Podcasts about depart

The Depart of Health and Human Services acknowledged PETA's victory over the baby monkey  experiments of Dr. Margaret Livingstone at Harvard. How cruel were the experiments? Listen to this reprise of the PETA Podcast.

Wealth Transfer and Stewardship (1) (audio) David Eells – 9/27/26 Because of the transfer of wealth that's coming soon, I want to share what the Lord says about our stewardship. The Bible speaks of building the house of the Lord, which is the people in whom the Lord lives, not a building. This includes meeting their physical and spiritual needs. As stewards of the Lord's money and things, we are all responsible for doing this. {Luke 14:33} So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for tithing mint and anise and cummin, and left undone the weightier matters of the law. He said tithing was of the law. Notice we are stewards of 100% of what belongs to the Lord, not owners who tithe 10% and own 90% as under the law. In the New Testament, this would make us thieves. 100% belongs to the Lord, and He gets to tell us individually what He wants done with it. And He has done a very good job in the Scriptures {1 John 3:17} But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?Love is who the Bride is. The bride is about to be chosen, and it will be people who love God's people, who are generous and loving, and want to meet the needs of God's people. Some demonstrate this love, and some don't. I'm not talking about giving to me; the Lord supplies my needs, and I am content, which enables me to give to the needs of others. I have never taken a collection for myself. I do not receive money from UBM and so do not gain from fee-will offerings sent in, except that I get to see the Gospel go forth. The early disciples never took collections for themselves nor preached gimme sermons because they had faith with contentment. {2 Chronicles 24:4} And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to restore the house of Jehovah. We really need to restore the original house of the Lord. You can't do that unless you return to the original word of the Lord. {5} And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; and see that ye hasten the matter.Howbeit the Levites hastened it not. (The priests were not doing their job to rebuild the Kingdom. There's a lot of stuff out there that's not the kingdom of God. It's just men's ego, men's kingdoms. They build it the way they want because they use their own words, not the words of the Bible. And so that needs to be departed from, and especially those that have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. From such, turn away, we're told.) {6} And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of Jehovah, and of the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the testimony (or house of God)? And it is to benefit the house of God, not a building, not a particular ministry that doesn't really see to the needs of God's people, but to their own needs. {2 Cor.8:1} Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia; {2} how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. In other words, they were very gracious and giving people, even though they lived in poverty. Forced poverty is a curse, but a free-will offering of one's life to deny oneself is not a curse. So that's a blessing. I mean, Jesus lived in what most people would call poverty, and so did His disciples, and they did it as a sacrifice unto God. {3} For according to their power, I bear witness, yea and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord, So, they had to have the power of God.) {4} beseeching us with much entreaty in regard of this grace and the fellowship in the ministering to the saints: {5} and this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God. (If we don't give ourselves to the Lord, we won't be able to do what the Lord wants. It's the Lord in us that does it, and as was said, “to us through the will of God.”) {6} Insomuch that we exhorted Titus, that as he made a beginning before, so he would also complete in you this grace also. {7} But as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all earnestness, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. (Amen. The command still goes out.) {8} I speak not by way of commandment, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity also of your love. In other words, prove your love. Love has actions. Love is sacrificial. Love is patient, and on and on.) {9} For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich. {10} And herein I give my judgment: for this is expedient for you, (In other words, follow in his steps. Sacrifice your life. Meet the needs of the brethren) who were the first to make a beginning a year ago, not only to do, but also to will. (Some people say it's okay as long as you're willing. No, no. Faith, if it has not works, is dead, right?) {11} But now complete the doing also; that as there was the readiness to will, so there may be the completion also out of your ability. {12} For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according as a man hath, not according as he hath not. (In other words, you can't give more than you got. And, it's out of your ability, right? But it's even beyond your power, as he said.) {13} For I say not this that others may be eased and ye distressed; {14} but by equality: your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want; that there may be equality: {15} as it is written, He that gathered much had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no lack. (God wants equality in the body, meaning everyone has their needs met.) The poor need to give as much as the rich need to give because it is multiplied back, as Jesus said. Jesus said the widow who gave 2 mites gave more than all the rich Pharisees because she gave out of her need. {Mar.12:41} And he sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury (Which was in the temple of God's people, not a building and ministry that does not meet the spiritual and physical needs of God's people): and many that were rich cast in much. (And that's not bad, it's good.) {42} And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. {43} And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury: {44} for they all did cast in of their superfluity; (meaning their overabundance) but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. I can tell you that she went away getting her needs met. I can guarantee you that, because that's the word of God. She cast in all that she had, even all of her living. Notice that it is not how much you give but how much you have left that counts. There's an awesome group of promises here that we should pay attention to. It's not like you're going to go into poverty if you give and give and give. You'll just receive and continue to receive. It's clear. This is what God says. In fact, some people stay poor all their lives because they don't give. They don't consider that they have enough to give. Well, you can't possibly do that and get away with it. So stay in poverty. You'll always be in need to other people; you'll always stay in poverty.  {2 Cor.9:6} But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. {7} Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: (This is also different for each person because every person has a different amount of income, right? In other words, you're not under law here. This is proof of your love, right? You're not under law, but it's to your benefit that you do this.) not grudgingly, or of necessity: (So you're not under the law anymore. You're especially not under the law to tithe, because now you have to renounce it all.) for God loveth a cheerful giver. (Be happy about what you're able to give to people and their needs.) {8} And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; (Oh would you look at that! Is that a powerful promise or what?) that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work: (there's another powerful promise. And I tell you, we all need that.) {9} as it is written, He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor; His righteousness abideth for ever. (Notice God gives righteousness to the person who meets the needs of God's people.) {10} And he that supplieth seed to the sower (Notice it's not seed to the keeper, like the prosperity movement, where they need three, four, five airplanes and big fancy buildings.) and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, (So He gives you more to sow, so that you can reap more, so that you can be just a channel through whom God blesses people.) and increase the fruits of your righteousness: (He again promises righteousness for this.) {11} ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality, (This is not the kind of liberality we get in government; this is a liberality we have in giving, in meeting needs), which worketh through us, thanksgiving to God. (Yes, everybody thanks God for their needs being met, the miracles they receive through this. It's a blessing. And they keep on bragging on what God did for them. That's awesome.) {12} For the ministration of this service not only filleth up the measure of the wants of the saints, but aboundeth also through many thanksgivings unto God; {13} seeing that through the proving of you by this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution unto them and unto all; (Notice it's unto them. It's unto people. It's not fancy buildings and all these things that people want to do to pump up their ego. The Lord wants us to be practical not exorbitant.) {Luke 16:1} And he said also unto the disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods. (Well, now that's rampant out there. Its like the guy with the talent who hid it in the earth.) {2} And he called him, and said unto him, What is this that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; for thou canst be no longer steward. {3} And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed. {4} I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. (Here, he's using an evil man's parable for us, but we also will be giving up our stewardship one day.) {5} And calling to him each one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? {6} And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty. {7} Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He saith unto him, Take thy bond, and write fourscore.  {8} And his lord commended the unrighteous steward because he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of the light. (Meaning, of course, the righteous are not learning a lesson here. Listen to what the lesson actually is. It's not that you're to be bad and cheat the owner; no, here's the lesson. {9} And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; (Well, who's our friend? That's right, your brothers and sisters in the Lord, they're your friends. You can't really trust the world. But he says, use your money to make these kinds of friends.) that, when it shall fail, (and it will.) they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. (In other words, use your money to bring in the lost, so that one day you can visit them in their eternal tabernacle.) {10} He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. (The Lord tested me with a major test one time, but it enabled me to be ready for a much bigger blessing. I had to give to a person who was totally unworthy, but understanding what the Scriptures had to say that if they take away from you, just give it to them. I finally just decided, ‘Well, this is what I have to do, so I did.' And then the Lord gave me a promise that was way bigger than the one I had. A tremendous thing. One day, I'll probably tell you about this.  {11} If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (Yes, these are not true riches we're dealing with down here. This is not worth much of anything) {12} And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's (It's not yours. Stewards are not owners but handle their Lord's money and things), who will give you that which is your own? (in heaven we are joint heirs of all things. We inherit it all! Praise God! And we're owners there, joint heirs with Christ.)  {13} No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. (What he's saying is you despise the other, that's the Lord. If you hold to the one, you're despising the Lord. He has children He wants you to take care of. And if you do that, He'll give you more children because He multiplies your seed for sowing.) Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (If you're serving that mammon, you're going to be stingy with the Lord and stingy with His people, and He's going to be stingy with you. Because with whatever measure you mete it out, it'll be measured back to you.) {14} And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him. (And they do it today, too.) {15} And he said unto them, Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. (And it's in Christianity too saints. I think I recounted before how there were two churches built in my area many years ago. One was built for two and a half million dollars, and the other was built for something like, I believe, twelve million dollars. The two-million-dollar one was actually more functional, very comfortable. Everything that was needed. It was a metal building on the outside. It didn't have all the glory and stuff like the other one, but it met the needs. Think what you could do with that much left over money to help God's people. That's why I say it's a sin to be extravagant just for ego.)  {Ecc.5:10} He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; (Notice that. ‘When their goods increased,' guess what? Some people can't sit on it, while others do without. There's also an increase of the people who have the need.) and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes? (Oh, look what I got. Come, let me show you my treasures, my church building.) {12} The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. {13} There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt: {14} and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. {15} As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. (So there's no fruit born in greed and extravegence.) {Hag.1:8}, (2-11) Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, This people say, It is not the time for us to come, the time for Jehovah's house to be built. {3} Then came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet, saying, {4} Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled houses, while this house lieth waste? {5} Now therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. {6} Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. (That's the curse on a person that hasn't learned how to share, how to meet the needs of others, how to give out of their own need so that their needs are met. Because when you give out of your own need to others, your needs are met.) {7} Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. {8} Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it,and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah. {9} Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith Jehovah of hosts. Because of my house that lieth waste, while ye run every man to his own house. (And who is the house of the Lord, according to Paul? We are.) {10} Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholdeth its fruit. {11} And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the grain, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands. (What a curse! All because they're not meeting the needs of God's house. Amen? I tell you, folks, learn this lesson. This is a way to abundance. Give, and it will be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom. On the way to abundance. Get used to giving. Do it till you like it. Give. Because the Lord said in {Luke 6:35} But love your enemies, and do them good, and lend, never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High: (In other words, this is a way to sonship. Nobody who is stingy is a son of God. There's nobody who doesn't meet the needs of the people around them that's a son of God. You shall be sons. Remember, we've talked about the difference between children and sons. The world's waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. That's what the world needs: sons.) for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. (So don't be a judge or you will be judged. I mean, people need time to grow up. They need to live long enough to grow up. So make sure that you take care of them.)  {36} Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (Having mercy is giving people what they don't deserve.) {37} And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: release, and ye shall be released: {38} give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. (So if you give abundantly, you will receive back abundantly. You will receive it multiplied here, according to this text, multiplied back abundantly. Isn't that awesome? Oh, Praise You Father! Father, please teach Your children to give like You do. And we praise You for it.) {Matthew 6:19} Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: (Do you know about the money system in this world, how the thieves have broken through, and they're stealing? Yeah, so don't count on their system to see to your future. See to God's economy for your future. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, because you can do this. There is a bank that these guys can't get into. And you can make a withdrawal on it anytime you want to. But if you don't put it in there, you can't withdraw on it.) {20} but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (They can't get into your heavenly bank. Only you can get into that one. But you have to deposit it there.) {21} for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. (So if you're hoarding up and you have all your faith in what you have down here on earth, your heart is on this and not on the Lord. Your trust is not in the Lord. In fact, I'll prove that to you here in this text.)  {22} The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (So put your eye on the Word of God, on what you have according to the Word, and how God will meet your needs, and how He wants you to live towards others, and love towards others.) {23} But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness! {24} No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one (that's the money, the mammon), and despise the other (that's God.) That's what the Lord is saying. If you hold to it, you hoard it; you are despising God. You are not being a disciple, because you haven't renounced your ownership yet. Do I say that because you have to give it all away? No, you have to give it all into the hands of God and let Him tell you what to do with it. It's that simple.) Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (This is the Common Aramaic word for riches and is derived from the Hebrew word for treasure. From mammonas, meaning ‘confidence, that which is trusted in.' So, it's not necessarily just money either, but it's what you have your confidence in. It could be gold, it could be silver, it could be properties. Whatever you're storing up your treasure in, and you have your confidence in, that's your mammon. So, we must repent. We must please God.) {Luke 12:28} But if God doth so clothe the grass in the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of little faith? (People want to make sure that they're going to be provided for, and their trust is in their mammon, to take care of themselves. But they don't have faith. And didn't God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith? Yeah, because they know they don't have to pack it with them everywhere they go. They know God will be there to supply their every need according to His riches and glory.) {29} And seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. {30} For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: but your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. {31} Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you. {32} Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. {33} Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old, (In other words, don't store up your money for long periods of time.) a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. {34} For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (So it's a dangerous thing to count on the treasures of the world and men of the world and their schemes. And of course, the hierarchy out there in the economic world, they're just there to cheat you. And they've got an ultimate plan to do that. So if you're playing their game, you know, they're going to beat you at it. God wants us to get into His economy.) {Luke 12:16} And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: {17} and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? (meaning, on himself) {18} And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. {19} And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. (I remember back when things were leading up to Y2K, how people stored up whole rooms full of food and stuff like that. And when they heard me preaching and teaching on these things, and how God's not going to favor that, and that it'll be stolen, and how people will look for people that do that to steal it from them, and maybe kill them in the process. You know, a lot of them went to look at their stores, and they found that, yeah, the thieves had broken through and were stealing. There were all kinds of little critters feeding on their food, and they had to throw it away.) {20} But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; (it actually says, “this night they require thy soul of thee.” Why is that? These things that he had stored up were his god.) and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? (Yeah, who's going to get that while you're gone? Who's going to eat all that which cost you your life, and you're gone, and you're not in the kingdom?) {21} So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (So he's saying, if you're laying up treasure for yourself, you're not rich towards God. Wouldn't you rather be rich towards God? Wouldn't you have to have your needs met wherever you go?)  {Luke 18:22} And when Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. (Grain was stored up under Joseph for the coming 7 years of famine/tribulation. Joseph was the greatest type of Jesus, Who was sold by his brethren into bondage and preached to the spirits in prison, and came out to rule the world. So, we can store up under Jesus in heaven by meeting the needs of others. And when we have a need, our need will be met. That's what He says, and it can't be stolen.)  {23} But when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich. {24} And Jesus seeing him said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! {25} For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (We know about the needle's eye. The Pharisees made it a doorway, but no, that wasn't what He was saying at all. He said it's very hard, impossible, actually, for a camel to go through a needle's eye.) {26} And they that heard it said, Then who can be saved? {27} But he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. (How does God save men? He changes them. Anybody who's not willing to change cannot be saved. You have to be willing to change.)  {Luke 16:19} Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day: {20} and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores, {21} and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores. {22} And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom: (which was the good side of Sheol, which was the place of the dead. When Jesus was resurrected, He took Abraham's bosom to heaven.) and the rich man also died, and was buried. {23} And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, (Hades is the bad side of Sheol.) and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. {24} And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame. {25} But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, (In other words, you can either hold to wealth here or you can have there forever. You know, sometimes we're called to give up something that we can't keep in order to get something that we can't lose.) and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. (I know people just pass right over this, and they don't really fear God. They just pass right over this like it's nothing. Look at what He's saying. Look at the life Jesus and His disciples gave us as an example of. Look at that life. And they were happy. There's no happiness in riches and things. Look at the people who have won lotteries. Look how long it takes for them to be destroyed and how they're never happy. And now they're even worse off. It's just an opportunity to live after the lusts of the flesh and lose your life. Look how happy the disciples were. They gave as they went, everywhere. And because they gave, it was given unto them. They became a channel for God's goodness to people. That's what God wants for us. He wants us to be blessed in this way.)  {26} And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us. {27} And he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house; {28} for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. {29} But Abraham saith, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (In other words, they have the word of God, let them hear the word of God. Notice, he is speaking to us. Look how important this text is. He is speaking to us. They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. Gods not sending them somebody from the dead that they're going to listen to, because He did send somebody from the dead, and they wouldn't listen.) {30} And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent. {31} And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead. (And he did. What we have to do is hear the word of God. We have to hear what it says, not because somebody else is doing it or not doing it. We have to hear what He says in the Word of God. We're going to be held responsible for what we hear in the Word of God. And those that do will bear much fruit, and He will give them that which is their own. But if you're not faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? What you have is not yours. Nothing that you have, that you consider yours, is yours. It's God's. We are now stewards. It never calls us owners in the New Testament. These people are liars. When they put you under the tithe to bring money to them, they have to put you under the law to bring money to them, because God would not work it in your heart to give to them. And they know that. So they put you under the law, which is under a curse, because it's a totally different relationship with God. Come out from under the law, which is come out from under the curse. He wants a cheerful giver, not of necessity. They preach necessity all the time. You must tithe, or else they say, If you don't do this, you're going to be cursed. But actually, if you do that, you are cursed. Unless you've just done it in your ignorance, and then, as soon as you found out what the Bible really said, you began to follow the Bible, like a lot of people do. They're not staying in one spot. They're not stagnant. They're running after God, like I was.  When I first went to a church that taught tithing, I said to myself, Well, if God likes ten percent, I'm going to give Him twenty. So, I did. By the way, along with that, I sold almost everything I had. All my toys and things. I just sold them all. I didn't have time to do anything but read the Bible anyway. So, I just sold them all and gave that to God. So, it was far above twenty percent. But then the Lord taught me that, No, you're still a Pharisee, because you're under a law that you made for yourself. So, as soon as I gained understanding about that, I went right into listening to the Holy Spirit, because you've been given the Holy Spirit to show you what God wants you to do with what belongs to Him. You see? So I began to listen to the Holy Spirit, and come out from under any laws I made for myself, as well as any laws that man would put upon me, bringing me under a covenant that does not exist anymore, in order to break my covenant that does exist. Amen?   The Transfer of Wealth Prophetic Vision: Wealth Transfer – Time is Short! End times Lindsay and Richard Roberts (son of Oral Roberts, healing evangelist, founder of ORU) from Living Truth 9/21/26 Link Partial Transcript: Lindsay said, I had been asleep off and on at night. Sometime in the middle of the night, I became fully awake and I saw a vision. God shows me things in billboard signs. Billboards, to me, are information and God was showing me things in billboards, and they're always very illuminated, very bright, very electric, and very what I would call succinct, distinct messages. I saw myself getting into a car and driving along a road, and I saw the first billboard. And all of a sudden the first billboard illuminated brightly; just as bright as it could be. It had a black outline with a gold frame and when it illuminated, it was like someone switched the light on. Like it was dark and then, BAM! The light came on; it said, END TIME. Now, that's not a big revelation. The first billboard said END TIME. Not like time's going to end, but “End Time,” but there was more to it. I kept on driving. The second one said TRANSFER. So I saw where this is going: End Time Transfer…. And then the next one, the third one said, OF WEALTH. Now the END TIME sign was just the most illuminated gold; like a gold color, but it was like an illuminated light that was shining gold. The next one said, TRANSFER; and it was also illuminated gold. And the next one said, OF WEALTH, and it was also illuminated gold. I kept driving and the next one said, WICKED, and it did NOT illuminate. So, it was like, WEALTH OF THE (was illuminated) and then “WICKED” – I could see it on the billboard, but it was not illuminated, not super bright, and it went dark. (God has been gathering up the wealth of the wicked and putting it in His account to transfer it in the days to come to the needs of His people. This is a parallel in history to when His people were coming out of Egypt to go into their wilderness, which Rev. chapters 12 and 17 reveal to be the Tribulation. The Egyptians' gold and silver was TRANSFERED to His people.) All the first billboards were illuminated brightly, almost like enticing, and I wanted to see the next one, but on the one that said, WICKED, the light went out, as if the “lights went out on the wicked.” And I thought, okay, that's just kind of weird. And it didn't make sense to me. And I kept on driving. And there it went again; another billboard said, END TIMEand was totally illuminated. TRANSFERENCE was so electric and illuminated. And then it said, OF WEALTH. And when I saw the word WEALTH and drove past it, it began to illuminate. And out of the W of the word WEALTH transfers came…., Okay, so I'm immediately thinking “money.” But no, it wasn't. Although money was part of it, I could see like, money was being ready to transfer out of the W. I saw it come down from the W. There were ideas; the word technology came out of it, the wordtelevision came out of it, the word radio came out of it, the word paintings came out of it, the word affluence came out of it, the word influence came out of it. So when the word WEALTH lit up out of the W, it was as though God was releasing not just what the world would call “wealth”, but what He was calling wealth. We think of wealth in terms of money, but I think God was saying to me in this vision; He was showing me that there are lots of things that are “wealth” that create financial wealth. And some of those are “ideas”. Some of those are “art”. Some of them are the “industry”. Some of them are “sales”; they're businesses, ways of doing things, new ways. And here's the weird thing. It was creative things that I knew, but then all of a sudden it had, like a twist, like it was technology. Well, when I saw the word technology come out of the W, it was like new technology. And then I saw the word radio. Well, I've seen the radio; we have a radio. But it was like new control over the airwaves, television; new control over what's on television or creating new television stations. And I kept seeing all of this come pouring out of the word WEALTH but it wasn't going anywhere yet. I thought, okay, that's interesting. What came to me was the scripture, “wealth of the wicked laid up for the righteous” -END TIME TRANSFERENCE OF WEALTH. I got in the car and kept right on driving. So, here it is, Wealth. And all of this was just pouring out of the W. Then I saw the words OF THE totally illuminated; and WICKED and it was not illuminated. You could see it; the outline, but WICKED was not illuminated. They, the Wicked, weren't the bright light they used to be. And then as I'm still driving, instead of anything else, the next sign was dark and dark and dark. (Does this mean darkness will cover the earth?) And I'm like, "Wow, I have been passing along, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for the next sign." Think about that. We're waiting for the next sign from the Lord. Every billboard I passed was dark. And then all of a sudden, the last billboard popped up out of nowhere and the word on it was illuminated gold. Only it wasn't TRANSFER or TRANSFERENCE. It was TRANSFERRED. It was done. (The Lord showed me this too. It will be done.) WEALTH OF THE WICKED. I waited and waited; we're waiting for it, and all of a sudden the next billboard was brightly illuminated, and it didn't say TRANSFER like the other ones. It said TRANSFERRED. I began to look at it and I saw two groups of people underneath [the billboard]. They were all Christians. Now, here's the second part where it was WEALTH OF THE WICKED TRANSFERRED…. and I'm about to rejoice! And then the Lord said, "Look down. There's two groups of people." So, where the W was, it was all pouring out, but it wasn't going anywhere. Out of the TRANSFERRED, there are two groups of people; they were all Christians underneath that sign. One group was like, "I'm waiting. Yay! Hey, I'm a Christian, so slap it on me." Nothing was hitting them. Not that they deserved it because, "Hey, I'm a Christian." Because they were all Christians. It was just really weird. But the second group: they were on their knees, not necessarily looking for anything; they were just worshiping God. They had waited, and they had waited and waited. But they stayed in worship. They stayed in this atmosphere of worship. They weren't looking... They were worshiping. And when the one group who were just worshiping God, not looking up to what was happening on the billboards, they were in this atmosphere of worship. And all of a sudden, when the word TRANSFERRED illuminated it was not just financial, it was ideas. And all of a sudden the words television, radio, authority and all of this- especially like ownership, businesses- were just pouring out and it was TRANSFERRED. The ones who were in the state of worship continued. And then the other ones saw [them], and thought, ‘wait a minute, we need to be worshiping.' (Then Richard said, “It's never too late to worship.”) And all of a sudden, it became almost like an outpouring of worship. And where there was an outpouring of worship, then there was an outpouring of God's provision. Now, what may be provision to me and come pouring out may be different for somebody else. But I want you to focus on whatever it is that represents what God wants to provide for you and how you are believing God for provision. And instead of focusing on everything else, I personally just want to focus on worship. And I just want to encourage you to begin to worship God because He honors that; He said He inhabits, lives, and dwells in the praises of His people. And you know, in this past year, sometimes, “Praise the Lord!” should have come out of my mouth faster than other things. I'm a human being. But I do think it's not too late. And that was the whole thing. It's not too late. God knows what happened when the wicked seemed to prosper. And I believe that we have not only the privilege of worshiping God, but it's also one of our wonderful opportunities to combat the attacks of the devil. So my word to you today is what I saw: “The wealth of the wicked being transferred to the righteous,” and then I saw the word TRANSFERRED as if God is already on it. It's done!   Praying Over The 1% and the Wealth Transfer Link Brandon Biggs 8/7/25 Partial transcript: God said, "Brandon, I just want you to know there'll be 1% that flows in this end time wealth transfer of the great wealth. (of the Church) And I'll not share My glory.” Just like I won't share My glory whenever you pray for somebody and they try to say, "Thank you, sir." And you say, “No, it ain't me. I'm just a vessel.” We got to always keep the main thing in mind and give God praise for everything in these last days. We have to always be looking at His face and knowing that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It's not Brandon; it's not you. I may write the check. I may be the distributor of what wealth that He gives me, but it's always to give God the praise. And it [the transfer?] will be for the unlikely people….. (Who can handle the wealth for God and His people.) The end time wealth transfer of what's about to happen with the finances; it's something you can't earn and it's something you don't deserve. But God said, "I'm going to bless you." And I've seen what's about to happen again with a glimpse. As I was lying in bed, I could see, and I was looking into these months ahead of what God is trying to do just for His remnant…. So what Brandon was emphasizing in the video about the wealth transfer distributions coming is that God wants us to be faithful in the little things in obedience before He will give you more responsibility with the greater things.   The Great End Times Transfer of Wealth Glynda Lomax, 12/13/25 wingsofprophecy.blogspot.com My children, you have heard there is a great transfer of wealth coming in these end times and it is true. Many have tried to understand how this wealth will come, as they put great hope in it. They believe the wealth is so they may own it, but that is not My way. My way is always giving and sharing with those in need. My way is always that it glorifies My Son Jesus, not mankind. Those who have little fear of the greater lack that is coming, yet I am already providing for them ahead of time and I need only speak to those who are truly Mine and they will give immediately. It is to those children that I will give the end times wealth. It is those who will give whatever amount, as much as I say. WHEN I say that I will endow, that My purposes may be fulfilled, that MY Son's great name may be glorified and not their own. These are those who have purified themselves for My pleasure. They live holy lives to please Me and that I may use them in greater ways. These of My children, who are very few, shall be greatly endowed yet will not flaunt it. They will not consume it upon their lusts. They will not use the power of it against others. These are those with hearts to give. They are simply channels of My glory. There will be no announcement or fanfare when they become wealthy. They will simply continue doing what they are already doing – being about their Father's business in the Earth, helping the poor and watching for My Son's return. Inquire of Me if you desire to qualify for this great transfer, for it happens soon. (Glynda gave these verses) Deuteronomy 6:10-12 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good [things], which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12 [Then] beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Proverbs 13:22 A good [man] leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner [is] laid up for the just. (This is not just for personal use but for whatever the Lord wills and to get the gospel out.) Job 27:16-17 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; 17 He may prepare [it], but the just shall put [it] on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. Ecclesiastes 2:26 For [God] giveth to a man that [is] good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to [him that is] good before God. This also [is] vanity and vexation of spirit. Proverbs 28:8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. James 2:15-16 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be [ye] warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what [doth it] profit? Matthew 25:35-40 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. Luke 3:10-14 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse [any] falsely; and be content with your wages. Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.   Vision About The Wealth Transfer Victoria Ang, 7/28/23 link The enemy does not want this Word to go out!!! I typed up the whole post; I went to send and everything got deleted!!! So I had to start all over again!!!! I wanted to share some encouragement the Lord gave me this morning. I was woken in the early morning hours as usual to pray, around 5 AM. I spent about an hour in prayer, praise and worship. Afterwards, I wanted to go back to sleep for a little bit before getting up for the day to tackle tending the animals. Immediately after prayers, I received a vision…. In the VISION, I saw I had a check in my hand. I was made to know I could cash it. There was a woman standing in front of a register. I handed her the check. As I gave it to her, she dropped it on the floor. She bent over to pick the check up to cash it for me. She looked at the check and opened her drawer and pulled out large stacks of bills in piles. Before giving it to me, she glanced once again to verify the amount. As she was verifying, she put the large piles of money back into the drawer. She walked over to a HUGE bank vault. She put the combination in and opened the vault. She walked into the vault as I waited to receive my money. Next she came back out pushing an enormously big cart. Full from top to bottom with stacks upon stacks upon stacks of money! She went to give me the money and the vision ended! Interpretation: his vision is about the wealth transfer that will soon occur. Money from the evildoers that has been hidden. And those who stashed money away for themselves are about to fall from their hands to the ground. Losing EVERYTHING! (God takes it for His use.) And transferred to God's righteous! Blessing them in abundance!!! The Lord God has made it known to those who will receive the funds!   1978 Prophecy Wealth Transfer Charles Capps Posted 2/5/26 link Transcript: Here's a prophecy Charles Capps gave February 1, 1978, in a meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. Financial inversion shall increase in these days. Now, let's define financial inversion or inversion. A turning upside down or inside-out reversal of position. Have you got it? Turning upside down or inside out. Reversal of position. One party has it, oppressing others with it. But after the inversion, positions change. That's what an inversion is. Now listen to this. Financial inversion shall increase in these days. For you see, it is My desire to move in the realm of your financial prosperity. But release Me, saith the Lord, release Me that I may come in your behalf and move on your behalf. For yes, yes, yes, there shall be in this hour financial distress here and there. The economy shall go up and it will go down. (Now, this was prophesied in 1978.) The economy shall go up and it will go down. But those that learn to walk in the Word, they shall see the prosperity of the Word come forth in this hour in a way that has not been seen by men in days past. Yes, there's coming a financial inversion in the world's system. It's been held in reservoirs of wicked men for days on end, but the end is nigh. Those reservoirs shall be tapped and shall be drained into the gospel of Jesus Christ. It shall be done, saith the Lord. It shall be done in the time allotted. And so shall it be that the Word of the Lord shall come to pass that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. Predominantly in two ways it will be done in this hour. Those that have hoarded up and stored because of the inspiration of the evil one and held the money from the gospel shall be converted and drawn into the Kingdom. Then shall it release that reservoir into the Kingdom. Now the Spirit of God said that wealth will come in two ways. Number one, many of those people will be born again and bring their wealth into the Kingdom. Can you shout amen? Amen. And then the other way He said, but many, many will not. They'll not heed the voice of the Word of God. They'll turn aside to this and they'll turn aside to that and they'll walk in their own ways, but their ways will not work in this hour. It'll dwindle and it'll slip away as though it were in bags with holes in them. It'll go here and it'll go there and they'll wonder why it's not working now. It worked in days past, they'll say. I mean, the world's at that point right now. They cannot figure out why what they've done all these years is not working anymore. But it shall be, saith the Lord, that the Word of the Lord shall rise within men; men of God, of low esteem in the financial world. They shall claim the Word of God to be their very own and walk in the light of it as it has been set forth in the Word and give. They'll begin to give small at first because that's all they have. But then it will increase. And through the hundredfold return, so shall it be that the reservoirs that have held the riches in days past, so shall it return to the hands of the giver. Because of the hundredfold return shall the reservoirs be lost from the wicked and turn to the gospel. For it shall be in this hour that you will see things that you never dreamed would come to pass. Oh, it'll be strong at first in ways, then it will grow greater and greater until men will be astounded, and the world will stand in awe, because the ways of men have failed, and the ways of God shall come forth. As men walk in My Word, so shall they walk in the ways of the Lord. Oh yes, there will be some who say, "Yes, but God's ways are higher, surely higher than our ways, and we can't walk in those." It's true that the ways of God are higher. They are higher than your ways as the heavens are above the earth. But I'll teach you to walk in My ways. I never did say you couldn't walk in My ways. Now learn to walk in it. Learn to give. So shall the inversion of the financial system revert. And so shall it be that the gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to all the world. And there shall be no lack in the Kingdom. Those that give shall walk in the ways of the supernatural. They shall be known abroad. My Word shall spread and the knowledge of the Lord shall fill all the earth in the day and the hour in which you stand. Ye shall see it and know it, for it is of Me and it shall come to pass, saith the Lord. Can you shout, "Amen?" Now, that was prophesied in 1978. God said there would be an allotted time. And we're walking in it right now. The inversion has begun. Now the door is not fully open…. Before Cyrus/Trump came to deliver the people of God from Babylon DS, there was a plan by previous Socialist Communists to redistribute the wealth to themselves and those who are bent on destroying the people of God, like Haman and his people in Esther. But Mordecai, representing the pre-anointed Man-child, and Esther, representing the Bride, interceded to the King, which overthrew their evil plan, which is what we are now seeing. Ecc.1:9-10 That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. Cyrus gave great wealth, taken from Babylon's treasury, into the hands of God's people to leave Babylon and rebuild the Kingdom, represented by the Temple, in the Promised Land. So Trump is doing now, by the hand of God, through the RV and GCR. Ezr.6:4 with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house. This was a great redistribution of wealth to God's people. 2Ch.36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up. (These represent a first fruits of those to leave Babylonish religion to go to the true place and teaching of God. Building the Temple represents the building of the saints who are the temple of God. Jesus is the Temple of God and they are coming into His image.) The people also contributed great wealth towards this rebuilding. Ezr.1:4-11 And whosoever is left, in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill-offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. 5 Then rose up the heads of fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem. 6 And all they that were round about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. 7 Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods; 8 even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 9 And this is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver, nine and twenty knives, 10 thirty bowls of gold, silver bowls of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. 11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they of the captivity were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem. (These vessels of the house of God represent His people who were taken captive by Babylon but were released by Cyrus to be returned to the Promised Land to live on the promises.) Ezr.6:5 And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple, which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to its place; and thou shalt put them in the house of God. ………………………………………… (Here is some news and predictions from the Alliance. Sometimes their dates are disinformation to throw off the enemy's plans. They wisely may not give a date when they finally do some things. The D.S.is warring to stop them.) Restored Republic via a GCR Update as of Sat. 26 Sept. 2026 On Thurs. 1 Oct. 2026 The Bankrupt US Inc. Corp. Government Closes Shutting Down Their Privately Owned Federal Reserve & IRS. Government Shrinks 90-95% As The Global Military Alliance Takes Control Until New Elections. United States of America Republic Begins Under Gold/asset-backed QFS & GCR Activation. Emergency Broadcast System Broadcasts Take Over Phones, TV, Radio To Explain What's Going On Judy Note: Think Congress went on recess Friday until after the November election? Think again. With US Inc. Bankrupt, there would be no November election for that private corporation. Most of it's Congressional officers were said to be under arrest, charged with Treason and Crimes Against Humanity. Within 60 days there would be an election for the new United States of America Republic that starts its new fiscal year on Thurs. 1 Oct. 2026 under a gold-backed US Note as part of a Global Currency Reset. To accomplish a new US Republic that runs under concepts of the original Constitution, President Trump and the Global Military Alliance have been executing the largest Sting Operation in history. Over 80 nation's Military forces across the globe were mobilized – US, Canada, UK, EU, and beyond. They've already arrested and tried over half a million Global Elites for Crimes Against Humanity. On Thurs. 1 Oct. 2026 the Global Elite Cabal's US Inc. Corp. Government would be dissolved, finally ending their fiat monetary system and closing their US Inc. government. On that same Thurs. 1 Oct. 2026 the privately owned (by Cabal bankers) Federal Reserve and IRS would shut down because US Inc. Corp.'s fiscal year ended. It was bound to happen. US Inc. has been bankrupt since 2008, with no Congressional budget approvals, or accountability – just running on fumes with a fiat dollar. The Cabal's Blackrock was also Bankrupt. This was the Deep State's financial arm that controlled more wealth than entire nations. With 209 nations' switching to the gold/asset-backed currency system on Thurs. 1 Oct, the Deep State no longer had access to Taxpayer monies. So sad. All banks worldwide not Basel III compliant (have gold backing to their monies) will be closed. The Basel III regulations could alter the real estate market in unprecedented ways. In the first week of October the Emergency Broadcast System was set to activate and broadcast documentaries 24/7 on the state of the World. With the QFS activation, governments as we know them were expected to shrink by 90-95%. The Global Military Alliance will take control worldwide until after elections, which have to be held within 60 days. Forget the November elections. They're not happening, not on this timeline. NESARA GESARA was well in force as countries worldwide were activating the gold/asset-backed Quantum Financial System and Global Currency Reset. The BRICS nations heads the greatest wealth transfer in history. 134 nations were ditching the fiat US dollar and moving to gold-backed currencies. Each of these currencies will trade at a 1:1 ratio. Also on Thurs. 1 Oct the new United States of America Republic will start its new fiscal year under a gold-backed US Note as part of the Global Currency Reset. “Peace Without Concession. Order Without Apologies. Truth Without Permission. You Are Watching The Return of A Republic. Not Announced, But Executed.” …Nesara Gesara Secrets on Telegram Fri. 25 Sept. 2026 “The Greatest Financial & Political Shift in Modern History is Underway. The Global Currency Reset Has Been Released. Mass Arrests Have Been Happening For Some Time. Be Ready. Blackout (of communication). The World is Connected & Watching. TRUST THE PLAN,” …Tier4b ISO20022 on Telegram Fri. 25 Sept. 2026 At the conclusion of the GCR the general population Worldwide would be invited into a Redemption Center to set up their personal wallets (formerly known as bank accounts) on the new Starlink Satellite System. Individuals would set up their wallet by way of their own body rhythms and DNA. The system was digital and completely secure. No one but that person could access their own account. The digital account would be accessed through their cell phone. ATMs would be available to obtain cash. A integral part of the revolution to make the World a Better Place through release of the GCR, was better health for all people of the World through release of Med Bed treatments. It is my understanding that Med Bed Treatment Centers have been built around the World and some were actively treating clients right now. Some large hospital chains have been bought out and Med Beds have been placed in them with doctors, nurses and medical staff fully trained in the process. People will be issued Med Bed cards to cover cost of their treatments in their own countries. The United Arab Emirates has hereby suspended Iranian flights, complying with Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent's devastating and ultimate sanctions. BESSENT LAST NIGHT: “External flights from Iran, probably more than 80%-90% got shut down. I'm not sure how the Iranian representatives at the UN are gonna get home!” Bessent's order made clear that any country aiding Iranian flights will FAFO be out of the American system. Countries must basically shun any Iranian airline aircraft if they even try landing there. …Trump Office on Telegram Fri. 25 Sept. 2026. CUBA'S ENTIRE POWER GRID JUST COLLAPSED. Total blackout. Officials have no idea when it comes back. Rubio's been saying it: the economic model is the problem. Communism. They leeched off Venezuelan oil. That tap is gone. Venezuela is aligned with the U.S. now. The lights went out. The regime is next. …Fox News Fri. 25 Sept. 2026 Possible Timeline of Global Currency Reset: …JFK on Telegram Thurs. 24 Sept. 2026:  https://t.me/johndurhamchannel By Thurs. 17 Sept. 2026 the US Inc. was broke,  sixty-three Cabal banks sat insolvent, seventy-five Cabal banks had been seized, the Chinese Elders wiped out the US National Debt, Visa and Mastercard rails were dead and Petrodollar contracts expired the next day on Fri. 18 Sept. 2026.  On Wed. 23 Sept. 2026 at ten am EST the Federal Reserve System was shut down and bank wires were no longer going through on the old SWIFT System. On Wed. 23 Sept. 2026 at 6 pm EST the Quantum Financial System (QFS) was absorbed by the new US Treasury. On Thurs. 24 Sept. 2026 at 2am EST 23 global currencies on the QFS Trading Platform were activated and began trading. On Thurs. 24 Sept 2026 at 4 pm EST total activation of the QFS System occurred. his weekend Fri 25 to Sun 27 2026 will be an amazing revelatory weekend. Groups out West will be notified that they have access to funds. On Fri. 25 Sept. 2026 Trump gave the go-ahead for a Global Currency Reset of 209 nations to gold-backed currencies. Schedules were ready at Redemption Centers. Six new QFS nodes in Atlanta, Warsaw, Bangkok, Mexico City, Melbourne and Toronto pulsed live after the Kahlooni Family Gathering locked in the Restored Republic window. On Sun. 27 Sept. 2026 at 5pm EST Trump will give his keynote address. On Mon. 28 Sept. 2026 Blackout: NESARA will kick off. The main arrests begin of judges, prosecutors and lawyers who were paid by George Soros to betray and sabotage the United States. On Mon. 28 or Tues. 29 Sept. 2026 Tier4b (us, the Internet Group) should be notified to set exchange/ redemption appointments, a

Will your name be found in the Book of Life when it matters most? In this powerful daily devotion from Words From The Word, Pastor Roderick Webster opens the scriptures to show us that not everyone will face the same judgment — and the difference is eternal.Drawing from 1 Corinthians 3:15, Revelation 20:11-15, and Matthew 25:41 (KJV), Pastor Webster walks us through two distinct judgments: the Judgment Seat of Christ, where believers will give account for their works, and the Great White Throne Judgment, where those whose names are not in the Book of Life will face a consequence no one should have to face.You might be asking:- Does it matter how I live if I am already saved?- What happens to people who are not believers at the final judgment?- Is hell really real, and was it made for me?- How can I know for certain that I am born again?Key points from this devotion:- Some believers will suffer loss of rewards, not salvation, at the Judgment Seat of Christ- The Great White Throne Judgment is for those not written in the Book of Life- Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, not for you- Jesus has prepared a place for those who are prepared to receive Him- Today is the day to say yes to Christ before it is eternally too lateIf this devotion stirred your heart, please like, leave a comment, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe so you never miss a Word from the Word.#WordsFromTheWord #KJV #BibleDevotion #ChristianLiving #GoodNewsBaptistChurchStay connected with GNBC:

Phil Egan is back with Tuesday's Football Daily, as Ireland fly to Kosovo for their Nations League opener — with Heimir Hallgrímsson set to face questions after a furious response from the Israel FA to his comments ahead of this window.We also look ahead to a big opening night in the Women's Champions League, with Ireland international Kyra Carusa in action, and hear from Arsenal boss Renée Slegers on juggling a packed schedule.Plus, Dermot Corrigan breaks down why Florentino Pérez has turned to José Mourinho again — and why Atlético Madrid are pushing back on referee pressure — while there's injury news for Scotland, Wales' Craig Bellamy on League A, and the latest from FIFA.Become a member and offtheball.com/join

We read of a remarkable miracle today in Luke ch. 8., the healing of a man who had become totally deranged in mind. He was well known, owned a house and lived in the city before he became insane.  Jesus did many miracles in many different ways but this healing was particularly challenging to those who knew the man and lived in his city. Jesus came to “the country of the Gerasenes and this man, in his insane state, now lived among the tombs, “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” [v.28]  His insane mind led him to perceive who Jesus really was!  There was nothing to be gained by Jesus explaining that such a state of mind was not caused by an ‘evil spirit' taking over control of the mind; this belief had arisen as a result of the Greek conquest; this was what the Greeks superstitiously believed: the Old Testament shows that no such beliefs were held in earlier years.A dramatic healing occurs!  The supposed ‘demons' are ‘seen' to be in the pigs because they madly rush down the slope and drown in the waters of Galilee. Now eating pork, even touching their carcases was ‘unclean' under the law God gave to Moses [Lev. 11 v.7,8]; obviously those keeping the pigs had no regard for the law!   The event was a challenge to the “people (who) went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.” [v.35]Every other healing Jesus did resulted in many more to come for healings but not here!  “All the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them for they were seized with great fear. [v.37] We suspect they were afraid of other things that might happen that would cause a further loss of livelihood. The reasons are not entirely different today for those who believe in evolution rather than a Creator who will hold them responsible for how they live their lives.  Those who believe in a Creator have at least some responsibility!  Recall what we read last week in Ezekiel in chapter 3.  “If I say to the wicked, 'You shall sure die,” God says to Ezekiel, “and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn … he shall die for his iniquity but his blood I will require at your hand.  But if you warn the wicked … you will have delivered your soul” [ch. 3 v.18,19]  Any words we attempt to speak or write must be done in love. Jesus told his hearers to “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” [Matt 5 v.44]. We do not want Jesus “to depart” from us. 

9/14/26, Co-Host Megan Zinn Tom Reney, 42-year host of Jazz a la Mode: his presentation Thursday at GCC Symposium on the Swing Era, race, gender & jazz, and some history we didn't know. Meghana Mysore, author of “Let All Our Ghosts Depart” on our own ghosts and speculative fiction. Her book launch is tomorrow at the Odyssey. Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia: the lock-down at the high school last week, a swatting incident, and the community debate that has ensued—what about phones in schools? How about metal detectors? Avital Norman Nathman, author of “The Perfect Birth Myth: Pushing Back Against a Broken Industry.” The title says it all. Panel discussion with the author and birth workers on Sunday, Sept 27.

Come and witness how 1 Chronicles 4-8 guides us to our spiritual lineage in Jesus Christ, God's promised King and Priest. Pastor Tan Sern Khoon delivered the sermon.

Today's narrative paints the picture of a frustrated group of people who have worked all day and done all they could and have failed.  The have failed at their work which means that they and their families are at risk of not having anything to eat and not having anywhere to live.  They have failed, they have accepted that they have failed and they are preparing to go home to their families with nothing.Then Jesus tells Simon Peter to try again.  Simon knows that there is no point to this.  He has proven it.But he has faith enough in Jesus, even though he is doubtful, to be obedient to Him and casts his net out again to catch fish.So what happened?===Luke 5:1-11  -  King James Version5 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.***Luke 5:1-11  -  New International VersionJesus Calls His First Disciples5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”5 Simon answered, “Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.***Matthew 22:36-40  -  King James Version36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.***Matthew 28:18-20  -  King James Version18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.Send us Fan MailSupport the show===Please join my team in spreading The Word around the whole world by donating via CashApp at $TheChristQuarter.  Thank you!

Bonus Episode #75 of BGMania: A Video Game Music Podcast. Today on the show, Bryan reviews Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, the standalone prequel from Asobo Studio and publisher Focus Entertainment, out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass. Set fifteen years before A Plague Tale: Requiem, you play as Sophia, a young plunderer who flees a Venice heist gone wrong and sails toward Minotaur Island, a place that's been calling to her since childhood. What she finds is a sprawling labyrinth of ancient ruins, deadly soldiers, and a buried curse tangled up in Minoan myth. Across this Musical Review, Bryan digs into the bold shift from Amicia's fragile stealth toward Sophia's agile, sword-in-hand combat, the light-bending puzzles powered by a stolen Minoan sphere, and the slow descent from sunlit Mediterranean beauty into genuine horror beneath the island. He gets into Sophia's story and her bond with Leni, the way the game reframes what longtime fans thought they understood about the Macula, and whether A Plague Tale still works with its original siblings off the stage. And of course, he spends plenty of time with the returning Olivier Derivière and his haunting Greek and Cypriot choral score, one of Bryan's favorite composers working today, breaking down how the music carries so much of the game's ache and dread. Email the show at bgmaniapodcast@gmail.com with requests for upcoming episodes, questions, feedback, comments, concerns, or any other thoughts you'd like to share! Special thanks to our Executive Producers: Jexak, Xancu, Jeff, & Mike. EPISODE PLAYLIST AND CREDITS The Land from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Vasiliki Anastasiou & Amalgamation Choir, 2026] Father's Love from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere, 2026] Bound from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Amalgamation Choir, 2026] Childhood from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere, 2026] Patera from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Amalgamation Choir, 2026] Best Friends from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere, 2026] Call of the Ancients from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Giorgos Kalogirou & Amalgamation Choir, 2026] The Fight of the Braves from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Amalgamation Choir, 2026] The Presence from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Vasiliki Anastasiou, 2026] The Depart from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Amalgamation Choir, 2026] The Beam from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere, 2026] The Minotaur from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Vasiliki Anastasiou, Giorgos Kalogirou & Amalgamation Choir, 2026] The Source from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere feat. Vasiliki Anastasiou, 2026] Paradise from Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy [Olivier Deriviere, 2026] LINKS Patreon: https://patreon.com/bgmania Website: https://bgmania.podbean.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/cC73Heu Facebook: BGManiaPodcast X: BGManiaPodcast Instagram: BGManiaPodcast TikTok: BGManiaPodcast YouTube: BGManiaPodcast Twitch: BGManiaPodcast PODCAST NETWORK Very Good Music: A VGM Podcast Listening Religiously

And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and asked him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.Luke 5:1–3 KJ2000I have had occasion to speak across water in less important situations, and it is true: Sound carries better over water. Well, when Jesus had finished his sermon, he said to Simon:[…] Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answering said unto him, Teacher, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at your word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fish: and their net broke.Luke 5:4–6 KJ2000I guess Jesus felt he should pay something for the use of the ship. He could have given them money, I suppose, but he didn’t. He blessed them another way—in their business. It emphasized, I suppose, that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights—even if he doesn’t hand it to us himself, but asks us to let down our nets and pull it up.And they beckoned unto their partners, who were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of the fish which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from now on you shall catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.Luke 5:7–11 KJ2000Peter recognized a miracle when he saw it. And his view of himself was unobstructed; he knew what he was. And here’s the interesting thing to think about—so did Jesus.

12:52 - About whom will Jesus say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." / 21:00 - Praise report. / 31:07 - Unspoken prayer request. / 37:16 - Praise report for cancer remission. / 43:24 - Luke 13:20-21, is Jesus talking about Protestants and Orthodox here? / 50:25 - What happened to Catherine Khulman?

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Gospel - Luke 5:1-11 - While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, He asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then He sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at Your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them.  They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Him. Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Saint Gregory, pray for us! Bishop Sheen quote of the day

Original Postdate: September 5, 2024 === Gospel Luke 5:1-11 While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. Reflection When we experience gifts that flow seemingly natural through us, it's really difficult to understand which part of our effectiveness in the world is due to our own energy and our own understanding, our own discipline. Or is it purely a gift from God? Well, the key, it's both. But human beings have a hard time keeping themselves in balance when God is using them to accomplish great deeds. We need to be careful of not falling into the trap of thinking those deeds come from us, and not just through us. Closing Prayer Father, over and over again we see people who have authority and responsibility and a position of power, getting caught up in it and ending up being not the instrument that God can use any longer. Keep us grounded in the humility that God is the source of all that we can accomplish when it comes to building his kingdom. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

+ Holy Gospel according to St. Luke 5: 1 – 11While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.The Gospel of the Lord

Luke 5:1-11While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God,he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.He saw two boats there alongside the lake;the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."Simon said in reply,"Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,but at your command I will lower the nets."When they had done this, they caught a great number of fishand their nets were tearing.They signaled to their partners in the other boatto come to help them. They came and filled both boatsso that the boats were in danger of sinking.When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,"Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized himand all those with him,and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,who were partners of Simon.Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid;from now on you will be catching men."When they brought their boats to the shore,they left everything and followed him.

Read OnlineWhile the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:1–4At that moment, Simon could not have grasped the full significance of Jesus' actions. Our Lord chose to preach to the crowds from the boat “belonging to Simon.” When He had finished speaking, He turned to Simon and said, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”Traditionally, the boat has been understood as a symbol of the Church. It is particularly meaningful that this first use of a boat in Jesus' public ministry involved Simon's vessel. Later in Luke's Gospel, Jesus says: “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32).In this powerful passage, Jesus entrusts Simon with the unique mission of leadership and fraternal support. Though Simon would stumble during the Passion, his faith would be restored, and his role confirmed, not merely as a disciple, but as one called to fortify the faith of others. This divine commission echoes the symbolic act at the Lake of Gennesaret, where Simon's boat becomes the pulpit from which the Word is proclaimed. And, as is recorded in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus later changed Simon's name to Peter, making him the rock foundation upon which He would build His Church, promising the gates of hell would not prevail against it (cf. Matthew 16:17–19).By choosing Simon's boat, Jesus foreshadowed that the Gospel would go forth from the Church, built upon Simon Peter's faith and leadership. Christ remains the cornerstone, yet Simon would serve as the rock: a foundational witness whose confession and fidelity would uphold the apostolic Church.This moment by the lake is far more than a simple teaching setting. It is a prophetic image of the Church: anchored by Peter, guided by Christ, and commissioned to cast its nets into the deep waters of the world, drawing souls into the Kingdom of God. Christ alone has the power to draw all people to Himself, yet He chooses to do so through Peter, his successors, and all faithful collaborators who serve as fishers of men.As the passage continues, Simon obeys Jesus' command and puts out into deep water. The result is an astonishing catch that is so abundant that the nets begin to tear. Others must come to help, a clear symbol of the necessary collaboration among all members of the Church, working together in Christ's divinely guided mission.We, too, are called to share in that same mission and to imitate Simon's humility upon witnessing the miraculous catch. He fell at Jesus' feet and cried out, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). He was deeply humbled and recognized his unworthiness before the divine presence.Jesus, however, looked upon Simon and those with him, including Andrew, James, and John, and said, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10). These words are meant for each of us. Fear is often the greatest obstacle to fully embracing God's call. But when we respond with humility and courage, trusting in His grace, we will find ourselves part of the great mission to draw others into the safety of the Church. Reflect today on the sacred image of Simon's boat. See in it a foreshadowing of the Church, and consider how you are called to serve within her. Christ continues to preach from this vessel, to call others into its safety, and to call you to cast your net into the deep where many souls await the Gospel and God's mercy.All-powerful Lord, You first preached from a humble fishing boat owned by Simon. Today, You continue to preach and reach out to those caught in the deep and turbulent waters of this world. Please send me, as You later sent Simon Peter, to bring Your Gospel to those who need it most. Purify me of every fear, so that I may answer Your call with courage and zeal. Jesus, I trust in You.Image via Adobe StockSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Is Your Life's Focus on Jesus the Narrow Door and the Only Door to Your Eternal Life? MESSAGE SUMMARY: From the Gospel of Luke (12:49-56): “Jesus the Narrow Door” Introduction from “Jesus the Divider”:  While Jesus does bring us “Peace”, Jesus tells us that His ways are not always our ways; and Jesus does not always bring us “Peace”. In the world, we have tribulation; but Jesus has overcome the world. In Jesus, we do have “Peace”; but when we do stand with and for Jesus, “division” and conflict are created. In this passage from Luke 12, Jesus wants His followers to know that following Him will have a cost in terms of conflict and worldly tribulation. Many in and of the world will not tolerate our communication of the Gospel. Jesus is not saying that “division” is good. Rather, Jesus, in John 17:22-23, expresses His desire, to the Father, for His followers to all be at one with Him and the Father. However, Jesus is warning us that “division” is inevitable because we are human and sinners. Jesus ends His message to those assembled, in Luke 12:54-56, with: “He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.' And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,' and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?'". In this passage, Jesus was pointing toward His purpose on earth and the cross; but no one understood His message at the time period of His teaching in Luke – they could not read God's signs. Do we see and follow God's signs, or do we miss them and become party to creating “divisions”? Today's Message -- Jesus the Narrow Door: In our Gospel focus from Luke 13:22-30, Jesus was pointing His earthly ministry toward Jerusalem, the Cross, Resurrection, and His Ascension. Jesus was asked, in Luke 13:23-25, a pivotal question; and He responded: “And someone said to him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?' And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.'”". It's not that Jesus doesn't want all to be saved, it's just that the “gate”, to our Salvation, is “narrow” and difficult to enter. As Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, that Jesus wants all people to be saved: “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.". However, all people will not be saved because some will not come to Jesus – they don't want to be saved. In Luke 13:26-30, those rejected by the master of the house argue for admission: “” Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, ‘I tell you; I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!' In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”". Jesus is the “narrow door” and the “gate” by which we enter the Kingdom of God and our Salvation. Jesus Himself tells us in John 10:9-10: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”. We have been given the job, by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20, to help others find the “narrow door”. As believers in the Gospel and followers of Jesus, we are invited, in Revelation 19:9-10, to the “Marriage Super of the Lamb”: ““And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.' Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.' For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”". Is your focus on Jesus, the ”Narrow Door”, that is the only way to the Kingdom of God and your Eternal Life?   TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 12:49-56; John 16:36; John 17:22-23; John 14:27; Luke 13:22-30; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; Matthew 7:13-14; Hebrews 11:1-40; John 10:9-10; Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 19:9-10; Psalms 33a:1-11.   SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/ WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Daniel's Prayer Was “seeking him {God} by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting . . . ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God . . . we have sinned and done wrong'””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.   DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Would you like to say you were departing from Dolly Parton International? A petition to rename Nashville's airport has 122,000 signatures, and even Dolly thought it would be funny. JB is not usually in the business of naming places after people. Dolly Parton is the exception.This last hour of The JB and Sandy Show is Care/Don't Care, a blood moon the color of Longhorns, and Austin Access asking how many times someone pooped in a city pool this summer. The city says six. Sandy says no way. Stephen Presley is back with a Bastrop tunnel theory that somehow ends at Buc-ee's and beaver nuggets.Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who still believes the city of Austin on those six pool incidents.

Job's picture of the wicked man is 1. opposite of the friend's picture of the wicked man. 2. It is the opposite of what we might expect from other passages that describe the kind of behavior God blesses and curses. 3. It is the opposite of Job's experiences. Job's picture of the wicked sounds much like the picture painted in Psalm 73:1-14. 21:7-16 The world that the friends described is a world that “exists only in their own minds.” 21:7 Whey do the wicked still live,- The word wicked is used in vs. 7 and vs. 16. The friends spoke of the wicked dying early (15:20, 32-33; 18:19; 20:11). While Zophar spoke of the wicked perishing (20:7; also 18:17), Job says that they continue to live on. Long life is a blessing of the godly in Ps. 21:4 but here it is enjoyed by the ungodly.                                                                                                                                   21:8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,-  Contrast 20:10, 26. And their offspring before their eyes,- This is contrary to the words of Eliphaz in 15:34 and Bildad in 8:4; 18:19.  21:9 Their houses are safe from fear,- The word safe is the Hebrew shalom which is often translated peace. This peace was only available for those right with God (5:24) and is only temporary for the wicked (15:21).  21:10 His ox mates without fail;-  Zophar said that the prosperity of the wicked will not last (20:21, 28) but that does not fit Job's observations. 21:11 They send forth their little ones like the flock,- They have a flock of children. Zech. 8:5 uses the same picture of a Jerusalem blessed by God.21:12 They sing to the trimbrel and harp- The lives of the wicked are more familiar with celebration than with pain or even labor. And suddenly they go down to Sheol- The word suddenly, rega, is the same word used of the short-lived prosperity of the wicked in 20:5. Here the idea seems to be that death comes suddenly without prolonged suffering. This word is used negatively in 20:5 but is used positively in 21:13.  21:14 They say to God, ‘Depart from us!- These prospering wicked have no desire to know the God who has given them every good gift. They want to be as far away from Him as they can.We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways- Psalm 16:11; 25:4. 21:15 Who is the Almighty that we should serve Him,- Ex. 5:2. Having an abundance often dulls our senses to our absolute dependence upon God (Deut. 8:10-20). And what would we gain if we entreat Him? Entreat, paga, is used of the Servant interceding for transgressors (Isa. 53:12). Satan had said that the only reason that Job feared God is because of how God blessed him (1:9-11). 21:16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;- But, from Job's perspective, why does God bless them so when they live defiantly toward Him?The counsel of the wicked is far from me- He has no sympathy for their counsel regardless of how comfortable their life is. While his friends have identified him with the wicked, Job has no agreement with their world-view. 

1 King 17:1-717 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

How is the Christian life really lived? Do we only forgive people who ask us to? How should we understand "Depart from Me"? How do we define sin? What about a believer marrying an unbeliever? What does it mean that "death reigned from Adam until Moses"? Who are the "other sheep" in John 10:16?

Let All Our Ghosts Depart by Meghana Mysore by Poets & Writers

London's better in a black cab. Get the https://blackcab.com app on Apple or Google Play. No surge pricing. Regulated fares. Professional drivers. Get 15% off your eSIM today—download the Saily app or visit https://saily.com/lwos and use code LWOS at checkout. With Tottenham set to have a very interesting season under Roberto De Zerbi, make sure you never miss an update with our brand new Substack. Download the Substack app for exclusive coverage of Last Word On Spurs: https://lastwordonspurs.substack.com/ Please also help grow our community and join us on Roundtable as we bring you all the latest Tottenham Hotspur news in written format over at: https://roundtable.io/sports/soccer/premier-league/tottenham The Last Word On Spurs panel returns home after after pre-season friendlies in Auckland, Sydney and at Hotspur Way, Tottenham were back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time since May — and put on a comfortable 3-0 victory over TSG Hoffenheim. Richarlison opened the scoring 10 minutes before half-time before one of our own, Mikey Moore, stole the show with a second-half brace to round off an impressive afternoon back home. We also reflected on the confirmed departures of Cristian Romero to Atlético Madrid and Djed Spence to Inter Milan, before turning our attention to Spurs' transfer pursuits of Cody Gakpo and Savinho. We also close on whether Nicolas Jackson be a worthwhile addition to Roberto D Zerbi's squad with time running out in the window. Independent Multi-Award Winning Tottenham Hotspur Fan Channel (Podcast) providing instant post-match analysis and previews to every single Spurs match along with a range of former players, managers & special guests. WEBSITE: www.lastwordonspurs.com #THFC #TOTTENHAM #SPURS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jesus Is the Only Door to Your Eternal Life, But Jesus Has Given You the Key – His Gospel MESSAGE SUMMARY: From the Gospel of Luke “Life's Possessions and Wealth” A Yale Pediatric Oncologist's (A Window to Heaven: When Children See Life and Death) experienced a life transformation from being an Atheist to an Agnostic and then becoming a Christian because of her involvement with the death and near-death experiences of young children with cancer. These children had no predisposed reason to understand God or Heaven; however, their verbalized near-death experiences are compelling. In Luke 13:22-30, Jesus gives us a glimpse of Heaven because He does not want us to miss out on Paradise. Are you going to be saved? Before presenting His Parable of the Narrow Door, Jesus sets up this Parable in Luke 13:24: “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.". in John 10:7-9, Jesus tells us that He is the door: “So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.". Also, Jesus paints the picture, in Luke 13:24, of a feast in Paradise: “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.”. In this Parable in Luke 13:25, Jesus expresses how difficult it will be to get into Heaven: “When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.'". After the door is inaccessible, Jesus tells us in Luke 13:27: “But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!'". Knowing God personally and His Grace, through Jesus on the cross and Jesus' Resurrection, is what enables us to have eternal life – Jesus the Christ is the door, as Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that He is the only way to eternal life: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'". Eternal life is offered to us through God's grace, but we can only receive eternal life through our personal faith and our knowing God through a personal relationship with Him.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, I now take a deep breath and stop. So often I miss your hand and gifts in my life because I am preoccupied and anxious. Grant me the power to pause each day and each week to simply rest in your arms of love. In Jesus' name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 132). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 13:22-30; Luke 23:43; Revelation 2:7; John 3:16; John 10:7-9; John 17:3; Matthew 7:21-23; John 14:6; Psalms 22b:17-31. SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers Should Fear, Respect, and Praise God's Power, Sovereignty, and Holiness; but in Life's Trials They Should “fear not for I {Jesus} am with you always””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Daily Evening Prayer (8/14/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 73-74; Lamentations 5; James 4; Metrical Psalm 6:6-10 6 Quite tired with pain, with groaning faint, no hope of ease I see; The night, that quiets common griefs, is spent in tears by me. 7 My beauty fades, my sight grows dim, my eyes with weakness close; Old age o'ertakes me, while I think on my insulting foes. 8 Depart, you wicked, in my wrongs you shall no more rejoice; for god, I find, accepts my tears, and listens to my voice. 9,10 He hears and grants my humble pray'r; and they that wish my fall, Shall blush and rage to see that God protects me from them all. If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

Daily Evening Prayer (8/14/26): from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN) Psalms 73-74; Lamentations 5; James 4; Metrical Psalm 6:6-10 6 Quite tired with pain, with groaning faint, no hope of ease I see; The night, that quiets common griefs, is spent in tears by me. 7 My beauty fades, my sight grows dim, my eyes with weakness close; Old age o'ertakes me, while I think on my insulting foes. 8 Depart, you wicked, in my wrongs you shall no more rejoice; for god, I find, accepts my tears, and listens to my voice. 9,10 He hears and grants my humble pray'r; and they that wish my fall, Shall blush and rage to see that God protects me from them all. If you find this ministry edifying, please consider making a one-time donation or becoming a regular contributor here: https://trinityconnersville.com/give/To read along, visit: https://ie.dailyoffice1662.com/To sing along with the Brady and Tate Metrical Psalter, visit: https://www.friendsofsabbath.org/cgmusic.com/workshop/newver_frame.htmTo own a Bible, visit: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/kjv-center-column-reference-bible-with-apocrypha/

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠⁠Join The Normandy For Ad-Free NME, Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here:⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠⁠ In this segment of Notorious Mass Effect, Analytic Dreamz delivers a detailed key breakdown of TWICE member Chaeyoung's official departure from JYP Entertainment after 14 years. Announced on August 13, 2026 via a handwritten Instagram message, her exit follows Jeongyeon's by just three days. Both confirm they remain fully committed to TWICE, keeping the group intact as a nine-member act. Analytic Dreamz explores Chaeyoung's journey from trainee at age 13 through Sixteen to her creative contributions, including early songwriting credits, and her next chapter under LIL FANTASY, her self-directed solo project blending R&B, neo-soul, and dream pop. The discussion covers the current contract status of the remaining seven members and what these agency shifts mean for TWICE's future while the group continues strong.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/exclusive-contentPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wisconsin Democrats chose Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley as their nominee for governor after a razor-thin primary upset against DSA candidate Francesca Hong. In Minnesota's Democratic Senate primary, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan defeats Congresswoman Angie Craig. Flanagan ran on a campaign to dismantle ICE, Medicare for all and a halt on sales of offensive weapons to Israel.Government funded sex changes for children have been halted. President Trump on Tuesday announcing the federal government will no longer use Medicaid funds to cover such procedures. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has also finalized a rule ending federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program funding for such procedures on children and young people.Kash Patel says homicides are down 17.2% across many of America's largest cities in the first half of 2026. He's crediting cooperation between the FBI, state and local law enforcement. Patel telling the Epoch Times the bureau is also targeting transnational criminal organizations that operate online scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Patel is urging Americans who believe they've been targeted by an online scam to contact the F-B-I as early as possible. He says every report can contribute to taking down a criminal network somewhere in the world.

Jimmy Bartel and Laura Spurway react to the breaking news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Adams's sermon titled "Of Hell" (subtitled in some editions as "The Wicked Shall Depart from Christ into the Greatest Torments") was preached in May 1659. Context & Publication Series Origin: It was delivered as part of The Morning Exercise Methodized, a series of 28 sermons organized by Thomas Case and preached at St. Giles in the Fields, London, in May 1659. First Publication: The collection was published in 1660 as a systematic overview of Christian doctrine. Text & Topic: Preached on Matthew 25:41 ("Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels"), the sermon provides an exposition of eternal punishment, distinguishing between the pœna damni (the pain of loss) and pœna sensûs (the pain of sense).

In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal delivers a rich expository sermon on James 5:1–6, one of the most striking prophetic passages in the New Testament epistles. Drawing on the Jewish literary and cultural context of James's original audience — Jewish Christians scattered from Jerusalem by persecution — Tony unpacks why this text is not a blanket condemnation of wealth, but a devastating judgment oracle against those who hoard riches and oppress the vulnerable. Along the way, he explores the eschatological weight of accumulated wealth, the theology of God's omniscient justice, and the stunning comfort available to the suffering believer. The episode closes by returning to James's thesis: that trials of every kind, including economic oppression, can be counted as joy because of who God is and what He has done in Christ. Key Takeaways James is a deeply Jewish book written to a specific audience — Jewish Christians dispersed from Jerusalem by Saul's persecution, not a general audience of wealthy or Gentile believers. The prophetic "Come now" signals a judgment oracle, not a direct address — James is not rebuking wealthy members of his congregation, but pronouncing eschatological judgment on oppressive landowners using a technique common in Amos, Malachi, and Micah. Hoarding wealth is not morally neutral — it is self-condemning — The corroded gold and moth-eaten garments are not just symbols of decay; they serve as legal evidence against those who refused to use their wealth for God's glory and the good of others. Withholding wages from laborers constitutes a form of murder — In the ancient world, depriving workers of their wages could literally cost them their lives. James draws on Old Testament law to frame predatory economic exploitation as a capital sin. God sees and hears the cries of the oppressed — The wages of defrauded workers "cry out" to the Lord of Hosts, echoing the blood of Abel in Genesis 4. God's justice is not passive or delayed out of ignorance — it is certain and coming. Matthew 25 reframes Christian mercy as care for the body of Christ — The sheep-and-goats judgment is not a general humanitarian mandate, but a specific call to care for persecuted brothers and sisters — and to recognize that mistreating them is mistreating Christ Himself. Trials are counted as joy through the doctrine of imputation — Suffering is not stripped of its pain, but it can be moved from the loss ledger to the profit column because God uses adversity as the instrument of sanctification and glorification. Key Concepts The Prophetic Address: Who Is James Actually Talking To? One of the most common misreadings of James 5:1–6 is assuming James is directly rebuking wealthy Christians in his own congregation. Tony Arsenal corrects this by grounding the passage in its literary and historical context. James employs a well-established prophetic technique — seen in Amos, Malachi, and Micah — of addressing an absent party in order to pronounce judgment on them, while simultaneously comforting those who overhear the oracle. His audience is the dispersed, impoverished Jewish Christians who fled Jerusalem under Saul's persecution. There were almost certainly no wealthy landowners in the room. The "Come now, you rich" is a judgment declaration directed outward, designed to assure the suffering poor that God has seen their oppressor and will act. Far from being a proof-text for radical poverty, the passage is a pastoral comfort wrapped in prophetic fire. Corroded Gold as Legal Evidence Against the Soul James's claim that gold and silver have "corroded" is deliberately shocking — and theologically precise. Gold, uniquely among metals in the ancient world, does not corrode. By saying it has already corroded, James is not making a metallurgical claim but a moral and eschatological one. The accumulated, hoarded wealth of the oppressor has lost its purpose. It sits idle while workers starve, and in doing so it becomes evidence — a legal witness — against its owner in the court of divine justice. Tony draws a direct line between this image and Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount about treasures stored on earth being subject to moth and rust. Both brothers — Jesus and James — appear to be drawing on the same shared wisdom, likely rooted in the same household and the same mother's instruction. Unused wealth does not just fail to help others; it actively indicts its holder. Counting It All Joy: The Accounting Logic of Sanctification Tony closes the sermon by returning to James 1:2 — the thesis statement of the entire letter — and unpacking the word "count" as an accounting term, directly related to the doctrine of imputation. Just as righteousness is reckoned to the believer in justification, so suffering can be reckoned as joy in sanctification. This is not a call to pretend pain isn't real, or to perform contentment. It is a theological reframing: what belongs in the loss column of the ledger can, by faith, be moved to the profit side — not because the trial was pleasant, but because God is sovereign, good, and working all things toward the believer's conformity to the image of Christ. The oppressor means their wickedness for evil. God means it for glory. The supreme example is the cross itself — the only truly innocent man, suffering the worst evil ever committed, for the redemption of His people. Memorable Quotes The corrosion of that gold serves as evidence for the condemnation of those who are harming you — and the corrosion of this wealth is an indication of the corrosion of their very souls. He sees your pain. He sees your suffering. He sees your victories even when no one else is celebrating them. He sees you — and that should be a great source of comfort. Imputation is an accounting term. And when we count it all joy, we're taking what should be a red line in the loss ledger — what should be an expense — and we're able to move it to the profit. Not because it didn't hurt, and not because we wanted it to happen, but because our God is good enough to not rob us of the chance to be sanctified. Full Transcript Tony Arsenal: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you." It's always a little, uh, strange to sort of jump into the middle of a series, and, um, you know, Wes is one of the most competent preachers that I know personally, so I trust that he has given you a good and satisfying overview. Uh, but I don't feel like I would be doing my responsibility if I didn't at least touch on a few things, uh, related to the, the intro to James that I think is relevant for this particular passage in a way that maybe is not relevant for the rest of the book. So some of this I hope is review, I, I anticipate is review, but I think it's worth, uh, touching on. James, as you know, is the, the half brother of Jesus. He was the leader of the Jerusalem church, and specifically he was sort of the figurehead of the Jewish church as a whole. Um, the Jewish church was the only church for the very early part of the church's growth. There were always, uh, Gentile believers. Even in the Old Testament, there were Gentiles who trusted in the Lord of Israel and the God of Israel. They were often called God-fearers. They rarely converted all the way to Judaism, but they were sort of seen as an attachment to the Jewish people. They didn't participate in all of the blessings of the Jewish people, but they did participate in most. They often had the same kind of protection. They were in a form of covenant with God. Um, they were able to worship and offer sacrifices. The temple itself had a whole portion of the temple dedicated called the Court of Gentiles, specifically for these Jewish worshipers. And as the church spread, primarily through persecution, which we'll touch base on here in a minute, as the church spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria, and ultimately to the ends of the earth, it took on a, an increasingly Gentile Greek flavor. As more and more primarily initially Greek converts came into the church, and then of course, as it spread to other sort of non-Hellenistic lands, other, other types of people, other nations, other people groups joined the church, the scriptures which-- the New Testament we receive primarily from Paul, at least in terms of the epistles, um, also began to take on a more Gentile flavor. Not because Paul was a Gentile, but because Paul was ministering primarily to Gentiles What we'll see here is that James is a very Jewish book. I'm sure that along the way there's been several kinds of things pointed out to you to show that, but I wanna show a couple things that not only establish James as the author, James the brother of, of Jesus, but also root the, not only the author, but the audience in a distinctly Jewish Christian, uh, context. So you don't have to turn there, I'll read this, but in Acts, uh, 15, which is the, the great Jerusalem Council, uh, we read this. It says, "With the following letter..." So the, the council meets, they make a decision about what k- what parts of the Jewish law were going to be commended to and recommended, uh, and required for the Christian believers, the Gentile Christian believers, and when they're done, they send this letter to all of, all of the churches. And it says, "With the following letter, the brothers, both apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are at, of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings." Now, I don't know about you, but I always sign my emails the same way, right? I've got, like, my work signature that I have to use, that the, the hospital makes me use with all the proper formatting and colors and fonts, but I always have the same signature. Mine is very simple. I just say, "Thanks," right? I just sign it as, "Thanks," above my signature, and I'm sure you all have that sort of characteristic way you sign a s- sign an email, or maybe it's the way you say goodbye at the end of a phone call. My father-in-law always says, "So long," which is a phrase you don't hear very often, so it's very distinct to him. We all have these little tells in our communication that sort of tip off who they're from. If you turn quickly back over to James 1, so just flip the page, uh, to the left here, he starts his letter by saying, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, greetings." It's the only two letters in the New Testament that we have where the author identifies himself, sends to a sort of generalized audience, and then signs it, "Greetings." Now, James, the brother of Jesus, was the leader of the Jerusalem Church. He was the leader of the Jewish ch- the Jewish Church in general, and he signed the letter coming from the Acts Council as sort of the presiding minister. If, if we were, y- you might call them, like, the moderator of your business meeting, or we would call them the moderator of our presbytery or our session in the Presbyterian context I come from. He was the one who sort of, like, presided over there, and so the letter that went out to the churches was signed in his name and written, drafted by him. So we see this characteristic way that the letter is addressed with this final word, "Greetings," which is not used frequently in the New Testament We also see when we look at the language carefully that the audience of this, uh, of this letter, it's debated and there are good arguments, but i- in my opinion, it's very clear that the audience of this letter is not Jewish Christians in general or, uh, Jews who have not yet converted. There are some people who would say that 'cause they're called the 12 tribes. But instead it is the Jewish Christians who originally dwelled in Jerusalem and were sent out into the countryside after the persecution that was started primarily by Saul. If you look at Acts, Acts 1 which is, uh, the passage where Saul begins to persecute the church or where Saul kinda comes on the scene as the persecutor of the church, there's a couple distinct, um, distinct linguistic markers we should touch base on. Starting in verse one it says, "And p- Saul approved of his execution. And there arose a day-- that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. They were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church and entered the house after house. He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison." When we look at this and we compare it to that, uh, again, that first verse of James where he says to the ones who are scattered, we see that there's a pretty strong linguistic parallel that tells us that the people he has in mind for this letter, the people he's addressing, are the same people who were dispersed or scattered out of Jerusalem in the persecution. When he says to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, that word dispersion is not really a translation. It's what we call a transliteration. So it's not like we've taken a word and sort of given it an English word. We've just changed the word, the letters over to English letters. In Greek, the word is diaspora, dispersion, and in, uh, Acts 1, the verb used to, to sort of describe this scattering of them is diaspero. And it is a picture of scattering seed. This is what a farmer would do. So it's not even the normal word we would use when someone is fleeing persecution. It's this idea that God has scattered Christians out into the world, in this case by persecution. He scattered them out into the world to be planted. A lot of this is where we get phrases from Tertullian about the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Now, why does this matter? As I mentioned, we often think in Gentile categories when we're reading the New Testament, and for good reason. One, we're all, all Gentiles, I'm presuming. I, I don't, I don't think-- I think I mentioned this last time, and no one came up and corrected me. I don't think anyone here is ethnically Jewish with ancestry that they're directly aware of, you know, where they trace their lineage directly back. Europe is a, a big amalgamation of just about everything, so most of us probably have a smattering of different ethnicities. But none of us are ethnically Jewish to the idea that we would, uh, identify as such in the same way. And even if we were, we've been raised and grown up in a Gentile context. We live in the West. We have-- We think in different categories. And what's more is most of the New Testament is written primarily to Gentiles by someone who is ministering to Gentiles. So Paul uses a fair amount of, of Hebraisms or things that are related to the Old Testament. Of course, he's explaining the Old Testament, and he makes ample reference to the Old Testament because that is the word of God, and it is profitable for our teaching, our correction, our reproof, and ultimately for our, our sanctification. But he uses metaphors and language in a way that is not common to the Israel context that Jesus and James and Peter and the other apostles were raised in. We don't have time to go there, but there's even some metaphors that Paul uses that are actually used the opposite way in, uh, in the more Hebraic Jewish, uh, epistles we have. One example that comes to mind is, um, Paul looks at the concept of milk, and that's not necessarily a good thing, right? It's not a bad thing, but it's what immature believers use, right? They can't handle the meat of the Bible. They have to be given the milk of the gospel before they can progress to the meat. In the Book of Hebrews, which I don't think was written by Paul, and in other places, Peter uses milk as a way to talk about nourishment, right? We think of the land flowing with milk and honey. Milk was not seen as some sort of substandard food that was only for babies. It was seen as, like, the richest, best thing that you could eat. We all have a linguistic environment that we grow up in. We all have a shared vernacular. You know, if I say something like, "You can't get there from here," everyone knows what that means. Obviously, you can get there from here, but you have to take this circuitous route. We know what that means. I think if we went around the room, we probably would find that there is this shared language. And then if we took individual families, we'd find that even within those families, there's further narrowing down of sort of like inside jokes and words that are used in ways that are not necessarily the same as others So when we read James, or when we read the letters of Peter or the letters of John, we should default to thinking more along the lines of comparing them to the words of Christ in the Gospel, first and foremost, and then to the Old Testament before we start to think about them necessarily comparing them to Ja-- or to Paul or to other kind of first century Hellenistic literature. That's not, of course, to say that Paul and James contradict. I'm sure that we went through a long explanation with much detail when you got to James chapter two, which is, of course, the most famous example. Paul uses the word justification or justify in a legal sense to make or to declare someone to be righteous. It's the verdict that the judge delivers, and it communicates the status. It actually performs what it says. When the judge says, "I find you not guilty," it changes your status from being potentially guilty to being cleared of all charges. Paul uses it slightly differently. He's not using it in the sense of to make someone righteous or to declare them righteous. He's using it to say they've been shown to be righteous. They've been validated. They've been vindicated. And if we get that mixed up, that's the source of all sorts of confusion. So when we come to this passage, and we'll get there, I promise, when we come to this passage, we have to understand some of the metaphors and the language that's being used draws from an existing body of shared cultural language that is foreign to us and is in some ways foreign to the rest of the New Testament, apart from what we see in the Gospels And it's important to remember, and this is why it's so key to land, that the audience of this letter is the persecuted, poor Jewish Christians who probably had a fairly comfortable life, relatively speaking, living in Jerusalem. These are city folks. These are people that live in Jerusalem or farm into the fields immediately around Jerusalem. They were established. They owned land. They probably had family that they had to leave, and now they're scattered out into the country with nothing. They're sent out into the world with no jobs, no family connections, no social welfare. Because they've left the Jewish faith, at least from the perspective of the Jews, they can't even go to their Jewish brothers and sisters and rely on the hospitality that's required in the law of Moses This is so important when we think about how James opens the letter and delivers what I think is his thesis statement. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of every kind." Trials like not knowing where the next meal is gonna come from, not knowing where the next roof over your head is, not being sure you can feed your children. We all face real trials and tribulations in our life. Some of them are related to our faith, and some is just the fallen human condition in the fallen world we live in. But we're talking here about a totally different category of, uh, trial and persecution than most of us hopefully will ever experience That brings us to our actual passage now. James opens up this section with a linguistic marker that signifies this is a change in topic. He says, "Come now," or another way to translate it might be, "Now listen. Listen up." When my son is doing something that, uh, I need him to stop or I need to give him instructions, I hold him by his shoulders and I say, "Look at my eyes. I want your eyes right here. Look at my eyes." That's what Paul is doing. He's stopping and he's interrupting the flow of language. This shows us this is a new topic and a new audience. James is not speaking to rich Christians in his audience. First, 'cause there likely weren't any rich Christians directly in his audience. Remember, these are the, the poor Christians scattered out into the Judean countryside, into Samaria He's using a technique that's really common in the prophets. It's common in Jesus, where he's addressing the people who are not really listening as a way to establish that they will be judged, to hold them accountable, but also to comfort those who are hearing the message. This is a form of prophetic address. We see this in Amos, where he's chastising the Jewish leaders. Uh, in Malachi and Micah, this happens. Malachi is primarily, at least initially, is primarily, uh, a book that is railing against the rich leaders in Jerusalem who had oppressed their own brothers and sisters. The chances that those Jewish cr- uh, Jewish leaders were reading his prophecy or hearing his prophecy is pretty slim. So he was addressing a different group to establish the judgment that he was proclaiming on another party. Jesus does this when he says like, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees." There were probably scribes and Pharisees in the audience there, but he wasn't just talking to the people in front of them. He was pronouncing a judgment oracle, a judgment prophecy on all people who fit that category, and James is doing the same thing here James is not opposing wealth generally. Sometimes James is used as kind of a New Testament example to justify the idea that we should all be poor and wear shabby clothing and walk around barefoot and dirty all the time. Right? This is a key passage that's used, uh, in parts of the church that really emphasize sort of a poverty-based lifestyle. Think of like the wandering monks of the Middle Ages or the, the, um, sort of more radical exclusionists that exist even in our day. I remember when I was in college, I was really enamored with this figure named Shane Claiborne. Some of you have probably heard of him, and I remember I was so impressed because he, he didn't buy new shoes. He just cut new shoes out of duct tape and put them back together. Now, there's some, you know, there's some rugged, uh, rugged get-it-done-ness that, uh, I think us, uh, New Englanders can appreciate, but God does not call us to wear duct tape shoes, at least not universally. I'm not gonna comment on whether he calls Shane Claiborne to do that. I also don't think Shane Claiborne does that anymore. Um, some of us he may call to a lifestyle of poverty in association with a mission field or in association with a specific calling. He does not call us generally to be poor or to not gain wealth What he is opposing here is the refusal to use wealth appropriately for God's glory and the accumulation of wealth just for wealth's sake We'll see that as we unpack the language here a little bit. He establishes that he's not just talking about the earthly hoarding of wealth, as though somehow the very act of accumulating wealth was itself the problem. What he's doing is he's pronouncing an eschatological judgment on those who hoard wealth and use it to oppress others. We see here he says, "Come now, you rich, and weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you." Th- that word weep and howl, those are li-- those are words that are most commonly used in prophetic literature to describe the final cry of anguish. Think about the weeping and gnashing of teeth that Jesus talks about. This is the language he's using. He's talking about the final estate of those who refuse to submit their wealth to God He says, "Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be the evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasures in the last days." Now, remember what we said. We, we should read this not in light of some general wisdom, although it is general wisdom that if we accumulate wealth, it tends to not actually go well for us if we're not utilizing it in God-honoring ways. But we should read this in light of the most obvious connection, his big brother, Jesus, who taught his people, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." To maybe land this linguistic, uh, this linguistic connection a little more, I don't know, vibrantly, I'm gonna speculate a little bit. So if you don't like it, then you can disregard it. This is not God's Word. This is a speculation. I can just imagine little Jesus, little nine-year-old Jesus, and probably little six or seven-year-old James and the rest of their siblings, and there's quite a few of them. And we have Joseph, uh, who maybe at this time was still living, although probably not. We know he was living until Jesus was later, you know, 12, he was still around, but we don't know exactly when he left the picture. But he was a carpenter, and he was not, probably not overly wealthy. Uh, they had had to pick up and move, you know, cross-country anyways. They-- We don't know exactly where they were from initially, but they went to Bethlehem, and then they returned to Nazareth. They probably didn't have a lot. There were a lot of mouths to feed and only one business. They didn't have a farm. They didn't own livestock that we know of. I can just imagine a time when little J- little James or one of his sisters was frustrated about the fact that they didn't have anything. And I could picture Mary getting down and going, "Do not store up treasures in, in, uh, in heaven or on Earth. It's all gonna waste away." The same way we might tell our children kind of a, a moral kind of story. Sometimes we have this picture, last time I was here I, I spoke on Philippians 2, we have this idea that Jesus was somehow like Superman, that he, he was just pretending to be a normal human most of the time. As it touches his humanity, as, as we think about Jesus as a human, he had a, his own human set of thinking faculties, his own human knowledge. He grew in wisdom and stature is what Luke teaches us. Well, where did he get some of this wisdom? There's a good reasonable argument to be made that some of the pr- more proverbial type sayings that we see in Christ, that they actually come from the wisdom of his mother and father. And a really good reason to believe that is James relies on the same exact, uh, sort of proverbial wisdom to l- land his point. He doesn't create his own metaphor, he goes back to, at the very least we can say he goes back to the words of Christ. That's a very safe position to take. But this is the shared linguistic context that they both grew up in And he says, "You've done this in the last days." Now, the, the phrase last days in the Bible, uh, in the New Testament generally refers to the time period from Christ's resurrection to his return. We, for a lot of reasons, think about it as kind of like that climactic end period in time. Depending on your, your persuasion, maybe this is when the Antichrist comes, or maybe this is before or after, or maybe during the time when the church is raptured. But in either case, we think of that sort of last period in time before Christ finally comes back. But the New Testament writers are really talking about the entire duration, from Christ's resurrection to his return is what they're referring to. But it does have in view this idea that we are in the last times. The, the final judgment is not necessarily strictly something that's out there in the future. We are living in the last days now, and so what we do and what we say and, and how we worship and if we worship is eschatology. It is the theology of the last times He also positions this as though this is a universal thing going on with those who hoard wealth. This is a very shocking image. Um, we have very good ways to preserve things in our modern world, right? We have ways to m- to make, uh, stainless steel that won't rust, or at least won't rust quickly. But most things in the ancient world, even most precious metals, corroded. Um, I remember when I was growing up, there was this project in my hometown. I lived in a, a little town called White Bear Lake in, in, um, Minnesota, although little is relative. It's pretty big compared to most of what we have out here. And I remember when I was maybe 12 or 13 years old, they had this big building project to build this brand-new, beautiful lakeside pavilion in the center of town, and it w- just gleamed in the sun. It was so gorgeous, and it was made of copper, and everybody loved it, and two years later, it was bright green. I think it's still bright green. I think they figured out it wasn't worth repairing, so they, they just, they just make sure it doesn't keep getting worse, and at some point, I'm sure they either have or will tear it down. But the one metal in the ancient world that didn't do this was gold. It's part of why gold is such a durable measurement of wealth is because it doesn't wear out. It doesn't corrode. It's very soft. It's very easy to damage it, which is why we don't build statues out of it, or we don't build, uh, buildings out of it usually, but it didn't corrode. So when James says here, "Not only your silver, which tarnishes and corrodes, but your silver and gold have corroded." Not are corroding, but have corroded. The rich hearer of this is probably, you know, sitting around like Scrooge McDuck with a pile of gold coins thinking, "Ah, it looks pretty good to me." And what James is saying is, "No, no, no. No, it's corroded. It's eating away at your heart. It's lost its value because you refuse to use it, and so it sits in a pile doing nothing for no one, except serving to further your own condemnation." This is such a crazy, shocking situation that the insanity of not using your wealth, period, the insanity of sitting on your wealth in the ancient world is going to serve as a form of evidence justifying the condemnation of these wicked fools And further, the corrosion of this wealth is an indication of the corrosion of their very souls. There's something about money. I was-- When I was here a couple times before, I preached one of the wealth passages out of Ecclesiastes, and there's something about money that has a unique way of really, really wrecking us. Either we don't have it and we want it, or we have it and we don't wanna lose it, or we have it and we don't spend it wisely. It seems like there's an infinite number of ways to screw it up. And we landed last time that the gospel is good news because with the nearly infinite ways of screwing it up, we're going to screw it up. But the one way that he talks about screwing it up here is hoarding it and sitting on it and not using it Moving on into verses four and five, James moves us now to a more sort of temporal register. He starts out by talking about what wealth is and what it's doing and how it will ultimately affect the entire life and eternity of those in his targeted audience, those he's proclaiming this prophetic, uh, judgment against. But in verse four, he moves back to the behaviors that are being, uh, being engaged in to show the state of these people's souls. He says, "Behold, the wages of the laborers you, who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter." James here points at the, at the behaviors that show this hoarding behavior, and he does it for a number of reasons. One, he needs to call out sin. That's part of the role of a Christian, and especially a leader or a minister in the church, is, um, to not only call out sin in the body of, of Christ, but in a, I think a very particular way, and there's all sorts of, uh, all sorts of theological controversies flying on around about Christian nationalism and other associated things. Some of it is just the spirit of the age. Um, post-COVID, there's a, a real strong sense that our government has failed us and we need to replace it with something else. But there is a, a true way, and I, I think some of those things are a little misguided, but there's a true way that the church, particularly her leaders, should be speaking to the culture around us, and yes, even to the government, to proclaim the truth of God into a wicked and godless culture. This might take the form o- of a m- minister who goes to a town hall meeting to speak out against a gambling association that's going to be forming, or a, an elder in the church or a deacon in the church who goes to speak to, uh, to the city hall or to the state legislature about the wickedness of abortion and about what we see it does to women's lives when they are fooled into thinking that this is the right thing for them. Again, the church is not the state, and the state is not the church, and we should be very careful not to cross those lines for all sorts of reasons. But we as a culture, as a Christian culture, in the United States particularly, have lost sight of our responsibility to speak truth in all circumstances to those in power So James is doing that, of course. But even more so, this is a way that he establishes for his direct audience, for the Jewish poor Christians who have been scattered in this diaspora, in this dispersion. He looks at them in a sense and says, "I see you. I see what's happening to you." And as God's representative, as his chosen voice for this message, as his inspired author, God sees you too This goes back again, the first two chapters of James serve as kind of a thesis statement and table of contents for the whole book. We get an idea of what may have been happening, the actual, uh, acts that were being engaged in, in, in chapter two verse six, he says, "You have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?" James has in mind here a form of predatory land purchasing, where the rich were sort of sweeping up property. They were sweeping it up, and then they were charging probably exorbitant prices to those who would lease the land to try to eke out a living. Does that sound at all like any of our current context, right? When's the last time any of us have tried to buy a house and found anything reasonable? Well, a large part of that is that there are big companies that are scooping up all the land and buying all the, the developments. Now, I'm not commenting on those particular situations. I don't know those people. I don't know their hearts, and some of those things actually are doing good things for the community. But we're familiar with this idea of someone who will purchase a resource, who will then jack the price up in order to turn a profit on it. I'm not opposed to turning a profit. Y- y- yeah, it takes money to run a business, and you have to, you have to recuperate those funds if your business is going to survive. But there's a, there's a way that that can be done that is a predatory act These rich landowners were getting fat on those that they were victimizing In our, in our modern world, we tend to think of someone who is overweight as unhealthy, for good reason, right? Too much weight, and I say that with someone with a little too much padding around the middle, so no, no judgment on this, but too much weight is not healthy, right? We hear that from our doctors, that there's a healthy weight range and there's an unhealthy weight range. In the ancient world, obesity was not the concern, right? Malnutrition was the concern. And so when you see, uh, a king in the Old Testament who's, who's noted to be fat, that's not always negative. Sometimes it is, but he's noted to be fat or he's noted to be large. Even the word for glory, I'm sure you've heard this before, the word for glory in the Old Testament has to do with being heavy. So this idea of weightiness or, um, being able to eat enough to actually gain weight instead of being thin was seen as a good thing, but not when you use it as a way to victimize other people. A person who gathers wealth honestly and enjoys it, that's, that's Proverbs right there. That's the Book of Ecclesiastes in its sort of positive sense, is that we, when we accumulate wealth and we use it for God's glory, it's perfectly okay for us to also use it for our enjoyment. God wants us to enjoy the fruit of our labor. But when we accumulate wealth and use it as a way to gain power over someone and to abuse them, that is what James is railing against here And ultimately, with the audience that James is writing to, this is a form of murder. This is why he says, "You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter." Because a person who can't feed their family in the Old Testament or in the New Testament era was likely to see them die. There are not a ton of people in modern America that are starving to death on the streets. It's not to say it doesn't happen. It's not to say that there's not things like food insecurity or malnutrition, but there are, there are plenty of places people can go to get their basic food needs met. It was not like that-- It's not like that in most of the world now, and it certainly was not like that in the ancient world. And so a, a landowner who again refuses, we're talking about the Jewish landowners, refuses to obey the Jewish law to leave some leftovers for the poor, and instead gleans all the way to the corner so that they can turn a little bit of extra pro-profit, is not only sinning against the Old Testament law, but is committing murder in the strictest sense by refusing to preserve the life of these poor, uh, Christians who are destitute And again, James is encouraging his readers here that the Lord has not ignored their plight. We can think back to the Book of Habakkuk, where Habakkuk basically lodges a lawsuit against God, saying, "You are not paying attention. You're not doing your thing. You're not being faithful to your covenant." And God says, "Let me show you how faithful to my covenant I am. The Chaldeans are on the way." And Habakkuk is like, "Whoa, wait a second here. That's not what I had in mind." God sees the oppression of the poor. He knows when His people are targeted. He knows when children are abused or when widows are ignored. He knows when the government does something to shut down a church, or when the medical institution refuses to acknowledge your personal rights. He sees those things, and He's not ignorant, and He's not static. He's not sleeping on those things. The purpose here is to comfort the oppressed by showing that God is not ignorant of what has happened to them. Just two quick Old Testament examples that use similar language. In Genesis 4, we read of Cain and his murder of Abel, and in verse eight it says, "Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, 'I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?' And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.'" Numbers, uh, 35 verses 30 says, "If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. And you shall accept no ransom from him who has fled to the city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land except for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it." There's a rich history in the Old Testament of language of inanimate things, land, blood, wealth, other kinds of things that give testimony to God in some way, and specifically of these inanimate, uh, impersonal things testifying to the sin of the people that dwell around them. Even Christ says, "If these people do not worship me, the rocks will cry out." Now, the rocks are not literally crying out, although it certainly would be within God's power to make the rocks sing. But Christ is not saying in that passage that the rocks are going to form mouths and begin singing Hosanna or whatever song they might have been doing. What he's saying is that the very rocks themselves give testimony to the glory and goodness of God. So even if the people around here fail to do so, the entire rest of creation is doing so, and that is what James is saying here. My dear brothers and sisters scattered in the dispersion who have nothing, and in society's eyes are nothing, some of you are facing persecution. Some of you will be killed for your faith, but God sees because the wealth that is being accumulated on the breaking of your own backs is crying out. The corrosion of that gold serves as evidence for the condemnation of those who are harming you We often want justice in the moment. I think we always want justice in the moment, don't we? I think it's a really hard discipline to say, "That person wronged me, but I'm okay letting God sort it out." That is a hard pill to swallow, but it is often the pill that we have to take. It's the medicine that God uses to further our justification, our j- our, uh, excuse me, our sanctification Paul says, you know, "Do not take vengeance. Let the Lord do that." We can trust, and this is where the comfort of this passage comes for us, brothers and sisters, we can trust that when we are wronged, that when someone has done something to us that is a violation of God's law, that that sin will be punished. Now, when we're dealing with other Christians, that sin has already been punished, and so it is not, it is not appropriate for us to hold onto that and to take vengeance. That's what the parable of the unmerciful servant is all about If I as a Christian refuse to forgive my brother and sister when they've wronged me, it's me saying that I'm a better judge of their sin and I'm a better executioner than the Lord is when he punished that sin on the cross. But that sin was not atoned for when we're talking about unbelievers. When we're talking about those who will ultimately end their earthly life and find themselves waking up in flames, that sin has not been atoned for, and so God will have his justice, and we will have our justice. We won't turn there, but in Revelation, we're familiar with the passage, I think it's chapter six, where the martyred saints are under the throne and they say, "How long, O Lord?" Well, God doesn't answer their question, but he gives them new clothes. When Job cries out and he's, he's saying, "I don't understand why this is happening. Why are you targeting me, God? Why, why are you a hunter with your arrows in my liver?" God doesn't tell him why, but he says, essentially, "I'm God and you're just going to have to trust me that this is right." We see a very similar, uh, kind of situation here when we think about when, uh, when Abraham, uh, when God tells Abraham what he's about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, and then Abraham negotiates, apparently negotiates with God, uh, trying to secure the salvation of the city for the sake of the righteous. And we read starting in verse 20 of chapter 18, he says, "The Lord said to, to Abraham," he says, " 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. If not, I will know.' " God is always seeing and investigating the sin of people We're, we're teaching my son, August, the children's catechism, which is a, a great resource. Um, and one of the questions is, "Can you see God?" And the answer is, "No, but he always sees me." Now that may feel at first to some people like a little bit of a heavy-handed answer, but knowing that God sees us is not just there to correct our sin. It should do that, right? Even the secret sins we commit in the dark when, when we're not being watched by anyone else, even, even those God sees. But do you know what else He sees? He sees your pain. He sees your suffering. He sees your victories even when no one else is celebrating them. He sees your progress. He sees you, and that should be a great source of comfort Now this passage, especially verse six, can be a little bit hard to apply because although we're the targeted audience, we're not the target of the judgment oracle. So I think what we have to do, we have to, we have to think about this in light of the way that God talks about the judgment of unbelievers in other places in the scripture, and how that helps us to understand kind of what our, what our status is. If you'll take your Bibles and open to Matthew chapter 25, I think the, um, the account here of the goat and sheep judgment, uh, is instructive for us Starting in verse 31, it says, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory and the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King answered them, 'Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those on the left, 'Depart from me for you for, uh, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also, uh, they also will say, answer saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not minister to you?' Then he will answer them saying, 'Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Now, this passage is sometimes understood as a general command to feed the poor or the sick, or to visit those in prisons, or any of the f- the sort of mercy ministry things that, that, um, are mentioned here. And those are all things that Christians should do, right? We should be engaged in, um, in mercy ministry to the poor, to those who are destitute. We should be mindful and thoughtful of those who have needs around us. What this passage is teaching, though, is not a general command to feed all people, but a specific command to care for your brothers and sisters in Christ when they have a need He doesn't say to the righteous, "You did these to everyone." He says, "Whatever you did to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me." All of the things that are listed here, the, the six mercy ministries that are listed by Christ here, are things that persecuted Christians were suffering at the time, persecuted Jew- Jewish Christians, and that would be common experiences for, for Jewish Christians and for all persecuted Christians. Right? They're hungry. They don't have food. Our diaspora Jewish Christians don't have land to farm, and even if they're able to scrape together enough funding to lease out a farm, they're being, uh, they're being totally overwhelmed by the cost of that. The sort of homeowners association dues of these pyramid schemes that were going on in the first century, they were so exorbitant that it wasn't even subs- subsistence farming. Christians were being thrown in, uh, in prison. They didn't have enough money to replace their clothes when it wore out. They couldn't have access to clean water. We take clean water as such a, such a basic thing, and it's so easy. You just turn on the tap, or you just go to the store and you buy a bottle of $7 water. It wasn't like this in the first century. If you didn't have a well, you didn't have water, unless you had someone who cared enough to share this precious resource with you. And so what Christ is saying to, to his people, both in the immediate audience on the Sermon on the Mount, uh, and in this, the Olivet Discourse here, what he's saying to his people is when someone in the body of Christ does not have what they need, the body of Christ should step up and make sure that that is the case, that they take care of that person. And likewise, he's saying to those who are not a part of the body of Christ, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Now, the intro to this, why it sometimes is called a parable, is the sheep and the goats. We sometimes go way too far into the arena of comparing the behavior of sheeps with the behavior of the people here, right? Sheep are nice, they're affable, they listen to you. In reality, from what I understand, sheep are pretty dumb and can be very stubborn, right? And then we, we read and we go, "Goats are stubborn, they're rebellious, they're not really good for anything." Well, there's a reason people have goats on farms. They, they can be stubborn, right? They can be destructive, but they also serve a purpose. So the point here is not that sheep are good and goats are bad. The point is that sheep are not goats and goats are not sheep. And, uh, another point that comes with this is sheep don't become goats by behaving like goats, and goats don't become sheep by acting like sheep. I have some friends that will tell you they have very affectionate, friendly, lovable goats, right? I'd, I would... If I could get my kids one of those little pygmy goats that everybody loves, I would do that, 'cause they can be very kind, very sweet, and they're very smart. But they're not sheep. And if you read this passage carefully, this fact that those who are taken to the right are, are in fact taken to the right is not because they fed the poor. It's not because they ministered to Christ by feeding the least of these. They did those things because they were part of the kingdom The King says to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." The sheep on the right were always going to be the sheep on the right. They were predestined according to the counsel of God's will before all time to live and walk in good works. That's just Ephesians 2 there. That's also just James 2 there. You have faith, I will show you my faith by my works. This is evidence language, loved ones Likewise, the ones who are told to depart into eternal darkness were also predestined not to inherit this kingdom. No kingdom was prepared for them before the foundation of the world. They have no inheritance. They have nothing. They will end up in the state that they are trying to impose on these poor Jewish Christians. They will end up in the state that they may be trying to impose on some of us in this room And for the final verse here in, in chapter five, in verse six here, there's a lot of discussion and debate in the commentaries about who the identity of this righteous one is. It says, "You've condemned and murdered the righteous person, he does not resist you." Now, some commentators will take the fact that this is the singular righteous person, that he has been murdered and h- was condemned, and will take this as a reference to Christ. And that would, would make good sense, right? The Jewish, the wealthy Jewish landowners, the wealthy Jews in Jerusalem who per- who persecuted and cast out, um, the Christians, they were in the same group of people who condemned and murdered Jesus And at least at the time of writing this, and in many ways in our own day, God is not necessarily resisting them. He's allowing them to store up judgment for the coming day of wrath There are others who will take this as sort of the hypothetical singular, right? The righteous one or the righteous person is this, uh, representative hypothetical person that represents all of the persecuted Christians. And so it's more like saying, um, to the, the wealthy landowners who are persecuting Christians, "You have condemned and murdered the Christians, the righteous people, and we do not resist you." Now, at the end of the day, it's, it's always good to have good, sober, well-intentioned, text-based debates about what the Bible means. We can and we should try to convince others, uh, when we think they're wrong about what the scripture means. So that's not what I'm saying here. But in many ways, which of those two perspectives it actually is doesn't change the interpretation of this passage. Like we read in Matthew 25, like we read in Acts 9 when Christ comes and confronts Saul, what you do to God's people, you are doing to Christ himself. What you do to the body, you have done to the head. It's a little bit weird to say that when I stub my toe, I injure my head, but that's true, right? I don't injure my toe as though it's some separate piece. It's not like I'm a Lego man where I can just swap out a hand that gets cracked and put it back on. When I injure my toe, I injure myself. My whole body is injured even though it's specific to a part of my body. When you-- when someone persecutes you, when they, uh, try to extort your wealth, your funds, when they try to harm your body, when they try to take away your children, all things that are happening not just out there in the world, but in our country, even in our own region. When they try to tell you that because you don't wanna play a basketball game, that you can't play sports at all. When a city taxes a portion of a church's property because they don't think it's being used for religious purposes, they are doing that to Jesus Christ himself, and God will not be mocked This should call us both to faithfulness and to encouragement How people treat Christ or how people treat Christ's people, including how we trust, tr- uh, treat Christ's people, shows us what we think about Christ. The people who take care of the church do so because they love God, and they do it out of a regenerated heart that already loves God. And the people who hate the church do it because they hate Christ, and they do it out of their wickedness and out of their wicked heart This brings us back again to the thesis statement of James. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." And then he says later in that, uh, first chapter in verse nine, "Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower fails, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." Now, you're all coming up to the end of James here. Um, we probably have two, two more sermons, I would guess, and the rest of this chapter is reinforcing this. It's unpacking for the immediate audience and therefore for us, it's unpacking that although the rich have their punishment coming to them, that likewise our consolation, our comfort from Christ is also coming to us. He closes the whole letter out, he returns to his thesis statement to say, "I'm not going to pretend that the trials you're going through are joyful, but you can count it all joy." You can reckon it, you can impute it as joy, my brothers and sisters. You can put it in the joy column instead of the t- the pain column, right? We had discussion about the beautiful word imputation in the announcements and scripture reading in the beginning here Imputation is a, is an accounting term. And when we count it all joy, we're taking what should be a red line in the, in the loss ledger, right? We're taking what should be an expense, and we're able to move it to the profit. We're able to move it to the positive side, not because it didn't hurt and not because we wanted it to happen, but because our God is good enough to not rob us of the chance to be sanctified When we are oppressed and opposed, those who are oppressing and oppose us mean it for evil, just like Joseph's brothers, uh, and Pharaoh, and all sorts of wicked men in, in the Old Testament and in our own world. Pilate, Herod, you mean, you name it in the Bible, this applies. They meant their wicked acts for wicked things, but God, rich in mercy, works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And what is that purpose? That we might be transformed into the image of Christ so that Christ may be glorified and He may be the firstborn among many brothers. When we face trials and suffering of every kind, it leads us to our sanctification and to our ultimate glorification. We do not earn those things. We don't sanctify ourselves any more than we justify ourselves, or that any more than we will glorify ourselves or will raise ourselves from the dead. That is all God's work from start to finish. But God does use these things that He brings us through as a way to bring about that work It's like he bends us over the hammer, over the anvil of trials, and he hammers us until we become a sharp sword in the hand of, in his hand. Or he polishes us with a rough cloth until we become a smooth, beautiful gem, right? Think of any number of refining things that need to be done. It always involves, if the thing was, uh, was a person, it always involves something that would hurt a little bit. It always involves a little bit of damage to wear away the impurities. Our sanctification and our glorification is no different than that. He uses adversity. He uses the wicked actions and intentions of, of evil men and women. He uses those things to glorify us. So although we should never, uh, we should never seek those things, right? You don't have to go and make yourself the soft target to the wicked people. It's okay to keep your head down. There's nothing wrong with that. The Jewish Christians were probably doing their best to keep their heads down most of the time, and that's fine. There's not any words in scripture about being a coward if you don't, if you don't put a target on your back. But your target is gonna get there eventually, and that's not a bad thing. We can welcome that. We can count it as joy because of who God is and what he's done. The supreme act of suffering, the supreme act of, of evil happened to the only innocent person there ever was, and it happened to him for us.  this episode is available below.

In Episode 499 of the Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb conclude their extended study of Matthew 25 with a close examination of the Sheep and Goats passage (vv. 31–46). The conversation tackles one of the most frequently misread sections in the Gospels — a text often weaponized for works-righteousness or social-justice reductionism — and recovers its deeply Reformed, gospel-saturated meaning. The hosts argue that the works displayed at the final judgment are not meritorious currency but the spontaneous, unselfconscious fruit of transformed hearts. They explore the significance of the sheep's surprise, the inheritance language of the kingdom, unconditional election, and the precise meaning of "the least of these." The result is a theologically rich, pastorally grounding episode that offers genuine assurance to believers while calling the church to practical, ordinary mercy toward its own members. Key Takeaways Works at the final judgment reveal identity, not merit. The sheep are on the right because they are sheep — not because their accumulated deeds earned them a place. Their works flow from a renewed nature, not toward a threshold they must clear. The righteous are surprised — and that surprise is theologically decisive. If the sheep were consciously stacking up merit for judgment, they would have kept careful ledgers. Their inability to recall their own works demolishes any works-righteousness reading of the passage. Inheritance is not wages. Jesus' use of the word "inherit" signals that the kingdom is received by virtue of relationship, not performance — a point reinforced by Paul in Romans 8 and Galatians 4. Election precedes and grounds the works. The kingdom was prepared "before the foundation of the world," meaning the deepest cause of the sheep's blessedness long predates any of their deeds. Works are downstream of grace, never upstream. "The least of these" refers primarily to fellow believers, not to the poor in general. The phrase "my brothers" in verse 40 narrows the referent to members of Christ's body — those who belong to him by adoption, faith, and union with Christ. There is no two-stage justification. The final judgment is not a second review of whether one has done enough. It is a reassertion of the righteousness of Christ already imputed to believers — a public vindication, not a fresh assessment. Practical, ordinary mercy toward the church is the mark of kingdom membership. The six works listed — feeding, giving drink, hospitality, clothing, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned — are not heroic or extraordinary. They are the unglamorous, costly, consistent kindness that flows naturally from those who have been made new. Key Concepts The Surprise of the Righteous: A Devastation of Works-Righteousness One of the most theologically loaded moments in Matthew 25:31–46 is the reaction of the righteous at the judgment: "Lord, when did we see you?" They are not feigning humility. They genuinely do not remember. As Jesse Schwamb notes in this episode, this surprise is "devastating to a works-righteousness reading of the passage" — because anyone consciously building a merit ledger would have kept meticulous records. The sheep kept none. Their works flowed so naturally and unselfconsciously from hearts already made new by the Spirit that those works barely registered as remarkable. This is precisely what the Reformed doctrine of sanctification predicts: truly gracious affections issue in Christian practice as the spontaneous fruit of a transformed nature — as natural as a good tree producing good fruit. The works are real, the works matter, but they are not calculated. They are evidence, not currency. Inheritance, Election, and the Order of Grace Jesus does not tell the sheep they earned the kingdom. He tells them to inherit it — and he specifies that it was prepared for them "from the foundation of the world." These two details together form a nearly complete statement of Reformed soteriology embedded in the judgment scene itself. Inheritance, as both Paul and Jesus make clear, is received through relationship and not through performance. An heir does not negotiate terms; an heir receives by virtue of who they are in relation to the testator. Layered on top of this is the language of eternal, unconditional election: the kingdom's preparation predates all human works, good or bad. There is no "looking down the corridor of foreseen merit" here. The sheep's blessedness has its deepest root in the sovereign grace of God exercised in eternity past — which means their works, however real and meaningful, can never be the ground of their standing before the King. "The Least of These": The Church as the Primary Referent A significant and often overlooked interpretive question in Matthew 25 is the identity of "the least of these my brothers" (v. 40). The episode argues, in line with the dominant Reformed and historical reading, that this phrase refers primarily to fellow believers — members of Christ's body who are suffering, vulnerable, or marginalized within the community of faith. The word "brothers" is not incidental. It places the referent in a specific covenantal and familial relationship with Christ. This does not exclude broader applications of mercy — the hosts acknowledge that the principle may extend centrifugally outward — but the center of the text is the church's care for its own. This reading is consistent with Galatians 6:10 ("do good to all people, especially the household of faith"), with Acts 9 (where persecuting the church is persecuting Christ), and with the overall logic of the passage, in which belonging to the King is the decisive category. Memorable Quotes Their works flowed so naturally and unselfconsciously from a renewed heart that they scarcely remembered them, let alone regarded them as currency for salvation. — Jesse Schwamb Sheep are put on the right side because they are sheep, and goats are put on the left side because they are goats — not because they act like sheep or because they act like goats. Those characteristics flow from what they are. They don't make them what they are. — Tony Arsenal God provides grace. Now do all that you can do. That's the Christian way to look at things. He has prepared good works in advance for us to walk in. This is not some sort of measurement of whether or not you're in the kingdom. It's a description of what those who are in the kingdom look like and how they behave. — Tony Arsenal Full Transcript [00:00:08] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 499 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  [00:01:13] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:18] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. Well, we're back. We're back in Matthew 25, and if you haven't been tracking with us for a little while, we've, we've talked about all the parables hanging out in Matthew 25. But what we've been talking about recently is this kind of surprise pop quiz, that's redundant, that Jesus kind of gives at the final judgment, and he talks about separating these groups into sheep, into goats, and the sheep aren't shocked that they get into heaven. They're shocked that their quiet, kind of unglamorous kindness apparently got tallied at all. And because all of these good works apparently are done from a heart already made new, have a way of sneaking past even their own doers' notice. But then there's this other group, the goats, and they learn the hard way that they never really did anything for anybody. And it's not a great look when your deeds are just faith's paper trail. And so Jesus has a lot to say to us in this, what we're calling, like, parable adjacent kind of message that he gives. Summarizing these three- Yeah ... great teachings, here comes all of this really direct and explicit instruction about, uh, the final judgment, which by the way is impossible for me now to hear or say without thinking of the final countdown. [00:02:30] Tony Arsenal: The final judgment.  [00:02:32] Jesse Schwamb: I was hope- I was hoping you would sing us into that, and it was beautiful. Yeah. It was fantastic.  I  [00:02:36] Tony Arsenal: try. I  try.  [00:02:37] Jesse Schwamb: So I think on this episode we got a lot to say in our ongoing conversation about this judgment, about these deeds, these works. What are they? What is their purpose, especially for these different groups of sheeps and goats? What's the deal?  [00:02:52] Affirm Deny Segment [00:02:52] Jesse Schwamb: So we'll get to all of that in just a second, but first, it's that blessed and glorious time in every Reformed Brotherhood conversation where we either affirm with something that is something that we really like, think is understated, that's really is not getting the attention, people are sleeping on, or conversely, we deny against something that just isn't that cool, just is not that great. So Tony, are you affirming with something or are you gonna deny against something today?  [00:03:17] Tony Arsenal: I'm affirming with something. I'm not sure how long this has been a thing. I stumbled upon it, uh, a little while ago, and it's been in my affirmations list for a couple weeks. Um, and I'm also not 100% sure that this is available to every Logos Bible user. So those are the caveats.  [00:03:33] Logos Minutes Reading Plans [00:03:33] Tony Arsenal: Um, what I stumbled upon is if you create a reading plan now, instead of saying, "I wanna finish this book by this date or in this number of sessions," uh, you can say, "I wanna finish this book by reading X minutes a day," which is great. Um, it's a, it's a feature that I've, I thought, like, why didn't they have this a long time ago? Because a lot of times you want to sort of set aside a certain amount of time a day. Maybe it's 15, 20 minutes of Bible reading. Maybe it's five minutes of Bible reading. Maybe it's 30 minutes of- Bavinck or Calvin or whatever you're reading. So what you can do now is you tell it the page range or you tell it, "I wanna read the whole book." Uh, you could do, you know, passages or verse ranges or sections of the Bible. And then where you normally in the next screen where it would ask you, uh, how many days you wanna read, how many sessions, or whether you wanna read until a certain date, there's a new option. And so it just divides that up based on the amount of time. What's really slick is it will actually break pages in half. Nice. So, like, if you have a short, um, either a short amount of pages that you wanna read, and it's kinda like I wanna read for two or three minutes a day, and two minutes is not a whole page. I run into this when I'm reading Matthew Henry when I'm preparing for sermons, because for whatever reason, uh, maybe it's just the Logos page pagination, but the pages are really long. Like, a one page of Matthew Henry's commentary will sometimes take, like, 10 or 15 minutes to read, which is obnoxious. Um, I think it's just that the pages are just, like... I don't know, I think it's just long pages. Um, but if you say I wanna read this one page and I wanna read for five minutes a day, it'll actually split the page up, um, into chunks based on the word count and whatnot. And obviously, that five minutes is, it's not calculating how quickly you read, like, uh, Kindle does sometimes when you're doing that.  [00:05:25] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:05:25] Tony Arsenal: Um, so it's basing that on an average reading speed. So if you're a little faster, uh, of a reader, then it'll be, you know, you'll get done a little quicker, and it might take you a little longer if you're slower. But it's a really slick feature, and I think it's, like I said, I think most of us If we wanna be diligent to read whatever it is we're reading, whether it's the Bible or other theological works, um, we want to set aside time, and we wanna sorta time block. We've talked a lot about productivity, um, in this podcast. We wanna, like, time block our time so it's protected and it's, it's set aside for that task or for that purpose, and this is a great way to do it. So you just put it on your calendar. You say, "I've got 15 minutes that's set aside to read the Bible in the morning, and I know that it's gonna be a digestible chunk." And then it's a, you know, it's no longer a, a date-bound reading plan, so there's no falling behind. If you miss a day, it just means you pick up the next day. Right. So it's a great way to do it. Again, not that there's anything wrong with time-bound reading plans or deadlines, but it's a little bit of a different way to make sure that you're getting into the Word or whatever book you're reading, uh, consistently. [00:06:30] Jesse Schwamb: That's definitely a feature that I think people are sleeping on in Logos. I have that too, so I don't know if, like you said, it is d- coupled with some kind of particular package or dependent on that.  [00:06:40] Stress Free Reading Habits [00:06:40] Jesse Schwamb: But generally, I think maybe we haven't spoken enough about, like, just making what- whatever it looks like, stress-free reading plans, because I was also reading some stuff by Ryan Holiday recently, and just the reminder of how there really is a fair amount of time to read, to actually consume, like- Yeah good written material. And really, it's maybe a little bit more about how, like, we understand walking and the benefits of walking now. You don't need to, like, set aside 20 or 30 minutes to go for a walk. Even going for, like, a quick burst of three to five minutes is so happy and healthful for you. And so I think- Yeah that in the same way, we actually do have more time to read than we think, and if you wanna, like, consume material and learn more things or just become more meditative in your thoughts spiritually, I think if you create the plan, that's just another thing to, like, help you on the way. But it's gotta be one that's, like, stress-free, like you're saying, and that's what I like about the Logos. You just set it up, and every time you go back into it, it's kinda asynchronous, and so, like, it just starts you off with wherever you're at. It's never gonna, like, pop up and be like, "You missed a day, and now you owe me 60 pages." Yeah. "Get on the ground and give it to me." Like, it's, it's not gonna be like that. So I love the joy of having the plan before you, and then that means that when the time comes, you're like, "Oh, I got a couple minutes," you can just go there. It can guide you into that reading, like, easily, succinctly, with low barriers, and make you feel happy and feel, like, that joy of reading again.  [00:08:04] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I, I think it's great. And, you know, I think sometimes we fall into this trap, and you kind of alluded to it. Like, you fall into this trap that if you don't, uh, if you don't have, like, 20, 30 minutes to sit and read, that it's not worth it. Right. Right. And I know I used to fall into that trap, where I felt like if I didn't sit down and read an entire chapter, that I somehow was not actually, like, getting the material. But I think most of us have some sort of regular, uh, like, waste time. Uh, and what I mean is, like, for me, I ride the bus home every, like, every day. Most days I ride the bus home, and I know that's about a 25, 30-minute period of time that, um, I can choose to, like, scroll Twitter, and that's fine. Like, it's fine to do that. I can listen to podcasts. Um, I can do all sorts of stuff. I play video games on my tablet. Um, or I could set aside 15 of those minutes and have a p- sort of a preset reading. And you will be surprised, or maybe you won't. Maybe I'm the only one who's been surprised at this, but I think you'll be surprised uh, to find how quickly you actually move through material, even at- Right something like five minutes a day. So just for example, Joel Beeke's, uh, Systematic Theology Volume 1 is about 28 hours worth of reading, at least according to Logos. If you set aside 15 minutes per day, you will finish that reading in approximately 114 sessions. So that's not that long. That's not bad. That's like a third of a year. That's not bad, yeah. So you could, you could read through all of Joel Beeke, which is thousands of pages. I mean, we're talking, we're talking four, four different five or 600 page volumes. Um, and this, this actually is counting, like, the table of contents and the index, so, like, not all of it is what you're gonna read. You could read through that whole thing in under a year and a half if you just set aside 10 or 15 minutes. Um, and obviously if you have more time, maybe you have a 45 minute, um, bus ride home or, you know, you, you regularly have doctor's appointments and you know you're gonna be in the waiting room two days a week every week or something like that, this is a great way to just make sure you've got something set aside. Like your dad always says, you always say, like, "Bring a book." Well- That's right ... this is not only bring a book, but it's bring a book with like a s- like a set chunk of that book set aside for that time period. So maybe it's your lunch break, maybe it's the walk in from the bus stop, whatever it is. Um, I think it's, it's pretty straightforward. And all the old features, like all the old ways of setting up reading plans are still there. They're not eliminating those. Um, and this is just a great way, I think, to get, kind of get your reps in. Like, sometimes you just have to do the work and- Right ... get your reps in.  [00:10:45] Jesse Schwamb: Get it.  [00:10:45] Tony Arsenal: And this is a low pressure, this is a low pressure way to do it. It's not, um, it's not setting aside specific amounts of, uh, dates or anything like that. So yeah, check it out. It's, it's super easy to access, it's the same way you would always make a reading, um, like a reading goal. Um, and you actually can still set a regular reading schedule even with this feature. You could still say, "I wanna read Monday, Wednesday, Friday." You could say, "I don't wanna have a schedule at all," which means you just, when you click on it, it just brings you to the next section, but there's never any reminders. So they actually really are, like, expanding the way that, uh, you're able to generate these reading plans. The one thing I wish they had that I'm not sure why they don't, I wish they had a dynamic catch-up feature where, like, if you were... You know, let's say I wanted to finish this book and I wanted to finish it by, I don't know, the end of the year, and I missed a couple days or I missed a week, I wish there was a way to push a button and have it just redistribute the remaining readings out across- Right ... what's left of the reading plan. That's not there. That's a... If you're listening, Logos, or someone who works at Logos, that's what we need. I've told you that before. Why haven't you listened to me? But, um, uh, yeah, we need that. But th- this is a good start too, because again, it's, it's not, um- It's not making you do a deadline. Right. So it's much more relaxed paced. [00:11:59] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly. Exactly. That's one of the things I love about it.  [00:12:03] Burst Reading Benefits [00:12:03] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, let me make, like, one more plea if you're, like, like you're listening and you're unconvinced about this burst style reading, and that is I've been so convinced that that kind of consumption can be really helpful to processing reading. Because especially if it's like, say you're reading something of the Puritans or something relatively deep, there is something to be said of course for, like, being able to sit down if you have all this time and just kind of read to get the flow. But what I think even there I struggle with is some things are worth stopping and thinking about, and this forces- Yeah ... some kind of meditation that happens in the background anyway, and I've found that to be so helpful. Like, it kind of just creates a little bit of attentional space by way of making you walk away from the thing that you just read. And also, if you know that you've only got this short little time span available, I think I'm prone to read kind of in a different way with a little bit more focus.  [00:12:52] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:12:53] Jesse Schwamb: And then I find myself really thinking about some of those things. And some of the things that you and I talk about, the things that we love to read, are worth stopping and considering. And so it's too easy to be like, "Well, I just, I need to hit the page number. I gotta get the count in. I wanna get this volume finished." Yeah. And that's great, but at the same time, like presumably, like we read to comprehend, we read to put into practice, we read to, like, help us build wisdom and to process the world and to understand things in a more robust and profound way, and that can really only happen with that kind of spacing. So this builds in some spacing, so embrace that as I think a feature and not a bug maybe of some good reading.  [00:13:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, it's funny you, you mentioned Ryan Holiday earlier. One of the things I appreciate about his, um, at least most of his books, I've only read the sort of the Stoic Wisdom series, but, um, he keeps his chapters super short. [00:13:40] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:13:40] Tony Arsenal: So, like, part of that is sort of the self-help grocery store format that he's, he's going for. Um, not that it's... It's not empty calories, that's not what I'm saying. I think sometimes that is implied there. But he keeps his chapters short, so it's very easy, like, to just pick up. I'm working through Discipline Is Destiny right now. It's the one I'm reading now. It's very easy to just pick it up and be like, "I'm gonna read one chapter," and it's, like, five, 10 minutes long. Um, and the chapters are... They're not identical, but they repeat enough themes that, like, y- you don't need to really, like, sit down and really, like, cram through it to get the concept. Right. But you'll read through and you'll get the concept over and over again. And I actually think the Puritans can... Some of the Puritans can be that same way, where they say the same thing- Right ... slightly differently over and over again. Um, another book that reminds me of that is, um, Knowing Christ by Mark Jones, which we talked, but that's a, it's weird that that's actually kind of an old book now. Um- Right ... I think it's coming up on close to a decade now since it came out. Um, but those chapters are super short, 10, 15 minutes. So this kind of at a burst reading, session reading, rap reading, whatever you wanna call it, it's actually super productive and it's, it is, you're right, it's very good for meditation because you are taking time to do it. You're doing it consistently, so it's kind of, it's kind of like hammering itself into your head. Um, but it's not, it's not so much time that it, you get, like, reading fatigue.  [00:15:01] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Right. Exactly. That's a beautiful thing.  [00:15:04] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:15:05] Jesse Schwamb: I, I agree. Like, it's reading all kinds of ways, but one of the things that Ryan Holiday was recently convicted me of is, like, he talks about how many things he's able to consume. People are always like, "How are you able to read all those books with all the traveling, all the different things, engagements that you have?" And he's like, "Because I just read all the time. I read when I'm-" Right ... waiting at the post office. I read when I have, like, literally three minutes between doing something or picking up a kid, that, that I read." And I don't know, I kinda like that idea. I, I... he's not ashamed to be like, "If that's... If I have 30 seconds, I probably just pull up a book," because I think that that's even- Yeah ... valuable space in which to consume good writing. So, and when I r- I, I, like, subscribe to all, maybe like you, like all these different feeds, all these lists. There are just- Yeah ... so many things I wanna read. My to-read list is so stacked, pun intended, and it's like books of- I know ... all kinds. And then I'm in this space now where I find that as I'm getting older, again, one, like suddenly birds continue to be interesting to me in new ways that I never anticipated, and the second thing is, like, suddenly I wanna read all this history. And so, like, now there's like this whole, where it never really appealed to me before, now there's like this, all this new, like, vistas opened up, and I'm like, "Who has time for this?" So- Yeah ... maybe the idea is to just, again, consume it in bites. And I'm beginning to really appreciate that as an effective strategy for not, like, re- necessarily reading more, but learning more, and learning it better. [00:16:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I actually think it is probably an effective strategy for reading more for most people. I know it has been for me- True ... to just sit down and do, do a few minutes at a time. Um- Just get it ... I've got kids, there's work to do. Like, it's, y- you're not gonna be able to... Most, I think most of our listeners are probably not in a- stage of life anymore where you can really devote hours to study like you maybe you could when you were in your 20s, where you just- Right you had a job and you didn't have much else responsibility. You, you just, you know, you just had things to do. Uh, it's not like that for most of us anymore. So being able to take five, 10 minutes and, and read a book is probably a luxury, but it's probably a luxury that we could, we could probably structure our lives and make that more of a reality. Right. And this feature in Logos will help you do that with really any theological book you can practically think you wanna get your hands on that's available on Logos. So Jesse- Right ... we could talk about reading all night every night, and we- ... love to read, but that's not what this podcast is about today. So why don't you tell us what you're affirming or denying?  [00:17:27] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:17:27] Jesse Book Pick Perkins [00:17:27] Jesse Schwamb: Well, now, now I'm gonna switch it up because I had a book, and so, like, it just seems like people are gonna be like, "Oh, of course," and you just rolled right into that. So the quick affirmation is more Puritan stuff, A Perfect Redeemer by William Perkins. That's this week's book, so you should do that. I don't know if it's available on Logos. I presume that it is, and you can set up your own reading plan, and it's beautiful and amazing, and Perkins makes a case that true satisfaction isn't found in things, but in Christ. He tears down all these illusions of self-sufficiency and points us to rest fully in God's grace. It's beautiful. It's glorious. It's practical. It's like 27, to your point, Tony, 27, I think, like, really brief chapters. Perfect for the bus. Like, it's prime bus reading.  [00:18:05] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:18:06] Jesse Schwamb: So yeah, that's affirmation. Okay.  [00:18:07] Denial Dying Guitar Batteries [00:18:07] Jesse Schwamb: Here's a denial, 'cause I've rarely do denials, but as you were speaking I was reminded of one that came up this morning that maybe is only going to really resonate with a small group, but I think if you know, you know. I was actually, this denial was constructed out of a conversation I had with a dear brother this morning, who I think was sharing the denial with me, uh, but might have been suspicious entirely of what I was going after. But it's this. A lot of, I'm trying to think how to set this up properly so it's, like, explained to a wider audience. So a lot of guitar instruments, that's a weird way to say this, but, like, I'm talking about guitars that have to be plugged in, have some kind of, like, onboard electronics. But principally, like, electric instruments. I'm talking about, like, electric bass, electric guitar. They usually have what's called, like, a preamp in them, which means that the signal is essentially being set up before it goes to the board, and that process requires some power. And so generally those instruments have, like, a little, you know, battery that goes in them, uh, uh, different kinds. Here's my denial. I don't know why so many of these instruments, including the- most of the ones that I own, have no nothing, no indicator to tell you how close that battery is to dying. And so what happens is- Yeah you, I think every musician, everybody who plays an instrument of, of this nature has had this happen to them, where they need to play it in a critical environment, and then the battery dies. And why I'm denying this is because this came up for me yesterday, where I was, had the benefit of playing at a church event, but it was with my acoustic electric guitar. It, it's a Martin D-16. It's a beautiful guitar. But even the Martin, it doesn't have an indicator on it. And so, like, I always swap out the battery, which I think is probably pretty wasteful, because I knew I had to leave this guitar plugged in on stage for, like, almost two and a half hours before it was gonna be used, and whenever it's plugged in, it's drawing the power. And so, so many times you get halfway through, you're playing, you're in a worship set or you're making music with people, and it just goes out on you, and when it goes out, there's no way to get the sound back except for, at least in my instrument, you have to unplug it, you have to pop out the battery, you have to put it back in. There's no, nothing discreet about this. There's nothing convenient about this. And there's certainly nothing- ... like, noiseless about that, especially if the person running sound is not being- Doesn't know ... very, like, adept with how they're handling the instrument so that you don't, like, blow people's ears out as you try to replace the battery. So I'm just wondering about this. Like, come on, instrument manufacturers. I know it's probably not pretty to put this somewhere, but you could put it somewhere discreet. Here's what I just wanna say, though, finally. Um, please don't at me. I know that there are some, especially like acoustic electric guitars, Fender's a good example, like onboard Fishman pickups that have, like, the EQ box. Some of them do have this indicator, but not enough. And if it's, like, an electric guitar- Yeah ... I rarely see this on a pure electric guitar. So please, for the love, just put, like, a little light. Maybe, maybe it turns orange or yellow or red when, like, the battery's about to go. I just, I need to know, because it's, it's so nerve-wracking when you're playing and you're like, "Oh, no. When did I last change this battery? How much longer is this thing going to last?"  [00:21:28] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. You know, I'm, I'm wondering, um, maybe I don't know enough about electrical engineering, but I actually feel like being able to determine when a random battery is starting to lose charge is probably a fairly intricate process, so that might be why, like, there's not as many. It's funny, my Ibanez guitar, which I haven't, I haven't even taken out of its case in years, I just don't, don't have a, a, a real occasion for it anymore, um, it has an indicator on it. So it's funny that you say that 'cause, like-  [00:21:59] Jesse Schwamb: Some do  [00:22:00] Tony Arsenal: Not a cheap guitar, but it's, um- Right ... it's not, yeah, it's not like a super expensive guitar. Uh, and it does have a little indicator. It's just like a little blinking light when the battery- Yes ... starts to go, it just blinks. Um, but yeah, even then, it still... It's funny, I, um, when I was in like high school and, and first couple years of college, I helped out with youth ministry at my church quite a bit, and I would often be on the team that would go, like, down to the camp the day before to set up all the equipment and to, like, get everything ready. And I remember I was always, I was always being told like, "Make sure you change the batteries. Make sure you change the batteries." Right. And like- Right ... it was always my job first thing in the morning to go around to all the microphones and all the guitars and, like, change out all the batteries. And I remember thinking, "This is so wasteful." Right. But then I remember, like, the one time we didn't do it, and it, like, crashed in the middle of, like, the big... And again, like, I don't even know if I would support this model of camp ministry anymore, but it crashed in the middle of, like, the big worship set on, like, the, like, the emotional decision- Yeah for Jesus night. Your altar call- It crashed in the middle of it ... totally blown  [00:23:01] Jesse Schwamb: up.  [00:23:01] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and it, it, and it did. Like, it affected everything. We had to, like, stop and... So yeah, always, always change your batteries. Um, you know, like, I, you, I, when I was doing musical worship on a regular basis, I just had a couple, like, inexpensive rechargeable batteries that I would swap out at the beginning of each session. I would put the battery that was in my guitar into the charger and the battery that was in the charger into my guitar. Um, and those, those wear out over time too, so that- Right ... you know, that, that's not a healthy charging habit for those batteries, and you go through them faster. But it's better than throwing away a nine-volt battery every couple of, you know, couple of days, so. [00:23:37] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah.  [00:23:37] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. That's annoying. It's, it's obnoxious when that happens. Um,  [00:23:40] Jesse Schwamb: that's, that's why I'm just straight denying against it. I suspect that this is a matter of aesthetics, and that many of these manufacturers don't wanna put something as ugly as a light somewhere on this beautiful instrument, even if it's in, like, a discreet place. That's my guess. Yeah,  [00:23:53] Tony Arsenal: maybe.  [00:23:54] Jesse Schwamb: I also theorize, like, why can't there be an intermediary pedal that would help us with this? So, like, many people, including myself, have a tuning pedal which you can essentially bypass, and you, you engage it when you wanna tune. Why can't that draw... I, I think it should be relatively straightforward, but who knows? But either way, all I need is just a heads-up. I don't need like a, "You have, you know, 16% left," or, "You have 2.67 hours left." I just need to know that it's not gonna fail me at this most critical time. Like, just tell me to swap it. That's all, that's all, that's all you have to say. Yeah. Just tell me to swap it. So I'm sure it's more complicated than this, but I think it might be a matter of, of beauty over function and purpose- Maybe ... because-  [00:24:33] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:24:34] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's probably- Many, many are particular about that kind of thing Yeah. So anyway- Yeah ... yeah, I, that's maybe... I like what you said, Tony. It's maybe a good PSA. Like, change your batteries often and frequently. Don't be like me. Don't be in that position where all of a sudden, I remember I was leading some very acoustic worship on an evening service. It was a very full congregation, probably, like, 200 people. And, uh, we finished up, and somebody had to yell out, uh, "We can't hear your guitar at all." And I'm just up there playing. [00:25:01] Tony Arsenal: Ugh.  [00:25:01] Jesse Schwamb: And yeah. You know, it's distracting. It's one of those things. But-  [00:25:04] Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  [00:25:05] Jesse Schwamb: um, in the end... Uh, ironically, some people at the end of that were like, "Well, that was really great. It was much better than usual. We heard a lot less guitar." And I was like- ... "Okay."  [00:25:14] Tony Arsenal: My, um, my Ibanez, I never used it, but my Ibanez has an XLR cable in addition to the quarter-inch- Oh and the XLR provides power to the preamp. So that's- See, there you go ... the real solution is just to have a direct XLR, uh, XLR mic cable that goes in, uh, and then you bypass the direct box. Although then you can't, then you can't go into a tuner or pedal. Yes. So-  [00:25:33] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly ...  [00:25:34] Tony Arsenal: pros and cons. Yeah. But-  [00:25:35] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. It go- it, it, it's all over the place. But let, let's talk about- Yes ... judgment, shall we? Like, what, what-  [00:25:41] Tony Arsenal: Welcome, welcome to the Reformed Guitar Cast for the  [00:25:43] Jesse Schwamb: night. Yes. E- exactly. We could talk all day about books, reading, reading plans, study plans, productivity, and guitars. These are all beautiful things. And  [00:25:51] Tony Arsenal: batteries and  [00:25:52] Jesse Schwamb: electrics. And batteries. Of which, uh, allegedly you can ha- never have enough of any of those things in that group.  [00:25:57] Tony Arsenal: It's true.  [00:25:58] Back To Matthew 25 Reading [00:25:58] Jesse Schwamb: But let's talk about, uh, judgment. And I suppose we should go back to Matthew 25, which we've been hanging out in quite a bit. And someday we'll move out of this passage. Pro- probably not today, but someday- we will actually get beyond it. And I, I know, I know we're 25 minutes in, but I am gonna read again for all of us because Tony and I, you have been resolute in saying that the best parts of our conversations really are the scripture, hearing them and going through them with great depth and a deliberate kind of measured slowness, which we're unapologetic for. And so let's just go to Matthew 25. I'm gonna read verses 31 through 46 with a f- a fair amount of speed, but enough to get us to the place where again, I just want this to be familiar as we speak about it. "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in, naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?" And the King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brethren of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me." Then he will also say to those on his left, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they themselves also will answer saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer them saying, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these, least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous unto eternal life  [00:28:27] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:28:29] Heavy Passage Rightly Used [00:28:29] Tony Arsenal: Like we said last week, this is a really kinda heavy passage. Um, and it can be, uh... Let me put it this way. It can be used to make, uh, believers fearful in the wrong way. I, I do think the, the passage is to instill fear of God and is inst- to drive us to good works. But it can be used in a way to sort of, as I mentioned last week, it can be used in a way to sort of say, "If you don't do all these good things and you don't measure up, then Jesus never knew you." Um, and, and it implies, or sometimes even fully says that, uh, Jesus comes to know us because of the good works that we do. Right. Right? And that's just not, um, that's just not Christian theology. That's not Reformed theology certainly. Um, it's, it's not Protestant theology, and it's not even really Roman Catholic theology down. Um, but this passage really is more about understanding what marks the life of a person who has already come to faith in Christ. That's right.  [00:29:30] Justification Not Two Stage [00:29:37] Tony Arsenal: What marks the life of someone who has been changed and transformed, uh, to be like their master, like their king. Um, so, so this passage doesn't try to teach us what we have to do to merit eternal life. Um, this isn't... A- and maybe we'll get into some of this, I don't know if we will or not, but this isn't sort of John Piper future justification, um, you know, on the basis of works, or future sa- salvation on the basis of works. Um, there's no two stages to justification, right? If we're justified, it's because Christ has imputed his righteousness to us. That's right. And what happens in the, in the final judgment, there's a real thing that happens, but it's not an assessment of whether or not we have done enough or been enough. It's the reassertion of the righteousness of Christ over us. So we'll, we'll get into that, we'll talk about it, but I wanted to make sure we set the frame for that, um, before we get into it. 'Cause sometimes when you talk about these passages, it's hard to talk about future judgment according to works, which is a genuine Christian reality, right? There's a future judgment according to works. But it's hard to talk about that without starting to sound a little bit like we're, we're earning our salvation or, like, our, our justification's in, like, sort of a second stage of review or something like that. So we'll, we'll get into that, but this is not, this is not works righteousness, this is not future justification, this is two stages of justification. [00:30:52] Jesse Schwamb: And that seems, like, very clear from the way that Jesus sets this whole up. The language is so beautifully gospelly centered and oriented.  [00:31:00] Inheritance Not Wages [00:31:00] Jesse Schwamb: Even behind the judgment, like, this curtain of judgment, when you, when you open it up, is the gospel in all of its fullness, and that begins with th- this idea of inheriting the kingdom. And inheritance, of course, is not wages. In fact, like, Paul makes this kind of, like, identical move in Romans 8 and in Galatians 4 where he basically emphasizes what Jesus is talking about here. That is, sons and daughters inherit, inherit. They don't earn a paycheck. An heir receives by virtue of relationship and not performance. And that single word is, I think in the judgment of, like, most of the Reformed understanding here, decisive for, like, reading this whole passage correctly. That whatever role these works mention in verses 35 and 36 play, they cannot be meritorious works. It's not the ground of the inheritance, because inheritances by definition are not earned. Yeah.  [00:31:51] Election Before Works [00:31:51] Jesse Schwamb: And then, like, right into the same kind of train of thought, the same line of reasoning, is this idea that, well, not only are you inheriting the kingdom, but all this was prepared for you before the foundation of the world. And here again is, like, the beautiful gospel in the form of this un- you know, eternal, like, unconditional election stated, like, very plainly. Now the kingdom isn't pr- w- was not prepared in response to, like, some kind of foreseen works. I think we talked about that last week, right? Did we talk about the cor- looking down the corridor, all that kind of weird stuff? Yeah.  [00:32:22] Tony Arsenal: Yep.  [00:32:23] Jesse Schwamb: It was prepared in eternity past before any works, like good or bad, had been performed by anyone. And so that's, like, the true answer, in my opinion, to, like, any Pelagian or semi-Pelagian reading of this passage. The deepest cause of the sheep's blessedness long predates their deeds of mercy, and so their works are downstream of election and grace, not upstream of it. That's really good news. Like, that again is the Gospel, that all things are entrusted to, belong to God. God does all the verbs. However you want to say it, what we have here is true grace, and that their works are flowing out of that grace. And so because of that, there's no... It's, like, it would be insanity to boast in them, because that boasting would mean absolutely nothing. And so Jesus sidesteps that altogether by talking about inheriting the kingdom and having this all prepared for us before the foundation of the world. [00:33:15] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:33:15] Kingdom Language Clues [00:33:15] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and there's some interesting, um, I think some interesting text feature that I just noticed here that, um, I don't wanna read too much into it, but one of the things that's striking about this is the, the language around the sheep or around those on the, um, on the right of the king here. Um, there's much more of a communal, um, kingdom-type language, right? Uh, in the first section where it's talking about those on the right, uh, the word king is used repeatedly.  [00:33:45] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:33:45] Tony Arsenal: Right? And then when you get to the second section on those on the left, the ones that the, the, the righteous son of man does not know, um, it doesn't use the word king. And that's not, of course, not to say that he's not the king of those who are, you know, condemned. He's the king of all. But there is this, this, uh, obviously intentional, uh, choice to use the word king, and what, what is a king if not someone who has a kingdom and a people? Exactly. So there, there even baked into that simple linguistic feature is already this idea that the people he's speaking to are his people. And so, like I said, we've talked about parables and parable-adjacent teaching as kind of being sort of systematic language in story form, systematic theology in story form. Even here, we're seeing election, we're seeing definite atonement, right? The people are his people because he prepared this kingdom for them before the foundation of the world. [00:34:42] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:34:42] Tony Arsenal: Um, and then the, the people who aren't his, they don't even get to be associated with him as king. They don't even beg- get to, get to be associated with his kingdom. They're so far outside of the kingdom of heaven, outside of this kingdom, that even to say that the king is speaking to them is almost like, uh, it's almost like a contradiction, right? So, um- In sort of like common parlance, we might refer to another nation's king as King Charles or, you know, K- King whatever, um, or President so-and-so. But that person is not my king. Right. And so although, like, maybe there's some decorum just in general, and, like, politically it's wise, I'd have no obligation to call King Charles King Charles. Like, I can ... I ... He's not my king. I don't owe any obligation of, of fidelity to him or to his title or to his crown. Another funny example, um, recently, um, you know, I work, uh, at a hospital. We have a spiritual health or chaplaincy department, and there's some Catholic priests who are on staff there. And, um, the, the spiritual health department is part of the care experience group, which is the same group that my patient relations team is part of. And some- someone noticed that at, like, broader team group meetings, I don't refer to them as Father. I'm one of the only people in the room who just says Joakim or, you know, or Sam. Like, I don't ... And they don't mind. It doesn't bother them at all.  [00:36:03] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:36:04] Tony Arsenal: Um, and it's funny because someone asked me that, and I'm like, "Well, they're not my priest, and I, like, I don't acknowledge- Right their status as the Father. Like, there's actually some biblical reasons why I wouldn't do that." I think this is kind of sort of almost like, in a third person perspective, kind of the same thing. Like, the k- king, i- the, the Gospel writer here, Matt, is refusing to use the word king in relation to this Son of Man in relation to these people to say something about them, to say something about those people- Yes who are outside of the kingdom  [00:36:34] Jesse Schwamb: Yes, that's right on. It's a bit like, I suppose, in a, a lesser way, like there was a time... So you're married to my sister. There was a time where you weren't, we weren't Yeah ... uh, and during that time, like I, I was not in your family, nor were you in mine.  [00:36:48] Tony Arsenal: Right.  [00:36:48] Jesse Schwamb: And then at, when you married her, I am part of your family. Like you can't kick me out. As long as you're married to Ashley, I will be part of your family and you part of mine. Right. That's how it works. And so that identity proceeds, like it c- this is like confusion between identity sometimes and I think like harmony, and so many people wanna read this as like some kind of like harmonic reflection of the state of obedience of these persons, and therefore, if they had harmony, then they were in the kingdom, and that's getting it backwards. That they were part of God's kingdom by his family by definition of identity.  [00:37:20] Surprised Righteous Hearts [00:37:20] Jesse Schwamb: So that by the time like we get to verse 37 when Jesus is saying the, the righteous are gonna answer him and they're gonna say, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?" I think that's one of the most like theologically important verses in this passage, which proves the point you just made. And I think it's often under-read because the righteous, they don't remember doing any of these things for Christ. They are surprised. They have like no self-conscious ledger of merit that they can point to, and that surprise I think is devastating to works righteousness reading of the passage because- Yes if these people were consciously stacking up merit to present at the judgment, then they would've kept a very careful account. But instead, their works flowed so naturally and unselfconsciously from a renewed heart that they scarcely remembered them, let alone like regarded them as currency for salvation. And so I think, I know there's been a lot written, you and I have talked about a lot about how people wanna parse this idea of works, understanding that it has some place, but what is that proper place? This I think does lead us into like the right focus in that kind of discussion because it's precisely what like the Reformed doctrine of sanctification would predict, and that is, you know, truly gracious affections I think issue in Christian practice as a reliable sign, hear me out here, but crucially that practice is not calculated or like self-res- referential. It's like the spontaneous fruit of transformed nature, as natural it is for a good tree to bring forth good fruit. And so the righteous in this passage, they're not the legalists that some would, I think, portray them to be or get worried that they are. They're not tallying good deeds. They're simply people who, having been made new, and who makes them new? God in Christ, right, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because they've been made new, they just could not help but love their neighbor.  [00:39:13] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:39:13] Sheep And Goats Identity [00:39:13] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and, and you know, I think it's sometimes hard... We, we made the point last week that, um, the, the language in verse 32 where it says, uh, "He," He being the Son of Man, "He will separate one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats," that, that comparative as is the same language that introduces other parables. Right. And so the, the parable, parabolic element of this is a comparison to a shepherd separating two different kinds of animals in his, his bigger flock. Mm-hmm. I made the point that like we should be careful to overread sort of like what sheep are like into the behavior of those who are righteous on the right of Christ here. Um, because sheep are dumb, sheep do stupid things, sheep are disobedient. There, there's no use for like sheep to do good things and goats are not. And productive goats are also productive. Um, so what we should see though is that sheep are put on the right side because they are sheep, and goats are put on the, the left side because they are goats. Um, not because they act like sheep or because they act like goats, right? And so I think, yes, goats and sheep may have thinked behavioral, recognizable behavioral characteristics, but those characteristics flow from what they are. They don't make them what they are.  [00:40:35] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:40:35] Tony Arsenal: And so I think that's kind of what we see here in the parable, is the people on the, the right, the righteous on the right hand of the, the Son here, of the King as He sits on His glorious throne, the righteous simply do what righteous people do, right? They, they don't ... So much so, and again I think the shock of this is, is sort of the, the path of the teaching. The shock of this, the surprise of this on the part of the righteous are, uh, like it's palpable. And I think that when you actually talk to someone who is ... Think of the most sanctified, holy, righteous Christian you know, right? And I'm not gonna try to tell you who that is, but think of that person and think of a time that you have paid them a compliment or thanked them for doing the right thing.  [00:41:24] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:41:24] Tony Arsenal: They're like, "Oh, I didn't even think about that." Like, it's just not even on, not even on their radar. How many times have you, um, have you done a kind thing for someone at work and they like make a big deal out of it and you're like, "Oh, this is just I thought this is just what we do to each other. I thought we were just kind to each other." Um, and, and f- the flip side of this too is the, uh, the righteous in this parable or in this teaching, they're actually sort of like questioning the Lord's judgment in that they're saying like, "Wait a second, like w- why am I on the right here?" And He's like, "Well, uh, you were h- I was hungry and you fed me, and I, you know, I was thirsty and you gave me drink." And they're like, "When did we do that?" The flip side- Right ... of that is that those on the left, they're trying to justify themselves, right? They're trying to justify themselves, 'cause He's like, "Well, you didn't do these things. You're not my people." And they're like, "Well, when did we see you? When did we see you, when did you have these things happen and we didn't take care of it?" So the, the righteous are like surprised that this happened, and are almost questioning the fact that it's true, and the unrighteous are trying to justify themselves, basically blaming God. Bad judgment. It's not altogether, um... I forget which pro- I wanna say Micah or Malachi, one of those two, um, um, where the, the, um, God basically says, like, "Y- you, you're sinful people." And they're like, "When? When were we sinful people? Like, you tell me." Yeah. And then of course he does, 'cause it's the prophets. Right. But it's the same kind of thing. He comes to the, to the unrighteous in judgment. He says, "Depart from me, y- you cursed people." And then he says, "These are the, these are the things that have marked your life." And then they're like, "Where, when did that mark my life? Like, what are you talking about?" And he, he, the funny part is he doesn't give them an answer. He doesn't explain to them really. Right. He, he just like, "No, you can go, you can go away from me 'cause you." He does say like, "Well, you never, you did not do this to the least of these," and we, we need to unpack that phrase a little bit. But he doesn't give a long explanation to them justifying his judgment. He just makes the statement, basically makes the statement again, "You just didn't do it, so that's the consequence of eternal punishment." Um, again, not in like, "You didn't feed the poor, therefore you're going to hell" kind of a statement. It's more like, "You are not the kind of person that is a, a part of my kingdom." [00:43:48] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:43:49] Tony Arsenal: Without necessarily a firm statement about w- how that came to be, just a statement, "You are not the kind of person that is part of my kingdom." That's  [00:43:56] Jesse Schwamb: right. That's right. I think that's actually very evident in these, like, six concrete works of mercy which are listed, feeding, giving drink, hospitality to strangers, clothing, visiting the sick, uh, visiting the imprisoned. And as we've said before, those are not extraordinary feats. I mean, there's no mention- Right ... of miracles or doctrinal precision or heroic martyrdom. Yeah. It's just these ordinary, super unglamorous ministry of practical love, and I think that is significant, like you're saying, because it is a mark of true faith, this idea that it's found frequently not in spectacular religious performance, which is what some of the audience is probably after, honestly, but in this quiet but costly unnoticed compassion. And I think that is critical to understanding that those who have been identified and marked by Christ undertake these things with a seriousness, under being willing to bear the c- the cross and the curses and the cost of all those things, uh, because it is born out of a transformed life, one that has been re-identified almost as it were a new creation. And so that- Yeah ... created man does these things without putting the notches on the belts, so to speak, to tally them up because I think to that person that would be insane. What is the purpose of doing that? If I can't earn my salvation, I'm doing these things anyway. It, it wouldn't even matter. It's like trying to pay a bill that you have no money for anyway. Why would you then try to count the dollars that you have in your pocket to see if for some reason you could cover the cost? It's impossible. Yeah. And so everything changes to such a degree that I know we keep saying, like, surprised, and that is what is kind of manifested in the passage. But it's, it's not kind of like the shock of like, "I don't know what you're talking about." It's more, it's more this idea of, again, I think those being brought forward at the final judgment, and it's almost as if Jesus is saying, "You are coming into this kingdom- Because, or you are being, uh, allowed, so to speak, to come into my presence in the fullness because you did all those things. And their surprise is almost as to say, "Well, why would those things bring me into the fullness if I've, in fact, have inherited it because you've called me your own?" Does that make sense? Like, I think it's- Yeah ... there's a little bit gone there- Yeah ... that's not just they're kind of like, "Oh, this slipped my mind," or, uh, "It came so easy to me that I didn't even know I was doing it." I think it was more about the g- we should just get to the least of these then, right? Like, what does it mean- Yeah that they did these to the least of these, and how does that surprise fit into that?  [00:46:19] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:46:20] Least Of These Explained [00:46:20] Tony Arsenal: The other element of this that I think is super important for us to cover in the 10 minutes or so we have left. Um, this phrase, "the least of these," right? Yes. And, and this, this can really cause this passage to be misunderstood  Um, I wanna s- loud and clear, uh, taking care of the poor in our society, you know, mercy ministries outside of the church, those things are all good, and I think scripture makes an argument that we should be engaged in those, both individually and also that the church has an obligation to, um, to meet some practical needs of those who are destitute around it. Um, but that's not what this passage is saying, right? Right. So when we look at the phrase "the least" first, first thing that, that comes off here, right, in verse 40 where this phrase first appears, "Truly I say to you, as you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me." Right? This is not a general statement. The least of these are not, like, the lowest and meekest and poorest of the world. The least of these my brothers referring to those who belong to Christ. Right. Those who are related to me. And, and I actually think that that, that is probably, like, the hallmark of passage. Beyond, um, what we've talked about already of just sort of like not being about works righteousness, this is really about being a part of the church, right? They're marked by the fact that they have inherited this kingdom which was prepared for them before the foundation of the world. They're marked by the fact that, uh, they are the people of this king, so much so that the other people aren't e- the word king can't even appear in association with these other people. And this last part, they're marked by the way they have treated those in whom they are with c- in, in community with, right? They're marked by the way they have treated those who are related to the king by blood, who are adopted, who are married to the king, who are in, in the family of the king, his brothers. [00:48:17] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. Okay.  [00:48:18] Tony Arsenal: So this is painting a picture of kind of what we see, right? W- we see in, uh, Galatians, right? Um, "Do, do good to all people, especially the household of faith." Mm-hmm. Right? Uh, our own tagline, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood," right? That's, that's a statement of like, yes, you're supposed to be kind to all people, but you're especially supposed to be kind and be committed to and taking care of those who are in the household of faith, who are in the church. That is what this passage is about. That is what marks those people who belong to the king. The sheep are part of the sh- part of the sheep because they're in that same flock, because they- Right ... are ontologically, they've been made new and they've been renewed into this new creation as sheep. Um, that's what this passage is getting at. And then the people who, uh, who are not a part of that, they, they have not done anything with the church. They're not associated with the church. They didn't take care of the church. They didn't, they didn't feed the church. They didn't do anything with that. And this, this again, like, think about, like, Acts chapter, you know, when, when, um, when Paul is, when Saul is called by Christ, right? "When did I persecute you?" "Well, you, why are you persecuting me, Saul? Well, you persecuted my people." So this, this passage ties a lot of those same s- same threads together- Yeah ... in a way that I think presents this really cohesive picture of what it is that's going on. This is not works righteousness. Right. [00:49:37] Serving Christ In Church [00:49:37] Tony Arsenal: This is an assessment of the fact that you are, in fact, a m- a member of the people of God, that you have been engrafted into Christ and have become a part of his body. And just as he is our head, we are his body. The people who are cast out, the reason he never knew them is 'cause they've never been engrafted into him. [00:49:55] Jesse Schwamb: Right. Sometimes this does, I think, get read and defined as, like, the all the poor and suffering writ large, which is helpful, but I don't think, like, the dominant view here, at least in my perspective. And you, and you tell me otherwise. Yeah. Because, uh, on this view, of course, like, Christ does identify with all who suffer, and that maybe mercy to any sufferer is mercy to him. I think that could be partly correct, part reflection and application here. However, the stronger view, I think, e- like, even historically, is that- Really we're talking about, especially when we get to, like, visiting those in prison, the, the persecuted or itinerant Christian missionary. When we're talking about the imprisonment and persecution language is, that especially suits believers suffering for the gospel's sake, not merely the poor in general. Now, is, are there ways for us as Christians to embody the gospel and to be a witness for Christ by going out and performing acts of social justice? I would say yes, if you connect those items explicitly to the gospel. That is, that you make it clear your emphasis, genesis, your volition comes through this message of who Christ is. Otherwise, there's plenty of institutions doing very good things, and I don't necessarily, what's in view here i

"Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. This is the man that I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God does not know anything about him. And to be unknown of God is altogether too much privacy. My false self is the one who wants to exist outside the reach of God's will and God's love—outside of reality and outside of life. And such a self cannot help but be an illusion."–Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb bring their extended series on the parables of Matthew to a powerful climax with the passage most listeners have been waiting for: the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46). Far from a checklist of works required for salvation, this text is unpacked as the master parable of Christ's entire parabolic ministry — a sovereign declaration of divine election, not a merit-based audit of individual performance. Tony and Jesse explore why this passage has been chronically misread as a call to works righteousness, why the language of inheritance and predestination is front and center, and how a Reformed reading liberates rather than burdens the conscience. Along the way, they weigh in on Herman Bavinck's prescient warning about media distraction, and Jesse recommends a Puritan gem on anxiety worth picking up immediately. Key Takeaways The Sheep and Goats is best understood as a parable, or at minimum parable-adjacent. The Greek construction in verse 31 mirrors the same comparative language Christ uses throughout his parabolic ministry, placing this text firmly within that tradition rather than outside it. The kingdom was prepared before any works were done — this is election language. The phrase "inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (v. 34) is not a reward for performance; it is the language of sovereign predestination preceding all human action. The works of the sheep are diagnostic, not causative. What the righteous did reveals who they already were — sheep — rather than being the mechanism by which they became sheep. The beak doesn't make the bird. Both groups are surprised, and that surprise is the parabolic punchline. Neither the sheep nor the goats anticipated the verdict they received, which undermines any reading that frames this text as an encouragement to accumulate saving merit. This passage is a recapitulation of the wheat and tares parable. Sheep and goats co-mingled until the moment of final separation, just as wheat and tares grow together until the harvest — the judgment reveals what was always true. Any theology that requires a human contribution to activate or complete salvation misreads this text.Whether Roman Catholic, Arminian, or Mormon in flavor, every view that makes God's preparation of the kingdom contingent on foreseen human merit fundamentally inverts the logic of the passage. The scope of judgment — "all nations" (ta ethnos) — would have been scandalous to first-century Jewish ears. This language deliberately expands the kingdom beyond ethnic Israel, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant promise and confounding the assumptions of the religious elite. Key Concepts The Kingdom Prepared Before Your Works: Sovereign Election, Not Merit When the King says to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34), the theological weight of that single sentence is staggering. The kingdom was not prepared in response to anything the sheep did. It was prepared before time, before works, before choice — which means the works that follow in the passage cannot be the grounds of that inheritance. Only a Calvinistic understanding of election can sustain this logic without remainder. Arminian views require God to foresee a qualifying human response; Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox views require some degree of meritorious participation; even certain Lutheran frameworks lean on non-resistance to grace. Reformed theology alone places the entire cause within God's sovereign, unconditional decree — and this passage, read plainly, says exactly that. Works as Evidence, Not Ground: The Diagnostic Function of This Parable The great pastoral error in preaching this passage is treating it as a performance rubric — a list of charitable acts that, if completed, qualify a person for eternal life. But Christ does not separate the sheep from the goats because of what they did or failed to do. He separates them, and then describes the activity that characterized each group. The works are revelatory. They surface what was already true of each person's nature, just as a bird's beak reveals its species rather than constituting it. This reframing is liberating precisely because it means assurance does not rest on tallying acts of charity. It rests on the sovereign act of a Father who prepared a kingdom and the regenerating work of the Spirit who produces, in those He has claimed, a life that looks like the one described here. "All Nations": The Scandal of an Ethnically Inclusive Kingdom The Greek phrase ta ethnē — translated "all nations" in most English Bibles — would have landed very differently on first-century Jewish ears, particularly those of the Pharisees and Sadducees who comprised a significant portion of Christ's audience throughout Matthew 24–25. To them, ta ethnē meant the Gentiles, the peoples out there, those outside the covenant. The implicit effect of Christ's language is to place every people group — including Israel — within a single undifferentiated mass standing before his throne, with no ethnic group receiving preferential standing at the bar of judgment. This is entirely consistent with the Abrahamic promise of blessing to all families of the earth (Genesis 12:3), the vision of Psalm 2, and the missionary thrust of the Great Commission. The scandal is not incidental — it is the point. The kingdom Christ is ushering in is not the ethnic-nationalist kingdom the religious establishment expected. Memorable Quotes The kingdom of heaven was prepared for those whom Christ has elected before the foundation of the world, and it was the preparation of that kingdom that brought you through this such that you did the good works that you did... That is caused by the fact that God prepared a kingdom for you in advance, not that you somehow caused this kingdom to be prepared for you. - Tony It's not the beak that makes it the sparrow, it's the sparrow that makes it the kind of beak it is. That's the kind of classification we're talking about in this parable. - Tony The best freedom is the one that turns over all things to God and takes him at his word when he says, 'In love you were predestined to inherit this as sons and daughters of the kingdom,' so that he does all the work, because we do not want to have any of that work our own. - Jesse Full Transcript [00:01:11] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 498 of the Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse  [00:01:19] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother.  [00:01:24] Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. They said it couldn't be done. They said we couldn't come back. We wouldn't come back and continue in Matthew 25. But here we are, and we're ending this chapter in this whole section about sheep and goats. Everybody was clamoring for it. Everybody wanted to know, what about the sheep and the goats? And I think the last time we all chatted together, we prefaced it by saying it's parable adjacent. Or let's just say- Yes ... we just stacked up these three other parables, lots of things going on, and then Jesus resolves this or brings all these parables to a culmination by speaking about the end times, the end of all things, and the sheep and the goats. Yeah. And so we gotta go there  [00:02:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I'm stoked.  [00:02:07] What Counts Parable [00:02:07] Tony Arsenal: And y- you know, I, I was talking with a brother at, um, at church yesterday on the Lord's day, and he was asking how the podcast's going and what we're doing. And, you know, I was kind of thinking, like, I was talking about the parables and how we're kind of moving forward, and we were gonna do some of the I am sayings in John. And, and I was thinking, like, what is a parable anyways? And who decides what a parable is and what a parable isn't? Right. Um, some of the parables Christ calls a parable, others he doesn't. Uh, we'll probably talk a little bit about that when we get to, uh, some of the back half of Luke. But this, this episode I think is gonna be really, really the payoff and really the culmination of not just these, like, this trio of or trilogy of parables that we've talked about, but I think really, like, the payout of all of the parables in Matthew. It's really, like, the summary of all of Christ's parabolic teachings. So it's, it's a good place for us to round out Matthew, and then we'll, we'll dip into the parables in the other gospels, probably have a couple more months of, of, uh, parable talk before we move on to the next thing. But, uh, it's been great, and I'm super, super stoked for this. This is one of my favorite passages, actually, and there's so much to dig into. I, I, I'm just gonna say now, we probably won't make it through the whole thing- Right ... uh, because there's a lot there. But we'll see. We'll see how we do. Maybe Jesse and I will be super efficient tonight, uh, but we usually aren't, so. [00:03:27] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's never happened. We, we take it low and slow. Not only that- ... it was reminding me as you spoke about that kind of proverb generally of if you wanna go build a wall, you assess what you need, how many stones, and then you go gather those stones. Yeah. You should double it, or if you're gonna go out and fight an army, take stock of that army. That's basically what we do, but in reverse. Anytime, like, you just... I just heard you say- ... like, "It'll probably take us a couple more months," you should double that. That's probably how long- Yeah ... it's actually gonna take us.  [00:03:50] Faith Works Assurance [00:03:50] Jesse Schwamb: Even in this- Yeah ... conversation, I think we're gonna get stuck in the best way possible speaking about things like faith, works, and assurance because there's a lot of language here- Yeah that could seem on the surface to sit in this tension with justification by faith alone. And I think the key to resolving all that tension, as I hopefully think we'll see, lies in the readings of works as the evidence of living faith rather than its ground, and I think that's what- Yes ... Christ is leading us through all of these parables, actually, whether it goes back. And you should listen to all those episodes. In fact, I gotta ask. Th- I mean, this brother you were talking to, it just strikes me as that question had already be answered for him if you were listening to the podcast. So-  [00:04:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I don't think he does. No, I don't think he does- ... listen to the podcast. Uh, he knows that I do the podcast, and he's very gracious to ask me about it. Tom. And I think he's probably listened to the podcast before. Got it. Um, and he's, he's just a very kind, gracious brother who, who is concerned and wants to know what I'm doing. And, um, he has, he has his own sort of, like, production stuff that he does that he enjoys that I'm, I'm not super keyed into. But, uh, it was just nice. But, but it did get me thinking, like, I was trying to explain to him where we were in the progress of the parables, and I was like, "I can't really... I don't really know," because, like, it's hard to even understand and fully... There's no, like, full comprehensive universal list of what is a parable- Right ... and what's not. And I think what we've found as we've been going through this is sometimes, sometimes you come up against a portion of a text that is often taught sort of separate from the, the rest of it. Parables get taught discreet from other parables. But then you have these sort of, like, intervening texts, or this one's kind of a summary text, that's so integrated to what the parable means you really can't do a series on these parables without also treating this text. Which is gonna be interesting, 'cause I've never, I've never encountered somebody who really roots this teaching here of Christ in the context of the parables, despite its proximity. So it'll be fun. We're gonna figure it out in real time, and, and it'll be good.  [00:05:47] Jesse Schwamb: No, it's gonna be fun.  [00:05:48] Deny Doomscrolling Bavinck [00:05:48] Jesse Schwamb: And speaking of fun, we're so glad that you're listening, and we know that you're waiting with bated breath to hear about affirmations or denials. It's of course that part of the conversation where we either affirm with something that we think is fantastic, maybe by way of recommendation, or conversely, we deny against something that isn't that great. So Tony, as is our custom in the liturgy of the Reformed Brotherhood podcast, I ask you once again, are you affirming with or deny against? [00:06:15] Tony Arsenal: I am denying against something, and I'm gonna do that by affirming a Herman Bavinck quote. Uh, so I'm gonna read it for you. This, uh... Some of the guys in the Facebook group have put... or the Facebook group, the Telegram chat, have put together a, uh, like, a reading group to work through Bavinck's, uh, Wonderful Works of God, which is great, and I'm loving it. I haven't been able to participate in the conversation as much as I would like to, but just being part of a reading group, uh, sort of keeps you on schedule, which is great. So I've been reading through Wonderful Works of God, and on the Kindle edition, on page 34, uh, which I think is still the, I think is still the, uh, introduction, he says, quote, "The reading of daily and weekly newspapers, of magazines and brochures, devours our every blink. There's a lack of desire and opportunity for the investigation of scripture and the study of old theological works," end quote. And when I read that, it just really struck me as like- If that was true like 70 years ago, 80 years ago when Bavinck was writing this, right? And all there was was hard, hard copy media. There was no, uh, there was no digital media. There was radio, but there wasn't a lot of programming. Uh, I don't think that there was much in the way of television broadcasting. If there was, it was, it was very, very limited and very rudimentary. Um, even then he was saying the daily news cycle and all of this extra stuff that is out there is consuming our, quote, "Every blink," which I thought was a really interesting phrase. Um, it's basically like it's so ingrained in us, we're so invested and obsessed with the news cycle. Uh, or you might translate that to like to our Twitter feed or our Facebook feed or our Instagram reels or whatever it might be, and dare I say it, the podcasts we listen to.  [00:08:05] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:08:05] Tony Arsenal: Um, that we don't save time for scripture and other theological works. And I think it's funny too is that the, the eternal, uh, the eternal contemporary statement of the Reformed world is like we don't read enough old theological works. Even Bavinck, who I'm reading as one of the old... I mean, not like super old, but like one of the old theological works, is saying, "Hey, we don't read enough old theological works." So I'm denying this sort of like obsession we have with the daily news cycle and with constantly being up to date and like constantly consuming all of that. Um, we've talked about how like our modern global news cycle sort of, uh, is built around the deception that we can be sort of pseudo omnipotent and know all things about everything. And, um- There's a lot of work that's been done to show that, like, the world's not really that much, not that much more of a violent place than it was 100 years ago. We just know a lot more about what's going on- Right ... in other parts of the world. And there's pros and cons to that. But I think the main con is, like, we, we feel suddenly that we have to be, you know, deeply involved in the goings on of a church on the other side of the country that we never would've even known existed otherwise. It- there's just a, there's a sense of omnipotence and omnipresence that's just not becoming for the creature that I think we try to take on. So Bavinck knew it. Uh, we've talked about it. Lots and lots of people have talked about it. This isn't new. I'm not, I'm not e- engineering anything new on this. But that quote really struck me when I was reading. I was like, "Dang, man, he, he got it right 100 years ago or, or 80 years ago, and we're still struggling with it." And I think probably, like, if you go back and you look at the, I don't know, more occasional writings of people like Martin Luther and John Calvin, um, as they're interacting with, like, people in the Reformed community or the Protestant community, I bet you would find statements like this too about how, like, we really spend a lot of time reading, like, silly things and not spending- Right our time studying the scripture or studying, um, theological works. So that's my denial. I'm sticking to it, and if that means you feel like you need to turn this podcast off and go read some John Calvin or some Herman Bavinck, then by all means. Uh, I think you're probably going to be edified by what we have to talk about. But, uh, th- the Bible's better, so if you gotta go do it, if you only got- That's true ... an hour today to study scripture or listen to this podcast, please go study scripture. Yeah. Uh, hopefully we can do a little bit of both with this podcast. But Herman Bavinck said it best. Our every blink is consumed with pamphlets and newspapers and it just is- It's true it's pretty silly.  [00:10:41] Jesse Schwamb: It's true.  [00:10:42] Meme Detour Reading Groups [00:10:42] Jesse Schwamb: I gotta take us all the way back to where you started there, and I'm going to betray, to nobody's surprise, my really strong naivete when it comes- ... to social media, and memes in particular. But this is what occurred to me, and I'm gonna try it. This is, like, what classically makes really good podcasting. Let me try to describe a meme to you that I'm not even sure I actually understand or know. So this will be great. I think, you tell me, Tony, 'cause you may have seen this. It's an old meme too, so I'm not even, like, on the cutting edge here. I think it's a meme of two panels showing, like, two pictures of Drake. In know one he's kinda, like, pushing away as if to say, like, "Get that outta here," and the other one's like, "Oh yeah, that's the stuff." Do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Is that accurate?  [00:11:21] Tony Arsenal: I do. I think you're gonna use it wrong, but yeah.  [00:11:23] Jesse Schwamb: Is that Drake? Okay, all  [00:11:24] Tony Arsenal: right. Yeah, that's, that's the meme.  [00:11:25] Jesse Schwamb: Okay, okay. And usually, if I understand it correctly, it's kind of like a faux juxtaposition of two things, right? Like, okay. So like here, let me try it. Uh, uh, let me just try it on everybody. Here we go. I'm gonna describe to you how I just interpret this based on what you said, 'cause something cracked me up that you said, Tony. If I were gonna make this meme just based on how you opened that up, the first panel would be like Drake pushing away the idea or being like, "That's no good," book club. The second one would be reading group, as in like, like the reading group is like the new cool way of like just kind of... Did I use it properly? Am I close?  [00:11:59] Tony Arsenal: I think the problem with this is that there's like a, there's like an ironic way to use it, and then there's like a more direct way to use it. Mm. Yeah. The direct way would be like some- like Drake's pushing away something that's bad, and he's- Yeah ... like accepting something that's good. That'd be like the direct way. Yes. The more ironic one is where like Drake is pushing away something that's actually pretty, actually pretty good, and he's- Yeah ... accepting the one that's pretty silly. Oh, okay. Um, there's a lot of memes that have that basic format. Never mind. There's one with like Jordi LaForge. I think there's a Michael Scott one. I tried. I tried. But yeah, no, I, I think yours is valid, it's just, I think it's an older usage of the meme. That's like the, that's like the middle English version of that meme. The Shakespearean use of that meme.  [00:12:36] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I'll take that. It's the old English style. I love a good book club or a reading group. A, a reading group just, it does have that sound like maybe somebody in the group has a monocle, or you guys have tea. Either way- Yeah ... I absolutely love it. And yes, what are our beautiful quotes. You kind of hear that general conception recapitulated among like theologians almost in every era. But it does make you think, what would Bavinck say about, like doom scrolling on the smartphone? Like- Yeah ... he's beside himself, right? It would just be beside himself. So I'm with you. I, it, there's gonna be a condemnation in every generation. Maybe I say this with some degree of like chronological snobbery, especially in ours, when it comes to not, like you said, I think kind of like not carving out or not prioritizing time in the scriptures. Yeah. There's not gonna be any excuse of like, "Well, I just didn't have time." Right. Or, "There were too many things to read." It's just, it's not gonna cut it. So I'm with you. I think you and I have talked about this at length, even just like the news media like you and I consume, like just s- set aside social media for a second. Just like how i- how much value is there in a lot of like what we cons- used to consider to be like well-informed reporting? How valuable is that to us? Yeah. And I'm certainly not saying like that everybody should be like unconcerned and uninterested in the world, but I think it's to what degree and what fascination we have with that, and how it fits into our priority as we consume information each day. That's the thing that's tricky, and there's no really-  [00:14:02] Tony Arsenal: Yeah ...  [00:14:02] Jesse Schwamb: good answer except to weigh out with the spiritual discernment- Yeah ... how we ought to consume that stuff. But certainly I think, without question, we need to be prioritizing time in prayer, time in the scriptures. I imagine if we were all doing that with a great deal of attention, that all of the other things would kind of find their way into the right place. Or let's say they would just find their way out of our lives in a significant way- Yeah ... that would remove us from distraction and anxiety, instead bring us back into the providence of God.  [00:14:31] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And I'm not, I'm not gonna be the guy that tells you you can never s- you can never scroll Instagram or TikTok or whatever. Um, I, I think that's a decision that's between you and the Holy Spirit as far as how you spend your time. But I, I do think, um, I think you're right- We are accountable for the decisions we make and how- Right ... we choose to divide up our time. And I- God, I mean, God is the inventor of fun. He's the inventor of leisure, and he is, uh, I think he's pleased and honored when we, we make good use of our time f- for things that are restful and rejuvenating. Um, he doesn't expect us to just slavishly read scripture all day, every day, like every minute. That's not, that's not the biblical expectation. Um, and so I think it's fine if you wanna sit down and watch a fun show, or if you wanna watch some YouTube videos, or listen to a silly podcast, or listen to a serious podcast. Um, but I do, I agree. Like, we, we really need to be thoughtful. And I think where, where Bavinck's quote, uh, is strong is it's not so much about, "Don't read these things." Right. He, he's talking about these things consume our every blink. Like, m- he's treating blink... He's using the word blink as sort of a fill-in for like our, our finite resource of time and attention, and these things have consumed all of them. There's a very strong use of that word consume. Uh, and I, I think that's really the, the point that I'm trying to make is we often allow, either intentionally or unintentionally, we, we just let our time get all sucked up, uh, on things that maybe are good but are not pr- properly proportioned. Um- Like I said, it's, it's fine to spend some time on Twitter and to get into a debate once in a while, or to check in on your friends on Facebook, your old high school, college buddies or whatever, but we can definitely take it too far. So I think it's a good corrective for all of us to at least make a stop and think about how we're spending our time, and whether we are affording the appropriate amount of time to things like scripture, theological study, catechesis of our children, um, family worship, all of those good things. So we don't have to go much more into that. I think the point has been made. Uh, so Jesse, what are you affirming and/or denying tonight?  [00:16:43] Affirm Puritan Anxiety Cure [00:16:43] Jesse Schwamb: Perfect segue, because speaking of reading old things, you know me, I've always got some kind of Puritan work in the rotation, and the one I just finished is the one I'm affirming, which is called Special Providence for Anxious Souls by Obadiah Sedgwick, who I think is kinda... Like, people are sleeping on Sedgwick, you know? Mm-hmm. He's, he's kinda like, he's there in the wings, but we need to take him off the bench. And I came across this book and I thought, "Who doesn't want a title like that in their lives?" Like, we got some anxiety in all of our souls. And I'm affirming this because, uh, hi- his definitions, his writing is, are on point. But here's what I thought. I was embarrassed that I picked this up expecting one thing, and then in typical puritanical fashion, was delivered something else that was far better. And I was thinking about this title as you might see it, like, in your modern bookstore today, whether it's, like, in Barnes & Nobles or at any of the periodicals we were just kind of mentioning or implying that are out there. And I was expecting to get some kind of, I don't know, six or seven things, I mean, that's Puritan style, but six or seven things that would really help you diagnose the psychology, and then going back to the scripture in ways, all, all the ways we'd expect about how God loves us and cares for us, and all those things are true. And yet the only way I could describe how this book ministered to me is, like, how you might go to a physical therapist for some kind of ailment, which I have many as I get older, and have recently been to one. And the ailment I had was, um, basically like tarsal tunnel, which is like carpal tunnel for your foot. And so there was some nerves that were inflamed and causing some pain and some weirdness in my feet. And here's what I do know about physical therapy now that I think the Puritans also do for our souls, and that is the physical therapist gave me this full workup. They prodded me and poked me and rubbed things and made things hurt- And in the course of doing that, they clearly could figure out what was wrong with my foot. And so when he gave me the diagnosis, after, again, rubbing that part and, like, doing one of those things where he's like, you know, they tap on your hard and they're like, "Does that hurt?" I'm like, "Yes, it does hurt." And I presume that's because you know anatomy. And, you know, he's, he's ta- tapping on my ankle and it's causing my foot underneath to hurt. And after all that, you know, I run on a treadmill. He d- takes all this video, and this is what he says to me. He goes, "Yeah, so this is actually pretty straightforward." And I was like, "Great, so what are we talking about? Like exercises, uh, splints, like massage?" He's like, "You have a weak butt." And I was like- "I'm sorry, let's talk about that for a second." And this is what I've learned about physical therapy, is it's rarely about the thing that's actually bothering you or the thing that's hurt, right? It's something- Yeah ... far different. It's something almost seemingly, like, disjointed or removed or divorced from the very thing, maybe even non-contiguous, if only in our minds, maybe even logically. And so what I love about this is the first half of the book is just speaking about the province of God before it even gets into this idea of anxiety. And then the treatment on anxiety and worry is, he goes through, like, six or seven things in particular, are just absolutely glorious. So good that I want you to read it. I don't even want to talk about it. Uh, that, that's my admonishment to you, is that you should just go pick it up. So I'm affirming again that the Puritans in particular do this thing where there's, there's no cheap advice here. It's not even hide advice. It's really good advice, but it's the kind that says, "You have a weak butt" when you're concerned that your ankle- is messed up. Yeah. And that's sometimes what you need to hear. And in my case, after... Let's make this super weirdly spiritual. After doing a bunch of squats, I don't know what the spiritual equivalent is of that. After doing a bunch of squats, my ankle and my foot was so much better. And it, because I had somebody who cared enough for me to go through and actually diagnose the root of it, that was the reason that inevitably there was healing. So I've, this has given me so much to think about, this tiny little treatise. So much to put into practice. It's so rich, so good, so practical, and yet I think you'll find in many ways joyfully unexpected. So I highly affirm to everybody listening, and even those who aren't, Special Providence for Anxious Souls, Obadiah Sedgwick. You'll, you'll love it  [00:20:49] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:20:49] Physical Therapy Spiritual Practice [00:20:49] Tony Arsenal: So two thoughts. Uh, one, uh, I can confirm Jesse has a weak butt, um, flat as a board. So it's probably, probably better after, after doing some squats. Wow. Uh, two- Wow. ... uh, I can say I also am in some physical therapy right now, and I've been a little bit of a slacker. And what I will contribute to the conversation is just like in physical therapy, they can give you all of the exercises- Yeah uh, that you want. If you don't do the work, you're not going to get better. Yeah. And so whether it's Jesse doing squats or me not finding time to stretch and to do some, like, arm exercises with a, with a s- uh, like a TheraBand, uh, the same holds true. And, and maybe to unify our, uh, affir- our denials/affirmations into one mega, mega recommendation, um, the same holds true in that, one, we can take a book like this from, uh, Sedgwick, and we can turn it into the same thing we do with media where we're just... it's just devouring our blinks. Right. And we're just using it as a way to sort of, like, feed our eye hole Get better. You won't improve. Um, and that's actually the same with scripture. Like y-you can- Right ... turn scripture into, uh, into a snack food that you, you don't actually use to be nutritious. Um, I think there's probably more benefit to reading scripture sort of rote and, and almost mechanically than there is to reading anything else. But, um, but at the end of the day, you can also consume your blinks with scripture and not get a lot out of it if all you're doing is passing your eyes over text. So get in there. I think that's great. I haven't read that one. I mean, I think there's... I think there are probably many, I can't think of one off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are many, many Puritan treaties that- treatises that are similar in theme and tone and have the same kind of like spiritual antidote or spiritual medicine, um, prescribed by these guys that is good and wholesome. And again, like, like you're saying, like it's not that complicated. It's not that hard. Right. It just takes- Right ... you just actually have to do the work. Um, it's funny, my physical therapy thing is my, my shoulder has been really ba- really messed up, and I went in, I expected him to give me all these, all these shoulder exercises, and he's like, "Uh Really what you need to do is you fix your neck, uh, 'cause your shoulder is, is being in- injured because you're sleeping- Okay on that side because you're trying to stay off the other side. So, like, you really gotta fix your neck so you can sleep on the other side of your body. And I was like, "So I'm just, like, sleeping wrong?" Like, it's funny, there's a joke, it's like in your 20s you can do anything you want, in your 30s, like, you gotta be a little bit careful, and in your 40s, like, you hurt yourself just sleeping. Right. Just getting out of bed is dangerous.  [00:23:46] Jesse Schwamb: It's  [00:23:46] Tony Arsenal: true.  [00:23:47] Jesse Schwamb: It's true. So. It's a tough world. But  [00:23:48] Tony Arsenal: it's true. I feel like a really old man saying that.  [00:23:51] Read Matthew 25 Aloud [00:23:51] Jesse Schwamb: You know, it strikes me that you're right, of course, that there's so much here we always have to put into practice. There's so much here that we have to trust with God. There's a faith that works. And so I think actually that is the most lovely inroad into this final passage of Matthew, because there's a lot here for us to talk about with all of those things, and to understand it in this proper context. So as you've already set us up, Tony, the best part of our podcast is the scripture, for sure, 100%. So let's go there. So we're in Matthew 25 in case you're just joining us. And for some reason I went into, like, a full radio mode, as if this, like, this is being broadcast live, and you just came into the program. We're in Matthew 25, uh, starting in verse 31, and I'm gonna read until the end of the chapter. There's so much here that of course we're not gonna get to all of it, but in the spirit of literally having the full context of the scripture in front of us, and to hear it all, I think it's important. It w- b- better yet, you should go back and read the entire chapter and then tune in right now. But let me start at verse 31. "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in, naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me.  [00:25:32] Judgment Scene Read [00:25:32] Jesse Schwamb: I was in prison, and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?" And the King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me." Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angers-- angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they will themselves also answer saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer them saying, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life  [00:26:47] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:26:49] Parable Not Fear [00:26:49] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, it's, it's, um, it's a sobering passage. And just as I think we've seen in a lot of the other parables, um These eschatological parables and these eschatological sayings of Christ, uh, as you kind of alluded to earlier, I, I think they are really, really, um... They are not prone to being misinterpreted. Right. The church has been prone to misinterpreting and misapplying these, um, in a, in a way that's used to make, make the Christian fearful and to, uh, undermine their assurance rather than to call them to action or to accountability.  [00:27:33] Why It's A Parable [00:27:33] Tony Arsenal: Um, and I think a- as I've been reading through this and I've been sort of glancing at the Greek as we're reading, I actually think I'm on... I, I stumbled on much more better ground to treat this as a parable than I even originally thought I did. You know, I, I had this whole lead-up that this isn't technically a parable, but when you read here, when it says, in verse 31, it says, "When the Son of Man comes in glory and the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates- Right ... the sheep from the goats." If you go back to verse 14, when it says, "For it will be like a man," uh, that, that first word of verse 14 in the Greek is the same word as is used when it says, um, uh, "He separates people one from another as a shepherd." That same word is used as there, it's just translated differently because of where it comes in the, um, in the text. So Christ is still making this comparison, so it would be as though he said, um, you know, like the common, most common, at least so far, most common kind of parabolic introduction is like, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like." Um, this is the same basic language he's using here to introduce what the eschaton will be like. Right? The ga- the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them. It says people in the ESV, but will separate them one from another. You could also say the, the nations or the peoples will be gathered before him. Right. He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep. So the parable here is the s- the shepherd separating the sheep from the goats, this whole process of the separation and this, this, um, frankly, like it's, it feels and smells like a parable, right? It does. This, this, um, figure, this shepherd in the parable or the shepherd in the saying is saying these sort of like parabolic statements. He's using this language that's kind of like shocking punchline statement. Like we've talked about how in parables there's often this sort of unexpected turn of events, or there's this unexpected kind of shocking language, and this whole like twist at the end in both, sort of both s- chunks here, where like the sheep don't really understand, like they didn't really recognize that they were doing sheepy things, and the goats didn't really understand that they were being goats. That's like the parabolic twist or the parabolic punchline here. So the, the kingdom of heaven is like, basically it's like the Son of Man will come in his glory and it will be like this. It will be like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats. That's the parabolic connection here. Mm-hmm. So I actually think that, that linguistically we're on, we're on pretty solid ground not just to treat this as a summary of all the parables, um- I think of for sure these three parables, but it, it really is like the master parable, and I think probably the master parable that kinda governs and constrains and explains all of the parabolic ministry of Christ. So I'm, I'm stoked for us to really dig into the details a little bit, but I think linguistically we're on super good ground to, to treat this as a parable. I agree. At the very least, it's stronger than just parable adjacent.  [00:30:44] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:30:44] Tony Arsenal: It- but even if we aren't saying it's a parable proper, it's stronger than that. It still is using this kinda comparative ministry, comparative language that Christ has used throughout the parabolic, um, sayings of Christ.  [00:30:57] Jesse Schwamb: The construction seems a little bit less veiled because here we have Jesus implanting himself directly into the account.  [00:31:03] Tony Arsenal: Mm-hmm.  [00:31:04] Shepherd Imagery Stakes [00:31:04] Jesse Schwamb: At the same time, though, he's drawing on all the things you just said he does, especially with this allusion to shepherding, which would've been, of course, common throughout. So it seems to me a lovely bridge to all of the overt parables he's just told, but now he's bringing them all together and placing himself clearly as, like, the interpreter, as the identifier of all the things, as the one to seal up all of the edges, as it were. So it's clear that this is about the end times. All of these were all about the end times and about Jesus' role in them. And so of course here he identifies himself as the eschatological judge just to make it clear. He's the one who sits on his glorious throne, and that's significant, and that's why I think we sometimes feel like, well, this is not a parable because he's, he's being very, like, Christologically certain and direct here. You know, throughout scripture the final judgment is God's prerogative alone, but the Father has committed all that judgment to the Son, and here's Jesus affirming that. And so again, like Reformed theology, in all our conversations we've consistently emphasized that this text is in many ways, like, proof of Christ's full deity and his role as mediatorial king, and he's exercising his office as the judge at his return in glory. And though, like you said, at the same time, here's the cool parable kind of scent or flavor is you get all these nations, every person who has ever lived, not merely Israel or merely the church. And how does Jesus describe this? He goes back into parabolic language. And we got the shepherd imagery that- Yeah is, like, similar to Ezekiel 34 where God himself is judging between the sheep of his flock. And that separation, the shockingness of it, it's immediate, it's binary. There's no third category. There's only two eternal destinies. There's no purgatory, no middle ground, no post-mortem opportunity for repentance. So all that's at stake. And then again, the beauty of the language itself or the setup of the construction of the story as it unfolds is that both groups- Get the same speech with a change in do or do not, but they both ask the same question from, like, wildly different perspectives and standings. And that's the beautiful- Yeah thing to make reconciliation over is what does all this mean then? How is all this established and how is this final judgment come to be such that there are sheep and goats if, in fact, they're both doing the same things theoretically, or they're at least both asking the same questions of, well, when did this ever actually occur? That, that's what's for us to unpack either way.  [00:33:29] All Nations Gathered [00:33:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and b- before we jump into, um, into the parable itself and start to unpack that, the other element that I think is worth, uh, and this just came to me so hopefully I'm not on too far of a, of a limb here. But the other element that I think is worth at least commenting on, um, we've, we've remarked, especially in these last three eschatological, um, parables, how much these are directed at the religious leaders, right? Right. The, the, the people are, um, the, the- the parables are told, um, in the context and sort of following up on these, this real directed, um, assault against the religious leaders who thought they were the ones, right? They're the ones that have a claim to the Kingdom of Heaven, they're the ones that, um, are the, you know, they're the ones that think they're doing the right thing, they're the ones that are ushering in God's kingdom. This little phrase here, "gathered all the nations," would also have really stuck in the craw of the religious leaders, right? Because the word for nations that's translated here is the same word that would el- elsewhere get translated as Gentiles, right? And the word people, when it says, "He will separate the people," that, that word people doesn't actually exist in the Greek. So if you translate this very literally, it'd say, "Before him will, will be gathered all nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Now, I don't wanna go the route of saying, like, this is a parable about, like, which pe- people group will be brought into the kingdom and which won't, and I've read some that go that direction. I don't wanna go there. But this idea that, like, even in the final judgment, the people who are in view here are the Gentiles, right? Right. I think most Jewish, particularly the, the Pharisees and the Sadducees hearing this, would've, would've read this and would've read ta ethnos, and would not have thought nations the way we do. Certainly would not have thought of, like, modern nation states. They might have been thinking maybe, like, people groups in general, but they would be thinking more along the lines of, like, Psalm, Psalm 2, like, "Why do the nations rage?" kind of nations. Why do the Gentiles rage? Why do the peoples plot in vain? They would've been thinking th- this, this, uh, judgment almost, at least on the face of it, almost excludes the Jews entirely when you think about it this way. It's really now sort of, like, zooming out where at the very least, at the minimal least, the Jews are just another people group within this broader judgment of the people group. Right. So again, like, we've seen this theme that Christ is continually expanding the scope of what is considered to be the Kingdom of Heaven to include not just the Jewish people, um, but all nations, all people groups, all Gentiles and Jews alike. And in a very real sense, um, and I wanna be careful how I've said this, I know I've commented this in the past, there's a very real sense of anti-Semitism that is prominent in- reform, quote-unquote reformed circles right now that is just vile and disgusting and sinful, and has no place in any sort of Biblical Christianity. But there is a reality that the Jewish people, broadly speaking, um, rejected the Messiah, at least while he was here on Earth. Um, relatively speaking, very few Jewish people, especially in the Jewish elite, like the leadership class, accepted Christ for who he was while he was here. Many Jews came to faith through the ministry of Peter, uh, and, and even through the ministry of Paul, even though he was an apostle to the Gentiles. So it's not as though it remained the case, but at this point in Christ's ministry, the Jewish people were by and large were rejecting him as Messiah. And so this idea and, and sort of this like final culmination now saying like he gathered all the, all the Gentiles, all of the peoples, all of the nations. In Jewish, in Jewish language and, and when you look in the Old Testament, and even in some of the New Testament literature, the nations were those people out there. So even if we don't translate this as Gentiles, we don't, we don't take that more like restrictive sense, even then it still implies that Christ is talking about people out there, the non-Jewish nations- Right are being gathered before his throne. And so that's not to say, absolutely not to say that the Jewish people, that, that the Jewish people of his day or the, the... This is where it gets tricky too, 'cause like we think about modern Israel and we, we import our understandings of like nation states. That's not what was in view here. The, the idea of a modern nation state was not a concept that existed in the first century. Um, you might have something like city states, but even that is kind of like a little bit ethereal. The idea here is that all people groups, and maybe, maybe we conceptualize Israel now as one of these people groups, the Israeli Jewish people as one of these people groups. All of those people groups, Jews, Gentiles, Scythians, Athenians, Spartans, like, uh, Ethiopians, you know, all of these different people- Right ... groups that are mentioned in the, the New Testament, all of those peoples, all of those nations are gathered before the throne, and then he will separate them one from another in the same way that a shepherd sep- separates the goats. [00:38:35] Group Judgment Assurance [00:38:35] Tony Arsenal: And yes, I think there is an individualistic, um, judgment element, and this is where I think, um... And, and then I'll, I'll pause for a second. This is where I think we can go wrong reading this as a parable about the individual judgment of individuals in the future That's not really what the language here is supporting. This is supporting sort of a broader group-based judgment, and the grouping is there are those who are sheep and there are those who are goats. But it doesn't appear as though Christ is saying like, "I'm evaluating each individual person, and this person is a sheep, this person is a goat." It's, it's a broader picture that, yes, has some implications for individual personal judgment, but when we read too much of that individual personal judgment into this parable that doesn't seem to be there, that's where we start to, like, rob individual Christians of their assurance. We start to say, like, "Did you do enough? Did you feed enough poor people or did you not?" That's not really, not really what's at stake here, I don't think.  [00:39:40] Jesse Schwamb: No, it's definitely not. It's, it's important to remember just the beauty of, like, the consistent theological thread that runs all the way through the Old Testament, and then that we might expect, of course, to be manifest in Christ's teachings, which happen exactly here. So he is going all the way back to that covenantal promise seed through Abraham, single seed, many people groups, many ethnicities. In this way, the gospel is ethnic inclusive. And so it is, why wouldn't he say that in this way to express that this is exactly from all time what God wanted to do is gather all people groups to himself? Which means then by the time we get to the end of this chapter in verse 46, and there is this righteousness that... or the righteous that lead or go into eternal life, then of course we're led to believe here either directly or implicitly that that means that there would be some for whom the Pharisees would find it's, like, anathema to receive that kind of righteousness and eternal life are the ones in fact who are getting it. And so even that is scandalous. So the, the whole thing is very much a setup, and I think it's the confusion again of this is Jesus saying again to the Sadducees, like, "You are confused. You do not know the power of God. You, you search for it everywhere else but do not find it in front of you. It, it's he who speak to you. I am he. You think you search the scriptures, but you do not know." Everywhere it feels like he's saying that, and here also he's saying that again, but it's in the setup. And I'm with you. I think that there would've been a lot here that would've, like, just come right off his lips that would've been like, "Say what?" Uh, that would've been, like, offensive right off- Yeah ... the top.  [00:41:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:41:17] Sovereign Separation [00:41:17] Tony Arsenal: And the other, the other theme that plays out really loud and clear here, um, as we start to dig into this is, um, there's a sovereignty to this separation that is baked into, um, the king's right to decide who to keep and who to cast away. Right. So I think we, we, um, understandably read into this an assessment of the productivity or the profitability or somehow the, like, merit or worth of the sheep as contrasted to the worth of the goats. Um, and we read into it like the sheep have utility and the goats don't, so the goats get cast into the- Right outer darkness. That's not really, that's not really what's going on here, right? In a, in an agrarian society, like sheep and goats both have utility. It's not as though, like, sheep are worthless and goats aren't. There's a reason people have goats. Um, th- the, the issue here is that the king has decided that there are those on his right and there are those on his left, and the ones on his right he's gonna keep, and the ones on his left he's gonna cast away. And, and so, um, there's this sovereign election and determination that precedes the rest of this, right? It's not as though he's ... And this is where the personal, sort of personal assessment part comes in. He doesn't look at a person and go, "All right, you did a g- enough good works to qualify as a sheep, so you go ahead and go over-" Right and be a sheep. And you didn't do quite enough, so you're actually a goat, so you go over and you be a goat." He looks at, he says, "Y- sheep, goat. Goat, sheep." You know, he, he's separating them out, and then he describes what sheep do versus what goats do. And I, I, like I'm even drawing some of this language out. The sheep goats part of this is actually only, like, a verse and a half. He then flips out of this parabolic language to now go back to the sort of strictly predictive eschatological ex- like explanatory language. So this is what it's like when the Son of Man is on, on his kingdom. He separates sheep and goats. We read into, and maybe with some good reason, but we read into Uh, we read into the fact that the sheeps go to one side, the goats go to another. Then we sort of like attribute the characteristics of those who go to his right to sheep, and we attribute the characteristics... And I think we do this the wrong way. How many sermons have you heard where the whole sermon is about how sheep are obedient, and they're, they're affable, and they listen, and they, they, they are sweet and kind, and goats are stubborn, and they, they just wreck everything, and they don't listen, right? And how many s- how many sermons have you heard where they talk about, like, well, sheep and goats really look the same in the Middle Eastern context, and the only way you can tell them apart is what, by what they do? I think there's probably some, uh, benefit to thinking through those elements, but Christ does not make that point in this parable- Mm ... at least not directly, right? He said, "This is the activity. Imagine a man who has sheep and he has goats. He takes the sheep, he puts them on one side. He takes the goats on another side." That's what the separation at the end of the time, at the end of time will be like. Then he goes straight back out of the parable language into saying, "This is how the king will actually make the distinction.  [00:44:29] Predestination Before Works [00:44:29] Tony Arsenal: The ones on his left, or on his right, he will say, 'Come, you're blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'" Right? This is predestination language, not eschatological judgment language. The sheep were guaranteed a kingdom from before the foundation of the world. Before they did anything bad or didn't do anything good, they were guaranteed a kingdom from before the foundation of the world. Then he says, he explains to them, like the context that, as you said before, that reveals that they were sheep all along. [00:45:02] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:45:02] Tony Arsenal: It shows them that they were already... Man, I just, just made this connection in my head. This is the parable of the wheat and of the tares- Yep ... coming to fruition- Exactly ... at the end of time. Right. Right? The sheep and the goats were allowed to mingle until the time came when they would be separated, just as the wheat and the tares were allowed to grow up until the time when they would be reaped and separated. This is what's going on. The sheep did things that sheep do. Those on the right did the things that the people on the right would do because they were part of God's blessed kingdom all along.  [00:45:34] Jesse Schwamb: Right.  [00:45:35] Tony Arsenal: And then he goes on to explain what the people on the left did not do, not because now they've been put on the left because they didn't do it, but they were shown to have always been a part of that, part of that population. They were always goats because of these things. This shows that they were goats all along, and they did these things or failed to do these things because they were goats all along.  [00:45:58] Jesse Schwamb: That's right.  [00:45:59] Works Righteousness Trap [00:45:59] Jesse Schwamb: Let me read another verse. "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children and also our brethren to believe in Christ and to be reconciled to God. For we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do." My guess is everybody was with me- ... sounded kind of okay until that last part. And if you had that, like, as we say, like, that theological muscle memory that just made you flex or bristle there, or you had the Spidey Sense, as you say, Tony, good, because that's from 2 Nephi 25:23 from the Book of Mormon. And here's what I wanna say that's shocking, is if we read this passage of scripture that we're talking about as if there's something there that we need to do that proves that we've done enough and that somehow God will be pleased with that, even at the end of time in some small way, some modicum, then we're actually acting way more like Mormons than we are like Christians. That's just the bottom line. Yeah. Because Mormons, if you ask about this verse, rather than try to qualify that last statement by saying, "Well, that's misunderstood," or, "It's really not after all you can do," because of course it begs the question how do you know that you've done enough? How you don't- you've done all the things and that you're, you're exhausted. Their explanation of this is to double down on it and say, "Well, the context of that verse is following verse 23 actually does emphasize salvation only coming through Christ, but it also encourages continued observance of the law of Moses in order to be reconciled to God." Because that's all they could do until Christ fulfilled the law through his atonement. Even that is nonsense. So all of this to say, we have to be careful with this because I, I think you're right. We're aligning, we're running right up on this, and that is I would submit to you that we just get distracted because we always, of course, want to bring something to the party here. The, the salvation cake. We wanna, I don't know, we wanna make it, we wanna do. But God is doing all the things on our behalf. And so as a result of that, I think this parable is actually, it's about the divine prerogative and the agency of Christ in judgment at the end which belongs to him and him alone, and not about these actions. But we get caught up in the actions and we're missing this thri- divine prerogative. I also think that Christ gives this to us to reverse it on us and to show us that he sets about all things. It is in fact his foreordination and his providence. By grace we have been saved through faith, and that in providence being predestined is an act of his great love. And so this shows the extent of that love because those whom he has chosen himself are asking in disbelief as if to say, "When did I do the good works that you required?" And he said, "Well, you didn't because you could never do them apart from me."  [00:48:38] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:48:38] Jesse Schwamb: And so really that's the whole point. It's just so easy for us to get it twisted and say, "Well, doesn't it make sense that there are two groups?" Well, certainly there are in this passage. And doesn't it make good sense that because he said they did things or they didn't do things, then I just need to be about doing those things. And I think that is unfortunately the adventure in missing the point in this passage.  [00:48:58] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I, I agree 100%. And it's funny 'cause you were reading that and I was like What translation of J- of First John is it? It sound, I mean, it sounds like, it sounds like something you'd read in First John It sounds okay  [00:49:09] Jesse Schwamb: until  [00:49:10] Tony Arsenal: the end. Yeah. No, I mean, like, it literally sounds like First John until- Yeah ... you get to that last part.  [00:49:14] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:49:15] Tony Arsenal: And, and I think you're right that, um, we'll, we'll explore this more next week, but what has always struck me about this passage is that the, the p- the, the people on His right, I've gotta stop saying sheep, because that's... I just made the point that that's not really what's going on. The people on His right who are called into the kingdom because it was prepared for them before the foundation, because they were elected unto that kingdom. The people on His right, they're surprised at the fact that they did these things. And it, I, I think the works righteousness way of reading this is like, "You better earn your salvation. You better get at it because if you haven't fed Jesus in disguise, then you just aren't gonna make it. At the end of the day- Mm ... He's gonna say, 'I never knew you.'" And it, whether intentionally or unintentionally, sometimes I think intentionally, it implies that we, uh, that Jesus comes to know us because we've done good works, right? When we say, "If you don't do these things, then Jesus will say, 'I never knew you,'" then what you're saying is Jesus doesn't know you apart from your good works. Right. And what the Bible says, what this passage says, just right on the face of it, is that the Kingdom of Heaven was prepared for those whom Christ has elected before the foundation of the world, or who the Father has elected, who are blessed by the Father before the foundation of the world. Now, obviously the Father had to know those people in some sense-  [00:50:43] Jesse Schwamb: That's  [00:50:43] Tony Arsenal: right ... before the foundation of the world in order for them to be blessed by Him and for Him to prepare a kingdom. So then to come back to the end of it and say, "Well, there are some of those, uh, who the Father never knew because they didn't do enough work," well, the problem is that those who did the good work, the Father knew before they did the good works. They didn't merit the good works. I mean- Right ... it's funny you, you bring up the, the Mormons, and that's certainly true, but, like, you could substitute in, at least on this regard, right? There are meaningful, important differences between the groups I'm about to say and Mormons, that would be the dividing line between those who are possibly saved and those who are y- definitely not saved, right? You could substitute Arminians, who wanna say God looks down the corridor of time, and the reason He prepared a kingdom in advance for them from the foundation of the world is 'cause He saw that they would do these things that would merit salvation, or He saw that they would make the proper decision to receive His grace, right? Or Roman Catholics or Eastern Orthodoxes in a different sense, but similarly who would say like, "Well, yeah, God knows in advance that you're gonna merit salvation, so He prepared- Right ... this kingdom anticipating your merit that you would contribute or your participation or, or whatever." I think in a certain sense, um, you could even apply this to some Lutheran theology, right? Which would say, like, "Well, God prepared this kingdom for you from the foundation of the world because he looked down the corridor of time and he understood that you were not going to resist the grace he gave," right? You were not gonna reject his grace. Um, it really truly only is Reformed theology that can say, "No, God prepared this kingdom in advance for you, and it was the preparation of that kingdom that brought you through this such that you did the good works that you did, such that you made the wise decision to follow Christ that you did. That is caused by the fact that God prepared a kingdom for you in advance, not that you somehow caused this kingdom to be prepared for you." A- and aga- again, again, like, this is dicey. It gets into, like, logical ordering, but fundamentally, a- as far as I can understand it, every competing view besides sort of a Calvinistic understanding of predestination election has to say that in some sense God prepares the kingdom for you as a response to something you have done, or chose- Right to do or chose not to do. The reality is that this passage is saying, "No To those who are on the right. He didn't separate them based on the fact that they did these things. He just said, "You are on the right, and now to those who are on the right, I say to you, come into the kingdom that is blessed. You're blessed by my Father. Come into this kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world." So I think, you know, we're c

You'd be surprised how close it will be between those that look, sound, flow, move, sing, preach, teach, have ministries, and pulpits, and DO EVERYTHING like the true believer only to be locked out of the wedding feast hearing the 7 worst words a human could ever hear: "Depart from Me, I never knew you!"

Send us Fan Mail“Agree to disagree” can sound like peace, but what happens when it turns clear biblical truth into just another opinion? We go straight into Revelation's message to the church in Pergamum and talk about what it actually means to have “ears to hear.” For us, hearing the Spirit isn't mystical guesswork, it's the Word of God calling for spiritual attention, obedience, and a kind of perseverance that won't bend when pressure shows up.We also wrestle with the tension a lot of Christians feel right now: God's Word has survived centuries of attack, but rejection still seems to grow louder. Why do people walk past grace like it's nothing, and what does Jesus mean when he warns that some will hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you”? From there, we get painfully practical about compromise in the church, the way false doctrine creeps in, and why tolerance is sometimes confused with maturity.Then we slow down and unpack two powerful promises to the overcomer: hidden manna and the white stone. We talk about Christ as the true bread from heaven who satisfies where counterfeit “feasts” never can, and we explain the white stone as a sign of acquittal, acceptance, purity, and admission into lasting fellowship with Jesus. If you want deeper Christian discipleship, biblical truth without spin, and a call to bold witness, press play, then subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.Support the showBE PROVOKED AND BE PERSUADED!

Presented by Lauren Stibgen We have discovered that we were made to lament and examined the examples we have in Scripture through the life of David. What hits the most for me as I read about lament is the deep trust that God's will is always best, and he alone deserves the glory! We have heard parts of Psalm 6 this week, from David's most honest cries to God through his tears that flooded his bed. The ending of this Psalm turns to David's trust, Depart from me all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer (Psalm 6:8-9). There is not an ounce of doubt coming from David. God heard me crying. He heard me pleading and he accepts my prayer. When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid (Psalm 56:3-4). In you, Lord my God, I put my trust…I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame (Psalm 25:1-2). God, I trust you. I trust you. I trust you! David's lament was never absent of his trust in God. A deep and abiding love for his Father that he knew would carry him through in battles and in loss, in highs and in lows. When was the last time you uttered the profound, but simple words, God, I trust you? God, I trust you with my work. God, I trust you with this job search. God, I trust you with this very hard conversation. God, I trust you with this difficult colleague. God, I trust you to care for my needs. God, I trust you when I am afraid I might lose my job. God, I trust you when I don't know how to complete a task. God, I trust you when I feel alone. Did you know this is prayer? Simple, short, and sweet, but it flows from your heart right to God. And it glorifies how he made you to be in a constant and dependent relationship with him! David gave us this example of the pattern of lament and deep trust that he then turned to praise. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name O Most High (Psalm 9:1-2). Lament. Trust. Praise! How can you use this simple three-word phrase as a reminder in the week ahead?

What does a true, unshakeable transformation look like? In this episode, Brother Mike breaks down the dramatic calling and conversion of Simon Peter on the Sea of Galilee. Simon wasn’t just a struggling fisherman; he was part of a highly successful, prosperous fishing conglomerate alongside Andrew, James, and John. Yet, one supernatural encounter changed everything. Through a deep look at the Greek context, Brother Mike explains how Simon moved from seeing Jesus as a mere commander or boss (epistates) to recognizing Him as Lord after witnessing a staggering, boat-sinking miracle. Discover the four-step "perfect method of conversion" modeled by Christ: preach the word, demonstrate the word, open the heart to the Holy Spirit, and fall down broken in true repentance. Brother Mike pulls no punches as he challenges modern "easy come, easy go" evangelical methods, explaining why a repentance-based conversion is the only cure for a backslidden heart. Tune in to find out why miracles are meant to draw you closer to God, and how He always provides for what you leave behind. Scripture & Highlights Mentioned in This Episode The Miraculous Catch: Simon obeys the spoken word (rhema) of Jesus despite a night of empty nets, leading to a historic, boat-sinking haul (Luke 5:1-7). A Broken Repentance: Simon falls at Jesus' knees, hit with the conviction of the Holy Spirit, crying, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8-9). Catchers of Men: Jesus eases Simon's fear and calls the partners to a higher ministry, prompting them to forsake all and follow Him (Luke 5:10-11). The Purpose of Signs: Understanding why miracles are given to draw unbelievers near, echoing Paul’s reminder on spiritual signs (1 Corinthians 14:22). Draw Nigh to God: Responding to the conviction of the Spirit to experience a legitimate spiritual rebirth (James 4:8). Connect with the Ministry Live Services & Supernatural Healing If you want to experience the moving of the Holy Spirit, visit the Arizona Deliverance Center in Phoenix (Located downtown on 15th Avenue, just south of Osborn Road—look for the red brick building). Weekly Live Services: Thursday & Friday nights at 7:00 PM Ladies Night: Tuesdays at 6:30 PM Weekly Healing Zoom Services: Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Call 602-636-5800 or email mike@hardcorechristianity.com for the password and access code! Monthly Healing Service: Last Friday of every month at 7:00 PM at the Deliverance Center. Support the show: https://hardcorechristianity.com/donations/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Come and Believe Chase Upchurch Download Sermons Archive RSS John 7:1-24 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” 9 When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.10 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. 11 Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” 12 And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” 13 However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”16 [c]Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”20 The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. 22 Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” Sermon Discussion Questions:If a stranger asked you on the street “Who is Jesus” how would you respond?When was a time that God's timing was a blessing in your life?What specifically are you struggling with concerning unbelif or confusion on your faith walk?Examine when the Holy Spirit has convicted you of sin. How did you respond to His voice?How do you guard your heart from living a life of obligation unto the Lord?

Are you running the race to finish it, or are you going to get disqualified right at the end?In today's episode of Word Time, Coach Shaw dives deep into 2 Kings chapter 9 and 10 to break down the tragic story of King Jehu. On paper, Jehu looks like a true patriot and a total hero of the faith. He was anointed by Elisha to carry out God's direct judgment on the wicked dynasty of Ahab and Jezebel, and he absolutely handled business. He wiped out Baal worship, eliminated the false prophets, and even turned the temple of Baal into a public toilet.But verse 31 drops a terrifying warning: “But Jehu did not obey the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart.”We look at how Jehu's partial obedience directly connects to the modern-day American church, the deception of the "once saved, always saved" doctrine, and the reality of what it means to guard your inheritance so you don't hear those dread words from Jesus: "Depart from me, I never knew you."Video Chapters:0:00 — Introduction: 2 Kings 9 & The Story of Jehu1:03 — Elisha's Anointing & The Judgment on Ahab's House1:42 — Naboth's Vineyard & The Spirit of Jezebel Today2:16 — The Hour of Justice: Spiritual Warfare in Modern America2:55 — Revelation, the Fall of America, and End-Times Delusions4:12 — Exposing the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Myth5:16 — Country vs. Faith: The Narrow Path for Patriots6:26 — Jehu Wipes Out the Kings (Joram & Ahaziah)7:28 — Jezebel's Final Moments & The Modern "Spider-Man Meme" Inversion8:28 — Eliminating Ahab's 70 Sons: Going Beyond a 95% Mandate9:19 — The Bait: Jehu's Plan to Trap the Priests of Baal10:13 — Turning the Temple of Baal into a Public Toilet10:58 — The Golden Calves: The Kicker in Verse 3112:09 — "Depart From Me": Why Your Works Won't Save You14:23 — The Scholarship & The Inheritance: Losing What Is Reserved16:21 — Decadence, July 4th, and the Reality of American Privilege17:40 — The Best Person in Hell: Striving Daily for Total Surrender18:38 — Closing Prayer: Thanking God for Grace, Mercy, and JesusKey Takeaways From This Message:The 95% Trap: Jehu did exactly what God asked him to do when it came to destroying Ahab's house and tearing down Baal. He went all in on 95% of the mandate. But he left the 5%—the golden calves of Jeroboam—untouched. We cannot claim to walk with God while keeping our favorite little cultural idols intact.The Illusion of Patriotism: Right now, there is a massive alignment between American patriots and the Christian faith. But when the end-times pressure cooker forces a choice between country and Christ, many who love America more than they love the Word will fold. The path is narrow for a reason.Salvation is an Inheritance, Not a Possession Yet: The Bible consistently notes that our salvation is an inheritance reserved in heaven, untouched by rust or moths. Just like a college scholarship or a family will, you can break the rules, walk away, and forfeit what was waiting for you.Don't Be the Best Person in Hell: Jehu accomplished monumental things for the Kingdom, yet failed to give God his whole heart. You can be opposite to the world, hated by society, and incredibly productive in ministry, but if you don't finish the race in full obedience, it means nothing.Scriptures Referenced in This Episode:2 Kings 9 & 10 — The rise, conquests, and internal failure of King Jehu.Matthew 7:21-23 — "Depart from me, I never knew you."Colossians 1 & 1 Peter 1:4 — An inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, reserved in heaven.Revelation (General) — The final trials of the elect and the global shakeup before Christ's return.Let's stop playing games with our faith, check our hearts daily, and thank God for the grace found only in Jesus Christ. Have a blessed weekend!#WordTime #CoachForChrist #KingJehu #BiblicalTruth #EndTimes #WholeHeartedObedience #NoCompromise

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/MeetJesus  (NOT a Morning Mindset resource) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Matthew 25:31–46 - “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. [32] Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. [33] And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. [34] Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, [36] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ [37] Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? [38] And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? [39] And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ [40] And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ [41] “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ [44] Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ [45] Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ [46] And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (ESV)  ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Underwrite one daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: @CareyNGreen ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FOREIGN LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: Subscribe to the SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish Subscribe to the CHINESE version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Chinese ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com   

"For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10  

11am hour of The K&C Masterpiece! Dallas Cowboys News of the Day/LeBron is leaving the Lakers. AM on the FM: National Social Media Day / The coolest new amusement park coming to DFW. Gridiron Gravy: NFL Either/Or.

“Art thou become like unto us?” — Isaiah 14:10 What must be the apostate professor's doom when his naked soul appears before God? How will he bear that voice, “Depart, ye cursed; thou hast rejected me, and I reject thee; thou hast played the harlot, and departed from Me: I also have banished thee for […]

Original Post Date: June 27, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 7:21-29 Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Reflection Jesus knew the background of his disciples, and they were prone to, as the temple seemed to be filled with images of human beings that were doing what was right, but not becoming who God wanted them to be. They lacked authenticity. And what Jesus is trying to say to his disciples is, when I ask you to do something, I'm really not just saying do it. I'm saying, let me enter into you and do it through you. That's our authenticity. That's our strength. God being the source of the power that we have to heal and change people's lives. Closing Prayer Father, over and over again, you show us signs of your desire to share your power, your wisdom, your strength with us. It is not that we can learn what you know, as much as we can be who you are through your indwelling presence. Bless us with the confidence that comes not from ourselves, but from you. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends of the Rosary,As we read today (Matthew 7:21-29), Jesus said to his disciples:“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,'will enter the Kingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”Not because we attend mass, receive the sacraments, and do deeds in the name of Jesus does it mean that we are holy and will attain salvation.Our good Lord is abundant in grace and wants our salvation. But our hearts must be clean — and we know deep down when that is the case!“Many will say to me on that day,‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?Did we not drive out demons in your name?Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'Then I will declare to them solemnly,‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on themwill be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”Difficulties and adversities will come, but if we live in communion with God, we will be able to withstand them.“The rain fell, the floods came,and the winds blew and buffeted the house.But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.And everyone who listens to these words of minebut does not act on themwill be like a fool who built his house on sand.The rain fell, the floods came,and the winds blew and buffeted the house.And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”"When Jesus finished these words,The crowds were astonished at his teaching,for he taught them as one having authority,and not as their scribes."Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• June 25, 2026, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Read Online“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'” Matthew 7:21–23Jesus' words are shocking because they challenge the assumption that prophesying, casting out demons, and performing mighty works in His name guarantee entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. However, mighty works without obedience and love are insufficient. The passage warns against a distorted discipleship that promotes our own will rather than relying on the interior conversion required to do the will of the Father.Saint Paul echoes this truth: “And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Even the most extraordinary spiritual gifts—prophecy, knowledge, and faith to move mountains—are worthless unless they are animated by the infused virtue of charity, the love that comes from God and enables us to act according to His will.Jesus' warning is particularly relevant to those who bear responsibility for preaching, teaching, or guiding others in the faith. Those who work in God's name can sometimes act according to their own will rather than His. At times, even devout Christians fail to be authentic instruments of God's pure and perfect will, mistaking their own judgments or desires for His divine guidance.It is essential that everyone who claims to follow Christ regularly reflect on Jesus' words. He did not teach this lesson as a mere theoretical warning but because He knew that many of His followers would need it. This passage is not meant to encourage us to judge others within the Church, presuming to identify those who fit His description. Rather, it is a personal exhortation meant for each of us. Jesus preaches these words so that we might examine our own hearts, asking whether we truly seek to do the Father's will or merely profess faith in name alone.As a source of self-reflection, consider the words “Lord, Lord.” If you use those words—if you pray and call on God as the Lord of your life—that is a good start; but it is only a start. Many people struggle even to reach that personal level of prayer and attentiveness to God.Presuming you do pray, how do you pray? Do you list for God the many things you do for Him, expecting Him to be impressed? Do you prophesy in God's name, meaning you speak about Him to others? Do you cast out demons in God's name, meaning you combat satan and all evil? Do you do mighty deeds in God's name, meaning you engage in works that reflect Christian discipleship?If so, that is good—but based on today's Gospel, it is not enough. According to our Lord, some who answer “Yes” to those questions will hear at the time of their judgment: “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.”Reflect today on Jesus' challenging call to listen clearly to His voice alone and then act in accord with His will. Doing so requires us to set aside our own agenda and preconceived notions of what God wants. Serving Christ is not a matter of doing Him favors for which He will be grateful. It's a matter of unwavering obedience by which we do God's will alone—nothing less, nothing more, and nothing other. Heed Jesus' challenge and reexamine how you serve Him. Listen first, then act on what you hear. Doing so will guarantee that your life is built on a solid rock foundation of the faith that leads to the divine gift of charity.My demanding and just Lord, flood my mind with Your Word, that I may know Your ways. As I listen to Your voice, grant me the courage to act on all You say, never seeking my own will but Yours alone. Use me as You will for Your glory and make me obedient to Your Word, that my life may be built upon the solid foundation of faith and love. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: Jesus teaches, by JaroslavSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

What happens when a culture no longer fears God or recognizes the destructive power of evil? In Episode 10 of "The Fear of the Lord," Duane Sheriff teaches that one of the clearest biblical definitions of the fear of the Lord is “to depart from evil.” True godly fear is not hatred toward people, but a holy reverence for God that causes us to hate what destroys lives and turn away from sin.Drawing from Proverbs, Psalms, Job, Ephesians, and other Scriptures, Duane reveals how the fear of the Lord produces wisdom, understanding, righteous discernment, and a growing awareness of sin's destructive consequences. Pride, compromise, and the celebration of evil are evidence of a culture losing its fear of God, while those who fear the Lord are drawn away from evil and toward God Himself.We may not be able to simply walk away from evil in our own strength, but we can depart from evil by walking toward God. As we draw near to Him, His light pulls us out of darkness and transforms our hearts. This message also addresses righteous anger, spiritual compromise, and how sin hardens the heart and gives the enemy a foothold.Click for FREE offer ➡️https://pastorduane.com/landing/the-fear-of-the-lord