Podcasts about EPH

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!emersonk78@me.comExcel Still More Journal - AmazonNew GENESIS Daily Bible Devotional!Daily Bible Devotional Series - AmazonSponsors:  Spiritbuilding Publishers Website:  www.spiritbuilding.comTyler Cain, Senior Loan Officer, Statewide MortgageWebsites: https://statewidemortgage.com/https://tylercain.floify.com/Phone: 813-380-848710 Proverbs Starter Chain on "WORDS":Proverbs 10:19; 12:18-19, 25; 13:3; 15:1,4; 16:24; 17:27-28; 18:21; 21:231) Words Dictate Outcomes: They Produce Life and Death(Prov. 18:21; 12:18; 11:9)2) Tone Carries Weight: Softness Settles / Harshness Ignites(Prov. 15:1; 16:24)3) Restraint is Spiritual Strength: Silence is often wisdom(Prov. 10:19; 13:3; 21:23)4) Timely Words are Priceless: Craftsmanship matters(Eph. 4:29; Prov. 18:4; 25:11)5) Your Words Reveal Your Heart: Words tell others who you are(Matt. 12:34-37; 15:18; Luke 6:45)

On this episode of Mutuality Matters: Women and Words, Host Dr. Mimi Haddad interviewed Rev. Dr. Ingrid Faro. Ingrid described her challenging childhood and young married life as one of abuse, both psychologically and physically. Her early church experience was equally difficult, as women were to be seen but not heard. In her family of origins, she felt invisible and unimportant. She was terrified of her mother and had no real relationship with her dad. Ingrid was struggling to figure out who she is and even wondered if it was safe to think her thoughts. She also wanted out of the church because, as Ingrid describes, she so wanted God to be fair, but life didn't seem to be fair.   Ingrid shared how her first husband (a preacher and NT scholar) was unfaithful to her. He was also violent and broke her nose, landing her in the ER, where she told the attending doctors that she had an “accident,” but they were unconvinced. These and other experiences led to her struggle with the question of “theodicy,” whether God is just and good. Ingrid wondered if she could ever really trust God. This led to an exploration of God theologically. She became acquainted with and greatly admires the scholarship of the OT scholar Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel. A passion for the OT was part of her journey.  Her second husband nurtured honest, even blunt communication, or as Brené Brown says, “clarity is kindness.” As Ingrid studied Scripture, she encountered many bold women who henceforward served as her role models! In them she found a sense of release, or as she said, “I didn't know the weight that was on my shoulders until it was lifted off me.” Ingrid began to see God's clear anointing on women which began with the Apostle Paul. Ingrid began to sense a calling to an academic study of Scripture, which gave her pause. She was given opportunities to say what was on her heart but felt conflicted. Then she asked herself, “Can I stand before God and say, ‘I can't.'” She had to distinguish between a fear of people and a fear of God.  Yet the biblical “texts of terror” that appeared to silence women were very limited compared the many, many texts that welcomed their wisdom, voice and leadership. Consider Paul's texts that seem to silence women (1 Cor. 14:34–36, 1 Tim. 2:11–15, Eph. 5:22&FF) compared to the many women Paul celebrates as co-leaders with him in preaching the gospel and leading churches, like those cited in Romans 16. More recently, Ingrid has considered the challenge of abuse in the church one of the most pressing challenges the church must address. She sometimes feels that the church is one of the most abusive places women encounter. Yet this was certainly an issue noted in Genesis 2. Here Ingrid notes the challenge of Bible translation as too often Genesis 2:18 is translated “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” The Hebrew word for “helper,” is ezer, which means “a strong rescue,” as Dave Freedman notes. “Helper” fails to describe the true meaning of ezer.   Ingrid also points to the work of Katharine Bushnell who redeems Eve by observing that she was the first person to have faith and hope in God's promises. She also points to the following authors who have inspired her own scholarship and faith: Karen Swallow Prior, Carol L. Meyers, Edith Deen, Sandra Ritcher, Cynthia Long Westfall, and also biblical models like Abraham and Sarah.    For many years, Ingrid taught OT and has recently published the book, Redeeming Eden: How Women in the Bible Advance the Story of Salvation. Ingrid will lead a keynote and workshop at CBE's conference this summer in Chicago, where she will also receive CBE's Lifetime Achievement Award.  Guest Bio:  Bio: Revd. Dr. Ingrid Faro is an ordained minister and currently serves as interim president and professor of Old Testament at Northern Seminary in Chicago. She previously served as dean of academic affairs, dean of theology at the Scandinavian School of Theology, and director of master's programs at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where she also taught Hebrew and Old Testament. She is an international speaker and the author of Redeeming Eden: How Women in the Bible Advance the Story of Salvation with Joyce Koo Dalrymple, Demystifying Evil, co-author of Honest Answers, Evil in Genesis, co-author of forthcoming As We Forgive: A Biblical Theology of Forgiveness, as well as articles, chapters, and reviews. Prior to her work in theological education, Ingrid was an entrepreneur and president of an insurance consulting group serving one-thousand agents in thirty-five states for twenty years. Ingrid has two children and four grandchildren.    Related Resources:  Healing from Hierarchy: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/mutuality-healing-from-hierarchy/  Silent No More: Exposing Abuse Among Evangelicals: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/silent-no-more-exposing-abuse-among-evangelicals/  Her Silence Screams: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/her-silence-screams/  When Religion Hurts: How Complementarian Churches Harm Women: https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/when-religion-hurts-how-complementarian-churches-hurt/    0:00 Called to Seminary  01:25 Meet Ingrid Farrow  03:37 From Trauma to Theology  06:25 Studying Evil in Genesis  08:36 Why Theodicy Matters  10:31 Patriarchy and Abuse  16:56 Finding Freedom and Voice  19:31 Leading at Northern Seminary  23:17 What Did I Tell You  26:29 Women in Theology Today  28:21 Chicago Conference Invite  29:23 Reading the Clobber Passages  31:16 Scholars Correcting Exegesis  34:04 Trauma Abuse and the Church  35:37 Genesis Reframing Creation  40:03 Women as Full Image Bearers  42:47 Old Testament Women with Voice  46:29 Key Stories Sarah Hannah Ruth  51:20 Future of Women in Ministry  54:58 Global Impact and Closing Prayer 

Michael Penfold gives an outline of the main events that are ahead for the world in biblical prophecy, from the rapture to the eternal state. The chart accompanying this sermon is available below. Readings: Isa 9:6-7, Dan 9:24-27, Eph 3:3-6, 1 Thess 4:13-18, 2 Thess 2:1-12. (Recorded in Straffordville Gospel Hall, ON, Canada, on 8th Jan 2026) Click here for the chart in PDF Or see below for the chart in JPG: Complete series: Countercultural Christianity Courtship and Dating The The post What Is Ahead for Our World? | Michael Penfold first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Is "interracial" marriage biblically acceptable? Let's look at the theology laid in the biblical worldview.Watch my whole Apologetics Answers playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfSpUNYR5qo6sv8Pk8x0tmaq8lLQHHlTm&si=FlnSB-pBhZ6SSaJE==============================⏰ Timestamps ⏰TBD♱ SUBSTACK: Read weekly articles to help you learn and grow: https://thethinkinstitute.substack.com/♱ CHURCH TRAINING: Bring an IMPACTFUL weekend training event to your church or ministry ➡️ https://thethink.institute/forchurches♱ SOCIETY: Christian men get equipped for their Christian life, in community. Try out the Hammer & Anvil Society now. Go to https://thethink.institute/society.The easiest method for teaching your kids the faith we can help you learn (catechism): https://thethink.institute/catakids Men: Want to become the worldview leader your family and church need? We provide in-depth education and community for Christian men: https://thethink.institute/societyMy name is Joel Settecase. I'm the president of The Think Institute, NFP. How I got here: 2009: Left the business world.2010: Became a Bible teacher at a Christian school in Chicago. Realized I needed more education.2011: Enrolled at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). 2013: I joined a suburban church as pastor-in-training.2013–2016: Served as a youth pastor, discipling middle and high school students.2014: Wife diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. God taught us faith.2014–2015: Discovered Calvinism, New Covenant Theology, and Presuppositional Apologetics.2015: Our thirdborn diagnosed with leukemia. God tested and trained us in real time.2016: Joined Chicago multi-site church as Associate Pastor overseeing men's, students, and family ministry and evangelism—later becoming interim lead campus pastor.2016 Wrote Catakids! catechism to teach my young kiddos the faith.2017: Graduated cum laude from TEDS. Capstone papers on apologetics of Jonathan Edwards and John Frame.2018: Joined Cru Church Movements as missionaries.2019: Thirdborn got heart failure. God built our ministry from Lurie Children's Hospital.2020: Started homeschooling. Son received heart transplant. 2020: Launched the Hammer & Anvil Society during Covid.2021: Started teaching at homeschool co-ops.2022: Launched The Think Institute as a nonprofit.2023: Wrote The Bible Based Worldview. 2023: Re-launched the Hammer & Anvil Society as a nationwide men's fellowship. 2024: Joined Village Bible Church, teaching apologetics and worldview classes, family camps, men's retreats, student electives, and Sunday sermons.2025: Launched on Substack. YouTube channel hit 1M views. We now reach 75K+ people monthly and distribute hundreds of educational resources each year. To every Christian man trying to live a Christian life: God will give you what you need for your journey (Eph. 2:10). I am living proof of that. And now my job is to help you build a worldview legacy, where you, your kids, and your wife will be able to confidently answer the world's questions with confidence, and see Jesus change lives as you share your faith.===========================================================The Think Institute relies on the generous support of our Ministry Partners to pursue our mission. Thank you for your help in preparing thousands of regular believers to explain, share and defend the Christian message all over the world.The Think Institute, NFP is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 88-3225438). Donations to The Think Institute are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.Donate now: https://thethink.institute/partner

Sabbath School panel discussion and insight by 3ABN pastors and teachers. This podcast episode follows 2026 quarter 1, lesson 9 of the adult Bible study guide book. This quarter's book topic is “Uniting Heaven and Earth. Christ in Philippians and Colossians”, and this week's Sabbath School lesson is titled “Reconciliation and Hope”. Join us every week for a fresh and relevant study of the word of God.  Reading: Col. 1:20-29 | Eph. 5:27 | Eph. 3:17 | Rom. 8:18 | Eph. 1:7-10 | Eph. 3:3-6 | Prov. 14:12. Memory Text: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). (February 21 - February 27)  Sunday (James Rafferty) - “Reconciled from Wicked Works”Monday (Ryan Johnson) - “If You Continue in the Faith” Tuesday (Shelley Quinn) - “God's Eternal Plan”Wednesday (John Dinzey) - “Mystery of God Revealed”Thursday (Jill Morikone) - “Power of the Gospel” Want the Panelists' notes? You can sign up here: https://3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com/notes/  Questions or Comments? Email us at mail@3abn.org  Donate: https://3abn.org/donate-quick.html

After explaining how marriage in Western society has collapsed, Michael Penfold outlines what the Word of God has to say about it. Marriage's definition, design, devotion, duties, dangers, delight and destiny. Readings: Gen 2:18, 21-24, Gen 3:16, Heb 13:4, Eph 5:22-33. (Recorded in Straffordville Gospel Hall, ON, Canada, on 6th Jan 2026) Complete series: Countercultural Christianity Courtship and Dating The Principles and Purposes of Marriage Confidence in Parenting What is Ahead for Our World? The post The Principles and Purposes of Marriage | Michael Penfold first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

After this video, you won't let anyone tell you Christian theology or the biblical worldview is incompatible with science ever again. It's atheism that has the problem... and that problem is called INDUCTION. Watch and see why.Watch my whole Apologetics Answers playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfSpUNYR5qo6sv8Pk8x0tmaq8lLQHHlTm&si=FlnSB-pBhZ6SSaJE==============================♱ SUBSTACK: Read weekly articles to help you learn and grow: https://thethinkinstitute.substack.com/♱ CHURCH TRAINING: Bring an IMPACTFUL weekend training event to your church or ministry ➡️ https://thethink.institute/forchurches♱ SOCIETY: Christian men get equipped for their Christian life, in community. Try out the Hammer & Anvil Society now. Go to https://thethink.institute/society.The easiest method for teaching your kids the faith we can help you learn (catechism): https://thethink.institute/catakids Men: Want to become the worldview leader your family and church need? We provide in-depth education and community for Christian men: https://thethink.institute/societyMy name is Joel Settecase. I'm the president of The Think Institute, NFP. To every Christian man trying to live a Christian life: God will give you what you need for your journey (Eph. 2:10). I am living proof of that. And now my job is to help you build a worldview legacy, where you, your kids, and your wife will be able to confidently answer the world's questions with confidence, and see Jesus change lives as you share your faith.===========================================================The Think Institute relies on the generous support of our Ministry Partners to pursue our mission. Thank you for your help in preparing thousands of regular believers to explain, share and defend the Christian message all over the world.The Think Institute, NFP is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 88-3225438). Donations to The Think Institute are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.Donate now: https://thethink.institute/partner

Scripture Reading: Revelation 17 Revelation 17,18 describe, at length, the global kingdom of the antichrist during the coming time of tribulation. We have already seen, in chapter 13, that there will be both a political leader and religious leader in this vast kingdom … the beast, and the false prophet.  The political/religious structural system of the kingdom of the antichrist is called 'Babylon' in the book of Revelation. Revelation 17 describes the religious aspect of this global kingdom and chapter 18 describes the political aspect of it. The religious element of the antichrist kingdom is symbolically represented by a prostitute, riding on a scarlet beast.  In the Old Testament, idolatrous rebellion against God, was sometimes characterized as spiritual adultery or harlotry (cf. Nah 3:4; Ezek 16:35; 23:1-3). Undergirding the movement of events during the tribulation is the reality of God's sovereign design, ordering even the dark powers to fulfill his will.  "For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled (Rev 17:17).  How glorious is our God, who works all things after the council of his will!  (Eph 1:11).

Circumcision was “the single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” When the gospel reached the Gentiles, a controversy broke out among the Jews, with some declaring, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1). Paul dealt with the issue of circumcision throughout his entire ministry. He was an expert in the Scriptures and a former Pharisee, so he was uniquely positioned by the Holy Spirit to bring clarity to the true meaning of circumcision. As the Holy Spirit-inspired author of Romans, he stated: “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” (Rom. 2:28-29)Circumcision was a good thing, but it became a bad thing when the Jews sought to attach it to the finished work of Christ as necessary for salvation. As followers of Jesus, we must guard against creating any system that attaches human efforts to Christ's finished work. Even good things, like baptism and communion, have been attached by some to the finished work of Christ as necessary for salvation. We reject this view (Eph. 2:8-9), while seeking to uphold the crucial and essential nature of Biblically mandated Christian rituals. Jesus was circumcised and placed Himself under the Law. He perfectly kept the Law and thus redeemed those under the Law (Gal. 4:4-5). We are now in Christ! “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” (Gal. 5:6)Take-Home Message: Circumcision is a matter of the heart.Circumcision ExplainedCircumcision Illustrated (25-27)Circumcision Applied (28-29)We must emphasize coming to Jesus and following Jesus as the true evidence of a believer.We must guard against adding requirements to the gospel. We must strive for unity with Christians of different backgrounds.

Do you have the eyes of the Lord? - Are you seeing Him like He sees you? Dan 2:20-22 / John 4:34-38 / Rev 14:14-19 / Acts 26:15-18 / Eph 1:17-18

Ephesians 4:10-13 God speaks thru prophets and apostles. Jesus loves you so much that he gave the church gifts. “The One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.” – Ephesians 4:10-13  The Message by Eugene Peterson “And he (Jesus) himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness.” – Ephesians 4:11-13  CSB 1. Prophets God speaks. Prophecy – speak on behalf of God before others Prophet – one who speaks inspired utterances on behalf of God “The name ‘prophets' (in Eph. 4:11) is given to those who, having received the Spirit of God, spoke beforehand of Christ and his advent. These were the prophets who “were until Christ.” But after he arrived, was there no reason for any further prophecy? What prophets does Paul speak of here? It is obviously those who being full of the Spirit spoke of God after his coming, continuing to expound the divine teaching.” – Marius Victorinus 280-363 Old Testament prophets spoke the message God gave them, and many pointed to Jesus Christ. “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet.” – Matthew 1:22  CSB Some New Testament prophets: John the Baptist, Anna in Luke 2:36, Agabus in Acts 11:29, 21:10,  Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen in Acts 13:1-2, Silas & Judas Barsabbas in Acts 15:32, 4 daughters of Phillip in Acts 21:8-9,  John in Revelation “the spirit of prophecy” – Revelation 19:10 “This means that prophecy at its very heart is designed to unfold the beauty and loveliness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – John Walvoord Training, Discernment, and Accountability:  “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. And the prophets' spirits are subject to the prophets, 33 since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” – 1 Corinthians 14:29–33   CSB  “many false prophets will appear and fool many people,” – Matthew 24:11    Elijah school of the prophets in 1 Kings 19:18, training people in understanding the Scripture, discerning God's voice, and speaking it. In 2 Kings 2 we see groups of prophets interacting with Elijah and Elisha. Paul & Barnabas – described as “prophets and teachers” then commissioned, sent in apostolic ministry “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.” – Acts 13:1-3  CSB 2. Apostle – an envoy of Jesus, a representative messenger sent, a “special” messenger (having been commissioned by Jesus Christ for a particular task or role, invested with the authority to speak on his behalf)   …borrowing and changing a Greek term for, emissaries, one who is to carry a message and is commissioned to extend the kingdom (military or naval) a commander of a naval expedition (generally restricted to the immediate followers of Jesus Christ, but also extended, as in the case of Paul, to other early Christians active in proclaiming the message of the gospel) – Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament “Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.” – Romans 1:1  (possible reference to a Jewish embassy in Rome that required travel by sea) Denotes God-given spiritual authority, mission and message, to be recognized by others (including leaders) Influence in more than one local church Alignment > Heirarchy  God speaks. God had spoken. God is speaking. God will speak. “This is a house set up and ordered by Jesus.… He does not do this in a casual manner. It is with the utmost discrimination and discretion: One is assigned to the rank of an apostle, one to the place of a prophet, others to look after the flock of Christ and to work at the divine instruction of others for those saints who are prepared to learn.” – Didymus the Blind a Biblical scholar 313-398 What are prophets & apostles? Gifts from Jesus to his church. Representatives and messengers. They speak when God has given them something to say. The church leaders recognize it and the church receives it. Each of the 4 Gifts function when recognized and received. What are prophets & apostles NOT? Free to do what they want, however they want. Not dictators. Not celebrities. Not gurus. What is the purpose of our interactions with the 4 Gifts? Sent to equip the church for ministry. Sent to build up the church. Sent to help the church learn about Jesus and become more like Jesus. Sent to help the church grow stronger spiritually, able to refute wrong thinking. Equipping – making, preparing, training, perfecting, making fully qualified for service, (in classical language the word was used to describe setting a bone during surgery – The Great Physician is now making all the necessary adjustments so the church will not be “out of joint”) What should we do? 1.       Read Ephesians 3:14-21 and 4:1-16. 2.       Pray, asking God for guidance. 3.       Think about what we are reading. 4.       Write down elements of God's purpose for us. 5.       Write down ways in which we should interact with the 4 Gifts. Extra notes: “the spirit of prophecy” – Revelation 19:10 Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” – Revelation 19:10  CSB The word “testimony,” or witness, references someone who has seen or experienced something to be the case. John and his brothers are therefore witnesses and the bearers of testimony to the plan and purpose of God for redemption in Jesus. Consequently, God is the only appropriate object of worship. This is explained by the somewhat enigmatic statement, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Here the word “prophecy” (proph?teia), which arises from a combination of “speak” (ph?mi) and “before” (pro), an important use of the word essentially meaning “speak for God before.” Before what? is an appropriate question. One sense of the preposition (pro) would be to speak about an event before it happens. Another sense would be to speak before listeners of the purpose and acts of God. Likely in this case both of these senses are paramount. In any event, the meaning is actually reasonably clear: The spirit of both the proclamation and the telling of the future is bound up in the testimony of Jesus. Jesus the Lamb—and not just a chronology of last things—is the theme of the Revelation. As Walvoord succinctly declares, “This means that prophecy at its very heart is designed to unfold the beauty and loveliness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – Patterson, P. (2012). Revelation (E. R. Clendenen, Ed.; Vol. 39, pp. 345–346). B&H. Evangelist – one who announces the Good News of Jesus (in particular a function rather than an office) …such as Philip in Acts 8:4, 12, 35, 40, 21:8 and Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5  1 Thessalonians 3:2  Philippians 2:22  and two women in Philippians 4:3  Titus in 2 Corinthians 8:18  Epaphras in Colossians 1:7  NT Evangelists – Paul/Phillip NT Church – 1 Tim 3:15, 5:1-2  1 Cor. 12:16-17 Note: not all evangelists were apostles, but all apostles were evangelists “Then he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.'” – Jesus in Mark 16:15-16  CSB All disciples – “Make disciples,” – Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20  “How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” – Romans 10:14-15  CSB Preachers: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors/Teachers will preach. Greek definition of the word “preach” ·       To publicly proclaim or announce news. ·       To proclaim as a herald.  Matthew 4:17; 10:7; 24:14; Acts 8:5; Acts 28:31  A person who had particular responsibilities. Someone sent to say something specific. ·       To announce good tidings or good news.  Luke 3:18; Luke 4:43; Luke 9:6; Acts 8:4; Rev 14:6  Euaggelizo – good news of the gospel ·       To teach or instruct.  Matthew 4:23; 13:36; John 6:59; I Cor 4:17; 1 Tim 2:12; Rom 2:20; Acts 13:1; Rom 12:7; 1 Cor 12:28; Mt 28:19;  Mk 16:15; Eph 4:1 ·       To cause people to learn.  Mt 11:29; 28:19; Acts 14:21  ·       To place beside, as in clear presentation.  Mt 13:24; Mk 8:6 ; Acts 16:34; 1 Cor 10:27; 2 Tim 4:3; Heb 5:12-14  Paratithemi – to place beside so you can pick up again ·       To interpret and make clear and simple.  Lk 24:27; 1 Cor 12;30; 14:5,13,27 ·       To bring out the hidden meanings.  Acts 11:4; 18:26; 28:23  Scripture has obvious and non-obvious meaning. Matthew 10:7              And as you go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 24:14            And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, Colossians 1:28         Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:5         For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Timothy 2:15            Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Romans 10:14             How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

     The spiritual life cannot be fully understood or lived until the believer grasps the distinction between positional truth and experiential truth. Learning God's Word is always the starting point for the Christian way of life (1 Pet 2:2; 2 Tim 3:16–17). Until the believer orients to what God has already accomplished at initial salvation, he cannot discern what God now expects in fellowship (Rom 6:3–11). Confusion or neglect of Scripture inevitably drives the Christian into legalism, emotionalism, ritualism, activism, or frustration (Col 2:8, 20–23; Gal 3:1–3). Bible doctrine learned and applied provides the foundation for executing the spiritual life (Rom 12:2; Jam 1:22). God's riches for the believer include both positional and experiential blessings, and the former establishes the ground on which the latter are enjoyed (Eph 1:3; Col 2:6–7). Full study notes here: https://thinkingonscripture.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/10-The-Believers-Riches-in-Christ.pdf Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

A courageous people – Rom 1:14-17, Eph 6:19-20 - Simone D by Christ City Church Dublin

Pastor Josh talks about the battles we face daily, and how prayer helps us in that battle. Eph. 6:12, 18; Matt. 26:41; Luke 18:1-8

In this passage, we are reminded of the necessity to focus on Christ and to allow him to grow us individually and as a church toward a mature unity. The post Unity that results in maturity (Eph. 4:1-16) appeared first on PLEASANT HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH.

The passage we'll be studying today, Eph 4:7-16. Today's passage will explain that Christ gives diverse spiritual gifts to believers to foster unity, spiritual maturity, stability, clarity, harmony, love and the growth of the church. Instead of individual recognition, these roles—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers—are designed equip all believers for service, building up the Body of Christ into mature unity. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

FEB. 3, 2026Healing for your mind."Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind." Eph 4:23 AMPCWe are three-part beings: spirit, soul, and body. When we make Jesus Lord of our lives, our spirit receives healing from spiritual death. But there are still two areas that need Christ's healing touch: our souls (mind, emotions, and will) and our physical bodies. God's Word teaches us that physical health and mental health are irrevocably linked. "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pr 23:7 NKJV). What we think about ourselves is inevitably what we become. Unhealthy thinking produces unhealthy living. John wrote: "I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers" (3Jn 1:2 NKJV). For any area where our souls are sick-whether it be low self-esteem, negative thoughts, or destructive habits-the Word of God is the answer to nourishing us into a balanced and healthy state. The majority of Satan's attacks begin in the mind. He uses wrong thoughts and images in our minds to lead us away from God's best. The only way to counteract this is to stand on God's Word and allow His healthy thoughts to permeate our thinking daily.Thoughts of fear can be replaced with thoughts of faith.Thoughts of lack can be replaced with thoughts of provision.Thoughts of failure and depression can be replaced with thoughts of success and joy. How does this happen? Paul answered: "Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image" (Eph 4:23-24 AMPC).Healing for your mind Unhealthy thinking produces unhealthy living.Share This DevotionalSend a textSupport the showChanging Lives | Building Strong Family | Impacting Our Community For Jesus Christ!

From where does the salvation of the righteous come? Proverbs 21:30–31 looks forward to the midweek sermon. In these two verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the salvation of the righteous comes from their incomparable, invincible God. The devotional centers on the sovereign supremacy of YHWH, emphasizing that no wisdom, understanding, or counsel can prevail against His will. Pastor underscores that the righteous find unshakable confidence not in their own strength, but in the God, Who works all things according to the counsel of His will (cf. Eph 1:11). This truth establishes the certainty of both the demise of the wicked and the deliverance of the righteous.

Apologetics a little rusty? Tune into this video explaining why logic makes no sense without the one true God. Clarify your worldview, deepen your theology, and sharpen your ability to defend the faith.Watch my whole Apologetics Answers playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfSpUNYR5qo6sv8Pk8x0tmaq8lLQHHlTm&si=FlnSB-pBhZ6SSaJE==============================⏰ Timestamps ⏰TBD♱ SUBSTACK: Read weekly articles to help you learn and grow: https://thethinkinstitute.substack.com/♱ CHURCH TRAINING: Bring an IMPACTFUL weekend training event to your church or ministry ➡️ https://thethink.institute/forchurches♱ SOCIETY: Christian men get equipped for their Christian life, in community. Try out the Hammer & Anvil Society now. Go to https://thethink.institute/society.The easiest method for teaching your kids the faith we can help you learn (catechism): https://thethink.institute/catakids Men: Want to become the worldview leader your family and church need? We provide in-depth education and community for Christian men: https://thethink.institute/societyMy name is Joel Settecase. I'm the president of The Think Institute, NFP. How I got here: 2009: Left the business world.2010: Became a Bible teacher at a Christian school in Chicago. Realized I needed more education.2011: Enrolled at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). 2013: I joined a suburban church as pastor-in-training.2013–2016: Served as a youth pastor, discipling middle and high school students.2014: Wife diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. God taught us faith.2014–2015: Discovered Calvinism, New Covenant Theology, and Presuppositional Apologetics.2015: Our thirdborn diagnosed with leukemia. God tested and trained us in real time.2016: Joined Chicago multi-site church as Associate Pastor overseeing men's, students, and family ministry and evangelism—later becoming interim lead campus pastor.2016 Wrote Catakids! catechism to teach my young kiddos the faith.2017: Graduated cum laude from TEDS. Capstone papers on apologetics of Jonathan Edwards and John Frame.2018: Joined Cru Church Movements as missionaries.2019: Thirdborn got heart failure. God built our ministry from Lurie Children's Hospital.2020: Started homeschooling. Son received heart transplant. 2020: Launched the Hammer & Anvil Society during Covid.2021: Started teaching at homeschool co-ops.2022: Launched The Think Institute as a nonprofit.2023: Wrote The Bible Based Worldview. 2023: Re-launched the Hammer & Anvil Society as a nationwide men's fellowship. 2024: Joined Village Bible Church, teaching apologetics and worldview classes, family camps, men's retreats, student electives, and Sunday sermons.2025: Launched on Substack. YouTube channel hit 1M views. We now reach 75K+ people monthly and distribute hundreds of educational resources each year. To every Christian man trying to live a Christian life: God will give you what you need for your journey (Eph. 2:10). I am living proof of that. And now my job is to help you build a worldview legacy, where you, your kids, and your wife will be able to confidently answer the world's questions with confidence, and see Jesus change lives as you share your faith.===========================================================The Think Institute relies on the generous support of our Ministry Partners to pursue our mission. Thank you for your help in preparing thousands of regular believers to explain, share and defend the Christian message all over the world.The Think Institute, NFP is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 88-3225438). Donations to The Think Institute are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.Donate now: https://thethink.institute/partner

First we'll talk about why it is literally impossible for the Bible to contain actual contradictions. Then let's go to the Bible to address the following supposed contradictions in the Bible, cited by historian Marko Marina, Ph.D, at Bart Ehrman's website (https://www.bartehrman.com/contradictions-in-the-bible). 1. The Two Creation Accounts: Genesis 1:1–2:3 (cosmic, structured, 7-day creation sequence) vs. Genesis 2:4–25 (a more anthropocentric story)2. The Number of Animals on the Ark: Genesis 6:19–20 (two of every kind) vs. Genesis 7:2–3 (seven pairs of clean, two unclean)3. The Death of Saul: 1 Samuel 31:4 (fell on his sword) vs. 2 Samuel 1:10 (Amalekite killed him)4. God or Satan Inspired the Census: 2 Samuel 24:1 (God incited David) vs. 1 Chronicles 21:1 (Satan incited David)5. Jesus' Genealogy: Matthew 1:1–17 vs. Luke 3:23–38 – different names, different lineage paths6. The Voice at Jesus' Baptism: Matthew 3:17 (spoken to crowd) vs. Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22 (spoken to Jesus)7. How Many Rooster Crows? Mark 14:30 (before rooster crows twice) vs. Matthew 26:34, Luke 22:34, John 13:38 (before it crows once)8. Judas' Death: Matthew 27:5 (hanged himself) vs. Acts 1:18 (fell headlong and burst open)9. The Day Jesus Died: Synoptics: Passover day (Nisan 15) vs. John: day before Passover (Nisan 14)10. The Resurrection Visitors: Varies across Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20Sources:https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/does-last-supper-chronology-differhttps://biblehub.com/q/why_do_gospel_resurrection_details_differ.htmhttps://netbible.org/bible/Genesis+2https://biblehub.com/q/animals_on_noah's_ark.htmhttps://www.gotquestions.org/death-of-Saul.htmlhttps://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-solutions/1_Chronicles_21.1.phphttps://carm.org/if-jesus-is-god-in-flesh-why-did-he-not-inherit-original-sinhttps://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/how-to-resolve-alleged-gospel-contradictionshttps://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2025/05/cock-doodle-one-or-two.html==============================♱ SUBSTACK: Read weekly articles to help you learn and grow: https://thethinkinstitute.substack.com/♱ CHURCH TRAINING: Bring an IMPACTFUL weekend training event to your church or ministry ➡️ https://thethink.institute/forchurchesMen: Want to become the worldview leader your family and church need? We provide in-depth education and community for Christian men: https://thethink.institute/societyMy name is Joel Settecase. I'm the president of The Think Institute, NFP. To every Christian man trying to live a Christian life: God will give you what you need for your journey (Eph. 2:10). I am living proof of that. And now my job is to help you build a worldview legacy, where you, your kids, and your wife will be able to confidently answer the world's questions with confidence, and see Jesus change lives as you share your faith.The world needs you. Get equipped. Welcome to The Think Institute.===========================================================Join the Hammer & Anvil SocioetyThe Think Institute relies on the generous support of our Ministry Partners to pursue our mission. Your financial contributions help equip Christian fathers and their families with the education, resources and community needed to stand firm on God's word in today's challenging climate. Thank you for your help in preparing thousands of regular believers to explain, share and defend the Christian message all over the world.The Think Institute, NFP is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 88-3225438). Donations to The Think Institute are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.Donate now: https://thethink.institute/partner

Sabbath School panel discussion and insight by 3ABN pastors and teachers. This podcast episode follows 2026 quarter 1, lesson 8 of the adult Bible study guide book. This quarter's book topic is “Uniting Heaven and Earth. Christ in Philippians and Colossians”, and this week's Sabbath School lesson is titled “The Preeminence of Christ”. Join us every week for a fresh and relevant study of the word of God.  Reading: Gen. 1:26, 27; Col. 1:13–19; John 1:1–3; Eph. 1:22; 1 Cor. 12:12–27; 1 Cor. 4:9; Rom. 6:3, 4. Memory Text: “He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:15–17, NKJV). (February 14 - February 20)  Sunday – Shelley Quinn - Image of the Invisible GodMonday – Jill Morikone - Firstborn Over All CreationTuesday – Ryan Johnson - Head of the Body (the Church)Wednesday – James Rafferty - The “Beginning” (and Initiator)Thursday – John Dinzey  - To Reconcile All Things Want the Panelists' notes? You can sign up here: https://3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com/notes/  Questions or Comments? Email us at mail@3abn.org Donate: https://3abn.org/donate-quick.html

The Process. Eph. 3: 17-19, Col. 2: 7. (Victor Rowell, February 15, 2026). 

Our Election in Christ (7)  (audio) David Eells – 2/15/26 I'm going to continue speaking today about election and talk about the children and the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that giveth life; … (Joh.6:63). In the Book of Romans, we found out that before Jacob and Esau were even born, Jacob was called God's elect. (Rom.9:10) And not only so; but Rebecca also having conceived by one, even by our father Isaac— (11) for [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Well, just as I'm sure you have questions, I had some questions, too, when I got this far in my revelation about election and predestination. What about the children? What about the babies? What about the doctrine of an “age of reason” that the Church has had for so many years? They say every child goes to be with the Lord, if they die before they reach the “age of reason,” and after that age, then they become accountable. Then it becomes their responsibility to accept the Lord and walk with the Lord. And so on. To me, that doctrine seemed contrary to election, according to everything I understood. I really wanted to know for myself, so I began to do some research. I decided to seek out how all of this fits together about children and election, but I want to remind you that both Jacob and Esau went past the stage of childhood; Jacob went on to manifest as a vessel of honor, and Esau as a vessel of dishonor. Neither one of them died as a child or as a baby. Let me share with you what I discovered. We know that, according to election, there are sons of God and sons of the devil, based on what God makes out of the clay and what a person becomes in their life (Romans 9:21). But, according to nature, I'd like to show you another teaching: (Heb.12:9) Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of [our] spirits, and live? Some translations add in the word “our” to “Father of spirits” in this verse, but the word “our” is not in the ancient manuscripts of the Nestle's or Received Text, and there's no numeric pattern for that word to be there. He's the “Father of spirits,” as He's called elsewhere in the Bible. You may be questioning, “So is God the Father of our spirits or is He the Father of every spirit?” The answer can be found here: (Num.16:22) And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? And another place says in (Num.27:16) Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation. That gives us two witnesses that He's “God of the spirits of all flesh.” When God breathed into Adam the breath, or the spirit, of life, the spirit that He gave Adam was a fresh, clean human spirit (Genesis 2:7), and I believe God gives everyone a fresh, clean human spirit. Now I want you to look at something that you may find surprising. Once you understand election and God's predestination of the elect, you can see how there are sons of God and there are sons of the devil. We've seen that the “wheat” are the sons of God and the “tares” are the sons of the devil. The wheat and the tares were sown in the earth, and in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24,36-43), the earth was the hearts of men. Universally, the hearts of men are that “earth” in which God sows His seed and in which the devil sows his seed. But what about that heart before it manifested the seed of God or the seed of the devil? When Paul preached to the pagans at the Areopagus, he told them, (Act.17:24) The God that made the world and all [things] (The word “things” is not in the original; it was added by the translators.) therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (25) neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all [things]. Again, the word “things” is not in the original. “He giveth to all life, and breath.” The word there for “breath” is the Greek word pneuma, and it's the same word translated as “spirit” in other places in the New Testament. The words “breath” and “spirit” both come from the same word pneuma, which is where we get our word for “air.” As we read on down, we're going to see if this word “all” really means “all” because this word “all” has to be judged by its context in the rest of the Scripture. We read again this text without “things.” (Act.17:25) Neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all; (26) and he made of one every nation of men (God made all men) to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined [their] appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation (Everybody came from Adam according to (Act 17:26) and he made of one every nation of men… And, Eve is called the “mother of all living” in Genesis 3:20, so we know that everybody came from Adam and Eve, contrary to some doctrines of men.); (27) that they should seek God, if happily they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us (That shows each person on this earth is individually responsible for seeking God, but not everybody will do that and they are going to be held responsible.): (28) for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Paul is agreeing with what those pagans were saying about us receiving our being in God. He's saying that it's true. (Act.17:28) For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. “We are also His offspring.” You know, Christians like to correct this theology and say, “For we are all children of God.” That's not true because we are not all children of God, but we are all His offspring in a way. Then Paul goes on to say, (29) Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. (30) The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: (31) inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Well, how are we all the “offspring of God”? (Joh.1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All [things] were made through him (He's talking about people, not things, which is not in the numeric pattern. The Greek word there is the adjective pas, and it simply means “all, the whole, every kind of.”); and without him was not anything made that hath been made. So the Word made everything; He made Adam. We can read a confirmation of this here: (Col.1:16) For in him were all [things] created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him. Everything was created through Jesus and for Jesus. He is the first-born of the creation of God. This is talking about from the very beginning of all creation. It all came to be because it was created through Christ. (Joh.1:4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And over in Proverbs it says, (Pro.20:27) The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all his innermost parts. The Father created all things through Christ, and Christ was the medium through which the Father used to create all things and all men as in these texts. It was Jesus, the Son of God Who created all things and breathed into Adam. (Gen.2:7) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Or the “spirit.” The Hebrew word there is neshamah and is translated as both “breath” and “spirit” in the Old Testament.); and man became a living soul. The Bible says that the first man, Adam, was a natural being. (1Co.15:44) It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual [body]. (45) So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (46) Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. (47) The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. (48) As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. His natural man came from the earth, but his spirit came from God. God breathed into Adam, and the breath, the Spirit, came out of God and went into man. Some theologians like to argue that the “breath of life” is the “breath of lives.” I'm not sure about that, but we know that in the loins of Adam, in the seed of Adam, was all mankind (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). And God breathed into Adam a fresh, clean, pure Spirit to be the spirit of man, but it wasn't long after this that instead of following after his spirit, man followed his flesh and corrupted himself on the earth. (Gen.6:12) And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. (17) And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon this earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die. Adam started out innocent before God, but in following his flesh, he got further and further away from God, and Adam's children got further and further away from God, until God had to destroy them. Truly, nothing has changed; we're in the same position today. God gives the natural child a fresh, clean spirit, which is the breath of life that He breathes into them. With this spirit, they have an opportunity to follow their spirit, and your conscience is a part of your spirit, so when you're following your conscience, you are following your spirit. We have to choose. You can follow your conscience, or you can follow your flesh, and as we know, everybody follows after their flesh. (Joh.1:5) And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. This sounds very much like what Peter said: (2Pe.1:19) And we have the word of prophecy [made] more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp (We've learned that the “lamp” is the “spirit of man,” according to Proverbs 20:27.) shining in a dark place (The “dark place” is your soul, which is your mind, will and emotions.), until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts. In the beginning, God gave Adam a “lamp” and it shined forth into his human nature, but Adam's offspring, who all started out the same way, began to follow after their flesh more and more, which corrupted their soul and eventually corrupted their spirit. If we follow after the flesh, the soul is going to be corrupted, and then when we follow our corrupted soul, our spirit will eventually be corrupted. Everybody starts out with a fresh, clean spirit, but they also start out with the corrupt nature that was passed down to them through their parents. “The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” The last Adam, or Jesus, is the one who gives us a new spirit when we are born again and become a new creation. (2Co.5:17) Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. Jesus is the second Adam; He is the Father of a new, born-again creation because the first creation corrupted itself. Except for one thing, babies start out in the place of Adam because they are given a fresh, clean spirit from God, one that's not corrupted. However, their soul is corrupted because their parents passed on their blood. (Lev.17:11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. That gives the child a lot to overcome. The Bible says of God, (Exo.34:6) And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, (7) keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. So we see that the sins of the parents are also passed down to the children from one generation to another generation and on and on. So, live holy. (Joh.1:6) There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. (7) The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. (8) He was not the light, but [came] that he might bear witness of the light. (9) There was the true light, [even the light] which lighteth every man, coming into the world. This should be turned around because the numeric pattern proves that the sequence is wrong. What it actually says is, “The true light was, which coming into the world, lighteth every man.” Jesus is the true light that “lighteth every man.” (12) But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God. As far as the new creation, Jesus' spirit is that new spirit that comes into every man as their lamp to show them the way. It shines in the dark place of their soul in order to dispel the darkness. You can see the same pattern repeated with babies. Like Adam at the beginning of creation, Jesus breathes into them the spirit of life, and they start out innocent when they are born, but they don't stay that way long. And the Bible doesn't teach that it has anything to do with some so-called “age of reason”; theologians have come up with that doctrine. What the Bible does say is, (Isa.53:6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.... Well, in order to go astray, you had to have been with God in the first place. (Rom.3:9) What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin (Of course, the Greeks weren't under the Old Covenant. Paul is talking about the New Covenant.); (10) as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; (11) There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God (He's talking about the Jews and the Gentiles.); (12) They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not, so much as one. They all turned aside. Jews and Gentiles all turned aside. That means, in some way, they started out with God. In some way, babies start out with God. (Psa.58:3) The wicked are estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. This says they start going astray from the time they are born, but at birth, they are with God. They go astray because they follow their fallen nature, instead of following after their fresh, clean spirit, which was given from God. They go astray following after their flesh and become more and more corrupt. If you have a clean spirit, but you follow after the flesh, your soul will die. (Job.36:8) And if they be bound in fetters, And be taken in the cords of afflictions; (9) Then he showeth them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly. (10) He openeth also their ear to instruction, And commandeth that they return from iniquity. (11) If they hearken and serve [him], They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. (12) But if they hearken not, they shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge. (13) But they that are godless in heart lay up anger: They cry not for help when he bindeth them. (14) They die in youth.... “Their soul dieth” is what it literally says in the original Hebrew and your Bible should have a footnote explaining this. Strong's concordance is based on the Received Text and uses noar, which is a different Hebrew word altogether. (14) They die in soul, And their life [perisheth] among the unclean. (15) He delivereth the afflicted by their affliction, And openeth their ear in oppression. (16) Yea, he would have allured thee out of distress Into a broad place, where there is no straitness; And that which is set on thy table would be full of fatness. (17) But thou art full of the judgment of the wicked: Judgment and justice take hold [on thee.] (18) For let not wrath stir thee up against chastisements; Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside. Therefore, if a person were to listen to the Lord and follow after the Lord, their soul wouldn't die, but the natural process of degeneration sets in as soon as a person is born. They begin to go astray by following after their flesh, but the point is that they don't start out that way; they start out with the Lord. I don't think responsibility has anything to do with reaching an “age of reason.” I think that responsibility has more to do with the degeneration of the spirit than it does with reason. Children who are raised up with Godly parents, parents who discipline them and teach them the truth, don't become as corrupt as quickly as other children. Their conscience doesn't become as defiled as that of other children because discipline is a motivation to do what is right. It's a motivation to obey your conscience and obey your spirit, and not obey your flesh. If a child is raised with discipline, they don't become corrupted as quickly as a child who is not raised with discipline. Little children go bad and become evil very quickly without any discipline, and that's why I don't think that there is any particular age called the “age of reason,” where God imputes responsibility. It's not an age that makes you accountable; it's truth that makes you accountable. The more truth you go against, the more your conscience is defiled. The Bible is very plain: (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. That doesn't mention any particular age. “To him it is sin,” but where there was no law or, in other words, when they didn't know that what they were doing was sin, then sin was not imputed to them. (Rom.5:13) For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Being held responsible has to do with knowledge; knowledge determines whether God imputes iniquity to you or whether He doesn't impute iniquity to you. Yet, knowledge must be incorporated to bear fruit. I believe that whether a child is raised with discipline or whether they're not raised with discipline, they end up in the same place. Eventually, what happens is that their soul and spirit become corrupt. At that time, they need to be born again. I can't say if there's any particular age for that because the Bible doesn't teach it. But somewhere during that time, I believe that a person whose spirit becomes corrupt must be born again; their spirit must be born again. Adam was pure before God when he was in his innocence, even though he was not born again. That was the natural birth that he had. It was when Adam got away from his innocence that he fell. God gave Adam a clean spirit and He gave Adam only one law, but still Adam failed. He followed the flesh and he fell away. Now there is a place of innocence from childhood on up because of ignorance. Let me show you that in the story of Abijah, the son of Jeroboam. Jeroboam was a wicked king over the northern 10 tribes, and he led Israel into apostasy. God had prophesied to him that he was going to be King over Israel (1 Kings 11:29-37; 12:20), but he led Israel in the wrong way (1 Kings 12:26-33; 13:33,34). When Jeroboam's son was sick, he asked his wife to disguise herself and go to the prophet Ahijah to see what was going to happen to their son. God spoke to Ahijah the prophet, who was blind, and told him that Jeroboam's wife was coming, and God gave Ahijah a word of prophecy for her. (1Ki.14:7) Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, (8) and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee; and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes, (9) but hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: (10) therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every man-child, him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung, till it be all gone. (11) Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the birds of the heavens eat: for the Lord hath spoken it. (12) Arise thou therefore, get thee to thy house: [and] when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. (13) And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. Here, this child's parents were some of the most wicked in all of Israel, yet there was something good in this child toward the Lord. I believe the Lord was saying that the child's spirit was still good. Do you remember what happened when the disciples wanted to know who was the greatest? (Mat.18:1) In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (2) And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, (3) and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. (4) Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. What was Jesus talking about? Jesus was showing the disciples how a little child is submissive. In every case in the Gospels, it says “little child” (Mark 10:15; Luke 9:47) because, as you know, some older children are not submissive and trusting of their father; they're not clean on the inside. Another place of innocence is a child who is killed by abortion or dies from miscarriage. (Ecc.6:3) If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul be not filled with good, and moreover he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth (In other words, speaking of a miscarriage.) is better than he. So a man can live a full life, but not live in the goodness of the Lord, and not be a vessel of honor. This is saying it's better to have been born dead. (4) For it cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness; (5) moreover it hath not seen the sun nor known it; this hath rest rather than the other: (6) yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet enjoy no good, do not all go to one place? He's talking about death here, not about going to the same place in Sheol, because this man went to Hades and the child went to Abraham's Bosom, but they both went to Sheol (Luke 16:22-26). This shows us that God at least considers innocency among children or babies. Abijah was a small child and God did not impute iniquity to this small child. That leads me to believe the further we get away from birth, the more dangerous it becomes because we become more responsible as we acquire knowledge. Innocency is not based on some “age of accountability” or “age of reason,” as theologians have told us, because you can't find that in the Bible. Saints, God imputes iniquity with knowledge. (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. God showed His election through Jacob, who manifested a vessel of honor, and Esau, who manifested a vessel of dishonor. This is what they were elected to do. Although every child is born with a fresh, clean spirit, they also receive the nature of their parents, and so they have a choice to make. They can choose to follow after their spirit, or they can choose to follow after the nature of their parents. As we've seen, everyone chooses to go the way of the flesh, and then their soul becomes corrupt, and eventually their spirit becomes corrupt. When the spirit becomes corrupt, that child has to be born again to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. I haven't found that there is any particular age at which the spirit becomes corrupt for all mature differently. Some children are raised with discipline and are more conscientious, while others are raised with no discipline, and they become very corrupt, very quickly, but I do believe that when the spirit dies, that person is responsible before God, and they must be born again. Yes, we are given a fresh, clean spirit from God when we are born, but that spirit dies from following after the flesh, and it becomes corrupt. This is what I'm calling “death” here. It's not a physical lack of existence but the spirit becoming corrupt. When that happens, then we are held responsible. Jesus was the one who breathed into Adam the breath of life, and as the Scriptures tell us, (Joh.1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. (4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (Col.1:16) For in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; (17) and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. God the Father created everything through Christ. There is nothing created that wasn't created through Christ. Jesus breathed into Adam the breath of life, but the whole race of Adam fell and became corrupt. Then Jesus, the second Adam (1Corinthians 15:47), breathed again; He breathed His spirit of life into His new creation. And, did you know that you still don't have to follow your spirit after being born again? You can, once again, choose to follow your flesh. A born-again person has the opportunity to follow their spirit and go with God, or they can follow their fallen nature and go the way of the rest of creation. We were given a fresh, clean human spirit from God, like Christ's human spirit, but we have a fallen soul because “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” That means after we are born again, we must overcome the disadvantage of the fallen nature that was passed on to us through our parents. The apostle Paul explains to us about his battle against the fallen nature that was passed on to him. He says, (Rom.7:23) I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. (24) Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? He wanted power over the body of death. Paul was a Christian, and he wanted to serve God. Do you know what God did to give Christians power over the body of death? He gave them the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a person doesn't have that power. I'll prove this to you: (Rom.8:7) Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: (8) and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God (that's the Holy Spirit) dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ (that's your born-again spirit), he is none of his. Christ was man in that He had a human spirit, soul, and body. He was God in that the Holy Spirit dwelt in His spirit. (1:3) Concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (4) who was declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness. This in turn affected His DNA. When we are born again, our human spirit is born again. The Holy Spirit comes to do three things. Jesus said, (Joh.16:14) He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall declare [it] unto you. First, the Holy Spirit comes to give us the Spirit of Christ, which is our born-again spirit, our fresh, clean spirit. Second, as we follow the Holy Spirit, our soul becomes born again. If we bear fruit in the realm of the soul, we will receive a born-again body. This is the manifestation of Christ in you, spirit, soul and body. Even if you have the Spirit of Christ, if you don't have the Holy Spirit, you don't have power over the body. (Rom.8:9) But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. If you don't have the Spirit of Christ in you, or, in other words, if you don't have a born-again human spirit, you don't belong to Him because Jesus had a born-again human spirit. (10) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin (That's the situation Paul was in.); but the spirit is life because of righteousness. Before the disciples received the Holy Spirit, even though they had received their born-again spirit, they didn't have the greater power over the flesh. As Jesus said to them, (Mat.26:41) … The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Did they have a born-again human spirit? Yes. Jesus told His disciples, (Joh.15:3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. You can't be clean without a born-again spirit, and they had a reborn spirit through the Word that was spoken into them. Paul says, “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness.” So here you have a born-again person who is born-again in their spirit, but they don't have the greater power over their body, “the body of death.” Paul was crying out, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” Christians didn't have the greater power over their “body of death” until they received the Holy Spirit. (Rom.8:11) But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you (that's the Holy Spirit), he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you. People think this is talking about the resurrection of the dead, but Paul said, “shall give life also to your mortal bodies.” That's talking about this physical body. Where you had death in your mortal body and had no greater power over it, God gave you life through His Spirit that dwells in you. Paul is talking about two different spirits here. Most religions I've experienced teach that when you are born again, that's when you receive the Holy Spirit. Even the Pentecostal denominations say, “When you are born again, you receive the Holy Spirit, but when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you receive more of it.” Again, that's not what the Bible teaches. You can't find a place in the New Testament where the Christians didn't go on to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit as soon as they found out about it. It was never supposed to be optional, the way it is today. I'm not saying that a person is lost if they don't have the Holy Spirit because Paul said a person belonged to God if they had the spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9); they just didn't have the greater power without having the Holy Spirit of God. As a matter of fact, back in the Old Testament, we can find the same New Covenant promise of receiving the Holy Spirit, and one of the clearest places to see it is in Ezekiel. (Eze.36:24) For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. (25) And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean.... This is what Jesus did with His disciples. He told them, (Joh.15:3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. God gave them a born-again spirit through the Word. He said in (6:63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. He spoke life into them. (Eze.36:25) And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. (26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you (Theologians put a lowercase “s” here and I believe they're right. The word “spirit” here should be a lowercase “s” because it's talking about your human spirit.); and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit (They capitalized “Spirit” here, and they're right again. This is talking about the Holy Spirit.) within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.... The Holy Spirit is power from God. (Act.1:8) But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the power to be a witness by walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6). (2Co.3:2) Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; (3) being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh. You see, it's how you live your life, not just what you say, that makes you a witness. (Eze.36:27) And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them. (28) And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. As soon as the Church started, the baptism of the Holy Spirit came right along with baptism in water. How did the Church go so far astray as to think that people can live the Christian life without everything that God provided? It was never meant to be that way. We are commanded to be full of the spirit of God. (Eph.5:15) Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; (16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (17) Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (18) And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; (19) speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. If you obey the corrupt nature that's been passed on to you genetically through your parents, you will begin to fall into corruption: first flesh, then soul, then spirit. The “death” is continually taking place because the more corrupt you become, the more dead you become. It's a spiritual death, not a physical death, but it ends in physical death because our spirit is our connection with the Holy Spirit. When our spirit is given to us at birth, it's clean and pure. In Hebrews (10:22,26,27; 11:15-17), the Bible talks about “defiling” your conscience. Your conscience is a part of your spirit, and it tells you right from wrong, but the more you disobey and ignore your conscience, it will become more and more quiet. Eventually, if we don't listen to our spirit, we come to the place where we don't hear it anymore, and that means we come to the place where we aren't led by it anymore. As a child grows up, they become more and more corrupt because they follow their flesh. I believe that the corruption process may be slower if you raise up a child in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6; 23:13,14), but still they are going to fall into corruption. They will need to be born again because they don't have the Holy Spirit to empower them to follow their human spirit. The devil wants to take possession of our soul, which is our mind, will, and emotions, and he does this through our flesh. God wants to take possession of our souls, but the way He takes possession is through our spirit. So here we are with our soul, or in other words, our natural life, our nature, in the middle. We've been given a spirit, and we've been given flesh. As a born-again Christian, we have a decision to make: Are we going to follow the flesh and die, or are we going to follow the Spirit and live? If we follow the Spirit, we're following God. If we follow the flesh, we're following the devil. When a child is born, they don't have the spirit of God, so they don't have the ability to make a choice. They always follow the flesh, and they always die in their soul but less so with good parenting. When I say “die,” I'm talking about spiritual death while you are alive because you are held accountable when you know to do good. (Jas.4:17) To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Sin is imputed when you know what's right and what's wrong. (Rom.5:13) For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. The older a child gets, the quieter their conscience becomes because they get more and more used to disobeying and rebelling against it. And so they come to the place where they must be born again. Jesus is not saying that a little child must be born again. A little child doesn't have to be born again to enter the Kingdom because their spirit is not dead yet, but the older they become, the more corrupt their soul becomes, and then the more corrupt their spirit becomes until they must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of Heaven. A little child is very open to God. Their spirit is still alive. You can talk to them about God, and they understand, and they easily receive what you teach them, but if you don't teach them anything, they don't have that strength. We have to train our spirit to take the sword of the Spirit. (Eph.6:13) Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The Word of God is our sword, Saints. Without the Word of God, your spirit is defenseless. You need to educate your spirit by putting the Word of God in there. When I was a little child in the Catholic Church, they told me certain things were wrong that weren't wrong, and so if I did them, my conscience smote me. Even when I was a little child, my conscience told me when I was doing wrong. The Bible tells us that this is true, and we are never supposed to go against our conscience but rather educate it. (Rom.13:5) Wherefore [ye] must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake. And here's another example: (1Co.10:25) Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, eat, asking no question for conscience' sake, (26) for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. (27) If one of them that believe not biddeth you [to a feast,] and ye are disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience' sake. (28) But if any man say unto you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake that showed it, and for conscience' sake: (29) conscience, I say, not thine own, but the other's; for why is my liberty judged by another conscience? (30) If I partake with thankfulness, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? (31) Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (32) Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God: (33) even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the [profit] of the many, that they may be saved. When I became born again, I had to re-educate my conscience according to the Word of God in order to have the sword of the Spirit. The sword belongs to the Spirit; it doesn't belong to the flesh. The Word of God empowers your spirit to win the battle against your flesh and the devil. (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood (This is referring to fighting with physical weapons against physical enemies.), but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. Did you know that it's possible to have the baptism of the Holy Spirit but still not obey the Holy Spirit? Just because you have the Holy Spirit doesn't profit you. What matters is that you are walking in faith and obeying the Holy Spirit because, if you are not walking in faith, you're not going to get anywhere. People who are filled with the Holy Spirit walk closer to God. They have more faith, and they have power over the flesh. Jesus said, (Act.1:8) But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. But you can offend the Holy Spirit and become reprobate, or rejected, by the Holy Spirit. (Eph.4:30) And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption. How do you “grieve” the Holy Spirit? (Heb.6:4) For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, (5) and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, (6) and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (7) For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: (8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected (This is the Greek word adokimos and it means “failing to pass the test; unapproved; counterfeit”; or, in other words, “reprobated.”) and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. You grieve the Holy Spirit by not doing His works and therefore you don't bear any fruit. The ultimate end of this is reprobation. (Tit.1:15) To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. (16) They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Did you know that just because you are filled with the Holy Spirit doesn't mean you are going to stay filled with the Holy Spirit? I know this is contrary to what many Pentecostal denominations teach, but if you look in the Book of Acts, you'll see that the same people who were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were later filled again with the Holy Spirit. (Act.2:4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. So they were filled with the Holy Spirit and then after Peter and John were released from prison, they prayed, (4:31) And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, (30) while thy stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy Servant Jesus. (31) And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness. The same people were refilled with the Holy Spirit. You ask, “David, why would somebody need to be filled with the Spirit more than once?” Jesus gives us the answer. He said, (Joh.7:38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. (39) But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive. The power of the Holy Spirit flows out and is used up as we minister according to the command of Jesus. Notice, it's a river, not a pond. (Mat.10:7) And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (8) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give. I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit ever leaves you completely; I'm saying that it takes staying in fellowship with God to stay filled with the Holy Spirit. It's not just a one-time thing, like some Pentecostals believe. We just read, (Act.4:31) And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. How can you be filled twice, unless you've been emptied once? If Jesus taught that out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of the Spirit,” then this power is imparted to the need around you. It has to come out, and then it has to be replenished. The point is that we have to maintain our relationship with God because, if we don't, we won't stay filled with the Holy Spirit. Even so, the gifts of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29). He won't take the gifts back. For instance, He won't necessarily take speaking in tongues back, but you may speak in tongues and yet not be filled with the Holy Spirit. A person has to stay filled with the Holy Spirit, as the Bible clearly teaches in Acts. The people who were preaching in Acts 2 were the same people who were filled with the Holy Spirit again in Acts 4. Personally, I believe you have the capacity to receive more of the Spirit when you are full of the Word of God. Jesus said, (Joh.6:63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. Therefore, if you receive more of His Word, you will receive more of His Spirit. That's why Jesus breathed on the disciples and in (20:22) … saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit, even though it wasn't manifested until Pentecost, when the rushing mighty wind came.” Most Pentecostal denominations believe that having the Holy Spirit makes you a shoo-in for the Kingdom of Heaven, but having the Holy Spirit doesn't make you immune to sin. Having the Holy Spirit is not what saves you. Some have the Spirit but don't serve Him.  Obeying the Holy Spirit is what saves you from sin. (Rom.8:11) But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Life came out of Jesus. Life came out of His Words when He spoke. Life came out of Him when He laid hands on people. Life came out of His garment and healed the woman who touched Him. Life was in Him and that life was imparted to others, but that's not the case with a person who's not filled with the Holy Spirit. It's more difficult to walk with God, without being filled with the Holy Spirit. From the Book of Acts, you can see that the very foundation of Christianity is to repent, receive a born-again spirit, and then be filled with the Holy Spirit. The typology of the Temple in the Old Covenant makes this very clear. We are supposed to be temples “not made with hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1; Acts 7:47-49) or, in other words, without the works of man. (1Co.6:19) Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; (20) for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body. When Solomon built the Temple, it represented the house “made without hands,” so there couldn't be the sound of tools, symbolizing man's works, while they were building it (1 Kings 6:7). After the Temple was built and they had sanctified it (1 Kings 8:1-9; 2 Chronicles 5:1-10), it still didn't have the Spirit of God in it. But when they had the dedication of the Temple, the Spirit of God came in the form of the Glory Cloud and dwelt in the Temple (1 Kings 8:10,11; 2 Chronicles 5:13,14). You see, the Temple was designed for the Holy Spirit to dwell in. What good was the Temple without the Spirit? I think in this regard, a lot of people are going to fall away because they will not obey the Scriptures and receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power to do what you have to do. There were times when I just didn't think the Holy Spirit was there, but right when it was necessary, the power showed up and completely awed me. And no matter what situation we find ourselves in, the Holy Spirit can manifest Himself in us and enable us to walk as Jesus walked. The Lord also pointed out to me that it was Judah who dwelt in Zion. The name Judah means “praise,” and so Judah identifies the Spirit-filled people, the full-Gospel people. The name Judah separates us from the rest of Christianity, who haven't received the Holy Spirit. The northern 10 tribes of Israel went further astray and “missed the boat” many more times than the tribe of Judah. The northern 10 tribes worshipped the false “Christ,” the two golden calves which they set up. I believe that the Lord showed me this is a type for our day. The northern 10 tribes represent the non-Spirit-filled groups, and Judah represents the Spirit-filled groups, the ones who inhabit Zion. Zion was the city that escaped when Babylon conquered the people of God. A modern-day example of this is the Armenian genocide. The word “genocide” was first coined by historian Raphael Lemkin in 1943 to describe the systematic murder of the Armenians by the Ottomans. Only the Spirit-filled Christians escaped. They fled when they were warned because they believed in prophecy and they believed the prophets God sent to them, but many, many non-Spirit-filled Christians were killed. Some estimates are that as many as 1.5 million lost their lives in that holocaust. The Happiest People on Earth by Demos Shakarian, and John and Elizabeth Sherrill, published by Guideposts Magazine in 1975, tells the story of Demos Shakarian. His grandfather left Armenia for America when the Russian prophet Klubniken foretold that an “unspeakable tragedy” was coming to Armenia. Well, people, now the same thing is getting ready to happen in America, where most of the people who call themselves “Christian” have not yet been filled with the Spirit of God, and they're not giving any heed to all the prophetic warnings that another holocaust is coming. The Spirit of God makes you respect prophets and prophecies. The Spirit of God opens your eyes to dreams, visions, revelations, and the deeper things of the Spirit. We've seen that when the disciples needed more power from God to stand up to and endure the persecution they were receiving, they came together and prayed, and God filled them again with the Holy Spirit. Not only does every Christian need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, but we also need to be continually baptized in the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     The spiritual life cannot be fully understood or lived until the believer grasps the distinction between positional truth and experiential truth. Learning God's Word is always the starting point for the Christian way of life (1 Pet 2:2; 2 Tim 3:16–17). Until the believer orients to what God has already accomplished at initial salvation, he cannot discern what God now expects in fellowship (Rom 6:3–11). Confusion or neglect of Scripture inevitably drives the Christian into legalism, emotionalism, ritualism, activism, or frustration (Col 2:8, 20–23; Gal 3:1–3). Bible doctrine learned and applied provides the foundation for executing the spiritual life (Rom 12:2; Jam 1:22). God's riches for the believer include both positional and experiential blessings, and the former establishes the ground on which the latter are enjoyed (Eph 1:3; Col 2:6–7). Full study notes here: https://thinkingonscripture.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/10-The-Believers-Riches-in-Christ.pdf Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

Romans 2 The Universal Principle (vv. 1-11) Universal guilt Universal standard Universal opportunity Universal result The Non-Religious Response (vv.12-16) Ignorance of the Law Internal law of the conscience The Religious Response (vv. 17-29) We know the Law and teach it. You know the Law and break it. More To Consider A person's habitual conduct, whether good or evil, reveals the condition of his heart. Eternal life is not rewarded for good living; that would contradict many other Scriptures which clearly state that salvation is not by works, but is all of God's grace to those who believe (e.g., Rom. 6:23; 10:9-10; 11:6; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). A person's doing good shows that his heart is regenerate. Such a person, redeemed by God, has eternal life. Conversely a person who continually does evil and rejects the truth shows that he is unregenerate and therefore will be an object of God's wrath. The Bible Knowledge Commentary We are split spiritual personalities. We swear allegiance to one set of principles and live by another. We extol self-control and practice self-indulgence. We proclaim brotherhood and harbor prejudice. We laud character but strive to climb to the top at any cost. We erect houses of worship, but our shrines are our places of business and recreation. We are suffering from a distressing cleavage between the truths we affirm and the values we live by. Our souls are the battlegrounds for civil wars, but we are trying to live serene lives in houses divided against themselves. Melvin F. Wheatley This is the bitterest of all--to know that suffering need not have been; that it has resulted from indiscretion and inconsistency; that it is the harvest of one's own sowing; that the vulture which feeds on the vitals is a nestling of one's own rearing. Ah me! This is pain! There is an inevitable Nemesis in life. The laws of the heart and home, of the soul and human life, cannot be violated with impunity. Sin may be forgiven; the fire of penalty may be changed into the fire of trial: the love of God may seem nearer and dearer than ever and yet there is the awful pressure of pain; the trembling heart; the failing of eyes and pining of soul; the harp on the willows; the refusal of the lip to sing the Lord's song. F. B.. Meyer in Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 246.

Lev. 14:1–9 Joel 2:28–32 Matt. 11:25–30 Eph. 4:1–16  What's it mean to be a member in Christ's church? Everyone united to Christ is a member of His universal church, as members of a body belong to one Head. But that membership expresses itself visibly in local churches with particular people. In this message, learn three particular ways that we maintain this unity.

Theology and Church History collide as we ask, "Is Sola Scriptura true?" Let's talk about what the Bible says, as well as quotes from the Church Fathers showing their affirmation of Sola Scriptura in seed form.For further study: Sola Scriptura in the Early Church: 38 Quotes: https://credohouse.org/blog/sola-scriptura-in-the-early-church-38-quotesIn Defense of Sola Scriptura - Part 10 - A Historical Defense - Credo House Ministries: https://credohouse.org/blog/in-defense-of-sola-scriptura-part-10-a-historical-defenseEarly Church Fathers' Quotes on Scripture Alone is the final Authority: https://carm.org/early-church-fathers-quotes-on-scripture-alone-is-final-authority"Scripture is Sufficient" Open Bible search results: https://www.openbible.info/topics/scripture_is_sufficient"Augustine Actually (and Clearly) Affirmed Sola Scriptura" byJustin Taylor: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/augustine-actually-and-clearly-affirmed-sola-scriptura/Watch my whole Apologetics Answers playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfSpUNYR5qo6sv8Pk8x0tmaq8lLQHHlTm&si=FlnSB-pBhZ6SSaJE==============================♱ SUBSTACK: Read weekly articles to help you learn and grow: https://thethinkinstitute.substack.com/♱ CHURCH TRAINING: Bring an IMPACTFUL weekend training event to your church or ministry ➡️ https://thethink.institute/forchurchesMen: Want to become the worldview leader your family and church need? We provide in-depth education and community for Christian men: https://thethink.institute/societyMy name is Joel Settecase. I'm the president of The Think Institute, NFP. To every Christian man trying to live a Christian life: God will give you what you need for your journey (Eph. 2:10). I am living proof of that. And now my job is to help you build a worldview legacy, where you, your kids, and your wife will be able to confidently answer the world's questions with confidence, and see Jesus change lives as you share your faith.The world needs you. Get equipped. Welcome to The Think Institute.===========================================================Join the Hammer & Anvil SocioetyThe Think Institute relies on the generous support of our Ministry Partners to pursue our mission. Your financial contributions help equip Christian fathers and their families with the education, resources and community needed to stand firm on God's word in today's challenging climate. Thank you for your help in preparing thousands of regular believers to explain, share and defend the Christian message all over the world.The Think Institute, NFP is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 88-3225438). Donations to The Think Institute are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.Donate now: https://thethink.institute/partner

Our Election in Christ (6)  (audio) David Eells – 2/11/26 I'm going to continue where we left off last time about election and the manifestation of those He foreknew. There are some objections to election and predestination. The one I hear the most from people is that God loves the world. (Joh.3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. Of course, when people read this verse, they think it means that God loves the whole world. Well, as we've seen from the Scriptures, the Bible doesn't teach that God loves the whole world, and even in this verse, it doesn't say that because there is a condition given for God's love here. The condition is “whosoever believeth on him,” and that limits God's love to a very few. The majority are not going to believe on the Son, since the only way to have any hope of believing on the Son is to receive the gift of faith from God. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. You see, faith is a gift from God; believing on the Son is a gift from God. The people in the world who do believe on the Son are the ones to whom God has given the gift to come to the Son and have eternal life. If God did love the whole world, then He could have used a much better method for revealing His Son to the world; instead, God didn't make it easy for the world to receive that revelation. First of all, 99.9999% or more of the world has never seen His Son or the miracles that He has done. And the world is so contrary to the Son that it seems that if the Father really loved the whole world, He would make it easier for the world to receive this revelation and understanding. Jesus' teachings and principles are so contrary to the world that you have to go against everything that you are in order to follow Him. That's not natural, but then God's salvation isn't natural; it's supernatural. It says all through the Word that God limits His love to those who are His own. For instance, (Joh.13:1) Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto his Father, having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end. A good reason for God to love the world is that His own are in the world, but notice in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43), Jesus Himself said that not everybody in the world is His own. Jesus was the sower, and He told us that the devil was the one who sowed the tares. (Mat.13:36) Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. (37) And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; (38) and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil [one]; (39) and the enemy that sowed them is the devil. Jesus didn't claim the tares as His own, and, I might add, that a tare can never become wheat, nor can wheat ever become a tare because a wheat is a wheat and a tare is a tare. They are two different seeds, and that's true of everyone in the world; they are one seed or the other. They are either a child of God or a son of the devil. Jesus didn't claim everybody in the world and here's another good example of that: (Joh.10:16) And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring (So they haven't come to Him yet.), and they shall hear (So they haven't even heard of Him yet.) my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. He's talking about a multitude of people who include us. We are included in this group. So at the time Jesus made this statement, there were people who didn't know Him, they hadn't heard of Him, and they hadn't even been born yet, but they have been His. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world; therefore, our election has nothing to do with time. (Eph.1:3) Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ: (4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: (5) having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. We have belonged to Christ since the time God set His plan into action at the beginning. We were chosen in Him as our Savior at the very beginning. “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold” and they are going to become one flock with one Shepherd. So when He says, “having loved his own,” He's only talking about those who come from God, those who belong to God. He's only talking about the wheat. (Rom.9:10) And not only so; but Rebecca also having conceived by one, [even] by our father Isaac-- (11) for [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Before they had done anything, Jacob belonged to God; Jacob was God's before he was born. That makes it obvious that “God so loved the world” means He's only loving Jacob, or Israel, because these are the people who have been given the gift of faith to come to Him and believe on Him. (Joh.15:19) If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. God did not choose the world; He chose us “out of the world.” In effect, that means God chose not to choose the rest of the world. The Bible says God hates all workers of iniquity: (Psa.5:5) The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Jesus told us (Joh.14:21) He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. So, again, we see the love of the Father is shown only to those who love Jesus. Another verse, where the wisdom of God is speaking, says the same thing: (Pro.8:17) I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. The Bible says three times in the New Testament that Jesus is the wisdom of God (Luke 11:49; 1 Corinthians 1:24,30). There is a condition to the manifestation of God's love. I say “manifestation” because God loved us before we were. God loved Jacob before he was born. God loved him even before he had done anything because it's not by works, it's by election. God put His love upon those whom He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world. They are the elect among the called, and they will love God. You see, when Wisdom says, “I love them that love me,” that is conditional love. (Rom.5:8) But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God wanted to show us His love in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God, Who sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 41:4), loved us for what He knew He was going to create from before the foundation of the world (Romans 8:28-30). God loved the end creation that He saw by faith. His love is manifested for those who walk according to His commandments because they love Christ. “God commended His own love toward us....” Who is He talking to here? (Rom.1:7) To all that are in Rome (You might think that he's addressing everybody in Rome, but he goes on to qualify this.), beloved of God, called [to be] saints.... That's very, very conditional. He's talking to those who are beloved of God and called “saints.” (Rom.1:7) To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: Grace to you (The only people who receive grace are the people who are beloved of God, called “saints.”) and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. God didn't give grace to anyone else. The Lord promised salvation to those who were in Christ from the foundation of the world because Christ died for us. People always say, “Well, Christ died for the world.” No, the Bible says that Christ died “for whosoever will” (Mark 8:34; Revelation 22:17). God is the one Who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Ephesians 1:5,11; Philippians 2:13), and “whosoever will” is only those who have the gift from God of being drawn to Christ. (Joh.6:44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. They're the ones who have the will. So, it is to “whosoever will” but, specifically, Christ died for us and for everyone in the world who is the called of God. They're the ones who are invited to partake of Christ. (Joh.14:22) Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Why would He want to manifest Himself to these and not to the world? It's because He's very particular; He's revealing Himself only to God's chosen. (23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. And in the next chapter it says, (15:10) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. So the manifestation of God's love is for those who are obedient and who walk in Christ. And the manifestation of God's love by faith is for those who have not yet come to Christ, but will come to Him because Jesus said, (Joh.6:37) All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. God loves them, not for what they are now, but for what they will be when they do come to Christ and walk in obedience to Him. Let me show you more proof that Christ died to redeem us and not the world. (Mat.20:28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Notice that it doesn't say “all,” it says “many.” Who are the “many” this is talking about? (1Co.15:22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. We know that all of us have been in Adam. Everyone born naturally is in Adam, but all of us who have been born spiritually are in Christ and if a person abides in Christ, Scripture says, (1Jn.3:9) Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God. And that's where eternal life is; it's in the Son. (5:12) He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. A person who abides in Christ is that seed who was chosen from before the foundation of the world. A person who abides in Christ is the one whom God loves, the one whom God sent Jesus to ransom. A “ransom” is “the payment demanded for the release of someone from captivity” or, in other words, it's the price paid to deliver a prisoner from bondage. (Isa.53:1) Who hath believed our message? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? (4) Surely he hath borne our griefs (The Hebrew there is “our sicknesses.”), and carried our sorrows (The Hebrew there is “our pain.”); yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Notice, Isaiah says “our.” This is not for the world. This is for us; this is for those who are in Covenant with God. (Isa.53:8) By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who [among them] Considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people (It doesn't say that He was cut off for the transgression of the whole world or, let me say, all the people in the world. It says, “for the transgression of my people.”) to whom the stroke [was due]? (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many (Again, it's not “all”; it's “many.”); and he shall bear their iniquities. So He only bore the iniquities of those whom He justified. (12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Now I want you to look at this next verse one more time because people like to claim it for just anybody who says they're a Christian. (Rom.8:28) And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, [even] to them that are called according to [his] purpose. But people don't go on to consider the next verse. (29) For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. The promise here, to work “all things together for good,” is made to those who love God, and we know who loves God because Jesus told us those who keep His commandments are those who love Him. Those who walk by faith are able to obey. I'm not saying that they don't ever fail; I'm saying they are able to walk into obedience, getting closer and closer to God, because they walk by faith. We know that power comes from God because of faith (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Peter 1:5). So Romans 8:28 is talking about those “whom he foreknew.” They are the ones He predestined to come into the image of His Son, 30-, 60-and 100-fold. Everything is going to work together for their good; even chastening and the curse work together for the good of those who are called of God to come into the image of His Son. In the prophecy given to Joseph, the husband of Mary, it said, (Mat.1:21) And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins. The only ones who are saved from their sins are the ones who are already His people. They are His people by election, not by manifestation. (Eph.1:1) And you [did he make alive,] when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins, (2) wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; (3) among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. That means when we were in the world, by our nature we looked just like the next sinner. Remember, the only difference between Jacob and Esau was election. (Rom.9:10) And not only so; but Rebecca also having conceived by one, [even] by our father Isaac-- (11) for [the children] being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. It has to do with God choosing the elect to be in Christ before the foundation of the world. The only people Jesus is coming to save are His people, as the Bible says, over and over and over. (Mat.1:23) Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us. One time, when I read that, I felt the Holy Spirit remind me about what the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary: (Luk.1:28) And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored (This is the Greek word charitoo, and it means “endued with grace.”), the Lord [is] with thee. Folks, this means, “God is with us.” The Lord is with those who have God's grace. You see, “Immanuel,” or “God with us,” is not talking about God physically walking among the worldly people; it's talking about God being with us. He was with Mary because she was given grace, and God is with us because we were given grace, which is the “unmerited favor of God.” (Luk.1:68) Blessed [be] the Lord, the God of Israel; For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people. People tell me, “That was just for the Jews, David.” Well, how many of the Jews received Him? How many of the Jews received redemption? It was only a very few. No, God's people are scattered throughout the world, and they are His people according to election because even before they were born, He chose them. Jesus brought redemption for His people. And He not only brought redemption, but He brought (Luk.1:71) Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us. If salvation is for everybody, who would have an enemy? Salvation can't be for everybody if it is to deliver us from our enemies. (74) To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve him without fear. (77) To give knowledge of salvation unto his people In the remission of their sins. Jesus said, (Mat.5:44) But I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you. Jesus was talking about people being our enemies, and Paul said this, too: (Rom.12:14) Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. I want to show you a prophecy that many people discount because it was given by the High Priest Caiaphas, but they moved in prophecy in the Old Testament, just like God's New Testament people move in prophecy. (Joh.11:49) But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, (50) nor do ye take account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. (51) Now this he said not of himself: but, being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation (That was obviously a true prophecy; where he went wrong was that he thought he was the one who was supposed to carry it out because of his jealousy.); (52) and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad. Who were these children of God who were scattered abroad? Was it Israel? Maybe a very small portion of them were Jews, if you consider the day of Pentecost was when Jews from all nations were gathered together (Acts 2:1-14). However, the prophecy I'm thinking about is where Jesus said, (Joh.10:16) And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. So Jesus is speaking of the Gentiles in this verse. Jesus died in order to gather together the Gentile children of God into one flock with the believing Jewish children of God. They were always children of God because, according to election, if you are a child of God, you are always a child of God. You were never a son of the devil. Never. The Bible never says that you were a son of the devil and converted to be a child of God. The Bible teaches there are two seeds: one is a wheat and the other is a tare. God sowed His Word in this carnal vessel, and that's the one whom He loves. (Joh.3:13) And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, [even] the Son of man, [who is in heaven.] Some versions add “who is in heaven,” but it doesn't belong there, according to the numeric pattern, and it's not in any of the ancient manuscripts. That's because Jesus was standing right there in front of them, so “who is in heaven” doesn't make sense. The only one who ascended into Heaven is the Son of God who descended out of Heaven and those in whom the Son of God lives will go to heaven. He's both the sower who sows the seed, which is the Word, and He is also the seed of God. What the Word is creating in us is what God loves. God doesn't love the flesh; the flesh is the enemy of God. (Rom.8:7) Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. God doesn't love the carnal man. He loves what's been born from above, born from Heaven and will go to Heaven. Another verse that helps us to understand this is (Joh.17:18) As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world. What does that mean? Isaiah says the same thing: (Isa.9:1) But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations (or gentiles). (2) The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (3) Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased their joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. (4) For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken as in the day of Midian. (5) For all the armor of the armed man in the tumult, and the garments rolled in blood, shall be for burning, for fuel of fire. (6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (The Hebrew says literally, “The Father of Eternity.”), Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. He says that the Father sent the Son into the world. You see, God foreknew us, and what we are becoming is the Word of God that came down out of Heaven. One reason God foreknew us is because the Word came out of God Himself. We are born of God, as the Bible says (John 1:13; 3:5; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:4; 1 Peter 1:23, etc.), because your new man came out of God Himself, and that's who God loves. Your new man is the Word, which is the nature of Christ, and your new man has been born of God Himself. So, in that way, we've been sent. Jesus was sent from the Father and we've been sent, too. No, not the carnal man, but we, the spiritual man, have been sent of God into this world. The more of the Word we get into us, the more we come to know the Father. (Rom.11:25) For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; (26) and so all Israel shall be saved.... The completeness of God's people includes “the fulness of the Gentiles.” Jesus said, (Joh.6:37) All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me.... I'm not saying “once saved, always saved” because there are many who will fall away. (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. You see, we have to prove who we are by walking in obedience to Christ. We have to prove that we are part of those who are called “all Israel.” We have to prove that we are of the promised seed (Galatians 3:16) who is beloved of God. It may not seem reasonable, but there are many Scriptures in the Bible to back this up, such as, (1Jn.2:4) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; (5) but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: (6) he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. And so when we read verses like John 3:16, we have the level of revelation that God permits because of our lack of understanding. (Isa.28:9) Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts? (10) For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little. I feel as if the Lord showed me that when we are carnal, it's easier for us to understand this as if God does love the whole world and therefore not attribute foolishness to God. But as we grow in knowledge, the more we see the plan and wisdom of God, and the more we fear God. (Rom.9:14) What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. (15) For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. (16) So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy. Without enough understanding, we are liable to say what they said to Paul: (19) … Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will? And Paul would give us the same reply he gave back then: (20) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus? (21) Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? God permits people to believe that He sent His Son to the whole world until they can gain the understanding that God sent His Son only for all New Testament spiritual Israel, just as in the Old Testament God revealed Himself only to natural Israel (Psalm 127:20). (Pro.25:2) It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. God has hidden many revelations in His Word, but those who are honest and obedient to the Word will find those revelations. God has hidden His revelations on purpose so that He can reveal them to whom He wants to reveal them. God promised (Rev.2:17) To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna.... The people who will ultimately get the revelation of the hidden manna will be those who overcome. I've been asked, “David, can't you just give the revelation to someone?” Sure, you can give it to someone, but they'll lose it. I've shared the hidden manna with people who, because of sin, couldn't hang on to it. You see, God permits childish revelation. It's like what Paul said: (1Co.13:11) When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. (12) For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. He's talking about maturity. (9) For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; (10) but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. He's talking about growing up and changing your thinking. When your children were young, you didn't go into deep detail. You taught them very simply because that's all they could receive at the time. God is that way with us. When we first enter into the Kingdom, God allows us to believe some things that are not fully true, but they may be a foundation for deeper understanding later on. The scripture, John 3:16, is correct and very perfect, but what you think about it might not be perfect. Yes, “God so loved the world,” but if “God so loved” everybody in “the world,” that would mean He loves the tares that the devil sows in the world. What we've seen instead is that God only loves those who love Him. And those who love Him are those whom He foreknew from before the foundation of the world.

Does your worldview give you a solid, biblical theology of the Sabbath? Is it Saturday or Sunday... or something else? Recently I met a young men from the "United Church of God," a Sabbatarian group that believes Christians must keep the seventh-day Sabbath + the Old Covenant festivals. In this video will explain what the Bible really requires of Christians in the New Covenant, under the Law of Christ. ==============================♱ SUBSTACK: Read weekly articles to help you learn and grow: https://thethinkinstitute.substack.com/♱ CHURCH TRAINING: Bring an IMPACTFUL weekend training event to your church or ministry ➡️ https://thethink.institute/forchurches♱ MEETUP: Check out an IN-PERSON theology discussion. Join the MeetUp group and get all the updates: ➡️ https://meetup.com/thethinkinstitute.♱ Download your free apologetics guide here: https://thethink.institute/store/p/transcendental-argument-for-god-tag-cheat-sheet-downloadable-pdf The easiest method for teaching your kids the faith we can help you learn (catechism): https://thethink.institute/catakids Men: Want to become the worldview leader your family and church need? We provide in-depth education and community for Christian men: https://thethink.institute/societyMy name is Joel Settecase. I'm the president of The Think Institute, NFP. To every Christian man trying to live a Christian life: God will give you what you need for your journey (Eph. 2:10). I am living proof of that. And now my job is to help you build a worldview legacy, where you, your kids, and your wife will be able to confidently answer the world's questions with confidence, and see Jesus change lives as you share your faith.The world needs you. Get equipped. Welcome to The Think Institute.===========================================================Join the Hammer & Anvil SocioetyThe Think Institute relies on the generous support of our Ministry Partners to pursue our mission. Your financial contributions help equip Christian fathers and their families with the education, resources and community needed to stand firm on God's word in today's challenging climate. Thank you for your help in preparing thousands of regular believers to explain, share and defend the Christian message all over the world.The Think Institute, NFP is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 88-3225438). Donations to The Think Institute are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.Donate now: https://thethink.institute/partner

What happens when a church does all the right things but with the wrong motivation?  In this message, Pastor Eric Robertson shares our necessary response. Ultimately, the Book of Revelation is about a problem that is only solved when God's people wake up, repent, and faithfully wait on the return of Jesus.One of the worst problems is the one you don't know you have.Even worse are the problems you can see but don't recognize.Ephesus: HistoryEphesus was an influential city in the Roman world: a major port city in Asia Minor—economically powerful, culturally diverse, and religiously pluralistic. Faithfulness required constant discernment.The city was defined by idol worship. The Temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Converting to Christianity meant rejecting the city's spiritual identity and economic system (Acts 19).Though the church seemed to be doing well, there was a glaring problem that John addressed.What Did It Mean: Revelation 2:1–7Each letter follows the criticism sandwich: (Good)(Bad)(Good).Jesus gives this critique while walking among the lampstands—the churches that illuminate Christ to the world.They served well, worked hard, corrected the wicked, removed toxic leaders, suffered faithfully, and didn't grow weary. Ephesus was a hard-working church.Imagine hearing: "You're great—but you don't love me."The letters were written to specific churches, but meant for all churches.What Does It Mean?This passage is often preached as a call to return to passion, but Jesus doesn't critique their passion.Paul once said of them: "Your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people" (Eph. 1:15–16).The problem wasn't their works, but their why. They disconnected from the reason they exist.Returning to your first love is remembering why you do what you do: to love God and love others.When a church forgets its why, it doesn't stop working—it stops breathing.Our vision is Belong, Believe, Become, but Ephesus drifted into Believe, Become, Belong.When love is no longer the motivation, we build walls instead of bridges and become known for what we're against instead of Who we're for.How Do We Respond?1. Remember – "Consider how far you have fallen."Remember where you were when God found you and why the church exists.2. Repent – "Repent."Recognize how far you've drifted. The church illuminates Jesus, not itself.3. Return – "Do the things you did at first."Matthew 22:37–40: Love God and love your neighbor.If you don't love your neighbor, you don't have love at all.Closing: Revelation 2:7Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.Returning to our first love is a return to paradise—the life God intended.If we fail to hear, our lampstand will be removed.The church at Ephesus no longer exists—only ruins remain.Have we fallen from our first love?

Aujourd'hui, grosse actu PlayStation : des spécifications de la PS6 auraient fuité… et certaines infos sont franchement surprenantes, notamment sur la mémoire et la possibilité de deux modèles (salon + portable/hybride).On fait le tri entre rumeurs crédibles, fantasmes, et implications très concrètes pour la next-gen — avec au passage une analyse détaillée de la situation Nintendo / Switch 2 et de ce que ça dit du marché.On parle aussi de :✅ Devil May Cry 6 : rumeurs d'annonce en 2026, qu'est-ce qui est plausible ?✅ State of Play : rendez-vous ce jeudi 12 février (plus d'une heure d'actu + gameplay)✅ Exodus : nouvelles infos et gros focus sur la mécanique narrative de “dilatation du temps”✅ Éphémérides JV : les sorties marquantes des 7, 8 et 9 février (gros topo jeu par jeu)#PS6 #PlayStation #StateOfPlay #DevilMayCry6 #Exodus #NintendoSwitch2 #ActuJV▬ ▬ ▬  NOUS SOUTENIR  ▬ ▬ ▬

Most people have experienced some church hurt, sometimes to the point of losing faith in what the church even is or what it stands for. Some feel isolated and confused because church is supposed to be safe. What should we do when these things happen?In today's episode, Pastor Derek and Pastor Jackie talk through a listener question on how to respond when faith has been lost in the institutional church, or even just institutions in general. We talk through all of the God ordained institutions mentioned in Scripture, examples of corruption in those institutions throughout history, and what a person's responsibility and response should be in these kinds of hurtful situations. Our hope is that if you have church hurt and are listening, that you would find hope in the Word of God's instruction to rebuild trust in Jesus and follow His direction for the Church!The 17:17 podcast is a ministry of Roseville Baptist Church (MN) that seeks to tackle cultural issues and societal questions from a biblical worldview so that listeners discover what the Bible has to say about the key issues they face on a daily basis. The 17:17 podcast seeks to teach the truth of God's Word in a way that is glorifying to God and easy to understand with the hope of furthering God's kingdom in Spirit and in Truth. Scriptures: Exo. 39-40; Judg. 2:15-16; 1 Sam. 8-12; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:11-13, 16; 1 Sam. 23:8-9; 1 Kings 12; Hos. 5:1; Joel 1:13-15; Mic. 3:9-12; Zeph. 3:3-4; Mal. 2:7-8; Matt. 2; Matt. 14; Matt. 23:13-36; Mark 3:6; Gal. 2:11-21; 3 John 9-11; Rev. 2-3; Rev. 2:2-5; Rev. 3:19; Gen. 6:11-12; Psa. 14:2-3; Rom. 3:23; Psa. 118:8-9; Psa. 146:3; John 2:23-25; Hag. 2:4-7; Acts 6:1-7; Acts 14:21-23; Titus 1:5; 1 Tim. 3:1-10; Acts 15; Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-15; Matt. 23:1-3; Jer. 29:7-9; 1 Tim. 2:1-2; Heb. 10:23-25; Acts 2:42-47; Col. 3:16; Rom. 16:17; Matt. 18:15-17.If you'd like access to our show notes, please visit www.rosevillebaptist.com/1717podcast to see them in Google Drive!Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review the podcast so that we can reach to larger audiences and share the truth of God's Word with them!Write in your own questions to be answered on the show at 1717pod@gmail.com.  God bless!

I believe the book of Revelation is intentionally shaped by the rhythm of the seven Jewish feasts, with deep echoes of the Exodus and Israels wilderness journey woven throughout its visions. We have already seen how this works in chapter 1, where the imagery echoes Passover. Passover marked Israels deliverance from slavery through the blood of a substituteand in Revelation 1:1216, that substitute is revealed in all His risen glory. Jesus stands among His churches as the victorious Lamb who was slain and now lives forever. Because of His sacrifice, the Christian belongs to God. If you have been redeemed by Almighty God through His Son, what is there to fear? Jesus Himself answers that question: Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades (Rev. 1:1718). Our confidence is not rooted in our circumstances, but in the One who has conquered death itself. As we move into Revelation 23 and read the seven letters to the churches, the dominant echo is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately followed Passover. This feast called Gods redeemed people to live holy lives, set apart for Him (Lev. 11:4445; 1 Pet. 1:1617). Israel removed all leaven from their homes as a visible reminder that they belonged to the Lord and were no longer to live under the old patterns of corruption. That same call still comes to us today: You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:1920). Each of the seven churches faced real and pressing challenges in their own dayand what they struggled with are many of the same things we struggle with today, just dressed differently. While we will look at each church individually, here is a brief snapshot of what we will encounter: The church in Ephesus had lost its first love. The church in Smyrna was about to suffer tribulation for ten days. The church in Pergamum struggled with faithfulness to sound doctrine. The church in Thyatira tolerated a false teacher within the congregation. The church in Sardis was spiritually lethargic and nearly dead. The church in Philadelphia faithfully clung to the word of God. The church in Laodicea was lukewarm and missionally useless. In every one of these churches, there was the danger of leavensin quietly working its way through the house. And the call of Christ was to remove it: through renewed love for Jesus and for one another, faithful endurance in suffering, a commitment to truth, intolerance for evil, vigilance against spiritual apathy, unflinching obedience to Christ, and a wholehearted devotion to the mission of God. About forty years before Revelation was written, Paul wrote about Gods expectation for His church: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:1-2). Revelation 1 is about the One who makes our salvation possible. Revelation 2-3 addresses the kind of people He calls us to be. So, when we come to Revelation 4, we encounter the One on the throne who is holy, holy, holy! The City of Ephesus When the gospel came to Ephesus, it was a wealthy and influential trading city, best known for the Temple of Artemis (also called Diana), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The citys economy, culture, and moral life centered on the worship of this goddess. Artemis worship was deeply sexualized and demonic, marked by ritual immorality and idolatry (1 Cor. 10:20). Ephesus was a place where spiritual darkness was not hiddenit was celebrated, institutionalized, and profitable. Into this city, the gospel came with unmistakable power, as it always does in Gods timing and in His way. What we read in the epistle to the Romans was experienced in Ephesus: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... (Rom. 1:16). When the apostle Paul preached Christ in Ephesus, lives were transformed, and the worship of Artemis was directly challenged. So disruptive was the gospel that those who profited from idolatry feared economic collapse, admitting that Paul had persuaded many that gods made with hands are not gods at all (Acts 19:26). Paul spent over two years there, and in this spiritually hostile environment, God birthed a faithful churchthe same church later addressed by Christ Himself in Revelation 2. What makes Jesus words to Ephesus so sobering is not the citys darkness but the fact that a church born in such devotion, perseverance, and truth would later be warned: You have abandoned the love you had at first (2:4). So what happened? To answer that question, we need to first recognize the many things Jesus praises the church for. What the Ephesian Church Was Doing Right The Ephesian church was commended for many things by Jesus such as their toil, patient endurance, and intolerance for evil. Heraclitus, a native of Ephesus and philosopher, spoke with open contempt of his citys moral corruptionso severe that later writers summarized his viewby saying no one could live in Ephesus without weeping.1 The fact that the church was able to endure for forty years in a city known for its sexual promiscuity and demonized idolatrous worship, while holding on to biblical orthodoxy, is staggering! Because of their orthodoxy and fidelity to the Word of God, the church was intolerant of evil, refused to ignore false teachers, and shared Jesuss hatred of the Nicolaitans. Forty years earlier, Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church: I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears (Acts. 20:29-31). This is what the church did well, and Jesus praised them for it. Now, notice what Jesus does not say to the church in Ephesus. He does not say they were being too orthodox. He does not say they were too truthful, or that their intolerance of evil, false teachers, and the works of the Nicolaitans was too extreme. Jesus does not tell the church to dial it back but instead celebrates these as examples of what they were doing well. What the church did well was refusing to yield to the pressures from their city to conform. Before we look at what the church got wrong, we need to address who the Nicolaitans were and why Jesus hated their teaching. From what we know, the Nicolaitans were a heretical Christian sect associated with the teaching of Balaam (Rev. 2:14-15). They taught that the grace of God permitted freedom to engage in the kinds of things their pagan neighbors enjoyed, such as sexual immorality and full participation in pagan temple feasts. Why? Because grace covered it all. We will come back to Balaam when we look at the church in Pergamum, but for now what you need to know is that Balaam is known for his false teaching that served to seduce the men of Israel to engage in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab that also resulted in the worship of their gods in place of obedience and worship of Yahweh (see Num. 25). The Nicolaitans did not deny Jesus, they just reinterpreted what obedience to Jesus really meant, in that you could both be loyal to Jesus and actively pursue and participate in the kinds of things the Word of God commands the people of God to flee from. The Ephesian church was rightfully commended for their hatred and intolerance of the works of the Nicolaitans because Jesus shares their hatred for the same reasons. Listen carefully. Jesus does not merely disagree with teachings of the Nicolaitans He hates them. He hates any belief that suggests a person can remain loyal to Him while willfully embracing the very sins He died to free us from. The cross was not a license to make peace with sin; it was Gods declaration of war against it. To claim Christ while pursuing what nailed Him to the tree is not freedomit is self-deception. Christ did not die to make sin safe, but to make His people holy. 1 Richard D. Phillips, Revelation, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: PR Publishing, 2017), 91. What the Ephesian Church Got Wrong So what was it that the church in Ephesus lost? Well, we know it wasnt the churchs orthodoxy. It was the love they had at first. What love did they have at first? I believe the love the church lost was a combination of their love for Jesus and others. I believe this because of what the apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians and what Jesus said the church needed to do to regain the love they had lost. First, lets look at Jesus criticism in verses 4-5, But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. The way back to regain what they had lost was to first remember where they had fallen or had lost sight of their love, then to repent by doing the works they had done at first. What were the works they had done at first? We are given a few clues in Ephesians about the church from what Paul says at the beginning and the end of his epistle to the Ephesians. 1st Clue: For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers... (Eph. 1:15-16) 2nd Clue: Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Eph. 6:24) I believe that the love the Ephesian church lost had to do with the love they had for Jesus and for one another. The New Living Translation captures this in their translation of Revelation 2:4, But I have this complaint against you. You dont love me or each other as you did at first! When a group of religious leaders asked Jesus to identify the most important commandment, His response was clear: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:3739). Genuine love for God leads to love for othersyou cannot claim to love God while refusing to love those who bear His image. As our love for God grows, it overflows into love for those around us, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you find this hard to accept, consider the words of the apostle John: If someone says, I love God, but hates his brother, that person is a liar; for anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20). I believe the Ephesian church, first known for their faith in Jesus and their incorruptible love for Him, became the catalyst that fostered in them a love for one another, which they were known for in the early days of the churchs existence. Their love infused their faith in Jesus, and their love for all the saints was the cocktail God used to push back evil and transform lives! What Revelation 2:1-4 teaches us is that Jesus wants our obedience, but He also wants our hearts! In fact, if Jesus has your heart, He will have your obedience. Conclusion I believe the Ephesian church is listed first among the seven churches because of the danger we face when what we believe and what we do are no longer tethered to a living love for Jesus and His people. Listen carefully. Rather than criticizing the Ephesian church for its zeal for the truth of Gods Word, Jesus praised them for it. Orthodoxy is essential to the spiritual health of both Christians and the church as a whole. When believers abandon orthodoxy, spirituality does not become freer or deeperit becomes hollow and lifeless. So do their churches. But love keeps orthodoxy from hardening into something Jesus also hated. When truth is severed from love, orthodoxy collapses into legalism. And legalism is not holiness; it is a corruption of orthopraxyright living. Christian, we are called to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy. Scripture commands us: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Pet. 1:1416). But the way we pursue holiness is not through cold precision or moral superiority. It is through the kind of love the Ephesian church once hadand then lost. This is the first of seven ways Christ calls His people to cleanse His house of leaven. What is that love? Scripture defines it plainly: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth Love never ends (1 Cor. 13:48). This is the love Jesus spoke of that must be true of His followers: By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). We live in a nation deeply fracturedso fractured that many believe we are in a cold civil war. Civil conversation between the left and the right is nearly impossible. But it must not be that way in the church Jesus redeemed from the world. Our love for Christ must overflow into genuine love for one anotherstrong enough to allow disagreement without division, conviction without contempt, and truth without hatred. Let me take this one step further. If you love the Jesus who died to ransom people from every tribe, language, people, and nation, then you must be liberated from the partisan blindness that grips both the left and the right. Christian, you belong to another kingdom. Your allegiance is not to a political ideology but to King Jesus. Please hear me: the world will not see, hear, or receive the gospel from the left or the rightbut only from Jesus Christ Himself. By Gods design, His gospel is not entrusted to government but to His church. The mess in the White House, ournation, and the world is evidence that what people need is the One who makes the Gospel the Gospelnamely, Jesus! If you cannot see thatif you cannot believe that while still calling yourself a Christianthen you are in danger of the very thing that threatened the church in Ephesus. You have lost your first love. So I leave you with the same words Jesus spoke to them: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

I believe the book of Revelation is intentionally shaped by the rhythm of the seven Jewish feasts, with deep echoes of the Exodus and Israels wilderness journey woven throughout its visions. We have already seen how this works in chapter 1, where the imagery echoes Passover. Passover marked Israels deliverance from slavery through the blood of a substituteand in Revelation 1:1216, that substitute is revealed in all His risen glory. Jesus stands among His churches as the victorious Lamb who was slain and now lives forever. Because of His sacrifice, the Christian belongs to God. If you have been redeemed by Almighty God through His Son, what is there to fear? Jesus Himself answers that question: Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades (Rev. 1:1718). Our confidence is not rooted in our circumstances, but in the One who has conquered death itself. As we move into Revelation 23 and read the seven letters to the churches, the dominant echo is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately followed Passover. This feast called Gods redeemed people to live holy lives, set apart for Him (Lev. 11:4445; 1 Pet. 1:1617). Israel removed all leaven from their homes as a visible reminder that they belonged to the Lord and were no longer to live under the old patterns of corruption. That same call still comes to us today: You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:1920). Each of the seven churches faced real and pressing challenges in their own dayand what they struggled with are many of the same things we struggle with today, just dressed differently. While we will look at each church individually, here is a brief snapshot of what we will encounter: The church in Ephesus had lost its first love. The church in Smyrna was about to suffer tribulation for ten days. The church in Pergamum struggled with faithfulness to sound doctrine. The church in Thyatira tolerated a false teacher within the congregation. The church in Sardis was spiritually lethargic and nearly dead. The church in Philadelphia faithfully clung to the word of God. The church in Laodicea was lukewarm and missionally useless. In every one of these churches, there was the danger of leavensin quietly working its way through the house. And the call of Christ was to remove it: through renewed love for Jesus and for one another, faithful endurance in suffering, a commitment to truth, intolerance for evil, vigilance against spiritual apathy, unflinching obedience to Christ, and a wholehearted devotion to the mission of God. About forty years before Revelation was written, Paul wrote about Gods expectation for His church: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:1-2). Revelation 1 is about the One who makes our salvation possible. Revelation 2-3 addresses the kind of people He calls us to be. So, when we come to Revelation 4, we encounter the One on the throne who is holy, holy, holy! The City of Ephesus When the gospel came to Ephesus, it was a wealthy and influential trading city, best known for the Temple of Artemis (also called Diana), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The citys economy, culture, and moral life centered on the worship of this goddess. Artemis worship was deeply sexualized and demonic, marked by ritual immorality and idolatry (1 Cor. 10:20). Ephesus was a place where spiritual darkness was not hiddenit was celebrated, institutionalized, and profitable. Into this city, the gospel came with unmistakable power, as it always does in Gods timing and in His way. What we read in the epistle to the Romans was experienced in Ephesus: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... (Rom. 1:16). When the apostle Paul preached Christ in Ephesus, lives were transformed, and the worship of Artemis was directly challenged. So disruptive was the gospel that those who profited from idolatry feared economic collapse, admitting that Paul had persuaded many that gods made with hands are not gods at all (Acts 19:26). Paul spent over two years there, and in this spiritually hostile environment, God birthed a faithful churchthe same church later addressed by Christ Himself in Revelation 2. What makes Jesus words to Ephesus so sobering is not the citys darkness but the fact that a church born in such devotion, perseverance, and truth would later be warned: You have abandoned the love you had at first (2:4). So what happened? To answer that question, we need to first recognize the many things Jesus praises the church for. What the Ephesian Church Was Doing Right The Ephesian church was commended for many things by Jesus such as their toil, patient endurance, and intolerance for evil. Heraclitus, a native of Ephesus and philosopher, spoke with open contempt of his citys moral corruptionso severe that later writers summarized his viewby saying no one could live in Ephesus without weeping.1 The fact that the church was able to endure for forty years in a city known for its sexual promiscuity and demonized idolatrous worship, while holding on to biblical orthodoxy, is staggering! Because of their orthodoxy and fidelity to the Word of God, the church was intolerant of evil, refused to ignore false teachers, and shared Jesuss hatred of the Nicolaitans. Forty years earlier, Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church: I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears (Acts. 20:29-31). This is what the church did well, and Jesus praised them for it. Now, notice what Jesus does not say to the church in Ephesus. He does not say they were being too orthodox. He does not say they were too truthful, or that their intolerance of evil, false teachers, and the works of the Nicolaitans was too extreme. Jesus does not tell the church to dial it back but instead celebrates these as examples of what they were doing well. What the church did well was refusing to yield to the pressures from their city to conform. Before we look at what the church got wrong, we need to address who the Nicolaitans were and why Jesus hated their teaching. From what we know, the Nicolaitans were a heretical Christian sect associated with the teaching of Balaam (Rev. 2:14-15). They taught that the grace of God permitted freedom to engage in the kinds of things their pagan neighbors enjoyed, such as sexual immorality and full participation in pagan temple feasts. Why? Because grace covered it all. We will come back to Balaam when we look at the church in Pergamum, but for now what you need to know is that Balaam is known for his false teaching that served to seduce the men of Israel to engage in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab that also resulted in the worship of their gods in place of obedience and worship of Yahweh (see Num. 25). The Nicolaitans did not deny Jesus, they just reinterpreted what obedience to Jesus really meant, in that you could both be loyal to Jesus and actively pursue and participate in the kinds of things the Word of God commands the people of God to flee from. The Ephesian church was rightfully commended for their hatred and intolerance of the works of the Nicolaitans because Jesus shares their hatred for the same reasons. Listen carefully. Jesus does not merely disagree with teachings of the Nicolaitans He hates them. He hates any belief that suggests a person can remain loyal to Him while willfully embracing the very sins He died to free us from. The cross was not a license to make peace with sin; it was Gods declaration of war against it. To claim Christ while pursuing what nailed Him to the tree is not freedomit is self-deception. Christ did not die to make sin safe, but to make His people holy. 1 Richard D. Phillips, Revelation, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: PR Publishing, 2017), 91. What the Ephesian Church Got Wrong So what was it that the church in Ephesus lost? Well, we know it wasnt the churchs orthodoxy. It was the love they had at first. What love did they have at first? I believe the love the church lost was a combination of their love for Jesus and others. I believe this because of what the apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians and what Jesus said the church needed to do to regain the love they had lost. First, lets look at Jesus criticism in verses 4-5, But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. The way back to regain what they had lost was to first remember where they had fallen or had lost sight of their love, then to repent by doing the works they had done at first. What were the works they had done at first? We are given a few clues in Ephesians about the church from what Paul says at the beginning and the end of his epistle to the Ephesians. 1st Clue: For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers... (Eph. 1:15-16) 2nd Clue: Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Eph. 6:24) I believe that the love the Ephesian church lost had to do with the love they had for Jesus and for one another. The New Living Translation captures this in their translation of Revelation 2:4, But I have this complaint against you. You dont love me or each other as you did at first! When a group of religious leaders asked Jesus to identify the most important commandment, His response was clear: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:3739). Genuine love for God leads to love for othersyou cannot claim to love God while refusing to love those who bear His image. As our love for God grows, it overflows into love for those around us, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you find this hard to accept, consider the words of the apostle John: If someone says, I love God, but hates his brother, that person is a liar; for anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20). I believe the Ephesian church, first known for their faith in Jesus and their incorruptible love for Him, became the catalyst that fostered in them a love for one another, which they were known for in the early days of the churchs existence. Their love infused their faith in Jesus, and their love for all the saints was the cocktail God used to push back evil and transform lives! What Revelation 2:1-4 teaches us is that Jesus wants our obedience, but He also wants our hearts! In fact, if Jesus has your heart, He will have your obedience. Conclusion I believe the Ephesian church is listed first among the seven churches because of the danger we face when what we believe and what we do are no longer tethered to a living love for Jesus and His people. Listen carefully. Rather than criticizing the Ephesian church for its zeal for the truth of Gods Word, Jesus praised them for it. Orthodoxy is essential to the spiritual health of both Christians and the church as a whole. When believers abandon orthodoxy, spirituality does not become freer or deeperit becomes hollow and lifeless. So do their churches. But love keeps orthodoxy from hardening into something Jesus also hated. When truth is severed from love, orthodoxy collapses into legalism. And legalism is not holiness; it is a corruption of orthopraxyright living. Christian, we are called to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy. Scripture commands us: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Pet. 1:1416). But the way we pursue holiness is not through cold precision or moral superiority. It is through the kind of love the Ephesian church once hadand then lost. This is the first of seven ways Christ calls His people to cleanse His house of leaven. What is that love? Scripture defines it plainly: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth Love never ends (1 Cor. 13:48). This is the love Jesus spoke of that must be true of His followers: By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). We live in a nation deeply fracturedso fractured that many believe we are in a cold civil war. Civil conversation between the left and the right is nearly impossible. But it must not be that way in the church Jesus redeemed from the world. Our love for Christ must overflow into genuine love for one anotherstrong enough to allow disagreement without division, conviction without contempt, and truth without hatred. Let me take this one step further. If you love the Jesus who died to ransom people from every tribe, language, people, and nation, then you must be liberated from the partisan blindness that grips both the left and the right. Christian, you belong to another kingdom. Your allegiance is not to a political ideology but to King Jesus. Please hear me: the world will not see, hear, or receive the gospel from the left or the rightbut only from Jesus Christ Himself. By Gods design, His gospel is not entrusted to government but to His church. The mess in the White House, ournation, and the world is evidence that what people need is the One who makes the Gospel the Gospelnamely, Jesus! If you cannot see thatif you cannot believe that while still calling yourself a Christianthen you are in danger of the very thing that threatened the church in Ephesus. You have lost your first love. So I leave you with the same words Jesus spoke to them: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Col. 4:2-6; 2 Cor. 4:3-6; Acts 16:13-14; Acts 2:37; John 6:44; Matt. 11:27; Matt. 16:17; Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22-23; Eph. 6:18-20; Matt. 10:19-20; Acts 4:31; Col. 4:5-6 What do we pray for the names within our reach? Open doors Open eyes What happens to the names we pray for? God orchestrates open doors for them to hear the gospel God illuminates darkened eyes to understand the gospel God draws the lost to Himself What do we pray for God to do in our lives? To empower us with His Spirit to be His witnesses To give us wisdom for each gospel conversation What happens to us when we pray for these names? Our hearts become soft toward sinners We take seriously what matters most for eternity What kinds of expectant action ought to follow our prayers? Giving each name a Purple New Testament Inviting each name to church Offering to pray for each person's needs Following up by having further conversations with each person Never give up praying for God's saving work in each person's life Speaker: Pastor Joel Evrist You can also listen to the Walking Through The Word Podcast and Walking Through The Word Podcast 4 Kids at https://www.lifereachresources.com/podcasts. You can get your CORE4 and CORE4Kids discipleship resources at https://www.lifereachresources.com/core4. Find out more about becoming a Disciple-Maker at https://www.lifereachresources.com/disciplemakingteam.  

Preparing, for the Man-Child (1) (audio) David Eells 2/8/26   What's Hidden in the Barn of Our Life? Linda Smith - 11/16/2011 (David's notes in red) I had this dream, and after a few minutes, I got up and wrote it down while it was still fresh in my mind. My brother and I were putting some tools in my car. We were going somewhere to do some work. There were two hammers, some screwdrivers, saws, and some other tools in a small cardboard box. Then my brother handed me a new level and said, “Here, we might need this level”. Then a friend walked over to my brother and me and asked, “Do you really think you guys are going to need that level?” (The level is the standard of the world to build natural things on a plane with it; i.e., in agreement with it. However, Father is going beyond our worldly understanding to build hidden spiritual things that are on a plane with His Kingdom. (1Sa.16:7) ... man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart.) We both agreed that it could be needed, so we would just take it along. Our friend hugged both of us and said, “I'm praying for you guys to be safe and hurry back”. We got in the car and drove off down the road. We had been driving for many miles and then drove up a big mountain. (The big mountain here represents the Kingdom of God and a place of far-reaching vision. Here they “leveled” out.) As we got to the top and leveled out, we could see some old, old buildings just up ahead on the right. (The sheep go to the right.) So my brother said to me, “Let's stop and look around, but we can't stay very long”. He pulled over and parked the car about 30 feet from an old barn and we got out. As we got to the opening of the barn, we could see eight new 6x6 beams, where someone had replaced the old beams. (The support of the barn is 6X6, representing our humanity and 8 represents Jesus, who is sown in and uses our humanity to bring forth fruit. Jesus' name in Greek equals 888 in gematria. It is fitting that Jesus would be the strength of the barn of our natural life to hold it up and together.) The roof of the barn seemed to be the original roof in fairly good condition. (The roof is the barn's “original” shield of faith, which protects it from the heat of the Sun and the storms of life.) As we entered the barn, there were some very old boards on the floor. They were two inches thick, and each board was 12 inches wide with a half-inch space between each board. It had to be the original old flooring. (Representing the “original” walk in the steps of Jesus at this head of the Kingdom.) There were a few cracks and some holes in some of them. Looking down through the cracks and holes, we could see parts of the foundation and it looked strong. We saw very large stones upon other very large stones (representing the foundation of the solid Rocks of the Word) with concrete holding them together. (Jesus, in Paul, laid such a foundation in the lives of the believers. (1Co.3:10) According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. (11) For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He is the Word we must be founded on.) Now, looking all the way through the barn from where we were standing, there were other types of buildings and they reminded me of an old western town. There were eight buildings side by side with a long wooden-plank walkway in front connecting all the buildings together, but each building had its own roof. (These 8 buildings are the local Body of Jesus, which Linda belongs to. They are connected as one in Him, yet each with their own faith or roof. (Eph.2:19) So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, (20) being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; (21) in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; (22) in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.) We had to walk on through the barn to get to those other buildings. When we walked out of the barn, there was a man standing outside (Jesus). My brother, not seeing the man, walked on, going to look at the other buildings. But the man standing outside spoke to me and said, “Well, you finally got here”, and he smiled. I asked him, “What do you mean, sir?” He replied, “You've come a long way. You are going to look at this barn I'm working on, aren't you?” “Well, sir, I already have, sir, but I do have some questions, if it would be ok to ask you, sir”. “Sure, go ahead and ask me”. “Well, sir, why did you leave all those old boards on the floor?” He smiled and said, “They hold the past history of the barn and I wanted to show the people who came by here, so they can see the hardships the barn has been through”. (The early saints suffered for righteousness' sake as will we.) “Yes, sir, but these old flooring boards have holes and missing pieces in the boards, leaving cracks and holes all through the floor”. “Yes, I know”, he said. “Even in your walk through your own life, there were good times and bad times, things and places you remember. And then there are those holes or missing pieces in your mind of places, things, and times that you don't remember, but they are all there in your mind stored away”. (And God can bring them to remembrance or just use them subconsciously in our daily walk.) “Yes, sir”, I smiled and said, “I guess you're right”. Then he said, “If we look, we can see through the holes in the floor and see some of the foundation. The owner of this barn has built on this strong, solid foundation”. (Our Father is the owner.) “Oh, yes, sir, I can see the foundation; but, sir, why is it dug out under the barn like a basement?” He smiled and said, “That is the root cellar where the owner can store and keep canned food, cheese, and grain for bread, provisions for winter times and hard times. (Spiritual food that is preserved in our hearts for God to use in tribulations. Good roots make a healthy plant.) It is kept down there, where it's always cool to support a healthy life and healthy bodies. Kept and stored each year for many years. It's just like when you read and study the word of God; the word will always be there to nourish your spirit, soul, and body, and to support you in your walk with the Lord”. “Yes, sir, I believe that”. He smiled and said, “Now, the owner of this barn has good soil here to build on and a strong foundation, making the whole barn strong”. (The barn, which is used for a harvest, is supported by the spiritual food of the Word, its roots.) Then I asked him, “What about all the new beams and the new lumber on the walls that you've put in? Won't that take away from the original old look of the barn, sir?” “Oh, no! The beams and the lumber are also barn wood that will quickly turn gray like the original wood. I used them to restore the barn for its future use. I have made this barn stronger and more usable to store and to keep the new wine in this barn (the new wine skin for the new wine of the life of Christ), for the one who owns this barn. (The Father, Who has “kept the best wine for last.” The time of the manifestation of the Sons of God.) I have restored and made this barn strong by my own will as it pleased me.” (This identifies Jesus as the carpenter of this barn. (Jas.1:18) Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. ... (1Co.12:18) But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased him.) “Yes, sir, I believe you are the true craftsman, sir”. Now, as I was looking one more time at the inside of the barn, I saw for the first time that there was lots of detail work in his artwork; in all the woodwork, such beautiful craftsmanship all around. (Jesus is doing a good work in each of us. From the world's perspective, on the outside, it's a barn like any other barn, but from Father's perspective, on the inside, it's a temple.) There was light shining throughout the whole inside of the barn. (The light of the Word of life in man is Jesus. (Joh.1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. (4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.) The light was giving off a crisp, clean glow and there was a feeling of love, joy, and peace in this beautiful, peaceful environment. (The life of Jesus inside the barn.) Then, as we stepped out of the barn, I looked up at the outside of the barn, and it was just that natural, old gray barn. (According to Romans 8, the whole creation is awaiting the “revealing of the Sons of God,” and all the while they are hidden in plain old flesh, just like their prototype, Jesus, was. Joseph looked like the Egyptians on the outside to his brothers but inside he was a son of God.) Then my brother was back at the car, and he was calling out to me, “Come on. We need to be going on our way now.” I turned to the man with whom I had been talking and said to him, “Sir, it was so great talking with you, and thank you so very much, sir, for taking the time to show me and to explain to me all about your barn, sir”. And he smiled and said, “Oh! But this is your barn I'm working on”. (Joh.14:1) Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me. (2) In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also... (1Co.2:9) but as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And [which] entered not into the heart of man, Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.) I was so humbled by the words he spoke. I began crying and crying because the words he spoke were blessing me. And I woke up. My face was wet with tears and I was still weeping. Thank you, Lord, for this dream. (This is a great promise for Linda and others that the Lord is doing wondrous hidden things that we can't see or imagine in our lives. Many times, we just see the old barn from the outside and the holes in the floor. Keep on believing for the finished work of the hidden man of the heart and don't worry about what the natural man looks like. (1Pe.3:3) Whose [adorning] let it not be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on apparel; (4) but [let it be] the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible [apparel] of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. (1Co.4:5) Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God. And Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ:) Walk by faith and not by sight. The farmer doesn't dig up the plant every few days to make sure there is progress. The woman doesn't get an ultrasound every day to see if the fruit is still in the womb. Like the plant, the baby Jesus must mature in the unseen parts of us before He is manifested before men. (Mar 4:26-29) And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; (27) and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. (28) The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (29) But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come. (Jas.1:22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. (23) For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: (24) for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. ... (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.   Barn of Our Life Charles Smith (Linda's brother) - 07/06/2012 (David's notes in red) In the dream, I was suddenly standing in a wooded area, on a narrow, smooth dirt road about 8-10 feet wide. (Our wilderness walk.) Straight before me was a much smaller dirt road about 4-5 feet wide, going through some woods. (The narrow road gets ever narrower to constrict us into the walk of Jesus.) The road was level and smooth, side to side, as it gradually went up to a small hill. As I walked up the narrow road, I saw through the trees a large structure or building. As I followed the narrow road around the trees, I saw that the building was a very old barn. (Like Linda's barn.) The way the barn was built, that is, its structure, was different from any barn I had seen before. I was looking at the left end and the back side of the barn. Walking around the left side of the barn, I was then facing the front side of the barn. I saw a large door opening, about 10 feet wide, with double doors opened to the outside. The barn was built with very large timbers and heavy beams. (Like Linda's barn, in which Jesus was the beams.) The outer walls were of wide planks, each plank being about 18 inches wide, standing upright. Suddenly, I thought, I hope no one is here; they may not want me looking around. Then, as I began looking at the surroundings, I saw tall, huge trees, some about six feet in circumference, and more than 120-150 feet tall. Not seeing anything like this before, I stopped and asked myself, Where am I? I realized that this place was somewhere else; it was very different. It was so tranquil, so very quiet, no distractions, no noise of any kind, except for an occasional songbird singing in the distance. No planes overhead, nothing -- totally quiet. I found myself being filled with great and total peace, total rest, and a sense of being totally safe here. Every fiber of my being (spirit, soul, body) was at peace and rest, something I had once experienced when I was “born again”. I thought to myself, I must tell Linda and we will come here and live. While looking at the barn and its surroundings, wondering who might live here, my head slowly turned to my left, and I saw a very old, fairly large two-story house a short way from the barn, maybe 150 feet away. The old house was very beautiful with its grounds, its huge, tall trees, and dark green tall grass about four inches tall. It was immaculate, very well kept. There was clearly a lot of thought and detail put into the architecture of this house. I had seen older homes somewhat similar to those from the Civil War years, but, friend, nothing I had ever seen could compare to this house. It was very different. Looking toward the front of the house, I saw that the house was built with wood lapboard about six inches wide running from side to side. The house also had a 12-pitch roof and a small front porch about 6x6 feet, with two steps coming off the porch down to a narrow dirt walkway or path that was maybe 12-14 inches wide. The walkway leaving the porch and crossing the yard in a straight path ended at the narrow road or driveway out front. Matthew 7:14 came to me: “Because narrow the gate, and straitened the way (like a walkway) that leadeth unto the life, and few are they that find it”. Also Luke 3:4-6: “A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight,... and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God”. Read Isaiah 40:3-5, verse 5: “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it”. Also, the narrow path was not only straight, but it was like the narrow road was smooth. There is something else I would like to share about this house that stood out to me. It was the windows. The windows on this fairly large house were really narrow, about two feet wide by five or six feet tall. (To let out heat but let in light.) As I stood studying this house and its surroundings (I was still standing on the narrow road in front of the house), I saw a man coming from the barn, leading a horse. The man passed by in front of me, leading the horse down the narrow road. (The spiritual man leading the harnessed beast of flesh out of the barn of our life and down the narrow road of truth and righteousness.) I was waiting for the man to speak, but he did not; he just kept his eyes straight ahead and went on. I was standing there watching when my attention was drawn back to the house. The house was now the center of attention. From the house, I saw a young woman, perhaps mid-20s in age, coming off the front porch and down the dirt path walkway to the road where I was standing. She walked to my right and went on. What seemed to be about two minutes later, there came two young boys, maybe 11 or 12 years old, walking together on this narrow road. They walked past and in front of me and kept walking. No greeting or anything. I followed the boys with my eyes as they walked past me down the road. Two things caught my eye: 1) The boys each wore long-sleeve shirts with pants rolled up below the knees and were barefoot; 2) the boy on the far side, the right side of the road, had a small stick or pole about four feet long on his right shoulder with a pail hanging at the end of the pole or stick. I thought, Where are they going, this man leading the horse, the young woman, and the two boys; where have they gone? While standing in the same place, on the narrow road, for what seemed to be maybe two or three minutes, my attention again was drawn to the house. This time, I saw a young woman, young yet older than the first woman. She looked about mid-30s in age. Both women wore long dresses with long sleeves from the neck down to about two inches from the toes of their shoes. She came out of the house, stepped off the porch, and came down the small path to the narrow road where I was standing. She walked up to me, smiling and with a glow on her face, and nodding her head. She communicated with me, but not with her mouth. In fact, her mouth never moved, yet she spoke to me. We communicated! I asked the woman, “This house and barn, they are so old. Were they built during the time of the Civil War?” I asked her this because the house and barn were indeed very old but very beautiful. They had to have been around for a while. I had never seen structures like this before. So I told her they looked in some way as if they had come from this time period. The woman smiled and answered, “Oh, no. This house and barn were long before the Civil War”. I told the woman, “I have never seen buildings like these buildings; I have never seen a place like this place, full of beauty, so peaceful and at rest”. She just smiled. I asked the woman how much ground or land went with the house. Turning from me, the woman took me down the little, narrow road that we were standing on, in front of the house. She took me a good way, what seemed like a mile or more, in a second of time. From here we could see a great distance. She showed me a very large parcel of land. Some parts of the land had large fields or woods or a little of both, but all were beautiful. Then she pointed to another parcel of land. There were many acres before me. The woman said, “See that parcel of ground?” I answered, “Yes, I do”. She said at the time of the Civil War, all this land was lost; it was sold. She said the other owner of the land plowed this field, sowed his seed and brought forth their own crops. (As Jesus said the devil did in Matthew 13.) She said, “This part of the inheritance was sold (Esau sold his birthright by walking after the flesh), but this land, this possession, shall be redeemed and returned shortly”. (The latter rain will bring the renewal.) It will be brought back; it will again become part of the inheritance of this house. I asked the woman, “Did the Civil War, this rebellion, cause much bloodshed and even death here?” The woman answered, “Yes, to many”. (Unforgiveness, rebellion, hatred, anger, fighting, sells our birthright, our inheritance, our land. Also, there is a civil war in our day being spoken of: (Gal.5:17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. Many have lost ground in this civil war because of giving ground to the lusts of the flesh. Jesus redeemed all that was lost, and Joel said it would all be restored in the end.)   The Hidden Riches of Christ, the Word Matthew Stewart - 1/2/19 (David's notes in Red) In my dream, there was a dirt path leading to and around a barn. (A barn is a place for the farmers' creatures to abide. Abiding in the Word is provision for all things.) The barn was weathered-looking and old. There was a story about this barn, that there was lots of gold hidden in it somewhere, and lots of people had looked for it but couldn't find it. (Many are not patient or diligent enough to find the massive gold stashed in God's Word.) So, I went to find the treasure in the barn. I went to the front door and opened it, and right there in front of the door on the inside was a spot where you could tell that previous people had dug, looking for the treasure. So I started to dig there, too, but then noticed some people coming down the path, so I just hid the shovel and acted like I wasn't digging, because I knew this was a big tourist attraction. After they passed, I started digging again, and then some more people were coming, so I hid the shovel and again acted like I wasn't digging, but just looking around. Then they came, took a look inside, and continued on down the path. (Where the multitudes walk, you will not find the gold.) After they left, I continued digging. I was getting pretty deep when I noticed some more people were coming. Then I realized that this hole was really noticeable and that someone could fall in and hurt themselves, and I didn't want people to claim the treasure, either, so I filled in the hole. Then I went around back, and Anna was there. There was a ladder going up to the second story, so I climbed up, but Anna stayed down below. I got to the second story, and there were toolboxes full of old tools, axes, and saws lying around. (Our tools for building the house are the Word of God, which so many neglect.) As I was looking through the toolboxes, I heard a brother talking to Anna, and he said, “My grandparents left this place with a billion dollars, but they left a million dollars' worth of gold behind.” (Our forefathers found much gold in God's Word but there is much that is sealed up for us to find in these days. Gold represents the value of the nature of God given through the Word. (Col.2:3) in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden. (Mat.13:44) The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. (Luk.16:11) If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (Rom.11:33) O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! (1Co.2:7) but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory: (Php.4:19) And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (2Ti.2:20) Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work.  (1Pe.1:7) that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: (Rev.3:18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold  (by giving up your old life and time) refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.) The end of the dream.   We Can Enter The Inner Court Sandy Shaw, 12/28/18 (David's notes in red) This dream starts with me having my head down, and light curtains were moving with the breeze. All of a sudden, the Lord takes my hand. I walk with Him into the inner court. We bowed down and we were praying. He said, “Tell them when they pray, do not come short of entering My court.” We prayed a little more, and I opened my eyes. (The outer court is where the flesh is sacrificed. The inner court is the holy place where the incense representing prayer is offered. Then, behind the veil is the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of God's presence is. Jesus' sacrifice rent the veil, which represents His flesh, so we could be in God's presence through faith and prayer.) I was standing (She had lost a leg) in a meadow, and I heard Curt say, “Hi Sandy!” (I knew it was Curt and I could see through him) (He had passed on so he was spiritual.). I said, “Curt, how am I standing?” He said, “Because you're standing on the Word of God. Look over there!” And I saw my leg. Curt said, “There's your leg! Just a little while longer. Keep enduring in your fight. You are strong in Him.” The Lord said, “Tell David, he already knows!” (If the Lord is speaking of the time of revival and miracles, I believe it will come after Joel's northern Army is defeated by God, which we are seeing as the DS falls, and the Earthquakes come and the Holy Spirit is poured out in Joel 2. However, the satanists, who all later died, were casting witchcraft at her and her husband was an unbeliever who killed her with remdesivir and respirator like so many others died in the Covid scam.) He said, “Tell Michael Hare, he's on the right track. But he needs to wait for the Lord and let Him hold his hand.” (Hold my hand, too, Lord!) “Tell Brandy not to fret. For the Lord has heard him and everything he's prayed for will come to pass.” “Tell them all, very soon things will come to pass. And if what they pray for is good for them and lines up with the word, they shall have it.” End of dream. I asked for a word by faith at random and got: (2.Cor.4:11) For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake (Sacrifice of the flesh happens in the outer court. Then we enter the inner court where the altar of incense [prayer] is given before the veil, which is now opened by the sacrifice of Jesus. Here we can receive all grace to walk in His steps.), that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (Act.15:7) And when there had been much questioning, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. (8) And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as He did unto us.   John the Baptist Ministries Kendall Remmick - 02/07/2010 (David's notes in red) About three weeks ago, the Lord sent me a short dream. I figured that I shouldn't take any dreams from the Lord lightly and that I should share it. I was walking down an old, familiar street with a friend whom I never did see in the dream. I knew the person standing next to me was a friend, but I did not know who. This street is the one I used to walk home on every day from school when I was in first and second grade. (A revelation of the path of immaturity.) My friend and I walked by one house that had some low evergreen bushes in front of it, about two feet high. There was a woman sitting on a chair in the midst of the bushes. She was pregnant and had her hands on either side of her stomach, in anticipation of giving birth. In appearance, she was actually a silhouette of a woman, yet still three-dimensional. Inside the silhouette was black darkness like deep space, with no stars (outer darkness). Staring at her was like looking through a portal into darkness. (The apostate, immature church in whom is the absence of God's light.) As we walked past her, either my friend or I said, “She is about to give birth to Twins”. (The twins represent the end-time Jacobs and Esaus born to the immature church. Jacob is the father of the 12 patriarchs, like Jesus was the father of the patriarch-apostles to the end-time Church. Esau represents those who have sold their birthright. These two types will be separated at birth, and Esau will persecute Jacob the man-child.) At this point, we looked away and continued to walk forward a few steps. I then stopped and noticed I had a very small lawnmower in my right hand. The woman who was in the small hedge was behind us now, and the yard had gotten very big. The grass needed to be mowed, but it wasn't green; it was a golden, yellow-brown-like wheat, and I realized we were there to mow the lawn. (Peter said, “flesh is as grass”. The time of harvesting or cutting down the flesh of the church in repentance to prepare for the coming of the man-child ministry.) I looked down at the little lawnmower in my hand. The top side of it looked like a regular lawnmower, but the bottom side, where the blades were, looked like a house fan with a safety screen on it. (A corporate John the Baptist ministry will breathe out the winds of the Spirit to cut down the flesh of the apostate church before the birth of the man-child ministry.) I began to laugh and said, “I can't mow this lawn with this little thing! This lawn is huge!” (Meaning the flesh is abundant in the worldwide church.) My friend said, “Well, set it down on the grass and let's see how it does”. So we sat it down on the grass. (These ministries will be tested before the anointing.) Surprisingly, it cut well, but we realized that the lawnmower was too small, so we agreed we needed to go home and get a bigger lawnmower. Then I woke up. (When the anointing comes on the worldwide John the Baptist ministries from “home”, or heaven, the people will be prepared for the coming Man-child ministries. (Mat.11:10) This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee.) When I was writing this, this verse came to me: (Amo.7:2) And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass (the beast will devour the grass, or flesh, of God's people, as Nebuchadnezzar did for seven years.) of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small (immature). The lawnmower is the ministry before the latter rain. (John the Baptist ministries will baptize for the death of the flesh before the Man-child brings the latter rain.) The dry grass is the saints who will die to their flesh, unlike the wild grapes, as a type of the sinners filled with the world. John the Baptist came in the anointing of Elijah and is also coming again in our time to fulfill this revelation: (Mat.17:10) And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? (11) And he answered and said, Elijah indeed cometh, and shall restore all things: (meaning everything the Church has lost)(12) but I say unto you, that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. (13) Then understood the disciples that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.   Apostates Will Bear Fruit G. C. - 11/26/2010 (David's notes in red) David and I had met a woman who was in charge of some property. The property that she oversaw was a place in the country that had become famous for sightings of Mary. She took us to the property and we pulled up to a gate and guard shack at the entrance; there was a man inside taking admission fees. (Those caught up in the false and empty religion of Babel, paying their tithes in a vain effort to see a glimpse of one who brought forth the fruit of Jesus.) As we entered the property, it was more developed than what I could see from the road: there were a few buildings on the lot and roads. There were a lot of people with campers alongside the road, inside the compound. Many others were in their cars. All of these people were desperately waiting to see an appearance of the Virgin Mary. Most of the crowd was older and tired-looking. I looked at some of the people's faces, and they looked desperate and lost, trying vainly to see this supernatural sight that I knew would never happen again. (The mother of all harlot “Christian” religions, among whom are some desperate to see fruit. Multitudes are in Maryolotry.) (I believe David wanted the land or to use the land. He wasn't interested in what the land was currently being used for; he had other plans for it.) (That we could sow the seed of God in the land, or the life of the people, so it would bear the fruit of Jesus and not fake religion. (Heb.6:7) For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: (8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. (9) But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.) The overseer/woman seemed like a Christian who was excited about the Lord, but she was off in a lot of areas. (There are so many among them who desperately need to be a part of the real virgin birth. They must be virgins in that they refuse the seed of man to receive the seed of God's Word and bring forth Jesus in their lives. Jesus said that he who does the will of the Father is my mother.) David noticed this in her and was kind to her. I remember David wanting to make some kind of deal with her, not sure what it was about, but he treated her as a sister, and we all prayed together. (Ignorance is not a sin in the New Testament, and these brothers and sisters need to be treated with respect. (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.) He wanted to show the land to his wife and kids and asked the lady if she would waive the admission fees for them to come and see it. He called the admission fees “tithes”, which caught me off guard, but she agreed to waive the fees. (The true children of the corporate mother church do not have to pay to bear fruit or see those who have.) After praying, we left. I had the feeling that David was not done with this lady or her property. (God will give us the fruit of the apostates' land. PTL! Many will come out from among them to serve the King and His Word.) I remember David or someone else in our group who traveled with us made the comment that the property was owned by the government -- the United States Air Force -- to be exact. He told us they had certain restrictions concerning what could be done there. He said there were two things that we would have trouble doing there because of the rules. (The 501(c)3 churches are under the authority of “the powers of the air” force through the beast government in what they teach and do. (Eph.2:2) wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; (3) among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.) This is a great promise to open doors to the apostate church for the real Gospel to bear the fruit of Jesus. Let's pray to that end.   Defending Yourself with the Word Bethany Mize - 07/30/2015 (David's notes in red) Last night in service, the Lord gave me a vision. In this vision, I saw myself standing in a deep valley, alone. The ground and sides of the valley were a clay-like substance, murky and cracked. As the shofar blew, the Lion of the tribe of Judah walked to the edge of the cliff and kept His gaze upon me. His eyes were so full of love. I was humbled and still in His presence. As I looked into His eyes, the tears began to roll down my face. I bowed my knees to Him. In doing so, the Word of God lay before me, and I began to devour it. Beneath the Word was rich, thick green grass, but nowhere else but where the Word of God lay. (Peter said, “All flesh is as grass.” Obeying the Word is health and life to our bodies. (Pro.4:20) My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. (21) Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart. (22) For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh. When judgments are coming, we need a clear conscience and faith in His provision of protection.) (Bethany has a couple of meanings: “house of God” or “house of figs”, which have a very similar spiritual meaning: the true people of God.) As I digested the seed of the Word, small pieces of metal armor began to attach themselves to my shoulders, down my back, around my arms, until I was completely covered in armor. I knew I was in a time of preparation; it was not to be taken lightly. (Major judgments are coming and many are not prepared to escape for lack of the armor of God. We must pray for them now.) I stood to my feet, keeping my eyes on the Lion, with no words spoken, but just a knowing. He told me to wave my right arm across the ground. As I did, green grass began to grow wherever the shadow of my hand stretched above it. (With the armor of God's Word on, we have authority to protect this body.) In the natural, we began to sing in service, “Our sons and daughters shall prophecy.” As I sang this, my three-year-old daughter appeared to my left in the vision, fully armed. I was filled with joy that she rose from her knees, armed, as I was. (Children need to be taught this, too.) Then, in the last verse, we sang, “Let the rivers flow down.” In singing this, I knew it was time to stand firm. Then a large wave of moving water rushed toward us from the right. I grabbed my daughter's hand with my left hand and lifted up my right arm toward the water, like a shield. Then, as I bent my elbow back, the water went over us and crashed all around us, but never touched us. My armor (the Word of God) is what kept us in that secret place of the Most High. We were not fearful but full of boldness toward the oncoming water. It was a wonderful sight! (The Lord has had me move my hand in a sweeping motion like a knife to cut off the rain as it stopped immediately.) Later in the service, Jonathan spoke, “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will raise up a standard.” Just wanted to encourage the brethren with what the Lord used to encourage me. The seed of God that goes into us is what will preserve us. The Lord is coming, manifested by Word and the latter rain, as He said in Hosea 6:1-3. He will be manifested in His Man-child ministry at the beginning of the tribulation. The story is in Ezekiel 34, where He will cut off the evil shepherds and will come to feed His flock with His David / Man-children. The Bible says of the Lord's coming in judgment that His recompense will be before Him at least twice. I received this text yesterday: (Isa.40:10) Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. (11) He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young. This is seen again in (Isa.62:11) Behold, Jehovah hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. It appears the recompense is mentioned just below this concerning the Lord's judgment of Edom, the son of Abraham, who persecuted his brother Israel as a type of the Church. (Isa.63:1) Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. (2) Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? (3) I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment. I want to share this revelation with you; from memory: Pam's three-year-old grandchild, Benjamin, just recently suddenly heard something and ran to the window and opened the curtains. He said, “Babbu, God is almost here”. She asked him, “Did you feel this or hear this”? He said, “Heard”. She asked, “Did someone say this to you?” “Yes”, he said, and on further questioning, it was from very big men outside. Later, he asked her, “When will God be here?” We have heard that the Lord will give a short warning to His disciples to get off the coast. This could come in dreams or in other ways. We have been sharing these warnings, so pray and get direction from Father. We have been hearing in our morning prayer time that we are to fast and pray and cry out for the elect in harm's way and those we have prayed for to know the Lord, and that we would be hidden in this time of judgment. Also, we need to pray for the spiritual Edomites that an elect will repent and return to the Lord. And for the church, which is about to go into captivity because of this judgment, whenever it comes. Some words I received at this time were: (Isa.22:12) And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: (13) and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die. (14) And Jehovah of hosts revealed himself in mine ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you till ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts. Also, Matthew 9:15, “then will they fast”, was received three times. (Jer.6:26) O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us. (Zep.2:3) Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger. Several people locally got confirmations to fast and pray. So fast and pray regularly, saints, for these things and those you know who are in spiritual need until this comes.   Jesus Is Coming in Flesh Again Bill Steenland - 12/10/2014 (David's notes in red) I just listened to a brother talk about a visitation of God to His people. There is an awesome type and shadow for the coming Man-child, as Joseph the Man-child held back who he was until a dramatic revealing. I dreamed I was in a white, slightly grayish room. In the dream, I thought it was an elevator. I knew it as the elevator room. (An elevator is like abiding in Christ and the Word. It is a place of being caught up into “heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.) (Eph.1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: (4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: (5) having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. (Notice that only abiding in Christ, the Word, can we be in heavenly places in order to manifest His holiness and sonship. Whitish gray is the color of the heavens many times, if you are under the first heaven with clouds and chemtrails. The higher you go, the clearer the heavens become, which is why they put telescopes in space.) I was sitting next to a man I work with named Ben. (Benjamin was Joseph's younger brother by Rachel, but he had not yet met Joseph. Joseph, as a type of Jesus and the Man-child body, was sold by his brethren into prison but came out to rule over all. Benjamin's eyes were opened to see Joseph, who first appeared dressed as an Egyptian. At first, Joseph's brothers did not know that Joseph, as a type of Jesus, was in that Egyptian-looking body, and so it will be today. (Gen.45:1) Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. (2) And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. (3) And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. (4) And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. (5) And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.) Ben was so excited and talking about meeting Jesus! He said, “Yeah, man, one day soon, we will be talking to Jesus, just like you and me are talking right now”. He was going on and on about talking to Jesus in person. He said, “Yeah, man, it's going to be so great! Oh, my God! Face to face, man, just like me and you are talking right now. Face to face with Jesus!” (Yeah, that makes me really excited, too. Many will talk face to face with Jesus in these days, but He will look different in flesh because He is coming to be manifested in His second corporate body, like He was in the early disciples when they were called Christians. (Luk.10:16) He that heareth you heareth me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him that sent me. (Mat.10:40) He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (Luk.9:48) and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same is great. (Joh.13:20) Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. We see in the last verse a perfect example that those who saw Jesus saw the Father Who was manifested in Him. The Father had taken on a body, just as Jesus is doing. (Joh.14:9) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father? The latter rain will empower many to manifest Jesus in their life.) Ben is not saved, as far as I know, and has even mocked me a little bit when a Christian brother and I were talking about the Lord. But Ben is a very funny guy and jokes about everything. So in the dream, I thought to myself, “Um ... Ben, maybe we should deal with some stuff first”. I was thinking along the lines of basic repentance. End of dream. (Yes, the John the Baptist ministry of repentance is first to prepare the lost to see Jesus in the Man-child and then the body. The lost will see Jesus before many Christians will.) The Lord encouraged me and reminded me of the dream last night as I was reading the final chapters of the Gospel of Luke. He put these scriptures of the chapter on my heart about the dream. I underlined the scriptures that specifically talk about His appearance to the disciples. (Luk.24:15) And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. (16) But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. Why were their eyes not able to see that He was Jesus? Could it be because He looked different, like He will in these days as He walks in His body, those in whom He is glorified through His Spirit and Word? (2Th.1:10) when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. As you can see, if we do not believe and walk in the Word, Jesus will not be manifested in us. (11) To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith, with power; (12) that the name (Greek meaning “nature, character and authority) of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.) (17) And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk? And they stood still, looking sad. (18) And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days? (19) And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: (20) and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. Because they knew Him not, they thought Him to be a son of Joseph, instead of the Son of God. The same mistake will be made by the apostates today. (21) But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass. (22) Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb; (23) and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. (24) And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. (25) And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! (26) Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? (“Christ in you the hope of Glory”) (27) And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (28) And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go further. (29) And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to abide with them. (30) And it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it he gave to them. (31) And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. He became known to them in the breaking of the Bread of Life, the Word. The One in whom the Word dwells is His body. (32) And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? (33) And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, (34) saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. (35) And they rehearsed the things that happened in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread. So it is today, we will know those in whom Jesus lives by becoming familiar with the Word that is an expression of Himself. He is the Word made flesh, and so should we be. (36) And as they spake these things, he himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (37) But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. (38) And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do questionings arise in your heart? (39) See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having. (40) And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. His body will have the same signs of crucifixion in the hands, meaning works, and the feet, meaning walk. (41) And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here anything to eat? (42) And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish. (43) And he took it, and ate before them. (44) And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me. (45) Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures; (46) and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; We are once again at the third day when Jesus will first be manifested in the Man-child who is going through crucifixion at the hands of His own brethren, just like Joseph and Jesus did. Then this will happen to the whole body of true Christians. (47) and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. For this to happen, a much larger corporate body is needed -- Jesus in His Saints. It will begin at born-again Jerusalem because that is the Bride led by the Man-child. (48) Ye are witnesses of these things. (49) And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high. (50) And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. (51) And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. (52) And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: (53) and were continually in the temple, blessing God. This teaching of Jesus coming manifested in You can be found with much scripture in our book, Hidden Manna For the End Times. There, we can also see that Jesus is coming for His saints after this. Bill goes on with (2Co.5:16) Wherefore we henceforth know no man after the flesh: even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more. Very interesting parable about not knowing Christ by His flesh and by sight. Jesus was ministering the Word of God or spiritual food to them, as in verse 32, where their heart was burning as He opened the scriptures to them. We know that the love of God was being shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit before He vanished away. (The Holy Spirit's job is to manifest Jesus in us.) Making a point that the Spirit is the truth (John16:13) and reveals “all truth” (Who is Jesus). (2Co.3:17) Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. (This is the real Gospel, that Jesus lives in you by faith, and the Spirit will manifest this because of your faith.) (Joh.6:51) I am the living bread (the Word) which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: yea and the bread which I will give is my flesh (the Word made flesh), for the life of the world. (52) The Jews therefore strove one with another, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (53) Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. (54) He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (55) For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (56) He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.  

     The spiritual life cannot be fully understood or lived until the believer grasps the distinction between positional truth and experiential truth. Learning God's Word is always the starting point for the Christian way of life (1 Pet 2:2; 2 Tim 3:16–17). Until the believer orients to what God has already accomplished at initial salvation, he cannot discern what God now expects in fellowship (Rom 6:3–11). Confusion or neglect of Scripture inevitably drives the Christian into legalism, emotionalism, ritualism, activism, or frustration (Col 2:8, 20–23; Gal 3:1–3). Bible doctrine learned and applied provides the foundation for executing the spiritual life (Rom 12:2; Jam 1:22). God's riches for the believer include both positional and experiential blessings, and the former establishes the ground on which the latter are enjoyed (Eph 1:3; Col 2:6–7). Full study notes here: https://thinkingonscripture.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/10-The-Believers-Riches-in-Christ.pdf Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

Pastor Josh shows us that prayer is what activates the believer. Eph. 6:18, 12; Rom. 8:28

Church Life, “The Testimony of a Missionary, Pt. 1”                                    Acts 20:17-24In Service (vv. 17-19) -           Humility (Phil. 2:3-8) -           Heart (Eph. 1:15b-16; 6:21) . -           Endurance In the Word (vv. 20-21)  Ma. 1:15b-c  the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (these may have been the 1st words of JC ever uttered in public when he launched his ministry. Jo. 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes (places their faith, trusts) in him should not perish but have eternal life. Ro. 10:9b-10  if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Lu. 9:23-24 23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.2 Cor. 5:17-20 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[c] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[d] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. In Perseverance (vv. 22-24) 1 Pet. 4:12-14 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 

Let us not be discouraged by the small beginnings of grace, but look on ourselves as elected to be "holy and blameless" (Eph. 1:4). Let us look on our imperfect beginning only to encourage us to strive more toward perfection and to maintain a low opinion of ourselves. Otherwise, in cases of discouragement, we must consider ourselves as Christ does, who looks on us as those he intends to fit for himself.

Sabbath School panel discussion and insight by 3ABN pastors and teachers. This podcast episode follows 2026 quarter 1, lesson 6 of the adult Bible study guide book. This quarter's book topic is “Uniting Heaven and Earth. Christ in Philippians and Colossians”, and this week's Sabbath School lesson is titled “Confidence only in Christ”. Join us every week for a fresh and relevant study of the word of God.  Reading: Phil. 3:1-16; Rom. 2:25-29; John 9:1-39; Eph. 1:4, JO; 1 Cor. 9:24-27. Memory Text: "That I may know Him and the power of His resur­rection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10, 11, NKJV). (January 31 - February 6)  Sunday – Jill Morikone - Rejoicing in the LordMonday – John Lomacang - Paul's “Past Life”Tuesday – John Dinzey - The Things That MatterWednesday – John Lomacang - The Faith of ChristThursday – Shelley Quinn - Just One Thing--Knowing Christ Want the Panelists' notes? You can sign up here: https://3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com/notes/  Questions or Comments? Email us at mail@3abn.org Donate: https://3abn.org/donate-quick.html

Our sin has a cost, in our own lives and others.  All sin leads toward death, and our great God is the source of life.  He wants us to leave behind the things that harm us. (Ex 27, Ex 38, Lev 1-7, Heb 8:5a, Rev 21:22, Heb 9:22, Acts 17:25, John 1:4, John 14:6, James 1:14-15, Eph 2:1, Eph 2:4-6, Heb 9:26, Heb 9:28, Heb 7:27, Eph 5:2, Is 1:18, Rom 12:1, 2 Cor 5:17)

Leviticus study; Offerings rituals; Jesus was NOT a socialist; Defining Capitalism and Socialism; Means of production; Economic and political systems; What you produce is yours; The Jacob difference; Welfare from governments taken from your neighbor; System of Altars; Freewill offerings; Tithing; Sharing; Blood and sweat in the products you produce; Private property rights; Quotes on Kingdom Capitalism; Gen 1:28; Dominion?; Gen 34:10; Saving the compromised; Lev 25:10; Jubilee; Moses' provisions; Empowering the people; God wants you to own your labor; Be fruitful and multiply; Oba 1:17; Income tax; Fleshpots; Separation of Church and State; Is taxation theft?; 2 Thess 3:10; Biting your neighbor; Matt 25:14 Talents; Common sense?; Prov 10:22; Inheritance tax; Right to choose; Eph 4:28; Why altars and priests?; Early Christian communities; Private religion; Seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; 1 Tim 6:6; Human resources; Repentance; Love of money?; philaguria = covetousness; Acts 4:32 All things common; Squirrels and honeybees; Corporate capitalism?; Family - first corporation; Police?; Perfect savages?; Property rights; Consent; Buying/Selling interest; Intellectual property rights; People's courts; "Copyright"; Seeing your covetous practices; Q from Isabelle: Who is my neighbor?; "Love thy neighbor as thyself"; Your influence; Keyword = "love"; Telling neighbor the truth; God is love - inspiration in your heart; "Milk and meat"; Altars of clay and stone; Weakening the poor; Minister's mission; Men exploiting men; Follow Christ - Strengthen your society.

Pleasing God over people is a tension every believer faces. This Christian devotional explores the difference between people-pleasing and God-honoring obedience, drawing wisdom from Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 and the life of Jesus. True biblical love is not rooted in appeasement or fear of conflict, but in discerning when to speak truth, when to remain silent, and when obedience to God requires courage over comfort. Highlights People-pleasing and peace-making are not always the same Biblical love values truth over appeasement There is a God-appointed time to speak and a time to remain silent Jesus modeled courage, truth, and discernment in every situation Fear of man can prevent growth and obedience God equips believers with the right words when we trust Him Pleasing God sometimes requires speaking up, not staying quiet Do you want to listen ad-free? When you join Crosswalk Plus, you gain access to exclusive, in-depth Bible study guides, devotionals, sound biblical advice, and daily encouragement from trusted pastors and authors—resources designed to strengthen your faith and equip you to live it out boldly. PLUS ad free podcasts! Sign Up Today! This episode is sponsored by Trinity Debt Management. If you are struggling with debt call Trinity today. Trinity's counselors have the knowledge and resources to make a difference. Our intention is to help people become debt-free, and most importantly, remain debt-free for keeps!" If your debt has you down, we should talk. Call us at 1-800-793-8548 | https://trinitycredit.org TrinityCredit – Call us at 1-800-793-8548. Whether we're helping people pay off their unsecured debt or offering assistance to those behind in their mortgage payments. https://trinitycredit.org Full Transcript Below: How to Please God Above ManBy Kelly Balarie Bible Reading:“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.” – Eccl. 3:1-2 NIV I knew if I gave in, the argument would be over. Yet, I also knew if I said, "You're right," I'd be lying. In reality, there is a difference between people-pleasing and peace-making. They are not always one and the same. In the past, I'd be inclined to lie to keep the peace. I'd be inclined to brush things under the carpet of don't-lift-up-the-corner-of-this-rug for anything—to keep everyone happy. I'd be inclined to adapt to make sure everyone is okay. This is not biblical love, but it verges more towards manipulative love. Appeasing man is not always the same as pleasing the Lord. We must be careful here. There is a time for everything under the sun. “There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens:a time to be born and a time to die,a time to plant and a time to uproot…” (Eccl. 3:1-2) There is a time to speak truth and a time to be quiet. There is a time to bring clarity and a time to listen. There is a time to defend and a time to back off. There is a time to pray, and there is a time to say things. Jesus didn't always back away; sometimes He spoke truth. He called out the Pharisees and told them the truth when they fought Him (Matt. 23:27-28). He said, "Forgive them" aloud when He was being crucified (Luke 23:34). He addressed the Pharisees' lack of mercy with a straightforward address (Matt. 23:23). He powerfully used His words and actions to drive the merchants out of the temple (Matt. 21:12-13). The list goes on and on... Jesus did not always stay silent. To turn the other cheek does not always mean taking it... There is a time to speak up. There is a time to not fear man. There is a time to tell the truth. The key is to pray and discern what God would have you do (Eph. 5:17). Sometimes things never change because we never change our approach. Sometimes ruts continue because we don't trust God to equip us with the right words. Sometimes habits continue because we fear man more than we believe God will help us. Don't mistake fear of man for fear of the Lord. The Lord may have you speak up louder than the fear of man has ever permitted you to. This is not unbiblical; it may be monumental in your walk with the Lord. The answer is not always silence. Sometimes the way that most pleases God is speaking up. Wisdom is knowing the difference. Lying is sinning, even if it is pursuing peace-making. The question is—how do we be true, while being godly and loving? Sometimes, this requires pausing to seek God for what needs to be said. Other times, it may require praying to get a couple of levels deeper than what is on the surface. The ultimate key is to respond to a person from God's will and not to react from our own. Intersecting Faith & Life: How do you tend to react? Do you negate your feelings? Do you cover the truth to keep peace? How might God be leading you in a new direction? Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Newlyweds, a promotion, a new house, a baby - new things, new experiences are great aren't they? But eventually the shine comes off and life falls into the same routine. Would you like to know how to keep the joy and the wonder in your work and relationships? Then join Chip as he shares how you can overcome personal stagnation.All living things are either growing or dying.Growth is exciting!Growth comes from God!Growth is not automatic!Growth is difficult!Growth can be stymied, thwarted, stagnated, and retarded!7 Keys to Personal Growth:People Who Grow . . .Live daily with the END IN VIEW. -Matt 5:48; Eph 4:13; Rom 8:29Make a PERSONAL COMMITMENT to grow. - Luke 9:23-25; 1 Tim 4:7-8Value PROCESS more than event. -Heb 5:11-14Cultivate stimulating RELATIONSHIPS. -Heb 10:24-25; Pro 13:20Choose to become progressive RISK-TAKERS. -Heb 11:6; Luke 6:38Leverage life's HARDSHIP. -James 1:2-4Make time for SOLITUDE and SILENCE. -Mark 1:35Developing a Plan for Your Personal Growth:Make a commitment to grow TODAY!PRIORITIZE the area of your growth!Take one specific step this WEEK!Broadcast ResourceDownload MP3Message NotesAdditional Resource MentionsI Choose Love BookDaily Discipleship - Psalms of HopeConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Understanding how to live as people who no longer dwell in the darkness of sin; avoiding sexual sin, greed, obscene talk, etc.; living to please the Lord (based on Eph. 5:3-20) To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1213/29?v=20251111

Do you feel like you're stuck in a rut? You know, same job, same routine, day in and day out, same old thing. Would you like to learn how to break out of that rut and experience renewed joy and motivation? Join Chip as he shares how you can overcome personal stagnation.All living things are either growing or dying.Growth is exciting!Growth comes from God!Growth is not automatic!Growth is difficult!Growth can be stymied, thwarted, stagnated, and retarded!7 Keys to Personal Growth:People Who Grow . . .Live daily with the END IN VIEW. -Matt 5:48; Eph 4:13; Rom 8:29Make a PERSONAL COMMITMENT to grow. - Luke 9:23-25; 1 Tim 4:7-8Value PROCESS more than event. -Heb 5:11-14Cultivate stimulating RELATIONSHIPS. -Heb 10:24-25; Pro 13:20Choose to become progressive RISK-TAKERS. -Heb 11:6; Luke 6:38Leverage life's HARDSHIP. -James 1:2-4Make time for SOLITUDE and SILENCE. -Mark 1:35Developing a Plan for Your Personal Growth:Make a commitment to grow TODAY!PRIORITIZE the area of your growth!Take one specific step this WEEK!Broadcast ResourceDownload MP3Message NotesAdditional Resource MentionsI Choose Love BookDaily Discipleship - Psalms of HopeConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Do you feel like you're stuck in a rut? You know, same job, same routine, day in and day out, same old thing. Would you like to learn how to break out of that rut and experience renewed joy and motivation? Join Chip as he shares how you can overcome personal stagnation.All living things are either growing or dying.Growth is exciting!Growth comes from God!Growth is not automatic!Growth is difficult!Growth can be stymied, thwarted, stagnated, and retarded!7 Keys to Personal Growth:People Who Grow . . .Live daily with the END IN VIEW. -Matt 5:48; Eph 4:13; Rom 8:29Make a PERSONAL COMMITMENT to grow. - Luke 9:23-25; 1 Tim 4:7-8Value PROCESS more than event. -Heb 5:11-14Cultivate stimulating RELATIONSHIPS. -Heb 10:24-25; Pro 13:20Choose to become progressive RISK-TAKERS. -Heb 11:6; Luke 6:38Leverage life's HARDSHIP. -James 1:2-4Make time for SOLITUDE and SILENCE. -Mark 1:35Developing a Plan for Your Personal Growth:Make a commitment to grow TODAY!PRIORITIZE the area of your growth!Take one specific step this WEEK!Broadcast ResourceDownload MP3Message NotesAdditional Resource MentionsI Choose Love BookDaily Discipleship - Psalms of HopeConnect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Learning from our heavenly Father how to love others; what it means to walk in the way of love (based on Eph. 5:1-2) To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1213/29?v=20251111