Podcasts about iii john

Three rich, yet often overlooked, New Testament books are I, II, and III John. These “hidden” gems reveal fascinating insights about life in the early Church and impart apostolic wisdom on topics such as prayer, the sacraments, and the nature of love.

Three rich, yet often overlooked, New Testament books are I, II, and III John. These “hidden” gems reveal fascinating insights about life in the early Church and impart apostolic wisdom on topics such as prayer, the sacraments, and the nature of love.

Fourteen-year-old Emily Pike was found dismembered in Arizona.https://www.azfamily.com/2025/02/28/body-found-off-us-60-northeast-globe-identified-missing-girl/https://www.msn.com/en-us/public-safety-and-emergencies/general/mother-tears-up-after-missing-14-year-old-daughter-found-dismembered-she-was-a-baby/ar-AA1A6qgV?ocid=BingNewsSerphttps://people.com/missing-teen-found-dismembered-arizona-11689140Gun CrimeRobert Crimo IIIhttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trial-begins-accused-gunman-robert-crimo-highland-park-mass-shooting-j-rcna193746Crime News UpdateJohn Skeltonhttps://people.com/3-boys-never-returned-from-dad-after-thanksgiving-police-found-noose-note-bible-verse-circled-11690029https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.13abc.com/2023/09/01/parole-denied-john-skelton-will-remain-prison-until-november-29-2025/%3foutputType=ampJoin our squad! Kristi and Katie share true crime stories and give you actionable things you can do to help, all with a wicked sense of humor.Follow our True Crime Trials Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeSquadTrialsFollow our True Crime Shorts Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@truecrimesquadshorts-t6iWant to Support our work and get extra perks?https://buymeacoffee.com/truecrimesquadLooking for extra content?https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesquad*Social Media Links*Facebook: www.facebook.com/truecrimesquadFacebook Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215774426330767Website: https://www.truecrimesquad.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@truecrimesquadBlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/truecrimesquad.bsky.social True Crime Squad on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/5gIPqBHJLftbXdRgs1Bqm1Prison guards In New York State are striking. Here's what we know.https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-inmate-dies-prison-guards-continue-strike-deemed-illegal-under-state-law.amphttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.syracuse.com/news/2025/02/10th-guard-charged-in-fatal-beating-of-robert-brooks-at-central-ny-prison.html%3foutputType=amphttps://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/12/31/us/what-we-know-about-the-fatal-beating-of-robert-brooks-hnkhttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/news/robert-brooks-beating-marcy-correctional-facility-update/https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/02/25/sijg-f25.htmlDeath row inmate Richard Glossip has had his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court.https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-oklahoma-execution-glossip-84e11533cd8056051a7d778715073716Kelli Tedford arrested for urinating on produce at all grocery store in New Hampshire. https://people.com/grocery-store-worker-arrested-for-urinating-on-food-filming-videos-11685852Join our squad! Kristi and Katie share true crime stories and give you actionable things you can do to help, all with a wicked sense of humor.Follow our True Crime Trials Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeSquadTrialsFollow our True Crime Shorts Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@truecrimesquadshorts-t6iWant to Support our work and get extra perks?https://buymeacoffee.com/truecrimesquadLooking for extra content?https://www.patreon.com/truecrimesquad*Social Media Links*Facebook: www.facebook.com/truecrimesquadFacebook Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215774426330767Website: https://www.truecrimesquad.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@truecrimesquadBlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/truecrimesquad.bsky.social True Crime Squad on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/5gIPqBHJLftbXdRgs1Bqm1

“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.”‭‭III John‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬You don't follow crowd ,because they lead you to where you don't want or like!

In this message we learn...Even when we do not respond to the difficulties of life Jesus will do whatever it takes for His glory and our good!

Introduction II Timothy 1:16-18 – Onesiphorus is only mentioned in three verses. III John 1:12 – Demetrius only gets a commendation in one…

John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."   Jesus is saying that when His disciples went to others with the message of salvation, as He had done, some people would believe and others would not. Reaction to their ministry would be the same as reaction to His had been. He viewed their forgiving and retaining the sins of their hearers as the actions of God's agents.  If anyone believed the gospel, the disciples could tell the believers that God had forgiven their sins. If they disbelieved, they could tell them that God had not forgiven but retained their sins. Jesus had done this (cf. 9:39-41), and now His disciples would continue to do it. Thus their ministry would be a continuation of His ministry relative to the forgiveness of sins, as it would be in relation to the Spirit's enablement. This, too, applies to all succeeding generations of Jesus' disciples since Jesus was still talking about the disciples' mission.     22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. In His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus does not ask the Father to send the Spirit, which He has promised in chapters 14-16. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is not even mentioned in this prayer! How can this be? I believe that while our Lord prepared His disciples for the coming of the Spirit in the Upper Room Discourse, He did not intend to send the Spirit until after His ascension. In other words, the Holy Spirit would not come until Pentecost. Some suggest that in our text Jesus is temporarily bestowing the Spirit upon His disciples, until Pentecost comes. I don't agree. In the first place, John does not report anything out of the ordinary happening as a result of our Lord's actions. The disciples are not transformed, as they will be at Pentecost. The gospel is not preached. In fact, the next thing to happen in John's Gospel is that some of the disciples go fishing. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit was immediately bestowed upon the disciples at this moment, as a result of what Jesus says and does. I believe Jesus is symbolically bestowing the Spirit upon His disciples, although it will not actually take place until Pentecost. Jesus will have ascended to the Father then, and so this gesture indicates to the disciples that when the Spirit comes at Pentecost, it will be as a result of what Jesus had promised earlier, and symbolically indicates here.    I wish to be very clear here, both as to what I am saying, and as to what I am not saying. I am saying that our Lord is here symbolically bestowing His Holy Spirit on the church. This symbolic act will literally be fulfilled at Pentecost. Jesus wants it to be clear that it is He who is sending His Spirit to indwell and to empower His church. I am not saying that the Spirit is given at the moment Jesus breathes upon His disciples. I am not saying that this is a temporary bestowal of the Spirit, until the permanent coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. Specifically, I believe that what Jesus is symbolically bestowing is the coming of the Holy Spirit upon His disciples as those who will act as His apostles. Earlier, Jesus outlined some of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. For example, the Spirit would call Jesus' teaching to their minds. He would convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. But here, none of these ministries seems to be in view. Here, the Holy Spirit is given to the apostles so that they can either proclaim the forgiveness of sins, or the retention of sins. I do not think this text justifies some priestly hierarchy, who hears confessions and grants absolution from one's sins. Instead, I believe Jesus is giving the apostles the authority to declare men and women to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe we see an example of this in the Book of Acts: Acts 11:1-18, Furthermore there is no evidence that when Thomas returned to the scene Jesus gave him the Spirit as one would expect if the Spirit's presence was essential for the disciples then (v. 26-29) It also explains why this event had no changing effect on the disciples. Evidently there was only one coming of the Spirit on these disciples, and that happened on Pentecost. The ‘breathing' of the Spirit is John's way of describing the commissioning of Jesus' disciples. This is John's version of the great Commission given to the Apostles The disciples are now apostles — those who are sent to pioneer and protect the church. [i] He breathes on them and this raises another theological host of questions that is a great area of study on your own.  We know that when the disciples were on the earth they were His representatives.  They had His power at times.  We know that from the Gospel accounts that He sent them out and they performed miracles empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We know in the Old Testament that Saul had the Holy Spirit removed from Him and David even prayed after His own tragic sin, “Take not your Spirit from me.” Right?  So we know the Holy Spirit could empower and indwell believers, but the Holy Spirit was not a permanent resident until Pentecost, or Acts chapter two when the birth of the church and that fulfills the New Covenant and the Holy Spirit comes and indwells the believer.  So what's happening here is a great field of study.  I think a number of things are going on.  I think when you go back to Genesis 2:7 and I believe Jesus Christ, as a theophany, has made a dirt Adam on His hands and knees.  That's my sanctified imagination.  He's from the dirt of the ground.  He's formed a man in His image.  He breathes life into that dirt and it becomes a living man.  And Adam is made in His image, a bearer of His image.  The animal kingdom was not, Adam was.  This first Adam.  The second Adam, according to Romans two, is Jesus Christ without sin.  And now the second Adam has been buried and resurrected and He breathes on, imparting the new life of the Spirit that is only possible from the Holy Spirit from Christ.  He has to go to the Father to be able send the Spirit permanently.  So what's happening here seems to be not unlike how He empowered them perhaps in their ministry.  But pre-resurrection He somehow is imparting His Spirit to them in a unique way and then it's tied to this issue of the forgiveness of sins. Ezekiel 37:5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.  This is possibly an Aramaic idiom meaning “he gave them courage.” That encouragement was in the form of a promise of the Holy Spirit. It takes a monumental work of God to convince the Jews that God has purposed from eternity past to save Gentiles (see Acts 22:21-23). Our Lord had promised to send the Spirit, which He did at Pentecost. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit directed Peter to go to the house of a Gentile and to proclaim the gospel to those gathered in his house. The Spirit then came upon all those who had come to faith, thus indicating that the gospel (the forgiveness of sins) was not just for Jews alone, but for all who believe, Jew or Gentile. It is difficult for Gentile believers today to grasp how hard it was for Jews to accept the salvation of the Gentiles. Even the apostles found this difficult. As the Spirit came upon the apostles, this truth was embraced, proclaimed, and defended by them. By means of the Spirit's guidance and illumination, the truth that the gospel was for Jews and Gentiles was declared by the apostles, and particularly by Paul: Ephesians 2:11-22 23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Mt 16:19; 18:18 This relates both to those who share the Gospel and to those who respond by faith. Someone with the gospel knowledge chooses to share it and someone hears it and chooses to receive it. Both aspects are required. [ii] This verse does not give arbitrary authority to clergy, but wonderful life-giving power to believing witnesses! “Their sins have been forgiven them” The grammatical construction implies God's forgiveness, is available completely through gospel proclamation. Believers have the keys of the kingdom (cf. Matt. 16:19) if they will only use them. This promise is to the Church, not individuals. This is theologically similar to “the bound and unbound” of Matt. 18:18.[iii] Matthew 16:19 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth 8will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  John 8:32 set free This was a metaphor for gaining entrance. The keys are the proclamation of the gospel with an invitation to respond.[iv] Matthew 18:18 18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Forgiveness of sins Jesus mentions in verse twenty-three I do not think empowers an individual to absolve people of sin.  I think what He's saying here is that the message of the resurrection is forgiveness and when you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ raised from the dead, you must preach forgiveness.  Essentially what Jesus is saying here is the Gospel message must, in this context, include the issue of forgiveness.  And that we as believers are the only ones who have the proclamation of the forgiveness of sin.  Apart from Christ there is no forgiveness for our sins, that's the message, and only in Christ, only understanding the resurrected Christ, will you have the forgiveness of sin, according to the New Covenant.  Well, the disciples are to proclaim this and that's part of the mission that they will have. The Great Commission not only requires supernatural power to carry it out (v. 22), but it also involves the forgiveness of sins (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Matt.26:28). In the similar passages in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, the context is church discipline. Here the context is evangelism. The second part of each conditional clause in this verse is in the passive voice and the perfect tense in the Greek text. The passive voice indicates that someone has already done the forgiving or retaining. That person must be God since He alone has the authority to do that (Matt. 9:2-3; Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21). The perfect tense indicates that the action has continuing effects; the sins stand forgiven or retained permanently. Jesus appears to have been saying that when His disciples went to others with the message of salvation, as He had done, some people would believe and others would not. Reaction to their ministry would be the same as reaction to His had been. He viewed their forgiving and retaining the sins of their hearers as the actions of God's agents.  If people ("any" or "anyone," plural Gr. tinon) believed the gospel, the disciples could tell the believers that God had forgiven their sins. If they disbelieved, they could tell them that God had not forgiven but retained their sins. Jesus had done this (cf. 9:39-41), and now His disciples would continue to do it. Thus their ministry would be a continuation of His ministry relative to the forgiveness of sins, as it would be in relation to the Spirit's enablement. This, too, applies to all succeeding generations of Jesus' disciples since Jesus was still talking about the disciples' mission. All who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearer accepts or rejects the Lord Jesus as the Sin-Bearer." Who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7) All that the Christian can do is announce the message of forgiveness; [v] This resurrection appearance has threefold importance in John's Gospel. It validated again Jesus' bodily resurrection It provided the setting for the commissioning of Jesus' disciples. It also provided the background for Jesus' appearance when Thomas was present and Thomas' climactic statement of faith that followed (vv. 24-29). Lessons Trust God in every situation 2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Ro 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? god has given us peace and joy vs 20 Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.  21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! Romans 5:1-11 We have peace with God and the Peace of God and His Joy god has left us here to fulfill a mission Vs 21 As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." We are called to go tell others about Jesus and what He has done for us and give them peace, joy and freedom too   Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?              John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.               “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32             Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.              hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F             The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions   [i] Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed.) (529). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg. [ii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (179). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [iii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (179). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [iv] Utley, R. J. (2000). Vol. Volume 9: The First Christian Primer: Matthew. Study Guide Commentary Series (140). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International. [v] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 20:19). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."   The seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, commemorates God's finished work of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). The Lord's Day commemorates Christ's finished work of redemption, the 'new creation.' God the Father worked for six days and then rested. God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested. The Jewish Sabbath is associated with the Law: six days of work, and then you rest. But the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, is associated with grace: first there is faith in the living Christ, and then there will be works. We also see how our Lord transformed His disciples fear into courage. First, not only did Jesus come to them, but He reassured them. He showed them His wounded hands and side so they would know it was Him, and they would know He had risen from the grave. Lastly, Jesus gives them a new purpose.  The purpose of Jesus' incarnation was the spiritual salvation of the world (1:29). That also is our purpose.   19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." Mr. 16:14; Lu 24:36; 1Co 15:5 John moved his readers directly from the events of Easter morning to those that happened that evening. There were at least five Resurrection appearances of our Lord on that first day of the week: “the first day of the week” Sunday was the first work day, like our Monday. This became the meeting day of the Church to commemorate Jesus' resurrection. He Himself set the pattern by appearing in the Upper Room three Sunday nights in a row (cf. vv. 19, 26; Luke 24:36ff; Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:2). The first-generation believers continued to meet on the Sabbath at the local Synagogues and at the Temple on set feast days. However, the rabbis instituted a “curse oath” that required Synagogue members to reject Jesus as the Messiah. At this point they dropped the Sabbath services but continued to meet with other believers on Sunday, the resurrection day, to commemorate Jesus' resurrection.[i] Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the church epistles, but the Sabbath commandment is not repeated. "The seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, commemorates God's finished work of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). The Lord's Day commemorates Christ's finished work of redemption, the 'new creation.' . . . God the Father worked for six days and then rested. God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested.[ii] "For centuries, the Jewish Sabbath had been associated with Law: six days of work, and then you rest. But the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, is associated with grace: first there is faith in the living Christ, then there will be works." It was on the first day of the week—the same day that Mary saw Jesus—and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors. They were afraid of the Jews. They were disciples of Jesus, and He had just been crucified for sedition. And now, the story was circulating that they had stolen the body of Jesus (Matthew 28:11-15). Remember that the tomb was sealed by Rome, and guarded by Roman soldiers. The disciples may have felt in greater danger here than on any previous occasion. They must have been deeply troubled by the reports they had heard that Jesus was alive. What were they to think of all this? What were they to do? They did not know. And so the disciples met together behind locked doors. The PLURAL implies that both the downstairs and upstairs doors were locked. This was mentioned to (1) accentuate Jesus' appearance and (2) to show their fear of arrest. The disciples' initial reaction to Jesus' unexpected appearance was terror Lu 24:37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not I am with, be not dismayed, I am your God, I will help you” He told them 3 things in Chapter 14 and other comforting things in Ch. 13-17, if they had only listened and believed, they would not be hiding and afraid as they are now. John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I. Mark 16:12-14 - 12 After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 14 Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected . We are told that one disciple was missing—Thomas. What we miss when we do not assemble with the believers like we ought to. Heb 10:24-25.  We are not told why he was absent. There is no particular blame cast on him for his absence. In some miraculous way, Jesus enters the room, even though the door is locked. We do not know what the disciples saw, but John certainly leaves us with the impression that our Lord's entrance was unusual—one more proof of His resurrection. Our Lord twice repeated the words, “Peace be with you” (20:19, 21). This certainly reminds us of what Jesus had said earlier to these men: Jesus would have appeared to Mary and the other women by now, and they have already announced to the disciples that Jesus was alive. But the disciples refused to believe. Then, the two men who talked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus arrived to tell the disciples of their encounter with the risen Lord. Once again, the disciples refused to believe: Jesus' greeting was common enough (i.e., Heb. shalom 'alekem). However, He had formerly promised His disciples His peace (14:27; 16:33). Consequently He was imparting rather than just wishing peace on them. This seems clear because Jesus repeated the benediction two more times (vv. 21, 26). "Shalom" summarized the fullness of God's blessing, not just the cessation of hostility But the wounds meant more than identification; they also were evidence that the price for salvation had been paid and man indeed could have “peace with God.” The basis for all our peace is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He died for us, He arose from the dead in victory, and now He lives for us. Rom. 5:1; Phil. 4:7 "'Shalom!' on Easter evening is the complement of 'it is finished' on the cross, for the peace of reconciliation and life from God is now imparted . . . Not surprisingly it is included, along with 'grace,' in the greeting of every epistle of Paul in the NT." Ephesians 2:14–18 He [Jesus] himself is our peace, who has made us both one [Jew and Gentile] and reconciled us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. John 16:22 How did our Lord transform His disciples' fear into courage? For one thing, He came to them. [iii] Not only did Jesus come to them, but He reassured them. He showed them His wounded hands and side and gave them opportunity to discover that it was indeed their Master, and that He was not a phantom. John apparently focuses on the piercing of Jesus' side more than the other Gospels (cf. 19:37; 20:25). His feet are not mentioned except in Luke 24:39 and Ps. 22:16. Jesus' glorified body retains the marks of His crucifixion (cf. I Cor. 1:23; Gal. 3:1).[iv] He gave them a purpose a commission to fulfill 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." Mt 28:18; Joh 17:18-19; 2Ti 2:2; Heb 3:1 Jesus repeated His benediction (v. 19). He then commissioned His disciples for their mission from then on. He expressed this commission in terms of the relationships that John recorded Jesus teaching extensively in this Gospel. Jesus was sending His disciples on a mission just as His Father had sent Him on a mission (cf. 17:18). The emphasis here is on the sending and the authoritative person doing the sending. Thus Jesus' disciples became apostles (lit. sent ones) in a new sense. Jesus uses two different terms for “send.” In John these are synonymous. This is clearly seen in chapter 8, where pempō is used of Jesus' being sent by the Father (cf. 8:16, 18, 26, 29), yet apostellō is used in 8:42. This same thing is true of chapters 5 and 6. hath sent (send on a mission )me, even so send (send) you. 2 Corinthians 5:14–15 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that of One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.   Jesus apparently gave this commission on at least three separate occasions.  The reader of the Gospels can scarcely escape its crucial importance.  It expresses God's will for every believer in the present age. Some Christians believe that Jesus intended this commission only for His original disciples. They point to the fact that the writers of the New Testament epistles never referred to it. However even though they did not refer to it explicitly they clearly presupposed its validity for the whole church. They simply cast it in different terminology (e.g., 2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. The universal scope of the commission also argues for its continuation. ( Go into all the world) Third, the repetition of this commission five times suggests that Jesus intended all of His disciples to carry it out. Finally, this was the last charge that Jesus gave His disciples before He returned to His Father (Luke24:46-48; Acts 1:8). This fact also suggests that He intended it for all succeeding generations of disciples. Clearly on this occasion Jesus was presenting His mission as a model for His disciples' mission. Just as He left His home to go on a mission, He was asking them to do the same.  Many Christians have concluded, therefore, that what characterized Jesus' ministry must characterize the church's ministry. They see this mission including healing the sick, casting out demons, and feeding the hungry.  They believe that the church's mission is much broader than just preaching the gospel, baptizing, teaching, and planting churches. However the emphasis on Jesus' mission in John's Gospel has been primarily that Jesus always carried out God's will in perfect obedience (cf.5:19-30; 8:29). Even before His crucifixion Jesus stressed the importance of the believer's obedience as the fulfillment of this paradigm (15:9-10). The purpose of Jesus' incarnation was the spiritual salvation of the world (1:29). That is also the believer's primary, though not our exclusive, purpose Ga 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.). As Jesus always operated in dependence on the Father with the Spirit's enablement, so should His disciples (cf. 1:32; 3:34; 4:34; 5:19; 6:27; 10:36; 17:4). As He was a Son of God, so are His disciples sons of God (cf. 1:12-13; 3:3, 5; 20:17).        Since believers no longer belong to the world (15:19), it was necessary for Jesus to send His disciples back into the world. Our mission does not replace Jesus' mission, however.  He carries out His present mission through us. We must consider all the versions of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to understand our mission correctly, not just this one. The first recorded commission chronologically was evidently the one in Mark 16:15-16 and John 20:21-23. Matthew 28:19-20 appears to be another account of a later event. Likewise Luke 24:46-48 and Acts 1:8 seem to be two versions of one incident, the last giving of the commission.             What is central to the Son's mission—that he came as the Father's gift so that those who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life (3:16), experiencing new life as the children of God (1:12-13) and freedom from the slavery of sin because they have been set free by the Son of God (8:34-36)—must never be lost to view as the church defines her mission." “Lord” This title is used here in its full theological sense which relates to YHWH of the OT (cf. Exod. 3:14). Applying an OT title for God the Father to Jesus was one way NT authors affirmed Jesus' full deity. Jesus and John reminded all disciples of these central issues in the verses that follow (cf. vv. 23, 30-31).   Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?              John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.               “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32             Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.              hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F             The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions   [i] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (178–179). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 20:19). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [iii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 20:19). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [iv] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (179). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.   On this first day of the week Mary goes to the tomb and seeing the stone has been moved decides that they have stolen the body of Jesus. She goes and gets Peter and John and they come running. When they get there John glances in, Peter looks a little harder and is puzzled because he sees the grave wrappings lying there in their proper place. This is a day that seems to be the worst ever in that not only has Jesus died, but they have stolen His body too. It is actually the best day to ever have happened, because this is the day that Jesus rose from the grave, proved He was God, and showed that He had done everything necessary to pay for the sins of the whole world. This is the Good News, the Gospel, that Jesus died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose the third day according to the Scriptures (1Corinthians 15:3-4).  Is this what you believe and are you trusting in it for your salvation?   In a 24‑hour period leading up to and including His death on the cross there were 28 specific Old Testament prophecies fulfilled to the letter, and in addition to that, there were many types fulfilled. Now as we see Jesus Christ conquer death, we are going to see some additional fulfillment of prophecy doubly verifying to us that He is in fact God. The fact that John continued his account and shared the excitement of the Resurrection miracle is proof that Jesus Christ is not like any other man. He is, indeed, the Son of God." This is The best news ever told. Most important news in human history. ‘He is not here. He has risen' see Matthew 28:6. His death, burial, and resurrection will affect the destiny of us all! Gospel: power of God for salvation. The Gospel challenges the intellect, challenges emotions and challenges the will. "For John, as for all the early Christians, the resurrection of Jesus was the indisputable fact upon which their faith was based; and their faith in large part depended on the testimony and transformed behavior of those who had actually seen the resurrected Jesus. Their Master was not in God's eyes a condemned criminal; the resurrection proved that he was vindicated by God, and therefore nothing less than the Messiah, the Son of God he claimed to be . Ro 1:4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 1Co 15:14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Ro 4:23 ¶ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. We are at the climactic point in John's Gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and in fact we're looking at the Sunday morning event, the first day of the week. I know there's been some talk throughout history about the three days that Jesus was dead. Did He die on Friday? Did He die on Wednesday? What is your take on how we understand the chronology of the events?  Roman versus Jewish calendar, Sabbath begins at twilight on what we would call Friday. And so the crucifixion takes place sometime Friday afternoon and so that would be day one. So we have the one day and then the second day is Saturday and then the third day is technically Sunday. The first day of the week is when He is resurrected. So when He says "Tear down this Temple and in three days -- I'll raise it up again," that doesn't necessarily mean 72 hours. I just think it's the way they view a calendar. We think of 72 hours, but to them a day was the course of what happened during that time frame, so Friday, Saturday and then the first day of the week, Sunday; three days. Before we concentrate on John's account of the burial and resurrection of our Lord, allow me to call your attention to the contribution of the Synoptic Gospels. Matthew's Gospel has some especially important information, which enhances our study in John. Matthew informs us of the request the Jewish religious leaders made of Pilate after the death and burial of Jesus. They remembered that Jesus claimed He would rise from the dead after three days: Matthew 12:39-40- 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” ( also Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; John 2:19). Even though the disciples had forgotten our Lord's words about His resurrection, the Jewish religious leaders had not: Matthew 27:62-66 -62 The next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.' 64 So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “Take a guard of soldiers. Go and make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went with the soldiers of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. In my mind's eye, I can see the smug look of satisfaction on the faces of those who had brought about the death of our Lord. What could be more perfect? The body of Jesus was in a chamber hewn out of rock, with a very large stone sealing the entrance to the tomb. Once the stone was “sealed,” no one would dare to try to steal the body of Jesus, to make it look as if He had been raised from the dead in fulfillment of His own prophecies. And to be doubly sure, guards were posted at the tomb so that no one could gain access to the body of Jesus. These guards would terrify anyone who dared to attempt to gain entrance to the tomb. Matthew's account shows how useless these efforts were to “contain” the Son of God: (Matthew 28:2-4) 2 And there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled back the stone, and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. Did the Jewish religious leaders hope to strike terror into the hearts of our Lord's disciples to prevent them from attempting to steal the body of Jesus from that tomb? It was not the disciples they were opposing; it was God. The guards were no match for the angels, and a sealed stone was no match for an earthquake. In an instant, every barrier to that tomb was removed. And to think that the women had wasted their time worrying about how they would remove that stone (see Mark 16:3)! It was the Roman guards who were “all shook up” by the earthquake. They were petrified with fear at the sight of the angel of the Lord. I don't think you need to be reminded of this, but that stone was not removed so that Jesus could get out of the tomb (see John 20:19). The stone was removed to make it completely clear to those outside that Jesus was not inside—that He had been raised from the dead, just as He had said. "In each of the following [resurrection appearances] we will discover a pattern with the following features: (1) The beneficiaries of the appearance are engulfed in a human emotion (Mary, grief; the disciples, fear; and Thomas, doubt). (2) The risen Christ appears to them in the midst of their condition. (3) As a result, their condition is transformed (Mary, mission; the disciples, gladness; Thomas, faith)." "With Mary, the emphasis is on love; with the ten, the emphasis is on hope; and with Thomas, the emphasis is on faith." Mary's Distress, Love, and Devotion 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Mt 28:1; Mr. 16:1; Lu 24:1 "The first day of the week" was Sunday. It is interesting that all the Gospel writers referred to the day of Jesus' resurrection this way rather than as the third day after His death. Now the first day of the week is Sunday and so Sunday morning this group of women, John records Mary Magdalene only, but there's a group and she'll use a plural pronoun here that will tip there's a group there, but the Synoptics talk about a group of women. She probably beat them there. All Synoptics indicate she was the first one on the scene. So Mary of Magdala appears. Although John's Gospel does not state the purpose of Mary's visit, Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56 mention that several women (cf. v. 2) came early to anoint Jesus' body with spices. Apparently they did not know of Joseph and Nicodemus' anointing or thought it needed to be supplemented.[i] Perhaps John mentioned Mary Magdalene and none of the other women because of the testimony that she gave after she had seen Jesus (v. 18). Her devotion to Jesus Christ was probably born out of the fact that she was delivered of seven demons and that she had been a very oppressed individual. From whom much is forgiven, there is much love in this story. She has a great love for Jesus Christ and so the Gospels, all of them, say, "Look she was the first one to go to the tomb early in the morning." Lu 7:47 "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." This tomb had been closed with a large rock door (Mark 16:3-4) and had been sealed by the authority of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27:65-66). The women were amazed to see an open and apparently empty tomb. [ii] So we see her love. In Mark sixteen, the women are worried about who's going to move the stone. Of course if you know a little bit of the harmonization, an angel has descended, an earthquake occurred, Matthew twenty-eight, and it says the angel lifted up or moved the stone and sat on it. From the other gospel accounts we have one in the tomb as well who talks to them. So we have some issues of timing and chronology that John does not detail. We have no guard; the guard is gone. The stone is removed, an angel has shown up to tell them and he says, "Go tell His disciples and Peter."  2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." Joh 13:23; 19:26; 21:7,20,24 Mary was to experience a far greater blessing than she could have imagined at this dark moment in her life, no doubt the darkest she had ever known. She had been delivered from bondage to Satan. She had been privileged to follow her Lord and to help support Him and His ministry. She had placed all her faith and hope in Him, and yet He had been put to death as a criminal. That was bad enough, but now she thought that she would not even be able to honor His memory by properly anointing His body for burial. It couldn't get any worse—or so she thought. But the truth was that it could not get much better. How slow we are to see God's richest blessings in the things which appear to be great adversity! Mary first assumed that grave robbers had stolen Jesus' body. Evidently robbing graves was not uncommon around Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 28:13-15). But it's very typical of what a hewn tomb would look like. You go inside and you see this sort of shelf that they've carved and you see this area and when their hewing the rock, it would make sense that you would want to remove as little room material as you have to, right, because it's stone you're dealing with. So leave ledges in place to lay the bodies on. That would be a very typical First Century stone hewn tomb that Jesus might have been buried in. Well they don't understand the story yet. They don't understand what's happened. They haven't figured it out. In fact they think the body has been stolen. That's the implication from all the texts.  3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. Lu 24:12 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.  5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Joh 19:40 “stooping” The tombs of this period had a low entrance about 3 to 4 feet high. One would have to bend down (cf. v. 11) to enter the cave/dugout.[iii] I want to point out a number of things here. We have Peter and his personality running in the tomb. Some presume John is younger so he wins the foot race. In any event, there's three words that John the Gospel writer uses for the word, in English, “saw“; to see something, past tense. I want to show you these words because they're all different in the original language and John does this for a wonderful point. So first of all they run into the tomb and John gets there early and the tomb or the hole was probably low to the ground, so he stoops in and takes a quick glance. The word is blepo. It's like a little quick peek. He glanced. And then maybe he leans back and stands aright waiting for Peter to catch up. If grave robbers had removed the body, they would have undoubtedly taken the expensive cloth with which Joseph and Nicodemus had prepared it for burial. John may have assumed that Jesus' body was still there since the light was bad at that hour. Perhaps John did not enter the tomb because he did not want to violate its sanctity or incur ritual defilement. Peter's Perplexity  6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, Peter, as was his personality, huffing and puffing runs right in the tomb and he's looking around. Notice in verse five you have the word "sees" meaning he took a quick glancing look, but in verse six the word is theoreo, which in English is to theorize or to make a theory. So where John takes a quick glance, Peter goes in and we kind of see him scratching his head. He is absorbing the information. He is developing a theory based on what he sees. So John takes a quick look; Peter takes a longer studious look. When Peter arrived at the tomb, he barged right in, probably because he wanted to know exactly how things stood regardless of the consequences. He also beheld (Gr. theopei, beheld intently) the linen burial clothes (Gr. ta othonia) but also the cloth that had covered Jesus' face (Gr. soudarion, cf. 11:44). Evidently John could not see this from his vantage point. It's distance from the other clothes and the care with which someone had positioned it were unusual. Jesus was obviously not there, but someone had been there. Lying there means - Undisturbed and in their proper place  7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Joh 11:44  Head piece resembles a ball of cloth that was wrapped around something that was no longer there The orderly arrangement of everything in the tomb marks the absence of haste and circumstances in the awakening and rising from the dead. When he arrived, he seems to have entered the tomb without giving it a thought. Peter came out scratching his head, so to speak. It was a mystery to him, one that he couldn't reason out. The body of Jesus was definitely gone, but the scene inside the tomb was not what one would expect if the grave had been robbed. And where were the guards? Who had moved the stone? What was going on? Peter simply didn't know According to Luke 24:12 Peter went away “wondering” still. Lu 24:12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. What we do know from the text are two things. The body is not there and the wrappings are. If you were a grave robber kneeling down into some stone hewn crypt to bring out a body, would you go to the trouble to unwrap the sticky gooey substance and leave the wrappings in and neat pile and take a naked corpse out? That by the way has been scourged and hemorrhaged and bleeding and stuck with a spear in the side, don't forget. If you are a grave robber, it's a lot neater to pick up the package, isn't it? So what John wants you and me to see is that the body's not there but the wrappings are. So we sort of scratch our head along with Peter and with John. Look at verse eight: It was not the scene of a grave robbery, for no robbers could have gotten the body out of the grave clothes without tearing the cloth and disarranging things. Jesus had returned to life in power and glory and had passed through the grave clothes and the tomb itself!        Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?              John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.               “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32             Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.              hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F             The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions [i] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (176). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [ii] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Jn 20:1–2). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [iii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (177). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

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12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. The commander (Gr. chiliarchos, cf. Acts 22:24, 26, 27, 28; 23:17, 19, 22) in view was the officer in charge of the Roman soldiers. He was evidently the person with the most official authority on the scene. However the Jewish officers (i.e., temple police) also played a part in Jesus' arrest. Perhaps John noted that they bound Jesus in view of Isaiah's prophecy that Messiah's enemies would lead Him as a lamb to the slaughter (Isa. 53:7). Jesus' disciples abandoned Him when His enemies took him into custody (cf. Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50). So begins 6 illegal trials – See Chuck Swindoll's graph 3 Jewish Trials and then 3 Roman Trials  13 And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. Mt 26:57; Lu 3:2 The words, They … brought Him first to Annas, provide information not given in the other Gospels.[i] In the OT the high priesthood was for life and stayed in the lineage of Aaron. However, the Romans had turned this office into a political plumb, purchased by a Levitical family. The high priest controlled and operated the merchandising in the Court of the Women. Jesus' cleansing of the Temple angered this family.[ii] Both high priests evidently occupied the same building. One was Annas, the former high priest whom the Jews still regarded as the legitimate high priest since the high priesthood under the Mosaic Law was for life. He served as the official high priest from A.D. 6 to 15 when the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus deposed him. Five of Annas' sons plus his son- in-law, Caiaphas, succeeded him in this office. Consequently it was natural that the Jews regarded Annas as the patriarch and the true high priest and that he continued to exert considerable influence throughout his lifetime. The other high priest was Caiaphas, Annas' son-in-law whom the Romans had placed in the office in A.D. 18 where he remained until A.D.36. Annas was the first of the two men to interview Jesus.  14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. John 11:50 John doubtless identified Caiaphas as he did here to remind his readers of the prediction of Jesus' substitute sacrifice (11:50), not just to identify Caiaphas. This identification also makes unnecessary a full recording of the  deliberations  that  led  to  the  Sanhedrin's  verdict.  That  record  was already available in the Synoptics and was therefore unnecessary in John's Gospel.  15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. Mt 26:58; Mr. 14:54; Lu 22:54 This is a very strong term for “acquaintance” and seems to mean a “close friend” (cf. Luke 2:44 and 23:49). [iii] There has been much discussion as to the identity of this other disciple: (1) the traditional theory has been that it is the Apostle John because of a similar phrase used of him in 20:2, 3, 4, and 8. Also, another possible connection is with John 19:25, which names John's mother, who could possibly be a sister of Mary, which means he may have been a Levite and therefore a priest (cf. Polycarp's testimony). (2) this may have been a local unnamed follower like Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea because of their association with the high priest and his family (cf. vv. 15–16). As the other evangelists, John alternated his account of the events surrounding Jesus' religious trial. He described what was happening in the courtyard (vv. 15-18), then what was happening inside (vv. 19-24), then what happened outside again (vv. 25-27). This literary technique contrasts Jesus with Peter.  16 But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. Mt 26:69; Mr. 14:66; Lu 22:54  17 Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." She asked Peter if he was one too, expecting a negative reply, as the Greek text makes clear. Her question reflected some disdain for Jesus. Peter succumbed to the pressure of the moment and denied his association with Jesus (13:37). Perhaps what he had done to Malchus made him more eager to blend into his surroundings.  18 Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself. Peter's denial before the servant girl was a striking contradiction to his earlier boast to lay down his life for Jesus (13:37), and his show of offense in cutting off Malchus' ear (18:10). Evidently the other disciple was also in danger (perhaps greater) but he did not deny Jesus. Peter stood by the fire … warming himself in the cold spring evening, Jerusalem being about 2,500 feet above sea level. This little detail about the cold evening is another indication that the author of this book was an eyewitness. Peter not only denied Jesus, but He also stood with Jesus' enemies as they warmed themselves in the courtyard of the high priest's large residence. Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”   19 The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. John's version of Peter's denial is quite similar to those of the other Gospel writers, but His revelation of Jesus' interrogation by Annas is unique. None of the other evangelists mentioned it. He probably asked Jesus about His disciples to ascertain the size of His following since one of the religious leaders' chief concerns was the power of Jesus' popularity. Annas' interest in His teachings undoubtedly revolved around who Jesus claimed to be (cf. 7:12,47; 19:4). Both subjects were significant since many of the Jews suspected Jesus of being a political insurrectionist. From our Lord's answer it would seem that “His disciples” were understood to be some secret party. [iv] 20 Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Mt 26:55; Lu 4:15; John 7:14,26,28; 8:2 He ignores the first question so as to protect his disciples, takes the attention off the disciples and puts it on Himself He was assuring Annas that His teachings were not subversive. He did not have two types of teaching, a harmless one for the multitudes and a revolutionary one for his disciples. He invited Annas to question His hearers, not just His disciples,  to  determine  if  He  had  indeed  taught  anything  for  which someone might accuse Him of being disloyal. The testimony of witnesses was an indispensable part of any serious trial in Judaism. De 17:6 "Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.  21 "Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said." This seems to imply that He saw the attempt to draw Him into self-incrimination, and resented it by falling back upon the right of every accused party to have some charge laid against Him by competent witnesses. [v] He indicts them by showing they don't care about justice by asking for witnesses which they don't produce.  22 And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Do You answer the high priest like that?" The Greek word rhapisma translated "blow" (NASB) means a sharp blow with the palm of the hand. Jesus' response to this attack was logical rather than emotional or physical. He simply appealed for a fair trial (cf. Acts 23:2-5). The man who stuck Him was not treating Him fairly. This was a case of police brutality. Jesus had shown no disrespect for Annas.  Jer 20:2; Ac 23:2 Isaiah 50:6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And lMy cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.   23 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?" This shows that Mt 5:39 is not to be taken to the letter, but He did by going all the way to the cross. It was easier to evade the truth or to silence the One who spoke the truth than to attempt to answer the truth. Truth has a self-evident power of persuasion and those who oppose it find it difficult to deny. Jesus pressed this point and exposed their hypocrisy. They knew the truth but loved error. They saw the light but loved darkness  24 Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Mt 26:57 Annas  could  not  produce  anything  for  which  the  Sanhedrin  could condemn or even charge Jesus. Therefore he sent Jesus to Caiaphas. The descriptions of Jesus' hearings in the Gospels alternate between Jesus' interrogations and Peter's denials. It seems clear therefore that Annas and Caiaphas lived and interviewed Jesus in different parts of the same large residence or palace. Caiaphas had to interview Jesus to bring charges against Him before the Sanhedrin since Caiaphas was the current official high priest. John noted that Jesus remained bound as a criminal even though He had done nothing to warrant physical restraint. John did not record what happened when Jesus appeared before Caiaphas and, later, before the Sanhedrin (cf. Matt. 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66-71). Perhaps he omitted these aspects of Jesus' religious trial because the earlier Synoptic Gospels contained adequate accounts of them. Maybe John considered the meeting of the Sanhedrin that he described in 11:47-53 as Jesus' official condemnation.  25 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not!" Mt 26:69, 71; Mr. 14:69; Lu 22:58; 24:53 Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" Peter should not have followed at all since Jesus had gotten them out of trouble at the garden. There is some discrepancy among the four Gospels as to who asked the questions of Peter: (1) in Mark, it is a maid who asked the first question (cf. Mark 14:69); (2) in Matthew it is another servant girl (cf. Matt. 26:71); and (3) in Luke 22:58 it is a man. It is obvious from the historical setting that one person asked the question around the fire and the others joined in (cf. v. 18).[vi] Unlike the first two questions in vv. 17 and 25, this grammatical form expects a “yes” answer.  27 Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed. Mt 26:74; Mr. 14:72; Lu 22:60; John 13:38 Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  If you live too close to the world, you will get burned by the   He should have followed Jesus counsel and left.  He goes and denies Jesus 3 times, open to temptation Luke records Peter sits down at the fire with the wicked Lu 22:55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. No one is immune to failure, Even the mighty fall 1Co 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. This section Shows the Glory of God and the sinfulness of man Robert Robinson was just a small boy when his dad died. In 18th century England, there was little in the way of a social welfare system and this meant that he had to go to work while still very young. Without a father to guide and steady him, he fell in with bad companions. One day his gang of rowdies harassed a drunken gypsy. Pouring liquor into her, they demanded she tell their fortunes for free. Pointing her finger at Robert she told him he would live to see his children and grandchildren. This struck a tender spot in his heart. "If I'm going to live to see my children and grandchildren," he thought, "I'll have to change my way of living. I can't keep on like I'm going now." He decided to go hear the Methodist preacher George Whitefield. To cover his "weak" urge, he suggested that the boys go with him and heckle the gathering. Whitefield preached on the text: "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7). Robert left in dread, under a deep sense of sin that lasted for three years. Finally, at the age of twenty, he made peace with God and immediately set out to become a Methodist preacher himself. Two years later, in 1757, he wrote a hymn which expressed his joy in his new faith: Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love. This was printed the next year. At first people thought that Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon, a strong Methodist had written this. Eventually it was learned that Robert was the writer. In the last stanza, Robert had written: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love Take my heart, O take and seal it Seal it for thy courts above. Prone to wander Robert was. He left the Methodists and became a Baptist. Later on, having become a close friend of Joseph Priestly, he was accused of becoming a Unitarian. Priestly and other Unitarians denied the full divinity of Christ. However, in a sermon he preached after he supposedly became a Unitarian, Robinson clearly declared that Jesus was God, and added, "Christ in Himself is a person infinitely lovely as both God and man." Robert died on this day, June 9, 1790. Had he left the God he loved? A widely-told, but unverifiable, story says that one day as he was riding in a stagecoach a lady asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. He responded, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."     Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?              John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.               “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32             Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.              hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F             The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions [i] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Jn 18:12–14). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [ii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (162). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [iii] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (163). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International. [iv] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Jn 18:19). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. [v] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Jn 18:21). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. [vi] Utley, R. J. (1999). Vol. Volume 4: The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John. Study Guide Commentary Series (164). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

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In this new reflection, Jonathan shares the Biblical principles of teamwork and selflessness that should be found within the church community. Continuing from last week's reflection, "Are you walking in truth?", Jonathan recounts the story of Bill Romanowski, an incredibly talented former NFL player known for his less-than-ideal teamwork. His story is a modern parallel to the Biblical account of Diotrephes, who prioritized self-interest over communal harmony. Join us as we uncover what the Bible says about true servanthood and how we can walk as godly team members daily.After you listen to this episode, you may have questions. We would love to hear from you! To ask Jonathan a question or connect with the Candid community, visit https://LTW.org/CandidAlso, join the conversation on our social media pages:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candidpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/candidpodTwitter: https://twitter.com/thecandidpod 

Join Jonathan Youssef to navigate the complexities of truth and love. In this episode of Candid, Jonathan will examine the challenges of understanding these concepts, including whether absolute truth exists and the multifaceted nature of love.The conversation touches on the Christian perspective of being salt and light to a dying world that lacks an understanding of truth and love. It highlights the importance of living out the truth of our faith with love and patience in the community.Further, we explore the apostle John's transformation from a zealous youth to a wise elder who embodies truth and love. Through his letter to Gaius, we uncover the joys of faithfulness to the Gospel, the significance of hospitality, and how to discern true from false teachings. This episode aims to inspire a deeper understanding and practice of truth and love in listeners' lives. It encourages reflection on personal beliefs and actions in light of these foundational principles. Join us to explore how these ancient virtues remain relevant and transformative today.After you listen to this episode, you may have questions. We would love to hear from you! To ask Jonathan a question or connect with the Candid community, visit https://LTW.org/CandidAlso, join the conversation on our social media pages:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candidpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/candidpodTwitter: https://twitter.com/thecandidpodThis transcript recounts Candid Conversations with Jonathan Youssef Episode 244, Are You Walking in Truth?:Today I want to talk to you about Truth and love. These are two words with many different definitions. When I say truth and love, you don't even know what I could say next. I could say anything. Is it my truth? Is it your truth? Is it his truth, her truth, their truth? It's almost as if it's just a subjective topic, a subjective term. Is there anything like absolute truth?And love, my goodness, are we talking about romantic love, brotherly love, or agape love? Are we talking about love that is just tolerance and acceptance? Do we love each other only as long as we agree with each other? Or is it just a feeling or an emotion? Is love self-defined? Love is love.The world today is tied up into knots over these two terms. Can a person have truth and not love? Can a person have love but not truth? Here's the reality: I don't expect the world to get this right. I don't have a great hope that things will get a lot better at any point in time because this is not our home. But at the same time, I have not been called to run out into the hills and build a bunker and stock up on ammunition. We have been called to look at a dying world that does not know the truth and does not understand love, and we are called to be salt, and we are called to be light to them. We are called to encourage one another, to gather and praise God's name together, and to go out and witness to the world together because our message is far greater than any message they will ever hear. No matter your age or stage of life, if you put your saving trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, then your calling is to be obedient to the truth and to walk the truth out in love. A. W. Pink was a reformed theologian who wrote several great books and many fantastic sermons. His writing is so helpful; I've used several of his writings in research that I've done for other sermons. Martin Lloyd-Jones, who was succeeded by our dear friend R. T. Kendall at Westminster Chapel said, “Don't waste your time reading these other theologians,” like Karl Barth and Bruner. He said, “Go and read Arthur Pink. Read Pink.” Pink would tour around America and Australia preaching and teaching, but he was never well-known until after he died. Pink finished out his days living in isolation in Scotland with his wife. They never really became part of a church body. They never got situated with a good church community. Lloyd-Jones also said of Pink, “As it related to his inability to be patient with people and remain in a particular church, if I had behaved as Pink did, I would have achieved nothing. I could see that the only hope was to let the weight of truth convince people, so I had to be very patient and take a long-term look at things; otherwise, I would have been dismissed, and the whole thing would have been finished.”Pink was a man who was grounded in the truth and yet, for whatever reason, was not walking it out. And his own friends testified against him. That's why Scripture is very careful to teach us that we walk these two things out together—truth and love. We should be people who are marked by truth, strong in our convictions, and hold fast to the Word of God, by the Spirit of God, for the glory of God. But we should also be marked by love and generosity, grace and humility, hospitality, and care because all of these are the markings of Jesus's life and ministry on Earth.So, we read about these two things, truth and love, in the shortest letter in the Bible, John's third epistle. Before we go any further, let's take a minute and read from Third John:The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you are a faithful ... you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.John wrote the Gospel of John and First, Second, and Third John. He would also later write the book of Revelation. First John was written to a very general audience. Second John was written to a specific church. And this letter, Third John, was written to a very personal and specific person. Let's take a minute to get to know John. He was a disciple, and he was nicknamed by Jesus, with his brother James, the “sons of thunder”. When Jesus and the disciples were turned away from hospitality from a Samaritan village, it was James and John who went to Jesus and said, “Can we call for fire to come down to judge these people,” - a la Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Jesus rebukes them because his first coming was not one of judgment but to preach the good news, to bring healing, and to bring life. But compare John in his youth to this John here in writing his third letter, and he is referred to simply as “the elder.” John grew from a brash, arrogant young man filled with fire, to this wise, gentle, loving older man who is full of love and truth. What happened to John? How did he move from a son of thunder to the loving elder? What had he experienced? He had witnessed a lot. He had witnessed Jesus's teachings, Jesus' miracles, Jesus' preaching. He witnessed Jesus' patience with the disciples. He witnessed the transfiguration and saw Christ with Moses and Elijah, a depiction of the Law and the prophets. He also witnessed His Lord and Savior crucified on the cross. It was then he was given the position of caring for Jesus's mother, Mary. This is John, who would also see His Resurrected Lord and Savior. John is a man who has been used mightily by the Lord.And John is writing this letter to a man called Gaius. Now, we don't know anything about Gaius. He doesn't appear to be in any sort of leadership in the church that we can tell. All we see is Gaius's character, and that character is being reported back to John. We see that there was some conflict in the church over who was trustworthy. They wanted to know who they could believe.There are so many mixed messages. A preacher would travel from house church to house church and depend on other believers to show them hospitality. In John's second epistle he warns the believers not to welcome in or even greet the false preachers and teachers because that would only help them spread a false gospel. He's saying, “Do not endorse these people, but take the faithful in and welcome them.”So, what are the distinguishing marks between a false teacher and a faithful teacher? Now, these weren't denominational issues. They weren't in disagreement over infant baptism and believer's baptism. They disagreed over whether Christ had physically come in the flesh. John says, “Leave these people alone. Let them go on their way. The truth itself will testify to the faithful teachers.”In essence, he is saying, “If you are a believer who has heard and received the Gospel and your spiritual eyes have been opened, your spirit inside you will resonate with what is being taught and you will know a true teacher of the Gospel.”Teachers were dependent on hospitality. They didn't have Holiday Inn or Motel 6. This is why hospitality was such a major issue in the early church. When Jesus sends out the 12 and the 72, He tells them they will be provided for by people of peace. When Paul writes to the Romans, he fully expects that they will financially support his mission journey to Spain. And the book of Hebrews urges the hearers not to neglect hospitality to strangers. Two great needs, truth and love, together.So John writes to Gaius, verse 1, “The elder to the,” in the ESV, beloved, I'm going to use that term, “the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.”What does it mean to love in the truth? John says that Gaius continues to be faithful to the truth concerning Jesus Christ. And it is the truth that binds us together. We know love because we know the truth.John writes in his first epistle, 1 John chapter 3 verse 16, “By this, we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers because of the truth of the gospel.” Because of the gospel's truth, we are called to love one another. Strangers? Never heard of it, not in the church. I may not know your name, but we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We have more commonality than flesh and blood oftentimes do. Listen to what John writes in verse 2, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health as it goes well with your soul.”How does he know it's going well with Gaius's soul? We read it in the next verse: "For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.”John knows it is going well with Gaius's soul because he is living out the gospel's truth. They testified about his faithfulness to the gospel. Gaius is living out the truth of the gospel in love. He's walking in the truth.John emphasizes that Gaius's faithfulness involves his holding to true doctrine and his persistence and actions, which are consistent with what is in the doctrine. In verse 4, John says that his greatest joy is not that his 401(k) is strong, not that his children's academic and athletic successes are great, not that the design of his home is beautiful, nor that his favorite sports team won a big game. His greatest joy is that his children fellowship with him and actively walk in the truth.In each of his three letters—to the general church, to the specific church, and to the individual—he goes out of his way to say, “This is important to me. I'm conveying what brings me joy: that you are walking in the truth.”Gaius has remained faithful to the gospel. He has not fallen to the false teachings that were swirling around. And he is a source of the elder's greatest joy. Moms and dads, what is your greatest joy regarding your children? Is it that they are academically successful and get into a fantastic college? Is it that they are athletically successful and get scholarships? Is it in your position and the status of your vocation? Is it in the appearance of your home?And this goes beyond families because Gaius is not John's physical son; he's his spiritual son. And so when we are here together as a body, we are, again, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we're constantly putting forth and putting on display what we prize. I wonder if we went around and asked all the children, “What is it that your mom and dad prize, or your grandma and your grandfather?” What are we displaying as the greatest value to the next generation? But I also understand that this can be a source of great pain for many people. Your children may not be walking with the Lord, so instead of being a source of great joy, it is a source of great struggle and pain. I think John would give the word to those in that situation to remain in the truth and love. Don't take truth as a 2 x 4 to your children and try to beat them up with it, insisting that this is right. Your children will despise you for that, and they will despise the truth. But you walk this out in love, with compassion. Don't forget the truth. Instead, hold it together with love. That is the gospel's message as it was put on perfect display by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Then John praises Gaius for his hospitality to traveling preachers. “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testify to your love before the church.”His efforts for the faithful brothers is what John commends as faithful. It isn't just what Gaius believes is faithful, but also his actions. And it is because of what Gaius believes, what he has planted his faith in, that he can be faithful with his actions. Because if you're not planted in something faithful, your actions won't reflect faithfulness. But Gaius is planted in a living hope. He is planted in a resurrected hope. He is planted in an unconquerable hope. These believers go back to Ephesus, where John was, and they say, “We had an amazing time preaching in this little town. You wouldn't believe it. In this little town, there was a brother in Christ called Gaius, and he was a brother who was strong in the truth. And he was a brother who loved well. He took us in, cared for us, and introduced us to people in the church. He is a dear brother.”How good is it when people speak well of us? Have you ever been conversing with someone you didn't know very well, and you mention a friend, and that person immediately starts to gush over that person? “Oh, I love that person. They are so fantastic! Let me tell you. We were moving, and they came and helped us move.” And then you're sharing stories about how fantastic this person is, how much you love this person, how helpful and insightful they are, and what a blessing they are to know them. I remember in Australia, there was a well-known evangelist and preacher who was contemporaries with John Stott and Dick Lucas, and just like those two men, this man never married. And the Lord used their singleness to serve the global church so well. This man's name was John Chapman, and in typical Australian lingo, they shortened it incredibly and just called him Chapo. He was funny, he was kind, he was generous, he was hospitable. He was a mentor to my pastor in Sydney. He had done some work with Dad in the past as it related to evangelism.And I remember after Chapo died watching his funeral online. The Archbishop of Sydney got up and shared, and he mentioned how deep of an impact Chapo had on so many people. And then he said, “Why don't we all take a minute right now and have everyone just share your Chapo story with your neighbor?” I mean, I almost burst into tears because it was immediate. Not a second had passed, and the room was filled with smiles, laughter, love, and storytelling. And the problem was that they finally had to get up and say, “Stop. Be quiet. Stop. We have to keep going with the service.” Because they could have gone on like that for hours.I have a feeling that would have been Gaius. Maybe on a smaller scale, but that would have been Gaius. People would have gone on and on about how dearly he was loved and his impact on them. I wonder what people would say at a celebration of your life? Would people easily share what an encourager you have been and what a great help you were? Or would they talk about how you may have had your doctrine perfect, dotted every I, and crossed every T, but had no love, like Arthur Pink? There weren't universities, trade schools, or tertiary education in the first century. There were these philosophers who would gather in the town square and philosophize. They would just drone on and on about how their philosophy was right. Nothing has changed. They would try to attract hearers, and then they would start these schools with the hopes that some of these families would say, “We want to send our son to your school,” and then they would train them in that philosophy. Some thought that just as there were stoics, cynics, and epicureans, Christians would have a school like this, and then they would just train up their people like this, that they were just another philosophy of life.But Christians refused to take this money because Christians were not saying they were just another philosophy amongst the rest. They were announcing the Kingdom of God. They were telling people the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is not just a philosophy; that is a total worldview perspective that affects everything and everyone. So John says, “These men come in the name of Christ, preaching the word of Christ, and they refuse help from the pagans; therefore, we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”Now listen, I understand we may not be in the same position as Gaius or this church, but think about your missionary care and support. Think about your care and your support for ministries that strive to take the gospel to the lost and those on the outside. Think about how you care for and support the pastoral team in your church. Think about how you care for and support your small group leader; how you care for and support your Bible study leader. Think about what it means to support people in ministry. We are all fellow workers for the truth. Your support carries on our work as preachers. It allows for ministries like Leading The Way to exist, and that work leads to ultimate destinies being changed in people's lives. I read a letter from a young Muslim convert a while back. He was watching the Genesis series we did a while back and talked about how it served, blessed, encouraged, and equipped him. So, your support of the truth motivated by love is serving and blessing this community here and to the rest of the world. What a privilege it is to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, to be supportive of something outside ourselves. When we see that people are blessed and are walking in the truth, that can serve as our greatest joy. I want to leave you with three questions. It would be good to write them down and to think about them this week. First, where does your great joy come from? Second, do people speak well of you regarding truth and love? And finally, are you a fellow worker for the truth? I hope these will serve you well today, tomorrow, the week ahead, and the rest of your life. I hope that they will serve as great motivation.

2024-02-18 Morning Sermon

For the past couple of weeks, we've been looking at the team of 12 guys that Jesus did life with. First, we looked at Andrew and last week, we looked at James. These were regular guys around town, just like you and me. I wonder what Jesus was thinking? Today, let's look at John, one of the sons of thunder, author of the gospel of John as well as I, II, and III John. He outlived every other disciple. ________________________________________________________________ Look for HOPE is Here: - at www.HOPEisHere.Today - on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HOPEisHereToday - on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hopeisherelex/ - on X (Twitter) - https://www.x.com/hopeisherelex - on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@hopeisherelex - on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtJ47I4w6atOHr7agGpOuvA Help us bring HOPE and encouragement to others: - by texting the word GIVE to 833-713-1591 - by visiting https://www.hopeisheretoday.org/donate   #Lexington #Kentucky #christianradio #JesusRadio #Jesus #WJMM #GregHorn #GregJHorn #suicideprevention #KentuckyRadio #HOPEisHere #Hope #HopeinJesus #FoodForThoughtFriday #MondayMotivation #FridayFeeling #Motivation #Inspiration #cupofHope #FYP #ForYouPage #SuicideAwareness

The Morning Worship Service at Plainfield Christian Church in Comstock Park, MI Preacher: Bruce Wilson Youth Minister: Josh Antonopulos Children's Minister: Wade Harrier Worship Leader: Katie Winstanley Learn more at https://www.pccmi.org/ Songs: CCLI #2228009 Sermon: Stewardship Poverty Or Prosperity – Which Is Biblically Correct? Scripture: Mathew 6:24: Notes: Stewardship The Missing Piece to Successful Living Receiving Benefits as God's Steward JANUARY 21 “The Benefits of Lifestyle Stewardship” (Biblical Overview) Finding Balance as God's Steward JANUARY 28 “Poverty or Prosperity—Which is Biblically Correct?” Becoming Partners as God's Steward FEBRUARY 4 “One Plus One = ?” Accepting Responsibility as God's Steward FEBRUARY 11 “If God Owns It All, What Am I Doing With It?” Poverty Or Prosperity – Which Is Biblically Correct? January 28, 2024 Matthew 6:24 I John 2:15: “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” III John 2 “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” “Serve” -- “Master” -- Three words describe the owner/slave relationship: _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ No test of our true character is more conclusive than how we spend our time and our money. The __________ and the _________= Reflections of our priorities. _________________________-- The theory that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the highest value and greatest good in life. RANGE OF THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF PROSPERITY I_______________________I_______________________I Poverty Theology Stewardship Theology Prosperity Theology Observations: ________________________________________ ________________________________________ THREE PERSPECTIVES CONTRASTED POVERTY PROSPERITY STEWARDSHIP View of Prosperity Non-materialistic, disdain for possessions Prosperity is the reward of the righteous Possessions are a trust given in varying proportions In a Word, Possessions Are a curse a right a privilege Scriptural Reference Lk. 18:18-22 Sell, give to poor (rich young ruler) Mt. 7:7,8 Ask, seek, knock Mt. 25:14-30 Parable of talents Needs Met by “carefree attitude” Don't worry –seek kingdom 1st Mt. 6:25-34 What do you want to receive? Seed planting Lk. 6:38 What have you received? Proportionate giving Mal. 3:10; I Cor. 16:1-2 Concept Rejecter Owner Steward Attitude Toward Poverty We are = God's will We aren't = God's will God's will is not known by possessions Preoccupation Daily needs Money Wisdom Attitude Carefree (Pr. 3:5,6) Driven (Pr. 10:17) Faithful (Lk. 16:10,11) The Problems with a Poverty Theology: __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ The Problems with a Prosperity Theology: __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ The difference between seed planting and tithing: Tithing is ____________________________________________ Seed planting is _______________________________________ Tithing deals with what you _____________________________ Seed planting deals with what you ________________________ Financially blessed Christians often fall for one or more of these errors. ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Am I faithful to God in my … Time? ______________ Talents? ______________ Tithe? ______________

You are empowered with the favor and prosperity of God!

You are empowered with the favor and prosperity of God!

November 13, 2023 Hos. 8:1-9:17; Ps. 125:4-5; Prov. 27:15-16; III John 1:5-15

November 12, 2023 Hos. 6:1-7:16; Ps. 125:1-3; Prov. 27:14; III John 1:1-4

November 12, 2023 Hos. 6:1-7:6; Ps. 125:1-3; Prov. 27:14; III John 1:1-4

III John

He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/james-balson/support

Pastor Matt continues the One Hit Wonders sermon series. This week, we look at John's Third Letter.

Pastor Matt continues the One Hit Wonders sermon series. This week, we look at John's Third Letter.

III John by Sunday Sermons & Well Versed

Dean Miller starts off new sermon series on I, II, III John.

In this episode we finally get down and dirty with the big dog of Anglophone political philosophy, John Rawls. We discuss his 1993 book Political Liberalism, which expands on his earlier theory of justice to develop an account of the pluralistic tolerance at the heart of a liberal society characterized by the fact of a diversity of incommensurate but reasonable worldviews. We talk about what Rawlsian theory genuinely has going for it, but also pull no punches about the serious theoretical and practical limits to this most careful and aspirationally progressive exemplar of liberal political philosophy. But hey: don't worry, we can tolerate a good liberal.This is just a short clip from the full episode, which is available to our subscribers on Patreon:patreon.com/leftofphilosophyReferences:John Rawls, Political Liberalism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993). Music:Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

The Real Fans catch up on some of the big movies released over the past couple months including Plane, Cocaine Bear, Creed III, Dungeons & Dragons, John Wick: Chapter 4, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Renfield. Find more Real Fans 4 Real Movies on the internet: Web | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram   Rate, review, & subscribe to the RF4RM Podcast on: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Stitcher | TuneIn   Your feedback is appreciated. Send emails to podcast@rf4rm.com

Of John's five New Testament books, these three include a sermon and two personal letters, one of which may have been written to Mary, the mother of our Lord. His Gospel deals with our past: Salvation. Revelation deals with our future. John's First Epistle deals with our present: Sanctification. It has been called the New Testament sanctum sanctorum. John's bandwidth extends from the practical, the Christian's Bar of Soap", to the hyperspace of our resurrection body! John's second epistle appears to have been a personal letter to Mary, having been given into his responsibility at the Cross. If so, it has a number of profound implications. John's third, very brief, note deals with three people, all Christians: Gaius, the encourager; Diotrephes, a gossip; and Demetrius, an example to be imitated. This study contains 8 hours of verse by verse teachings. Copyright © 02-01-2010

Of John's five New Testament books, these three include a sermon and two personal letters, one of which may have been written to Mary, the mother of our Lord. His Gospel deals with our past: Salvation. Revelation deals with our future. John's First Epistle deals with our present: Sanctification. It has been called the New Testament sanctum sanctorum. John's bandwidth extends from the practical, the Christian's Bar of Soap", to the hyperspace of our resurrection body! John's second epistle appears to have been a personal letter to Mary, having been given into his responsibility at the Cross. If so, it has a number of profound implications. John's third, very brief, note deals with three people, all Christians: Gaius, the encourager; Diotrephes, a gossip; and Demetrius, an example to be imitated. This study contains 8 hours of verse by verse teachings. Copyright © 02-01-2010

Of John's five New Testament books, these three include a sermon and two personal letters, one of which may have been written to Mary, the mother of our Lord. His Gospel deals with our past: Salvation. Revelation deals with our future. John's First Epistle deals with our present: Sanctification. It has been called the New Testament sanctum sanctorum. John's bandwidth extends from the practical, the Christian's Bar of Soap", to the hyperspace of our resurrection body! John's second epistle appears to have been a personal letter to Mary, having been given into his responsibility at the Cross. If so, it has a number of profound implications. John's third, very brief, note deals with three people, all Christians: Gaius, the encourager; Diotrephes, a gossip; and Demetrius, an example to be imitated. This study contains 8 hours of verse by verse teachings. Copyright © 02-01-2010

Hi Friends!  I'm so excited to have one of my favorite Bible study teachers back on the show today, Jen Wilkin.  Jen is walking us through her latest Bible Study, Abide, about I, II, and III John.  John was the last living apostle at the time he wrote these letters and he touches topics that are super relevant to the church today.  Jen and I talk about what is plaguing the church today - individualism, immediate gratification - and you can't miss her “hot take” about our relationship with God!  This is a must listen conversation for the growing believer…and I'm glad you're here for it. Remember to share this episode with a friend- it would mean the world to me!Complete our listener survey.Mentioned in the show:You Are A Theologian releasing summer 2023 - Preorder HEREKnowing Faith Podcast HEREConnect With Jen:WebsiteInstagram - @jenwilkinTwitter - @jenniferwilkinFacebook - facebook.com/wilkinjen/Connect With Angie:Website https://www.chatologie.com/IG: @angiebrownelkinsTwitter: @AngieelkinsFacebook: @chatologieangieelkinsProduced and Edited by Lainie ThomasContact: lainie@angieelkinsmedia.com for more info

KILL SHOTS AND THE BEGINNING OF WW III- JOHN MOORE

In today's uncertain world, patients are dealing with more and more stress and anxiety that ultimately impacts their health. Patients sometimes have "hidden unhealed triggers" that can lead to physical impairments. III John 2 states "Above all brethren, I desire you to prosper and be in Health, even as your soul prospers." In this session, the participant will learn how to "tend to their souls" and learn to identify areas of brokenness that patients are dealing with such that they are equipped to help patients tend to their souls, in an effort to propagate physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Guest host Grant Stinchfield talks about Biden's '60 Minute' speech, the failure of leadership on January 6, and the Mexican-American Border Crisis.Support the show: https://www.sebgorka.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I was two years old, my parents were divorced and I was reared by my grandparents who faithfully sent me to church. At twelve years of age, I accepted Christ as my Savior; however, it was not until I was sixteen that I became serious about serving the Lord. While I was attending a funeral, God called me to preach—a decision I made public in the next church service. I began to study my Bible and to listen to Oliver B. Green, Harold Sightler, Dr. M. R. DeHaan and other great preachers on the radio. I also began to read books by Dr. John R. Rice, R. A. Torrey and other great preachers. The Lord revolutionized my life! At age seventeen I joined the United States Marine Corps as an opportunity to serve my country and be a witness to my fellow Marines. I married Linda Burrell in 1969 and we set out to serve the Lord together. In 1970 we moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to attend Tennessee Temple University. Before I took my first class, God used a small article in the Baptist Bible Trumpet, published by Dr. John Waters, to burden my heart about reaching Muslims in the Sahara. The article was written by Dr. Dan Truax, who became my Director for many years. I graduated from Tennessee Temple with a Bachelor's degree in Missions. In December 1973 we joined Baptist International Missions, Inc. (BIMI). After a year of deputation, we arrived in Albertville, France, to study the French language. We spent a year and a half in France and then took a ship down to the country of Senegal, where we worked until 1990. God blessed our years there. Two of our five children were born in Senegal. While there we learned the Wolof language and had the privilege of seeing Muslims come to know Christ. At the request of BIMI, we moved to the country of Zaire in 1991 to reopen the work of missionary Anton Andersen. Just two weeks after our arrival in the village of Tshene, serious fighting broke out in the country. The next eighteen months were filled with many dangers, culminating in our family being airlifted from the country in 1993. During the time we spent in Zaire, we learned another language (Kikongo), saw many people saved, and worked with the many believers who were there. When we arrived back in America, we were going to take a year's medical leave; however, God had other plans for us. Our home church, Grace Baptist Church of Landrum, South Carolina, called me to be their pastor. At the same time, Ambassador Baptist College was in need of an experienced missionary to add to their teaching faculty. For the next nine years I pastored a growing church, taught at Ambassador two days a week, and served on the Executive Board or as an officer of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools. In August 2001 Dr. Les Frazier asked if I would pray about becoming Far East Director with BIMI. After seven months of prayer and much heart searching, I accepted this position. I resigned as pastor of my church and as instructor at Ambassador in May 2002. For ten years I served as Far East Director. In the summer of 2011, I was asked to serve as Vice President and Executive Director at BIMI. I took that position in January 2012. My tasks are many. We spend time out on the mission fields assisting our missionaries. I do the “Moments for Missions” radio broadcasts. Most weeks I preach in a missions conference or on a college campus. There are also many projects on which I work for Dr. David Snyder at the World Missions Center. We count it a blessing and a privilege to serve a wonderful group of missionaries and the churches which send them out. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thebiblepreacher/message

III John 9

Pastor Josh Hall continues his BELIEVE & LIVE series from the Gospel of John. This is the last of 3 messages from John 17 where the High Priestly Prayer is Jesus is recorded. In this message, Pastor Josh looks at what he calls "Livin' on a Prayer." 1. United Now - vv. 20 - 23 2. United Forever - vv. 24 - 26

Greek Week is back, baby!  We've abandoned trying to go in any kind of order,  and this week Derek is telling Josh the story of Bellerophon.  A "Hero" of the Ancient Greek Me Too movement, the slayer of the Chimera, and an atheist that met actual gods.

YouTube announces broad censorship mandates for any channel discussing the election, Steve Bannon discusses the latest on the coronavirus pandemic and the latest updates on the state of the election. Calling in are Boris Epshteyn, Thomas King III, John Fredericks, Sean Parnell, and Raheem Kassam. Sign up at stopthecensors.com for updates. Aired On: 12/9/2020