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Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North Sermons - Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North
Introduction: Mark 1:8 - I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Since I'm a Member of the Body of Christ… (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) I shouldn't DOUBT the Part I Play (1 Cor 12:14-20) Because That DENIES My Purpose (1 Cor 12:14-17) Because That DISHONORS God's Design (1 Cor 12:18-20) I shouldn't DOWNPLAY the Roles of Others (1 Cor 12:21-26) By Acting Like I Don't Need ANYONE ELSE (1 Cor 12:21-24) By Exclusively Focusing on My NEEDS (1 Cor 12:25-26) By Shining the Spotlight onto ME (1 Cor 12:27-31) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: How is the Church Like a Body? Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:36Please turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. Isn't it frustrating to witness someone not do his or her job correctly? Maybe you have an employee or a direct report who constantly comes late, makes excuses, or has a suspicious number of grandparents that he has funerals he has to attend.01:06How many grandparents do you actually have? You hire a contractor to carry out a project in your house and he makes huge mistakes. And he acts very inconvenient when you come, when you ask him to come back and fix those mistakes. Your waitress has a horrible attitude and never checks on your table because she is constantly texting. You know what's even more frustrating than that? Witnessing or experiencing someone else.01:36not allow others to do their jobs correctly. You watch your favorite team lose yet again because one key player can't get his act together and he messes it up for everybody. You have a boss who is an expert in incompetence. He expects everyone to do their jobs as well as his job. You have a co-worker who makes your job so hard you can't finish this project at work because she has constantly dragging your feet and she is not communicating with you.02:10And instead of accepting that blame, taking it on herself, she points the finger of blame at you and says that it's your fault.02:19You know what's infinitely more frustrating than all the examples I've given already?02:24Witnessing a Christian refuse to do his or her job in the church.02:30or experiencing another Christian attempt to hinder you from carrying out your job in the church. Instead of contributing to the team, this person backs away, tries to go solo and do his or her own thing. Instead of building others up and encouraging them, they tear others down and diminish them. Wasted potential is a sorry sight to behold. Misused talents are squandered resources.03:02Missed opportunities for ministry are to be grieved. As you learned over the past eight months in 1 Corinthians, the church is commanded to be unified and purified. Unfortunately, this unity is undervalued, ignored, and tested by many who should know better. This purity is jeopardized, abused, and cast aside by many who claim to know and love Jesus Christ.03:30Excuses are made and commitments are unkept. Complaints are spoken instead of genuine praise. Zooming in on me and what I want is far more common than focusing on us and what we need. Am I describing you? Am I describing your contribution to the church?04:00Ask yourself, am I contributing to the unity and purity of Harvest Bible Chapel, or am I subtracting from it? Are you neglecting to do your job in the church? Are you standing in the way of others and making it hard for them to carry out their jobs in the church? Take a moment to go before the Lord and consider those questions.04:32Quiet your heart and ask God to convict you today. Ask God to challenge you today. Ask God to change you today. Go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come before you as your people for the most important appointment of the week. May we not be distracted. Or may we truly dial in to what what you want to teach us this morning. Lord, may you show us who you've called us to be and what you've commanded us to do. I pray we'd all walk out of this room with a different vision of the church and a different idea of what we are called to do individually in the church. I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. We are in the Q&A section of 1 Corinthians. Paul is addressing questions that this congregation asked him in a previous And last week, Pastor Jeff showed us Paul's answer to the Corinthians' question about spiritual gifts. Every single believer is given at least one spiritual gift that is to be used to bless the church and advance the gospel. No one is skipped over. No one is forgotten. No one is left giftless. And these gifts are to unite, not divide.06:00And Paul continues to answer this question in chapter 12, verses 12 through 31, by providing a powerful illustration. He compares the unity of the church body to the unity of a physical human body. Check out what he has to say in verse 12 of chapter 12.06:30So it is with Christ. I'm going to ask you a very easy question, and I'm even going to let you cheat to get the right answer. So everyone, look down and give yourself a quick once-over. Come on, go do it. Are you ready for my question? How many bodies do you have? It's not your question. Just one, you got the answer right. Great job.07:01I'm asking you an easy follow-up question. You can look down again if you have to. How many body parts do you have? Do you have more than one body part? Yes, you have more than one. According to Dr. Google, which is never wrong, you have 78 organs, 206 bones, and 30 to 40 trillion cells. You have individual body parts, legs, feet, toes, toenails, arms, Arms, Hands, Hands, Fingers, Fingernails, Heart, Lungs, Kidney, Stomach, Pancreas, Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Nose, Nose, Hairs, Mouth, Teeth, Gums, Tongue, Uvula.07:41And on the list goes. Sorry, Pastor Jeff's uvula was swollen this week, and you're talking about it a lot, so I had to add that.07:50He was sick. That was the reason why.07:54But these individual parts do not operate or function independently from one another.08:00Instead, they work together as one body. They serve different roles. They carry out the same mission to keep you alive and kicking. And Paul is saying this truth about your physical body applies to the church body as well. Yes, we all have different roles. We all have different functions. But we do not operate independently from one another. We work together as one body.08:30same mission to lift high the name of Jesus Christ by making disciples.08:37And you may be thinking, hold on a minute.08:39This illustration seems to break down a bit because I've always had my physical body.08:44It's the only one I've got.08:46How did I become a part of the church body?08:48When did that happen?08:50It's a great question.08:52Thankfully, Paul answers it in verse 13.08:55He says, For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. You realize at one point you didn't exist. There was no you. Then you popped into existence and you grew in your mother's womb. And at one point you were born into this world with your physical But if you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, if you have been saved and given new life in Him, you have experienced more than just one birth. According to God's Word, you've experienced a new birth. And on your spiritual birthday, you were brought into the body of Christ. You became a part of the body of Christ. And this second birth is a work of the Holy Spirit, who Paul That sounds really cool. What in the world does that mean? Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Well, 2,000 years ago, John the Baptist baptized men and women in water as a sign of their repentance. But John was up front. He was very clear that he was not the point. He was not the be-all and end-all. He came to point to someone greater than him. He says, He says, I baptize with water, but He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.10:37Who is this greater person?10:39Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit?10:42Jesus Christ Himself.10:46This has massive implications for my life, your life, and the life of this church body.10:52This means that I, Taylor Samuel Brown, wasn't just baptized in water on July 30, 2000 by Pastor Jesse Boggs at Northgate Church. Yes, that was an important day. That was an important baptism. But I experienced an even more important day, an even more important baptism years prior. Before that, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ. I was saved from my sins.11:25I was made into a new person.11:27I was brought into the body of Christ.11:32My water baptism was simply an outward symbol of the salvation I experienced.11:39Of this baptism in the Holy Spirit that I experienced.11:45And Paul even says that I drank of the Holy Spirit.11:50Again, sounds great, but what in the world does that mean? Well, think about it this way. When you drink something, you are filled with that liquid, aren't you? Whether it's water, coffee, wild cherry, Pepsi, or kombucha. When you drink a liquid, you are filled with that liquid. When you drink of the Holy Spirit, you are filled with the Holy Spirit. He lives within you. He takes up residence within you.12:20If you have trusted in Christ, you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. You have been filled with the Holy Spirit. In verse 13, Paul mentions different factors that would divide people back in his day. He mentions ethnicity and social status. In 2026, we live in a world where we are constantly being tried to be ripped apart because of our many differences. We have different backgrounds. We have different skin colors. We come from different financial situations. We have different careers. We have different personalities. We have different temperaments. We are different in so many ways. And as we'll discover soon, that is good news to celebrate. But we are the exact same in the most important ways. We have the same Heavenly Father. We have been redeemed by the same Savior.13:20been changed by the same Holy Spirit. We belong to the same body. Our differences may be great, but our unity in Christ and His Spirit is even greater. So after this long and theologically heavy introduction, you may be thinking, all right, this is all very interesting, but what's the point? I get it. I'm a member of the body of Christ.13:49Now, you need to be encouraged to do your job in the body of Christ. Now, you need to be encouraged to let other people do their jobs in the body of Christ. So on your outline, since I'm a member of the body of Christ, number one, I shouldn't doubt the part I play. I shouldn't doubt the part I play.14:19Some of you in this room and watching online struggle to truly believe that you have an important part to play in the life of this church. You may think to yourself, I mean, sure, this is my church and I'm involved, but if I left, nothing would change. No one would notice. I don't have an upfront role that matters. I don't play an instrument. I don't really matter here. And as one of your pastors, it deeply saddens me that some of you feel that way about you.14:51It deeply saddens me that you believe a lie about yourself instead of believing what God's word says about who you are. You do matter. You do have a part to play at Harvest. This church does need you and it wouldn't be the same without you. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel good. I'm saying that because that's what God's word says. Listen to what Paul says in verses 14 through 17.15:19For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?15:49I didn't doubt the part I play. Letter A on your outline, because that denies my purpose. Because that denies my purpose. You claiming that you have no part to play in the body of Christ because you don't have the gifting of another person is as ridiculous as your foot saying, I have no part to play in the body because I'm not a hand. I'll never be able to hammer a nail into the wall. I'll never be able to type on a keyboard, so I just give up.16:18I mean, sure, your hands can't do, your feet can't do what your hands can do. But your hands can't do what your feet can do as well, right? Walking is pretty important, right? Most of you don't agree with that. Walking is really important, right? Your hands can't do that. Okay, good. Man, you are sitting right now, but eventually you will have to get up and walk away.16:45You claiming that you have no part to play in the body of Christ is as insane as your ears saying, I have no part to play in the body because I'll never be able to look at the Grand Canyon. I'll never be able to stare up at a starry night. So I'm just going to tune out and call it a day. I mean, yeah, your eye is important, but your eyes can't do what your ears can do. Without your ears, you wouldn't be able to hear anything. Just imagine if your entire body was just just one feature. Eyes are beautiful, aren't they? I love my wife's eyes the most, and I could stare into her eyes for hours. But imagine if Kate was just a big eyeball and nothing else. There's a big eye bouncing around my house and sleeping in the bed next to me at night. That sounds like the premise of a horror movie. I mean, yeah, I'd still love her because I made a vow to her 12 years ago, but That'd be pretty rough. That'd be hard. A big eye has 20-20 vision, but it can't really do anything else. A big ear has great hearing, but it can't really do much else. Now imagine if every single person in this church had the same exact gifting and function. Would that be productive or disastrous? It would be a total and complete I have been in a room with thousands of preachers before.18:20Imagine if those thousands of preachers tried to carry out the same function in the same church.18:27There would be arguments about who does what.18:29The bills would never get paid.18:31The building would fall in disrepair and probably burn down.18:34Preaching is an essential function of the church, but is not the only function.18:41Some of you men in this room do have a preaching gift.18:44We are so thankful for you. You realize it's very different. It's very unique to have this many guys who can preach a message in a church. That doesn't happen everywhere. God has gifted this church. But others of you guys do not have a preaching gift. And that is not something to be upset about. That is not a bad thing. Not everybody has the gift of preaching. Not everyone has an upfront role.19:14If your part is behind the scenes, it matters. Maybe your part is in the AV booth. Without Mike back there, without all the AV team back there, no one would be able to hear the sermons. I'd just scream at the top of my lungs for you to hear me. Without Ben and Lincoln working on the sermons afterwards, people across the country and across the world wouldn't be able to hear it, which does happen.19:43Maybe your part is being on the prayer team. You show the rest of the body what it looks like to faithfully lift up the needs of the saints to the Lord. Maybe your part is security. You function as the antibodies of the church that keeps the rest of the body safe. Maybe your part is working at Harvest Academy or working as an adult leader in Arrow. You are training up the future generation in Jesus Christ.20:14is leading a small group. You are on the front lines of congregational care and discipleship. Maybe your part is on the relocation and building committee with Pastor Rich and the others. You help formulate the budget. You count on Sundays. I can keep going and going and going. Without a doubt, you do have a part to play. Stop believing that you do not matter. Stop being envious of others. Stop denying your purpose at harvest.20:45I shouldn't doubt the part I play because that denies my purpose. Letter B, I shouldn't doubt the part I play because that dishonors God's design. Because that dishonors God's design. Let's look at verses 18 through 20. But as it is, God arranges the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?21:18When you badmouth a team's starting lineup and strategies, who are you ultimately dishonoring? The coach who decides who starts and designs the place. If you pick apart every single detail of a restaurant and complain about it to everyone that you know, who are you dishonoring ultimately? The manager, the owner, who decides who to hire, who makes all the big decisions. If you complain about your gifting and part in the body, who are you ultimately dishonoring? God himself. He is the one who created you. He is the one who designed his church. Paul says that God arranges the members in the body, each of them as he chose. When you are discontent with your part in the church, you aren't just hurting yourself, and you are hurting yourself.22:13You aren't just shortchanging your fellow members. You aren't just making ministry hard for the pastors, elders, and other leaders. You are accusing God. You are saying something about Him that is not true. You are shouting this message to your Creator. God, you made a mistake with me. I deserve a do-over. You could have done better. Is that a great message to send to the most important and powerful person the universe. No, it is not. Because God doesn't need a do-over. Because he nails everything on the first try. God did not make a mistake with you. He designs you purposefully and puts you into his church with purpose and design. It's a complete waste of time, energy, and effort to resist the Lord. So cut it out. Get on board with his plans for the body. Lean into your God-given part instead of backing away from it. Do your job in the church because it was personally chosen for you. Since I'm a member of the body of Christ, I shouldn't doubt the part I play. Since I'm a member of the body of Christ, number two on your outline, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others.23:44from sabotaging yourself to sabotaging others. It is foolish to stand in your own way, but it is wicked to stand in the way of other people. As we just talked about, many of you struggle with a low view of yourself and how God has gifted you. Others of you have the exact opposite problem. You have a low view of others and how God has gifted them.24:13In the next several verses, Paul warns you to not downplay the roles of others in the church. Listen to verses 21 through 24.24:43which are more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others, letter A on your outline, by acting like I don't need anyone else. By acting like I don't need anyone else. So Paul turns the tables on the Corinthians as well as you and me in these verses. He flips the scenario.25:13First, he says it's dumb for a foot or an eye to say that they're not a part of the body. Now he says it's dumb for the eye or the head to tell other parts of the body that they don't matter. This kind of attitude is arrogant. This game of comparison misses the point. You know, naturally, we all create lists of importance and systems of ranking.25:43a to-do list that you want to complete, right? Where do you put the items that you think are the most important? Top of the list, right? Where do you put the items that you think are probably the least important? At the bottom of the list. Several months ago, many of you took part in the college basketball brackets, right? You decided which teams you thought were the best and which teams you thought were the worst. If I were to ask you your favorite movies, you could list them very quickly. If I were to ask you to list your least favorite movies, you could do it even quicker. We naturally evaluate everything. We're constantly grading other people's performances. We form our own personal rankings. And this was happening in the Corinthian church back in the first century. There were the spiritual elite at the top of the charts who looked down on those they thought were weaker, less honorable, and even unpresentable.26:45Paul says those brothers or sisters who seem weaker are actually indispensable. Those who seem to have a less than honorable role deserve greater honor. Those who seem unpresentable should be treated with the utmost respect. You may be thinking, oh, Pastor Taylor, I'm not spiritually elite. I don't look down at other people. I don't act like I don't need anyone else.27:16Are you sure about that? Are you sure? Do you make excuses for why you can't be in community with other believers? Do you refuse to join a small group or be involved in other ministries that we offer here like fishermen, live, laugh, lunch, precepts, mugs and moms? You say you don't have time or energy for these things, but inwardly you know that's not true.27:43By not joining a small group or participating in any of these ministries, you are communicating a loud and clear message, I'm doing just fine on my own. I don't need anyone else. I am self-sufficient. Maybe you are a part of a small group of one of the other ministries that I mentioned, but as soon as you walk in, you put up your defense shields. You don't share a detail of your life with anybody. No one knows anything about what you're struggling with or how they can pray for you because you don't.28:13tell them. You don't want to trust anybody else because they might let you down. You were hurt in the past and so you think, well, it's going to happen again, so I'm not even going to try. Are you someone who comes in late and leaves early because you are terrified of knowing others and being known? You're acting like you don't need anyone else. Are there people in this room or the other service that you actively avoid?28:45Is there a guy in your small group that you intentionally leave out of conversations and hangouts? Is there a woman down the aisle from you who you are blatantly rude to face to face and make fun of behind closed doors? All of these behaviors are childish. All of these behaviors are reflective of the Corinthians, not Christ. All of those behaviors hurt the body and do not help the body.29:14I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by acting like I don't need anyone else. Letter B, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by exclusively focusing on my needs. By exclusively focusing on my needs. Let's read verses 25 through 26. That there may be no division in the body, that the members may have the same care for one another.29:44All suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.29:53Have you ever been walking around your house minding your own business whenever you stub your pinky toe on the bed or a bench or a chair?30:01Let me ask you, in that moment, is it just your pinky toe that reacts?30:07Does the rest of your body think, man, sucks to be pinky, too bad for him.30:11I'm just gonna kinda do my own thing for a little while he calms down. No, when you stub your pinky toe, the pause button is pressed on life and nothing else matters. Your whole body reacts, your face grimaces, your mouth yells out some things that you hope nobody else hears. Your back arches, your hands reach down and grab your damaged foot and you pogo stick around on the undamaged foot and then your eyes inspect the damage. Your whole body reacts to the pain.30:43You ever had a bad back problem? Or a nagging tooth pain? Are you able to compartmentalize that and not think about it? Now when your back hurts, it's game over for your day. If your tooth is throbbing, you have one all-consuming thought, end the pain right now. Your whole body feels the pain of even its smallest member.31:12The same should be true of the body of Christ. If one person is in pain, all of us should be in pain. If there is a need, we should all rise up to meet that need. If someone in your small group has a big surgery or a major medical issue, start a meal train. Go visit them in the hospital. Take care of tasks around the house.31:41If there's someone on your serving team who loses a family member, show up at the funeral. Show up at the visitation. Your presence will speak far louder than any words you could possibly share. Care about the pain of other people. Meet the needs of others. Care about what other people need, even more than what you need. If one member suffers, all suffer together.32:11If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Here's a question that's been nagging at me all week. Do I love to celebrate the victories of other people? Very often the answer is no. What about you? Do you love to celebrate the victories of other people? Do you rejoice with other Christians?32:41When something good happens to another Christian in your life, do you think, praise the Lord, what a blessing? Or do you think, man, when's it going to be my turn? Nothing good ever happens to me like it does to that guy. When there's a couple in this church that has a solid marriage and really great godly children, do you think to yourself, man, what a great example that I want to follow? Or do you think to yourself, when will my family get it together? I'll never be like Mr. and Mrs. Perfect. I wish they'd stop rubbing it in my face.33:13You have to understand that other people's success is not your failure. According to Paul, their success is your success because you are a part of the same body. Let's share in the pain together. Let's share in the joy together. Let's thank the Lord in the good times together. And let's trust the Lord in the hard times together.33:41I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by acting like I don't need anyone else. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by exclusively focusing on my needs. Finally, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by shining the spotlight onto me. By shining the spotlight onto me. Let's wrap up with verses 27 through 31. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, These verses are jam-packed with a ton of stuff that we cannot get into. We don't have the time right now.34:41But it's really important to see that Paul mentions an office that no longer exists today. The office of apostle. Some churches have not got that memo yet. God is not posting apostleship jobs on Indeed. He is not hiring or looking to fill that position in 2026. Paul also talks about the sign gifts like speaking in tongues, miracles, and healing. Thankfully, I don't have to wade into that controversial topic because Pastor Jeff did it last week and he'll do an even deeper dive this summer.35:11Sometimes it pays to be the associate pastor.35:15But for now, catch the principle that Paul is communicating instead of getting bogged down in the details.35:21And the best way to do that is to answer the layup questions that Paul asks.35:25Let's go through the list.35:26And you have to participate.35:27You have to answer the question.35:29There's one obvious answer for all of them.35:31Are all apostles?35:33Good job.35:34Are all prophets?35:36Are all teachers?35:38Do all work miracles?35:39Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? What's Paul's point? God has given every single believer a spiritual gift or several spiritual gifts, but he has not given any believer all the spiritual gifts. That's not possible. You know, we have a lot of talented musicians and vocalists here at Harvest, don't we? Let's give them a round of applause and thank them for all they do for us.36:13You know, Jesse Hogan, he can sing, he can play the guitar, he can play the drums, he can play the piano. He can play three instruments and I can play none. I guess I shouldn't rank our abilities, right? I shouldn't compare. I'm sorry, I'm still learning that lesson myself. I shouldn't compare with Jesse. Jesse can play all those things, but he can't play every single instrument in the world of which there are over 1,500.36:39Also, Jesse can't play all those instruments at the same exact time. If Jesse tried to come up here and do a one-man band and try to run between the guitar, the piano, and run between the drums, he would make a total and complete fool of himself. Because prideful exaltation always leads to forced humility. Jesse needs the rest of the band around him.37:09He needs everybody else. He needs the vocalists who can't reach the notes that he cannot. He needs Chris or Jay on bass. Jesse needs everybody else working with him. You know, the Corinthians were experts in self-exaltation. Many in the church wanted to shine the spotlight onto themselves. Look again at verse 31. Paul says, On a first glance, it may look like Paul is commanding the Corinthians to seek after the biggest and best gifts, but that totally misses the point of what he's actually saying. If you pay attention to the context, he's saying the exact opposite. This word, earnestly, is most often used in the context of envy and jealousy. A better translation of this verse is, But you are jealous for the higher gifts Paul is not commending them He is not celebrating them He is correcting the Corinthians Because they desired the flashy and showy gifts Serving wasn't on their mind because they wanted to show off Paul is telling them You're not the point So stop trying to be You're not in competition with one another You are working together Be in sync with one another do your job and help other people do their job as well. And he concludes by saying, and I will show you a still more excellent way. What is that still more excellent way? It is the way of love, which Pastor Jeff will talk about next week. This whole topic of spiritual gifts and the unity of the body should be viewed the lens of love.39:05The love of Christ for us, our love for Christ, and our love for each other. Otherwise, we'll miss the point of why God even gifted us in the first place. If you have been saved by Christ, never forget that you belong to Christ. Never forget that you belong to Christ's beloved body. Since you're a member of the body of Christ, you shouldn't doubt the part that you Since you're a member of the body of Christ, you shouldn't downplay the roles of others. As this sermon concludes, some of you in this room may feel a bit left out because you're not a Christian. You are not a member of the body of Christ. As of now, you are a detached hand or foot that has no function in the church body. As of right now, you are a detached eye or ear that is not connected to anything greater than yourself. As of now, the life-giving blood of Christ does not flow in you and through you. I have to warn you, if you continue in this state of self-isolation, you will wither away and die in your sins. You will experience a life without purpose, and you will endure an eternity separated from the giver of life.40:35and the other recipients of his life. If that's you, I beg you to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. Place the full weight of your faith upon him, what he has done through his life, death, and resurrection. And then, and only then, will you be forgiven and given new life. Then, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit. You will be brought into the body of Christ.41:04you will be placed into the perfect role that you were made for. You will be given the high honor and responsibility of serving Christ and his body. We'd love for you to join us. Let's pray. Father, we come to you and we thank you for your word. We thank you for the encouragement and the conviction that we all experienced. Lord, if there is someone in this room who is currently not a member of the body of Christ, who is not saved. May today be the day where they finally say no to sin and yes to your son.41:43And for the rest of us, Lord, may we do our jobs.41:47May we let other people do their jobs.41:49May we work together and encourage each other.41:51Lord, we thank you for all that you're doing with this new building project.41:57Lord, none of that matters if we can't work together now.42:01May we be faithful now.42:03May we work together now. We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 12:12-31What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Re-read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - What does it mean that we are baptized in the Spirit and drink of the Spirit? Why is this so important for church unity? Do you ever doubt the part you play in the body of Christ? How can you fight against this discouragement? How do you see professing Christians standing in the way of others and downplaying their roles in the church? How do you see this disturbing trend within yourself? What does it look like to prioritize the needs, hurts, and victories of other members in the church body over your own? BreakoutPray for one another.
Daniel 4:1-37 1 King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you!2It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. 3How great are his signs,how mighty his wonders!His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,and his dominion endures from generation to generation. 4I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.5I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me.6So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.7Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.8At last Daniel came in before mehe who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy godsand I told him the dream, saying,9O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.10The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.11The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.12Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. 13I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.14He proclaimed aloud and said thus: Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches.15But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.16Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him.17The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.18This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you. 19Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!20The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth,21whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived22it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.23And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,24this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king,25that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.26And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.27Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. 28All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.29At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,30and the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?31While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,32and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.33Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. 34At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;35all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,and he does according to his will among the host of heavenand among the inhabitants of the earth;and none can stay his handor say to him, What have you done? 36At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me.37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North Sermons - Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North
Introduction: That Can Happen to Me: Reality Check About God's People and Disqualification. (1 Corinthians 10:1-13) Taking God's BLESSINGS for Granted: That Can Happen to Me. (1 Cor 10:1-6) Falling into SIN: That Can Happen to Me. (1 Cor 10:7-10) IDOLATRY. (1 Cor 10:7) IMMORALITY. (1 Cor 10:8) TESTING God. (1 Cor 10:9) COMPLAINING. (1 Cor 10:10) Claiming God's PROMISES When Tempted: That Must Happen By Me. (1 Cor 10:11-13) God's Promises When You're Tempted (1 Cor 10:13) COMMON. (1 Cor 10:13a) BEARABLE. (1 Cor 10:13b) AVOIDABLE. (1 Cor 10:13c) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Audio Transcript 00:36-00:41Open up your Bibles with me, please, to the book of 1 Corinthians 10.00:43-00:46While you're turning there, let's just pause.00:46-00:53Please pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's Word clearly and accurately.00:54-01:00I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what the Lord is teaching.01:03-01:06Because as usual, There's something here for each of us.01:07-01:08Let's pray.01:10-01:21When all of God's people said, "Amen, we'll try next week." "That won't happen to me." Did you ever say that?01:23-01:23Did you ever say that?01:23-01:27"That won't happen to me." Do you know who says that?01:29-01:33Well, I think everybody, but do you know who most often says that?01:34-01:38in their teenage years and in their 20s.01:39-01:40That won't happen to me.01:42-01:43Right?01:44-02:01You're out somewhere and you see some little kid disrespecting their parents, and you're like, "When I have kids, that won't happen to me." And then you have kids.02:04-02:14Or, you see kids all glued to their screens, their iPads and their iPhones and all that, and you're like, "Look at that.02:16-02:17Those parents have their kid addicted to screens.02:17-02:36That won't happen to me." And then you have kids, and you're like, "Can't you just go play the iPad for a few hours?" "That won't happen to me." I think we've all said that in considering maybe some of the things that our parents have said.02:37-02:50I think back to when I was a teenager, hearing some of the things my dad would say, I'm like, "That won't happen to me." And now I find myself, even just the other day, "Who left the lights on?02:50-02:56"I don't work for Wes Penn." That won't happen to me.02:57-02:58You know what the biggest one though was for me?02:58-03:09I know this might sound dumb, but, As a much younger man, I see these people get married and have kids and then they get the minivan.03:10-03:12And I'm like, "That won't happen to me.03:15-03:16We've had too many vans.03:18-03:20That won't happen to me." You ever said that?03:22-03:22Have you ever said that?03:22-03:29"That won't happen to me." Well, before we look at this passage, just back up a verse.03:31-03:49Chapter 9, verse 27, Paul's given this sports athlete analogy, and he says, "But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." What's he talking about?03:49-03:59This whole section that we've been in these past few weeks, this Q&A section, the issue is should a Christian eat meat sacrificed to an idol?03:59-04:03And that turned into a whole discussion about your witness.04:03-04:04Like I don't want to offend.04:05-04:13And then he started talking about disciplining yourself so that you don't get disqualified.04:14-04:15He's talking about his witness.04:16-04:25Like I want to reach lost people, and if I'm disqualified, if there is sin in my life, I've shot my testimony.04:26-04:28He's not talking about losing your salvation.04:29-04:34He's talking about losing the opportunity to be used by God.04:34-04:35That's what he's talking about.04:35-04:38He's talking about your witness, your testimony.04:39-05:02And he says, "Last, after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified." And of course, people can read that in the Corinthians day and in our day and say things like, "Well, maybe you have something to worry about." But that won't happen to me.05:04-05:05That won't happen to me.05:08-05:10A lot of Christians have said that.05:12-05:21They see the sin of others and think, "That won't happen to me." And it did, right?05:22-05:45How many Christians have we seen who have ruined their testimony, maybe because it's been found out that they are guilty of some kind of abuse toward a spouse, toward a child, or it comes out that there's some kind of addiction that they've been keeping hidden for years.05:47-05:48That won't happen to me.05:51-05:52How about pastors?05:52-05:54How many pastors have we seen disqualified?05:55-05:56No longer usable.05:58-05:59They've ruined their testimony.05:59-06:04How many times have we seen that with affairs, with embezzlement?06:06-06:07That won't happen to me.06:09-06:13Well this section that we're looking at today is a warning to God's people.06:14-06:15And here's the warning.06:15-06:20Being blessed by God can make you think that you're above failing.06:23-06:54When you know God, when you're walking with God, when you're experiencing the blessing knowing God, the danger is you can get to the point where you say, "That won't happen to me." And the key to all of this is verse 12. Jump down there for a second. Chapter 10 verse 12, he says, "Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed, lest he fall.06:58-07:10So are you telling me that you think that people who have been so blessed by God, who have been so used by God in such powerful ways, you think they couldn't possibly fail?07:12-07:22You think God's people, even God's people, you think there's no way that they could be disqualified from being usable to God.07:27-07:29Well, let me tell you about Israel.07:32-07:33That's where Paul goes.07:33-07:43If you're jotting things down in your outline, the heading, "That can't happen to me." So this is a reality check, church.07:43-07:48This is a reality check about God's people and disqualification.07:50-07:51That can't happen to me.07:51-07:57Number one, right, just taking God's blessings for granted, that can happen to me.08:00-08:07Now Paul here is going into this illustration from Israel from Old Testament times.08:08-08:13And he's talking about Israel when they were going from Egypt to Canaan.08:16-08:26And if you're familiar with that story at all, you know that they were blessed incredibly.08:28-08:37They saw God's hand at work in their lives, in their nation, every step of the way.08:39-08:39Right?08:40-08:41They were so blessed.08:42-08:43Like, how?08:43-08:45Well, look at chapter 10, verse 1.08:46-08:54Paul says, "For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud." Stop there.08:54-08:58That's the first blessing that they experienced.08:58-08:59They were led by God.09:00-09:03This cloud - we're not going to look up all these passages.09:03-09:05We'll be here until Thanksgiving.09:07-09:11But Paul here is giving sort of a paraphrase of the history.09:12-09:13But you can jot them down.09:13-09:14You can look them up later.09:15-09:16What's the cloud? Exodus 13.09:17-09:20The Bible says this is how they were led.09:20-09:23By day, it was a pillar of cloud.09:24-09:26By night, it was a pillar of fire.09:26-09:27That's how Israel was led.09:28-09:32You realize, not one of the Israelites could have ever said they never saw God.09:33-09:37He was right in front of them every single step of the way, right?09:37-09:38So they were led by God.09:38-09:41Secondly, Paul says they were delivered by God.09:42-09:43Look at the rest of verse 1.09:44-09:52He says, "And all passed through the sea." You probably could guess what that is, right?09:52-10:00Exodus 14, God basically led Israel to a dead end.10:00-10:02He led them to a dead end.10:03-10:05And now there's the sea.10:05-10:07Here comes the Egyptians after them.10:07-10:09They're like, "We are doomed." Do you remember what happened?10:10-10:12God parted the waters, so they walked through.10:12-10:14The Egyptians followed them.10:14-10:16God closed the waters, drowned the entire army.10:19-10:20That's what He's talking about here.10:21-10:25So not only could none of them say, "Well, I never saw God." They did.10:26-10:30Not one of them could say they never experienced God's power to save.10:32-10:33They were all delivered by God.10:35-10:39Thirdly, they were given a great leader by God.10:40-10:40Look at verse 2.10:44-10:56He says, "And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." Baptized into Moses - that's just talking about their identification with Moses as a leader.10:57-11:00I mean, you think you have a great leader.11:02-11:11Well, they had, who is in my opinion, the greatest human in the Old Testament, Moses.11:11-11:13I don't think there's anybody greater than Moses.11:13-11:14He was their pastor.11:16-11:16Awesome.11:18-11:19Given to them by God.11:20-11:22All right, they were also provided for by God.11:22-11:24Look at verses 3 and 4.11:26-11:42It says, "And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ." They were provided for by God.11:42-11:43How did they eat?11:44-11:44Manna.11:45-11:47It was food that God just put on the ground.11:47-11:55They gathered it up every day, except the Sabbath, but God just put this perfect food for them on the ground.11:57-11:59And He gave them water from a rock.12:00-12:03God handed them everything they needed.12:03-12:17By the way, when it says, "The rock was Christ that followed them around," Paul is telling is that somehow, these provisions that Israel received literally came through Jesus.12:17-12:22Paul is saying Jesus Christ was literally with them every step of the way.12:25-12:30But you notice in these first four verses the word "all." He says it five times.12:30-12:30All.12:30-12:31All.12:31-12:31All.12:31-12:32Five times.12:34-12:40Every single Israelite experienced God's presence and His provision.12:41-12:41Alright?12:42-12:58He says in verse 5, "Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness." With most of them, God was not pleased.13:00-13:05Most scholars estimate there was about two million Israelites in the Exodus.13:06-13:08Most of them God was not pleased.13:08-13:11There were, do you know how many there were that God was pleased with?13:12-13:15Two, Joshua and Caleb.13:16-13:18I did the math on that.13:19-13:21Two people out of two million, do you know what that is?13:22-13:30That's 0.00001% of the people God was pleased with.13:31-13:32All the rest.13:35-13:36The rest, Paul would say most of them.13:38-13:41They were disqualified.13:43-13:51God's like, "You're not usable to Me because you refuse to be faithful." They were disqualified to death.13:53-14:00So Paul's point here in these first five verses is just simply this, Old Testament Israel, They saw all they saw.14:00-14:06They experienced all they experienced, and they got disqualified.14:09-14:09So what's the point?14:10-14:11That was like thousands of years ago.14:13-14:14Why are you telling us this?14:16-14:34Verse 6, he says, "Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did." So this is an example for who?14:36-14:37It's an example for who?14:38-14:49It's an example for us, because those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, right?14:53-15:12made everything they saw. Everything they saw. Like, what was the problem? It tells us right here what the problem is. They desired evil. That's the problem. They desired evil.15:12-15:23See, the problem was God was with them, but their hearts weren't with God. And Paul says Hey, He's talking to us, church.15:25-15:27Their story is our story.15:27-15:29You know those provisions we just listed?15:30-15:31Can we say the same?15:32-15:40I would argue we can say God's provision for us has been greater than God's provision for Old Testament Israel.15:41-15:42Here's what I mean.15:43-15:47We just said they were led by God, right?15:47-15:48Are we led by God?15:50-15:54Much greater than a cloud and fire, as awesome as that was.15:54-15:56You realize how God leads us?15:56-16:05He put His Spirit in us, and He put His wisdom down in this book so that we can have guidance directly from God Himself.16:07-16:07Wow.16:11-16:13Have we been delivered by God?16:15-16:16If you know Jesus Christ, you have.16:17-16:24And again, as awesome as the Red Sea had to have been, do you realize your deliverance was so much greater?16:25-16:39That because of your sin, you were heading to hell, and God sent His Son to die in your place to bear the wrath of God on Himself while He suffered on the cross, and then to raise from the dead so that we can have eternal life.16:40-16:41We have been delivered.16:46-16:47We've been given great leaders.16:49-16:53I couldn't possibly overstate the greatness of the elders that lead this church.16:57-17:00We have been blessed with great leaders in this church.17:03-17:04All of our needs have been met.17:07-17:09So much more than manna and water from a rock.17:09-17:12You have so much more than any of these Israelites ever had.17:14-17:14Right?17:18-17:20We have the same problem, don't we?17:21-17:22We have the same problem.17:22-17:24We - what do you say?17:25-17:25desire evil.17:30-17:39Even as redeemed people, those of you who know Christ, even the redeemed, we live in in this fallen flesh.17:41-17:44And this fallen flesh still hungers for sin.17:46-17:49That's why we've been talking about self-control.17:50-17:59And I remember as a young Christian, I prayed so often that God would remove any desire from me for sin.17:59-18:01I prayed that so many times as a young Christian.18:02-18:06And then as I grew in my faith, I realized that's just not how it works.18:07-18:11Because as long as you live in the flesh, you're gonna have a desire for sin.18:12-18:17Instead, what I needed to pray for and what I continue to pray for until today is self-control.18:18-18:19That is a fruit of the Spirit.18:19-18:20That's how God works.18:20-18:21That's what he's commanded us to.18:25-18:30So Israel failed to get their hearts devoted to God.18:32-18:33That's the moral of that story.18:34-18:45"How are you doing? How are we doing, church?" You're like, "Well, how did Israel fail?" Well, let's get specific, shall we?18:46-18:49That takes us to number two, "I'm falling into sin.18:51-18:56That can happen to me." First, they took God's blessings for granted, as we do.18:57-19:01Secondly, falling into sin, that can happen to me.19:02-19:05Sin hasn't changed, you know that.19:06-19:15And these blessed people under Moses fell into the same sins that we can fall into.19:16-19:16It's the same.19:18-19:20Specifically, jot these down.19:20-19:21We're gonna go through these quickly.19:22-19:27Pastor Taylor's gonna be unpacking some of these on the series in July.19:29-19:31Letter A, idolatry.19:35-19:37The sins they fell into that we can fall into.19:37-19:38Idolatry, look at verse seven.19:39-19:42He says, "Do not be idolaters as some of them were.19:43-19:53"As it is written, "if people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play." Idolatry.19:53-19:54We've talked about this.19:54-19:56It was a big issue in Corinth, wasn't it?19:57-19:59And it was a big issue in Israel.20:02-20:05Now here he's speaking specifically of the golden calf incident.20:05-20:06Are you familiar with that?20:07-20:09If not, just jot down Exodus 32.20:09-20:11You can go back and read this later.20:11-20:15But what was happening was Moses was up talking to God.20:17-20:20Moses was in like the ultimate business meeting with God.20:20-20:22God was giving Moses the 10 commandments.20:23-20:26And what were the people doing while Moses was talking to God?20:26-20:34praying for Moses, fasting, excitedly seeking the Lord, you know, wondering what is God going to do for Moses?20:35-20:41You read your Bibles, what you see is instead, Israel just got tired of waiting.20:44-20:45We don't know what happened to Moses.20:45-20:54So they go to his brother Aaron, and they're like, "Can you make us like a God that'll go before us?" Golden calf.20:56-21:00And the point is this, idolatry, you're going to worship something.21:02-21:16And if it's not the living God, if you're not worshipping the living God, if Jesus Christ is not everything to you, something else is going to get your attention and your affection.21:18-21:20Idolatry, look, that can happen to me.21:22-21:23That can happen to me.21:23-21:28I can take my eyes off of Christ, and all of a sudden, something much lesser is so much more important.21:29-21:30That can happen to me.21:32-21:37By the way, it says they sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.21:41-21:45To play, that doesn't mean shoots and ladders, okay?21:46-21:47That leads us actually to letter B.21:47-21:48Write this down, immorality.21:50-21:50Immorality.21:53-21:55Sexual immorality bleeds right into this.21:56-22:08He says, "We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in a single day." That's Numbers 25.22:09-22:10You can read that.22:11-22:18Israel saw the daughters of Moab and went hubba hubba.22:21-22:24God sent a plague that killed 23,000 people.22:26-22:29Israel disqualifies from usefulness, disqualified to death.22:30-22:36And we've talked so much these past few weeks about sexual immorality, but here it is again, it comes up again.22:36-22:38Look, it's gonna disqualify you.22:39-22:50If you choose to engage in sexual immorality, unrepentant, you're gonna be disqualified.22:52-22:53That can happen to me.22:55-22:56That can happen to me.22:58-22:59Idolatry can happen to me.22:59-23:01Immorality, that can happen to me.23:02-23:03Letter C, testing God.23:04-23:06Testing God, look at verse nine.23:07-23:17He says, "We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents." Testing God, right down on Numbers 21.23:19-23:29Numbers 21, Israel spoke against God and Moses, the Bible says, "You brought us here to die." Right, was that your plan, Moses?23:29-23:31You brought us out of Egypt to die.23:31-23:33Moses is like, "Yeah, that was my plan.23:34-23:36You caught me." Sarcasm.23:38-23:41They said, "You brought us out here to die, Moses.23:42-23:44You brought us out here." They said, "There's no food.23:45-23:45There's no drink.23:46-23:50All we have is this worthless manna." They said that.23:53-23:58Can we just pause for a second and acknowledge how horrific that statement is?23:59-24:00Worthless manna?24:01-24:02Worthless manna?24:02-24:06Do you mean the supernatural food that God provided for you every day?24:07-24:08That worthless manna?24:08-24:16Do you mean the stuff that all you have to do is bend over and pick it up and stick it in your mouth?24:16-24:18You mean that worthless manna?24:18-24:23Oh, and by the way, manna was the perfect food.24:23-24:25It was absolutely perfect.24:27-24:27How do you know?24:28-24:28Did you have any?24:28-24:29No, I didn't have any.24:29-24:30Not today.24:33-24:40But you know, in the Old Testament it talks about how their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.24:40-24:41You ever see that in there?24:41-24:51Like, "Well, their feet didn't swell, what's that mean?" There's a disease called beriberi that's a result of malnutrition, and it makes your feet swell.24:52-24:57And what the Bible's telling us is this food was perfectly nutritious, so they were not malnourished.24:59-25:01Banana was perfect food.25:02-25:28And Israel gets in God's face and says, "All we got is this worthless stuff that you gave us." Well, God sent serpents, serpents that bit many of the people died, and that's when God told Moses to make the bronze serpent on the pole look to this, "You will live." Jesus said that was a picture of Himself lifted up when you look to Him.25:29-25:30You'll be saved.25:33-25:34Testing God though, testing God.25:35-25:36What's it mean to test God?25:37-25:43It's when you have this hard attitude towards God where you say, "God, why did you do this?25:44-25:45Why did you do this, God?25:46-25:51God, you don't love me because God, if you loved me, this wouldn't be happening to me.25:52-25:54God, what have you done for me lately?25:55-26:24Or God, you need to prove yourself to me." testing God. That can happen to me. That can happen to me. How much irreverence do you think God tolerates? How much? I would say, let's not find out. But I imagine it's not Not too much.26:24-26:31When your attitude is constantly accusing God, testing God, he says don't do that.26:34-26:36Letter D - complaining.26:37-26:38Complaining.26:38-26:45Verse 10, he says, "Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer." Complaining.26:45-26:50Literally, it's expressing unwarranted dissatisfaction.26:51-26:54expressing unwarranted dissatisfaction.26:54-26:55That's what complaining is.26:56-27:00That's what this literally is talking about in this passage.27:00-27:03You're like, when did the Israelites complain?27:03-27:04When did they ever complain?27:10-27:14If you're looking for some examples, numbers 11, numbers 14, numbers 16.27:16-27:19Complaining though, you're like, complaining really?27:19-27:21How did that make the list?27:22-27:26I mean, everyone does it.27:27-27:27Right?27:28-27:30I mean, everybody complains now and then.27:30-27:34I mean, is complaining really that big of a deal?27:36-27:40Well, apparently to God, it is.27:43-27:48Because the Bible says were destroyed by the destroyer.27:48-27:50Look up those passages.27:50-27:51Read the book of Numbers.27:51-27:55You'll see so often when there was complaining, do you know how God responded?27:57-28:00Fire, swallowing people by the earth, sending plagues.28:01-28:05God is not a fan of complaining at all.28:06-28:10He takes complaining very seriously.28:13-28:21You're like, "What's the big deal?" Well, just imagine you take your kid to Disney World.28:22-28:27If you don't have a kid, just imagine you've got a niece or a nephew, or you take a kid to Disney World.28:29-28:30And you're like, "You know what?28:32-28:33You can have whatever you want.28:34-28:40You get them the Fast Pass, they ride all the rides, they get the mouse ears, right?28:40-28:43and everything they want.28:46-29:04And then partway through the day, as you've provided everything, you just kind of lean down and you say, "So how do you like Disney World?" And they say, "Disney World stinks!" Like, what's the matter?29:04-29:08They're like, "I wanted curly fries, They were straight fries.29:11-29:12How would you react to that?29:14-29:15Not good.29:17-29:18Are you kidding me?29:19-29:20And see, that was Israel's story.29:21-29:49God was handing them everything, and they're like, "We don't like man anymore." We can point the finger, but that is so me, and that is so you, that God showers millions of blessings on us every day, and we have the audacity to complain about the two or three things in our lives that we don't prefer.29:51-29:52That can happen to me.29:54-29:59So idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, complaining.29:59-30:00Well, sin hasn't changed.30:03-30:05People haven't either, right?30:06-30:06Can happen to me.30:08-30:08Can happen to me.30:11-30:14It's a reality check about God's people and disqualification.30:16-30:20Taking God's blessings for granted, that can happen to me.30:20-30:22Falling into sin, that can happen to me.30:24-30:25Let's change gears, all right?30:26-30:32Number three, claiming God's promises when tempted, that must happen by me.30:33-30:35That must happen by me.30:35-30:37Claiming God's promises when tempted.30:38-30:39Look at verse 11.30:39-30:53He says, "Now these things happened to them as an example, "but they were written down for our instruction "on whom the end of the ages has come." End of the ages, he just means we live in the last days.30:53-30:54That's all that means.30:54-31:03"Ever since Christ ascended, until He returns, we're living in the last days." That's an example for the Corinthian church, and we're in the same days as them.31:04-31:06But notice again, this is an example.31:06-31:07He said it in verse 6.31:07-31:09This is an example to instruct us.31:10-31:13Okay, verse 12, the key verse in all of this.31:14-31:23He says, "Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed, lest he fall." It's a warning.31:24-31:26This whole passage is a warning against pride.31:29-31:30You think you stand.31:30-31:31You think you stand.31:32-31:37You think sin is something that affects other people.31:37-31:43You think getting disqualified from ministry and being usable by God, that only happens to others.31:44-31:46That won't happen to me.31:48-31:50And Paul says, "You better humble yourself here.31:52-33:03think you stand, you think you're on a different level, you better humble yourself because it absolutely can happen to you. It can. It is a scary thing, church, but do you realize you are, each of you, each of you are one bad decision away from ruining your life. Do you know that? You are one bad decision from wrecking your family. You are one bad day away from destroying your testimony. Do you realize that? You're like, "Well, I don't want to be disqualified." Great, because here's the encouragement. This is where Paul lands. It doesn't have to happen to you. It doesn't have to. Because look at verse 13. He says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.33:03-33:11But with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to to endure it.33:14-33:28We pray as our Lord taught us, rightly we pray, lead us not into temptation, but there will be times temptation shows up at your door.33:32-33:34So here's God's promises when you're tempted.33:35-33:35Alright?33:37-33:48I was going to give you like the ABCs of it, after studying through this, it's CBA. It's CBA. That's just how it is, right?33:49-33:56CBA. Remember God's promises when you're tempted. The first one, "C" is for common.33:57-34:37Common. Did you see that? Look at verse 13 again. He says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man." That's the first promise from God. Look, When you're struggling in a sin, any kind of sin, whatever it is, whether it is sexual, whether it's with your mouth, whether it's coarse joking or gossip or fits of rage or whatever sin you struggle with, Satan loves to come along and lie to you and convince you you're the only one. You know this problem you have? You know in the history of mankind you're the only person ever had that problem.34:40-34:42And you're like, "I am a sin freak.34:43-34:48I'm doing something that nobody in the history of mankind has ever done." That is a lie.34:49-34:54The thing that you're dealing with has been dealt with by countless other people.34:56-34:58You are not the only one.34:59-35:00You're not the only one.35:00-35:04And you're like, "Well, why is this happening to me?" Do you know why it's happening to you?35:04-35:05It's just your turn.35:09-35:10It's common.35:12-35:18You have never, you will never face anything that hasn't been faced by countless others before you.35:18-35:19And that's encouraging.35:20-35:21That's encouraging.35:23-35:27That when you're faced with temptation, you can say, "Oh, this temptation, it's nothing new.35:27-35:31"Others have resisted, I can too." Right?35:31-35:32So it's common.35:32-35:34I'll let it be as forbearable.35:36-35:37Be as forbearable.35:40-35:57Look at the middle part of verse 13, he says, "God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability." By the way, this is the most misquoted verse in the Bible, I think.35:59-36:17How many times you're going through struggling of some kind, you're suffering, you're going through some kind of trial, the storms, you're going through the storms of life and somebody comes along and says, "Well, you know, the Bible says God won't give you any more than you can handle." And that's just not at all what this says.36:19-36:20It's just not.36:21-36:28Actually, I think God will give you way more than you can handle so that you learn to depend on His strength and not your own.36:29-36:34But this verse, three times in this one verse, He says temptation.36:34-36:36He's talking about temptation.36:36-36:39He's not talking about suffering and trials and storms and all that.36:40-36:41He's talking about temptation.36:43-36:54And the reality is, church, God does not tempt, James 1.13, God does not tempt, but nothing happens to you without God's permission.36:56-36:57There is nothing that's coming into your life.36:58-37:02No temptation is coming to you that God doesn't okay first.37:04-37:09And God has promised that He's not going to allow you to face more than you can handle.37:10-37:12And this is individualized, by the way.37:13-37:14He knows.37:15-37:15God knows.37:17-37:20No one can say, "You know what?37:20-37:21I sinned.37:21-37:21Yes, okay.37:21-37:22I sinned.37:22-37:23I'm guilty of sin.37:23-37:24But you don't understand.37:25-37:26I sinned because I couldn't help it.37:27-37:28It was just too much for me.37:29-37:32God makes sure that it's never too much for you.37:32-37:33That's the promise.37:34-37:35He makes sure.37:37-37:46And this might be a tough pill to swallow, but according to this verse, maybe it's why you don't have more money.37:49-37:51For some of you, you're like, "You know, I've tried and I've tried.37:52-37:53Financially, I just can't seem to get ahead.37:54-37:59Why do I not have more money?" Because God knows that more money would be too much temptation for you.37:59-38:02I was like, "I don't want him to go there.38:02-38:07I'm going to make sure that he doesn't." For some of you, you're like, "I don't understand.38:07-38:08I applied for this job.38:08-38:09I was a perfect candidate.38:10-38:11It would have been the perfect job.38:12-38:14Why didn't I get the job?" I'll tell you why you didn't get the job.38:14-38:20God knew something was going to happen at that job that was going to be too much temptation for you.38:20-38:30Whatever that is, God's like, "No, they're not going to be able to handle that, so I'm I'm not going to let them have that job." Maybe for some it's a relationship.38:30-38:37You're like, "Man, I was so into this person and we just kind of started dating and I really thought it was going to be a long-term thing that worked out.38:38-38:46Why did it not work out with this person?" Because God knew that there was going to be too much temptation for you there.38:47-38:50He says, "I'm just...I'm not going to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.38:50-38:57I'm not going to do it." And you know, that's encouraging, church, because God knows me better than I do.38:59-39:01And He's not going to put me in a hopeless situation.39:03-39:04All right?39:04-39:07So the CBA is here of temptation, God's promises.39:08-39:09It's common, it's bearable.39:10-39:13And letter A, it's avoidable.39:14-39:15It's avoidable.39:15-40:23Look at the end of verse 13. He says, "But with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it." God promises that when temptation comes, He's always going to provide a way out. You know, for the person that says, "I had no choice but to sin." I had no choice but to sin. That's that's not actually how we say it. You know how we say it? It's an addiction. And look, I'm not denying that addiction is a real thing. I know addiction absolutely is a real thing, but I think a lot of Christians have just slapped the addiction label on any sin propensity, and all of a sudden now it's not my fault. I can't help it, I have an addiction." Well, maybe the problem isn't you have an addiction, maybe the problem is you chose not to look for the way out that God provided.40:26-40:35Because if you're like, "Well, I was forced to sin, there was no option, I was just forced to sin," well then you're basically calling God a liar because He's promised that there's there's always going to be a way out.40:35-40:40He's going to make sure that you're not cornered into some "I must sin" situation.40:42-40:44There's no excuses.40:44-40:46There's no one to blame but myself when I sin.40:48-40:51And I will remind you that temptation isn't sin.40:51-40:52Jesus was tempted.40:53-42:07But it is on you to find the way of escape that God has provided so that you can avoid in to the temptation. And that's encouraging. That means I'm never forced to sin. God always provides the way out. "Oh, that won't happen to me. That won't happen to me." Remember blessed, tempted to sin, not exempt from disqualification. And we are just like Israel, but today we have an opportunity to make different choices than many of them did. I just have to ask you, is your reputation worth it? Is your testimony worth it? Is Jesus Christ worth it? Will you bow your heads with me, please?42:10-42:13Father, we just want to pause and we want to thank you.42:16-42:26Sometimes we idealize Old Testament Israel, but your word here reminds us that we're just like them.42:29-42:51Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters here, that we would make better choices, is that we would not lean into the craving for evil that we have, but instead, Father, I pray that we would claim and live the promises that You have given us regarding temptation.42:52-43:02Father, we thank You that we know there's nothing that we're going to face today that hasn't been faced by countless people before us.43:02-43:04That's encouraging to us, Father.43:04-43:04Thank you.43:06-43:16Father, we thank you that you're making sure that we're not suffocated by temptation, that we're in some kind of a hopeless situation.43:16-43:23Your word is clear, God, that you have promised that you are not going to allow us to be tempted beyond our ability.43:24-43:28Thank you, Father, for that individual care that you give for every one of your people.43:31-43:33God, I thank you that you provide the way of escape.43:34-43:36I just ask, Father, you give us eyes to see it.43:38-43:48Yes, we need to avoid situations where we might be tempted, but when we get in those situations, Father, show us very clearly the way out.43:50-44:03Father, above all, give us humility today, because I'm sure there's gonna be people walking out the door still thinking that it can't possibly happen to them when your word so clearly says otherwise.44:04-44:05Humble us, Father.44:06-44:08Give us the faith to humble ourselves.44:08-44:10We pray in Jesus' name, amen.44:39-44:40 Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 10:1-13What was your big take-away from this passage / message?In what ways has the church been blessed as Old Testament Israel was? How can these blessings make us feel exempt from being disqualified (i.e. no longer useable by God)?What does it mean to “test the Lord”? How can people do that today (1 Cor 10:9)?Why is complaining (1 Cor 10:10) such a serious sin in the ears of God?Many people, talking about trials, wrongly quote 1 Cor 10:13 by saying, “God doesn't give you any more than you can handle.” Explain why this statement is wrong when it comes to suffering. What is 1 Cor 10:13 actually saying?BreakoutPray for one another.
Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North Sermons - Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North
Introduction: Psalm 32:5 – I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Proverbs 28:13 – Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Conceal or Confess? If You Want to Confess: (1 John 1:5 - 2:6) You Have to Be Done LYING About Your Sin. (1 John 1:5-10) 3 Lies You Have to Stop Claiming: I BELIEVE in God. (When You Don't LIVE Like It.) (1 John 1:6-7) I'm a GOOD Person. (1 John 1:8-9) I Don't SIN. (1 John 1:10) You Have to Come to JESUS. (1 John 2:1-2) Your LIFESTYLE Proves Your Sincerity. (1 John 2:3-6) Hebrews 4:14 - Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Audio Transcript 00:00-00:09Open up those Bibles to the passage that Levi just read, 1 John 1.00:12-00:14While you're turning there, let's just quiet our hearts for a moment.00:14-00:19And I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to faithfully communicate God's Word.00:21-00:29And I'll pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us from His Word tonight.00:29-00:31All right, let's pray.00:33-00:44Father in heaven, I pray that this time would allow us to feel the weight of what it is we're remembering here tonight.00:46-00:48We're so distracted with so many things.00:50-01:02I just pray, Father, by the power of Your Spirit, everything is off our minds and hearts except your word.01:06-01:14And that we would be honest enough with ourselves to see things as you see them.01:18-01:24Thank you, Father, for the sacrifice that was made.01:26-01:29You spared not your own son.01:34-01:38We pray in the glorious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.01:40-01:41Amen.01:41-01:46We're in this series, this short series called Respect the Office.01:49-01:54That if Jesus presented a resume, it would have a lot on it.01:56-02:00But there are three roles in particular.02:02-02:07We're just sort of slowing down and looking at, and last Sunday Pastor Rich talked about Jesus as prophet.02:08-02:10He is the word of God.02:10-02:14Who God is, is represented in Jesus.02:16-02:22Tonight, we're going to see that Jesus Christ is our priest.02:25-02:27What is a priest, anyways?02:28-02:36Well, in the simplest terms, the prophet represented God to man.02:37-02:42And the priest represents man to God.02:43-02:50And in the Old Testament, the priests offered sacrifices from sinners to God at the temple.02:51-03:12So tonight, as our minds naturally think of Jesus Christ on the cross, what you need to see in your mind in that moment when Jesus was on the cross, was He was not only the the sacrifice that was being offered for sin.03:12-03:17At the same time, He was the priest who was offering the sacrifice.03:19-03:28Jesus Christ, as our priest, came to deal with our sin.03:32-03:51There is one thing you must do Before you can receive forgiveness, before you can have a relationship with God at all, there's one thing you have to do.03:52-03:53You have to confess.03:55-04:09And if you're a Christian, if you are truly born again, and you're sitting here tonight, and you're wondering why your walk is so weak, why you aren't the strong Christian that you thought you would be by now.04:13-04:15Maybe you stopped confessing.04:16-04:19Look at verse 9 again.04:21-04:30If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.04:34-04:36We're going to talk about confess tonight.04:37-04:39What does it mean to confess?04:41-04:44Well, in the Greek, it's a compound word.04:44-04:54It literally means, "say the same." In other words, to confess means that you're agreeing with God.04:56-04:58Agreeing with God that you are a sinner.04:58-05:02Agreeing with God that your sin is wrong.05:05-05:06I agree with God.05:07-05:08It's saying I'm guilty.05:09-05:11I'm not a good person.05:11-05:16I look at my actions and I do things that are just shameful.05:18-05:21I hear the words that come out of my mouth sometimes.05:22-05:24What is wrong with me?05:27-05:27Shameful.05:29-05:38So I look into my heart and I realize, there's something broken in me.05:40-05:41There's something evil in me.05:44-05:47How is it that I can be so full of selfishness?05:47-05:51How is it that I can be so full of hatred sometimes?05:52-05:53How is it that I can be so full of lust?05:55-05:56Why is that?06:00-06:01Confessing is agreeing with God.06:05-06:10And the three hardest words that you will ever say, it's not, "I love you." Those ones are hard.06:10-06:12But there are three harder words to say.06:13-06:24And those words are these, "I have sinned." To get to the point where you are saying this from your heart, "I've sinned.06:25-06:26I have sinned.06:27-06:30You know, I was thinking about that a lot this week and preparing for this message.06:31-06:32Why is that so hard?06:35-06:46I mean, it's clear in the Bible, it's clear from observation that we have a problem, but why is it so hard for me to get to that place where I say, "I have sinned"?06:46-06:49Why is it so hard for you to admit that, to confess that?06:52-06:53I think it's a lot of things.06:55-06:57I think the big reason is pride, right?06:58-07:02To admit that you're a sinner is also an admission of weakness.07:02-07:06I'm not the morally strong person that I want to think that I am.07:07-07:15Maybe it's hard to confess that I am a sinner because deep down the reality is we actually kind of like our sin.07:16-07:19We would miss it if it wasn't in our lives.07:19-08:13is that. If you're sitting here tonight and you're like, "Well, I don't feel like I love my sin. I want out of it, but I feel trapped in it. I'm in bondage to it." That's hard to confess. That something is so ruling over you. "I don't want to do this, but I keep doing it. What is my problem?" You know, I think really for a lot of us, it's hard to say I have sinned because it's just so hard to not see yourself as the hero in your own story. Sometimes you're the bad guy. So am I. Acknowledging sin is uncomfortable. It's offensive. And it just it goes against our natural inclinations.08:17-08:18Here's the reality from God's Word.08:20-08:21Unsaved people.08:22-08:29People who don't sincerely know the Lord, are always going to try to downplay sin.08:31-08:32It's not that big of a deal.08:33-08:36And one of the ways they do that is by trying to redefine sin.08:36-08:40We won't call it sin, we'll call it something else and kind of soften the blow.08:41-08:46But the big one is, unsaved people conceal their sin.08:47-08:48Let's keep it hidden.08:48-08:50Let's make sure nobody finds out about it.08:50-08:52They conceal their sin.08:55-09:05Saved people, on the other hand, according to that passage Levi just read, saved people confess their sin.09:08-09:10So tonight I just want to ask you one question.09:12-09:12What are you doing?09:16-09:18Conceal or confess?09:19-09:20Which one are you?09:25-09:32Bible's so clear about this and what's at stake in this.09:33-09:40Psalm 32.5 says, "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.09:41-09:49I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin." Do you see that?09:51-09:52Conceal or confess.09:55-10:20Same thing, Proverbs 28.13 says, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." So what are you doing with your sin? Are you concealing it? Or are you confessing it?10:23-10:33So on your outline, if you're taking notes, it says at the top, "Conceal or confess?" And there might be some people in here that are honest enough to say, you know what, I'd rather just conceal it.10:34-10:37And I would say respectfully, I don't know why you're here tonight.10:41-10:42You should have stayed home.10:45-10:48But I do know that there are some people here tonight that are like, you know what?10:51-10:53It's gone on beyond too long.10:54-10:54I need to confess.10:56-10:57I need to confess.10:57-11:03Well, I'm so glad you're here, if that's you, because I want to help you with that, from the Word of God.11:03-11:07So on your outline, if you want to confess, number one, this is where you have to start.11:09-11:11You have to be done lying about your sin.11:11-11:12You have to be done with that.11:13-11:16You have to be done lying about your sin.11:18-11:19Again, look at verse five.11:20-11:29He says, "This is the message we have heard from Him "and proclaimed to you, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.11:30-11:31God is light.11:32-11:38We could spend a whole sermon series talking about that, but the bottom line is this, that represents life.11:39-11:40That represents holiness.11:41-11:43There is no death in God.11:43-11:45There's no unholiness in God.11:45-11:46There's no sin.11:46-11:48There's no darkness of any kind in God.11:49-11:54A man, on the other hand, I probably don't have to sell you on that, do I?11:57-12:04And you see, when we talk about confessing, yes, you absolutely must confess with your mouth.12:07-12:10But, it has to ultimately start in your heart.12:12-12:18Because you can say something with your mouth that isn't actually true in your heart.12:20-12:27And when you say something that's not true, that's called telling a lie.12:28-12:30And that's where John starts here.12:31-12:32Like, you want to confess?12:33-12:33You've got to be done lying.12:36-12:46You see, three times in this passage, he says, "if we claim" or "if we say" "if we say" "if we say" He's pointing out the lies We tell ourselves.12:47-12:48He goes, you've got to stop that.12:49-12:50Let's look at them quickly.12:51-12:53Three lies you've got to stop claiming.12:54-12:55You've got to stop these.12:55-12:57Number, or letter A, sorry, letter A.12:58-13:00Here's a lie that a lot of people are saying.13:01-13:02I believe in God.13:05-13:07When you don't live like it.13:09-13:15People are saying, yeah, I believe in God, but they don't live like they know Him at all.13:16-13:18It's a lie, right?13:18-13:19Not my opinion, look at verse six.13:20-13:31He says, "If we say we have fellowship with Him, with God, while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.13:32-13:35If we claim we have fellowship with Him," do you know what that is?13:36-13:40That's the guy or the girl that says, "Oh, I believe in God.13:41-13:42"Oh yeah, yeah, I believe in God.13:42-13:43I know God.13:44-13:49I mean, yeah, I'm a Christian." But he says they walk in darkness.13:49-13:54They're living in some secret, sinful lifestyle.13:57-13:59And John points out here, look, you're living a lie.14:00-14:02You're just, you're living a lie.14:03-14:05I don't know who you think you're fooling, but it's not God.14:07-14:08And this is a hard truth.14:11-14:14that I think tonight we need to confront ourselves with.14:15-14:18Not everyone who claims to know God actually does know God.14:20-14:23Not everyone who claims they know God is actually heading to heaven.14:26-14:33Not everyone who's sitting in a church, not just tonight, any church, week after week, not everyone sitting in a church is saved.14:37-15:04I got to tell you, I talk to a lot of people who will be talking about a family member of theirs, their brother, or their adult children, or their parents, and we'll be talking about these family members, and I'm like, "Well, do they know the Lord?" And they'll say, "Well, yeah, they're Christians." And then they say, "But they haven't gone to church "in years, they're not interested in praying.15:05-15:08They really don't want to have any spiritual conversations.15:09-15:12You know, I invited them to Good Friday service and they absolutely didn't want to come.15:14-15:15But yeah, he's a Christian.15:18-15:24I mean, yeah, he's living in adultery right now.15:25-15:26Oh, he's foul-mouthed.15:27-15:29And he is such a heavy drinker.15:32-15:32But he's a Christian.15:35-15:36Based on what?15:37-15:39What are you basing that on?15:39-15:41And you know what the response usually is?15:41-15:47Well, one time we were in a church and they said they believed in God.15:48-15:51They like raised their hand in a service one time.15:54-15:55But what does the Bible say?15:56-15:58Do you see that in verse six?15:58-16:03If we say we have fellowship, but we're walking in darkness, what does your Bible say?16:04-16:05It says you're lying.16:06-16:06It's just not true.16:10-16:12But on the other hand, look at verse seven.16:12-16:25He says, "But if we walk in the light, "as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, "and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." Walking in the light.16:26-16:27No hidden sin.16:29-16:35No secret sin that you hope to heaven nobody finds out about.16:43-16:46You sin, you confess.16:48-16:49You are walking in the light.16:50-16:51You're like, yeah, I did sin.16:51-16:53That was wrong what I did.16:53-16:54It was wrong in God's eyes.16:54-16:55I've sinned against my family.16:55-16:56I'm confessing that.16:56-16:58I'm getting with God on this.16:58-17:04I'm getting accountability on this to help me drag this to the light.17:07-17:09So what's your plan tonight?17:09-17:10Are you going to conceal?17:12-17:13Or are you going to confess?17:20-17:23You're walking in the light or you're walking in darkness?17:26-17:28There's no middle ground, by the way.17:29-17:33The Bible doesn't talk about walking in half light or half dark.17:33-17:36What typifies your life right now?17:37-17:39Which one describes you?17:40-17:42Are you walking in the light?17:45-17:47Or is there a whole lot of stuff that you're trying to keep concealed?17:51-17:53Well, John says, "Stop lying.17:54-17:54"Stop lying.17:54-17:59"Your claim of believing in God means nothing if your life is characterized by sin.18:00-18:03All right, so that's a lie you have to stop claiming.18:03-18:06Here's another lie you have to stop.18:07-18:08Letter B, I'm a good person.18:11-18:12I'm a good person.18:12-18:14Well, let's see what the Bible says about that, verse eight.18:14-18:22If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.18:23-18:25We claim we're without sin.18:26-18:27I'm not that bad.18:28-18:32I mean, I'm actually a good person.18:33-18:39Like deep down, you know, deep down, I have a good heart.18:40-18:42I'm a good person deep down.18:44-18:45God knows that.18:48-18:49Here's what God knows.18:51-18:54God knows that you were born with a sin nature that you inherited from Adam.18:55-18:58that's been passed down from generation to generation, and you got it.19:02-19:02Don't believe me?19:04-19:07Sometimes I have people challenge me on this, like I don't think that we're born with a sin nature.19:08-19:09I don't think that that's true.19:09-19:11I don't think that we are born with a sin nature.19:11-19:13I'm like, have you ever been around a kid?19:14-19:15Ever?19:17-19:18(congregation laughing)19:19-19:21That's exactly what I'm talking about.19:25-19:28That's exactly what I'm talking about, that little sinner tried to hijack the sermon.19:31-19:33You just proved my point, little lamb.19:40-19:43And look, if you don't have kids, there's plenty of people around here that do have them.19:43-19:45I'm sure they'll let you hang out.19:47-19:49I'm sure they might ask you to watch them for a few days.19:55-19:56Who has ever taught a kid?19:58-19:59I mean, think of a little toddler.20:00-20:01Think of little Joey back there.20:02-20:06Does dad ever sit down with him and say, "Listen, listen, Joey, I'm gonna teach you "something important here.20:07-20:12"If you learn how to lie convincingly, "you're gonna go far in life, all right?20:13-20:17"I guess, son, what I'm saying is "always cover your tracks, okay?20:18-20:25"Because if you got away with it, then you've mastered the art of deception.20:26-20:29Has any dad sat down with their kid and taught them that?20:29-20:30I sure hope not.20:30-20:31You're a monster.20:31-20:33You're a monster if you're teaching your kid how to sin.20:34-20:36But you don't have to.20:37-20:45How is it that these kids automatically know how to sneak, how to lie, how to steal, how to be selfish?20:45-20:46How do they know that?20:47-20:50Like, were they reading some manual in the womb?20:50-20:51Like, what is going on here?20:54-20:55We're born with a sin nature.20:57-20:59So if you're like, "Well, you know what?21:00-21:01I'm really not that bad.21:01-21:05I'm not really a bad person." The Bible says you're deceiving to yourself.21:05-21:09You're telling a lie, and then you're turning around and believing the own lie that you just told yourself.21:12-21:13You say you have a good heart?21:15-21:30Actually if that's your stance, if that's your stance here tonight, to think that you're You're really a good person, I've got to tell you, you're in a hopeless situation when it comes to the gospel, because you're not going to confess.21:32-21:36What can God do for someone who doesn't think that they need Him?21:39-21:40It's a hopeless situation.21:44-21:45Look at verse nine again.21:45-21:56If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, excuse me, forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.21:59-22:02I did a lot of reading this past week in preparing for this.22:02-22:12And you get to this verse, and these scholars and commentators are like, is this verse for believers, or is this verse for unbelievers?22:16-22:28The answer is yes. The answer is yes. Confession is like repentance. Think about repentance.22:29-22:44Is repentance something you do when you first come to Christ? Yeah. But if you're a true born again believer in Christ, when do you stop repenting? Never. In Matthew 3.8, Luke 3.8, both say the exact same thing.22:45-22:49Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.22:49-22:53Repentance is to be the lifestyle of the follower of Jesus.22:54-22:56And confession is exactly the same.22:56-22:59In coming to Christ, you have to confess.22:59-23:07And if you're a Christian, your life is typified by constant acknowledgment of your sin before a holy God.23:11-23:18regular occurrence in our walk with Christ, Christians are characterized as confessors.23:20-23:23A true Christian is always going to God.23:23-23:25"God, I hate my sin.23:25-23:27God, this is what I did.23:27-23:29I messed up.23:29-23:29I sinned.23:30-23:33God, specifically, here is what I did.23:34-23:35God, I need to change.23:35-23:37God, I'm confessing that.23:38-23:42Thank You for the forgiveness that You've purchased through Your Son, Jesus Christ, God.23:42-23:49I need the power of Your Spirit to help me repent." That is how a Christian confesses their sin.23:51-23:54And John says that God's response is to forgive and purify.23:56-23:57Why does He do that?23:59-24:00Because you're worthy?24:03-24:03Not hardly.24:04-24:09John says he does that because he, he is faithful and just.24:11-24:17See, God's forgiveness is based on his promise, not your performance.24:17-24:21God's forgiveness comes to you on his terms, not your terms.24:22-24:28And God's forgiveness, the assurance that we have that we are forgiven is because of God's integrity.24:30-24:39that I can say, "I know that I have the promise of heaven," not because of me, I know I have the promise of heaven because I believe in a God who always keeps His word.24:41-24:42And this is what He's promised.24:45-24:50So if you're sitting here tonight, you're like, "Yeah, I'm a good person." You're really not.24:52-24:59As long as you think you are, you're not going to understand what the cross of Jesus Christ was all about.25:01-25:03Three lies you need to stop claiming.25:04-25:07Letter C, same vein here, right?25:07-25:08Letter C, I don't sin.25:11-25:12I don't sin.25:13-25:15Believe it or not, I've met people that have made that claim.25:15-25:16Look at verse 10.25:16-25:30He says, "If we say we have not sinned, "we make him a liar and his word is not in us." If we claim we have not sinned, that's the person, And again, I've met these people, they're like, "Sin?25:33-25:43I don't sin." Well, you did just call God a liar then because He says differently.25:46-25:50It's one of the interesting things about sin, wouldn't you say?25:50-26:00interesting, that we tend to minimize our sin and we maximize other people's sin.26:02-26:08Ours is so small and insignificant, but somebody else's, oh boy, they really blew it.26:14-26:16God wants to deal with you about your sin.26:18-26:24And you can't confess Jesus as a Savior if you say you don't have what He saves from.26:27-26:36And if you refuse to acknowledge your sin, you refuse to admit, you refuse to confess your sin, then the cross means nothing.26:38-26:45And we come to a service like this, we think of Jesus Christ on the cross, and we're really left wondering why did he die in the first place?26:48-26:49Concealer confess.26:53-26:53What are you doing?26:58-26:59Concealer confess.26:59-27:01Are you going to leave tonight lying to yourself?27:04-27:07Or are you going to finally agree with God?27:12-27:23So if you want to confess, if that's you, and I want to help you, first of all, you gotta stop lying to yourself, you gotta stop lying to God, you gotta stop lying to everybody, you gotta stop the lies.27:23-27:27Number two, you have to come to Jesus.27:30-27:33Confession is about the person of Jesus Christ.27:33-27:47Look at verse one, he says, in chapter two, "My little children, I'm writing these things to you "so that you may not sin." But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.27:49-28:01John says, "Look, I'm writing this so you don't sin." God's Word doesn't allow us to have a dismissive attitude about sin, which a lot of Christians have.28:02-28:05It's like, "Well, yeah, I sin, but it doesn't really matter.28:05-28:10I'm forgiven in Christ." we just sort of dismiss it.28:12-28:13John goes, "No, no, no, no.28:14-28:35I'm writing these things to you so that you are turning from sin." He goes, "But if anybody does sin, and you will," spoiler alert, "you will," John says, "when you sin, you have an advocate, if you're in Christ." And this is one of the most beautiful pictures in all the Bible.28:36-28:39You know, it's a courtroom scene actually.28:39-28:45Revelation chapter 12 says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren.28:45-28:46Do you know what Satan does?28:47-28:52He goes before God, and if you're a follower of Christ, Satan accuses you before God.28:53-28:55Satan's like, he's no good.28:57-28:58Did you hear what he said?28:58-29:00That's one of your guys?29:00-29:01Did you hear what he said?29:02-29:03That's what Satan does.29:03-29:06Satan, he's a slanderer, he's an accuser.29:06-29:10But you see, when Jesus Christ is your advocate, he is your defense attorney.29:11-29:22That when Satan says, "Do you see what a miserable person this is?" Jesus steps up and says, "He did sin, "but I took his sin on myself when I died on the cross." He's forgiven.29:22-29:25He is not guilty because I paid that penalty.29:27-29:28And Satan goes to the next person.29:28-29:30You see what a miserable person she is?29:30-29:31Do you hear how she talked?29:31-29:32Do you see what she did?29:33-29:43Jesus says, "I died for her." All of the sin that was committed by her, Jesus said, "When I was on the cross, I paid the penalty." She is not guilty.29:45-29:50That's what it means that Jesus as our advocate, and that is way better than Edgar Snyder.29:53-29:55Owen might not think so.29:57-29:58If you know, you know.29:59-30:00Look at verse two.30:03-30:10He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.30:11-30:12Propitiation.30:12-30:15Oh, that's like one of the best words in the Bible.30:15-30:20John's just hitting like all of the most awesome concepts in a row right here.30:21-30:27Propitiation, your Bible might translate it, atoning, sacrifice, but this is a concept that you really need to understand.30:28-30:29Propitiation just simply means this.30:30-30:34God is satisfied with what Jesus did on the cross.30:35-30:36That's what it means.30:36-30:43When Jesus was on the cross, God was pouring out his wrath on Jesus for my sin and for your sin.30:44-30:47God put all of the wrath that I deserve on Jesus.30:47-30:50And that is awesome news because you know what that means?30:50-30:52God has no more wrath left for me.30:54-30:57And if you're in Christ, he has no wrath left for you.30:57-31:07And Christian, you've gotta get this in your head I've talked to so many Christians that are like, "I just really feel like God's mad at me, "and I feel like God's so disappointed in me." He's not!31:08-31:16It's not like God poured out His wrath on Jesus, and then God turns around and sees you sinning, and is like, "Oh, I'm still mad!31:17-31:20"I gotta punish her now, too!" That's not how it works.31:22-31:23Propitiation, God is satisfied.31:24-31:29He has no wrath for you if you've truly received Jesus Christ.31:32-31:47And not just for you, not just for you, look at verse two, he goes on to say, "Not for ours only, "not for our sins only, "but also for the sins of the whole world." Again, this is where a lot of scholars get caught up.31:50-31:55I just, you're like, "Oh, you think you're smarter than those scholars." No, I don't.31:55-31:57I think they're too smart sometimes.31:58-32:01I think they make this way too complicated.32:03-32:04You know what I mean by that?32:04-32:16You know, I was reading, and I heard some pastoral panel thing, they were talking about this very verse, and they were like, what is being talked about here for the sins of the whole world?32:16-32:19Is he talking about the elect?32:19-32:20Like it's just for the elect?32:22-32:25Is this speaking to limited atonement?32:28-32:33You're making this way more complicated than it needs to be.32:33-32:34Do you know what this means?32:35-32:36Do you know what this verse means?32:36-32:38I'll tell you what this verse means.32:39-32:39Right here.32:41-32:49What this verse is saying is I can confidently say to anyone, when you believe in Jesus, you will be forgiven of your sins.32:50-32:52You will be adopted as a child of God.32:52-32:54I can say that to anybody, because it's for the whole world.32:54-33:04I can say that here, I can say that in Thailand, I can say that in Blonox, it doesn't matter where I am, this truth holds, Jesus forgives sin.33:06-33:08Let God figure out all that other stuff.33:10-33:14My job is to tell the world, and your job too.33:16-33:17Concealer confess.33:19-33:19Conceal or confess.33:21-33:31At this point, if you're still wanting to conceal, you're committed to walking out of here like, "Yeah, I just can't, I can't come clean about my sin.33:31-33:38"Not to God, not to anybody." Well, it's not gonna go well for you.33:39-33:45Remember what the Proverbs writers say, that if you conceal your sin, you're not gonna prosper.33:46-33:48It's not gonna go well for you.33:51-33:57But if you want to confess, that's business that you have to do with Jesus.33:59-34:16Not only confessing who you are as a sinner, but confession includes saying who He is, agreeing with God who Jesus is, agreeing with God that Jesus is your advocate, agreeing with God that Jesus is your propitiation, agreeing with God about that.34:17-34:24If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.34:28-34:34So this night more than any other probably reminds us why Jesus is the only one who can take your sin away.34:35-34:36Nobody else can do that.34:38-34:46Nobody else can make you be pronounced not guilty in the courtroom of God.34:49-34:50Conceal or confess?34:52-34:59Well, if you want to confess, number three, your lifestyle proves your sincerity.35:02-35:04Your lifestyle proves your sincerity.35:05-35:07Look at verses 3 through 6 again.35:08-35:13He says, "And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.35:15-35:20Whoever says, "I know Him," but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.35:21-35:27But whoever keeps His word in him, truly the love of God is perfected.35:28-35:34By this we may know that we are in Him.35:35-35:41Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.35:44-35:48I'm sure if the hospitality team grabbed every person on the way out, do you wanna confess?35:48-35:50I'm sure they would get 100%.35:50-35:51Yeah, I confess.35:51-35:52I can, yeah, I confess.35:58-36:02We'll find out if it's sincere by how you live, right?36:03-36:05That's why he says it in verse three.36:05-36:06He says it at the end of verse five.36:07-36:08We know that we have come to know him.36:09-36:10We know that we are saved.36:10-36:12Like what's the evidence?36:12-36:15How do I really know if I'm saved or not?36:15-36:16How would I know that?36:16-36:17He tells you right here.36:17-36:19Here's how you know that you're saved.36:19-36:20You keep his commands.36:22-36:28The proof that you know God is just simply you do what he says.36:32-36:34It's not just what you claim.36:37-36:38Are you saved?36:38-36:38You know the Lord.36:39-36:40And people say, well, you know what?36:40-36:46I was baptized 17 years ago at First Baptist Church of so-and-so.36:47-36:47Goody.36:49-36:51That's not evidence that you're saved, though.36:53-37:05Or somebody says, "Well, I go to church almost every week." I mean, not when Declan has lacrosse, but every other week I'm in church.37:05-37:06Great.37:08-37:10I strongly encourage church attendance.37:10-37:13I think that's a good thing, but that's not evidence of salvation.37:14-37:17Evidence of salvation is I do what God tells me to do.37:19-37:22It's just that simple, according to John.37:24-37:30I believe, I believe not verified by what you say, I believe is verified by how you live.37:30-37:32Are you gonna conceal or are you gonna confess tonight?37:33-37:34Which is it?37:36-37:51Because obviously, if you really agree with God that sin is evil, you're going to be constantly confessing and forsaking sin.37:55-37:57So do you live a life of confession?38:01-38:04Do you agree with God about your sin?38:06-38:19And do you agree with God concerning what He said the crucifixion of His Son accomplished for the person who will turn to Him?38:22-38:23Our worship team would make their way back up.38:26-38:54And our communion servers, we're gonna close our time around the Lord's table And you do not have to be a member of Harvard's Bible Chapel to take communion, but you do have to be a born-again believer in Christ. This is for believers.38:58-39:02And fellow Christians, it is gathering around the Lord's table.39:02-39:06Well, this is a time to confess everything.39:08-39:11Everything that John said in this passage, we get to confess that right now.39:13-39:21When we take these elements, what we're saying, what we're confessing, I confess that my sin is evil and wrong in the eyes of God.39:22-39:23I confess that.39:24-39:27I confess that Jesus Christ died for my sin.39:29-39:35I confess that God is satisfied with the work that Jesus accomplished on my behalf.39:37-39:40I confess Jesus Christ is my advocate.39:41-39:46I confess that I need His Spirit to make me who God wants me to be.39:49-40:00I confess that I will prove that I believe when I obey God in every area of my life.40:03-40:16Hebrews 4.14 says, "Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.40:18-40:22Let us hold fast our confession.40:24-40:36We're going to ask, when you're ready, if you would come down to the center aisles and receive the elements from one of our pastors, and you can return to your seat by the outside aisle.40:37-40:49I'm going to ask that you hold on to it, and let's confess together tonight, church, that We are agreeing with God in all these things.40:52-40:54So please come, take the elements.40:56-40:57This is our confession.40:59-41:05This is our agreeing with God that Jesus is who God said He is.41:06-41:09And that Jesus accomplished what God said He accomplished.41:11-41:16The Bible tells us on the night that Jesus was betrayed, He took bread and he broke it and he gave thanks.41:17-41:20And he said, "This is my body, which is broken for you.41:21-41:45Eat this in remembrance of me." After the meal, Bible tells us that Jesus took the cup and he said, "This cup is my blood, the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sin.41:46-41:48Drink this in remembrance of me.41:50-41:51What are you doing tonight?41:54-41:56Conceal or confess?41:59-42:01Jesus has quite a resume.42:04-42:06As the prophet, he is the word of God.42:08-42:11As the priest, he takes away our sin.42:12-42:15I want to invite you to come back in two days on Sunday.42:15-42:26Pastor Taylor is going to talk about the other role that Jesus has, the King of Kings.42:27-42:28You don't want to miss that.42:30-42:31You are loved. Small Group DiscussionRead 1 John 1:5-2:6What was your big take-away from this passage / message?BreakoutPray for one another.
Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North Sermons - Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North
Introduction: Hebrews 1:1-3 - Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high... The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:14-22): Will Speak God's Words – But they did not all listen See: John 12:49-50 and John 14:10, 24 Will be Like Moses – But they did not all believe See: John 6:32-35 and John 6:51, 57b-58 Will Die if He Lies – But they killed Jesus for telling the truth See: John 8:26b-28 | Psalm 22:7-8, 16-18 | Psalm 22:22-25 Jesus is the Prophet – Will You: Listen to Him? Believe Him? Speak His words? Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Audio Transcript 00:00-00:01Good morning, Harvest.00:03-00:05It's a joy to be with you this morning.00:06-00:11Open your Bibles, please, if you haven't already, to Deuteronomy chapter 18.00:12-00:16It's where we will be studying God's Word this morning.00:18-00:37And as is our usual, sometimes usual custom, I would ask, please, that you pray for me, that I would clearly, accurately preach God's Word, and I will pray for you that your hearts will be open to receive it.00:37-00:37Let's pray.00:43-01:18Gracious and holy Father, I pray, Father, you would open our hearts and minds to receive your word, that we would be absolutely convinced beyond all doubt that your word is true and that Jesus is your prophet who speaks your truth to us through your word, through your spirit at all times.01:19-01:30And I pray as we believe and trust in Him, you would transform our lives and make us more like Him every day.01:30-01:33We pray in Jesus' great name, Amen.01:35-01:44So in preparation for Resurrection Sunday, we are beginning a three-part series examining the three offices of Christ.01:45-01:47the office of prophet, priest, and king.01:49-01:53And we begin this morning with the first of these, which is prophet.01:55-01:59Now, we may listen to a lot of modern day prophets for advice on how to live.02:00-02:12The experts, the doctors, the internet influencers, the media talking heads, podcasters, entertainment celebrities, even astrologists and politicians.02:14-02:16The sources of information are endless.02:17-02:24And now we have AI at our fingertips to synthesize and summarize the sum and substance of human experience.02:27-02:40Now to be clear, I'm not talking about doctors who say eating this one food three times a day cures sleep apnea or the weird trick that cures tinnitus caused by eating this one food three times a day.02:40-02:47Now I'm talking about the major life information, answers to questions like, "Who am I?02:48-02:49What's my purpose?02:50-03:03What's the best way to live?" And when it comes to that kind of information, few to none of the infotainment talking heads can really help us, because they can only tell us what they know.03:04-03:11I'm not suggesting they aren't intelligent, but what they say may or may not be true.03:12-03:15But you say like, well, no, hold on, hold on Sprung.03:15-03:20I've heard it said that all truth is God's truth, wherever it's found.03:22-03:24Well, let's think about that for a minute.03:25-03:29God's word is perfect, pure and true according to Psalm 19.03:30-03:44So I have a metaphor this morning for us, For God's word, I think that everyone can relate to the delight over opening a brand new container of Play-Doh.03:45-03:46It's all one color.03:47-03:49Nobody's played with it yet.03:49-03:51It's not mixed up with other colors.03:52-03:57It's just fresh and clean, and it's ready for my artistic expression.04:00-04:04But you know, the inevitable happens, doesn't it?04:04-04:19Soon, what was once pure and clean, it's all mashed together with a lot of other colors and that original color becomes unidentifiable.04:22-04:23I think you get the point.04:25-04:29How do you discern God's truth in a mishmash of worldly ideas?04:30-04:37How do you extract the truth once it's all blended into futile human thoughts?04:40-04:45Well, this is the problem with the infotainment experts.04:46-04:53Their learning and experience and perspective is just a conglomeration of worldly thinking.04:54-05:09They can make educated guesses as to how to live and what's going to happen, but ultimately every single one of them is going to reach a point where they have to say, "I don't know." And some of them are speaking directly out of the pit of hell.05:10-05:13And those folks will drag you down to hell with them.05:14-05:20So you see, that's why when it comes to the astrologists and the mediums and perhaps the to celebrities and influencers.05:22-05:33Verse 14 of this morning's passage says that, "As for you, the Lord, your God, has not allowed you to do this." So to whom or what can we turn?05:33-05:37Where can we get truth for an accurate world view?05:38-05:41Because we need a perspective that is outside of ourselves.05:42-05:46Outside of this world, really, and that's what God's Word is.05:47-05:53It is the specific and special revelation of God about himself.05:58-06:01It comes from the throne of God.06:02-06:18The problem with the world is, people in the world, they look at the Bible and like, "Well, yeah, that's just one more system of thought like any other." In fact, it's probably even not as good as what AI can tell us now.06:19-06:21They have a low view of scripture.06:22-06:24We need to have a high view of scripture.06:26-06:33And as we learn from the word that was just read, we can get the truth from the prophet.06:34-06:36It is to him we must listen.06:38-06:40But what is a prophet anyway?06:41-06:42What does a prophet do?06:42-06:52We typically think of prophets as forecasting future events, often in a cryptic or mystical way, like that Nostradamus guy.06:52-06:58But biblically, that is only a partial description of what a prophet does.06:59-07:03Basically a biblical prophet speaks God's words to people.07:05-07:09The Old Testament prophets revealed three basic messages.07:11-07:18The first was that God sent many prophets to his people to rebuke them for breaking the covenant and worshiping idols.07:19-07:31This was perhaps the prophet's most important function, to remind the people of Israel that they, and only they, were in a covenantal relationship with the Lord God Most High.07:33-07:36and they were violating His covenant in a high-handed way.07:37-07:47Time and again He warned them to return to Him, or they would face the ultimate covenant punishment of being expelled from the Promised Land.07:48-08:03Not only did the prophets warn Israel and Judah that they would be punished by pagan nations for their idolatry, God also spoke to them about a future restoration, both near and at the end of the age.08:05-08:09And indeed, after the exile, they would return to the promised land.08:10-08:18And the nations that assaulted and tormented Israel in their exile, they would in turn be punished and overthrown by God.08:19-08:29And then finally, the Old Testament prophets spoke of the coming Messiah, a sometimes suffering, but ultimately victorious anointed servant.08:30-08:33The anointed one would bring salvation to his people.08:33-08:37He would inaugurate a new covenant between God and his people.08:38-08:45And the prophets gave many clues that would help the people identify the anointed one when he arrived.08:46-08:51Now, what did God expect his people to do in response to the prophets' messages?08:52-09:29expected, well no, he commanded them to repent and believe the messages to return to him and live in accordance with the covenant he made with them at Mount Sinai. And yet the Old Testament records a nearly continuous account of Israel's idolatry. They worship the idols of the nations around them. They And they sought out and listened to the words of false prophets, mediums, fortune tellers, and diviners.09:30-09:31They did not listen.09:32-09:34They did not believe.09:34-09:37They became futile in their thinking and their worship.09:37-09:47They mixed God's truth with the religions and lifestyles of the surrounding nations, and they ended up with the equivalent of this, gudo.09:49-09:52It's just a mash, a mishmash of ideas.09:53-10:02And when the prophets exposed their sin and their hypocrisy, they took offense and they put them to death.10:04-10:13So God, after bearing with his people for hundreds of years, he brought the covenantal curses down upon their heads and inflicted the ultimate punishment.10:14-10:16He exiled them from the promised land.10:18-10:22Now God of course kept his promises and he returned them to the land.10:23-10:37And roughly 400 years after that, the anointed one who was known before the foundation of the world, he was made manifest in the last times for the sake of all who would believe in and through him.10:39-10:45We of course know from the New Testament that Jesus is the promised Messiah.10:46-10:52He's the Son of God who fulfilled all that was spoken of Him by the Old Testament prophets.10:55-11:03As the writer of Hebrews says, "Long ago and at many times and in many ways, "God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.11:04-11:12"But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, "whom He appointed the heir of all things, "through whom also He created the world.11:13-11:21"He's the radiance of the glory of God God in the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.11:21-11:36After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." And this verse summarizes the three offices of Christ that we're going to be studying this week.11:36-11:37First is prophet.11:38-11:48"In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son." And then priest, he has made purification for sins.11:48-11:53And then finally king, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.11:56-12:01So how do we know Jesus is the prophet foretold by Moses?12:02-12:08What evidence is there to conclusively connect Jesus to the promise of a prophet just like Moses?12:11-12:15Well, first the prophet will speak God's words.12:16-12:19Look at verse 15 of chapter 18 in Deuteronomy.12:21-12:27Verse 15 says, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers.12:28-12:35It is to him you shall listen." Thus the prophet would be raised up by God from among the Israelites.12:36-12:46And the gospels of Matthew and Luke establish that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, and he was adopted by Joseph.12:47-12:50And both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David.12:51-12:53Jesus was born in Bethlehem.12:54-12:57His birth was attended by an angelic announcement.12:59-13:08And then when John baptized Jesus, God the Father announced that Jesus was his beloved son with whom he was well-pleased.13:09-13:17All of these events attest that Jesus was indeed raised up by God the Father from among the Israelites.13:18-13:29And these events disprove the idea that Jesus was merely a self-appointed and possibly deluded religious figure, as some people think he was.13:31-13:35And then verse 18 tells us that God's words would be in his mouth.13:36-13:47"I will put my words in his mouth and He shall speak to them all that I command Him." Now, we've already established that the prophets spoke God's words to the people.13:48-13:59But whereas they prefaced their statements with, "Thus saith the Lord," Jesus spoke as the Lord, out of the oneness that existed between Him and the Father.14:00-14:17For example, in John 12, verses 49 and 50, Jesus said, "For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak.14:17-14:20And I know that his commandment is eternal life.14:21-14:38What I say therefore, I say as the Father has told me." And then in John 14, verses 10 and 24, he said, "The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.14:38-14:59And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me." As further proof of his prophetic office, Jesus spoke God's words in the way that the Israelites requested.15:00-15:13What I mean is this, In Exodus chapters 19 and 20, God descended in a dark cloud on Mount Sinai with thunders and lightnings and the mountains shook.15:14-15:18And out of that cloud, God spoke the 10 commandments to the people.15:19-15:54And when all the people saw the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the trumpet that they heard and they were seeing the mountain shake and the ground shaking beneath their feet, They were terrified and they stood far off and they told Moses, they said, "You speak to us and we will listen, "but do not let God speak to us lest we die." Certainly Moses continued to speak to the people and gave them God's commands during their journey to the promised land and during their wandering for 40 years in the desert.15:55-15:57And then in his final address to them in the book of Deuteronomy.16:00-16:21But in chapter 18, verses 16 and 17, Moses told the people that God would send a prophet in direct response to their request at Mount Sinai, to let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, or see this great fire anymore, lest I die.16:24-16:31So how did Jesus, in his speaking, demonstrate that he was the prophet sent by the Lord?16:32-16:37Well, there's three events that directly identify Jesus as the prophet.16:38-16:42And all of them occurred, not coincidentally, on a mountainside.16:44-16:48First, he was on the mountain when he was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.16:48-16:59and while talking with Moses and Elijah, and a bright cloud appeared and God said, "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.17:00-17:08Listen to him." And the three disciples were like the Israelites of old, terrified by the voice of God.17:09-17:11But when they looked up, they saw only Jesus.17:14-17:26Second, the most direct connection A connection between the prophet and God speaking in the 10 commandments out of a stormy cloud is found in Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount.17:29-17:33Jesus, seeing the crowds, went up on the mountain.17:34-17:36And when he sat down, his disciples came to him.17:37-17:39And he opened his mouth and taught them.17:41-17:42And what did he teach them?17:44-17:50Well, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exegeted the law, including most of the 10 commandments.17:51-17:59The greatest commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and then to love your neighbor as yourself.18:01-18:12In that sermon, he showed the people that righteousness was not about outwardly keeping rules, but inward devotion to God that flowed from a broken and contrite heart.18:14-18:18a heart that revealed itself in confident dependence on God.18:20-18:31Instead of fire and terror, Jesus spoke to the people face to face on the mountain, just as they requested of Moses so long ago.18:32-18:41He revealed God to be merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.18:42-18:50And when Jesus finished, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority.18:52-18:57And yet, as so often happened in Israel's history, they did not all listen.18:59-19:06Yeah, there were those who did, but it seems for the most part, people were going out to Jesus for signs and wonders.19:07-19:08The crowds were fickle.19:08-19:10They were ambivalent about him.19:11-19:15and the religious leaders were so hostile, they wanted to kill him.19:18-19:26In Jesus, Israel got what she asked for hundreds of years earlier, a prophet speaking God's words to them face to face.19:27-19:35And even though his teaching astonished them, they eventually decided that Jesus really wasn't the prophet or Messiah they wanted after all.19:36-19:38They wanted a vending machine God.19:38-19:42They wanted a Messiah-o-matic and give them what they wanted.19:46-19:57You see, the divide between what the people craved and who Jesus is, is revealed in a third event that demonstrated the prophet would be like Moses.20:00-20:06The third thing Jesus did on a mountainside that proved He was the prophet like Moses is this.20:07-20:12He fed well over 5,000 people with bread and fish.20:14-20:36According to John 6, after everyone had eaten their fill and 12 baskets of leftovers were collected, the people said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world." And a day or two later, the people went looking for Jesus in Capernaum because they wanted more bread to eat.20:37-20:49Jesus knew what they wanted and he told them, "Do not work for the food that perishes, "but for the food that endures to eternal life, "which the Son of Man will give you.20:52-21:16"For on Him, God the Father has set His seal." And then the people said to him, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?" And Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." So the people said, "Jesus, what sign do you do that we might believe you?21:18-21:26What are you going to do for us, Jesus, that will persuade us to believe in you?" And then they said, "Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness.21:27-21:40Have you got more bread?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, "it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, "but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.21:41-22:02"For the bread of God is he who comes down "from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life." The people responded to Jesus' assertion with grumbling.22:03-22:11First, because he said, "He's the bread that comes down from heaven." They're like, "We want food.22:11-22:12We want bread.22:12-22:21We don't want you." But their grumbling increased because of Jesus' next extraordinary statement.22:24-22:28He said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven.22:28-22:31"If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.22:32-22:36"And the bread that I will give "for the life of the world is my flesh.22:36-22:41"Whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.22:42-22:47"This is the bread that came down from heaven, "not like the bread the fathers ate and died.22:48-22:57"Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." Well, this was just all too much for the Jews.22:57-22:59This was just too bizarre.23:01-23:09Jesus was speaking of himself as eternal nourishment, and all they could think about was their temporary physical hunger.23:10-23:24Like the Jews in the wilderness who grumbled about God providing manna for 40 years, the crowds and even many of Jesus' disciples grumbled about Jesus being the true bread of God.23:25-23:32Like Moses, Jesus led and fed the people in ways that revealed His prophetic office.23:33-23:35But they did not all believe.23:36-23:37They took offense at Him.23:39-23:42Many turned back and no longer walked with Him.23:45-23:50So Jesus asked the 12 if they too wanted to leave Him.23:50-23:52But Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go?23:53-23:55You have the words of eternal life.23:56-24:00And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.24:03-24:07You see, Peter recognized Jesus is more than the prophet.24:07-24:14He declares Jesus is the anointed one, the Son of God, because Jesus spoke God's words of eternal life.24:17-24:22And what was the most important thing that Jesus said during his earthly ministry?24:23-24:27What did he explicitly prophesy at least three times?24:29-24:33And what did he emphasize in other ways multiple times to his disciples?24:35-24:41That he would be mocked and flogged and crucified and that he would be raised to life the third day.24:42-24:44It's a pretty extraordinary prophecy.24:47-25:05But you see, this was extremely perplexing to the disciples because they said, "Jesus, you're telling the truth." And along with the words that he spoke and the signs and wonders that he performed, all of this amply demonstrated that Jesus was in fact the Messiah.25:06-25:14There's no way he could be a false prophet because they knew that a false prophet will die if he lies.25:16-25:18Look at Deuteronomy 18.20.25:19-25:38"The prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name, that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die." The religious leaders, particularly the Pharisees and their lawyers, they insisted that Jesus was a liar.25:39-25:43They claimed he was merely witnessing about himself and that his testimony wasn't true.25:45-25:57Well, Jesus countered that by saying that God the Father is also born witness about me and that he who sent me is true and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.25:58-26:02They did not understand that he'd been speaking to them about the Father.26:04-26:25So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the Father taught me." In this passage from John chapter 8, Jesus hints at what the religious leaders are planning to do to him.26:26-26:34They want to kill him, and he knows that their murderous maneuverings will result in his crucifixion.26:36-26:38You see, this is the supreme irony.26:39-26:42A prophet will die if he lies.26:43-26:49But they killed Jesus for telling the truth, just like they did the prophets of old.26:50-26:56And when Jesus was lifted up on the cross, his opponents thought he got what he deserved.26:57-27:06They were certain he was a false prophet, because if he wasn't, he wouldn't be suffering a vicious and humiliating death at the hand of Gentiles.27:09-27:17He was on the cross, the chief priests and other religious leaders mocked Him, saying, "He saved others. He can't save Himself.27:18-27:40Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." And yet in the midst of His agony, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" His enemies might have said, You're forsaken because you're a liar.27:41-27:44Everyone who gets hung on a tree is accursed.27:45-27:51The fact that we were able to get you crucified is proof that you, Jesus, are accursed by God.27:52-27:53You're no prophet.27:57-28:02But by crying out the first line of Psalm 22, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?28:03-28:13Jesus continues to speak the word of God in a way that reveals that the cross is the culmination of his earthly mission.28:15-28:17Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm.28:18-28:22It summarizes the Messiah's humiliation and exaltation.28:23-28:24Let's look at a few passages.28:26-28:27Verses seven and eight.28:28-28:30All who see me mock me.28:30-28:32They make mouths at me.28:32-28:33"For they wag their heads.28:34-28:35"He trusts in the Lord.28:36-28:37"Let Him deliver him.28:37-28:44"Let Him rescue him, for He delights in him." Then verses 16 and 18, through 18.28:45-28:46"For dogs encompass me.28:47-28:49"A company of evil doers encircles me.28:50-28:53"They have pierced my hands and feet.28:53-28:55"I can count all my bones.28:55-28:57"They stare and gloat over me.28:57-29:00"They divide my garments among them.29:00-29:27"For My clothing they cast lots." And finally, verses 22-25, "Reflect the Father's care in the midst of Jesus' great suffering and His resurrection." He says, "I will tell of Your name to My brothers, and in the midst of the congregation, I will praise You." Stop there for a minute and think about that.29:28-29:34Christ is on the cross, and he's telling the name of God to his brothers.29:34-29:39In the midst of the congregation, he is praising God.29:40-29:42All you who fear the Lord, praise him.29:42-29:48All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him.29:49-30:03All you offspring of Israel, for he is not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, "And He has not hidden His face from him, but He has heard when he cried to Him.30:04-30:19And from you comes my praise in the great congregation, my vows I will perform before those who fear Him." You see, even in the throes of death, Jesus preached to all who would listen and believe.30:20-30:38If those who heard Jesus cry began themselves to recite this Messianic Psalm, perhaps the realization began to take hold that what they were reciting was happening right before their eyes.30:41-31:00The psalmist's words are being fulfilled here and now, just as Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, "then you will know that I am He." And perhaps the horrible realization set in, we've killed the Messiah.31:01-31:12And perhaps that is why, as Luke records, all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, they returned home beating their breasts.31:13-31:15We have killed the Messiah.31:18-31:24But what looked like an accursed death to the crowd instead a triumph over death.31:25-31:34On the cross, Jesus put death to death, and in his resurrection, he offers eternal life to all who would believe in him.31:36-31:38All that Jesus said came to pass.31:39-31:41He said he would die, and he did.31:42-31:44He said he would return to life, and he did.31:45-31:48He is the reliable and trustworthy prophet.31:48-31:51Every word He spoke was true.31:53-31:55And He is still our prophet today.31:56-31:58We have His word.31:58-32:03We have God's word and His Spirit to lead us into all truth.32:05-32:17You know, everyone who preaches is obligated to faithfully and accurately speak in the name of the Lord Jesus and to preach His words, not our own.32:17-32:20In this way, Jesus is still our prophet.32:21-32:25He indwells his people to speak to his people from his word.32:28-32:35Therefore, now that you know that Jesus is the prophet, will you listen to him?32:38-32:45Will you daily cast off worldly thinking and unbiblical ideas and commit to reading and meditating on God's word?32:47-32:58Are you willing to jettison old patterns of negative thinking and replace them with what the Bible says about your worth and your purpose in Jesus Christ?32:58-33:05Will you conform your thinking to God's truth and Jesus' example and teaching?33:08-33:14Or will you continue to seek advice from the influencers and false prophets clamoring for your attention?33:16-33:17Will you look for guidance?33:18-33:26Will you look for guidance in the gudo that shapes and drives the lives of so many people?33:30-33:35The skeptic will say, "Ah, I don't believe anything in the Bible is true.33:36-33:37It offends my reason.33:38-33:39I'm an independent thinker.33:40-33:52I don't need a God or a religion to tell me what to do." But that same person has no problem with the collective hive mind telling them what to think.33:53-33:57And they'll employ artificial intelligence to do their thinking for them.34:00-34:03So much intelligence, so little wisdom.34:05-34:20The short of it is, if you refuse to listen to what Jesus says, If you take offense at him and his words, you're just like the Israelites and the religious leaders in past time.34:21-34:26You're essentially putting him to death in your heart and in your mind.34:28-34:31Now, there are probably very few people in this room that hate Jesus.34:34-34:44And if we took a survey of the people in this room, probably most of you would agree that, Yeah, we shouldn't be committing the kinds of sins which the world heartily approves.34:46-34:49We shouldn't be following all that chatter out there.34:51-35:05And yet how many of us choose to remain on friendly terms with the world and feel free to indulge in all its whims and entertainments and pleasures so long as we avoid open sin.35:08-35:22The most dangerous sin is the idea that we can listen to worldly prophets advocating for the lusts and pleasures of the world and follow along and yet still be devoted to Christ.35:23-35:30Beloved, you cannot listen to and serve multiple masters and still walk uprightly before Jesus Christ.35:31-35:35You must listen to Christ and serve Him only.35:38-36:14Jesus is the prophet. Will you believe in him? In some ways I have laid this sermon out like a closing argument in a court case. You've heard from the witnesses Moses, God the Father, Peter, and of course Jesus himself. And you have evidence to consider more than 5,000 people fed on a mountainside. Jesus transfigured on a mountain. And of course Jesus crucified on a cross just as he said he would be.36:17-36:36And then this singular fact. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures and according to his own prophetic words. He to pay the penalty for their sins and remove the penalty of death.36:37-36:43And rising again, he offers forgiveness of sin and eternal life for all who would believe in him.36:46-36:48So you've heard the evidence.36:49-36:51You must now render a verdict.36:52-36:59Will you believe that Jesus is everything he says he is, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?37:00-37:03He's the one mediator between God the Father and humanity.37:04-37:07He is the only priest, prophet, and king.37:08-37:13And Jesus is the only name given among people under heaven by which we can be saved.37:15-37:22If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.37:23-37:26With the heart one believes and is justified.37:27-37:30and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.37:32-37:33Jesus is the prophet.37:35-37:37Will you speak His words?37:40-37:44As disciples of Christ, we are all prophets of His gospel.37:45-37:49We are to proclaim His life, death, and resurrection until He returns.37:50-37:52This is no mystery religion.37:53-37:56There is no hidden knowledge in the Scriptures.37:56-37:58There are no secret rites to perform.37:59-38:02The words of Christ are all out in the open.38:03-38:10And we have the awesome privilege of possessing the oracles of God, the word of God.38:10-38:13We have God's words in our hands.38:16-38:20It's not always been true, but it's true for us.38:22-38:28Do we have the ability to read it, to reason through it, to engage with it by the help of the Holy Spirit?38:31-38:38We can personally and intimately know God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.38:40-38:50Jesus reveals the truth so that we can repent of our sins, trust in His finished work on the cross and receive the gift of eternal life now and forever.38:55-39:16And we have the responsibility of repeating his words clearly to others so that they may hear and believe in him by faith too. God forgive us for shirking our responsibility to share the gospel and for being insensible to the the spiritual condition of the lost and the dying.39:18-39:19We must speak His words.39:19-39:22We must share the good news of what He has done.39:24-39:33We are like beggars dressed in fine linen telling other beggars where to find bread and new garments.39:34-39:37It is the most loving and kindest thing we can do.39:39-39:42as our worship team returns to the stage.39:45-39:46I will conclude with this.39:49-39:52Not everyone will listen to us.39:53-39:55But then they didn't all listen to Jesus either.39:57-39:58Not everyone will believe.40:00-40:02But then they did not all believe in Jesus either.40:04-40:08We are not responsible for the results of sharing the gospel.40:09-40:11The results are for God to work out.40:13-40:18Our responsibility is to faithfully speak the words of God from Scripture.40:19-40:24For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.40:25-40:25Let's pray.40:28-40:31The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.40:32-40:36The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.40:37-40:40The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.40:42-40:45The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.40:47-40:49The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.40:51-40:54The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.40:56-41:04Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight.41:04-41:08O Lord, our rock and our Redeemer.41:09-41:09Amen. Small Group DiscussionRead Deuteronomy 18:14-22What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Can you assess how deeply worldly ideas influence your thinking? What about how deeply they influence your view of Scripture? How about your walk with Christ?What expectations do you have of God? That is, what do you want from Him, and what do you want to hear from Him? How do these questions and your answers relate to Israel's history with the LORD?It was said the sermon was constructed like a closing argument, requiring a verdict. Imagine you are a jury member – was enough evidence and testimony presented to render a judgment that Jesus is the Messiah? If not, what further evidence would you seek? Where would you look for that evidence?What are some reasons we don't take seriously our responsibility share the Gospel of Christ with others? How valid are those reasons?BreakoutPray for one another.
Acts 4:1-221And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.3And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,6with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.11This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.14But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another,16saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.19But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,20for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.22For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
Even the greatest prophet had a moment of uncertainty. But rather than condemn John, Jesus gave a response that may surprise some of us. Notes: Luke 7 John, in a moment of doubt, sent a message to Jesus,“Are You the One, or should we look for another?” Doubt is a sign that someone is thinking. A French proverb says, “He who knows nothing doubts nothing.” “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” #1 Moses was ready to quit. Numbers 11:14–15"I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If You treat me like this, please kill me now." #2 Elijah was ready to quit.(1 Kings 19:4) #3 Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith. #4 Paul the Apostle was deeply discouraged.(2 Corinthians 1:8) #5 David wrote half the Psalms while angry, confused, or feeling abandoned by God. #6 John the Baptist was discouraged and entertained doubts. Read Luke 7:18–28 John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. John was in prison because of his bold preaching to King Herod. In John’s mind, Jesus the Messiah would organize a revolt. John was expecting political deliverance.Jesus was bringing spiritual deliverance. Sometimes we misunderstand God and His word. Jesus understood John’s questions and his doubt. Jesus answered John’s doubt with evidence and clarification, not condemnation. Galatians 5:15But if you are always biting and devouring one another,watch out! Beware of destroying one another. It is easier to critique than create.It is easier to tear down instead of build up. Jesus loves you and understands your questions, too. Psalm 10:1Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 10:16 (a)The LORD is king forever and ever. Jesus defended John publicly,when John criticized Jesus privately.(Luke 7:24) You have immeasurable value because you are God’s creation.(1 Peter 2:9) Ephesians 2:10For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross so you could have a relationship with Him. Doubt is a matter of the mind. Unbelief is a matter of the will. John was doubting, but he still believed. Jesus refocused John’s priorities. John’s doubts were answered by Scripture.(Luke 7:22) Stay the course when you don’t see the plan.(Luke 7:23) Luke 7:28I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is! John was a part of the Old Testament economy.You are a New Testament believer. John was a friend of the Bridegroom.You are the bride of the Bridegroom. — Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years. Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Even the greatest prophet had a moment of uncertainty. But rather than condemn John, Jesus gave a response that may surprise some of us. Notes: Luke 7 John, in a moment of doubt, sent a message to Jesus,“Are You the One, or should we look for another?” Doubt is a sign that someone is thinking. A French proverb says, “He who knows nothing doubts nothing.” “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” #1 Moses was ready to quit. Numbers 11:14–15"I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If You treat me like this, please kill me now." #2 Elijah was ready to quit.(1 Kings 19:4) #3 Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith. #4 Paul the Apostle was deeply discouraged.(2 Corinthians 1:8) #5 David wrote half the Psalms while angry, confused, or feeling abandoned by God. #6 John the Baptist was discouraged and entertained doubts. Read Luke 7:18–28 John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. John was in prison because of his bold preaching to King Herod. In John’s mind, Jesus the Messiah would organize a revolt. John was expecting political deliverance.Jesus was bringing spiritual deliverance. Sometimes we misunderstand God and His word. Jesus understood John’s questions and his doubt. Jesus answered John’s doubt with evidence and clarification, not condemnation. Galatians 5:15But if you are always biting and devouring one another,watch out! Beware of destroying one another. It is easier to critique than create.It is easier to tear down instead of build up. Jesus loves you and understands your questions, too. Psalm 10:1Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 10:16 (a)The LORD is king forever and ever. Jesus defended John publicly,when John criticized Jesus privately.(Luke 7:24) You have immeasurable value because you are God’s creation.(1 Peter 2:9) Ephesians 2:10For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross so you could have a relationship with Him. Doubt is a matter of the mind. Unbelief is a matter of the will. John was doubting, but he still believed. Jesus refocused John’s priorities. John’s doubts were answered by Scripture.(Luke 7:22) Stay the course when you don’t see the plan.(Luke 7:23) Luke 7:28I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is! John was a part of the Old Testament economy.You are a New Testament believer. John was a friend of the Bridegroom.You are the bride of the Bridegroom. — Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years. Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When They Sin Against You, Do You Chose To Forgive? Matthew 6:14-15 14For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
First Sunday in Lent Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." 1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" 4But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. Psalm: Psalm 32 1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, * and whose sin is put away! 2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, * and in whose spirit there is no guile! 3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, * because of my groaning all day long. 4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; * my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, * and did not conceal my guilt. 6 I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." * Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin. 7 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; * when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them. 8 You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; * you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 9 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; * I will guide you with my eye. 10 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; * who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you." 11 Great are the tribulations of the wicked; * but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. 12 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; * shout for joy, all who are true of heart. Epistle: Romans 5:12-19 12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—13sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.19For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11 1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 7Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" 11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Do You Live In The Land Of Self Or Spirit? You Have A Choice, What Stance Do You Take? Joshua 24:14-15 14“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Do Not Forsake Me, O LordA Psalm of David,for the memorial offering.1O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,nor discipline me in your wrath!2For your arrows have sunk into me,and your hand has come down on me.3There is no soundness in my fleshbecause of your indignation;there is no health in my bonesbecause of my sin.4For my iniquities have gone over my head;like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.5My wounds stink and festerbecause of my foolishness,6I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;all the day I go about mourning.7For my sides are filled with burning,and there is no soundness in my flesh.8I am feeble and crushed;I groan because of the tumult of my heart.9O Lord, all my longing is before you;my sighing is not hidden from you.10My heart throbs; my strength fails me,and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.11My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,and my nearest kin stand far off.12Those who seek my life lay their snares;those who seek my hurt speak of ruinand meditate treachery all day long.13But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,like a mute man who does not open his mouth.14I have become like a man who does not hear,and in whose mouth are no rebukes.15But for you, O Lord, do I wait;it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.16For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,who boast against me when my foot slips!”17For I am ready to fall,and my pain is ever before me.18I confess my iniquity;I am sorry for my sin.19But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,and many are those who hate me wrongfully.20Those who render me evil for goodaccuse me because I follow after good.21Do not forsake me, O Lord!O my God, be not far from me!22 Make haste to help me,O Lord, my salvation!
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Old Testament: Isaiah 58:9b-14 9If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. 13If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; 14then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Psalm: Psalm 103:1-8 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, * and all that is within me, bless his holy Name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, * and forget not all his benefits. 3 He forgives all your sins * and heals all your infirmities; 4 He redeems your life from the grave * and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness; 5 He satisfies you with good things, * and your youth is renewed like an eagle's. 6 The Lord executes righteousness * and judgment for all who are oppressed. 7 He made his ways known to Moses * and his works to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, * slow to anger and of great kindness. Epistle: Hebrews 12:18-29 18You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20(For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.”21Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;29for indeed our God is a consuming fire. Gospel: Luke 13:10-17 10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
Great Is the LordOf David.1Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;fight against those who fight against me!2Take hold of shield and bucklerand rise for my help!3Draw the spear and javelinagainst my pursuers!Say to my soul,“I am your salvation!”4 Let them be put to shame and dishonorwho seek after my life!Let them be turned back and disappointedwho devise evil against me!5Let them be like chaff before the wind,with the angel of the Lord driving them away!6Let their way be dark and slippery,with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!7For without cause they hid their net for me;without cause they dug a pit for my life.8Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!And let the net that he hid ensnare him;let him fall into it—to his destruction!9Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,exulting in his salvation.10All my bones shall say,“O Lord, who is like you,delivering the poorfrom him who is too strong for him,the poor and needy from him who robs him?”11 Malicious witnesses rise up;they ask me of things that I do not know.12 They repay me evil for good;my soul is bereft.13But I, when they were sick—I wore sackcloth;I afflicted myself with fasting;I prayed with head bowed on my chest.14I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;as one who laments his mother,I bowed down in mourning.15But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;they gathered together against me;wretches whom I did not knowtore at me without ceasing;16like profane mockers at a feast,they gnash at me with their teeth.17How long, O Lord, will you look on?Rescue me from their destruction,my precious life from the lions!18I will thank you in the great congregation;in the mighty throng I will praise you.19 Let not those rejoice over mewho are wrongfully my foes,and let not those wink the eyewho hate me without cause.20For they do not speak peace,but against those who are quiet in the landthey devise words of deceit.21They open wide their mouths against me;they say, “Aha, Aha!Our eyes have seen it!”22 You have seen, O Lord; be not silent!O Lord, be not far from me!23Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,for my cause, my God and my Lord!24 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,according to your righteousness,and let them not rejoice over me!25Let them not say in their hearts,“Aha, our heart's desire!”Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”26Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogetherwho rejoice at my calamity!Let them be clothed with shame and dishonorwho magnify themselves against me!27Let those who delight in my righteousnessshout for joy and be gladand say evermore,“Great is the Lord,who delights in the welfare of his servant!”28Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousnessand of your praise all the day long.
Titus 2:1-15But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
Daily Anglican prayer - Monday morning – 28th July 2025. Readings NRSV: Psalm 71; 2 Samuel 10; John 8. 31-47. Led by Felicity Scott, an Anglican prayer minister in Queensland, Australia. The full prayer transcript is available by going to this episode on the Podcast website. https://dailyprayeranglicanprayerbookforaustralia.podbean.com Welcome to Monday Morning prayer. We proclaim the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ: GOD in his infinite mercy, forgives all sins, and through our baptism in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we are given a rebirth into new life, free from the burden of all sin. ALLELUIA With faithfulness we respond to the good news: We acknowledge Christ as our saviour and accept with gratitude, that we are forgiven for all wrong doings, past and present. To honour the gift of forgiveness, we release our burden of guilt and rise up to live in the glory of God forever more. Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Blessed be God forever. Let us Pray. 1 God's love has been poured into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5.5 Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit: as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen. 2 The Opening Canticle, A Song of God's Marvellous Acts I will sing a new hymn to my God: O Lord you are great and marvellous, you are marvellous in your strength, invincible. Let the whole creation serve you: for you spoke and all things came to be; You sent out your Spirit and it formed them: no one can resist your voice. Mountains and seas are stirred to their depths: rocks melt like wax at your presence; But to those who revere you: you still show mercy. Judith 16.13–15 3 The Opening Prayer The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind. Silence may be kept. As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever. Amen. 4 The Psalms as appointed. A pause is observed after each. Psalm 5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow Creator Spirit, Advocate promised by our Lord Jesus: increase our faith and help us to walk in the light of your presence, to the glory of God the Father; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed. 1st Reading 2 Samuel 10; The Ammonites and Arameans Are Defeated 1Some time afterward, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him. 2David said, “I will deal loyally with Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father dealt loyally with me.” So David sent envoys to console him concerning his father. When David's envoys came into the land of the Ammonites, 3the princes of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think that David is honouring your father just because he has sent messengers with condolences to you? Has not David sent his envoys to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” 4So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved off half the beard of each, cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away. 5When David was told, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.” 6When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah, one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men. 7When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors. 8The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate; but the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the open country. 9When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the picked men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans; 10the rest of his men he put in the charge of his brother Abishai, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. 11He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12Be strong, and let us be courageous for the sake of our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” 13So Joab and the people who were with him moved forward into battle against the Arameans; and they fled before him. 14When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. 15But when the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head. 17When it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. 18The Arameans fled before Israel; and David killed of the Arameans seven hundred chariot teams, and forty thousand horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there. 19When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore. Hear the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 2nd Reading John 8. 31-47. True Disciples 31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free'?” 34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. 38I declare what I have seen in the Father's presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.” 39They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did, 40but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” 42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. 43Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. 44You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.” Hear the message of Christ. Thanks be to God. 7 The Canticle, A Song of Isaiah ‘Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust and will not be afraid; ‘For the Lord God is my strength and my song: and has become my salvation.' With joy you will draw water: from the wells of salvation. On that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name; ‘Make known his deeds among the nations: proclaim that his name is exalted. ‘Sing God's praises, who has triumphed gloriously: let this be known in all the world. ‘Shout and sing for joy, you that dwell in Zion: for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.' Isaiah 12.2–6 8 The belief and principle is said I believe in God, creator of heaven and earth, whose love and merciful forgiveness endures everlasting. I believe in Christ the saviour, whose example of love and compassion, taught us a restored way to live, in collaborative unity with all people. I believe in the Holy Spirit, whose divine guidance brings us together to be one with the Holy Trinity. 9 The Prayers Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. God have mercy. 10 The Lord's Prayer and the Collect of the Day Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen. Prayer of the Week Following the seventh Sunday after Pentecost Provident Father, With the prayer your Son taught us always on our lips, we ask, we seek, we knock at your door: Help us so to seek that we may truly find, So to ask that we may joyfully receive, And so to knock that the door of mercy may be opened for us Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 11 Intercessions and Thanksgivings may be made according to local custom and need. Let us Pray Let us pray for the world and for the church. God, how great your majesty abounds before us. We thank you for all your generosity. May the peace and blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be abundant across all nations and countries forever more. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer Holy God divine and merciful, your blessing on the people is loved by all, for which our gratitude knows no end. Grant, we pray, your saving blessing on all those experiencing times of trouble or strife, that they may receive the guidance of wisdom to lead them to a path of safety. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer Almighty God, hear our prayer to bring about a change throughout the people, we ask for your grace to relay the wisdom to each man and each woman how to co-exist in peace and the will to do so, to continue to respect one another and teach their offspring to do so also. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer Blessed God, we ask your blessing for those listed on the Anglican cycle of prayer: Monday 30 June The Diocese of Niassa – Anglican church of Mozambique and Angola The Parish of Bundaberg West: Sue Barker, Michael Vercoe Inala Careforce All Prison ministry chaplaincy teams All people joining in this prayer offering. Humbly we Pray – LORD hear our prayer 12 The Morning Collect Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by your Spirit, that we may give ourselves to your service, and live this day in love to one another and to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 13 The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us praise the Lord. Thanks be to God. God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. May we rekindle the gift of God within us. Amen. see 2 Timothy 1.6–7 Music by John Keys – Anglican Chant Canticle organ accompaniments. A reminder disclaimer to the listener. The readings in the podcast may include ancient and old-fashioned sayings and instructions that we do not in any way condone as in use or to be used in today's modern world. The readings have not been modernised to reflect todays thinking, instead the readings remain from the old version of the NRSV bible. The podcast owners explicitly declare that each listener is responsible for their own actions in response to the bible readings and the podcast owners bare no responsibility in this sense.
Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders1A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, 2Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. 3And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. 4Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. 9For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. 10One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. 11Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. 12For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.14“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 15But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, 16if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”
Get access to Daily Prayer: Become a Patron on Patreon----------------------Friday - Easter Week 6Opening Words:“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”Colossians 3:1 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Pascha Nostrum (Christ our Passover)Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed:Come let us adore him. Alleluia.Alleluia. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; *therefore let us keep the feast,Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, *but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; *death no longer has dominion over him.The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; *but the life he lives, he lives to God.So also consider yourselves dead to sin, *and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.Christ has been raised from the dead, *the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.For since by a man came death, *by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.For as in Adam all die, *so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed:Come let us adore him. Alleluia. The PsalterPsalm 85Benedixisti, Domine1You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.2You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *and blotted out all their sins.3You have withdrawn all your fury *and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.4Restore us then, O God our Savior; *let your anger depart from us.5Will you be displeased with us for ever? *will you prolong your anger from age to age?6Will you not give us life again, *that your people may rejoice in you?7Show us your mercy, O Lord, *and grant us your salvation.8I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *for he is speaking peace to his faithful peopleand to those who turn their hearts to him.9Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *that his glory may dwell in our land.10Mercy and truth have met together; *righteousness and peace have kissed each other.11Truth shall spring up from the earth, *and righteousness shall look down from heaven.12The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *and our land will yield its increase.13Righteousness shall go before him, *and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. Psalm 86Inclina, Domine1Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, *for I am poor and in misery.2Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; *save your servant who puts his trust in you.3Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; *I call upon you all the day long.4Gladden the soul of your servant, *for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.5For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, *and great is your love toward all who call upon you.6Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, *and attend to the voice of my supplications.7In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *for you will answer me.8Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, *nor anything like your works.9All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, *and glorify your Name.10For you are great;you do wondrous things; *and you alone are God.11Teach me your way, O Lord,and I will walk in your truth; *knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.12I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *and glorify your Name for evermore.13For great is your love toward me; *you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.14The arrogant rise up against me, O God,and a band of violent men seeks my life; *they have not set you before their eyes.15But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, *slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.16Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *give your strength to your servant;and save the child of your handmaid.17Show me a sign of your favor,so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. LessonsEzekiel 1:28-3:328 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.2 And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.' 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. Hebrews 4:14-5:614 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;6 as he says also in another place,“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Cantemus Domino (The Song of Moses)I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted; *the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.The Lord is my strength and my refuge; *the Lord has become my Savior.This is my God and I will praise him, *the God of my people and I will exalt him.The Lord is a mighty warrior; *Yahweh is his Name.The chariots of Pharaoh and his army has he hurled into the sea; *the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them; *they sank into the depths like a stone.Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might; *your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods? *who is like you, glorious in holiness,awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?You stretched forth your right hand; *the earth swallowed them up.With your constant love you led the people you redeemed; *with your might you brought them in safety to your holy dwelling.You will bring them in and plant them *on the mount of your possession,The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord, *the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.The Lord shall reign *for ever and for ever.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsAscension DayAlmighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for MissionAlmighty and everlasting God, who alone works great marvels: Send down upon our clergy and the congregations committed to their charge the life-giving Spirit of your grace, shower them with the continual dew of your blessing, and ignite in them a zealous love of your Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen
Habitual Pt. 4: Solitude By Louie Marsh, 2- 9-2025 Intro. Last slide T-Shirt. 1) The difference between solitude & loneliness is CHOICE. “18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”” (Genesis 2:18, ESV) · All spiritual disciplines are personal DECISIONS. “15But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” (Luke 5:15–16, ESV) 2) Solitude helps me restore my… · PEACE “3You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3, ESV) · OBJECTIVITY “17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17, ESV) · sense of SCALE. “6I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places; 7I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.” (Psalm 102:6–7, ESV) · ENERGY “29He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” (Isaiah 40:29, ESV) · PRIORITIES “12So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, ESV) 3) Solitude is an indicator of my spiritual HEALTH. “39And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,” (Luke 22:39–45, ESV) Slides of garden The area it encompasses is flat and measures less than 57 square yards (47 1/2 square meters). The garden is located on the western foot of the Mount of Olives, beyond the brook Kidron, and is only a short distance from Jerusalem. The villages of Bethany and Bethphage are also located very near it. “35And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, ESV)
The devotion for today, Thursday, December 05, 2024 was written by Kris Baker and is narrated by Dana Goodenow. Today's Words of Inspiration come from Luke 8:15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Support the show
1ST Peter 1 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost The Collect: O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Old Testament: Amos 7:7-15 7This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; 9the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” 10Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11For thus Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'” 12And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 13but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” 14Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees,15and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' Psalm: Psalm 85:8-13 8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, * for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him. 9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, * that his glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met together; * righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, * and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, * and our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness shall go before him, * and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. Epistle: Ephesians 1:3-14 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. Gospel: Mark 6:14-29 14King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” 15But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. 18For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” 19And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. 21But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” 23And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” 24She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
Serve God And Nothing Else 1 Samuel 12:14-15 14If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! 15But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.
To mark chapter two. The Gospel of Mark. Chapter two is where we find ourselves this morning. You remember that we're in year b, which is to say that the second gospel is correlating with year b. And we are only in chapter two.00:00:22But if you remember, it took us forever to get out of chapter one a few months ago. Because one is just jam packed with things that other gospels expound on even more. Remember that Mark is pretty tight in how he. And short, if you will, in how he says things. And so go with me here to mark chapter two.00:00:43And once you're there, go ahead and stand.00:00:51Notice these words as found in Mark 223 in this episode of Jesus life. One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were going through the grain fields. And as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? And he said to them, have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?00:01:23He entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest. And ate the bread of the presence. Which it is not lawful for any but the priest to eat. And he gave some to his companions. Then he said to them, the Sabbath was made for humankind.00:01:43And not humankind for the Sabbath. So the son of man is lord even of the Sabbath. Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath. So they might accuse him.00:02:06And he said to the man who had the withered hand come forward. Then he said to them, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath. To save life or to kill? But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger.00:02:26He was grieved at their hardness of heart. And said to the man, stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him how to destroy him. Lord, we're thankful for your word this morning.00:02:50We pray now that you, Holy Spirit, would come and help. Lord, we need your help. I need your help this morning. And we pray that the same holy spirit that inspired these words originally by Mark's hand. Would inspire us today.00:03:10And enlighten our minds so that we may obey you and love you. We pray this in your name. Amen. You can be seated in this text today. We.00:03:28It's kind of an interesting one. And you know, you have some big text where it's like something wow happens. And there is a miracle here. But the thrust of the text really has to do with law. And Sabbath and observation or observing these things.00:03:48And when we start talking about law, most people start yawning. Nobody reads a law book, for instance, except for lawyers, right? And you remember that the Pharisees are ultimately experts at the law, okay? So that's, you know, nobody, I don't think, does their, what do you call it, leisurely reading of the law or bylaws or this sort of thing like that. Just is not on most people's radar to do.00:04:15But the Pharisees, I guarantee they probably would relax sometimes, reading commentary on the law. That's how much they liked it. That's how expertly they knew how to decipher it. And you'll remember too, and this is helpful in our text today. Is to remember that the Pharisees also had laws that.00:04:33Oral laws that they had created. That were not in the word of God as the law, all right? But that they had put around the law in order to protect from ever breaking the law. Okay? So just think of it like this.00:04:48You've got the law of God at this center circle, okay? And then around that you put fences so that nobody even gets close. Cause you know, when you have something sacred. Or you have somet
Death in Adam, Life in Christ 12Therefore, just assin came into the world through one man, anddeath through sin, andso death spread to all men[a]becauseall sinned13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, butsin is not counted where there is no law.14Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was notlike the transgression of Adam,who was a type ofthe one who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded formany.16And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. Forthe judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses broughtjustification.17For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousnessreign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18Therefore, as one trespass[b]led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness[c]leads to justification and life forall men.19For as by the one man'sdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man'sobedience the many will be made righteous.20Nowthe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased,grace abounded all the more,21so that,as sin reigned in death,grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________LentLet my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.Psalm 141:2 ConfessionOfficiant: Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.People: Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws.We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.Officiant: Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen. The Lord's PrayerOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Invitatory & PsalmsOfficiant: O God, make speed to save us. People: O Lord, make haste to help us. Officiant & People: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. O Gracious Light Phos hilaronO gracious Light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, O Son of God, O Giver of life,and to be glorified through all the worlds. Psalm 86Inclina, Domine1Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, *for I am poor and in misery.2Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; *save your servant who puts his trust in you.3Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; *I call upon you all the day long.4Gladden the soul of your servant, *for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.5For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, *and great is your love toward all who call upon you.6Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, *and attend to the voice of my supplications.7In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *for you will answer me.8Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, *nor anything like your works.9All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, *and glorify your Name.10For you are great;you do wondrous things; *and you alone are God.11Teach me your way, O Lord,and I will walk in your truth; *knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.12I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *and glorify your Name for evermore.13For great is your love toward me; *you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.14The arrogant rise up against me, O God,and a band of violent men seeks my life; *they have not set you before their eyes.15But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, *slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.16Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *give your strength to your servant;and save the child of your handmaid.17Show me a sign of your favor,so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The LessonsJeremiah 9:17-24English Standard Version17 Thus says the Lord of hosts:“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come;18 let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids flow with water.19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are ruined! We are utterly shamed,because we have left the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.'”20 Hear, O women, the word of the Lord, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;teach to your daughters a lament, and each to her neighbor a dirge.21 For death has come up into our windows; it has entered our palaces,cutting off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares.22 Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,‘The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field,like sheaves after the reaper, and none shall gather them.'”23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”Officiant: The Word of the LordPeople: Thanks be to God. The Song of Mary - MagnificatMy soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; * for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant From this day all generations will call me blessed: * the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him * in every generation.He has shown the strength of his arm, * he has scattered the proud in their conceit.He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, * and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * for he has remembered his promise of mercy, The promise he made to our fathers, * to Abraham and his children for ever.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as It was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Mark 12:1-12English Standard Version12 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.' 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:“‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;11 this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?”12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. Officiant: The Word of the LordPeople: Thanks be to God. The Song of Simeon - Nunc dimittisLord, you now have set your servant free * to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, * whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations, * and the glory of your people Israel.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersOfficiant: The Lord be with you.People: And also with you.Officiant: Let us pray The SuffragesThat this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful, We entreat you, O Lord.That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill, We entreat you, O Lord.That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses, We entreat you, O Lord.That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole world, We entreat you, O Lord.That we may depart this life in your faith and fear, and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ, We entreat you, O Lord.That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in the communion of all your saints, entrusting one another and all our life to Christ, We entreat you, O Lord.Take a moment at this time to reflect and pray for the needs of others. Third Sunday in Lent (Anglican Prayer Book)ALMIGHTY God, consider the sincere desires of your humble servants, we humbly pray, and stretch out the right hand of your power to defend us against our enemies; through Jesus Christ our LORD. Amen.A Collect for PeaceMost holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.A Collect for Aid against PerilsBe our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.For MissionKeep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen. ThanksgivingsThe General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.A Prayer of St. ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. ConclusionMay the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. - Romans 15:13
Mark 6:1-29 1He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." 5And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." 12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. 14King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him." 15But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." 16But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." 17For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. 18For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. 21But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it." 23And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." 24She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." 25Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
Who Do You Deny: Self Or Jesus? Jesus Himself Said You Will Either Deny Self Or Deny Him. Isaiah 14:12-15 12How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. 14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.
Support Common Prayer Daily @ PatreonVisit our Website for more www.commonprayerdaily.com_______________Opening Words:“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen. Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. Come, let us sing to the Lord; * let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving * and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.In his hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are his also.The sea is his, for he made it, * and his hands have molded the dry land.Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice! Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him. The PsalterPsalm 86Inclina, Domine1Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, *for I am poor and in misery.2Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; *save your servant who puts his trust in you.3Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; *I call upon you all the day long.4Gladden the soul of your servant, *for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.5For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, *and great is your love toward all who call upon you.6Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, *and attend to the voice of my supplications.7In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *for you will answer me.8Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, *nor anything like your works.9All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, *and glorify your Name.10For you are great;you do wondrous things; *and you alone are God.11Teach me your way, O Lord,and I will walk in your truth; *knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.12I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *and glorify your Name for evermore.13For great is your love toward me; *you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.14The arrogant rise up against me, O God,and a band of violent men seeks my life; *they have not set you before their eyes.15But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, *slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.16Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *give your strength to your servant;and save the child of your handmaid.17Show me a sign of your favor,so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. LessonsGenesis 28:10-17English Standard Version10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”John 1:43-51English Standard Version43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; * he has come to his people and set them free.He has raised up for us a mighty savior, * born of the house of his servant David.Through his holy prophets he promised of old, that he would save us from our enemies, * from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers * and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, * to set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship him without fear, * holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, * for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins.In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, * and to guide our feet into the way of peace.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsSt Bartholomew the ApostleAlmighty and everlasting God, who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant that your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Collect of Saint BasilO Christ God, Who art worshipped and glorified at every place and time; Who art long-suffering, most merciful and compassionate; Who lovest the righteous and art merciful to sinners; Who callest all to salvation with the promise of good things to come: receive, Lord, the prayers we now offer, and direct our lives in the way of Thy commandments. Sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, purify our minds and deliver us from all affliction, evil and illness. Surround us with Thy holy angels, that guarded and instructed by their forces, we may reach unity of faith and the understanding of Thine unapproachable glory: for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen
1 Corinthians 7:10-16 (ESV) 10To the marriedI give this charge (not I, but the Lord):the wife should not separate from her husband11(but if she does,she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), andthe husband should not divorce his wife. 12To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.13If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.14For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband.Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.15But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you[a]to peace.16For how do you know, wife,whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Luke 5:12-1612While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”13And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.14And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”15But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.16But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
Today we are talking with Zach Beach and we are looking at creative ways to expand your skillset and diversify your offering. If you are still doing things the traditional way, then you are blending into the crowd with a million different agents.ResourceGet a Copy of Zach's BookReal Estate Marketing DudeThe Listing Advocate (Earn more listings!)REMD on YouTubeREMD on InstagramTranscript:What's up? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the episode of Real Estate Marketing Dude Podcast. Folks, the market has changed. We're going to change with it. And what we're gonna be talking about today is a way to do that. If you're still doing business, the way you have 12 months ago, you're probably suffering. There's a reason why 60,000 real estate agents that I keep saying is probably 40,000.00:04:11:23 - 00:04:27:04It's going to be 150,000. It doesn't matter because when the market shifts, people don't know what to do. And most of you've never seen a shift in your life. And to the tune of like 80 plus percent of all real estate agents have never seen a shift. When the shift happens, it's the opportunity. This is when people make their money in real estate.00:04:27:14 - 00:04:42:20And what we're going to be talking about today is a creative way to go ahead and do that. If you're are a real estate agent or your lender and you're still doing things traditional, there's nothing that makes you different. The reason why some people make a lot of money in real estate is because they do things no one else knows how to do.00:04:43:01 - 00:04:59:00And that's why we're going to chat about today. And the more problems you can solve, the more money you will make. And if you're doing what everything else does, like every other agent, there's a million of you guys, a million real estate agents. Great. I could go out and sell a house. Good. Fucking big deal. I have access to the MLS to anyone can sell a house.00:04:59:00 - 00:05:20:00It's how you sell it that makes people hire you. It's the value you bring to the table, which is a skill set. Today we're going to be talking about creative financing in real estate so you can see how you do deals, how you can advise on deals and bring value to the table. Because the one who does is the one who's going to not only succeed in this market, but they're going to take market share.00:05:20:07 - 00:05:41:06So without further ado from smart real estate coach dot com, we have Zachary Beach to come in and schools today. What's up, Zach? Why what's going on, my man? I couldn't agree with with I couldn't agree with you more with most of the things that you said there. Although I'm not a real estate agent, I work with many real estate agents and show them how to get on the investment side.00:05:41:21 - 00:06:05:15But also my partner was a broker owner for 18 years and my other partner was a realtor for eight. So totally get that side of the business. But now is the opportunity, especially is less opportunities in the traditional side or rear in their heads. Now is the opportunity to get on the investment side, especially in an unstable market, which is exactly where creative financing it's said every real estate agent should be in investing.00:06:05:15 - 00:06:21:02Like if you're investing, you should. I mean, if you're sitting and you should be investing. ECOtality doing if you're not that's all purpose because you'll burn out. I burnt out ten years in a real estate agent if you're really doing deals like if you're doing 30 plus deals a month, 40, 50, 60, you're burnt out after ten years.00:06:21:02 - 00:06:36:21It's it's a hard business and it burns you out. So I ended up in San Diego. But let's get into this thing on on creative financing. And one I want you to tell us a little bit about what type of creating financing you're doing. So I know the exact property types and all that, and then I got a whole bunch of other questions.00:06:38:06 - 00:06:59:16Yeah. So, you know, me and my family have been buying specifically to create a fantastic for over ten years now, we've been teaching people on how to actually execute our creative financing strategies with our trademark three a system for about ten years now as well now have done hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deals without using cash, without using credit, without going to banks.00:07:00:07 - 00:07:27:20So the three strategies that we used after we kind of utilize those three things as, as our, as our rules per se are our lease options buying properties subject to the existing loan and seller finance. So a lease option, really, all that is, is just the ability to control an asset without ownership, with the intent to go ahead and sell it on a on a lease option, most likely owner financing it.00:07:27:20 - 00:07:46:21Just when you're you're speaking with sellers and you're solving a seller's problem and they want to be your bank. And this goes great with a lot of people that have, voila, equity in their property or have no debt where it's second homes or have inherited properties. They see that asset or they see that property is now a liability on that asset.00:07:47:03 - 00:08:11:09And you can go in and step in and they can get some cash flow from it. I lost a lot of tax benefits associated with it and then the last one would be buying a property subject subject to the existing loan, which really is the complete opposite of owner financing. It's where a property has little equity in the property and you go ahead and you close on this property subject to the existing loan, meaning the loan is going to remain attached to the seller's credit.00:08:11:16 - 00:08:31:06So that can be paid off. But title will transfer to your business. And that's that's how we control these assets own these assets. And then our primary exit strategies are rent to own or owner financing as well. So we do two creative on both sides. Okay. I need to talk to you about something after this podcast on that.00:08:31:13 - 00:08:48:11All right. So let's start let's dig deep in. Let's let's lease option as lease option, give you equitable right their interest to go ahead and actually like do show with the property. So I could dumb that down for people. Yeah, 100%. I mean, that is basically what at least that option gives you the ability to then go market the property to an end buyer.00:08:48:17 - 00:09:12:11Our end buyers tend to be people that need time in order to qualify for loans. Is the UN bankable people and what they really need is time. So that's anybody that has a legitimate hiccup in their credit, somebody that is an entrepreneur and a self-employed business person because they need seasoning. It could just be anybody that right now that needs time because they could qualify for a loan at 3% and now they can't qualify for 7%.So these are legitimate buyers that just need time. So, yes, the lease option agreement and we do it slightly different, which is which is really important. If you actually if you have people that have done creative writing deals, listen, this podcast, here's a small tweak that you can make right now. Or if you're brand new at real estate investing, you're going to be doing it right day one.And I think it's different than what everyone else is doing. And that is when we go ahead and lock down a property in our lease purchase agreement, we actually lock in the position of the seller and all we're guaranteeing is paying off the loan in the future and giving the seller the equity that we locked in to. The difference between us and someone else is most other people's lock in a purchase price.So they have zero protection for a down market and they don't get the benefit in the principal pay down or the appreciation as much of the appreciation on the property. So really cool tweet there for you as well, Suze. We're controlling that asset now. We're going to go ahead and sell the property on a lease option as well.It's also known as a sandwich lease option. So what's it out there? A scenario of that? Because here's where I think a lot of agents, if they're putting together these deals and whatnot, most you guys are lenders or agents listening to shows. I'll speak through that. Give me a scenario where I'm coming across and where this might be just my play.So like because books here's what the reality is. You see a lot of distressed deals and people are going be open to these type of conversations. Right. And you need to know how to take them down, not only just for yourselves, but like you might have some other client. You're doing this on behalf and ultimately you just need to know how all this stuff works because it just puts you in a different category.So give me a let's do it like an example, like how this would play out. Yeah, absolutely. So if I'm if I'm also listening or listening to this and I'm looking through this as a lender or a or realtor lens, right now, if I'm a realtor, I'm sitting and I'm saying anything that doesn't fit inside my current box because I'm not I'm not suggesting after you listen this podcast, that you completely throw out your normal business.You keep that running everything that fits inside of your box and anything that does not fit inside of your box. All right. Well, now you have options for you solve a seller's problem because that's all creative financing, is it just we have different tools and mostly more tools to solve someone's problem because we don't fit inside a box.And then if I'm a lender, if I'm a lender, I'm able to add a realtor, but I'm looking at more probably the buyer side where buyers that cannot qualify for loans and it's roughly 60 to 80% of the market right now can't walk into a bank and get a loan because they need time and they need more money down.I need higher credit score. They need to see if I'm the lender. I then look for somebody selling all these options to help them work on their credit. And then now you're banking on that. You able to sell that loan in 24 months or 12 months or 36 months. So you from a lender perspective, you said something important is that here's where because here's the here's what happens is that a lot of the real estate agents and guys, this is another option you offer.This is another service you offer. Just doesn't have to be the only service you a vast majority of buyers are looking to go listed. You're out. People buy the same way for you, so don't overthink this. But he says something really important is that because here's here's where all agents come through. I have a fiduciary duty from the National Association of Realtors, and I need to always act in the best interest of the seller.Folks, highest and best dollar is not always in the best interest of the seller. Get that shit out of your head. You have to realize that the only reason people like Zachary and the other millions and millions of real estate agents are investors in the world. Exist is because they're nothing more than just problem solvers for people that have house issues, period.That's all this is. So there is no taking advantage of people. When you're just 100% transparent, tell them exactly what you're doing. But trust me, they will never sign off on it if it's not doing them a favor. And if not, you're just not practicing ethically and you should get you're asking, but you know, you could be ethical and be a real estate investor.There's a million ways to do it. So because I know what people are saying oh at I'm that means you're going to that's that's fraud. No, dude. Yeah. I need to understand how how it works. And if the seller is not willing to play ball well, then it's just not an option for them. But when they are in these situations, it is.So the lease option would be somebody. What's the seller scenario on there? Who's more likely wanting to do a lease option? Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up. So lease options, I mean, they don't they're kind of a best seller, but it's the simplest way to start creative financing. So a lot of real estate investors start there because they can solve a seller's problem and not have title transfer.So these are the deals you hear. It's like no money down deals and creative mindset because even if you bought property and you didn't have to pay a seller a down payment, you still have to pay for closing costs. So these are the no money down deals. So if you know a seller that is interested in getting top price is interested in not paying a realtor commission, right?Because they want to maximize their profits, but most importantly, is willing to wait for their equity because they would rather maximize their profit. So that's an important distinction when it comes to creative writing that is in it. In a scenario where a seller has equity, their their pain threshold has to be greater, that they want a higher price or more profit than they need their money now.Yeah. So that that tends to happen. But also, I mean there's about 80% of our deals that we've done over the past ten years just in creative writing are coming from expired listings because they've gone on the market, they've received feedback, they either agreed with it or not, and then their options are Now do I go list in take on that feedback like I got to paint the house or I going to lower my price or I get to do X, Y and Z or they find something like us.So it's like, okay, I get it. The traditional market didn't provide you the solution you were hoping for. So now here's how we may be able to structure the deal. And then now they can go ahead. And instead of going through another six month process, they can now go ahead and actually make a move and we can close on this relatively more quickly.So that's where a lot of the deals come from that are for sale by owners because there's people out there that will not no matter what, even if you're the best age in the world, hire a real estate agent. Yeah. So now we can go direct to them and now we can structure something that that solves the problem.So again, if I'm an agent, I'm listening because I'm assuming a lot of agents you've been directly I'm listened to this podcast and that is it's you you can make multiple options for somebody where you can say, here's what this looks like. If I list your house and here's all the benefit you're going to get, here's the profits.But also here, I just want like, you know, I buy real estate here. I can provide some solutions. Here's what this may look like, because you mentioned a point earlier which is not all highest and best is always the best option for people. Sometimes people come to us because they want time and flexibility like they don't want to sell and immediately have to leave their house or somebody is behind on payments and they need that thing to be caught up immediately.And they can't wait 90 days to close or 60 days to close or somebody is has no equity in their house and they actually have to pay you out of pocket in order to close on this deal. So just so many different scenarios like that makes sense. So somebody that the lease option that would be someone who has what's their equity situation usually like or is it just more of like like let's just paint a picture for the market right now people what seven at least in my markets in like California 7% interest rate on like a $1.5 million house is a big difference than a 4% on a $1.5 million house.So what? But a lot of the people out here have a lot of equity over the last few years. The reality is it looks like things aren't selling the way they were because of the interest rate hike. You know, it's sort of buying people in the house. So the problem that people are having, those, they can't sell that house that they live in.Now, if that's primary owner. Yeah. And then replace the same type of lifestyle with a comparable property. So that's issue number one because it's a lot smaller house that they would get at today's rate. The second half of that is that a lot of these people aren't able to sell what they think it's worth and people are starting to come to the reality of like, Oh shit, the market isn't quite what it is, but they might be willing to wait for it to come back.Is that an ideal scenario here? Someone who can't sell right now, but they're willing to wait and then they have a tenant with an option there and then yeah, here's here's three. These are three general managers, three generalized say motivations or problems we for sale is whether it's a lease option subject to owner finds it perfect what is they want to maximize their profits to is they need debt relief or three is they're settling for they want a poor estate or tax planning purposes.00:18:01:01 - 00:18:26:15UnknownThose are three reasons why people would go a creative financing route because yeah, you're right, there's a lot of transition right now in the market. There's a lot of things that are happening where sellers are unable to sell their property for what they owe. And now exactly what you're saying, which is they have this idea of what the price the price was 6 to 12 months ago, and now they have unrealistic expectations of their house.00:18:27:05 - 00:18:53:09UnknownSo if I'm a creative financing real estate investor, although I'm not suggesting you always buy market or above market, but what I am suggesting is price is just one of the terms that we care about. If I buy your house right now at Market value and even though it's slightly inflated and I have ten years to pay off and I have the benefit of principal pay down, I'm going to cash flow that thing and I'm going to sell it at a higher price to a tenant.00:18:53:09 - 00:19:17:06UnknownA buyer, I don't know. That price is always a small factor in my decision making process, where the traditional market is like the number one factor in their decision making process. Now, it's actually more of a factor, I would say, than even the interest rate on the property, because most people buy for the price or you know, what they did during cover with support for the interest rate and not the price.00:19:17:06 - 00:19:40:00UnknownAnd now we're seeing what's happening with that, which means people under underwater. So just those three factors tend to be and I know they may be generalized, but it's all about solving someone's problem because I could buy a property on a lease option that has no debt and just the seller does not want to give up title for tax planning purposes or the benefit of ownership.00:19:40:16 - 00:20:03:20UnknownThey also might not want to transfer title because they don't trust me, which is understandable for some, and they can also buy a property. We always decide we're on a lease purchase which has zero equity in the property and if that's the case, it just the term length is going to be more important to me because any time I'm buying a property with no equity, I need two things to happen.00:20:03:20 - 00:20:25:21UnknownI need the price to appreciate over time, which you and I both know, especially if we go through cycles over time, it's going to always increase and I need the principal pay down to go to pay down on the interest and the mortgage balance on that property over time because then that creates equity. So we bought a we said we bought a lease option from a seller for ten years, ten year lease options.00:20:25:21 - 00:20:50:18UnknownYou just want to give up for whatever reason up in Northern Massachusetts, she relocated to D.C., got another property, get a new mortgage, and she had a vacant house because it expired off the market for about six months, was paying 20 $300 basically just to keep it up. Never was there. We were able to solve that problem because we stepped in to start making those mortgage payments, filled the property with a tenant buyer.00:20:51:05 - 00:21:09:11UnknownThat lease option lasted up to eight years on that house. She had no equity at the time. That property ended up netting about $170,000 over the course of the time frame. For her, for me, for us, not for us. And she was able to walk away and not actually have any problems, which, you know, that solves their problem as well.00:21:09:11 - 00:21:28:13UnknownSo I you just you, you name different scenarios and different all different facets of life and all the people's different challenges. And it just the decision making for them is that they want to wait for well, the seller of that she got the price she wanted to back then she's locked in for eight years. But she also gets there's eight years of write offs and all that, right.00:21:29:06 - 00:21:50:10UnknownYeah. Plus she sold the realtor at the time. She would have paid, you know, 15,000, $20,000 out of pocket the between realtor closing costs and she was paying 80 plus about $12,000 by making month, even though it's going to hurt you know it was 2000 dollars amortized right but she's still paying out of pocket that's $12,000 six months with a vacancy.00:21:51:00 - 00:22:09:14UnknownWe were able to solve that and step in and solve a problem really quickly. And she saved money and that we had an asset that we can now go in. So it makes sense to me. I think the seller finance has a lot of opportunity coming up with a lot of these people that can't sell their properties but have equity and are willing to carry paper.00:22:09:22 - 00:22:31:01UnknownCan you talk a little bit on that and you see an opportunity with seller finance more so now that the rates have gone up and the market shifted, then prior? Oh, it's always been one of our favorite strategies we primarily were targeting and it's still due to this day. But I say targeting meaning like we're we're going to do direct mail pieces or looking for a specific property type.00:22:32:04 - 00:22:58:20UnknownIt's we're looking at debt free houses, huge benefits for you as a real estate investor and a lot of tax benefits for the seller. If you can if you can strike a deal with them and solve a problem where now you in the seller get to determine the terms of the mortgage. How powerful is that? Yeah, because if you go ahead and buy a property traditionally who controls the terms of the mortgage, it's the bank.00:22:58:24 - 00:23:17:00UnknownThey tell you how much money you need now, what your credit score needs to be, what the immunization schedule is going to be, if there's, you know, if there's any other collateral, it's just it's insane. So when we go to buy a property now, it's if I can solve the seller's problem now, meaning the seller, I get to decide what the interest rate is, if any.00:23:17:02 - 00:23:39:03UnknownThere's plenty of deals that we do where it's 0% interest, and you must be wondering why people do that. Lots of sellers because they're getting just principle month over month, don't have to go ahead and report for interest as income. So we have different strategies where I can actually pay a premium on the house but pay in principal only.00:23:39:21 - 00:24:01:20UnknownAnd now the seller's actually getting the full amount in place. And as far as capital gains go, they get to stretch it out right over how. Yeah, that's really time frame we're doing. So you here that is. But this is the skill set I opened up with you guys is you have to like know this shit. Like you have to know what tax advantages are for seller so that you can present that.00:24:02:05 - 00:24:15:01UnknownBecause if you look at the numbers, it looks like a bad deal. But when you actually do the math, you're like, this is actually a good deal. When you talking about if you don't know how to explain that to it to a seller, you know, I don't know what to tell you. This is where you need to sharpen.00:24:15:01 - 00:24:34:07UnknownThis is what people look for in these markets. But look what he's saying. You guys at every every other sentence he's saying problem, solve, problem, solve, problem, solve. And that's the key here is that you're in business to be a house problem solver. You don't have to overthink any of this stuff, in my opinion. Let's get into the marketing of this because I know people are going want to ask about that.00:24:34:20 - 00:24:58:22UnknownHow are we finding these types of sellers? You mentioned one, he's going after debt free houses, but how else are you locating? Yeah, so I it's these people because agents are like, oh, it sounds easy, but it's not. If I'm an agent, I am already in front of how many people per month. Yeah. Where I can make additional offers.00:24:58:22 - 00:25:24:21UnknownSo if you're already involved in real estate investing, where you're an agent, you're lender, you're a wholesaler, you're a fiction flipper, you're buying like you're already in front of people. It's now and you can just pick up one extra deal per month or every other month. It makes a dramatic difference when we look at our deals. It ranges from, say, $40,000 on the low end semi over the course of about 24, 36 months on average, up to $250,000.00:25:25:18 - 00:25:43:10UnknownThere's there's deals in which are just 60 months and there's multiple six figures just because of how they're structured. Yeah. So I'm saying that because you don't have to do as many deals. It's not like this. This does have to be a high volume business if you get the right deals. We have a we have an investor up in New Hampshire.00:25:43:13 - 00:26:06:08UnknownHe's done five deals. They all averaged over $100,000 over the course of 48 months. And just because you have a full time job, two or yeah, he was a he's a government contractor and he's just doing this on the side for his retirement. Yeah. But again, back to your point, as far as marketing goes, it's it's really simple in our we we pull expired listings to cancel withdrawn for sale by owners.00:26:06:14 - 00:26:24:24UnknownWe make direct contact with them. We reach out to them via phone and as though they doing it maybe 3 hours to go make it a handful of deals and reach out to a couple people. I set up an appointment with a seller that has he has got a lot of equity in his property, but there's tenants he doesn't like and and that's why he's selling.00:26:25:02 - 00:26:47:09UnknownSo really can solve this problem rather easily as he could still cashflow this property. And I get cash flow too. And he's still a professional company instead of a tenant. So dear landlord then and then. So we have that and then you have direct mail pieces that of course lead to, you know, a virtual assistant pulling together the information and then you're following up.00:26:47:21 - 00:27:05:06UnknownIt's really we try to keep this three as uncomplicated as possible and shore up your as you grow and scale, you can do Facebook ads and Google ads and you can you can spend a lot of money on online marketing. Or it could be you could spend very little in this business too. And so generate the deals you need.00:27:06:02 - 00:27:22:15UnknownYeah, it goes back to the if you have a budget and you can leverage your time with it. Right. But if you don't then you need your time to do the work. So but I want he said something else a couple you guys this isn't like a every agent like if you're full time or what if you're in real estate full time.00:27:22:15 - 00:27:35:07UnknownWe got to way. You're right you could be title rep. Listen, this doesn't matter. This is like something most people I see get into real estate investing started on the side, literally. They're like, Oh, I'm just going to do a deal or two and see how it goes. Like, Oh, fuck, I made a lot of money. I mean, go out, do this deal.00:27:35:07 - 00:27:51:11UnknownI'm going to to a year and three year and something you could grow passively, but it is something I would put on your radar this year, you guys, because I mean we're targeting distressed hard I'm such in my entire model I'm going right after the distressed markets but I know what's coming and I'm well ahead of all of you guys.00:27:51:11 - 00:28:14:21UnknownI'm like three years ahead of you guys. It doesn't you don't have to be. And I'm not saying that in a bragging type of way. I'm just saying I know what's coming. And, you know, over the last 12 months, I've been sort of formulating our idea. We're doing a lot of sale leasebacks. For example, there's different creative options that we're putting in there because people are going to look for creativity because the traditional listing isn't as easy to get rid of the property.00:28:15:04 - 00:28:34:19UnknownSo you're going to see a lot of these opportunities open up. Mark my words, I guarantee you it's going to happen. Would you agree with that? I think in every market, too, I don't care where you're at in the country. I'm positive this is going to happen. Guys. Yeah, I'm not as I would say, I'm not as decisive as you on that as far as how how drastic the market's going to shift.00:28:34:19 - 00:28:55:08UnknownAnd I think we're all due for a market shift no matter what, especially with the unprecedented times and COVID and what happened afterwards. I think there's a reason why creative fighting is like the number one and talked about and searched on subject right now talk about being ahead of our time. We've been doing this now for over ten years just in this market.00:28:55:08 - 00:29:20:09UnknownI'm just in creative writing. I haven't done anything else in real estate investing since the 2008 crash. And we've noticed, as always, when there's turmoil in the market now, creative financing options become a a more normalized, traditional way of buying and selling real estate because when there's turmoil, that means that the market needs more help, needs more solutions.00:29:20:13 - 00:29:46:07UnknownYes. And that's exactly what we're seeing right now. We're seeing more deals and better deals because we're able to really saw people's problems. And as you're saying, what's interesting is even if people aren't distressed because they hear so much noise, they actually feel distressed, which means that there are actually there's a lot of sellers that will sell properties either below market or more creatively just because they hear everything that's going on.00:29:46:07 - 00:30:02:02UnknownAnd although they're in a really good position, they don't feel like they are. And now we can go ahead and step in and solve that problem as well. You feel like the temperature's changed with sellers and you guys are doing a nationwide thing if students all over. But and because before it was like sellers are sort of dicks like fuck you, I'm not going to sell my house, this thing is worth it.00:30:02:03 - 00:30:34:08UnknownThis is the Taj Mahal. Like no one's touch this thing for less than $10 million, but now they're starting to open up a little bit. Right. And it takes 6 to 8 months for that to happen, which is I think we're there now because it's hard. The market is always lagging behind, even like I remember back in 29 or 2010 when the market was depreciating so fast that the comps on paper were showing higher than what the true values that people are willing to pay big are a major issue in the BPOs and the appraisals at that time, because the market was depreciating fast and it was going up.00:30:34:08 - 00:30:53:00UnknownSo in the last six months of comps, if you're Joe with a 200,000 or sales price, but that's not 175. Well, you're at a there's it's hard to get the bank to accept that but it came I caught up. So you're going to see that in this market as well. And I think there's going to be more. More and I'm not saying you get fucking like crazily distressed.00:30:53:00 - 00:31:15:05UnknownI just think that there's going to be people I know there's people with higher credit card debt right now. I know that the people who bought in the last 12 months are all underwater that got FHA or VA financing. So there's dire situations that now on the flip side of that, their payments are very affordable. Right. So you don't know what they're going to do with it and we don't know if people are going to do that.00:31:15:05 - 00:31:33:15UnknownBut what I know is that there's people that are looking at their houses and what they do with them in way more creative ways than they were just in school. Listed on Zillow or for sale by owner. But on the MLS that's going to make a whole lot of money. Yeah, I'm Mike and I think it's important that you hit on exactly what you just said, which was one of our strategies buying property subject to.00:31:33:15 - 00:31:51:09UnknownI mean, what we're what we're doing right now is we're buying properties with 3% interest rates, two and a half percent interest rates where nobody else can get access to 7%. So as long as you can solve that seller's problem, because if I'm a seller and I'm underwater, I don't know where to go. I'm not a real estate investor.00:31:51:16 - 00:32:08:10UnknownYou know, we know. Sit tight, wait or move out and turn into an asset. And because you get it, because you get cash flow on it. But most people don't think that way. And now all of a sudden if something dramatic cabins they walk through these exit. I like this scenario let's walk through it so they get an idea.00:32:08:10 - 00:32:32:15UnknownSo let's just say and we're actually have one here in San Diego and most of these loans, you consumer the early FHA or VA, is that accurate? Can you assume a conventional. Well, I'm not assuming anything. Just I mean, the because there's different I'm thinking of subject to mortgage but you could actually assign mortgages to and there's a lot of real estate agents you're doing stick VA's VA loans you can assume if you choose to.00:32:33:03 - 00:32:53:06UnknownBut remember my rules or our rules, and that is we don't sign personally on debt. So what we're doing and I know with the subject deals, the number one worry is about the down sales clause and everybody freaks out about it. But the truth is, it's like, do you want sales calls? And I have a specific measurement, but I have heard of very few do on sales scores happening.00:32:53:21 - 00:33:23:24UnknownBut I know that there are techniques that are attorneys have suggested how we acquire the properties primarily, primarily through family trusts because the Garden State Germain Act, I think it's 1982 or 84 states that a do on sales clause cannot be called if it's for state or taxpaying purposes for a transfer of title. So then we just buy the trust that is like one, two, three, Jump Street Smith Family Trust, and we're the beneficiary of that property.00:33:24:15 - 00:33:42:12UnknownI like it. It's very smart, though. So and at the end of the day, a lot of these deals in which we're doing, is it worth the risk of the on sales clause being called? Because there's other ways to pivot, too, because basically the bank saying that they're going to foreclose and do on sales. And how long does that take?00:33:42:14 - 00:34:13:16UnknownMany times. In many cases, it takes a long time. You can exchange the beneficiary back to the seller in order to protect the seller, you could sell the property before it's fully been completed. There's just so many different ways in order to structure these. And in most cases, because I can already hear people saying, in most cases, when we buy properties like this, we're actually improving the seller's credit because most of this most of these circumstances, they may be behind on payments or they don't have any equity in their home.00:34:13:16 - 00:34:37:03UnknownSo we're actually improving the lives of the sellers by doing this because it's still attached to their credit. And they're they're benefiting from that because we're always making our payments on time, because at the end of day, it's our asset. We're trying to get this thing the finish line makes sense. I could do it. Any other things? Thoughts, wild things you want to see or mention?00:34:37:03 - 00:35:00:17UnknownAnybody know? I just would say this and that is credit. Finances are a lot of fun because every deal is different. At the end of the day, there's still deals that are happening now. We've done hundreds and hundreds of these great fancy deals. There are still deals that we approach now that have nuances that we have never seen before and that we get to work through and and structure out, which is a heck of a lot of fun.00:35:00:17 - 00:35:26:18UnknownBut know this too. If this is the first time you've heard of creative financing from a guy from Massachusetts that talks super fast, then they're used to this notion they just know like this was a my intent for today was a perspective change to say there are other options out there that you may not be familiar with that can help solve people's problems and also make it very profitable for you as a real estate investor.00:35:27:08 - 00:35:57:14UnknownSo I encourage you and I know we wanted to give a giveaway today, which is I encourage you to go read our first Amazon bestseller book, Real Estate on Your Terms. You get it absolutely free, so you not going to go buy it on Amazon. I'll give it to you right now for free. We'll actually ship it to you at no cost and you just have to go to wicked smart books dot com forward slash marketing guy with a get smart books dot com for XYZ marketing guy And in that book you're going to hear not only our stories, but you're also going to see how each one of these transactions comes to play in00:35:57:14 - 00:36:16:18Unknownthere. And in those case studies, why the seller did it, why the buyers did it, and then how the cash flows there. So a lot of good a lot of good material for you to go through. And then at that stage, you'll now be able to start my, my, my guess is you'll start recognizing more opportunities than you maybe passed up on.00:36:17:24 - 00:36:40:23UnknownLove it. Why don't you tell everybody where they can find you online as well and make sure you guys go ahead and get that download. I'm going to get it as well and check it out. But what you tell them what your website is, you guys have a these guys coach, they train. If you guys want to learn this stuff like go on their site, buy some of their info or their products and then you guys can learn more about it.00:36:40:23 - 00:37:00:14UnknownBut my point today is getting yourself out of your traditional mindset and realizing the opportunities are going to be all around you. They always have been, but I think it is a big opportunity coming up in the next few years of concentrating on because everyone is scared and they're all hiding in the closet because they're being a bunch of pussies and they're scared and don't know what the hell is going to happen to them.00:37:00:14 - 00:37:18:10UnknownAnd they're worried about this and they're worried about that. And at the end of the day, you guys, you got to just man up, woman up. You got to make the change. Nobody's got it. No one can do it for you. You got to do it. You just have to learn it. And what you know in your head, in the skills you have, is what makes the difference between what happens during this time.00:37:18:20 - 00:37:39:02UnknownSo, yeah, you can find you can find us at smart real estate coach dot com fans on Instagram TikTok Facebook at Smart Real Estate Coach Also on YouTube at Smart Real Estate Coach, we have over I think it's over 300 deals structure of Sunday's now we call them where it's either our deals or the deals that we helped our students do.00:37:39:10 - 00:38:01:13UnknownAnd we literally whiteboard it out where we found the seller, what the deal looks like, why the buyer needed us, what the payments were, the paydays on it. They'll they'll continue to help share with you exactly how this may work in your current business model right now. Sweet man. Well, appreciate you sharing your insight today. We appreciate all you guys listening.00:38:01:13 - 00:38:16:09UnknownAnother up. So the real estate marketing do podcast folks. If you have any additional questions, want to check out our new software. We just lost referral suite ecom. This is part of suite assist and if you're looking for a referral marketing system that firms your database makes them not forget who the hell you are, what you do. This is all you need.00:38:16:22 - 00:38:32:20UnknownLearn about it, research it, and then I'll follow you around the internet and so you can buy it. And we'll meet in the middle somewhere. Referrals to and referrals Slate.com. Appreciate it, dude. You guys have a great week and we'll see you guys next Saturday. Bye bye.
Two ways to support Common Prayer DailyBecome a Patron on PatreonMake a One-Time DonationVisit our website for a beautiful Daily Office Experience and More - www.commonprayerdaily.com----------------------Friday - Easter Week 6Opening Words:“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”Colossians 3:1 (ESV) Confession:Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen. The InvitatoryLord, open our lips.And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Pascha Nostrum (Christ our Passover)Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed:Come let us adore him. Alleluia.Alleluia. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; *therefore let us keep the feast,Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, *but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; *death no longer has dominion over him.The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; *but the life he lives, he lives to God.So also consider yourselves dead to sin, *and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.Christ has been raised from the dead, *the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.For since by a man came death, *by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.For as in Adam all die, *so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed:Come let us adore him. Alleluia. The PsalterPsalm 85Benedixisti, Domine1You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, *you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.2You have forgiven the iniquity of your people *and blotted out all their sins.3You have withdrawn all your fury *and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.4Restore us then, O God our Savior; *let your anger depart from us.5Will you be displeased with us for ever? *will you prolong your anger from age to age?6Will you not give us life again, *that your people may rejoice in you?7Show us your mercy, O Lord, *and grant us your salvation.8I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *for he is speaking peace to his faithful peopleand to those who turn their hearts to him.9Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *that his glory may dwell in our land.10Mercy and truth have met together; *righteousness and peace have kissed each other.11Truth shall spring up from the earth, *and righteousness shall look down from heaven.12The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *and our land will yield its increase.13Righteousness shall go before him, *and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. Psalm 86Inclina, Domine1Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, *for I am poor and in misery.2Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; *save your servant who puts his trust in you.3Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; *I call upon you all the day long.4Gladden the soul of your servant, *for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.5For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, *and great is your love toward all who call upon you.6Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, *and attend to the voice of my supplications.7In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *for you will answer me.8Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, *nor anything like your works.9All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, *and glorify your Name.10For you are great;you do wondrous things; *and you alone are God.11Teach me your way, O Lord,and I will walk in your truth; *knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.12I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, *and glorify your Name for evermore.13For great is your love toward me; *you have delivered me from the nethermost Pit.14The arrogant rise up against me, O God,and a band of violent men seeks my life; *they have not set you before their eyes.15But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, *slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.16Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *give your strength to your servant;and save the child of your handmaid.17Show me a sign of your favor,so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. LessonsEzekiel 1:28-3:328 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.2 And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.' 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. Hebrews 4:14-5:614 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;6 as he says also in another place,“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” The Word of the Lord.Thanks Be To God. Cantemus Domino (The Song of Moses)I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted; *the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.The Lord is my strength and my refuge; *the Lord has become my Savior.This is my God and I will praise him, *the God of my people and I will exalt him.The Lord is a mighty warrior; *Yahweh is his Name.The chariots of Pharaoh and his army has he hurled into the sea; *the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them; *they sank into the depths like a stone.Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might; *your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods? *who is like you, glorious in holiness,awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?You stretched forth your right hand; *the earth swallowed them up.With your constant love you led the people you redeemed; *with your might you brought them in safety to your holy dwelling.You will bring them in and plant them *on the mount of your possession,The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord, *the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.The Lord shall reign *for ever and for ever.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. The Apostles CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The PrayersLord, have mercy.Christ, have mercyLord, have mercyOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. The SuffragesO Lord, show your mercy upon us;And grant us your salvation.O Lord, guide those who govern usAnd lead us in the way of justice and truth.Clothe your ministers with righteousnessAnd let your people sing with joy.O Lord, save your peopleAnd bless your inheritance.Give peace in our time, O LordAnd defend us by your mighty power.Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgottenNor the hope of the poor be taken away.Create in us clean hearts, O GodAnd take not your Holy Spirit from us. Take a moment of silence at this time to reflect and pray for others. The CollectsAscension DayAlmighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Daily Collects:A Collect for PeaceO God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.A Collect for GraceO Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that, guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for MissionAlmighty and everlasting God, who alone works great marvels: Send down upon our clergy and the congregations committed to their charge the life-giving Spirit of your grace, shower them with the continual dew of your blessing, and ignite in them a zealous love of your Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. General ThanksgivingAlmighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. A Prayer of St. John ChrysostomAlmighty God, you have given us grace at this time, with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen. DismissalLet us bless the LordThanks be to God!Alleluia, Alleluia! BenedictionThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen*.* Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Psalms taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer by the Episcopal Church.The reading plan based is based on the 1979 Daily Office Lectionary Year A
Daily Devotionals with Religionless Christianity are a quick walk through the word. Each day we look at either a verse or two from scripture a meaningful commentary or other inspirational writing. Also, we include a daily Psalm, Proverb and a prayer. In today's show, March 21st 2023, we are looking at Luke 20:41-44, Psalms 23:1, Proverbs 21:15But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David's son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”' David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”” Luke 20:41-44Daily devotionals Monday-FridayReligionless Christianity Podcast every SaturdayGrab a T-Shirt: Apparel — Religionless Christianity (religionlesschristianitypodcast.com)PLEASE COME JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE MINISTRY:DISCORD- https://discord.gg/W5nACNcVUxFACEBOOK- https://www.facebook.com/ReligionlessChristianityPodcastTWITTER- https://twitter.com/ReligionlessCPARLER- https://parler.com/user/ReligionlessChristianityPodcastSUPPORT THE MINISTRY:AMAZON AFFILIATE- https://amzn.to/3lV4cBPBEST BUY- https://bestbuy.7tiv.net/15JqMmBUY ME A COFFEE- https://www.buymeacoffee.com/RCPodcastCHRISTIAN BOOKS- https://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/home?event=AFF&p=1222679Listen to other Podcasts on the Christian Podcast Community#ChristianPodcast #ChristianityAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Steve and Adam discuss the drama in the banking industry, and the potential impact on Registered Investment Advisers. Transcript: 0:06Welcome to crypto for planners.0:09I am Steve Larsen and with me is Adam Bloomberg and today we're going to cover what's going on with the banks and in the economy, Adam, how are you feeling about everything that's going on right now?0:21And you know, Steve, I am feeling okay considering, you know, kind of teetering on the brink of financial collapse, whatever that is that the economy are you personally that's on the brink of collapse.0:32The answer to that is, yes, it is.0:36Actually both, both are kind of teetering right now, but that's okay.0:40It's where we are and, and you know, you and I are here to chat about it.0:44Yeah, we are.0:45So what we're not going to do today is really give you a thorough recap of what happened that's already been done much better by better journalistic outlets than Adam and I talking on a zoom.0:55However, for those of you that you brought up to speed, there were three major bank failures here in the last several weeks.1:02They were all coincidentally crypto related for various reasons that we may get into.1:07And so we really want to cover what's going on.1:10Obviously, it's spread into some concern over bigger contagion that's going on.1:15But we really want to talk about what's going on with these three banks and how it might affect advisors, right?1:23And so well important important note there is the middle bank in their rights Silicon Valley Bank was actually not much of a crypto bank.1:31It was, it was a tech centered bank, it was created, you know, basically to service those companies that were getting VC funding in, you know, mainly in the Silicon Valley area at first.1:43But really those those companies that were getting VC funding in the tech arena.1:47and so they were actually notoriously not a crypto bank.1:50They did not like banking crypto related companies.1:53They like banking kind of web two related companies.1:56Fintech, those kind.1:58So that the middle of the three banks was really not a crypto related.2:03And remember the first one wasn't a, wasn't a total failure.2:06It was a bank that just wound down operations because they said we're not gonna have enough money if we don't wind down now and they gave and that Silver Gate, I'm referring to, they gave everyone their money back.2:16So again, I know we're not trying to recap everything, but when we see headlines and this, this is how it affects advisors, right?2:23Your clients see headlines about bank failures and bailouts and everything and that's really not what we're seeing here, we didn't have a full on failure from Silver Gate.2:33They wound down operations because, and we can go into the fact that they were, they had a, you know, a loan from the Federal Home Loan bank kind of pulled out from under them, but they gave everyone that gave all their deposits, depositors their money back and got rid of operations.2:52And with Silicon Valley Bank, it was just a run on the bank that didn't really need to be there.2:57And then with, with signature bank in New York, that one's kind of up in the air.3:03We still don't know, we, we still don't know they're there.3:06The fed is calling it a failure and we had to take it over and I'm a little leery of that.3:11Yeah, it was shut down via press release.3:13It would appear without much more of a formal process.3:17Exactly.3:18Yeah, it's one of those things like if you're a baseball player and you find out you got traded because someone sends you a tweet or something.3:23It's kind of like that.3:24Very, very similar.3:26I, you know, I know that, that I had some thoughts on it over the weekend and I think you may have summed it up in a, in a tweet.3:32It was something to the effect of, is this the dumbest bank run of all time?3:38Yep.3:38That sounds about right.3:39It was an incredibly dumb, but it was you know, and what you and I, what I kind of intimated to you earlier today and I think I said on Twitter is so many people that, I don't know, there are so many people that I know and, you know, I'm, I'm relatively privileged.3:55Right.3:55I have people, you know, all my friends have, have gone to college and their doctors and lawyers and in business and such, they still don't understand how fractional banking works and they don't understand that the inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices and, and how that works.4:11So when they start reading headlines and these people are your clients right there.4:15They're the clients of advisers in plant or how they're, they're clients of advisors.4:19We talked to their reading these headlines going, oh my gosh, there's a banking crisis and the reality is there's really not a, I don't understand what the crisis is.4:29Right?4:30That, that's the trouble.4:31But, but it's one of those things on as a bank run starts, once it starts, it just keeps going, it's kind of self perpetuating.4:39hmm.4:40Is it being a crisis of confidence more than more than anything?4:43And let's, let's move over to that.4:45Let's move into how it, it does affect advisors and how a potential change in the macro environment is going to affect, affect practices.4:53So, for example, yesterday, so we met with my R A, we met with the team on Sunday, we decided to get something out to the clients on Monday just because there's so much bad information and so many scared headlines.5:07As you know, I'm not a big Twitter person, but I made the mistake of getting on there for, you know, about 20 minutes at night that I thought the world was collapsing and then I remembered why I stay off of their But what, what, what we, what we did.5:19So we put, we put on a webinar for clients and really the focus was, of course, here's what's going on, but we spent a lot of time going through basically the different types of accounts.5:28So you mentioned how people don't understand fractional reserve banking.5:31Well, we, we wanted them to understand what a bank account is, you know, how they don't have all the deposits on hand to cover the clients.5:39And also the F D I C insurance is tied to that.5:42What does that mean?5:43And then over on the brokerage side, that's not for actual reserve.5:46So they're supposed to be your assets that aren't loaned out or borrowed against or anything else, you know, whether that's the case, that's a different story, but that's at least theoretically how it works.5:55And then there is civic S I P C insurance on that and how that works.6:00So that's kind of, that's kind of where we started at our firm.6:03Yeah, and that's a great place to start for any advisor is to just kind of help your clients understand and then you can, you can move forward from there and once they have a better understanding, then you can move forward and go.6:15All right, let's, we can talk individually with all of you about where your account sit, what kind of risks there are in those accounts because that's your job as the advisors to, to know about these things and then, and then to help them through it.6:27So that's a good place to start is not to go, is not to go full on Twitter.6:32You know, all caps, this has to stop or you have to hate the government or everything's falling.6:37But let me just explain to you how all these work and then if you need to come talk to us, but which you probably did, if you need to come talk to us about it, you can schedule an appointment and we'll talk about your different accounts, whether they're at banks, whether their brokerage accounts wherever and what they mean, what kind of risks there are, whose money it is officially.6:59And you know, let's have those discussions.7:01And as I said, most people don't understand how all that works.7:04So if you just explain it to it and your job as the advisor is the first, is that first line of education, then that's a good place to start.7:13Now, now, what if people, you know not?7:16What if clients started with where I started with, right?7:18Like there's a run on crypto banks there after the crypto banks.7:22This is about crypto and it's not about crypto at the same time.7:25So that gets, that gets a little more confusing as far as the bank fundamentals.7:29I certainly don't think so, but as far as the crypto banks being targeted.7:32Yes.7:33So where do you, where do you think crypto as it relates to advisors fits into this scenario here?7:42So the hard part is, you know, as we've seen it very much seems like the crypto related banks are being targeted by the government, right?7:51And there's plenty of stuff to read, there's plenty of stuff that is conspiracy theory and some of it that is probably not at all conspiracy theory that is the crypto banks or the crypto industry, I guess is being targeted in one way you target that is you go after the banks that are banking, the actual companies and those companies being exchanges, those companies being, you know, like circle which offers us D C or U S dollar coin, you start targeting those banks and saying you're no longer allowed to exist.8:19And therefore all your depositors have to get their money back.8:22And I got to go find another bank and eventually crypto companies run out of banks, run out of places that, that they can hold their money.8:28So where it affects, where it comes down to affecting clients is you go.8:33All right.8:33What is, what do we feel is the U S government's attitude towards crypto.8:40It's obviously this current administration is negative, is a negative attitude towards crypto.8:45Where does that affect?8:48Then where does it affect your investments in crypto?8:50Prices?8:50Well, kind of what we saw is, is prices went down for a little while in terms of Bitcoin and Ether and the other crypto assets and then they have taken off the last few days.9:01Now, whether that's because the tough part to know is, is that because the government quote averted a banking crisis and we're all happy that we're not all losing our money or is it because we're starting to realize the cracks in the banking system and the cracks in the financial system and go, oh, maybe this is the, this is part of the solution and therefore there's going to be more usage of Bitcoin and usage of the theory and it could be a combination.9:30And it makes you wonder, are we shifting from an attitude where, hey, the government's coming after crypto, crypto is in trouble too.9:38Hey, the government's coming after crypto crypto super important, you know, because really they know they're not just coming after crypto, they're coming after your economic freedom and now it's more important and that's certainly the optimistic take, but I think it warrants watching as the government goes harder.9:54Does, does the adoption increase?9:56And the price increase because of that.10:00Right.10:00Exactly.10:01And, and we can go that route, which is kind of the conspiracy theory route, which I don't feel is very conspiracy theory anymore.10:07I think it's pretty, they've made it pretty obvious, but if the route is, I don't like the fact that I'm subject to what, what happens with the banks and therefore I'm subject to what happens with the central bank and the fed.10:19There's a way to opt out of that.10:21It doesn't have to be with everything, but with some of your money, there are ways to opt out and the way you opt out is you hold onto your assets and that's exactly what crypto is.10:29It's, I'm going to take care of my own assets so it could be, I'm worried that the government's gonna have full, you know, purview over everything I do and, and full visibility and everything that, that I spend my money on or it's, I'm not so much as worried about that, but I kind of want to have some of my assets where I have full control over it and that's what the education for clients, right about how fractional reserve banking works and about how your accounts work is.10:56Once you've handed the money over to the bank, you're kind of not in full control.11:00And if you want to have this full control, once you understand that you go and they're probably going to go.11:05Alright, how do I, how do I get control of my assets?11:07Well, that's kind of what the crypto system is building.11:10It does have a lot of warts right now.11:12It's not the easiest user experience, all of those things, which are getting better.11:16But at least for advisors, you kind of see now why there's a need for it and maybe now is the time to start learning about it and we're gonna, you know, totally self you know, self promotion here.11:27But this is, that's kind of what we're trying to do here, but this maybe is the time to learn about it because maybe now the system, it makes a little more, more sense.11:37And even if you weren't behind some of the speculation behind the price of Bitcoin, now you kind of go, oh, I see where the idea of custody my own assets or my clients wanting to custody their own assets.11:49Kind of makes sense.11:50This is a system that does that, that's, that's, that's well said, and one of the practical effects, you know, on, on the R A firm was the switching of the banking partners.12:02So obviously getting money on and off in and out of the accounts, my friends at Gemini Vitria and, and so, you know, they were processing wires through silver gate, you know, and then it, then it changed and then now I think it's jpmorgan or something.12:16Don't, don't quote me under, they switched to, but, and again, and I know another great great provide in the space for advisors that again, they've been fined through all this.12:25He's a great custodian, but they've had to redo the banking provider in the on and on off and on a couple of times and it's just been a pain in the butt.12:32So it wasn't any funds at risk, but certainly operationally and logistically getting money on and off was affected throughout this.12:40And Adam transition into the last thing we want to talk about, which is what does this mean for defi and self custody that you mentioned.12:49And I use those to link it because the choke point in both places is the cramping.12:53It's getting money out of your bank in the crypto.12:56And that's, that's the first thing it needs to be tackled if we're going to really go any direction.13:00But specifically in the defi where, where it leaves defi is, it's hard because you're right.13:07The on and off ramps are the tough part.13:09We still pay for most of our stuff in dollars.13:12We still mostly get paid in dollars, whether it's your business, whether you're an employee, whatever you generally get paid in dollars and you at some point, if you want to participate in the defi system, have to convert that into crypto.13:24So I think it leaves us honestly in some tough points.13:28coin base is still, you know, kind of the biggest on off ramp here in the US.13:33And it's gonna be really tough for the government to put a clamp on coin base because they're a publicly traded company because everything is really pretty transparent.13:42And it's at some point you can't just basically snuff out an entire publicly traded company.13:48So I think that's, you know, coin base is still there and, and going a little bit further into where it sits with defied the things that coin base released in the last few weeks, right, which is their base, which is their layer two on top of Ethereum.14:05their wallet is a service, product code, whatever it is, it's coming out, which is basically now, I'm going to have this on ramp on the coin base and then probably more easily transmit, move that into defi on chain as we, as we say it.14:20I think that's, those are pretty important in the fact that coin base is still there and, and coin bases is moving these things forward, not to be like an advertisement for coin base, but again, being a publicly traded company,, and, and having the relationships they have and having the amount of money they have, they're, they're kind of the, the, I don't know the bellwether right now.14:40They're, they're kind of what we're all looking for as for as far as the on and off ramps and then you get into defi that's probably the on off ramp.14:47Eventually, we probably see us more of earning money on chain, meaning I'm going to earn in crypto, I'm going to get paid from my company's wallet to my wallet or my company's, you know, crypto account to my crypto account.15:00There is probably going to be more of that and more of that, you know, you X is being built and more of these products are being built.15:06And again, as the advisors, it's gonna be kind of incumbent to understand how all that works.15:11If my clients getting paid in crypto, I better understand what that means and, and how to take on those risks.15:17Because honestly, before last week, would you have even thought about the risk, the risks inherent in your bank accounts at federally chartered banks?15:28No, no, I wouldn't have and I don't think most people were we, you know, and, and part of like I mentioned, the education, different clients was, hey, within your Schwab account here, we can, we can put it at C D s at 10 different banks.15:40If we need to, we can get it diversified out, we can stand with these limits because even though it's unlikely, it's still, why not?15:48Like why wouldn't we be more safe than not in doing that?15:53And you bring up a good point about coin base, they are, they are aligned with us As much as possible with people who want crypto to succeed because they're not a fractional reserve bank and they do segregate assets and they are regulated and they're kind of the best of all worlds and, you know, to somebody like Geminis credit.16:11So, are they accept?16:14Right.16:14They were going out there trying to generate yield from a black box and got in trouble with the product and all that.16:19But as, but as, as far as, you know, segregating the customer's assets specifically on the institutional side, they do it as well.16:28but, but that, that's looking more and more attracted by today.16:30Right.16:30At least have your assets in an institution where they can't lend them out or chop them up or pull them together.16:40Exactly.16:41And as the adviser having to do some of that due diligence, right.16:45On, not only the custodian, you're, you're using for your clients for crypto, but on who they do business with who their banks are.16:52Like where, like if you keep going down the line, where are the risks further and further down the line and you might, you know, as the advisor, throw your hands up and go, well, I don't, I just don't want to get in this crypto thing.17:02I'll just stick to traditional assets.17:04Well, look, banks got hit right.17:07Like who, who's to say there's not a run on, you know, some other bank who's to say that there's not more that's being created more that we're going to see in the near future.17:17You, you know, I think, I don't know if we've mentioned Fidelity.17:20There's fidelity is a custodian.17:21Their fidelity is a bank as well.17:23Right.17:23So everyone's going to be impacted by what happens next with what the Fed does and what the federal government and central bank do with, with banks because they're all, all of our money is so intertwined.17:37So it's an important wake up call to go.17:39All right.17:40It's time to start doing a little bit of risk management.17:42A little bit of due diligence, more so than we did in the past where we just said, we totally trust that the government has it under control and go.17:51All right, we need to find out where the risk points are and going back to the idea of Gemini and Coinbase like, okay, we need to do that, that, that kind of risk assessment and due diligence as advisors, just like you need to on all of your custodians and fidelity.18:04Fidelity is a great bridge between the two worlds right there, legitimate crypto custodian.18:10And they're obviously, you know, a top 234 legit traditional custodian for advisors and they're, they're in both worlds for sure.18:19And there's somebody again that can serve as a great on ramp between the two worlds and they're not doing a whole lot of it now.18:26And the reason is because of this regulatory uncertainty and the attacks that they see coin based taken that these banks are taken and who knows what's going on behind the scenes.18:35But at some point, we're going to need these larger companies who understand both worlds to step up to step up and, and fight for crypto hopefully.18:44Yeah.18:44And I think they will.18:46And if we could go back a little bit, I think, and I apologize for continuing to go back.18:50But when we started this conversation a little bit is what is the, what is the impact on these quote crypto banks or these banks that we're happy to, to bank crypto companies getting shut down and advisers, talking to clients in this feeling of, oh my gosh, the government's trying to shut down crypto.19:09There's no more banks.19:10Well, you just mentioned Fidelity is a pretty large traditional finance bank, a pretty large traditional finance custodian and a pretty large crypto custodian and is, is getting bigger every day and delving into that a little bit more.19:25chase, I mean, as much as Jamie Diamond talks badly about crypto, they still do quite a lot of banking for crypto companies.19:32And let's not forget, you know, Bank of New York Mellon, which is maybe the largest custodian in the world is, is the, you know, they're the custodian of choice for a lot of huge crypto hedge funds and banks.19:44And I don't feel like, and I don't, I don't want to make assertions but those companies aren't going down anytime soon.19:50Those are not banks that are going to fail anytime soon because there be too big to fail banks.19:55Right.19:56And they're all full on into crypto.19:58They're not backing away at all their custody ng assets or custom digital assets, traditional assets.20:03They're mixed.20:03So I don't want there to be this feeling of, oh, my gosh, they said they shut down Silver Gate and signature.20:10It's all done because there are much larger banks than those two that are perfectly happy delving into crypto.20:18Yeah.20:19I think my overall take and it's, it's a topic for another podcast but it's not that they're trying to kill kryptos that they're trying to control crypto and these are smaller, more independent banks who maybe don't have the revolving doors of people moving from the board of directors and general counsel through the Treasury department back to the banks, like the bigger ones, where they do have control.20:39So I would say it's more of a, more of a wanting it under their thumb than a, let's kill it altogether type of attitude coming out of the government.20:50Yeah.20:50Yeah, I agree.20:51You're right.20:52It's more of a control, how can we control it and kill it and if we need to tamp it down a little bit till we figure out how to get control, that's probably where we are at this point.21:02but, but again, there's plenty of business to go around, there's plenty of building that's going on in, in the crypto world and we're seeing every day more needs for solutions like this not to totally take over the traditional finance system and, and kick it out of the way.21:18But you see a little bit here and there as to how I can, I can take on some of that custody and take off, take on some of the things that crypto gives us the transparency, the instant settlement, the the self custody.21:32Great summary.21:33So let's go ahead and wrap it up there.21:35It's enough bank talk that I think anybody should be subjected to at one sitting.21:38Hopefully there's some value there for you.21:40Let's end with a pitch.21:42You're gonna hear from us a couple of times.21:44The pitches to go to crossroads, crossroads 23 the planet out conference in ST Louis last week of April Monday through Monday.21:52Tuesday.21:53Is it 24th, 25th?21:54I should have had that up or something like that.21:56Yes, 20 24th and 25th in ST Louis.21:59Come get your tickets and most importantly, Adam, maybe people understand the speaker lineup we have and that's why they're not buying tickets.22:07Yeah, I'm not quite sure like it's a pretty killer speaker lineup.22:09So you and I have talked about banks and clients and regulation and stuff.22:12So we have Commissioner Hester Purse is leading off our conference.22:16So we're gonna get to ask an sec commissioner, you know, have her talk about what's happening with compliance and regulations of the SEC, which is pretty important to us as advisors.22:24And we're gonna get to ask questions among after that, we have Matt Hogan from bit wise, is gonna talk about the state of the market.22:31We're gonna have a compliance panel with compliance attorneys and compliance officers where again, it's all discussions, you get to ask questions and if you're an advisor that's in the crypto or wants to be in two days, you're gonna get just about everything answered that you want.22:45We're gonna have Tyrone Ross in the 41 financial crew that's gonna talk about how they're building kind of the R I A or the future using certain tools, some crypto, some not crypto, some web two and, and yeah, kind of new tools that are out there.22:58So there are so many others.23:01We're gonna talk about data and research and where you get your information and indexes and, and all of that.23:06But it is an absolutely killer lineup for any.23:08It's very focused on advisers wanting to add crypto to their practice.23:13Yeah.23:13Hit the planet dot com slash crossroads and you can get the details on time and date hotel and buy your tickets.23:20We are using N F T s for tickets were trying to get sidetracked, explaining that, but no, you don't have to pay with crypto.23:26Yes.23:27Even though we're doing N F T tickets, you can pay with your credit card specifically and hopefully your company's credit card makes it a lot easier on everybody.23:35All right, Adam, thanks for jumping on the podcast with me.23:38Hope there is some value there.23:41Hope so.23:41Thanks for having me. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plannerdao.substack.com
First Sunday in Lent The Collect: Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” 1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. Psalm: Psalm 32 1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, * and whose sin is put away! 2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, * and in whose spirit there is no guile! 3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, * because of my groaning all day long. 4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; * my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, * and did not conceal my guilt. 6 I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” * Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin. 7 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; * when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them. 8 You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; * you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 9 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; * I will guide you with my eye. 10 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; * who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.” 11 Great are the tribulations of the wicked; * but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. 12 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; * shout for joy, all who are true of heart. Epistle: Romans 5:12-19 12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—13sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.19For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11 1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,' and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'” 11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
My podcast with the brilliant Marc Andreessen is out!We discuss:* how AI will revolutionize software* whether NFTs are useless, & whether he should be funding flying cars instead* a16z's biggest vulnerabilities* the future of fusion, education, Twitter, venture, managerialism, & big techDwarkesh Patel has a great interview with Marc Andreessen. This one is full of great riffs: the idea that VC exists to restore pockets of bourgeois capitalism in a mostly managerial capitalist system, what makes the difference between good startup founders and good mature company executives, how valuation works at the earliest stages, and more. Dwarkesh tends to ask the questions other interviewers don't.Byrne Hobart, The DiffWatch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes.Similar episodesYou may also enjoy my interview of Tyler Cowen about the pessimism of sex and identifying talent, Byrne Hobart about FTX and how drugs have shaped financial markets, and Bethany McLean about the astonishing similarities between FTX and the Enron story (which she broke).Side note: Paying the billsTo help pay the bills for my podcast, I'm turning on paid subscriptions on Substack.No major content will be paywalled - please don't donate if you have to think twice before buying a cup of coffee.But if you have the means & have enjoyed my podcast, I would appreciate your support
Scripture Reading: John 18:28-19:16a 28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor's residence. (Now it was very early morning.) They did not go into the governor's residence so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal. 29 So Pilate came outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They replied, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”31 Pilate told them, “Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him according to your own law!” The Jewish leaders replied, “We cannot legally put anyone to death.” 32 (This happened to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken when he indicated what kind of death he was going to die.)33 So Pilate went back into the governor's residence, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 Jesus replied, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others told you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own people and your chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37 Then Pilate said, “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world—to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate asked, “What is truth?”When he had said this he went back outside to the Jewish leaders and announced, “I find no basis for an accusation against him. 39 But it is your custom that I release one prisoner for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?” 40 Then they shouted back, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.)1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely. 2 The soldiers braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him again and again and said, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly in the face.4 Again Pilate went out and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no reason for an accusation against him.” 5 So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Look, here is the man!” 6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “You take him and crucify him! Certainly I find no reason for an accusation against him!” 7 The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die because he claimed to be the Son of God!”8 When Pilate heard what they said, he was more afraid than ever, 9 and he went back into the governor's residence and said to Jesus, “Where do you come from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you know I have the authority to release you and to crucify you?” 11 Jesus replied, “You would have no authority over me at all, unless it was given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”12 From this point on, Pilate tried to release him. But the Jewish leaders shouted out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar! Everyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!” 13 When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat in the place called “The Stone Pavement” (Gabbatha in Aramaic). 14 (Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover, about noon.) Pilate said to the Jewish leaders, “Look, here is your king!”15 Then they shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!” 16 Then Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.Main ThemesPilateThe Jewish authorities sentence Jesus. Jesus' apostles—most notably Peter—desert him. Then the time comes for the Romans to get involved.The first question we ought to ask is: why? Why must the Romans be involved at all? I have discussed this already, so I will be brief. The Romans depended on delatores—accusers—to bring criminals to justice. These accusers could be individuals or councils, such as the Sanhedrin. In particular, the Sanhedrin was composed of the aristocratic elite of the most important city in Israel. The Roman governor would certainly cooperate with such a group.The Jews deliver Jesus to Pilate “very early in the morning,” probably around 6 am. For Romans, “late morning” in the summer months was before 8 or 9 am. A Roman governor would probably end his public transactions around noon, leaving some time for leisure. In fact, Romans rarely slept in; doing so could carry the implication of drinking or partying the night before.When the Jews deliver Jesus, they avoid entering into the “governor's residence”—the praetorium. There is some debate whether the praetorium was Fortress Antonia, adjoining the temple courts, or the old palace of Herod the Great. The lavishness of Herod's old palace, which would have been preferred by a Roman governor, along with confirmation from other ancient writings seem to support the latter alternative. Either way, why did the Jews not enter the praetorium? Because houses of non-Jews were ritually impure and entering them would render a Jew impure as well, keeping him from fully participating in the Passover festivities. This concern for ritual purity serves as evidence of the aristocrats' hypocrisy: they spent the night ignoring the weightier matters of the law, such as justice and fairness, to then show concern for more superficial rituals. Recall Matthew 23:23-24:“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!Notice Pilate's attitude. From Josephus' writings (an ancient Jewish historian) we know that originally Pilate was quite unsympathetic towards the Jewish customs. In John, we find a Pilate much more willing to avoid unnecessary friction. He comes out to meet the Jewish elite, accommodating of the fact that they could not enter the home. However, Pilate also shows some annoyance with the situation. He asks, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” The response is, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” If we read between the lines, Pilate's question does not seem like an honest request for information. He seems to be aware of the accusation but remains unconvinced that this is a matter worthy of his involvement. The Jews insist they would not seek audience before Pilate if Jesus was not really a criminal.The Jewish elite finally speak truly when they say, “We cannot legally put anyone to death.” As I explained last session, only the Roman governor could order a person killed—particularly by crucifixion. Notice, therefore, that the only way in which Jesus' words could be fulfilled (e.g., “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32) was if the Jews involved the Romans. This was expected, indeed planned, by Jesus.Roman citizens could not be legally crucified, but slaves and provincials could be, generally for rebellion against Rome.Pilate was known for his brutality. He had sometimes executed Jews without trial. The Jewish elite knew that if they wanted Jesus dead, they were asking the right guy. They may have expected no hearing at all, even if Roman law technically required one. But there were politics at play. An overly cruel governor could give rise to revolts by the provincials. In fact, later in his life, Pilate's excessive use of capital punishment cost him his office. We also have other reasons to believe that Pilate may have been trying to be more careful than usual. His patron, Sejanus, was executed in the year 31 AD. If the crucifixion happened in the year 33 AD, then Pilate found himself in a precarious situation with little political support. Even if the crucifixion happened in the year 30 AD (the other widely argued for date), Pilate may have already been feeling the mounting opposition to his patron. Pilate himself was only an equestrian, a class lower than senators. Finally, there is likely some personal animosity at work as well. Pilate had gained some political savvy by this point, but he probably strongly disliked the Jews. Pilate may have been fair to Jesus simply to spite the Jews.Pilate Questions JesusAccording to normal judicial procedure, the accuser spoke first. So, Pilate had to already be aware of the charge of treason when he begins Jesus' interrogation. The question Pilate asks is, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Ain't that the million dollar question! In classic Johannine fashion, this moment drips with irony. Pilate is probably employing sarcasm, perhaps even mockery. But the gospel audience understands that the question is serious—the most important question ever, in fact. Is Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the High Priest, the King, God himself?Notice that Pilate's question is strange in one regard: so far no one has used his exact terminology. Jesus' detractors do not calling him king of the Jews. Jesus himself does not make the claim with those exact words. The title is not even a traditional Christian confession. Christians will call Jesus Messiah, Christ, Lord, or perhaps even King of Israel or King of Kings, but generally not King of the Jews. There is irony in the fact that a Gentile is one to speak with such insight, even if he spoke more than he knew.Jesus' reply plays on the irony of Pilate's question. Jesus retorts, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others told you about me?” Allow me to rephrase it as, “Oh, so you can tell? You figured it out on your own or someone told you?” Pilate's response makes perfect sense, “I am not a Jew, am I?” In other words, “How would I know? I am not a Jew.”If up to this point the conversation had a mocking tone, it becomes serious as Pilate asks, “Your own people and your chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” This is a hefty question. Paraphrased, Pilate says, “Your people wish me to have you killed. Why?” There is also some legalese at play here. If a defendant failed to offer a defense, the judge would ask about the charge three times before convicting the defendant by default.Jesus explains that his kingdom is not of this world. He offers a simple proof. If his kingdom were of this world, his followers would be fighting to free Jesus; they would probably be fighting against Jews to establish Jesus as King and fighting against the Romans to liberate Israel. They are not. “As it is,” meaning, “look around, there is no fighting,” Jesus' kingdom is certainly not political. But Jesus does not deny the charge against him. Jesus affirms he has a kingdom: “my kingdom is not from here.” If Jesus were trying to win his trial, this was not a wise move.Pilate picks up on Jesus' confession. “So you are a king!” To whatever extent Pilate is following standard trial procedure, notice that this is the third time the charge is brought up to the defendant. The defendant's lack of defense will result in a conviction by default. (Although, perhaps the conversation simply developed this way and the governor is not thinking in terms of legal procedure.) For the last time, Jesus fails to defend himself. “You say that I am a king.” This statement can be taken in a few different ways. Jesus may mean it as, “You say I am king because I am.” As an older commentary puts it, “Thou sayest; for I am a king.” Another alternative is that Jesus bypasses the title and instead affirms the substance of the accusation. Then we could rephrase Jesus response as follows: “Is King the proper title for someone like me? I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me. Does that make me king?” However we interpret Jesus' response, it is not a denial of the charge against him. Jesus may have sealed his fate.Pilate ends the conversation with another million dollar question, “What is truth?” The true tone and intent behind his questions is hard to discern. Maybe Pilate is mocking Jesus' and his commitment to truth. After all, Pilate lived a life of Roman politics and military prowess. Truth? Who cares. Power—that's what really matters. We can almost hear his argument: “Do you think a man is convicted because he is guilty? He is convicted because he is weak. Do you think the powerful escape justice because they are righteous? Don't be naïve! Do you think only the wicked are conquered and enslaved? We conquer devils and saints alike. Do you think the righteous rule the world? The strong rule over all. Do you think that kings speak only truth? They don't yet go ahead and disagree with them and see what happens. Do you think truth matters at all? Don't be a child.”However, there is a good chance Pilate means his question earnestly. The other gospels tell us that Pilate knew Jesus to be innocent. Moreover, Pilate's wife had received a vision confirming Jesus was blameless and should not be convicted.So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?” (For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.) As he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream about him today.” Matthew 27:17-19We can imagine a corrupt ruler of a corrupt nation being asked by a corrupt ruling council to brutally crucify a man he knows to be innocent and asking himself: “What is truth? Is there anything worth fighting for? Anything worth sacrificing for? If so, what is that truth? Where does it come from?” These could be the questions of a wicked man who is beginning to see that what is right and wrong is not simply a matter of power.Pilate Attempts to Release JesusPilate finds no (legal) fault in Jesus and attempts to release him. Pilate follows a custom of releasing one prisoner during Passover (as scholars call it, the “paschal amnesty custom”). A Roman governor was free to issue amnesties. We have record of Romans sometimes releasing prisoners en masse on local feasts. During their own festivities, Romans usually delayed punishments. So, the custom described in John would not have seemed odd in the ancient world.Pilate gives the Jewish people a choice: Jesus or Barabbas? To Pilate's surprise, the people exclaim: “Barabbas!” There is irony upon irony here. Jesus was accused of being a revolutionary but found to be innocent. Barabbas was an actual revolutionary! Technically, the word used in verse 40 is “robber,” but that was a euphemism for revolutionary. As the NET's translators' note 118 explains:Or “robber.” It is possible that Barabbas was merely a robber or highwayman, but more likely, given the use of the term ληστής (lēstēs) in Josephus and other early sources, that he was a guerrilla warrior or revolutionary leader. Moreover, the Jewish leaders allegedly acted against Jesus to prevent a revolution that could destroy Israel. John 11:49-50:Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is more to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.”Yet, they requested the release of the very type of person who would bring demise to the nation just 40 years later.Abusing the PrisonerThe FloggingJewish law allowed for up to 40 lashings (Deuteronomy 25:3). To make sure that one did not accidentally exceed the lawful numbers of blows, the Jews only dealt 39 lashings. The Romans were not beholden to such a limit. In fact, the text indicates a more severe flogging. As the NET's study note 1 explains:Three forms of corporal punishment were employed by the Romans, in increasing degree of severity: (1) fustigatio (beating), (2) flagellatio (flogging), and (3) verberatio (severe flogging, scourging). The first could be on occasion a punishment in itself, but the more severe forms were part of the capital sentence as a prelude to crucifixion. The most severe, verberatio, is what is indicated here by the Greek verb translated flogged severely (μαστιγόω, mastigoō). People died on occasion while being flogged this way; frequently it was severe enough to rip a person's body open or cut muscle and sinew to the bone. It was carried out with a whip that had fragments of bone or pieces of metal bound into the tips.The Roman scourging could be so severe that sometimes victims that were not sentenced to death died. There are accounts of scourgings that left the victim's bones exposed. It was a horrific practice.Jesus was probably tied to a pillar or post and beaten with flagella, which as the quotation above explains, were leather whips with interspersed knots with pieces of iron or bone, which left skin hanging from the back in bloody strips.The Mocking“The soldiers braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. They came up to him again and again and said, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!' And they struck him repeatedly in the face.” (John 19:2-3)The crown of thorns may have been made for mockery more than torture, although it may have served both purposes. It was probably made from the branches of an available shrub, such as acanthus. The thorns may have been turned outward to simulate a crown instead of inward to produce bleeding. The main point was making Jesus look like a king to then sarcastically mock him. We have records of the Romans abusing other prisoners, even by adorning them as king as well. So, the scene being described is entirely in keeping with Roman practice.Purple was an expensive dye in the ancient world. Consequently, purple clothing was often worn only by the wealthy elite or royalty. For example, the robes of Hellenistic princes were purple. To complete Jesus' costume, the Roman soldiers give him a purple robe. However, if purple was so expensive, would the soldiers dare waste such an item of clothing? The Gospel of Matthew gives us an important clue. In Matthew 27:28, the same item is described as a “scarlet robe.” A scarlet robe would have been worn by a Roman soldier and it was cheaply dyed in contrast to expensive royal purple—but it resembled a king's robe. Imagine a child pretending to be a superhero. His parent may tie a towel around the child's neck and then refer to it as a cape. On one hand we understand that it is a towel, but on the other hand we clearly understand it is meant to represent a cape and would refer to it as such. Similarly, although the soldiers probably used a scarlet military garment to clothe Jesus, everyone understood it was meant to represent a royal purple robe.Finally, the soldiers chant, “Hail, king of the Jews!” In the Eastern Roman Empire, those who worshipped Cesar would chant “Hail, Cesar!” The soldiers purposely utilize the same chant for Jesus to add to their sarcastic mockery.Pilate's Second AttemptPilate's Attempt to Release JesusAfter the scourging and mockery, Pilate attempts to release Jesus once more. Presumably hoping that the flogging had satiated the Jews' bloodthirst, Pilate presents the horrifically bloodied Jesus to them an exclaims, “I find no reason for an accusation against him.” In other words, “Hasn't this innocent man suffered enough for whatever he did to annoy you? Can we be done with this whole ordeal?” The words that Pilate actually uses carry even more irony. Pilate says, “Behold the man!” This sounds strikingly similar to words of God to the prophet Samuel as God presented Israel's first king:When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, “Here is the man that I told you about. He will rule over my people.” 1 Samuel 9:17Moreover, “behold the man” is the whole reason for the gospel. God became man! To quote C.S. Lewis, “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation.” Had God not become man there would be no Gospel, there would be no story to tell, there would be no chance of killing God. We should behold indeed!The Jewish religious elite respond by demanding, “Crucify him!” Pilate has no reason to crucify Jesus, so he responds, “You take him and crucify him!” Pilate's response is a bit metaphorical. The Roman soldiers will have to be the ones to carry out the execution, but it will be done so at the behest of the Jews not the Romans. As we will see throughout the next few verses, John does not exculpate Pilate, who is too weak to save a man he believes to be innocent, but the brunt of the guilt for Jesus' execution is placed squarely on the Jewish elite's shoulders.Why do the “chief priests and their officers” demand execution? Because they have a law and according to that law Jesus ought to die for claiming to be the Son of God. Notice this is a different charge from what Pilate was told earlier—that Jesus claimed to be the king of the Jews. However, both charges are related. Since Caesar was understood to be divine, a claim to be a son of a god could be understood by the Romans as a political claim to office. Nonetheless, Pilate seems unconvinced. For Pilate to declare Jesus innocent implies Pilate understood Jesus' claims as merely philosophical, not political.To the reader of John's Gospel, the claim that the law demands Jesus' death because he claims to be God's son would be laughable if it weren't so tragic. The law would certainly demand such a penalty—if the claim were false! That's the whole question. Is Jesus telling the truth or not? Jesus provided miracle after miracle after miracle to substantiate his claims, but nothing sufficed for the religious elite. The careful reader will also detect a deep irony. Jesus is the incarnation of their law (“Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.” John 1:14). To say that the law demands the death of Jesus is to say that Jesus demands the death of Jesus.Pilate More Afraid than EverWhen Pilate is informed that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, he becomes “more afraid than ever.” As a Roman, Pilate would have been familiar with tales of deities appearing in human form and of the harsh consequences to the mortals who rejected them. Consequently, Pilate seems to take the claim of Jesus' divinity quite seriously—ironically, much more seriously than the Jews who witnessed miracle after miracle. A Roman proves more willing to believe the Jewish Messiah than the Jews.Pilate takes Jesus' words so seriously that he immediately grasps the importance of determining Jesus' origin.Recall the following verses:The one who comes from above is superior to all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is superior to all. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. John 3:31-32Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time!” John 6:32-34Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” and they said, “Isn't this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven'?” John 6:41-42The Jews were either too obtuse or too obstinate to understand Jesus when he spoke as being “from heaven,” “from above,” or “from God.” Pilate, who has heard none of these statements, immediately demands such an explanation. “Where do you come from?”Jesus does not respond. In this way, Jesus seals his fate—a fate not brought upon the Jews or the Romans but controlled by Jesus himself all the while.Pilate responds either in annoyance, hostility, or (less likely for a Roman ruler) earnest concern: “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you know I have the authority to release you and to crucify you?” If, against the odds, Pilate is truly concerned for Jesus, we could take his statement as: “I have the power to help you, but you have to give me something to work with! Help me help you!” If we understand Pilate's statement to be less friendly, we could rewrite his words as saying: “You dare disrespect me while your life is in my hands!” Perhaps Pilate meant his words both ways. Pilate may have been trying to help Jesus while taking offense that, as a scholar (Brown) points out, “by not answering Jesus is somehow looking down on [Pilate].”Jesus' attitude towards Pilate is wholly unexpected, which may have been what earned him some credibility before the Roman ruler. A prisoner, particularly one facing crucifixion, would praise the judge's integrity. Jesus does nothing of the sort.No Authority Except by GodJesus makes clear to Pilate that no, Jesus' life is not in his hands—not ultimately anyways. Pilate has power over Jesus only because God has made it so. If God had so desired, Pilate would have no authority. This statement is partially exculpatory. Pilate may be choosing incorrectly but at least the situation he finds himself in is not of his own making. The Jewish elite, on the other hand, are much guiltier. This messy situation (to use a severe understatement) was not brought upon them. They caused it.The idea that God establishes and uses rulers is not foreign to scripture. We find it both in the Old and the New Testament. The interaction between God and government is a difficult topic that goes well beyond our current study of John. Merely as a introduction to the topic, I quote other verses that touch on the matter.Some of the key passages in the New Testament include:Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God's appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation because it is God's servant for your well-being. Romans 13:1-4aBe subject to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether to a king as supreme or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good. For God wants you to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. 1 Peter 2:13-15Throughout the ages, Christians have interpreted these passages differently. Some take them as universal teachings with no exceptions. They would argue that Christians should obey the government regardless of how wicked it is. Romans 13, for example, was heavily preached by German churches in the 40s to convince Christians to follow the Nazi government. Most Christians have taken a more nuanced approach, recognizing the general principle that Christians should be exemplary citizens for the sake of the Gospel. However, the government should be disobeyed or even opposed in a number of situations, like when the government requires Christians to engage in sinful behavior. Some of the key passages in the Old Testament include:“Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7“This is what the Lord says to his chosen one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold in order to subdue nations before him, . . .” Isaiah 45:1aThese Old Testament verses may not seem as impactful as the New Testament verses quoted above, but in context they are nothing short of scandalous. The verse in Jeremiah is written as God decrees the exile of the Jews to Babylon, after the Babylonians utterly destroyed the kingdom of Judah and decimated the Israelites. In the midst of the tragedy, as the Jews are carried off as captives and slaves, God commands them to pray for peace and prosperity for the captors! In an unfathomable twist of events, God will use the nation of Babylon—the same nation he used to destroy his people—to prosper his people. The verse in Isaiah has a similar context—God using the Persians to subdue nations. A gentile king is called anointed.God uses rulers, even the evil ones.Pilate's Third AttemptPilate is so impressed by his conversation with Jesus that he is determined to release him. Although I have tried to keep my opinion mostly out of the discussion, I think this is clear evidence that Pilate's dialogue should not be read mostly with a mocking or hostile tone, but in earnest. Some Eastern Christian churches, such as the Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox Churches hold that Pontius Pilate later converted to Christianity himself. So they revere Pilate as a saint. These conversion narratives are late and hard to rely on as historical accounts, but I think they make more sense of the text than the negative view of Pilate developed by Western tradition.Whether Pilate was beginning to believe Jesus or not ends up becoming irrelevant. The Jews twist his arm. The Jewish elite threaten Pilate that if he lets Jesus go free, they will tell Caesar that Pilate released a man claiming to be king—i.e., a traitor to Caesar! Pilate has a political calculation to make. Could he defend himself of a treason charge? Could he explain that Jesus' kingdom was not of this world? Recall the discussion above regarding Caesar's precarious political support. His patron had either already been killed or there was mounting opposition against him. Caesar himself was nothing more than an equestrian with a questionable record as a governor. Ultimately, is it worth becoming a martyr for Jesus? Alas, despite Pilate's belief that Jesus was innocent, he opts for political expediency. He caves to the threats of the Jews and condemns Jesus to crucifixion. Again, this moment shifts the weight of blame between the Jewish elite and the Roman governor. Pilate was guilty of weakness—he knew what was right but lacked the courage to see it through. The Jewish elite were guilty of deliberate wrongdoing.The trial reaches its climax in a shocking statement. In my opinion, one could argue that all the hypocrisy, antagonism, and wickedness of the Jewish religious elite builds up to this one stupefying statement: “We have no king except Caesar!” The Jewish religion, at its core, believed that God was their ultimate king ruling from everlasting to everlasting. Moreover, God had and would again appoint a human king over the Israelites, but the king would come from their own people. No foreign king could ever be the true king of Israel—much less Caesar who claimed to be divine. I provide scriptural support for these point below.Notice that in the Old Testament, God is called Israel's Judge:I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites! Judges 11:27bJudge in this context referred to a political office meaning something akin to ruler.God was not often called King of Israel in the Old Testament, but the implication was always clear from his role, for example, as the one who fought wars for the nation of Israel.Joshua captured in one campaign all these kings and their lands, for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal. Joshua 10:42-43Indeed, when the Israelites demanded a king “just like all the other nations have,” God decried this as a rejection of his kingship.The Lord said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you. For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king. Just as they have done from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this very day, they have rejected me and have served other gods.” 1 Samuel 8:7-8aWas the concept of demanding a human king intrinsically wrong? No, it was the sinful motives underlying the request that amounted to a rejection of God's authority and plan. In fact, God had promised the Israelites a human king.When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” you must select without fail a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens you must appoint a king—you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. Deuteronomy 17:14-15But regardless of whether a human person ruled over Israel, God's kingship endured forever.But you, O Lord, rule forever, and your reputation endures. Psalm 102:12 (literally “sit enthroned” forever)Moreover, God promised a future king to Israel who would rule forever and bring upon the wonderful promises of the eschaton.For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called Wonderful Adviser, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His dominion will be vast, and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David's throne and over David's kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of Heaven's Armies will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7With that background in mind, again consider the high priests exclaiming, “We have no king except Caesar!” Caesar was not their king, and he was certainly not their only king. This statement amounts to the kind of blasphemy for which they sought to kill Jesus.Thursday or Friday: When Did Jesus Die?Verse 14 seems to place Jesus' death during Passover (Thursday) instead of the day after (Friday) like all the other Gospels. At least initially, this presents a difficult harmonization question. Are the gospels contradictory with one another? Did John make a mistake? I was going to write somewhat extensively about this question, but I found a great summary of the issue and potential answer:In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus dies the day after Passover. But in John, it seems like he dies on the Passover. Can these be reconciled?The Last Supper is clearly a Seder, a Passover dinner (Matt 26:17-19). Passover lambs were sacrificed earlier that day, Thursday, Nisan 14. Jesus died the next morning, Friday, Nisan 15. However, at first read, John seems to place Jesus' death on the Passover, making it Friday, Nisan 14 (which would only occur in a different year). The chief priests do not want to enter Pilate's palace so that “they might not be defiled but eat the Passover” (John 18:28), and Pilate sends the titulus (the sign for Jesus' cross) proclaiming Jesus as king on “the day of Preparation of the Passover” (John 19:14).There have been a number of proposals attempting to deal with these two different accounts. Some suggest that John is ignoring historical accuracy to make Jesus' death coincide with the slaying of the Passover lambs. Others suggest that John and the Synoptic authors were using different calendars. Although it is true that some early Jews, most notably the Essenes, followed a different calendar, I don't think that really solves the problem in John.Here's the solution I find most likely. “Day of preparation” (παρασκευή, paraskeuē) is also the standard word for “Friday” for early Jews and Christians, since Jewish households had to prepare for the Sabbath every Friday. John clearly means Friday, since he says that this παρασκευή was the day before Sabbath (John 19:31). The other Synoptic Gospels also call the day of the crucifixion παρασκευή (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54). So the phrase “Preparation of Passover” (παρασκευὴ τοῦ πάσχα) can simply mean “Friday of Passover [week]” rather than “preparation for Passover.” That makes it the same day and date as the accounts in the Synoptic Gospels.What about the chief priests' desire to “eat Passover” that night, after Jesus' death? (John 19:31) While this is definitely evidence for the belief that John has a different chronology, there is a reasonable explanation. Passover is not only a single meal, but a week of festivities, with more than one sacred meal. The chief priests would be more likely than most Jews to be involved in multiple rituals during Passover week, and all of them would have required ritual purity.Personally, I find the suggestion that John got the crucifixion day wrong to be so unlikely as to be untenable. Even if we took the most liberal understanding of the Fourth Gospel's authorship and postulated it was not written by John or his disciples, the other gospels were already popular. The author of the Fourth Gospel, whoever he was, would have known exactly when the crucifixion occurred. The suggestion that John moves the date of the crucifixion to make a theological point seems to me also highly unlikely. Sure, ancient authors were allowed, even expected, to take more liberties when writing a narrative than a modern author might. But there is no indication in the text that John is writing anything but an accurate and chronological description of events. He even provides the time of day in which the events occur. To take this interpretation is to severely undermine the historical reliability of the Fourth Gospel.
Isaiah 9:6-7Summary: The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the beginning of the establishment of God's eternal Kingdom. Jesus has come to redeem and rescue but one day in the future, He will take His place as the One True King.Isaiah 9:6–7 (ESV) 6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.Understanding the Big Picture of the Kingdom.1) God is Creator and King. Genesis 1:1 (ESV)n the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.John 1:1–5 (ESV) 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.2) The devil leads a rebellion against the LORD.Isaiah 14:12–15 (ESV) 12“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' 15But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.3) The Devil is judged BY GOD! Luke 10:18 (ESV) And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.4) The Devil leads man to rebel against God.Genesis 3:15 (ESV) I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”5) God promises a Savior and KING to the world. Gen 3:14,15Genesis 3:14–15 (ESV) 14The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”6) Jesus brings us the Good News of His Kingdom.John 3:16–17 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.7) HE CONTINUES THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM THRU HIS CHURCH.Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV) And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”8) AT THE APPOINTED TIME HE WILL RETURN TO PUT HIS KINGDOM INTO FULL EFFECT!Revelation 19:11–16 (ESV) 11Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.12His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.9) The One True King will reign forever and ever.Revelation 21:1–6 (ESV) 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Isaiah 9:6-7Summary: The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the beginning of the establishment of God's eternal Kingdom. Jesus has come to redeem and rescue but one day in the future, He will take His place as the One True King.Isaiah 9:6–7 (ESV) 6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.Understanding the Big Picture of the Kingdom.1) God is Creator and King. Genesis 1:1 (ESV)n the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.John 1:1–5 (ESV) 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.2) The devil leads a rebellion against the LORD.Isaiah 14:12–15 (ESV) 12“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' 15But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.3) The Devil is judged BY GOD! Luke 10:18 (ESV) And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.4) The Devil leads man to rebel against God.Genesis 3:15 (ESV) I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”5) God promises a Savior and KING to the world. Gen 3:14,15Genesis 3:14–15 (ESV) 14The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”6) Jesus brings us the Good News of His Kingdom.John 3:16–17 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.7) HE CONTINUES THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM THRU HIS CHURCH.Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV) And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”8) AT THE APPOINTED TIME HE WILL RETURN TO PUT HIS KINGDOM INTO FULL EFFECT!Revelation 19:11–16 (ESV) 11Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.12His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.9) The One True King will reign forever and ever.Revelation 21:1–6 (ESV) 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 5Daily Lectionary: Daniel 3:1-30; Revelation 20:1-15But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Small Catechism Sacrament of the Altar, part 5) In the Name + of Jesus. Are you cool enough to commune? That seems like a silly question, but sometimes that is what it sounds like is being referred to when we talk about being worthy to receive the body and blood of the Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar. Is that what really lies behind the notion of being worthy to commune? Is admittance to the table based on some kind of ecclesiastical coolness factor and if it is, you want to be cool, don't you?The language about worth makes it sound like there is something that you can do to make yourself worthy to receive communion. If this was the case, then communion would be the reward you got for being properly prepared for it. It would be the recognition that you had made yourself worthy. The Lord's Supper would become the meal that you earned through your efforts. You did your part, now God is bound to do His. If worthiness to commune was based on your efforts how many times a year could you do the work necessary to commune?Thankfully this is not what the language of worthy to commune is referring to. There is no coolness factor, ecclesiastical or otherwise that you have to worry about or work towards. Communion, like baptism, like the gospel itself, is not a reward, it is a gift. Communion is not something that you earn the right to receive by making yourself worthy. Like all gifts, it is something that is given. You don't get communion; you receive it as a gift. If communion is a gift, then so too is the status of being worthy to receive it. Belief in the words ‘given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins is what makes you worthy to commune. The belief that the Lord's Supper is for you is all you need to approach the altar week after week without worry or fear that you are unworthy. The very faith that makes you worthy to receive the gifts of God is in itself a gift of God. He is the one who made you a Christian and He is the one who has made you worthy to commune. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.We dare not ask how this can be, But simply hold the mystery And trust this word where life begins: “Given and shed for all your sins.” (The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, LSB 634 st 5)-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane BamschStudy Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost The Collect: Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament: Jeremiah 1:4-10 4Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 7But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, 8Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” 9Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Psalm: Psalm 71:1-6 1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be ashamed. 2 In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; incline your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; you are my crag and my stronghold. 4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor. 5 For you are my hope, O Lord God, my confidence since I was young. 6 I have been sustained by you ever since I was born; from my mother's womb you have been my strength; my praise shall be always of you. Epistle: Hebrews 12:18-29 18You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20(For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.”21Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;29for indeed our God is a consuming fire. Gospel: Luke 13:10-17 10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
The Conversion of Saul 9But Saul,stillbreathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went tothe high priest2and asked him for lettersto the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging tothe Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.3Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.4And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him,Saul, Saul, why are you persecutingme?5And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said,I am Jesus,whom you are persecuting.6Butrise and enter the city, and you will be toldwhat you are to do.7The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,hearing the voice but seeing no one.8Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened,he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.9And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10Now there was a disciple at Damascus namedAnanias. The Lord said to him in a vision,Ananias.And he said,Here I am, Lord.11And the Lord said to him,Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a manof Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,12and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in andlay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.13But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man,how much evil he has done toyoursaints at Jerusalem.14And here he has authority fromthe chief priests to bind all whocall on your name.15But the Lord said to him,Go, forhe is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my namebefore the Gentiles andkings and the children of Israel.16ForI will show him how muchhe must sufferfor the sake of my name.17SoAnanias departed and entered the house. Andlaying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight andbe filled with the Holy Spirit.18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, andhe regained his sight. Thenhe rose and was baptized;19andtaking food, he was strengthened. Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues Forsome days he was with the disciples at Damascus.20And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying,He is the Son of God.21And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man whomade havocin Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?22But Saulincreased all the more in strength, andconfounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by provingthat Jesus was the Christ. Saul Escapes from Damascus 23When many days had passed, the Jews[a]plotted to kill him,24but theirplot became known to Saul.They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,25but his disciples took him by night andlet him down through an opening in the wall,[b]lowering him in a basket.
1And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against mea and I will restore it to you.” 4They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.” 5And he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.” 6And Samuel said to the people, “The LORD is witness,b who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous deeds of the LORDthat he performed for you and for your fathers. 8When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,c then your fathers cried out to the LORD and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9But they forgot the LORD their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor,d and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10And they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.' 11And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Barake and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the LORD your God was your king. 13And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. 15But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king.f 16Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. 17Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.22For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. 23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 25But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests andthe captain of the temple andthe Sadducees came upon them,2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaimingin Jesus the resurrection from the dead.3And they arrested them andput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.4But many of those who had heard the word believed, andthe number of the men came to about five thousand. 5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,6withAnnas the high priest andCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired,By what power orby what name did you do this?8Then Peter,filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders,9if we are being examined todayconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel thatby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,whom God raised from the deadby him this man is standing before you well.11This Jesus[a]is the stone that wasrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b]12And there issalvationin no one else, forthere is no othername under heaven given among men[c]by which we must be saved. 13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.14But seeing the man who was healedstanding beside them,they had nothing to say in opposition.15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another,16saying,What shall we do with these men? For thata notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn themto speak no more to anyone in this name.18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.19But Peter and John answered them,Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,20forwe cannot but speak of whatwe have seen and heard.21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them,because of the people, for all were praising Godfor what had happened.22For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20CHAPTER 913 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.CHAPTER 101 Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left. 3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. 5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. 10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. 11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. 12 The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. 13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. 14 A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? 15 The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! 17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 18 Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. 19 Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. 20 Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.
In this episode we discuss... ways rural pastors and the church can support families in the education of their children.We must educate children:Deuteronomy 11:18Proverbs 22:62 Timothy 3:14-15But what about the rest of the education? Do we need to teach them 5x5 and how many electrons nitrogen has?We take time to discuss through options around homeschool, classical school, private school, and public schoolThen, we give tips for parents weighing these optionsStuff Rural Pastors Can Use Review:Need a new pair of hiking sneakers? TJ reviews the shoe for you!Our Quote of the Day:The education of children for God is the most important business done on earth. It is the one business for which the earth exists. To it all politics, all war, all literature, all money making ought to be subordinated; and every parent especially ought to feel, every hour of the day, that next to making his own calling and election sure, this is the end for which he is kept alive by God- this is his task on earth. - Robert Lewis DabneyCONTACTCall and leave a message at (570) 724-3741Email: ruralpastorstalk@gmail.comWebsite: http://ruralpastorstalk.buzzsprout.com/SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://facebook.com/ruralpastorstalkTwitter: @ruralpastorsLISTENItunesSpotify
May 15, 2022 Achilles Week 4Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. Song of Solomon 2:15But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. Psalm 92:12-13JESUS' COMMUNITYJesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Mark 3:13I need a community that ______________________.Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Luke 4:1-2My community that loves Jesus: _____________________Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? 2 Corinthians 6:14I need a community that is ____________________. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24What is my community that is on mission: ________________________Every Member is a ___________________.Every _______________ is Important.Everyone is a ________ at something.I need a community that ______________________.Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16We go to Christ for our ________________________. We go to the Church for our _______________________.My Community that brings Freedom: _________________——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Jerry Wierwille”] Galatians 5:13-18 For you, brothers and sisters, were called to freedom; only do not use the freedom for an opportunity to indulge the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, in the command, Love your neighbor as yourself. 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 16Now I say, walk by the spirit and you will absolutely not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, with the result that you are not doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. “Freedom” means freedom from the powers of the old age—the power of sin, the cosmic forces of evil, and the law. “Christian freedom in the Spirit means voluntarily offering oneself in service to one's fellow Christians, in opposition to living in line with the self-centered and self-serving orientation of the flesh.” (DeSilva, NICNT) “Flesh” refers to the power that is in us from our life connected to Adam and his fall. It presses us to satisfy our desires and inclinations in ways that are totally devoid of God. “It is the sum total of the impulses, urges, and desires that lead human beings away from virtue toward self-promotion and self-gratification, often at the expense of the interests and well-being of others, of the harmony of community, or of the accomplishing of the purposes of God in our lives, communities, and world.” (Desilva, NICNT) Romans 8:1-8 John 15:4-5 Galatians 5:24-26 Be encouraged if you feel the battle raging inside you. The sign of the spirit at work in your life is not that you are free from bad desires but that you experience the war that is going on inside you.The post The War Within first appeared on Living Hope.
1 Timothy 2:13-15 How Eve and Paul were alike, by Bruce C. E. FlemingThe focus of this episode is: 1 Timothy 2:13-15 How Eve and Paul were alike“What's this Dad?” I asked picking up the flat and pointed piece of chipped stone. “That's an arrowhead son,” he replied. “What's it doing here, Dad?” “Ahh. That's a great question!”“What's this doing here?” is what many ask when they come across the verses that are numbered as 1 Timothy 2:13-15. They ask, “Why do we find these words in this place?” One could say we have several figurative arrowheads to consider in these verses.- Why does Paul here bring up the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve?- Did they have something to do with the wayward women leaders Timothy was correcting in Ephesus? What?- Where in the text does the reference to Eden end in these verses?- Why does Paul bring up the birth of The Child in verse 15?- And who are “they” at the end of verse 15b?These questions can all be answered. We can answer them now because we have asked the right questions.We can answer them because we have looked at the context and the main actions Paul is recommending in 1 Timothy 2:8 to 3:16. We can answer them because we are not off-the-track wandering in the weeds looking for the answers to the wrong questions, which I'm afraid so many have done.Let's look at the literary structure of the passage as Paul presented these ideas. As we do we see where verses 13-15 belong in the development of Paul's thought. He has not written a linear progression of ideas in a 1, 2, 3 manner. He has written using a rainbow pattern of parallel ideas. The main idea is in the middle. On either side are ideas that echo and complete each other.Because verse 9 has no verb and begins with “likewise” we have to start back in verse 8. Then come verses 9-15 which are Paul's focused advice about correcting-in-order-to-restore-to-ministry the subgroup of wayward women overseers in Ephesus.In verse 8 Paul gives a command to Timothy. He wishes for the wayward men overseers to preach and pray in public worship with holy hands (not tainted by sin) with sound doctrine, which is not a source of angry disputing.In verses 9, 10 and 12, Paul gives a parallel command to Timothy. He wishes for the wayward women overseers to preach and pray in public worship with proper outward dress and behavior.In verse 11 Paul makes use of this passage's only imperative verb where he says, Let these women learn! as good students paying attention.Then, Paul opens a parenthesis in verses 13-15a before he returns in 15b to advice that parallels his earlier advice. That advice concerned the formerly wayward women overseers Timothy was to retrain and restore to ministry. Verses 13-15a serve as a digression. In them Paul justifies the course of action he is recommending. He explains why he is prescribing such gentle correction for them.Remember, with the wayward leaders Hymenaeus and Alexander back in 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul turned them over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. But with these women wayward overseers he is recommending a very different kind of teaching. They are not being handed over to Satan to be taught. They are to be allowed to learn and get retrained as good students from Timothy himself, or by Priscilla or by other faithful overseers in the church at Ephesus.Here's my paraphrase of verses 13-15a in the context of verses 2:11 to 3:111Let the women overseers who were wayward learn in quietness and with all studiousness. 12I am not permitting them to teach men in an incorrect way, but to be retrained in quietness.13Why? For, God formed the two in the Garden, Adam and then Eve 14and Adam was a first-degree eater. He was not deceived but sinned on purpose. But Eve was deceived and as a second-degree sinner, to that degree, she became a transgressor.15But she, Eve, would be saved through the birth of The Child who was to come, as will the women you are retraining if they persevere in faith, love, sanctification and self-control.3:1“Faithful is Jesus the Logos, the Word,” so if any one of those you are correcting aspires to oversight, that woman or that man desires a good work!Like Paul, like EveWhy? The Gospel of Mark recounts how Jesus' disciples were slow to learn the lesson of the multiplied loaves. First, Jesus fed the 5,000 from a few loaves and some fish (Mark 6:35-44). A second time, Jesus multiplied a handful of food into enough for four thousand people (Mark 8:1-9). A little while later, Jesus and his disciples found themselves in a boat with just one loaf of bread. The disciples were hungry and began to worry. Oh, what could they do in these dire straits?Carefully, Jesus talked to them about their cares and about their blindness to His power to provide for them again and again. He reminded them of all that had happened. Yet they still didn't understand (Mark 8:14-21). They needed to be told again.In similar fashion, just in case his message has not been fully understood, Paul adds several more verses in 1 Timothy 2. He wants to make sure his instructions about the correction of the errant women teachers are clear.Why does he recommend retraining for these women? In verses 13-15a, Paul calls attention to relevant details from the Garden of Eden.Because “intent” counts. Paul starts verse 13 with the conjunction “for” in Greek. He gives a reason “for” what he has just recommended. Then, he refers to Genesis 3. In the Garden of Eden there were two kinds of sinners. And in Ephesus, where Timothy was, there were two kinds of sinners:1. sinners who were deceived and sinned, and2. sinners who knowingly and defiantly sinned.In verse 13, Paul draws a clear distinction between the first man and the first woman. By referring to their two distinct creations, he focuses attention on them as two distinct individuals.13For Adam first was formed, then Eve.The lesson of verse 13 isn't who was first, but that there were two individuals created in the beginning – first one, then the other. Paul further distinguishes between these two by using the names, “Adam” and “Eve.”The use of these names in their historical setting is strikingly anachronistic. The woman was not called by the name “Eve” until Genesis 3:20. Yet, Paul uses that name referring to moments in history (Gen 2) that occurred before she was known as Eve.Similarly, the name “Adam” did not refer only-to-the-man at the point in time referred to by Paul in 1 Timothy 2:13. The name “Adam” could refer to them both (Genesis 5:2 – “He called their name Adam”). The man took the name “Adam” for himself, only after God judged him. Breathtakingly, the man rebelled one more time after God spoke to him in Genesis 3:17-19. This was another act of rebellion and self-rule, as opposed to submission to being ruled by the Creator.The man had named the animals who were subordinate to him in the Garden of Eden. He used the naming formula and called them their names. This is similar to the naming formula used today when the Queen or King of England says, “I dub you Sir So and So.” The first chance the man had to respond positively to God's speeches to the serpent, to the woman and to him, he responded negatively! He called the woman a name using the naming formula he used for the animals. He presumed to rule over her by naming her and treating her like just another one of the animals.How was she to respond to that? God was her Creator. God alone was her ruler. God was their Ruler. What to do with a husband who presumed to usurp God's role by ruling over her in this way?Two kinds of eaters. This is important to understand. In 1 Timothy 2:14, after distinguishing clearly between the first two individuals at Creation, Paul focuses on why and how each individual sinned.While it is clear that each one in the Garden is disobedient to God's command, the following differences exist between them after the Attack by the serpent tempter:1. The man was not deceived. He sins deliberately and knowingly (Gen 3:12).2. The woman was deceived and only then does she sin (Gen 3:13).In the Garden, God takes these differences into account when imposing judgment on the serpent tempter, on the woman and on the man. God imposes a curse on the serpent. The Hebrew word “curse” is used.Using words in a way parallel to his words to the serpent tempter, God imposes a curse on the soil. This curse is “because of” the man (Genesis 3:17). The Hebrew word for “curse” again is used. It is only used these two times.No “curse” is imposed on the man or on the women. Significantly, no curse is imposed because of the woman as had occurred because of the man. In Genesis 3, the Hebrew word “curse” only occurs in reference to the man (and the serpent tempter).There is something very different between the man's motives and actions. There is something very different in the way God treats the one and the other of these two humans in Eden.How does Paul know the woman is deceived? In Genesis 3:13, the woman says so, in an accurate admission to God of her wrongdoing. In 1 Timothy 2:14, Paul notes that the man is a different kind of sinner. He “wasn't deceived.” This distinction drawn between the two sinners is a distinction for Timothy to follow in correcting those who had gone astray in Ephesus.In 1 Timothy chapter 1, Paul referred to how God had judged him gently. Discerning Paul's intent, God dealt gently with him, and even put him into ministry because he had acted ignorantly and in disbelief (1:12).In modern-day courts, even murderers are judged differently, according to their intent. There is “murder in the first degree” for those who kill on purpose, or “with malice aforethought.” And there is “murder in the second degree,” or “manslaughter,” for those who kill but not with malicious advance planning.“Murder one” receives the harshest punishment. Manslaughter merits a lighter sentence.Paul had been a second-degree sinner. The way God dealt with him as a second-degree sinner is the way he wants Timothy to deal with those at Ephesus who also sinned in the second degree. The women described in 1 Timothy 2:9b and 12 are to be treated like Eve, and like Paul, who had not sinned on purpose. He is to let them learn and emphatically so.To underline this, in verses 13 and 14, Paul refers to the two sinners in the Garden in a different order from when each one sinned. If Paul had been preoccupied only with details of timing in Eden, he would have referred first to the woman and then to the man. Instead, he twice refers first to Adam, who sinned on purpose.Here is my paraphrase of verses 13-14 (italics added):13For, God formed the two in the Garden, Adam and then Eve14and Adam was not deceived, but Eve was deceived, and to that degree became a transgressor.Don't be deceived! Some people charge that since the first woman was deceived in the Garden, all women are more easily deceived than all men! But Genesis does not teach this. Neither does Paul.Even though the man and the woman were co-regents over the earth by the Creator's decree (Genesis 1:27-30), some people claim that the timing in the creations of the man and the woman makes the man superior to the woman in some way.Indeed, this was the position held by rabbis at the time of Paul. They thought that a theological consequence could be discerned behind the sequence of events in the Garden. C. K. Barrett (Pastoral Epistles, p. 56) quotes their midrash: “Adam was first in creation, Eve [first] in sin.”Surprisingly, John Calvin held to this position. Even so, he found himself compelled to argue against it, admitting (Commentaries, 21) that any theological conclusions based on the “order of creation, appears not to be a very strong argument in favor of her subjection; for John the Baptist was before Christ in the order of time, and yet was greatly inferior in rank.”Verse 15a – Closing thoughts on Eden.It may seem tiresome to work our way over one interpretive “bump” after another. But as every good road builder knows, it is important to keep leveling the roadbed until it becomes flat and serviceable for all those who follow.In verse 15a, there is one more noticeable bump that needs to be smoothed out before the entire passage in 1 Timothy 2 can be clearly understood. It has to do with Paul's reference in Greek to “the Childbearing.” According to the Greek in the first part of verse 15, Paul writes:15aBut she will be saved through the Childbearing…The singular pronoun – “she” – of verse 15a refers to the woman who is discussed in verses 13-14 just before it. “She” is Eve!“The Childbearing” of Eve refers to the future birth, future for Eve, of the promised Child. Mary was the physical mother of Jesus, but Eve was his ancestor. Eve's “childbearing” resulted in the eventual “childbearing” of Jesus.The word “childbearing” is a collective singular noun, a single word packed with the promise of many. This way of speaking may seem awkward to the modern reader. But it is used twice in Genesis 3 when God first gives the promise of a Savior.In Genesis 3:15, God gives the menacing promise to the serpent that the “seed” or “offspring” of the woman will crush his head. The word “seed” is a collective singular noun.In the Hebrew wording of Genesis 3:16, Line 1, God promises the woman that she will have multiplied “conception.” The word “conception” is also a collective singular noun.Looking back at the Garden of Eden from the perspective of history, one can identify the promised “seed” of verse 15, and the “conception” of verse 16, as Jesus. Paul's use of the collective singular noun – “the Childbearing” – in 1 Timothy 2:15a in the context of a discussion on the Garden of Eden brings to mind Eve's promised offspring. This would have been recognized immediately by Timothy and the Jewish Christians at Ephesus, as a reference to the promised One, the Messiah.Eve would be eternally saved through her forward-looking faith in the coming birth of the Child. The women in Ephesus are saved through their faith in this same Child as well.Each one of us today faces the question of this Child. What will we do with Jesus?- Because in the Garden of Eden back in the beginning there had been an attack,- because the man and the woman were now mortal and hiding from God,- because their perfect union with God had been ruptured, God promised the certain conception of the seed of the woman.Why would God promise this? Why would God bother to do so?We learn over and over again in God's revelation in the Bible that God sent Jesus into the world because we need a Savior who will die in our place. When we ask God to forgive us and to send the Holy Spirit into our heart in new birth and the start of everlasting spiritual life, it is like we have one foot already placed firmly in heaven. We have the assurance repeated over and over again in the Bible that when we die God will pull up that other foot too. We instantly will be with Jesus firmly standing in heaven.The best Bible verse on this is that other 3:16 verse. In the Old Testament, in Genesis 3:16, God promised Eve that truly she would have conception of the Child who would crush Satan's head. In the New Testament, in John 3:16 we have this promise:For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.Once again, we see the love of God reaching out to us. We see God helping us return back to Eden in a perfect relationship with God with no break to occur ever again.This complete summary of Eve's situation in 1 Timothy 2:13-15a – as a deceived sinner in the 2nd degree, who is going to be saved because she places her faith in the coming Child – allows Paul to move on to a summation of his instructions to Timothy. He does this in the second half of verse 15 in verse 15b.In verse 15b, Paul changes subjects. He moves on from a singular subject, “she,” to a plural subject, “they.” If the first half of verse 15, verse 15a, had been counted as the end of verse 14 we could have seen this more clearly. Perhaps it is best to think of 2:15b as a new verse, or verse 16.In these words with a plural subject, Paul encourages once again the women who are learning, per his command in verse 11, to follow the wholesome pattern of those who have been right-living overseers all along, as he has described them in verses 9a, and 10.He names four aspects of right living and teaching that must be evident in their reformed lives:15bif they remain in faith, and love, and sanctification with all seriousness.The good news is that God gives John 3:16 to us today. It is good news that was promised back in the Garden of Eden. It is good news that actually took place as Jesus hung on the cross and died for our sins, rose again, ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of all who believe in Him and receive His gift of payment for our sins.Does that include you? If “Yes” is your answer, then I rejoice with you!Does that include you? If “Not yet” is your situation then I encourage you to pray to Jesus right away. Ask His forgiveness. Ask to be born again and for the Holy Spirit to come live in your heart. Like Eve, you too can be saved through the birth of The Child!LINKS