They Boldly Spoke the Word of God Acts 4 by William Klock Chapter and verse breaks in the Bible are not part of the original text.  Chapter breaks were added about eight hundred years ago and verses about five hundred.  There's an old biblical studies urban legend that Robert Estienne, the French printer who published one of the early New Testaments with verse division, marked them out while riding on horseback from Paris to Lyon, explaining the often frustrating way they cut through thoughts and sentences.  Chapter breaks can be just as annoying.  I say this because last week we left off our study of Acts at the end of Chapter 3, but the end of Chapter 3 isn't where this story ends.  You'll remember that this story about Peter and John and the lame man followed right on the heels of Pentecost.  Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray when they met a lame man begging at the temple gate.  “Silver and gold have I none,” said Peter, “but such as I have I give.  In the name of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk!”  And he lifted up the man the man began to jump up and down and to praise God.  And as everyone began to gather around, Peter began to preach.  He reminded them of their own story, of God's promises going all the way back to Abraham, and how all those promises were fulfilled and how the story was brought to its climax in the death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus. I won't repeat everything I said last Sunday, but needless to say—and even if you aren't familiar with the story—you probably knew that trouble was coming.  But that pesky chapter break.  It saved you from an hour-long sermon, but it also cut the story in half.  So we'll pick up after the break, with Chapter 4, now.  [It's page 1083 in the pew Bibles.] Luke continues: “As they were speaking to the people, along came the priests, the chief of the temple guard, and the Sadducees.  They were greatly annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming that the resurrection of the dead had begun to happen in Jesus.  They seized them and put them under guard until the next day, since it was already evening.  But a large number of the people who had heard the message believed it and the number of men grew to five thousand.” The idea of the resurrection of the dead was a big deal for the Jews and you'd think that announcing that it had somehow begun in Jesus would be good news.  And obviously it was for the thousands who believed.  Not so much for the Sadducees.  They were sad, you see, because they didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead.  Okay, not really.  Their name goes back to Zadok, the high priest in the days of David and Solomon.  That name, Zadok, is also related to the Hebrew word for righteousness.  So the Sadducees thought of themselves not only as the sons of Zadok, but also as the righteous ones.  And in the First Century, they controlled the priesthood.  They were aristocratic and they were in power and people like that don't usually like revolutionary ideas, and if there was there was a great revolutionary idea alive in Judah, it was the idea of the resurrection of the dead.  Resurrection means that things are broken and that God will, one day, come to set things to rights—and that implied that the Sadducees were part of the problem needing to be set right.  So they're upset at Peter's preaching.  The Pharisees didn't like this talk either.  As far as they—and everyone else who hoped for resurrection—were concerned, all God's people would be raised from the dead at the end of the age.  The idea that Jesus was raised all by himself was like heresy.  And, of course, if Jesus had been raised, it meant he was the Messiah and they refused to accept that idea.  So no matter how many eyewitnesses there were to the risen Jesus, it had never happened, so far as they were concerned. But back to the Sadducees.  They controlled the priesthood and the priests were the gatekeepers of Israel.  And this talk about Jesus as Messiah and his being resurrected, which means he'd initiated the age to come already, that was the sort of talk that might spark a revolution.  And, of course, a revolution was what was already happening as the gospel and the Spirit were beginning to do their work.  But just as they hadn't recognised it in Jesus, the leaders of Israel refuse to recognise it now and they have Peter and John locked up for the night.  Even still, Luke goes to the trouble to make the point that thousands believed anyway.  The gospel cannot and will not be stopped! Verse 5: “On the next day their rulers, the elders, and the scribes gathered in Jerusalem, along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family.  When they'd stood them in the midst, they asked, ‘How did you do this?  What power did you use?  What name did you invoke?'  Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit.  ‘Rulers of the people and elders,' he said, ‘if the question we're being asked today is about a good deed done for a sick man, and whose power it was that rescued him, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that this man stands before you fit and well because of the name of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.  He is the stone which you builders rejected, but which has become the head cornerstone.  Rescue won't come from anyone else.  There is no other name given under heaven and among men by which we must be rescued.'” Do you remember that scene in Luke 11 where Jesus is confronted after casting out a demon?  “You can only cast them out, because you're one of them,” they accused him.  The same thing is happening again.  I think Luke wants to highlight that what's happening here might be an “act” happening through the apostles, but it's still ultimately Jesus acting.  Or the Spirit, which amounts to the same thing.  Luke makes a point of saying that Peter was full of the Spirit when he answered the accusation.  So just like Jesus, when the council asks them in whose name they healed the lame man, not only is Peter bold to announce that it's Jesus of Nazareth, they boldly assert that he is the Messiah—the one they crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.  So Peter is reasserting everything: It's Jesus.  Yes the one they crucified.  And this isn't just about a lame man walking again, this is about the resurrection of the dead.  It's about the fact that Jesus is Lord and that the revolution has begun.  The age to come, new creation, the kingdom of God is here.  In fact, they quote Psalm 118 at the council to explain it all.  Psalm 118 is a psalm of the temple.  It's about people going up to the temple to celebrate God's new day to claim his rescue, his salvation.  It's a psalm about God's life-giving power and it's about God bringing his people through trouble and rescuing them from danger. It's a psalm about trusting in God's mercy and it's a psalm about God's victory over the powers of the world.  “It is better trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man…than to put confidence in princes,” says the Psalmist (vv. 8-9). So they're saying, “It's Jesus.  He really is the Messiah and he really has inaugurated God's new age.  But then it's like they're deliberately poking a stick in these folks' eye.  The Sadducees (and the Pharisees, too, and most people) were all about the temple.  It was the embodiment of Israel's hopes for God's rescue and for the fulfilment of his promises to one day come again to dwell with his people.  And so this whole episode started with a man who'd been sitting in the temple gate for years, hoping for a rescue, yet never healed, and now suddenly healed by Peter and John—in the power of Jesus.  So that's the first thing.  It says that God has, in fact, returned to dwell with is people, but instead of being in the holy of holies, he's indwelling the disciples of Jesus.  And then, in case they hadn't made the connection, Peter, inspired by the Spirit, quotes Psalm 118 at them.  Yes, the hope of God's return is happening—in Jesus.  Yes, God is now present in his temple—but that temple isn't made of stone, it's these Jesus people.  And yes, God has come to rescue us just as he promised, to set this broken world to rights, to wipe away the tears—through Jesus.  And at the same time, it would be hard for the council to miss the hint that the mortal princes, the people from whom God's people need to be rescued are not the pagan nations, but the Sadducees and elders and scribes who are rejecting Jesus.  (Yes, the pagan nations, too, but first, God's got to deal with the corrupt leaders of his own people.) It's the same thing Peter has been preaching, first on Pentecost, then to the crowd who gathered around the lame man when they saw him jumping up and down.  Every time, Peter grounds God's salvation in Jesus as the fulfilment of his promises and of Israel's story.  Every time, it's the announcement that Jesus is Lord; that he's come to rescue his people; and every time, it's a call to repentance and faith.  This sort of situational astuteness and gospel boldness is what it looks like to be full of God's Spirit.  And the council recognised this, even if they didn't want to admit what (or who) it was.  Verse 13: “When they saw how boldly Peter and John were speaking and realised that they were untrained, ordinary men, they were astonished and they recognised them as men who had been with Jesus.  And when they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.  They ordered them to be put out of the assembly while they conferred amongst themselves.  ‘What can we do to these men?' they said.  ‘This is a spectacular sign that has happened through them.  All Jerusalem knows it, and we can't deny it.  But we certainly don't want it to spread any further amongst the people.  So let's threaten them with awful consequences if they speak anymore in this name to anyone.'  So they called them in and gave them orders not to speak at all or to teach in the name of Jesus.” It's comical and I think that's what Luke intended.  It's like they've completely missed the significance of what Peter and John have seen.  They've seen Jesus risen from the grave.  They saw him ascend to his throne.  They heard everything he said.  They saw everything he did.  And now they're doing the same sorts of things themselves in his name.  They know, without a doubt, that in Jesus God has come, that Jesus is Lord, that the kingdom is now, and that the days of the principalities and powers, the old temple, and its priests are numbered.  Peter and John know which is the winning side…without a doubt.  Threatening them isn't going to change that. Brothers and Sisters, we really need to think on that.  Don't just read Acts and let it go in one ear and out the other.  Stick a finger in one ear if you have to, but let this sink in.  Because you and I have just as much reason to be as confident as Peter and John.  No, we aren't eyewitnesses to the resurrection or the ascension, but we have every reason to believe the accounts of them.  Someone a while ago asked me about difficulties with the creation accounts in Genesis and with the history of the Exodus.  There are difficulties in the Bible.  There are hard philosophical questions for which I haven't yet found the perfect answer.  But I do know that Jesus rose from the dead.  I've heard all the arguments against it.  And they don't hold up.  I don't want to get into those details here, because that's not what our text today is about.  My point is simply that we have every reason to believe that Jesus rose from the dead and just like St. Paul, confronted by that inescapable reality, we have to accept that Jesus is the Messiah and that the rest of it all is true—even we have to wait til the New Jerusalem to understand the ins and outs of exactly how some of it is true.  It's true.  As Matt reminded us last week: Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.  And not only do those three facts change everything, they ought to give us confidence and boldness to proclaim the good news that Jesus is Lord, that God has come to our rescue, and that his kingdom is now.  I'm not terribly concerned, for example, about Bill C-9.  But even if I were, I'm not going to let it stop me proclaiming the good news.  Because Jesus is King and in him the resurrection of the dead has begun.  And that truth ought to be as revolutionary for us as it was for Peter and John and the King and his Parliament and his Prime Minister ought to be just as afraid of this resurrection revolution as the Sadducees, the elders, and the scribes were. So Luke goes on in verse 19: “But Peter and John gave them this reply: ‘You judge,' they said, ‘whether it's right before God to listen to you rather than to God.  As far as we're concerned, we can't stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.'  Then they [the council] threatened them some more, and let them go.  They couldn't find any way to punish them because of the people, since everyone was glorifying God for what had happened.  After all, the man to whom the sign of healing had happened was over forty years old. Brothers and Sisters, don't stop talking about what you have seen and heard.  Peter and John were witnesses to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  You know what you're a witness to?  You're witness to the transforming power of those events.  Somehow most Christians seem totally unaware of this witness.  Maybe it's because we're so oblivious to our own history.  Maybe we need to read up on history so that we'll be aware of the power of the gospel.  The very thing that Peter and John looked forward to is now—at least partially—in our past.  Luke says there were five thousand believers in those days just after Pentecost.  Brothers and Sisters, today there are 2.6 billion.  They lived in a world in which no one outside Judaea had ever heard of Jesus.  We live in a world where Jesus is known the world over.  They lived in a little Jewish pocket surrounded by pagan nations so mired in moral filth it's hard for us to image the depth of depravity, because even as bad as might think the world is today, it has been so dramatically transformed by the gospel.  Our world, even the secular parts of it, value things like mercy and compassion, because of the transforming power of the gospel.  Brothers and Sisters, we live in a world that has been radically transformed by the power of the gospel.  If Peter and John had reason to be confident, you and I have even more. But notice, too, what they do when faced with opposition.  Verse 23: “When they had been released, they went back to their own people and told them everything that the chief priests and the elders had said.  When they heard it, they all together lifted up their voices to God.  ‘Sovereign Lord,' they said, ‘you made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them.  And you said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David, your servant, “Why did the nations fly into a rage, and why did the peoples think empty thoughts?  The kings of the earth arose and rulers gathered themselves together against the Lord and against his anointed Messiah.” It's true, Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the nations and the peoples of Israel, gathered themselves together in this very city against your holy servant Jesus, the one you anointed, to do whatever your hands and your plan had foreordained to take place.  So now, Lord, look on their threats and grant that we, your servants, may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, so that signs and wonders may come about through the name of your holy servant Jesus.'” It would do us well—and it would do the kingdom well—if we responded to opposition the way the disciples did.  We need to pray more and fret less.  There is a battle raging in the world.  Jesus has won the decisive victory, but that doesn't mean that the powers of this old age aren't trying to maintain their grip.  They're like the bad guys in the movies, hanging on to the edge of the cliff with their fingers—doomed, but unwilling to give up.  To pray is to stomp on their fingers and to send them falling.  Pray.  Pray the psalms.  Pray Psalm 2 the way they do here.  This was Israel's prayer, but Jesus and the events surrounding those first Christians reoriented it.  They cry out with the Psalmist: Why do the nations rage?  Why do the peoples think with empty thoughts? The kings of the earth have huddled together against the Lord.  Except this time Israel herself had become one of the nations, her priests huddled together with Pontius Pilate.  They'd crucified Jesus.  And yet the disciples, in their prayer, also acknowledge that God is sovereign.  Remember that for Jews to quote a line from a Psalm was to call to mind the whole thing.  And in Psalm 2, yes the nations raged and their kings gathered together against his anointed, but then—do you remember Psalm 2?—God laughs at them, because they're fools.  And God establishes his king on Mount Zion.  The once raging nations become his inheritance.  And Peter and John and the rest knew that in Jesus this psalm was being fulfilled.  The Psalm concludes addressing those kings, “Now therefore, O Kings, be wise” and just so the disciples pray, “Now therefore, Lord, look on their threats and grant that we, your servants, may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, so that signs and wonders may come about through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  Brothers and Sisters, pray the Spirit-inspired scriptures back to God and things will happen.  Luke writes in verse 31: “When they had prayed the place where they were gathered was shaken.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they boldly spoke the word of God.” We should learn this prayer.  When the principalities and powers of the old age push back, pray this prayer.  When the local council or the legislature or Parliament or the King or the courts push back, pray this prayer.  When the gospel gets you in trouble with your family or at school or in your work, pray this prayer.  When you become discouraged, if you're struggling to keep the faith, if you're wrestling with sin, if you feel cornered by the world, the flesh, and the devil, pray this prayer.  Remember that you are a witness to the power of the gospel in the world.  And pray this prayer. And immediately Luke shows us the church—not just boldly proclaiming the good news—but also living it out as a community.  Luke shows us the church as the working model of God's new creation in the midst of the old.  Luke shows us the church being the new temple: the place of God's presence and the fulfilment of his promises of abundance and generosity.  Look at verses 32-37.  I was tempted to save these for next week as they lead us into Chapter 5.  I actually think they could warrant their own sermon.  But look at them now: “The company of those who believed had one heart and one soul.”  Remember Paul telling the Philippians to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Messiah Jesus”?  Be of one Jesus-like mind.  That plays out in all sorts of ways and Luke shows us one here: “Nobody said that they owned their property; instead they had everything in common.  The apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power and great grace was upon all of them.  For there was no needy person among them, since any who possessed lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sale, and placed it at the feet of the apostles, who then gave to each according to their need.  Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, to whom the apostles gave the surname Barnabas, which means ‘son of encouragement', sold some land which belonged to him, brought the money, and laid it at the apostle's feet.” As I said a few weeks ago when we looked at Chapter 2, this doesn't mean they became a bunch of proto-Marxists.  Luke's point is that they became a family that live out the generosity and abundance of God's new creation.  We know from what we read later, that they had their own homes in which to meet.  And the focus of their charity was on the truly indigent, especially widows—on people notably with no family to take care of them.  And Paul will warn in his own letters that the able-bodied should get jobs instead of mooching off the community.  Again, the point here is that they very visible became the community in which torah itself was being fulfilled.  They've become the land of overflowing with milk and honey.  They've become the people who truly love their neighbours.  They've become the new temple in which God has returned to dwell with his people.  And they're doing and being this community right in Jerusalem: showing up the old Israel, exposing the priest and the council, showing that the old temple and its sacrifices are done.  God has fulfilled his promises and he's done so in Jesus and in the people who gathered around him in faith. And, Brothers and Sisters, we ought to be the same sort of new creation, heaven-on-earth community here.  As in Peter and John's day, the powers that be will tell us to go away and concentrate on heaven while they run the earth.  They'll warn us not to shove our religion down anyone's throat, while they, of course, will do their best to shove their materialism, their commercialism, their hedonism down our throats.  They'll get frustrated with us when we refuse to worship in their temples to money and power and sex and politics and war.  And when that happens, Brothers and Sisters, pray.  And remember that Jesus has died, Jesus has risen, and that Jesus will come again.  Be shaped by that story.  Be confident, knowing that God has and is and will fulfil his promises.  Be bold knowing that the gospel has power and that we live in a world transformed by that power, even if everyone ignores it or denies it.  Pray.  Remember.  Be bold.  And then remember that we are the family of the Messiah, marked out by his powerful name in our baptism and that in those baptismal waters, he's plunged us in to his Spirit.  He has made us new and we're not the family meant be and to bring and to live out his new creation, to live out heaven on earth in anticipation of the day when Jesus finally sets it all to rights.  We are the family that refuses to stop singing his praises and proclaiming his glory.  That's what we were created to do in the first place.  That's what Jesus has rescued us to do right now.  And it's what all creation will one day, by his grace, do again. Let's pray: O Lord, hear us in your mercy, we pray, and grant that we, to whom you have given the desire to pray, may be defended and comforted by your mighty aid, and strengthened in all dangers and adversities, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, find a comfortable chair, and let the world slow down for a few minutes. In this episode of The Coffee Buzz, we unpack the biting social commentary and deep psychological insight of Verse 18 of the Tao Te Ching. This verse presents us with a radical challenge to our modern obsession with rules, policies, and performative virtue. Today, we explore why a sudden abundance of moral rules usually means we've lost our underlying connection to reality, and how we can find our way back to an authentic, unmanufactured way of living.In This Episode, We Pour Over:The Paradox of Enforced Goodness: Why talking endlessly about virtue and piety is often a sign that the genuine flow of life has been forgotten.The Substitute Trap: How our culture relies on clever metrics, branding, and strict rules to fake an organic harmony that we've let slip through our fingers.Tending the Source: Moving past the performative demands of family duty or external righteousness to nurture simple, natural connection in our everyday interactions.Featured Reading: Verse 18 of the Tao Te Ching (Stephen Mitchell translation).Join the Conversation: Where in your life are you relying on a rigid rulebook or an abstract policy rather than trusting your natural instincts or authentic connection? How can you loosen your dependence on performance metrics this week and just sit with the real thing? Let me know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this reflection, please subscribe and share it with someone who might need a quiet moment today. See you on the next one.

One of the most common and most difficult questions people ask is, "Why?" They're wondering things like, "Why did some event happen?" While we won't fully understand all the answers to those questions until we're with the Lord, today's study in Isaiah 45 begins to show us some reasons for "Why?" Isaiah 45 is one of my favorite chapters on the Bible and I believe it will help us understand more of what the Lord is doing in our lives, and why. Join us! DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1.    When you're facing life's difficulties, how frequently do you ask the question, "Why did God allow this"? What does this question tend to represent?  2.    Isaiah 45 begins with a key prophecy about Cyrus. Who was Cyrus? When Isaiah wrote this prophecy around 712 BC, how many years (or centuries) before Cyrus was this prophecy written? According to Josephus (as mentioned in the podcast), what impact did this prophecy have on Cyrus' life? How does this prophecy deepen your trust that the Bible is the Word of God?  3.    Verse 1 calls Cyrus the Lord's anointed. What does it mean to be the Lord's anointed?  4.    Look over the following verses, what would Cyrus accomplish? a.    Verse 1:  b.    Verse 3: c.    Verse 13: d.    Verse 14:  5.    Skipping down to verse 19, what does the Lord mean by saying "I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land?" How is the Word of God a clear light to the nations?  6.    In verses 20 to 25, what is scene that the Lord is summoning the nations to?  7.    What does He tell them to do in verse 21? Why are they to consult together? 8.    In verse 21, why is it important for us to know that God is righteous?  9.    What is the outcome of this courtroom scene in verse 23? What will the people's response be? Why? 10.    What will the nations conclude in verse 24? Why is this helpful for us to know when we want to know the answer to "why" God has allowed some things to happen?  11.    What does verse 24 mean when it says that the nations will be put to shame? Why were they angry at first? Why did their anger convert to shame? What does this tell us about the Lord's righteousness?  12.    In verse 25, how will the Lord be justified? How will He be glorified?  13.    When you're facing life's difficulties, how frequently do you ask the question, "Why did God allow this"? What does this question tend to represent? What will all the nations finally conclude in these verses?  Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon just in time for the Genesis relaunch in January! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Ten and Verse Forty Five

Tom Clark discusses Genesis 32:24-28—“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.' But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!' So He said to him, ‘What is your name?' He said, ‘Jacob.' And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

'Seeing is believing,' right? But what if I told you there is something even more certain than your eyesight? Join us as we explore the concept of spiritual vision and discover why Prophet Muhammad is the final messenger, and Islam is the ultimate message for humanity until the end of time.

In this raw episode, Katie talks about Residency Review: A Memoir in Verse. She shares poems from her new book, and together Katie and Tim explore the emotional landscape that went into crafting it.At the Table: Katie Dozier & Timothy Green

[Verse 1] We wield the sword march into the new land only to find it a repeat of the trauma the deep disappointment of replay Sound upon sound Light upon light The same face The same beauty The same need No need for scrutiny [Pre-Chorus] Only to find that the shedding of the skin The beginning of ascension [Chorus] I can't stand you I hate myself more I can't stand you I hate myself more But you see together we can go up (expanding) to the dance of the creator [Verse 2] The one last step The final thrust upward and never looking back Forgiven, it never happened It never appeared It never saved but the end saved at the last possible second [Pre-Chorus] The last possible possibility That you are me and I am a star [Chorus] I can't stand you I hate myself more I can't stand you I hate myself more But you see together we can go up (expanding) to the dance of the creator [Bridge] and burning brightly forever needing to be finite to talk to you again even if it didn't go so well [Final Chorus] I can't stand you I hate myself more I can't stand you I hate myself more That you are me and I am a star and burning brightly forever needing to be finite

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Ten and Verse Forty Four

The New Covenant is one of the most important topics we can understand about the plan of God among people. Yet even though it's the covenant we're in right now with God, many Christians don't understand it. Today, in our study of Isaiah 42, we're going to look at one of the earliest references to the New Covenant found in the Old Testament. Join us for the key study in this key chapter! DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1. Isaiah 42 continues to build on the idea that a New Kingdom is coming. In verse 1, we find out that the leader of this kingdom is also a servant. Who is He a servant of? What does that indicate about His own nature and character? 2. The podcast explained that Isaiah 42 is one of several "Servant Songs" in the book of Isaiah. The four "Servant Songs" are found in Isaiah 42, 49, 50 & 53. What is a "Servant Song"? Why is it important to know about these "Servant Songs" when interpreting these passages? 3. Look over verse 1 again. How do we see the fingerprints of the Trinity in this verse? 4. Many Jewish people say that the servant here is the nation of Israel. While that is true in Isaiah 41:8-9, what were some of the reasons given in the podcast for why Israel is not the Servant here in Isaiah 42? Why is this "new" (or different) Servant necessary? 5. Verse 1 also speaks to the nature of the reign of the Servant. What kind of kingdom He establish? 6. In verses 2 to 4, how does He go about establishing this kingdom? In these verses, does it sound like Christ's kingdom expanding through conquest? How would you say that this kingdom is being established in these verses? How do we see this prophecy working out in our world today? 7. How does verse 5 show us the accountability that all people have to God? 8. Isaiah 42 introduces one of the earliest passages in the Bible about the New Covenant. In verse 6, what covenant is God appointing the Servant to bring to the nations? According to the podcast, what is the significance of the Lord's plan to move on from the Mosaic covenant? 9. In verse 7, why does the Lord characterize people's entrance into this kingdom as having blind eyes opened and being freed from dungeons? How did Jesus echo these principles in His Gospel proclamations? 10. In verses 10 to 12, what is the atmosphere of this kingdom? 11. Verses 13 to 15 speak of a different time period in the establishment of this kingdom. Verses 2 to 4 speak of Jesus' first coming and how He works in the world now. Verses 13 to 15 speak of His Second Coming when He will judge the nations and finally and fully establish His kingdom. How are these two interactions with mankind different? Why are they so different? 12. Verses 16 to 25 speak of the spiritual condition of mankind. What is the dominant malady of people described in these verses? What are the various responses to the Lord that are given in these verses? What accounts for these differences? What does this look like in our world today? How were you once blind? How do you now see? Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon just in time for the Genesis relaunch in January! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

Verse by verse study through the book of Acts Chapter Ten and Verse Forty Three

Everyone believes in something.  Many believe that they are part of the highest form of animal life – and that this life is all there is for them and so they live to make the most of it. Our chapter (5) in John's letter today begins, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” [v.1]  Here is a word picture of a precious fellowship of believers bound together in love.  Our thoughts go to Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus that John recorded in his gospel; remember what Nicodemus was told? “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” [ch.3 v.3]  “Born of water” refers to baptism – to put on the name of Christ.  That physical act must be accompanied by a rebirth of the mind, anew way of thinking; Paul spelt it out plainly in writing to the Ephesians, “… be renewed in the spirit of your minds… put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” [4 v.23,24]In his Epistle John goes on to say, “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.  And his commandments are not burdensome” [v.3] as had been the laws and rituals in keeping the laws through Moses.  Verse 4 challenges us!  “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”  True faith flows out from a heart that is full of the “conviction of things not seen” [Heb 11 v.1] John writes, sure that his readers have this conviction of faith and says  he “writes these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” [v.13] That is a challenging concept of thought!  “Death” becomes in a sense non-existent, as this life is completed we move into God's time, which is time-less, it is like “the twinkling of an eye” death “has “no sting” [1 Cor. 15 v.52,55] May we all be treading with ever surer steps on the narrow way because we have been truly “born of God” and “God protects him and the evil does not touch him” [v.18].  Furthermore, “we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ” [v.20] for we truly have “been born of God.” [v.1]   

(Psalm 12:6-7) God's Word is pure, preserved forever, and can be trusted. In this broadcast continuing the series of answering current questions from listeners, Scott Pauley covers the difference between Bible translations and paraphrases, chapter and verse divisions, and guidance for new and returning believers for studying Scripture. (10144260617 ) Join Scott Pauley's study through Scripture this year. Find resources for every book of the Bible by Dr. Pauley and Enjoying the Journey at enjoyingthejourney.org/journey-through-scripture/. Whether you're a new believer or have walked with the Lord for years, you'll find thousands of free devotionals, Bible studies, audio series, and Scripture tools designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of the Bible, and help you stay rooted in the Word of God. Explore now at EnjoyingTheJourney.org. Extend the Work Enjoying the Journey provides every resource for free worldwide. If you would like to help extend this Bible teaching, you may give at enjoyingthejourney.org/donations/

Erik Jones discusses James 2:9—“But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

Gather close, dear listeners…and heed the warning in my voice, for such tales are not spun without consequence. This week on the Scary Spirits Podcast, we mark the fateful anniversary of the 1956 horror classic The Werewolf, first unveiled to unsuspecting audiences on June 13th—a night when shadows grew longer, and mankind's fragile hold over the beast within was tested. Join your guides, Karen and Greg, as they walk the haunted path of this classic werewolf film, exploring its eerie atmosphere, tragic transformation, and the age-old curse that binds man to monster. But beware…their journey is not taken empty-handed. As the moon rises, they partake in a hauntingly crafted “Wolfsbane Serum” cocktail, a potion inspired by ancient remedies whispered among villagers and seers—said to ward off the beast…or perhaps awaken it. Sip along if you dare, as they unravel the film's chilling legacy, its place in vintage horror cinema, and the enduring fascination with werewolf mythology that still grips us today. For remember, my friends…when the wolfbane blooms and the moon is full, even the most innocent soul may not escape the call. Listen now…before the curse finds you. Wolfsbane Serum Cocktail • 1 1/2 oz creme de violette• 1/4 oz lime juice• club soda Instructions: In a mixing glass combine Creme de Violette and lime juice over ice. Stir. Strain into glass filled with fresh ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with lime if desired. Source: 2geekswhoeat.com A Brief Synopsis: A mild mannered amnesiac named Duncan Marsh is transformed into a murderous beast after two rogue doctors inject him with an experimental radiation serum following a car crash. On the run in a snowy mountain town he struggles with his violent uncontrollable transformations. Some of the topics discussed and highlights of this episode include: Karen gives us a brief history of the jukebox. Dr. Karen tells us about amnesia. We get a history of the megaphone. We learn a shocking fact about Greg! Our rating of the film: This movie was so bad that it took us 4 cocktails to get through it. Take our online survey! We want to know more about you! Please take our survey. All questions are optional and you can remain completely anonymous if you prefer. Tell us what you like or would like to hear more of! All music on the Scary Spirits Podcast is provided by the band “Verse 13”. Please check them out. You can listen to all their music on their Bandcamp page. Get social with us! Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram Subscribe on YouTube to watch Greg attempt to make all the featured cocktails Follow @ScarySpiritsPod Questions, comments or suggestions? Shoot us an email at info@scaryspirits.com As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a small percentage of qualifying purchases through our links.

Have you ever been on a boat in a stormy sea? Have you ever seen waves so big they can swallow your boat? Have you ever felt the panic of beginning to sink? I haven’t, and I must say, I’m quite grateful. I love living through an adventure to get to the other side with a good story, but that’s one I prefer to just read about. The disciples had this real-life experience, and Mark gives us a vivid picture of their desperation as they became convinced they weren’t going to survive. And what’s crazy is, this is the storm Jesus led them into. It was Jesus’ idea to get in the boat and head in this direction! Mark 4: 35-37 “As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let's cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind. But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.” Fierce storms, high waves breaking into your boat, and water filling the only thing that’s keeping you afloat, is NOT a favorable situation. And maybe that’s the way life feels right now. You’re struggling to make ends meet, and now another thing breaks needing repairs. How will you pay for that? Your marriage has been on the rocks, now you’re dealing with sickness too. You’ve been battling feelings of depression and anxiety, now there are more messes and stresses coming your way, just when you feel you’re already at your breaking point. How much more can you take? These are the storms of life. These are the waves that come crashing into our boat. These are the winds that blow and the waters that threaten. And we ALL go through them. We all deal with our crossing to the other side that goes all wrong. Why does Jesus allow this? Heck, not only allow it, but actually lead us into it? Jesus knew of the storm the disciples would encounter on the boat that night, and he knew of the storms you would encounter too. Yet, he still allowed you to be right here in this boat to meet the waves. Where is Jesus when life grows out of control? Where is Jesus when you feel like you’re sinking? Where is Jesus when it’s all just too much and you don’t know how to save yourself? Verse 38, “Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion.” As the waves are breaking over the boat and water is filling the hull, Jesus is peacefully asleep. There wasn’t an ounce of freak out going on for Jesus. There was no worry, no stress. He was resting in complete assurance. Jesus could sleep through the storm because he was in charge of it. And, Sis, Jesus is here going through this with you, and he’s absolutely NOT flipping out. He’s not worried how this is going to work out. He’s not upset over these hard times. He’s not stressed over what just happened, or anxious about what will happen next. It’s not because he doesn’t know. Oh, he knows. And it’s not because he doesn’t care. Oh, he cares. It’s because of this one thing, through it all, he’s in total and complete control. Verse 38-41, “The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” Jesus asks why fear has taken over when he’s right there in the boat. After all he has brought us through before, do we still have no faith? After all he has done, do we still question his power? Do we still dismiss ourselves from his love and care? Do we still doubt his control over every detail of our lives? Jesus could sleep through the storm because he was in charge of it. If the winds obey Jesus, so does the housing market, the job market, the dating market and every door that seems closed to you. If the waves obey Jesus, so do the doctor’s reports, the pregnancy results, and the recession. With a single command, Jesus stopped what no human could control. How did Jesus stop the wild storm? He simply said, “Silence! Be still!”, and boom, the wind suddenly stopped and there was a great calm. Looking back, has God ever suddenly stopped the very thing that was threatening you? He has, hasn’t he? It was awful one moment, then it was completely gone the next. It was overwhelming, then it was over. It was way too much, then it was suddenly nothing at all. Recognize who did that. That was Jesus! Jesus calms storms. Jesus changes circumstances in an instant. Jesus brings peace where chaos has threatened. He holds that power. This isn’t too hard for him. Everything is possible in the hands of our God. But sometimes those storms you don’t want and the waves that scare you silly are part of the ride in learning to trust him. How would you know that baby is a miracle if you didn’t wait so long for him? How would you know God opened that door if you hadn’t first watched so many others close? How would you know God is the ultimate provider if you wouldn’t have hit rock bottom first? You see there’s only one way the disciples came to know that the wind and waves obey him, they had to be in the middle of the uncontrollable storms with a sinking boat. Jesus allowed it, and through it he revealed his power and strengthened their faith. Jesus could sleep through the storm because he was in charge of it. Jesus is in charge of what you’re going through too, Sis. As big and scary as it may be, as uncertain as it feels, he has not surrendered one ounce of control. You’re not in charge. You don’t have control. You’re going to wear yourself out trying to act like you do. Here’s the one thing you can do in this storm … choose where you look. You can look at those waves crashing over you, or you can look at Jesus. You can look at the water filling the boat, or you can look at Jesus. I’m not saying to be oblivious to the mess and ignore the problem. Sometimes you gotta pick up an oar and row. Sometimes you gotta grab a bucket and start bailing out some water. Sometimes you gotta cut out the extras and log yourself out of the Amazon. Sometimes you gotta update your resume and go door to door. Sometimes you gotta be honest, take responsibility, and make some necessary changes. But always, always, always, keep looking at Jesus. Keep looking to him for peace. Keep finding assurance in his control over your circumstances. Keep seeking his guidance through your storm. He’s here, and he’s not freaking out. Yes he’s near and yes he cares. He’s resting in the middle of your storm because nothing about it is outside of his authority. Remember how God has gotten you through before, and know he will do it again. Again and again and again, he will be in your boat, riding the waves, with complete authority over everything that comes your way. And there’s nothing wrong with waking up Jesus and asking if he could help you with these waves. Go ahead and wake him up. Cry out to him. Ask for help. Ask him to calm the wind. Ask him to stop the waves. But don’t wake him up because you think he’s forgotten you. Wake him up knowing he’s the only one in the boat who has authority over the storm. Hey Jesus, would you wake up and be near me in this storm? I would really like for it to go away. Would you stop the wind? Would you calm the waves? And if now isn’t the time to calm this storm, will you help calm your girl, because I really don’t want to freak out. I know you’re in control. I trust you. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com