Podcast appearances and mentions of jesus jesus christ

"Jesus spoke to them again: 'I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12 To support this ministry, visit www.waynesborofm.com/give

Love is a war of motivation, discrepancy, and duplicity. The love of Jesus will come again to bring restoration and to rescue and renew us.Transcript:So grateful to be able to continue in first John with us together and we just going through it we're seeing a lot about love uh different dimensions of love we hear so much about love through our culture do we not but yet scripture has a a lot to say about what it looks like and what we can do to live it out as people who have been loved. As I was preparing this week I was thinking about there was this time where my she's now 14 she's getting older my daughter she loves to walk around the house with her phone on and the music at full volume full blast and don't worry I got permission she's on one of the cameras right now but shejust said hey whatever stories you want to tell it's fine so now I have a ton of Leila stories to tell you um but nevertheless like her phone is just blasting and so I just come up to her and I'm like Leila you know how when you get in the radio and there's treble and there's bass with this cell phone that you're utilizing it's just such high treble so what I want to do is I want to buy you this it is an Anor sound core surround sound speaker with I mean that thing's small but it has some more base than you would expect it to have um so I got this forher I got her this amazing gift but then the next day even though she has this fabulous gift I gave her she stillwalking around with her cell phone you know just going and going through the kitchen and you know like you know how you get like passive aggressive and so I I started to get that look in my face and in my mind I was like how dare she not use my fabulous magnificent surround sound Encore stereo that I got herlike how could she just not even use it and so I I start sitting on the couch and just looking over at the kitchen you know how you kind of look over at somebody and you're trying to send a message you know but you're not talking you have kind of those silent messages going on so I'm kind of doing that and then Daisy walks down and Daisy knows that I bought this speaker as well and Daisy doesn't even say anything like she's supposed to have my back and say hey you need to honor my husband's amazing you know base filled Bluetooth portable speaker that he got you you know so anyway I just sat there and what's the temp what's the Temptation kind of in in a moment like that I think the Temptation in a moment like that is to get kind of self-centered is to get self centered in a moment like that this passage has so much to say to us and I believe that love is a war love love is a war right here love is a war right here and it's a war of three things it's a war ofmotivation it's a war of discrepancy and it's a war of duplicity it's a war of motivation and in verse seven I think it's kind of like his thesis that he'll unpack and some of the themes he repeats and he proves and as AJ gave a great illustration about three weeks ago where he said that some passages are like a sandwich this passage is also like a sandwich as well and we will see that as we walk through this so let's just start at the top verse seven love is a war of motivation he says this beloved let us love one another for love is from from God I highlighted that and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God there's this concept that we are born of the spirit we are made new it's a rebirth all of us need to have but then he says this love is from God and here is what I would submit to you this morning love is not from you love is not from us here's why in the beginning our first parents Adam and Eve they enjoyed full trust full Harmony full love in perfectrelationship with our creator but then what ended up happening is is that there was a decision to not trust God there was a decision to distrust have any of you ever experienced a relationship that with somethinghappened but it caused some distrust in the relationship with Adam and Eve and our creator distrust occurred and so that there was a little stain on the relationship by consequence all of us inherit what's called a sinful nature from our first parents Adam and Eve we all have a sinful nature then that and we we call it selfishness or self centeredness or whatever the scriptures call it sin it's a nature that we have that's there unfortunately but here is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that God's love through Jesus Christ explodes out of our hearts as a demonstration of gratitude to what God has given to us let me say that again God's love explodes out of our hearts as a gift of gratitude that he gave to us and here is why that he gave us a love that is sacrificial he gave us a love that is unconditional he gave us a love that is Everlasting that's forever and so the word that's used in first John is called agape love it is a a word that really took a new form in first century uh because of the movement that we know as Christianity and it was from the fact that God although he is all powerful and all knowing and Transcendent he came to this world to sacrifice himself to bring forgiveness to the world and Reconciliation to humanity and so if there's pain if there's guilt here's what happens pain and guilt get transferred to the Cross pain and guilt get transferred to the cross of Jesus Jesus Christ and Jesus Takes pain Jesus Takes guilt and then in an exchange he gives us love he gives us forgiveness he gives us freedom he gives us restoration he gives us harmony with our creator and so this is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ yes uh love is a war of motivation um but here here is what I I think happens sometimes in the Christian Life do you guys ever feel like as a Christian you feel like you've arrived you ever do you ever feel like a sense of arrival okay uh some of you are tracking with me um I think that sometimes we're like yeah I I know uh the Old Testament pretty well I know the first five books of the Bible like what the point is I knew what I know what the gospels are supposed to be about I know what the Epistles are supposed to be about and so we can get to this thinking that hey we got like pretty good basic biblical knowledge and we're kind of we're arriving you kind of get settled in you get settled into a bit of complacency uh and apathy in your walk with God but here is what I would tell you the Christian life is never a fe it should never be a sense of arrival because we are being transformed into whose image the image of Jesus Christ who is perfect and on this side we ain't never going to be perfect but through the power of the Holy Spirit we're undergoing a process and we are a work in progress and so we're never arrived bythe grace of God we're leaning into and I and I hope you'll take take this away if you take nothing else fromtoday saturate yourself with the love that comes from God through Jesus Christ CU because we all need that we are all desperate for that love's not coming from here through our selfish sinful nature but it's going to come from above to us through God's one and only son and I was as I was praying this week over this passage and what it means for our particular Community it says love one another like you guys have heard that they will know we are Christians by our love and you're like well we kind of need to work on thatum and you guys are like yeah you need to work on that too um uh but here's here's kind of somepastoral applications and I I say this with great affection um and I'm included we're allincluded in this but I I just here are some applications that I want to share with you thismorning since I'm loved by God I will love those that are different okay this is different ages different races different socioeconomic statuses people who you might find uninteresting because what happens if wedon't love in that fashion man we're just like the rest of the world we just have our clicks and wehave people like us that we tend to like hang out with but what does the gospelsay there's neither Jew nor Greek slave nor free free male nor female but we are one in thebody of Jesus Christ since I'm loved by God I will initiate and make an effortwhat would happen if none of us ever initiated a loving relationship uh withsomebody else a loving friendship with somebody else what would happen man we would just all be lonelylike no nothing I want to invite you as people who are loved by God and have receivedthe gospel of Christ to have the courage to reach out with the love of Jesus tosomebody else in the community since I'm loved by God I will seek to settledifferences man the New Testament because of the gospel because we havebeen forgiven by Jesus because we have been reconciled to the father what arewe supposed to be about we're supposed to be a people of Peace Jesus Jesus said blessed are thepeacemakers Paul says so much as it depends on you live at peace as we've been forgiven so also forgive others that's man that's like every book of the New Testament if I could it's there andeveryone we're still too quick to just not settle differences and just leave something I want to invite you to man there's some of you write me emails or say hey we got to talk that's healthy I I'm grateful for that H keep having the courage to do that write to somebody talk to somebody that you need to settle something with get resolution because why we're supposed to be people who are peacemakers who've been touched by the love of God in Jesus Christ and so love is a war of motivation and when we get that gratitude in our hearts because of the Gospel we then have the power to extend it to others uh and then in addition love is a war of discrepancy why don't we just read this one together anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love and then check out the sandwich in verse 20 he unpacks it in a way that's kind of like wow he says this if anyone says I love God and hates his brother he's a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen I think that I'm just as as I Was preparing this week I was kind of stunned by Just John's a straight shooter he's a liar and you're just like okay we say we love God but there's a contradiction because we're still indifferent to others we still separate from otherbelievers we still compare ourselves to others in a way that can bring out jealousy we still exclude others but yet we say we love God that's what he's what he's saying to us and that's what hit me as I prepared this week but check this out John is not saying there's a war in your heart between being selfish and loving others so just battle it just battle that that kind of that tug-of-war selfish other centered me centered other Center he's not saying that's the battle what he is saying is the battle is me centeredness versus your love for God that's what he's getting after now I wish I could you know just stand up here and say man every situation I get every situation that comes my way man I'm just batting a thousand and killing it I'm always loving God I wish I could say that see because like in this instance like what what's going on up here like I I want you know to get a little bit of Praise honor and Glory dad you are so knowledgeable about portable Bluetooth speakers you've blessed my life I want Daisy to walk down and be like man you always give us amazing benevolent presence you're you're so benevolent to our family and so there's a little bit of that in our hearts but it all comes back to what filling that hole that wants to go inward to fill it with the love of God Paul David trip who had a lot of good things to say about first John chapter 4 in my uh studies this week he says this me being the center is one place I will never be that place must be inhabited by God and God alone that's the invitation of the sermon so love is a war of motivation love is a war of discrepancy but here's what he's also saying love is a war of duplicity let's read the second half or I'll just read it the second half of verse 20 check out what he says he said for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen what's he saying there what's he saying what he's saying is this it's easy to come in to a sanctuary and meditate on and sing songs that are all about the love of God right but then but we can't see God but yet we can come in here and do that and it's so easy to do but what he is getting at is your public life versus your private life uh Paul David trip asked a group of people what do you guys think makes a mature believer what would you guys say what makes a mature believer foress see Mike Mike always gets a A+ in here Mike always kills it um some people would say Church attendance and praise God we should love the word and communion um some people might say giving yeah suppose we should respond to God in gratitude with our time ourtalents our treasures and give back to the cause of Jesus and help others some might say volunteering andserving praise God we should serve others in the name of Jesus some of you might say it's the people that are really mature raise their arms when they're singing you know so continuing it's easy to love or show a display of love in public but what's really going on here in the inner workings of ourbeing um in another community that I was a part of uh someone came to me once and she was like you knowum on display I'm loving I'm kind and I'm positive but then when I get home Istart just drinking some hard alcohol and then I just start putting everybody down in this building with my husband and then everything just comes out and I'm grateful that she came to me with that but what I would tell you is this or what I ask you for us to examine ourselves is are we a people who arecongruent like if I was a different man on Monday than I was when I preached up here on Sundayyou guys would start to be like man we I don't know if we can trusthim where are you at with being congruent congruent authentic like I'mthis I'm the same person today tomorrow like I am who I am by the grace of Godliving in me and so there's a war of duplicityand that Fallen sinful nature that heart that we have that's Fallen our selfish Hearts need to bevisited by Divine love our souls need to be visited bydivine grace and that divine grace from above comes to us in the person of JesusChrist and in a moment we're going to have communion and I want you to know that that's like a visitation from Divine to below to visit our hearts with the graceand power of God and I want to just say this the way that we treat others the way we treat each other is a testimony to the Holy Spirit living in us that's ourwitness that's our witness I said that this passage was like a s but I want to show you the meat of it all the men just perked up they're like verse 17 and 18 says this by this is love perfected with us it's talkingabout God's love so that we may have confidence uh for the day ofjudgment because as he is so also are we in this world so he wants the love ofGod to come and visit us so much that we have confidence and then it says this there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear isn't that a beautiful sentence for fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love and so I want to be just very Invitational to us today and say this may weput away fear of comparison may we put away fear of judgment may we put away fear of man fear of other human beings but rather may we know this Jesus already took my judgment Jesus already took my friend's judgment my brother's judgment my enemies judgment and so as he has forgiven me and Love me so I'm going to love others as God has loved me and so God's love was displayed again when he rose again through Jesus Christ on that beautiful Easter morning and his love will come again to bring restoration to rescue us and renew us when his love comes and my prayer for us as a community when we hear this good news is this we're all invited to believe it and receive it right here in our hearts and now May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding may he guard your heart may he guard your mind through faith in Jesus Christ and it's in Jesus name we pray amen.

Love is a war of motivation, discrepancy, and duplicity. The love of Jesus will come again to bring restoration and to rescue and renew us.Transcript:So grateful to be able to continue in first John with us together and we just going through it we're seeing a lot about love uh different dimensions of love we hear so much about love through our culture do we not but yet scripture has a a lot to say about what it looks like and what we can do to live it out as people who have been loved. As I was preparing this week I was thinking about there was this time where my she's now 14 she's getting older my daughter she loves to walk around the house with her phone on and the music at full volume full blast and don't worry I got permission she's on one of the cameras right now but shejust said hey whatever stories you want to tell it's fine so now I have a ton of Leila stories to tell you um but nevertheless like her phone is just blasting and so I just come up to her and I'm like Leila you know how when you get in the radio and there's treble and there's bass with this cell phone that you're utilizing it's just such high treble so what I want to do is I want to buy you this it is an Anor sound core surround sound speaker with I mean that thing's small but it has some more base than you would expect it to have um so I got this forher I got her this amazing gift but then the next day even though she has this fabulous gift I gave her she stillwalking around with her cell phone you know just going and going through the kitchen and you know like you know how you get like passive aggressive and so I I started to get that look in my face and in my mind I was like how dare she not use my fabulous magnificent surround sound Encore stereo that I got herlike how could she just not even use it and so I I start sitting on the couch and just looking over at the kitchen you know how you kind of look over at somebody and you're trying to send a message you know but you're not talking you have kind of those silent messages going on so I'm kind of doing that and then Daisy walks down and Daisy knows that I bought this speaker as well and Daisy doesn't even say anything like she's supposed to have my back and say hey you need to honor my husband's amazing you know base filled Bluetooth portable speaker that he got you you know so anyway I just sat there and what's the temp what's the Temptation kind of in in a moment like that I think the Temptation in a moment like that is to get kind of self-centered is to get self centered in a moment like that this passage has so much to say to us and I believe that love is a war love love is a war right here love is a war right here and it's a war of three things it's a war ofmotivation it's a war of discrepancy and it's a war of duplicity it's a war of motivation and in verse seven I think it's kind of like his thesis that he'll unpack and some of the themes he repeats and he proves and as AJ gave a great illustration about three weeks ago where he said that some passages are like a sandwich this passage is also like a sandwich as well and we will see that as we walk through this so let's just start at the top verse seven love is a war of motivation he says this beloved let us love one another for love is from from God I highlighted that and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God there's this concept that we are born of the spirit we are made new it's a rebirth all of us need to have but then he says this love is from God and here is what I would submit to you this morning love is not from you love is not from us here's why in the beginning our first parents Adam and Eve they enjoyed full trust full Harmony full love in perfectrelationship with our creator but then what ended up happening is is that there was a decision to not trust God there was a decision to distrust have any of you ever experienced a relationship that with somethinghappened but it caused some distrust in the relationship with Adam and Eve and our creator distrust occurred and so that there was a little stain on the relationship by consequence all of us inherit what's called a sinful nature from our first parents Adam and Eve we all have a sinful nature then that and we we call it selfishness or self centeredness or whatever the scriptures call it sin it's a nature that we have that's there unfortunately but here is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that God's love through Jesus Christ explodes out of our hearts as a demonstration of gratitude to what God has given to us let me say that again God's love explodes out of our hearts as a gift of gratitude that he gave to us and here is why that he gave us a love that is sacrificial he gave us a love that is unconditional he gave us a love that is Everlasting that's forever and so the word that's used in first John is called agape love it is a a word that really took a new form in first century uh because of the movement that we know as Christianity and it was from the fact that God although he is all powerful and all knowing and Transcendent he came to this world to sacrifice himself to bring forgiveness to the world and Reconciliation to humanity and so if there's pain if there's guilt here's what happens pain and guilt get transferred to the Cross pain and guilt get transferred to the cross of Jesus Jesus Christ and Jesus Takes pain Jesus Takes guilt and then in an exchange he gives us love he gives us forgiveness he gives us freedom he gives us restoration he gives us harmony with our creator and so this is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ yes uh love is a war of motivation um but here here is what I I think happens sometimes in the Christian Life do you guys ever feel like as a Christian you feel like you've arrived you ever do you ever feel like a sense of arrival okay uh some of you are tracking with me um I think that sometimes we're like yeah I I know uh the Old Testament pretty well I know the first five books of the Bible like what the point is I knew what I know what the gospels are supposed to be about I know what the Epistles are supposed to be about and so we can get to this thinking that hey we got like pretty good basic biblical knowledge and we're kind of we're arriving you kind of get settled in you get settled into a bit of complacency uh and apathy in your walk with God but here is what I would tell you the Christian life is never a fe it should never be a sense of arrival because we are being transformed into whose image the image of Jesus Christ who is perfect and on this side we ain't never going to be perfect but through the power of the Holy Spirit we're undergoing a process and we are a work in progress and so we're never arrived bythe grace of God we're leaning into and I and I hope you'll take take this away if you take nothing else fromtoday saturate yourself with the love that comes from God through Jesus Christ CU because we all need that we are all desperate for that love's not coming from here through our selfish sinful nature but it's going to come from above to us through God's one and only son and I was as I was praying this week over this passage and what it means for our particular Community it says love one another like you guys have heard that they will know we are Christians by our love and you're like well we kind of need to work on thatum and you guys are like yeah you need to work on that too um uh but here's here's kind of somepastoral applications and I I say this with great affection um and I'm included we're allincluded in this but I I just here are some applications that I want to share with you thismorning since I'm loved by God I will love those that are different okay this is different ages different races different socioeconomic statuses people who you might find uninteresting because what happens if wedon't love in that fashion man we're just like the rest of the world we just have our clicks and wehave people like us that we tend to like hang out with but what does the gospelsay there's neither Jew nor Greek slave nor free free male nor female but we are one in thebody of Jesus Christ since I'm loved by God I will initiate and make an effortwhat would happen if none of us ever initiated a loving relationship uh withsomebody else a loving friendship with somebody else what would happen man we would just all be lonelylike no nothing I want to invite you as people who are loved by God and have receivedthe gospel of Christ to have the courage to reach out with the love of Jesus tosomebody else in the community since I'm loved by God I will seek to settledifferences man the New Testament because of the gospel because we havebeen forgiven by Jesus because we have been reconciled to the father what arewe supposed to be about we're supposed to be a people of Peace Jesus Jesus said blessed are thepeacemakers Paul says so much as it depends on you live at peace as we've been forgiven so also forgive others that's man that's like every book of the New Testament if I could it's there andeveryone we're still too quick to just not settle differences and just leave something I want to invite you to man there's some of you write me emails or say hey we got to talk that's healthy I I'm grateful for that H keep having the courage to do that write to somebody talk to somebody that you need to settle something with get resolution because why we're supposed to be people who are peacemakers who've been touched by the love of God in Jesus Christ and so love is a war of motivation and when we get that gratitude in our hearts because of the Gospel we then have the power to extend it to others uh and then in addition love is a war of discrepancy why don't we just read this one together anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love and then check out the sandwich in verse 20 he unpacks it in a way that's kind of like wow he says this if anyone says I love God and hates his brother he's a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen I think that I'm just as as I Was preparing this week I was kind of stunned by Just John's a straight shooter he's a liar and you're just like okay we say we love God but there's a contradiction because we're still indifferent to others we still separate from otherbelievers we still compare ourselves to others in a way that can bring out jealousy we still exclude others but yet we say we love God that's what he's what he's saying to us and that's what hit me as I prepared this week but check this out John is not saying there's a war in your heart between being selfish and loving others so just battle it just battle that that kind of that tug-of-war selfish other centered me centered other Center he's not saying that's the battle what he is saying is the battle is me centeredness versus your love for God that's what he's getting after now I wish I could you know just stand up here and say man every situation I get every situation that comes my way man I'm just batting a thousand and killing it I'm always loving God I wish I could say that see because like in this instance like what what's going on up here like I I want you know to get a little bit of Praise honor and Glory dad you are so knowledgeable about portable Bluetooth speakers you've blessed my life I want Daisy to walk down and be like man you always give us amazing benevolent presence you're you're so benevolent to our family and so there's a little bit of that in our hearts but it all comes back to what filling that hole that wants to go inward to fill it with the love of God Paul David trip who had a lot of good things to say about first John chapter 4 in my uh studies this week he says this me being the center is one place I will never be that place must be inhabited by God and God alone that's the invitation of the sermon so love is a war of motivation love is a war of discrepancy but here's what he's also saying love is a war of duplicity let's read the second half or I'll just read it the second half of verse 20 check out what he says he said for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen what's he saying there what's he saying what he's saying is this it's easy to come in to a sanctuary and meditate on and sing songs that are all about the love of God right but then but we can't see God but yet we can come in here and do that and it's so easy to do but what he is getting at is your public life versus your private life uh Paul David trip asked a group of people what do you guys think makes a mature believer what would you guys say what makes a mature believer foress see Mike Mike always gets a A+ in here Mike always kills it um some people would say Church attendance and praise God we should love the word and communion um some people might say giving yeah suppose we should respond to God in gratitude with our time ourtalents our treasures and give back to the cause of Jesus and help others some might say volunteering andserving praise God we should serve others in the name of Jesus some of you might say it's the people that are really mature raise their arms when they're singing you know so continuing it's easy to love or show a display of love in public but what's really going on here in the inner workings of ourbeing um in another community that I was a part of uh someone came to me once and she was like you knowum on display I'm loving I'm kind and I'm positive but then when I get home Istart just drinking some hard alcohol and then I just start putting everybody down in this building with my husband and then everything just comes out and I'm grateful that she came to me with that but what I would tell you is this or what I ask you for us to examine ourselves is are we a people who arecongruent like if I was a different man on Monday than I was when I preached up here on Sundayyou guys would start to be like man we I don't know if we can trusthim where are you at with being congruent congruent authentic like I'mthis I'm the same person today tomorrow like I am who I am by the grace of Godliving in me and so there's a war of duplicityand that Fallen sinful nature that heart that we have that's Fallen our selfish Hearts need to bevisited by Divine love our souls need to be visited bydivine grace and that divine grace from above comes to us in the person of JesusChrist and in a moment we're going to have communion and I want you to know that that's like a visitation from Divine to below to visit our hearts with the graceand power of God and I want to just say this the way that we treat others the way we treat each other is a testimony to the Holy Spirit living in us that's ourwitness that's our witness I said that this passage was like a s but I want to show you the meat of it all the men just perked up they're like verse 17 and 18 says this by this is love perfected with us it's talkingabout God's love so that we may have confidence uh for the day ofjudgment because as he is so also are we in this world so he wants the love ofGod to come and visit us so much that we have confidence and then it says this there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear isn't that a beautiful sentence for fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love and so I want to be just very Invitational to us today and say this may weput away fear of comparison may we put away fear of judgment may we put away fear of man fear of other human beings but rather may we know this Jesus already took my judgment Jesus already took my friend's judgment my brother's judgment my enemies judgment and so as he has forgiven me and Love me so I'm going to love others as God has loved me and so God's love was displayed again when he rose again through Jesus Christ on that beautiful Easter morning and his love will come again to bring restoration to rescue us and renew us when his love comes and my prayer for us as a community when we hear this good news is this we're all invited to believe it and receive it right here in our hearts and now May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding may he guard your heart may he guard your mind through faith in Jesus Christ and it's in Jesus name we pray amen.

https://www.chapelwood.org/contemplative/messages/message-archive/god-with-us-praying-the-names-of-jesus---jesus-christ-o-king-of-nations-contemporary-945/2619/ http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.chapelwoodonline.org/pod

https://www.chapelwood.org/contemplative/messages/message-archive/god-with-us-praying-the-names-of-jesus---jesus-christ-o-key-of-david-contemporary-945/2615/ http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.chapelwoodonline.org/podcas

The Complete Jesus // Jesus Christ offers the gift of salvation to all // Louie Van Der Hart

The Complete Jesus // Jesus Christ is vital for our salvation // Tim Stilwell

The Complete Jesus // Jesus Christ is a complete union // Will Van Der Hart

The Complete Jesus // Jesus Christ was fully Divine // Will Van Der Hart

The Complete Jesus // Jesus Christ was fully human // Will Van Der Hart

Teachings of Jesus. Dallin H. Oaks. ACU Sunday Series. Watch this speech at- https://youtu.be/N6Nsru_r664 mormongenconf Teachings of Jesus - Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten and Beloved Son of God. ... He is our Savior from sin and death. This is the most important knowledge on earth. Learn more https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist Dallin H. Oaks, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Teachings of Jesus" For a great archive of hundreds of religious talks like this visit- LDS General Conference Talks   Song- Glorious Day by Casting Crowns.   HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!  Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks. Forward this show to friends. Ways to subscribe to the American Conservative University Podcast Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe via RSS You can also subscribe via Stitcher FM Player Podcast Addict Tune-in Podcasts Pandora Look us up on Amazon Prime …And Many Other Podcast Aggregators and sites   Please help ACU by submitting your Show ideas. Email us at americanconservativeuniversity@americanconservativeuniversity.com Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks.

Teachings of Jesus. Dallin H. Oaks. ACU Sunday Series. Watch this speech at- https://youtu.be/N6Nsru_r664 mormongenconf Teachings of Jesus - Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten and Beloved Son of God. ... He is our Savior from sin and death. This is the most important knowledge on earth. Learn more https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist Dallin H. Oaks, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Teachings of Jesus" For a great archive of hundreds of religious talks like this visit- LDS General Conference Talks   Song- Glorious Day by Casting Crowns.   HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!  Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks. Forward this show to friends. Ways to subscribe to the American Conservative University Podcast Click here to subscribe via Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe via RSS You can also subscribe via Stitcher FM Player Podcast Addict Tune-in Podcasts Pandora Look us up on Amazon Prime …And Many Other Podcast Aggregators and sites   Please help ACU by submitting your Show ideas. Email us at americanconservativeuniversity@americanconservativeuniversity.com Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. Apple canceled us and now we are clawing our way back to the top. Don't let the Leftist win. Do it now! Thanks.

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston and our neighborhood churches, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Good morning. Welcome to Mosaic Church. My name is Jan. I'm one of the pastors here along with Pastor Shane and Pastor Andy, and if you're new or visiting, we'd love to connect with you. Do that through the connection card, either the physical copy that you can get at the door, or the virtual one that you can get at the website or in our app.That said, would you please pray with me over the preaching of God's Word? Heavenly Father, we thank you that you sent Jesus Christ, the Divine Word of God, the law God through whom you created absolutely everything in Jesus, you came. And you lived a perfect life, a life of perfection as decreed by God the Father. And you did that in order to present yourself as a substitute, as a sacrifice for our sin, for our lack of perfection, or even a lack of desire to pursue moral perfection. And Jesus, we thank you for the sermon on the mountain, which you show us the way into the kingdom of God is not through anything that we do. It's not through pretending to be righteous. It's through repentance of the fact that we are not righteous. That's how we enter.And then you do call us to the same standard of perfection. And we do understand that there's a gap between our performance and your standard of perfection. And we have two options with that gap of what to do. Either we can pretend that we have met that gap with our own righteousness, or we repent and keep going. Let us be at people who, like Saint Paul said, "Not that I'm already perfect or have attained perfection, but forgetting what lies behind, pursuing what lies ahead, I press on to seek the goal of the upper call of Christ, of God in Christ Jesus."Holy Spirit, come in to this place and show us how to fight hypocrisy on a daily basis by rooting our identity in you. We are accepted because of the sacrifice of Christ. We are yours. You know every single one of our sins, past, present, and future. And Jesus, you died on the cross for those sins. Everything was exposed there on the cross. Therefore, there's no need to cover up our sin, our lack of righteousness. There's no need to pretend. We can come to you, we can repent, and we can receive grace to keep going. And I pray that you bless our time with the holy word today and we pray this in Christ Jesus' name. Amen.Today, we are dealing with everyone's favorite topic of hypocrisy. We love hypocrisy, especially anyone else's hypocrisy. We love pointing out other people's hypocrisy, and we have lived through a day and age where hypocrisy has been evident. There's a spotlight on hypocrisy in all kinds of realms. I'll start with the easiest one of politics. The politicians who say put your masks on, they got the mask on, camera turns off, mask is off. Politicians who say, "No, you can't get your haircut. No haircuts for you, haircut only for me. Salon opens up just for me." Politicians who say, "No indoor dining except for me and my 15 closest friends and without social distancing." Politicians who say, "No travel, you can't travel, no vacations for any of you." And then they come back from Mexico with a nice tan.We see that in politicians. We see that in leaders in academic and all kinds. I think the most dangerous kind of hypocrisy is that of spiritual hypocrisy. Why? Because it has the greatest consequences, eternal consequences, not just for ourselves, but also for our testimony to others. When people see that we proclaim Christ with our mouth, but our lives are far from that profession of faith, it shakes people to the core.So one of the things I want to talk about today is how Jesus talks about hypocrisy. He doesn't talk about hypocrisy of do as I say, not as I do. That's the hypocrisy that we see in politics and in all kinds of realms. Jesus isn't talking about the hypocrisy of do as I say, but not as I do. He's not talking about that. He's talking about the hypocrisy of this is what I do. But in my heart, things are very different. It's not a disconnect between what we say and what we do. It's a disconnect between what we do and what we really want to do. It's a disconnect between what we do with our hands and what we do in our hearts. And Pastor Shane preached a masterful sermon last week landing, closing off Matthew five. But Jesus drops a bomb in Matthew 5:48 with this conclusion. He says, "Therefore you must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."So as children of God the Father, we have to emulate God the Father, who is absolutely perfect. He's holy, we are to grow in holiness. The goal is perfection. We're always to be pursuing perfection, full tilt, not that we'll ever attain it. But we always need to be aspiring to it. Obviously, we'll never achieve it. But there has to be growth, there has to be forward momentum. But the challenge is, what do we do with the gap, with the missing piece between our reality and the reality that God calls us to? Our reality, where we are now in our walk with the Lord and the perfection that God calls us to? What do we do with this gap, with this missing piece?Do we pretend that it isn't there? That's what Jesus is addressing today. Do you pretend to be better than you are? And do we cover it up with a mask of hypocrisy? And all of us do this to an extent. No one shows everybody just how sinful we are. It's too scary. We don't reveal our greatest struggles to everyone, but we should reveal them to God. And we should reveal them to ourselves. And that's where true transformation happens. You have a choice of what to do with that missing piece. You can either pretend that it's not there or you can repent and be honest with yourself and be honest with God.C.S. Lewis, talking about prayer, he said this. He said, "May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real thou I speak to." It's about being real with God. And that's how we fight religion works righteousness. There's a difference between religious righteousness and real righteousness. Religious righteousness focuses primarily on behavior. Just change your behavior. Just fix how you act. Real righteousness is all about the transformation of the heart. It's about embracing that what God is calling us to in the heart, God I love you, and I love your standards and I want to pursue moral perfection and I know I can't do it enough myself. Forgive me, give me grace, give me the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's what transforms you from being religious to being a real follower of the Lord.Religion is all about what you do. Real Christianity is why you do it. Purify the why, and the what will take care of itself. And this is how we develop true spiritual character, not just grow, and being and playing the role of spiritual characters. So today, we're in Matthew six, one through 18. I'm going to read the whole text here to set up our time, and we'll dig right in. Matthew six, one through 18."Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. That's when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So that your giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites for they love to stand and pray at the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their award. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father, who is in secret. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them. For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then like this. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."This is the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word. May he write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Three points just to frame up our time. First, we look at hypocritical mercy, prayer and fasting. Then we'll look at authentic mercy, prayer and fasting. And then we'll dig into the motivation for authenticity.First of all, hypocritical mercy, prayer and fasting. So Jesus demands perfection. It's hard to pursue perfection so instead of pleasing God the Father, in pursuing perfection, we often settle in pleasing not God the Father, but the people around us. So that's why verse 48, 5:48, Jesus says, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Command, and then the very next verse, he says, "Be careful to not practice your righteousness in front of people." Be perfect. Be careful. Why? Because Jesus is fully aware of our propensity, our heart's propensity for self deception.So this is verse one, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you." This can be metaphorical or literal. The Pharisees would actually hire musicians to go on ahead of them to say, "We're handing out money. So everyone meet us at the crossroads intersection.", in order to draw attention to themselves, "As the hypocrites do in the synagogues, in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly I say to you, they've received their award."Verse five about prayer, they're praying in the street corners and synagogues, "That they may be seen by others." So their primary prayer life is public that they may be seen. How do you know that you are a hypocrite in prayer? You know you're a hypocrite in prayer when perhaps that community or with a group of other Christians, you pray to God, but when you are with God one on one, you have nothing to say. And you're bored with God. God has become a friend of a friend. When there's someone else there who knows God better, you can connect with God. But when you're on your own, you don't have a living relationship with Him. It gets kind of awkward, you have nothing to say. It's hypocrisy there.Verse 16 talks about fasting. "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others." So their goal, hypocritical spirituality, hypocritical piety is to please people. And here we are faced with a question. Honestly, what is more valuable to you, people's opinion of you, or God's opinion of you? People's approval and acceptance of you, or God's approval and acceptance of you? Do you fear people more than God? Fear of people, fear of God, the age old question.And this is really important, because we crave attention, acceptance, approval. We are approval junkies, so to speak. We do things for the proverbial slap on the back. So people notice, and people give you encouragement, kudos, good job. And how does this apply? So my wife and I were talking about how does this apply in real life, because no one's walking around and praying on streets. No one's walking around with a trumpet and saying, "Hey, come to this intersection, and we'll give money." No one's really doing that.Well, one of the places this hypocrisy really applies is within the church community itself. And that's what Jesus, the Pharisees were in that religious community. And that's kind of where to play. And how does this work out in real life? I'll just give you a few examples. When a guy sees a really great Christian girl who loves the Lord, and he wants to pursue her in dating or courting or dating or marriage, whatever, and all of a sudden, now he's in community group. Now he is serving. Now he's carrying his Bible around with him. Now he's memorizing Bible verses. Now he's really worshiping. Now he's really getting into loving God. It's great if that's real and vice versa. It could be a gal pursuing, getting attention.Sometimes it's husbands and wives, you want to score points with your spouse. And you do that with morning devotion and coffee, "Baby, I made you coffee. And by the way, I'm reading scripture." And all of a sudden, she's like, "My spouse is so spiritual." It could work that way. Children and parents, parents with children, we want our kids to think that we are sometimes better Christians than we really are. So we pretend around them and kids definitely, with parents, if you grew up in a Christian house, you know exactly how you need to act with your parents in a way for them to get off your back with your with your Christianity, so that you can do what you really want.I've seen this play out and I was like this is my favorite thing. It's not my favorite thing. But I see it too often. It's comical to me. Every September, every September, some college student comes up to me to introduce themselves, and they make an effort for me to remember their names. And I'm like, "That's weird. Never met you before. Cool." The very next Sunday is parents' weekend. Their parents fly up from Texas, from Georgia, and then they bring their parents to me, "Hi, Pastor Jan." And I'm like, my first two years of ministry, I had no idea what's going on. And then after that, I never see him again. I was getting played. I was getting played by hypocritical Christian college students.So does this apply to us? Yes, yes. Why? Because we want people to think good, it feels good for people to think that we are good. It feels good for people to think that we are doing the right things. And like there, then you would ask why the desire to do good. Why the desire to be approved of doing good because there's a moral compass in every single one of our hearts, and we know that it's better to be good than bad. And for many non Christians, this right here, people's approval is also a hang up for two ways. First, you say as a non Christian, why do I need the gospel? Everyone around me thinks I'm a good person. I'm already a good person, because I have the approval of the people around me. And here, what Jesus is getting at is the approval of the people around you doesn't matter as much as the approval of God.What does God think of you? What's the point of getting approval from fallen people who have lowered the standards of God? Or sometimes with unbelievers, you're interested in the Gospel, you understand your need for grace, you understand your need for God in your life, you understand your need for repentance, but you understand also that if you devote yourself to God, if you become a Christian, you will lose the approval and acceptance of the people in your life, perhaps the people in your office or your family or your community.John 12:42-43. "Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it so that they would not be pulled out of the synagogue for they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God." This ravenous hunger for the approval and praise of people was the besetting sin of the Pharisees, and often it's the besetting sin of ourselves. We crave the approval of people. John 5:44, "How can you believe when you receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?"Jesus here says several times do not do as the hypocrites do, but he doesn't just say it like that. He says, "Do not be like the hypocrites.", verse five, in verse eight, "You must not be like the hypocrites, do not be like them." Now he's getting not just at action but at identity. He's not just saying, "Do not do what the hypocrites do." He's saying, "Do not be like the hypocrites." He's getting at identity. What were the hypocrites rooting their identity in? What were they? They were rooting their identity in what people thought of them. Look at them, they pray so well. Look at them, they give. They're so generous. Look at them, they fast. They're so self controlled. They're so righteous. They're so godly. Their identity was being rooted in the approval of people. And Jesus says, "Do not be like them. Don't root your identity in people's approval. Root your identity in God's approval."What is a hypocrite? Basically, in Greek, the word means actor, acting consciously or unconsciously, where the outside contradicts the inside. And you're so much better on the outside. The facade is so much nicer than the inside. Hypocrisy and this is what I'll just say because a lot of people are like, "Christians are all hypocrites. I don't go to church because there's too many hypocrites there." And my answer to that is join the club. There's plenty of room. Welcome. We're all hypocrites. So in one sense, we all struggle with it.So what is hypocrisy? Hypocrisy is not failing to live up to standards that you set or that God sets. That's not hypocrisy. That's human frailty. We're all sinners. We're all broken. And we are to pursue perfection through repentance. So hypocrisy isn't failing to live up to the standards that you aspire to. It's pretending to meet them, while failing to embrace them with your heart. It's pretending to meet the standards of God, "Yes, I've arrived or yes, I'm pursuing these standards." But deep in your heart, you're not. Deep in your heart, you're pursuing other things. And we talked about this in terms of imagination. Well, God doesn't captivate your imagination, something else does. So in your heart, you can be a wicked sinner pursuing wicked things. But on the outside, you look like everything's wonderful.That's the hypocrisy Jesus is talking about. It's not the gap between what we say and what we do. It's the gap between what we do and what we love. That's what Jesus is getting at. The other thing I want to point out here is three times Jesus says when you, when you give to the needy, when you pray, when you fast. He's not saying if but when, meaning this is expected. This is expected of the Jews at the time, that was basic Judaic piety. It's actually Muslim piety, five of the pillars, these three are three of the five, including the other two are visiting Mecca, pilgrimage to Mecca and reciting the creed. So people of all religions, people of all religions and nations and creeds, we know that it's good to be generous, it's good to help the needy, and it's good to pray and it's good to fast.The assumption is we do these things. We know these things are good. And most people want to be generous and want to be known for giving. Most people pray. Very few people I've ever met who say, "I have never prayed." Even as an unbeliever, there are those situations that you get into when you're vulnerable, when you feel weak, when you feel helpless, that the natural cry of your heart, something just inside calls out to the supernatural, we can't but pray. And this is our heart's witness to the existence of God. And many people even today fast. Fasting has been a fad as of late. People talk about intermittent fasting, extended fasting, fasting from social media, fasting from entertainment, fasting from alcohol, sober October. So these things are part and parcel of our lives.So Jesus says when, we do these things, there's a way to do it that's right. And there's a way to do it to feed your ego. And Jesus said, when you do it for the approval of people, you have received your award, you get what you're after, but that's all you get. He's saying there's two rewards. There's rewards that you get from people and there's a reward that you get from God, approval from people and delight of God.So this brings us to the second point, authentic mercy, prayer and fasting. Authentic giving or mercy in verse three says, "When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So that your giving maybe in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." One of the things that comes to mind immediately is if you've been attentively reading the Sermon on the Mount, you'll all automatically you ask, "Well, how do I reconcile this with what it says in Matthew 5:14 through 16, where Jesus says, 'You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a mat, a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.'"?So on the one hand, Jesus is saying you need to do good work so people see them so they glorify God. On the other hand, he's saying there are things that you need to do so people do not see, so they do not glorify you, but they glorify God. So what's he saying? A.B. Bruce puts it like this, "We are to show when tempted to hide and hide when tempted to show." Jesus has a separation between our good works and our personal piety, our personal devotion to God. Our good works, that can't but be public. Our spiritual disciplines must be in secret and the end goal is the glory of God. Why giving and prayer and fasting in secret? Because that right there is something that glorifies God when no one else sees it. What about our good words? Well, when people see the good works, they glorify God. So the end goal is the glory of God. Our good works have to be visible, but never for the sake of making it visible.The phrase, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, it's an overwhelming metaphor. If you help someone with your right hand, your left hand, in some sense, doesn't know what it's doing. It's not just about not telling others. It's almost like not telling yourself. If you give to someone, and then you don't even think about it. You don't glow over the fact that you help this person, there's a state of unself consciousness, like you don't give with the hand and not with the heart. And Jesus is saying, be careful, because your heart is so porous, that you turn mercy into vanity.So there is a sense in which we set up how much we can give in our generosity and you can budget this out. But there's also a sense where you don't count it. You don't count how much you've given to others in the name of Jesus Christ. There's a sense where that number is never in your mind because you understand that that wasn't even yours to begin with. Matthew 6:6, And when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father, who is in secret." Is Jesus denouncing public prayer? No, of course not. What he is saying, he is denouncing public prayer when you don't have private prayer. When the only time you pray publicly, when you pray is publicly. In secret before God one on one, that's the essence of prayer.Psalm 27, seven through nine, "Hear o Lord, when I cry aloud. Be gracious to me, answer me. You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek. Hide not your face from me.'" So there is to be a place for private prayer in your life, where on a daily basis, you have a place you go to in secret, and he talks about closing a door. So it's a space that you devote to. It's almost like an altar on a daily basis. Lord, this is the place I'm going to meet with you. And when you pray, he says in verse seven, "When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him."He says don't just repeat over and over and over simple prayer. In different Christian traditions in the Russian Orthodox tradition and many Catholic traditions, it's all about repetition. It's all about what you say, how many times you say it. This is how you show God your devotion. And Jesus says no, no, no. It's a conversation. It's a relationship with God the Father. You talk to me, you bare your heart before me. You can't strong arm God into doing what you want by sheer volume. Sheer volume of words isn't a critical factor. Jesus, sometimes he pray with brevity, we just pray quick little prayer. Sometimes he'd spent a whole night in prayer.So it's not about that. It's just about not thinking that we can force God without repetition. Ecclesiastes 5:2, "Do not be rash with your mouth nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on Earth. Therefore, let your words be few." So the volume of words isn't important but the sustained prayer is important. So Luke 18, Jesus gives a parable of a widow that goes to a judge and she's begging for justice, begging for justice, and the judge only because of her impudence, her sustained coming to him, he gives to her.So when we long for something, when it's on our heart to ask God for something, we are to ask and ask and ask, the emphasis on the sustained coming to God, not necessarily on the repetition. And that's Luke 18:1, "He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray not lose heart." So how are we to pray? How are we to have a private prayer life? Jesus gives us not the prayer that we should pray, but the template by which we should pray.That's why he says in verse nine, "Pray then like this.", not specifically pray this. And a lot of traditions have really misunderstood this text. They think if I just pray this over and over and over on a daily basis, multiple times a day, God's going to do what God wants, what he wants me to do, that's not what's going on. He says, this is the template and the template goes like this, our Father in heaven. And I just want you to see the emphasis on the second person plural, first person, the second person, plural is you together, our Father, he's not saying my Father, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day.So before we get to our needs, what are we focusing on? God. We're focusing on God, Jesus Christ, but tell me this, why did Jesus Christ pray as often as he did? He's God incarnate. He can give himself anything. He can create miracles and meet all of his needs. Why did Jesus Christ pray? What did Jesus Jesus Christ get from prayer that he couldn't give himself? You know what he got? He got time with God the Father. That's why we pray. And this is what fights the hypocrisy in the inside, where you get on your knees before God, you said, "God, you know all things, you know all of my struggles, you know all of my needs. And before I talk about my needs, I need to focus my attention on you. You are my father, you are our father, the community's father, hallowed be your name. May your name be holy, may your transcendent name be holy."And you're also personal because your father, may your kingdom come. Not my kingdom, but your kingdom. May your will be done. Before I talk about my needs, I'm going to talk about your will being done on earth as it is in heaven. And then we get to our needs. Give us this day our daily bread. You're not just praying for your own needs. It's God, everyone in the community of faith. Give us this day our daily bread, not give me bread for tomorrow or next week or for a month, just today. Give us this bread for the day.And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. There's this connection between forgive us because we've forgiven and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Lord, I can't overcome temptation on my own, I can't overcome temptation from evil, help me. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespass.This text could be misread, to say the only way that you can have your sins forgiven is to make sure that you have forgiven everybody, as if forgiving others is the price of being heard. And I've been in churches where that's what's been preached. But that doesn't fit in the context of the sermon of the Mount. That doesn't fit in the context of the gospel of Matthew, or the context of all of Scripture. He's not saying you have to do this for God, for God to do something for you. He's saying, asking for forgiveness for yourself, while not forgiving those who have sinned against you, is the pinnacle of hypocrisy.So if you ask for forgiveness, just know God's expecting that you forgive those who have sinned against you. And he brings us in in the prayer life because he understands that if we don't deal with other people's sin against us, that that is going to absolutely destroy us from the inside. And then he gets to fasting, true, authentic fasting, Matthew 6:17 through 18. When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in heaven.Jesus assumes that his disciples will fast, that this will be a regular cadence of our spiritual walk. The Pharisees fasted, we know from Luke 18:12, twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. Most likely it was sun up to sundown, that was their fast, so most likely skipping two meals, like a 20 hour, 24 hour fast, and the Pharisees fast. When they fasted, they had glum expression, they looked miserable, they went unwashed, unkempt, they would even sprinkle ashes on themselves to be seen by others.And by the way, if you know someone that fasts on a regular basis and does extended fasting, it's kind of impressive. Wow, you have control over it, you can skip a meal, you can skip two meals, you can do a full day without food. That's really impressive stuff. And the Pharisees would use this to build up social capital in the community where they would let people know so today, it would be like posting on social media. There's all kinds of fasting apps that shows how to start and stop and you can put all your measurements in there and people share on social media, "Oh, I just finished a five day fast." And everyone gives them kudos. That's basically what the Pharisees were doing.And they had received their reward. But that doesn't mean, because they were doing it wrong. Jesus does not say therefore never fast. He still expects that his disciples fast on a regular basis. John the baptizer fasted regularly even often. And the disciples of Jesus did not, while Jesus was there, but it was expected when he left, Matthew 9"14 through 15. "Then the disciples of John came to him saying, why do we and the Pharisees fast but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."Jesus does expect that his followers fast and fast on a regular basis. Jesus started his ministry by fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. He did that supernatural by the power of the Holy Spirit. But there is an expectation for us to fast and Jesus fasted for 40 days. So it's a struggle, even with the idea of fasting for 40 hours. Jesus is expecting this as part of our life. First of all, you do need to meet with your medical professionals, your doctors to see how and if. And it's not just with food, what is fasting? Strictly speaking, it's a total abstention of food, but it can be legitimately extended to other things.And what's the point? The point of it is the nice self, humbled before God, and where we pursue God in that state of humility. Psalm 35:13, "But I, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth, I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my chest." Sometimes in Scripture, fasting is connected with repentance, where you are repentant over sin and you are humbling yourself with God and you bring in fasting to deepen that humility. Nehemiah did that with all of the people. He gathered all the people and with fasting and sackcloth, they stood and confessed their sins.When Jonah goes to preach in Nineveh, they repented Jonah's preaching and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth. Daniel sought God by prayer and supplication, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes and prayed to the Lord is God and made confession for the sins of people. Remember Paul, when Paul meets Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, for three days and three nights, he doesn't eat because he is in such repentance over the fact that he pursued Christians and killed Christians, persecuted Christians.Sometimes fasting is used to ask the Lord for future mercy, or blessing or guidance. God in this season, I don't know what to do. Where are you leading me? Where are you guiding me? And we see that Moses fasted on Mount Sinai immediately after the covenant was renewed. We see Queen Esther, before she took her life into her hands to go before the king, she asked Mordecai and the people that Mordecai knew, the people of God too fast on behalf of her. Ezra proclaimed a fast before leading the exiles back to Jerusalem, but he says that we may humble ourselves before our God and seek from him a straightway.So if you're in a season where you are pursuing God's direction, fasting is always recommended with prayer. In the early church, the church of Antioch before Paul and Barnabas were sent out, they fasted. Paul and Barnabas before appointing elders in every church, they prayed and fasted. And fasting is also used for self discipline, because saying no to eating one appetite gives you power to say no to other appetites.I've noticed this in my own life and perhaps you have as well. When I have self discipline in one area of life, it translates to self discipline in other areas of life. When self discipline increases here, it increases everywhere else. I Corinthians 9:24 to 27, "Do you not know that in a race, all the runners run but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified."So practically speaking how to incorporate fasting in your life, if you've never done it, you got to do, you got to ease into it. Perhaps push back a meal in the morning, push back breakfast, ease into it or or cut out a certain category of foods, et cetera. I can give you all the practicalities of it. I went through a season where I wanted to learn everything I could on fasting. I read every single book on fasting that I could find. I think it was over like 100 books that I read through. The way I read is I go in, I find out the 40 pages that got the book published and I'm done. I'm out. Next book. And that's the way you should read as well.And so I know at this part of the sermon, I'm like I can get into the way I fast. But Jesus said this part of your life have to be secret. So I'm not going to. We can talk about that in secret. And then when you say that, then that brings attention to yourself. So I still struggle with this part. But yeah, in secret, I'm not going to tell you everything because I want my reward in heaven, not from you. Thank you very much.Point three, motivation for authenticity. Where do we get the motivation? We have to figure out what's the motivation for authenticity. We have to figure out what is the motivation for hypocrisy. If you can isolate the cause, then we can easily find the remedy Why is the hypocrite? What's the hypocrite motivated by? What is the hypocrite obsessed with? Acceptance from people. And if you get acceptance from people, that's not really what you're going for. What you are really obsessed about isn't just the acceptance of people as much as how that feels inside for yourself.So really, you're not motivated by pleasing other people as much as pleasing self. So if you're motivated by pleasing self, and that's why you pray, that's why you give, that's why you fast, that's what leads to hypocrisy. Because getting pleasure from people is much easier than getting delight of God, much easier. Because all you got to do is fake it.So it comes down to what you love most. Do you love most self or God? Ultimately, the only reason that people please others is to find pleasure for self. Why? Because we're insecure. We're self conscious. We need someone else to tell us that we are good, because we know deep inside we are not. We need someone else to tell us that we are righteous because we know deep inside we are not righteous, that there are sins that we cannot expose. So what's the remedy? The remedy is to find your security in God, find your remedy in God, find your acceptance and approval in God. Be secure in the fact that you're loved by God the Father. How can I be sure that I'm loved by God the Father? Look at what God the Father gave for you.It starts with giving to the needy. Well, God gave to the needy us. He gave his beloved Son. Why would God give his beloved son for God so loved the world, that he gave his beloved Son, for whosoever believes in Him should not die but have eternal life. God gave his greatest treasure for us, because he knew that we were good, because he saw that we are righteous.No. Jesus Christ came and died for sinners. And Jesus Christ on the cross, died for every single one of your sins past, present, and future. Therefore, it doesn't even make sense for us to hide our sin from God. Because as a Christian, your sins have been paid for on the cross, absolutely exposed by God, the Father on the cross, as Jesus Christ is bearing God's wrath for those sins. So there's absolutely no need to hide. And we know that when we come to Him, we repent of the sins, not pretending to be righteous, he forgives us of all of our sin, and gives us the power to live a transformed life.And this is where the transformation happens. When you understand how much God has loved you, then your heart begins to grow in love for God. And that's where the true essence modification happens, not just behavior modification, Matthew 6:4 through 5, "So that your giving may be in secret and your Father who is in secret will reward you and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love." That right there, that's the heart of the hypocrisy. And when you understand what the heart of hypocrisy is, then you begin to understand what the heart of authenticity can be. "For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly I say to you, they've received their award."They love getting attention from people, because they loved the pleasure it brought to self. Matthew 23:5 through 7, "And they do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and fringes long. And they love the places of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplace and being called Rabbi by others." They loved it. So we struggle with hypocrisy. This is why we all struggle with this. Because we all struggle with self love. We all struggle with pride.And this is what sin is. Sin is loving anything more than God. So how do we fight the hypocrisy? You fight the hypocrisy with love of God, and you grow in love of God by growing and understanding how much God loves you. And the other way that you practically grow in the self discipline, the spiritual disciplines, of giving, of prayer and of fasting is the phrase that we see in all three of these sections. Verse four, "So that your giving maybe in secret and your Father who sees." That's Matthew 6:4, "And your Father who sees." Matthew 6:6, same thing. "And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." And then verse 18, "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you."Every single child, every single child deep inside, what do they long for? They long for the undivided attention of their father, of their parents. "Daddy, look at me, look at me, look what I can do." And I remember as a kid I was meditating on this this week. When I played sports, my dad never came to any of my events because I played baseball and he's like baseball stupid. He's a Russian Soviet guy. He's like, "I don't know baseball. It's not even sport." That's the only reason I was tremendous is baseball. That's why they called me the crushing Russian. And I remember the only reason I wrestled, and wrestling is just a dumb sport, I never really enjoyed it. My dad thought it was this manly sport. That's the only reason I did it. And my greatest performance is when my dad would show up and just watch.And there's something about making sacrifices for the delight of your father, and just his undivided attention is reward enough, how much more so when our Heavenly Father, he sees our sacrifices that no one sees. He sees our sacrifices of giving to others, of taking from self and giving to, God the Father sees it, and there is a reward. What is the reward? We're not told. What's the reward for prayer? We're not told. What's the reward for fasting? We're not told, well, I think God seeing is reward enough. God sees and He draws you closer to Himself.Why did Jesus pray? Because he got more of the Father. Why did Jesus give? Because he got the delight of the Father, "This is my Son, in whom I'm well pleased." Why did Jesus fast to get the delight of the Father? Jesus prayed, gave fast for an audience of one. How can we give? We can give because Jesus Christ, he who was rich became poor so that we might become rich in him. How do we know that our prayers are heard because Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, prayed a prayer that was rejected. :et this cup pass from me, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Christ says on the cross, his prayer was rejected. He was rejected from the presence of God as He bore the sins, our sins upon himself so that our prayers can be heard. How can I fast? Because I have a treasure greater than food, I have the bread of life.And the Pharisees focused on the letter of the law, which only led to outside righteousness. Jesus focused on the heart of the law, which can only be met from the heart. And this is where we need Jesus Christ. We need Jesus Christ to give us a brand new heart. A lot of people today justify their sin by saying, "I was born this way." Jesus Christ comes and he says, "Yeah, everyone needs to be born again. We're all sinners, we all need a heart transplant. We all need our heart of stone taken out and replaced with the heart of flesh. And that's done by humbling yourself before Jesus Christ, coming to him and saying, "Jesus, I am a hypocrite. Jesus, I'm not righteous. Jesus, I'm not perfect. Jesus, forgive me of my sins, and give me the power of the Holy Spirit to live the life that you have called me to live."I'll close with Psalm 139:1 through 2, and then 7 through 12, one of my favorite Psalms, in which the psalmist talks about and meditates on the fact that God is everywhere, and the God sees, and that should be motivation enough for us to repent of sin, and then grow in authentic following of him. Psalm 139:1 through 2, "Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, and you discern my thoughts from afar. Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you. And the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you."Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for the reminder that there's nowhere we can go where you are not. Your presence is always before us. And I pray that that motivates us to turn from sin and turn to you, and on a daily basis to pursue perfection as you were perfect and not do it in a way where we pretend we're better than we are. But to do it in a way where we repent when we fall short of the standard of perfection, and then get up and continue following you.We thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you that you forgive us of all of our sins, when we turn from sin and turn to Christ, and continue to make us people that do pursue the spiritual distance of giving makes us generous people, pursue time of prayer with you, because there's nothing more rewarding than spending time with God the Father, and to fast from things that pull us away from you, and to discipline ourselves so that our flesh doesn't take over, and that we continue to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we thank you and we pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen.

The Good News of Christmas"For All People"(Luke 2:10)For the bulletin in PDF form, click here. But the angel said to them,“Do not be afraid. I bring you good newsthat will cause great joy for all the people."The Old Testament PreviewGod chose Abraham to father a nation and bless the whole world.Genesis 12:1-3The New Testament InaugurationJesus Christ brings redemption and joy to the whole world.Luke 2:10The Example of Jesus Jesus Christ brings salvation to all people up and down the social spectrum.The Gospel of LukeThe Model of the ChurchThe early church took the message of salvation to all people around the known world.The Acts of the Apostles The Great Commission of JesusJesus Christ sends us to take the gospel to all nations.Matthew 28:16-20 The unified purpose of God throughout history isto bring glory to Himself by declaring the message of salvationthrough faith in Jesus Christ to everyone in the entire world.Next Steps • Get your fingerprints on the Great Commission. • Prioritize your spiritual growth in 2021. This Week’s Growth GuideGod’s Word is both central and critical to your spiritual growth. We invite you to utilize the Growth Guide during the week to further your application of the Truth from the message.• Monday - Genesis 12:1-9• Tuesday - Psalm 98• Wednesday - Acts 1:1-9• Thursday - Revelation 7:1-17• Friday - Matthew 28:16-28Fellowship 101 We invite you to join us for a morning to learn more about Fellowship. This is a great opportunity to learn about our mission, values, and ministries. If you’re new to Fellowship, mark your calendars for Sunday, January 24, 9:00 a.m. (conference room) to hear what God is doing and where He is taking us. During this time you will get to meet some of our ministry leaders and ask questions that will help you in your search for a home church. We’re excited to meet you! Text ‘101’ to 501-434-4449 for more information. New to Fellowship?We are so glad that you joined the Fellowship Family to worship this morning. If you are joining us for the first time or have been checking us out for a few weeks, we are excited you are here and would love to meet you. Please fill out the “Connect” section of your bulletin, tear it off, and bring it to the Connection Center in the Atrium, we would love to say “hi” and give you a gift. Home Church Launching in 2021At Fellowship, our Home Churches are the lifeblood of our community. In a Home Church you will build deep relationships with other believers because of your mutual bond to Jesus Christ, as you study God’s Word, pray together, and serve alongside one another. We believe that God intended for people to live in community and we want to encourage you to be a part of our Home Church ministry launching in January 2021. Questions? Contact Michael Harrison mharrison@fellowshipconway.org. Perspectives | January 18 - May 10, 2021 | 2nd BaptistGod has a “world-sized” role for every Christian in His global purpose. Whether people go to distant countries or stay at home is a secondary issue. The primary issue is what most people are hungry to discover: vision to live a life of purpose. Discovering that vision makes this course valuable, and perhaps crucial, for any Christian. To sign-up or to learn more about this great opportunity, go to https://www.perspectives.org.Christmas Offering Thank you for your contributions to the Christmas Offering. If you haven’t been able to contribute there’s still time to help the following 3 areas - Renewal Ranch, Puerto Cabezas, and the Generations Campaign. You can put your gift in an envelope found on a seat near you, give online, or drop by the ministry office later this week. Holiday Ministry Office HoursThe minstry office will be open until noon on December 31 and closed January 1. End of the Year GivingWe are thankful for the generosity of the Fellowship Family, especially during a global pandemic. If you want any contributions to count for 2020, gifts need to be received by the ministry office by noon on December 31, online by 11:59 pm, or postmarked by Dec 31, 2020. Looking forward to a great 2021.FinancesWeekly Budget 25,962Giving For 12/06 82,000Giving For 12/13 20,108YTD Budget 623,077YTD Giving 656,342over 33,265Generations CampaignTotal Pledge 1,640,882Received-to-date 1,505,878

God is saying you will decree a thing and it will be establish. God desire his sons and daughters to command and step out in faith. May this word bless you. May you bless in the name of Jesus Jesus Christ. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mama-kosso/support

This week's message is on the Doctrine of Jesus: Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, who came into our world, lived a sinless life, died in our place, rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven and will one day return again to restore all things.

Jesus recognizes the failure of his disciples but continues to provide examples and instruction for their benefit.

Listening For God(Discovering God’s Will Together; #9)John 8:42-47 A. Prayer is central, assumptive, and normative in the Christian Life B. In discerning God’s will, prayer is absolutely essential The Principles “The best method of prayer is to have no method at all.” (St. Francis deSales) A. Principle One: The best way to learn to pray is ... to pray B. Principle Two: Prayer is primarily about our relationship with God 1. Prayer is not about getting stuff, problem solving or seeking guidance 2. Prayer is about experiencing more of God’s presence C. Principle Three: We don’t really know much about prayer 1. We are consciously stepping into the presence of the God of the universe! 2. We tend to focus on the mechanics and methods of prayer D. Principle Four: Prayer is hard work; it takes time 1. We wonder whether all the effort will be worth it 2. We join the disciples and ask, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1) E. Principle Five: Prayer is a gift from God F. Everything you need to know about prayer...you now know The Presuppositions A. Four parts of prayer: God speaks, we listen; we speak, God listens B. God speaks 1. God brought the universe into existence by His spoken Word 2. In the Garden, Adam and Eve talked with God and God talked with them 3. Moses learned to hear God’s voice and obey his command “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us or we will die.” (Exodus 20:19) 4. God sent prophets to speak for him 5. Then Jesus came speaking “I am the Good shepherd; my sheep know my voice” (John 10:4) 6. In Acts 1:1f; Luke indicates that after his ascension, Jesus continues “to do and to teach” through His Spirit 7. Good news: God hasn’t stopped speaking. Bad news: most people have stopped listening “He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is you do not belong to God.” (John 8:47) “The sheep follow him because they know his voice…” (John 10:4) “They too will listen to my voice…” (John 10:16) C. We need to listen 1. Few people hear an outward recordable voice 2. Most often God speaks in a whisper deep in our heart 3. Listening is a crucial element in our relationship with Jesus “Jesus Christ is alive and here to teach his people himself. His voice is not hard to hear; his vocabulary is not difficult to understand. But learning to listen well and to hear correctly is no small task.” (Richard Foster) 4. The Christian faith is hearing the voice of God and doing it 5. What are you listening for? When was the last time you heard God speak? The Practice A. Most often, God speaks in common promptings... 1. Then, we have a small window to respond 2. The goal is to carry a listening “ear” with us through our day “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persona are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees at the blessed sacrament.” (Brother Lawrence) “God does not cease speaking, but the noise of the creatures without, and of our passion within, deafens us, and stops our hearing. We must silence every creature; we must silence ourselves, to hear in the deep hush of the whole soul, the ineffable voice of the spouse. We must bend the ear, because it is a gentle and delicate voice, only heard by those who no longer hear anything else.” (Francois Fenelon) B. Ask God to speak to you. Practice Listening! Keep practicing! C. The voice of God is heard by those who no longer listen for anything else 

Happy Lord's Day to you, friends and family! Today is episode 19, and we are reading about Sarah's rescue from Abimelech in Genesis 20 (because Abraham lied again!); The great prayer of confession from Nehemiah 9 (that makes TWO amazing prayers in this book!); The Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19, and a botched exorcism in Acts 19 that leaves the would be exorcists naked, bleeding and profoundly embarrassed. Those people who say the Bible is boring have most likely only skimmed the surface - so let's dig into the depths! Today's featured passage is Acts 19, and the main topic we are focusing in on is the attempt by the foolish sons of Sceva to exorcise a demon. It's a very funny story in many ways: 13 Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. 17 When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem. Acts 19:13-17 I've been in few fights in my day, and I've seen a few more, but I have never in my life seen somebody beaten so badly that they run from the fight NAKED. When I was a kid, one of my earliest memories was of a dream that happened over and over and over again for several years. I lost track of how many times it happened because of the fog of age, but I recall this dream haunting me for an inordinate amount of time. In the dream, I would be in my bed, and Satan would come up into my room - usually through my closet, because we all know how scary closets can be! He would come through my closet, pick me up, and start to take me away. The whole time, I KNEW WHAT I HAD TO DO. If I could only utter the name 'Jesus,' I know I would be rescued! But, each time, Satan would take me down my non-existent closet stairs into Hell, and my voice would absolutely fail me. No matter how hard I tried - in my dream - I could not say the name 'Jesus.' I still get a shiver of terror thinking about that dream. In Acts 19, we have a real life version of a demonic encounter where these impostering sons of Sceva vainly try to imitate Jesus and Paul the apostle. They encounter a demon possessed man, and try to...control the man? Cast the demons out? It's not very clear in the text, but they try to challenge the wickedness with the name of Jesus...and presumably, they are able to pronounce the name just fine. BUT THE MERE SAYING OF THE NAME OF JESUS DOES NOT HELP! What gives? And the answer is this: The name of Jesus is not magical, in and of itself. I still remember the shock I had as a child when I pulled out a Jesus Alou baseball card from a Topps wrapper, and thinking how horrid that a family had named their child Jesus, when there should be one and only Jesus! Of course, it turns out that the name Jesus is actually quite common in Latin America, and the name Jesus (Hebrew Yehshua) was extremely common in the first century in Israel - there were literally hundreds of people in Israel named 'Jesus' during the ministry of Jesus Christ, son of Joseph and Mary. And thus we see here why the mere mention of a name that is quite common did not have the power to control a demonic entity...because it is not the NAME of Jesus (i.e. the word 'Jesus') that is powerful, but it is the PERSON of Jesus that is powerful. Yes! At the NAME OF JESUS, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, but read that whole passage in Philippians 2: For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 See how in verse 11 - the reference is to a PARTICULAR Jesus. Consider Acts 4 - a person is miraculously healed in the NAME of Jesus: 8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing here before you healthy. 11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:8-12 What is the difference? The sons of Sceva knew the name Jesus, but Peter KNEW JESUS. Not just the name, but the specific Jesus - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The power in the name of Jesus is not about the KNOWLEDGE of the name it is about the KNOWING of the person. Thus was Paul able to cast out a demon in Acts 16: Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away. Acts 16:18 He did not merely know the way to pronounce the name of Jesus - HE KNEW JESUS. It is not mere knowledge that has power, it is in the KNOWING of Jesus. Facts have no power over dark spirits, and no power to accomplish spiritual work. This is why it is possible to go to seminary, learn the Bible, and have great knowledge, but no fruit...because it isn't about knowledge it is about the knowing of Jesus. Consider the chilling words of Jesus in Matthew 7: 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?' 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!' Matthew 7:21-23 More positively, consider His description of Christianity in John 17: 23 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. John 17:23 Christianity is not about knowledge, it is about Jesus in us, and we in Him - "Christ in us, the hope of glory", as Paul describes in Colossians 1. There was no Jesus in the sons of Sceva - they knew the name, they did not know the person, and therefore there attempts fell flatter than flat. May that not be true of us! Allow me to close with these great words of Charles Spurgeon: We long to see the people saved; but in order to that, they must be born again, and this we cannot accomplish ourselves. Change a stone into flesh! Try that at home with a piece of stone on your table, before you attempt it with the hard hearts of men. Create a soul between the ribs of death! Try that in a charnel-house before you pretend to create within a sinner, dead in sin, the spiritual life. Of regeneration we may say, “This is the finger of God.” If our religion be not supernatural, it is a delusion. If the Holy Spirit be not with you, you are like Jannes and Jambres, attempting to work a miracle without Jehovah's aid; and you will be baffled, and detected for an impostor. You will fail, like the seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, who tried to cast out devils: the devils do not know you; they would know Jesus; they would know the Holy Spirit; but at your idle efforts they mockingly laugh. Only those people who never do any spiritual work talk about what they can accomplish. When you get into the sacred service, you find how great your weakness is; you feel out of your depth when you come to deal with souls, and you must have the Holy Spirit or fail. We must not conclude that because so many good people give their time to God's work, that necessarily the work is done. No, there is nothing done unless the Holy Spirit does it. We never personally go a step towards heaven, and we never lead another one inch on the way, apart from the Holy Spirit. We must have the Holy Spirit, and if we have him not, all our machinery will stand still; or if it goes on, it will produce no effect whatever. C. H. Spurgeon, “‘Is the Spirit of the Lord Straitened?,'” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 37 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1891), 433–434.

Happy Lord's Day to you, friends and family! Today is episode 19, and we are reading about Sarah's rescue from Abimelech in Genesis 20 (because Abraham lied again!); The great prayer of confession from Nehemiah 9 (that makes TWO amazing prayers in this book!); The Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19, and a botched exorcism in Acts 19 that leaves the would be exorcists naked, bleeding and profoundly embarrassed. Those people who say the Bible is boring have most likely only skimmed the surface - so let's dig into the depths! Today's featured passage is Acts 19, and the main topic we are focusing in on is the attempt by the foolish sons of Sceva to exorcise a demon. It's a very funny story in many ways: 13 Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. 17 When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem. Acts 19:13-17 I've been in few fights in my day, and I've seen a few more, but I have never in my life seen somebody beaten so badly that they run from the fight NAKED. When I was a kid, one of my earliest memories was of a dream that happened over and over and over again for several years. I lost track of how many times it happened because of the fog of age, but I recall this dream haunting me for an inordinate amount of time. In the dream, I would be in my bed, and Satan would come up into my room - usually through my closet, because we all know how scary closets can be! He would come through my closet, pick me up, and start to take me away. The whole time, I KNEW WHAT I HAD TO DO. If I could only utter the name 'Jesus,' I know I would be rescued! But, each time, Satan would take me down my non-existent closet stairs into Hell, and my voice would absolutely fail me. No matter how hard I tried - in my dream - I could not say the name 'Jesus.' I still get a shiver of terror thinking about that dream. In Acts 19, we have a real life version of a demonic encounter where these impostering sons of Sceva vainly try to imitate Jesus and Paul the apostle. They encounter a demon possessed man, and try to...control the man? Cast the demons out? It's not very clear in the text, but they try to challenge the wickedness with the name of Jesus...and presumably, they are able to pronounce the name just fine. BUT THE MERE SAYING OF THE NAME OF JESUS DOES NOT HELP! What gives? And the answer is this: The name of Jesus is not magical, in and of itself. I still remember the shock I had as a child when I pulled out a Jesus Alou baseball card from a Topps wrapper, and thinking how horrid that a family had named their child Jesus, when there should be one and only Jesus! Of course, it turns out that the name Jesus is actually quite common in Latin America, and the name Jesus (Hebrew Yehshua) was extremely common in the first century in Israel - there were literally hundreds of people in Israel named 'Jesus' during the ministry of Jesus Christ, son of Joseph and Mary. And thus we see here why the mere mention of a name that is quite common did not have the power to control a demonic entity...because it is not the NAME of Jesus (i.e. the word 'Jesus') that is powerful, but it is the PERSON of Jesus that is powerful. Yes! At the NAME OF JESUS, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, but read that whole passage in Philippians 2: For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 See how in verse 11 - the reference is to a PARTICULAR Jesus. Consider Acts 4 - a person is miraculously healed in the NAME of Jesus: 8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing here before you healthy. 11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:8-12 What is the difference? The sons of Sceva knew the name Jesus, but Peter KNEW JESUS. Not just the name, but the specific Jesus - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The power in the name of Jesus is not about the KNOWLEDGE of the name it is about the KNOWING of the person. Thus was Paul able to cast out a demon in Acts 16: Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away. Acts 16:18 He did not merely know the way to pronounce the name of Jesus - HE KNEW JESUS. It is not mere knowledge that has power, it is in the KNOWING of Jesus. Facts have no power over dark spirits, and no power to accomplish spiritual work. This is why it is possible to go to seminary, learn the Bible, and have great knowledge, but no fruit...because it isn't about knowledge it is about the knowing of Jesus. Consider the chilling words of Jesus in Matthew 7: 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?' 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!' Matthew 7:21-23 More positively, consider His description of Christianity in John 17: 23 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. John 17:23 Christianity is not about knowledge, it is about Jesus in us, and we in Him - "Christ in us, the hope of glory", as Paul describes in Colossians 1. There was no Jesus in the sons of Sceva - they knew the name, they did not know the person, and therefore there attempts fell flatter than flat. May that not be true of us! Allow me to close with these great words of Charles Spurgeon: We long to see the people saved; but in order to that, they must be born again, and this we cannot accomplish ourselves. Change a stone into flesh! Try that at home with a piece of stone on your table, before you attempt it with the hard hearts of men. Create a soul between the ribs of death! Try that in a charnel-house before you pretend to create within a sinner, dead in sin, the spiritual life. Of regeneration we may say, “This is the finger of God.” If our religion be not supernatural, it is a delusion. If the Holy Spirit be not with you, you are like Jannes and Jambres, attempting to work a miracle without Jehovah's aid; and you will be baffled, and detected for an impostor. You will fail, like the seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, who tried to cast out devils: the devils do not know you; they would know Jesus; they would know the Holy Spirit; but at your idle efforts they mockingly laugh. Only those people who never do any spiritual work talk about what they can accomplish. When you get into the sacred service, you find how great your weakness is; you feel out of your depth when you come to deal with souls, and you must have the Holy Spirit or fail. We must not conclude that because so many good people give their time to God's work, that necessarily the work is done. No, there is nothing done unless the Holy Spirit does it. We never personally go a step towards heaven, and we never lead another one inch on the way, apart from the Holy Spirit. We must have the Holy Spirit, and if we have him not, all our machinery will stand still; or if it goes on, it will produce no effect whatever. C. H. Spurgeon, “‘Is the Spirit of the Lord Straitened?,'” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 37 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1891), 433–434.

Acts Lesson 3/Day 3 Acts 3:1-10 Like the lame man crippled from birth, each of us are lame in our own way. We may have two functioning legs, but we all have a crippled heart. Sin has corrupted this world and our bodies, minds, and hearts along with it. Like the lame man we may find ourselves begging for the basics instead of praying for true healing. We may look to the men and women in this world who seem to be healthier than we are in their body, mind, or heart – maybe their lifestyle and station in life – and we read their book, listen to their seminars or follow their social media looking for that great tip or just the right idea that will help transform our own life. The thing is, like the beggar reaching out for alms, we’re reaching for the wrong thing. What we really need is found only in gazing at the Healer. What we truly need is found only is the name of Jesus – Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Let’s be women today who are reaching out for more than alms. Let’s be women who live in the power of the Holy Spirit because we have fixed our gaze on Jesus and called upon His holy name. Pray today that God would help you see when your focus is on alms instead of the Almighty. "Acts: Seeds of the Gospel" is a Dwelling Richly Bible study - A 13-Lesson verse-by-verse study through the book of Acts. Download the lessons at http://www.JenniferGRichmond.com Watch each weekday session on Facebook or YouTube http://www.YouTube.com/c/JenniferRichmond http://www.Facebook.com/JenniferRichmondBlog Listen along with the Dwelling Richly Podcast #LMCCWomen #DwellingRichly #biblestudy ©DwellingRichly 2019

We take Jesus seriously – so what does that mean? It is important to think about Jesus as a human being in order to help us work out how Jesus wants us to live. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Jesus Christ was a first-century rabbi who taught people how to live on earth. He was entrusted with speaking in the synagogue and at the temple. Let’s look at the calling of the first 4 disciples: Matthew 4:18-22: As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. There are a couple of things to notice about this passage: They were fishermen. Jesus’ sales pitch was “Follow me” 4 grown men left everything they knew to follow a random stranger Then again in Mark 2:13-14: 13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. Again – the sales pitch is “Follow me” and these grown men are leaving everything to do just that – businesses, family, wives, children - everything. What is happening here? In first century Israel, every boy wanted to be a Rabbi – it was the highest honour. But at the end of the day, only the best of the best went on to become a Rabbi. To be entrusted with the title Rabbi was not something that was done lightly – there are only 3 Rabbis mentioned in the Bible – Jesus, Paul and Gamaliel. In order to be a rabbi, you had to memorise Leviticus by the age of 6. If you did this, you graduated to the next school. The next school was the Bet Sefer – the school of the book – which lasted from age 6-12 and you had to memorise the entire Torah before the age of 12. If you memorised the entire Torah before the age of 12, this qualified you to take the exam in order to progress to the next school. The exam was on your ability to ask questions about the Scripture in order to keep a conversation about God going. Think about the Bible - when Jesus was 12 years old, he was wowing the teachers of the law with his questions. If you wow the teachers of the law with your questions, you then progressed to the next school – the Bet Talmid. Bet Talmid means the school of discipleship and this lasted from 12 years old to 30 years old. The Bet Talmid consisted of 5 stages and you had to graduate from each stage or you were told “I’m sorry, you’re disqualified from being a rabbi, go back and earn a living at your family business”.

Who is Chris Bonno: Chris Bonno, once voted the Funniest Person in Austin, is a regular performer at the Improv in LA, with the improv troupe “The Fugitives”, and at the ACME comedy theater with the improvisational forties radio comedy troupe “Liquid Radio Players” and has also done numerous shows with the “Fake Radio Players” performing in live traditional radio shows with a comic twist. He wrote for the VH1 pilot “Popshot” and created commercial parodies for the Disney Channel. He now is the writer and voice of Spike TV’s deluded cartoon mascot named “Roger”. You may also remember him as the voice of the Red Bullfrog prince. You can find Chris on the web playing the character Ralph the Roadie, a roadie who wants to be a rock star. Links Favorite Career Highlight: Being voted funniest person is Austin of course.   What did you learn about playing Jesus: I learned that Jesus was actually a rather calm, cool dude.   Have you ever done yoga or eaten kale? Yes and yes. Who is Jesus: Jesus Christ, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah (Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament. Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically although the quest for the historical Jesus has produced little agreement on the historical reliability of the Gospels and on how closely the Jesus portrayed in the Bible reflects the historical Jesus Books: Click here Special Episode moments: I think the most special moment was when Jesus made me cry. Link to get your very own Polar Jade Nephrite Jade Egg This episode was also supported by Amazon. Click on this link --> Amazon any time you need to make an Amazon purchase. A small percentage of your purchase will support the show (no extra cost to you).   I receive an affiliate commission from some of the links above. Go get your free be happier than all your friends morning routine over here --> Project Woo Woo Listen to Lisa's other podcasts at Love Bites & Honestly Lisa

The “Night Time Bible Reading Society” strikes again in this unforgettable message that will help you watch out for the “Fugazi Jesus” and the “Fugazi Gospel.” They’re out there, literally – and extremely dangerous. Message 78 in our “Life of Christ” message series is sure to make you laugh and cry. This potent message will help you consider and discover – or rediscover – the following: 1. The greatest news ever told, known as “The Gospel” and what it means for you and every single person on the earth. 2. Members of the “Night Time Bible Reading Society” abound – and are extremely dangerous. Are you an unsuspecting member? Have you begun to listen to believe in a “Fugazi” Jesus” and a “Fugazi Gospel”? The real, biblical Jesus is the only Jesus worth following – but if you’re not careful, you might make the fateful mistake of embracing a false Jesus. If you do that, you 3. The importance of the “bad news” that is part of the “good news” known as “The Gospel” – and why this bad news is so VITAL for you each and every single day of your life; 4. Why it’s important to take the FULL counsel of what the Bible teaches about the life, teachings and miracles of Jesus Jesus Christ – or you could embrace a Fugazi Jesus, a Fugazi Gospel, and suffer eternally damaging consequences. Share this message with someone you know who may have embraced a false Jesus and a false Gospel. By doing so, you just might help them experience forgiveness, salvation and freedom that is found in the real Jesus and the real Gospel.

We Latter-day Saints "talk of Christ . . . rejoice in Christ . . . preach of Christ . . . prophesy of Christ . . . and write of Christ, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). But have we always been consistent in our understanding of Christ? What are the evolutions in thought about Christ that we have undergone in the nearly two centuries since the church’s founding? How did earlier Latter-day Saints understand certain terms in ways that are different from today’s views? We Mormons also speak regularly of the importance of "coming unto Christ," "taking his name upon us," "standing as a witness for Christ," and "becoming perfect in Christ." What do we mean by these terms? Do they have multiple layers that can reveal great richness when we examine them deeply? In this five-part episode, Charley Harrell, Jody England Hansen, and Phil McLemore join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an extensive dive in both doctrinal and devotional aspects related to our Christian beliefs and experiences.