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Talk 47  Mark 15:40-47 The Burial of Jesus    Welcome to Talk 47 in our series on Mark's Gospel. We have now reached Mark 15:40. Today we'll be concentrating on Jesus' burial and, as we do so, we'll take time to note the importance of the certification of his death and of the key roles played by Joseph of Arimathea and women like Mary Magdalene. Next time, which will be our final talk in this series, we'll be looking at Mark's account of the resurrection and the Great Commission.   As we proceed we will take time to stress the importance of each of these historical facts without getting involved with relatively minor issues like the apparent differences in the Gospel accounts, or whether, as some have argued, Jesus was actually crucified on the Thursday, rather than, as is traditionally taught, on what we know as Good Friday. Such discussion is generally unproductive.   As far as any differences in the accounts are concerned, I have already pointed out in my book, You'd Better Believe It, that the Schofield Bible offers an explanation of how the different accounts of Christ's resurrection appearances can be reconciled. What's more, any such differences actually strengthen the case for the resurrection as they suggest that there was no collaboration between the four writers. And does it really matter what day he was crucified? Surely what matters is that Christ died for our sins… was buried… and rose again. This, says Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, is the essence of the gospel.   So, over these two final talks, we'll take the text of Mark's Gospel as we have it and consider Jesus' burial, the confirmation of his death, his resurrection, and his last instructions to his disciples.   We'll begin today by reading verses 42-47: 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.   We'll start with the confirmation of Jesus' death. Joseph goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Jesus, but Pilate needs to be sure that Jesus is already dead. Some victims of crucifixion had been known to survive for days. He summons the centurion who crucified Jesus, who assures him that Jesus really is dead. So Pilate gives the body to Joseph.   Why is this important? Why has Mark chosen to include this detail about the certification of Jesus' death? Because the entire truth of the resurrection rests upon it. There have always been those who, refusing to believe the clear evidence of the Gospel writers, have argued that Jesus only appeared to die on the cross but recovered in the tomb and walked out! And if Jesus did not die, the resurrection is a myth! There is no truth in the gospel that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried and that he rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The certainty of the resurrection rests securely on the certainty of his death.   And his burial is important too. This not only gives added confirmation to the fact that Jesus was truly dead, but it also helps us in our understanding of the significance of baptism. In Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12 Paul teaches us that in baptism we are buried with Christ and raised with him to live a new life through our faith in the power of God. Of course, the word for baptise in Greek is baptizo which always means immerse, and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. But how does this relate to Jesus' burial? Let me put it like this:   When we first put our faith in Jesus we acknowledged that on the cross he died in our place, to take the punishment for our sins. In so doing we identified ourselves with his death. That's why Paul could say in Galatians 2:20, I was crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. When you gave your life to Christ, you became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old you died and a new you came alive. Baptism is a wonderful picture of that truth. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. In baptism you act out your identification with him as you are buried in the water and come up out of it to live out the new life he has already given you. (See my book, You'd Better Believe It, for more on this).   But let's look now at the man who buried the Lord Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea. Let's read again verses 42-43. 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. And  verses 46-47 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.   First, please note the urgency of the situation. As I'm sure you know, the Jewish Sabbath lasted from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. That's why it was important for Jesus to be buried very soon after he died. Apart from the fact that it was against the Law for a dead body to remain exposed overnight, for the Jews all forms of work were prohibited on the Sabbath. So if Jesus' followers didn't bury him before sunset the Romans would have disposed of his body as they were not subject to the laws of the Sabbath. And, as verse 42 tells us, evening was already approaching when Joseph went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body.   Joseph was a well-respected member of the Sanhedrin, most of whom, as we know, were bitterly opposed to Jesus, but Joseph was an exception. When Mark says that he was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, he is implying that Joseph was a follower of Jesus, albeit until now, secretly. He had been present at Jesus' trial before the high priest, but we're told in Luke 23:51 that he had not consented to their decision and action.   Clearly Joseph had now decided to let his respect for Jesus be known publicly. What he was about to do could hardly be kept a secret. By coming in contact with a dead body he would make himself ritually unclean and would not be able to attend the synagogue the following day. His absence would be noticed. What's more, it was a risky thing to show sympathy with anyone who had been crucified, especially on a charge of sedition. He was in danger not only of incurring the wrath of the Jewish authorities, but of the Romans too. No doubt that's why Mark says that Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.   Verse 46 tells us that, after Pilate had authorised Joseph to have the body Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.   Matthew 27:60 explains that this tomb was one which Joseph had had carved for himself, and, to complete the picture, John 19:39 tells us that he was accompanied by Nicodemus, the member of the Sanhedrin who had come to Jesus by night in John 3. Perhaps he too had decided that it was high time to make his secret discipleship public. The message of Christ crucified demands a decision of us all. In the light of his death, are we prepared to stand up for him?     But Joseph and Nicodemus were not the only ones to play a significant part in the burial of Jesus. Verse 47 tells us that Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. It's time for us now to consider the important role of such women in the life of Jesus, and now at his death. We'll start by going back to verses 40 and 41.   40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. In many ways these verses should have been included at the end of our last talk, as they are part of the story of the crucifixion, but I have left them until now to link them with the references to these women a little later in the story. We have been told so much about Jesus' male disciples that it's easy to forget that he had female disciples too. Three women are named in these verses, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome. But Mark tells us that many other women were also there watching the crucifixion from a distance. They had followed him since the early days of his ministry in Galilee and had cared for his needs. And, as we see in the last verse of the chapter and the first of the next, these devoted disciples were determined to care for his needs even after his death.   47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. 15:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. The three women named in these verses were among many who were not only devoted followers of Jesus, but who also supported Jesus and the apostles out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3 tells us that as Jesus travelled about proclaiming the good news of the kingdom…   …The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. These verses indicate the highly valued role of women among the early disciples, their devotion to Jesus often exceeding that of the men, as it does so often today. Apart from the apostle John, it was women, not men, who stood near the cross as Jesus was crucified (John 19:25-27), and, apart from secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, it was women who participated in his burial and brought precious spices to anoint his body. And, as we see in the next chapter, it was to women that was given the first good news that Christ was risen. We'll move into Chapter 16 next time for the final talk in our series, but let's conclude today's talk by considering the role of Mary Magdalene.   Perhaps the first thing to notice is that it is Mary Magdalene who is mentioned first each time these women are mentioned:   40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.   47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. 15:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Secondly, Mary was the first person to witness the resurrection of Jesus:   15:9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.   Thirdly, she was the first person to proclaim the news that Jesus was risen:   15:10 She went and told those who had been with him.   The question naturally arises as to why Mary was so honoured. That verse in 1 Samuel 2:30 comes to mind – Those who honour me, I will honour. Mary had honoured the Lord by supporting him throughout his ministry, by remaining to the end at the scene of the crucifixion, by following Joseph to see where Jesus was buried, and by buying spices to anoint his body. She was clearly devoted to him. And that devotion sprang from what Jesus had done for her. He had driven seven demons out of her. Her deliverance led to a lifetime of devotion. And isn't that what motivates us? We love him because he first loved us. And if we honour him, the day will come when he will honour us.

We're back! Today we reconnect and reflect on this past summer, and set the stage for the Good News in store for this year. Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? - How did you rest and restore this summer? Readings for next week: As much of Matthew as you can handle! Links mentioned in this episode: - Christ Chronological Bible (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143364603X) - Overview of Matthew (https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/matthew/) - Check us out on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@biblelovepodcast) The show music is "Silver Lining" by Brent Wood, licensed under Soundstripe

This week Pastor Darrin kicks of a new summer series as he looks at all the times Jesus did life and ministry around a meal.

This year God is about to show out & I'm happy I was obedient to listen to Him in 2023 & do the work, planting all the seeds.. check this episode out now.. also follow me on ig @healnglowco

Talk 3  Mark 1:14-20  Winning others for Jesus Welcome to Talk 3 in our series on Mark's Gospel. So far we have seen how Mark begins by establishing very clearly that Jesus is none other than God himself who came to make possible the forgiveness of our sins. To prepare for his coming the people were to confess their sins, repent and be baptised. But when Jesus came he would do more for them than baptism in water ever could. He would baptise them in the Holy Spirit.   I also pointed out that in New Testament times repentance, faith, water baptism and baptism in the Spirit would usually have all taken place on the same day, and that, though these are each distinct elements with the process of Christian initiation, they would probably have been viewed as all part of the same event.   In our last talk we saw in the baptism of Jesus, his willingness to be identified with sinners even though he was sinless, his determination to do what is right, and his desire always to do the will of God. And we suggested that, if we truly wish to be his disciples, we must not only repent and believe the gospel, but that we should follow his example and be baptised by total immersion.   We saw too that Jesus' baptism in water also teaches us about the relationship between water baptism and the baptism in the Spirit. The baptism in the Spirit was the gateway to his miracle working ministry. For Jesus, this was received at/after his baptism in water. And this was just what the early disciples expected and, although this is rarely the case today, it is certainly what we should be teaching and believing for.   And finally, we considered five reasons why the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Perhaps the most important of these was that we could learn from his example how to deal with temptation. We saw the importance of keeping full of the Spirit, of being led by the Spirit, and of correctly understanding and using the Spirit's sword, the word of God.   Today we'll be looking at Mark 1:14-20. The passage introduces us to the message that Jesus preached and how he called his first disciples. It also shows us how, like the first disciples, we can get involved in spreading the good news of the gospel – how we can win other people for Jesus. The key, as we shall see, is found in verse 17 where Jesus says:   "Come, follow me, …and I will make you fishers of men."   If we want to win others for Jesus, we must first follow him ourselves. And we must allow him to make us. And as we work through the passage we'll see from the example of Jesus and the response of the disciples several other important principles. But first, let's begin by reading the whole passage.   14. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of (the kingdom of) God. 15. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" 16. As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18. At once they left their nets and followed him. 19. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.   After John was put in prison (14) Mark begins by mentioning briefly that John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, had been put in prison. We know from chapter 6 that this was because he had annoyed Herod by telling him that it was not lawful for him to have married his brother's wife. Undeterred by this news, Jesus begins his public ministry. He preaches essentially the same message as John – Repent and believe the good news. Despite the possible danger in doing this – John was eventually executed by Herod – Jesus is determined to do God's will. So the first thing we can learn from the example of Jesus is that if we are going to be used in spreading the good news, we must not be deterred by apparent setbacks. We will need to embrace the danger.   Jesus went into Galilee (14) Before Jesus could proclaim the good news he had to go. Actually, the Greek literally means, he came. I'm reminded that before Jesus could tell us the good news, he had to come. He had to come from the glory of Heaven to a sin-sick world to make our salvation possible. And if others are to be saved, we too need to go. This is what he commanded us – Go into all the world and preach the good news (Mark 16:15). And the world begins right where you are. Jesus went into Galilee. Jesus had been brought up in Nazareth, which is in the region of Galilee. He went to where he had been brought up. If we're going to be used in spreading the good news about Jesus, we must be willing to go. If need be, to the ends of the earth, but at least to those who are already around us. This implies intentionality. To catch fish, you have to GO fishing.   proclaiming the good news of (the kingdom of) God. (14) The message must be proclaimed, announced. Of course, it's no good talking the talk if we're not walking the walk. Nevertheless, living good lives is not enough. Actually I'm not living a good life if I'm not telling others what they need to hear.   The message is good news about God. More specifically, the kingdom of God. It's good news that God's in charge. More of this in a moment.   The time has come (15) For thirty years Jesus had been relatively silent, but now the time had come. How did he know? He lived life in dependence on his Father and in close fellowship with him. He was now baptised in the Spirit and empowered to begin his ministry. It was through the power of the Spirit that the kingdom would be manifested.   In Matthew 12:28, after healing a demonized man who had been blind and mute Jesus says:   If it is that by the Spirit of God I drive our demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (v28).   The kingdom of God is near.  Or, the kingdom of God has come. The Greek verb engizo literally mean to come near. The kingdom is present wherever the king is present. Wherever Jesus was present, there were manifestations of the kingdom like healing and casting out demons. And in Matthew 10:1 he gave his disciples authority to do the same:   He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.   And in verses 7-8 he went on to say:   As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.   They did this with the special authority Jesus gave them at that time. Later, after Jesus had returned to Heaven, to do these things they had to wait until they were baptised in the Spirit. Their authority would come from the Spirit, and the miracles they performed, like those performed by Jesus, would be done through the direction and power of the Spirit. When we're baptised in the Spirit we should expect him to work miracles through us. It's not so much a matter of claiming promises as being led by the Holy Spirit.   Repent and believe the good news! (15) The message we have to share with people is good news, demonstrated by amazing miracles of healing, deliverance, provision and forgiveness. But its blessings are to be received by repenting and believing. When we share the good news with people, we must not dodge the issue of repentance. It's not good news for those who refuse to repent and believe.   So we've looked at the example of Jesus. We've seen that if we are going to be used in spreading the good news: ·      We must not be deterred by apparent setbacks. We will need to embrace the danger. ·      We must be willing to go. ·      We must be willing to speak. ·      We should expect God to work miracles through us as we are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. ·      We must not dodge the issue of repentance.   But now let's look at the response of the disciples.   16. As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18. At once they left their nets and followed him. 19. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.   17. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."   The purpose of our calling to follow Jesus is to make us fishers of men (17).   18. At once they left their nets and followed him   At once… they followed him Taken with verse 20 where we're told that Jesus called his disciples without delay, we see three things: ·      We should not delay in telling others the good news. ·      When Jesus calls us to salvation, we should not delay. ·      When he calls us to serve him, we should not put off the decision.   There is a clear sense of urgency in all this, and this is emphasised in verses 18 and 20 where the fishermen left their nets (v18) which were their livelihood, and their father (v20). They left their family as well. They left all to follow him. Their attitude can best be summarised in one word – COMMITMENT.  As CT Studd, a Cambridge graduate and former England cricketer once said: If Jesus Christ be God, and died for me, no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.   And Studd lived up to his words. After his father's death, he gave away his entire inheritance and became a missionary, serving the Lord in China, India, and finally in Africa. Now we may not all be called to give up our means of livelihood or our family to follow Jesus, but we should all be willing to do so. We are all called to commitment. So now let's summarise the principles we have discovered in today's passage.   ·      When Jesus calls us to salvation, we should not delay. ·      When he calls us to serve him, we should not put off the decision. ·      We should follow his example and allow him to make us fishers of men. ·      We should not delay in telling others the good news of the kingdom of God. ·      We should expect God to work miracles through us as we are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. ·      We must not be deterred by apparent setbacks. We will need to embrace the danger. ·      We must be willing to go. ·      We must be willing to speak, and we must not dodge the issue of repentance.   Of course, we're all different, but how can these principles be worked out in YOUR life?

Talk 2   Mark 1:9-13  The baptism and temptation of Jesus Welcome to Talk 2 in our new series on Mark's Gospel. In our first talk we saw how Mark begins by establishing very clearly that Jesus is none other than God himself who came to make possible the forgiveness of our sins. To prepare for his coming the people were to confess their sins, repent and be baptised. But when Jesus came he would do more for them than baptism in water ever could. He would baptise them in the Holy Spirit.   From elsewhere in the New Testament, we saw that it was through the work of the Spirit that we are empowered to live new lives by being born again. We begin to show the fruit of the Spirit which Paul describes in Galatians 5. And when we are baptised in the Spirit we are told in Acts 1 we receive power to be effective witnesses for Christ.   I also pointed out that in New Testament times repentance, faith, water baptism and baptism in the Spirit would usually have all taken place on the same day, and although today we often think of each of them as distinct experiences, the early disciples may well have thought of them all as part of the same event. This probably accounts for those occasions in the New Testament when writers may appear to use expressions like repentance, baptism, or baptise in the Spirit to refer to the whole event of Christian initiation, not just to the distinct aspect that each of these terms represents. If all this seems a bit complicated, don't worry. I'll be saying more about this when we look at the baptism of Jesus and its close relationship with his baptism in the Spirit.   So today we'll be considering: ·      The baptism of Jesus ·      His baptism in the Spirit ·      His temptation in the wilderness   We'll begin by reading verses 9-13.   9. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. 10. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." 12. At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13. and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.   Jesus' baptism Notice, first, how Jesus was baptised. As we said last time, in the Greek language in which the New Testament was originally written, the word baptise means immerse. This is confirmed by how Mark describes Jesus' baptism. In verse 10 he refers to Jesus coming up out of the water. This implies that he had first gone down into the water. In fact, wherever the New Testament gives us a description of people being baptised, it's clear that baptism was always by immersion. For example, in Acts 8:38-39 we read how Philip baptised the Ethiopian eunuch: …Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.   So Jesus, like everybody else, was baptised by being immersed in water. But why was Jesus baptised? We saw last time that John was preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (v4) and that the people were baptised confessing their sins (v5). But Jesus had no sins to confess. He was God's beloved Son with whom God was well-pleased (v11). He was the spotless Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). In fact, Matthew 3:14 tells us that, when Jesus came to John to be baptised, John protested, saying, I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?   So why was Jesus baptised? Jesus himself gives us the first part of the answer in Matthew 3:15, where he says. Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness. The purpose of Jesus' life was to do the will of God, right down to the last detail. This is no more clearly seen than in the Garden of Gethsemane when, the night before he was to be crucified, Jesus prayed earnestly that, if it were possible, he might not suffer the agony of crucifixion, but, in total submission to the will of his Father, ended by saying, Yet not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:39). Everything he did was motivated by his desire to do God's will (Hebrews 10:7). So for Jesus, being baptised was an essential part of doing God's will. He said it was necessary to fulfil all righteousness.   For Jesus the ultimate fulfilment of all righteousness, of doing God's will, was to die on the cross to save us from our sins. But how does this relate to his baptism? Perhaps the answer lies in the understanding that his baptism in water was a foreshadowing of the baptism of suffering he was to endure at Calvary (Matthew 20:22-23, Luke 12:50). At Calvary Jesus suffered the death of a common criminal. This made him look like a sinner. But more than that, when he died on the cross he was carrying our sin.   And at his baptism too, to those who were watching, he looked like a sinner. The sinless Lamb of God identified with sinners. Perhaps that's one reason why the voice from Heaven was heard, saying, You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. All the others who were being baptised were sinners, but God was making it clear that his Son was different.   Finally, before we leave the subject of Jesus' baptism, it's perhaps good to remind ourselves that his baptism is a compelling reason for us to be baptised. In John 12:26 Jesus told us that if we serve him we must follow him. And 1 Peter 2:21 tells us that Jesus has left us an example that we should follow in his steps. For more reasons why we should be baptised, please see You'd Better Believe It, pages 83-85.   His baptism in the Spirit   10. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.   I'm referring to this as Jesus' baptism in the Spirit because of the words descending on him. Jesus himself identified the baptism in the Spirit as the Spirit coming on us (Acts 1:5, 8), and his promise was fulfilled in the experience of the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 1:17), the Samaritan converts (Acts 8:15-17), Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44-46), the Ephesians (Acts 19:1-6), and countless millions of Christians ever since.   The purpose of this wonderful baptism in the Spirit was, and still is, the equipping of God's servants with power for service, and even Jesus needed this empowering of the Spirit before beginning his miracle-working ministry. Of course, the miracle of the incarnation – how Jesus could be both fully God and fully man – is a mystery. But while he was here on earth as a man he was totally dependent on his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was a man under authority (Matthew 8:8-9) and the miracles he did were performed as a result of the anointing of the Spirit (Acts 10:38).   It's noteworthy, too, that all three Persons of the Trinity are actively present in the passage we're looking at. Jesus, God the Son, is coming up out of the waters of baptism. The Holy Spirit is descending upon him like a dove. And he hears the voice of God the Father speaking from Heaven. If Jesus needed this empowering of the Spirit, how much more do we?   So Jesus is baptised in water and in the Spirit on the same occasion. But what is the relationship between them? Notice, first, that in all four gospels being baptised in the Holy Spirit is distinguished from being baptised in water. John was baptising in water, but Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit.   The nature and purpose of baptism in the Spirit is not made clear here – as we have seen, Jesus himself does that in Acts 1:4-8 – but it is evident that Spirit-baptism is not only distinct from water-baptism but also vastly superior to it and more important than it. Jesus is greater than John, and the Spirit is greater than water! So water-baptism must never be confused with Spirit-baptism.   However, Jesus' baptism does indicate that there is a close relationship between them. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at or at least immediately after his baptism in water. And, as I mentioned last time, elsewhere in the New Testament the baptism in the Spirit usually occurred at about the same time as baptism in water.  It happened so close to it that we might reasonably say that it happened at baptism. Yet its timing was usually sufficiently distinct from baptism for us truthfully to say that it happened after baptism. That's why, in my book, The Holy Spirit – an Introduction, I coined the phrase at-after. I suggested that Jesus received the Spirit 'at-after' baptism.  Consider the following literal translations:   Jesus, having been baptised, came up immediately from the water; and behold the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove (Matthew 3:16)   And Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan by John. And immediately, coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit coming down like a dove (Mark 1:9-10)   And it came to pass that, while all the people were being baptised, Jesus also having been baptised and continuing to pray, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended.... (Luke 3:21-22).   We notice that in Matthew Jesus has already been baptised, but he is hardly out of the water when the Spirit comes upon him. In Mark he is coming up out of the water. In Luke he has been baptised and is continuing to pray when the Spirit descends.  From this it is clear that Jesus' baptism in the Spirit occurred immediately after his baptism in water and yet was in a very real sense a definite part of it. So it would be wrong to teach that the Spirit is automatically received at baptism, for reception of the Spirit is distinct from baptism. Yet we must equally strongly resist the temptation to make a wide separation between them, for they are closely associated in the New Testament. We should expect people to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit at or shortly after water-baptism (unless, like Cornelius, they have already received beforehand). For the promise still holds true:   Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).   Jesus' temptation   We now come to the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Mark records this extremely briefly: 12. At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13. and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.   Matthew and Luke are far more detailed. All three synoptic gospels tell us that after his baptism Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where he was tempted by the devil. But Matthew 4:1 clearly indicates that the temptation was the purpose of Jesus' being led into the desert. He was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. At first sight this seems a rather surprising statement. The Lord Jesus himself taught us to pray that we should not be led into temptation and James 1:13 makes it clear that no-one is tempted by God. So why did the Spirit lead Jesus to be tempted?   Before attempting to answer this question we need to remember that although God tempts nobody he may nevertheless sometimes allow temptation in order that we might be tested. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear and that he will always provide a way of escape. In Jesus' case God knew that he was able to fight off the devil's temptations successfully. But what was God's purpose in allowing his temptation? In my book, The Holy Spirit - an Introduction, I suggest five things:     So that Jesus might truly sympathise with us in our temptations In Hebrews 4:15 we are told that Jesus is a high priest who can sympathise with our weaknesses because he was tempted in every way just as we are - yet was without sin.   So that he might succeed where Adam failed In several passages Paul contrasts Jesus with Adam and refers to him as the last Adam (e.g. Romans 5:12ff, 1 Corinthians 15:21ff (esp. vv45ff). The temptations Christ resisted in the desert may be compared with the original temptation faced by Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Where Adam failed, as we all have at times failed to resist temptation, Jesus triumphed.   So that he might demonstrate his perfection Hebrews 9:14 tells us that through the eternal Spirit Christ offered himself unblemished to God. Nothing but a perfect sacrifice could atone for sin. In overcoming the temptations to which all other human beings have succumbed Jesus demonstrated that he was a worthy sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.   So that we might learn from his example how to deal with temptation Because Jesus has overcome temptation, he has shown us how it is possible for us to do so. In this connection notice the importance of:   a)     keeping full of the Spirit (Luke 4:1) b)     being led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1). It is noteworthy that Luke says that Jesus was led by the Spirit in (not into) the desert. The suggestion is perhaps that the Spirit assisted Jesus during his temptations. c)      correctly understanding and using the Spirit's sword, the word of God. The Word of God is called the sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17. Jesus used that sword against the enemy by quoting the Word in connection with each temptation (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).   Notice, too, that Jesus was tempted to doubt what had happened when the Spirit came upon him after his baptism. God had said, You are my Son (Luke 3:22), but Satan came with the temptation, If you are the Son of God.... (Luke 4:3, 9). As Christians we are sometimes tempted to doubt the genuineness of what happened at our baptism in the Spirit. Like Jesus we must resist with the word of God. A helpful scripture in this connection is Luke 11:11ff. We sometimes need to remind the devil - and ourselves - that God does not give snakes or stones or scorpions to his children.   So that he might prove that he could be trusted not to abuse his miracle-working power Two of the temptations suggested that Jesus should use his miracle-working power for the wrong reasons, i.e., to satisfy personal desires and to exhibit God's power as a spectacle to the crowds. The right motivation for the working of miracles is love (1 Corinthians 13). Jesus had received the Spirit in order that his anointed ministry might begin (cf. Luke 3:22, 4:18ff). Before embarking upon that ministry, it seems that his motivation for working miracles first had to be tested. We mustn't be surprised if God tests us before entrusting us with more of his supernatural power.   But now it's time to summarise what we've said so far. In our first talk we saw that the coming of Jesus was good news. He was none other than God himself who came to make possible the forgiveness of our sins. We saw the importance of repentance, confession of sin, and water baptism. This was to prepare people for an even greater baptism, a baptism which came from Jesus himself, the baptism in the Holy Spirit.   We saw that it was through the work of the Spirit that we are empowered to live new lives by being born again. We begin to show the fruit of the Spirit which Paul describes in Galatians 5. And when we are baptised in the Spirit we are told in Acts 1 we receive power to be effective witnesses for Christ.   In this talk we have considered: ·      The baptism of Jesus ·      His baptism in the Spirit ·      His temptation in the wilderness   In the baptism of Jesus, we have seen his willingness to be identified with sinners, even though he was sinless, his determination to do what is right, and his desire always to do the will of God. And, if we have repented and believed the gospel, we learn from his example that, if we truly wish to be his disciples, we too should be baptised by total immersion.   But Jesus' baptism in water also teaches us about the relationship between water baptism and the baptism in the Spirit. The baptism in the Spirit was the gateway to his miracle working ministry. For Jesus, this was received at/after his baptism in water. And this was just what the early disciples expected and, although this is rarely the case today, it is certainly what we should be teaching and believing for.   Finally, we considered why the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Perhaps the most important answer we gave was so that we might learn from his example how to deal with temptation. We saw the importance of keeping full of the Spirit, of being led by the Spirit, and of correctly understanding and using the Spirit's sword, the word of God.   If Jesus so needed the help and power of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling God's will for his life, how much more do we?   Next time: Jesus calls his first disciples – what lessons can we learn about winning others for Jesus?

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Jul 30, 2023 ========== July 30 l Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo The Parable of the Soils Matthew 13:1-9 ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭9‬‬ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” 1. The haters 2. Our hearts a. Hard vv. 18-19 b. Shallow vv. 20-21 c. Divided v. 22 ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬‬ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 2d. Fruitful v. 23 3. Our hope ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭10‬-‭11‬‬ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬‬ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jul 30, 2023 ========== July 30 | Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo July 30, 2023 | Tim Keith Consequences of a Greedy Heart ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭13‬‬ Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that won't be made known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. “I say to you, my friends, don't fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear! Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.” Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬‬ Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! CONSEQUENCES OF A GREEDY HEART: 1. You give credit to the wrong person. (v. 16-19a) 2. You make plans for the wrong reason. (v. 17-18) 3. You place faith in the wrong belief. (v. 19) ‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭16‬‬ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. CONSEQUENCES OF A GREEDY HEART: 4. You spend time on the wrong pursuit. (v. 20) Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart there is no God.” 5. You live life with the wrong focus. (v. 21) Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Jul 23, 2023 ========== July 23 l Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo Consequences of a Greedy Heart ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬‬ Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another. He began to say to his disciples first, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that won't be made known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. “I say to you, my friends, don't fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear! Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.” Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬‬ Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! CONSEQUENCES OF A GREEDY HEART: 1. You give credit to the wrong person. (v. 16-19a) 2. You make plans for the wrong reason. (v. 17-18) 3. You place faith in the wrong belief. (v. 19) ‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭16‬‬ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. CONSEQUENCES OF A GREEDY HEART: 4. You spend time on the wrong pursuit. (v. 20) Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart there is no God.” 5. You live life with the wrong focus. (v. 21)

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jul 23, 2023 ========== July 23 | Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo July 23, 2023 | Matt Cate ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭20‬‬ Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' ” Then Jesus said to them, “Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” 1. The CONTEXT of the SCRIPTURE 2. The CALL to LISTEN 3. The CONDITION of the SOILS a. The Hard Heart b. The Shallow Heart c. The Divided Heart d. The Fruitful Heart 4. The CASTING of the SEEDS Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jul 16, 2023 ========== July 16 | Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo July 16, 2023 | Tim Keith ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭25‬-‭32‬‬ “Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he summoned one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. ‘Your brother is here,' he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' “Then he became angry and didn't want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.' “‘Son,' he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'” Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Jul 16, 2023 ========== July 16 l Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo The Compassionate Father: Part Two ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭25‬-‭32‬‬ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'” 1. A celebration ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 2. A conversation ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3. An invitation

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Jul 9, 2023 ========== July 9 l Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo The Compassionate Father: Part One ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭24‬‬ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate. 1. A rebellious runaway 2. A ruined life 3. A restored son

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jul 9, 2023 ========== July 9 | Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo July 9, 2023 | Tim Keith "Parable: The Prodigal Son" ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭11‬-‭24‬‬ He also said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.' So he distributed the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I'll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.”' So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let's celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! ' So they began to celebrate. 1. GOD WANTS YOUR ATTENTION (15:14-17) 2. GOD REQUIRES YOUR ACTION (15:18-20a) - Admit Your Sin (v. 18-19) - Leave Your Sin, and Go to God (v. 20a) 3. GOD CELEBRATES YOUR RETURN (15:22-24) Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jul 2, 2023 ========== July 2 | Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo July 2, 2023 | Tim Keith ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭16‬‬ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the workers on one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard for the day. When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I'll give you whatever is right.' So off they went. About noon and about three, he went out again and did the same thing. Then about five he went and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?' “‘Because no one hired us,' they said to him. “‘You also go into my vineyard,' he told them. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.' “When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day's work and the burning heat.' “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Didn't you agree with me on a denarius? Take what's yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I'm generous?' “So the last will be first, and the first last.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭30‬‬ A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones. The Description of Envy ‭‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬‬ For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. The Danger of Envy The Defeat of Envy Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Jul 2, 2023 ========== July 2 l Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo "Life is Not Fair - Neither is God" ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭16‬‬ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?' They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.' And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' So the last will be first, and the first last.” 1. God is gracious to all 2. God is more gracious to some 3. Get rid of envy

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Jun 25, 2023 ========== June 25 l Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo "A Righteous Plot Twist" ‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭9‬-‭14‬‬ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I'm not like other people — greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.' “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner! ' I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” The Righteous The Pharisee v. Tax Collector The Reason Outward v. Inward The Response Pride v. Humility

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jun 25, 2023 ========== June 25 | Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo June 25, 2023 | Dwayne Pitre "Kingdom Responsibilites" ‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭1‬-‭10‬‬ And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,' you must forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'” 1. Self vs Others 2. Faithlessness vs Faithfulness 3. Pride vs Humility Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Istrouma Baptist Church (ASC) Jun 4, 2023 ========== June 4 l Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo "The Value of the Gospel" ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭44‬-‭46‬‬ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. The kingdom of heaven is not simply like a treasure, The kingdom of heaven is like the situation of finding the treasure, valuing it properly, and acting appropriately. Mark 8:34b-36 If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Mark 8:37-38 For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. The kingdom of heaven is not simply like a treasure, The kingdom of heaven is like the situation of finding the treasure, valuing it properly, and acting appropriately.

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Jun 4, 2023 ========== June 4 | Parables of Jesus Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo June 4, 2023 | Tim Keith The Priceless Kingdom ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭44‬-‭46‬‬ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. The Course Follow Jesus The Cost Everything The Condition Faith The Conclusion Joy ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭44‬-‭46‬‬ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Welcome to the porch Mr. Kyle Dubas. Here's some advice.

In today's episode: How I love spiritual growth! It's one of my favorite topics. Today we are digging into ways you can expand the boundaries of your spiritual life by pursuing new things, regaining lost things, and developing specific things. Listen in to find some new ideas and get a refresher on how your spiritual life deserves attention. ***VIParts of this episode to refer to: Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Dwell App Discover Your Spiritual Gifts Music mentioned: Johnnyswim, Maverick City Worship, Upper Room, Housefires, Jenn Johnson, Bryan and Katie Torwalt, United Pursuit Band, Harvest, Josh Garrels, David Brymer, Lauren Daigle, Jonathon David and Melissa Helser, Cory Asbury, Kelanie Goeckler, Lindy Cofer, Kimberly and Alberto Rivera Practicing the Presence of God The Power of Communion: Accessing Miracles Through the Body and Blood of Jesus   Welcome to the Christian Life Coach Collective!

Last time we spoke the entire Second Opium War of 1856-1860. The forces of Britain and France brought the Qing dynasty to its knees, forcing yet again unequal treaties and humiliation. While the opium wars were certainly a large contributor to the century of humiliation, the story we are about to talk about is arguably a lot more significant. During that five part series there was an ongoing and much more significant event occurring within China, that being one of if not the deadliest civil wars in human history, the Taiping Rebellion. Both the Taiping Rebellion and Second Opium War are intertwined, they influenced another greatly and together they are a large reason for the eventual downfall of the Qing dynasty. Buckle up folks because we are taking an extra long dive into an event that killed an estimated 20-30 million people.    #24 This episode is The Taiping Rebellion part 1: Hong Xiuquan the self proclaimed brother of Jesus   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. I first need to take a moment to explain something. I am literally writing this down after finishing the last page of my first draft of the entire series and without the last final touches I can tell it will be a whopping 10-12 episodes long gasp. I in no way expected this, I thought hell it would be the longest for sure, but maybe 6 episodes, not 12! But what really drove me to write so much, 99 pages to be exact cough, was fantastic sources I had not read until recently. One source looked at the event from a religious point of view, another was much older from the 1970's which simply explained the events in a large picture, the old school way of history. Then a third source, which is a much more recent book tied up everything quite nicely with a lot of primary sources and feelings of the people from nobility to the commoners. I could not bring myself to cut down as a result and I do apologize if its a long venture, but for all of you who can rough it out I ensure it will be worth it. This is an incredible story filled with hardship, dramatic change, religion and insanity, and since the Qing dynasty is involved a hell of a lot of corruption. Stating all of that thank you so much to all those who have been listening you guys are awesome I greatly appreciate you all. If you want to reach out to suggest anything for the future, have critique and so on, please reach out to me by commenting at my Youtube channel the Pacific War Channel or if your are on the Kings and Generals discord shout out to me there! Please enjoy the Taiping Rebellion.   In 1852, Theodore Hamberg, a young Swedish Protestant missionary with a thin chinstrap beard was in Hong Kong. He was one of the first Europeans of his generation to brave the Chinese countryside, as he left the relative safety of Hong Kong, which was by this time a british colony to preach in a village 100 miles up the Pearl River. Hamburg was one of the first non chinese to learn and speak the dialect of the Hakka people. These were as described by one of my sources “a gypsy minority that thickly populate south CHina. They are sometimes referred to as the “guest people””. All of this amounted to nothing of too much importance, save for one short, round-faced Hakka, Hamburg converted named Hong Rengan. Hong Rengan had a incredible story to tell it seems.   Hamburg was surprised and found it a bit odd, that a lot of the Hakka he met already knew about God and Jesus despite these people being well beyond the narrow reach of the Hong Kong missionaries. Hamburg listened to Hong Rengan recount stories of battles, armies and congregations of christian believers all being led by a heavenly prophet, a Hakka one no less. This prophet claimed to be hunted by agents of the Qing dynasty and lived in disguise under an assumed name. He was once kidnapped, but escaped and lived in a forest for 4 days and a cave for 6. Hamburg confessed the stories this man told him were confusing “I could form no clear conception of the whole matter”. Hamburg did not know what to make of it all, so he asked Hong Rengan to write the stories down for him. Hamburg thought little of any of this for nearly a year, then in the spring of 1853 news came that Nanjing had fallen in a torrent of blood. Hamberg then realized Hong Rengan's stories were very real.    News of the great upheaval in China reached those like Hamberg in Hong Kong and along the coast where foreigners did business. Reports of local uprisings and small scale banditry in the countryside were never anything of much importance, it was just the same old news in China. Then Catholic missionaries deep within the interior began to spread rumors of a larger movement led by a man known as “Tian de” or “heavenly virtue”. Some said the man was actually dead, killed by Qing forces, others questioned his very existence. Without any concrete news, little attention was paid to any of it, just bandits disrupting the production of silk and tea, a common problem. But when Nanjing, the southern capital of China fell in 1853, well this suddenly brought attention to foreigners that a very real and very large civil war was occuring in China. Those in Shanghai were alarmed, and rightful so, Nanjing was very close to what was now called “The Taiping Tianguo - The heavenly kingdom of Great peace”. A million rebels were flooding down from central China on a grand flotilla of commandeered ships to what was formerly called Nanjing. A ton of cities were emptied and Qing defenses lay in rubble as these small local bandits were a grand rebel army on the march. Fear gripped the city of Shanghai, communications with Nanjing were cut, rumors spread that Shanghai would be attacked.   Shanghai's citizens boarded up their homes, many of the Chinese fled into the countryside for safety. The foreign settlers called for defenses to be erected, for volunteers to take arms. British, French and American steamers began to bring men to defend the walls of Shanghai. Yet there was no attack, at least for the time being, apparently the Taiping rebels went to march upon Beijing if it was to be believed! The capital of the Manchu were under threat from these rebels who held Nanjing. A single British vessel went over to Nanjing in april of 1853 but brought back very conflicting news of what was occurring there. It became the opinion of the British plenipotentiary at the time that these so called Taiping were “nothing but superstition and nonsense”. Despite the scarcity of clear information, raw accounts of this apparent civil war in China began to get out of Shanghai and Hong Kong to the western world. Tales that the Chinese were fed up with their Manchu rulers and were rising up spread. The economist read “a social change or convulsion such as have of late afflicted europe. It is singular to find similar commotions at the same time in Asia and Europe”.   Karl Marx, yes the Karl Marx wrote in 1853 as the London correspondent for the New York Daily Tribune about the situation in China. He considered the rebellion to be a symptom of China's integration into the global economy, as a result of Britain's opening up of CHina during the First Opium War. What was happening in China was not merely a rebellion, it was a “formidable revolution”, one that demonstrated the interconnectedness of the industrial world. Marx argued what was happening in China would come to Europe “the next uprising of the people of Europe, and their next movement for republican freedom and economy of Government, may depend more probably on what is now passing in the Celestial Empire—the very opposite of Europe—than on any other political cause that now exists.” The disorder that China faced was caused by the opium trade, and exposure to the world. The old was facing the new as they say and Marx believed “dissolution must follow as surely as that of any mummy carefully preserved in a hermetically sealed coffin, whenever it is brought into contact with the open air.” Marx argued the Qing dynasty may dissolve and that it would not be limited to just China. The whole Taiping revolution was for Marx, Britain's fault and now the effects of her actions overseas would go back to bite her ass at home  “the question, is how that revolution will in time react on England, and through England on Europe.” Marx predicted the loss of the Chinese market because of the Taiping would undermine British exports, particularly textile. By the way as I pointed out in previous episodes that very much was not the case, textiles from Britain went up actually because of the Taiping rebellion killing the Chinese trade network internally resulting in foreigners making up the demand. But then again when has Marx ever been right, shots fired. Marx believed the Taiping revolution would cut off England's source of tea imports and that the price of tea would spike in England leading to economic downfall and further revolution. “It may be safely augured, that the Chinese revolution will throw the spark into the overloaded mine of the present industrial system and cause the explosion of the long-prepared general crisis, which, spreading abroad, will be closely followed by political revolutions on the Continent.”  Many news outlets and intellectuals had differing accounts of what exactly the Taiping were and what was going on. Some made analogies to the African slaves rebeling in the United states to that of Chinese under the Manchus. Yet almost no one had any real explanation for the origin of the movement. Its rather funny to say, one of the very best accounts to explain it all could have been found in a desk in Hong Kong on some scribbled pieces of paper that Theodore Hamberg shoved in his desk.   Hong Rengan came back to Hamberg at a village outside Canton, but this time the Swedish missionary knew the man for who he was: he was the cousin and lifelong companion of the prophet of the Taiping, the Heavenly King. Hong Rengan was the only person to come into contact with a foreigner who had firsthand knowledge of the Taiping and that of their leader. Hamburg and Hong Rengan formed a close friendship, Hamburg even got to baptize Hong Rengan in september of 1853. Hamburg educated the man in Lutheran doctrine, preparing him to serve as an assistant to the foreign preachers and eventually to take their brand of Christianity over to the Taiping in Nanjing. As they worked together, Hamburg kept asking Hong Rengan about the movement, stories of the man who started it. And so here we can now learn about the famous Hong Xiuquan.   Hong Rengan told the story of his cousin, Hong Xiuquan who was 9 years older and had always been brilliant. They lived in neighboring villages roughly 30 miles away from Canton. Many of the villagers were relatives of their clan which back in the Song dynasty had been a grand one with countless high officials and imperial advisers amongst their ranks. Yet as time passed they had all become poor farmers. One thing they held with great esteem was a small schoolhouse where Hong Xiuquan began studying the confucian classics at the age of 7. He was extremely gifted and spent years memorizing the four books, the 5 classics and other necessary texts required for the civil service examinations. When Hong Xiuquan was a teen he was very well read on Chinese history and literature, he even read ancient texts without assistance. His family dreamed that he would restore their family to its former glory and several teachers worked without pay to provide him with the knowledge he would need to pass the exams to become a Qing official. As time went on his educative needs took him outside the village and his family got together all the money they could to support the 16 year old who at the point was already supporting himself as a schoolteacher with a small salary paid in lard, salt, rice and lamp oil.    The key to gaining an official appointment in the Qing government was passing the Confucian civil service examinations and this was a goal shared by both Hong cousins. But the exams were extremely difficult and if you failed an attempt you had to wait years for another opportunity to take them. The exam process took 3 days in a small cubicle in Canton. Hong Rengan never had much success, but Hong Xiuquan ranked high on the first day of his first attempt in 1827. As the grueling exam went on, he began to slip through the ranks and by the end of the 3rd day he fell out of the winners circle. It was to be 9 more years before he could qualify again to take the exam in 1836. Wow and I thought it was brutal trying to gain entry to a graduate program at my university for Neurobehavioral science sheesh. Well Hong Xiuquan did not give up, he took the exam a second time and failed. Hong Rengan likewise failed, but unlike Hong Xiuquan he was not carrying the entire family's hope upon his shoulders. Thus between the 2 cousins its was Hong Xiuquan that succumbed to a mental breakdown.   Hong Xiuquan had his first visions in 1837, right after failing the examination for a third time. He was greatly weakened by the ordeal and was carried home afterwards. When he got home he simply collapsed into bed and called for his family to crowd around him. He apologized to them all and said his life was over, he had let them all down. It is said he closed his eyes and lost all strength, many thought he was dead. Eventually he woke up and began telling his family about strange dreams. In his dreams, a dragon, a tiger and a cock entered his room, followed by musicians and a sedan chair. They all carried him away to a wondrous and beautiful place full of people who rejoiced when they saw him and an old woman washed him to remove all defilements from his body. Then a group of old men appeared and he recognized some of them to be sages of ancient China. They opened his body with a knife and removed his organs, replacing them with new healthier ones, before closing him up. Not a trace of incision could be found afterwards and he was escorted back to a grand hall where an old man in a black robe with a flowing golden beard sat upon a throne. The man said to him “they take of my gifts and therewith worship demons; they purposely rebel against me, and arouse my anger. DO not though imitate them”. The man then gave him a magical sword for which he said its purpose was to kill demons, but he told him to never use it on his brothers and sisters. Alongside this was a seal and a piece of yellow fruit which he ate. The old man led him to look upon the people of earth where they could both see defilement and perversions.    Hong's visions continued for 40 days and Hong Rengan was one of those who stuck by his cousins side listening to his waking stories. There were other recurring characters in his dreams, one was a middle-aged man he referred to as ‘elder brother” who traveled with him to far regions of the world to slay demons with his magical sword. The old man in black at some points began berating Confucius for failing to teach proper doctrine to the Chinese people and Confucius confessed guilt and shame as such. Those around Hong Xiuquan say he often lept out of bed screaming “kill the demons” while he slashed wildly into thin air. His clear insanity drew at first curiosity and amusement of neighbors, who came to see the famous sleeping madman. At one point he woke up and claimed to be the emperor of China. Hong Rengan said to Hamberg “His friends and relatives only replied, that the whole was strange indeed, without thinking at the time that there was any reality in the matter.”   Eventually Hong Xiuquan recovered and he was a completely different person. He was taller, stronger, more intelligent. He seemed more handsome, fair skinned and his gaze had “become piercing and difficult to endure”. He seemed healthier and he quickly returned to his teaching and prepared for another attempt at the civil service exams. In 1843 he tried for a 4th time and failed yet again, this poor guy. That same year Hong Xiuquan found a Christian text that a missionary had given him years before in Canton and he decided to read it. Upon reading the text closely he came to an epiphany. The book seemed to unlock the secret of his dream-visions over the past 6 years. He suddenly realized the old man in black robes with a golden beard was God and the elder brother who helped him slay demons was none other than Jesus Christ. The demons were the idols worshiped by the Chinese that believed in Confucian and Buddhism, but Hong Xiuquans real brothers and sisters were that of the Christian Chinese people. Hong Xiuquan baptized himself and threw away the Confucian texts within his schoolroom.   Hong Rengan became Hong Xiuquans first convert followed by a neighbor named Feng Yunshan. They all baptized themselves in a river and cast away the Confucian idols from their classrooms. The 3 men began to study together, gathering Christian texts where they could find them. Hong Xiuquan preached to them and soon others began to join the flock. Hong Xiuquan believed the bible was literally written for him. The converts first came from parents, siblings, extended family and such. It was not easy, for example Hong Rengans older brother beat him with a stick for losing students at the local school he taught after the Confucian tablets were cast away. Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan both left their villages in 1844 to spread the gospel to other villages throughout the province of Guangxi. Hong Rengan desperately wanted to join them, but his relatives forced him to stay and remain a schoolteacher because he was only 20 years old. Hong Rengan was forced to bring back the Confucian texts and idols so that his students would return, but even so he simultaneously baptized at least 50 new converts.    So Hong and Feng preached from village to village throughout Guangxi and the movement spread. Autonomous congregations sprang up, numbering in hundreds who began to refer to themselves as the “god worshippers”. They took the man named Hong Xiuquan, whom many had not even met as their prophetic leader. Hong Xiuquan came back home in 1845, preaching the gospel while disparaging the Manchu, the Qing dynasty and Confucianism. He said things like “God has divided the kingdoms of the world, and made the Ocean to be a boundary for them, just as a father divides his estates among his sons, Why should these Manchus forcibly enter China and rob their brothers of their estate?” His religious movement thus was becoming a political one.   By 1847, the god worshippers grew to around 2000, mostly Hakka. They began to smash Buddhist idols and temples and all of this was driving iere from the Qing authorities. Then in 1850, a pestilence ravaged Guangxi and rumors spread that Hong Xiuquan's prayers to the Christian God could heal those sick of the infliction. This exponentially increased their ranks and the passing of the disease gave credit to Hong Xiuquans religion. Yet despite all of this, they were no army. Then some small violence broke out amongst Hakka settlers in Guangxi province. The Hakka settlers were scrambling to find land and water rights and the long standing local families were unhappy with the encroachments. This led to a small scale war between Hakka and other villagers in the autumn of 1850. The non Hakka burned the homes of Hakka and this led them to turn to the God worshippers for protection and help. Local authorities had already been suspicious of the sect and now began to view them more so as troublemakers. According to Hong Rengan, Hong Xiuquan predicted all of this and was waiting patiently to make a move.    As the Hakka vs other villager violence spread, Qing officials placed blame squarely on the Hakka and sent a detachment of soldiers to arrest Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan. The god worshippers heard of the incoming threat and began to arm themselves with swords and spears to defend their leader. For those of you who heard my podcast on the White Lotus rebellion, it is eerily similar. The Qing detachment was easily overwhelmed and routed. Hong Xiuquan sent word calling out for all the god worshippers to gather for the first time and prepare for what he called the next step of their great movement. Countless members sold their homes and lands and marched. The following days saw tens of thousands gathering. The god worshippers leaders told the converts to converge on the town of Jintian and soon a force of 10-30 thousand seized the town. In preparation for a rebellion, Hong Xiuquan began organizing the people into military formations, each led by commanders with military ranks. The Chtin “army corps” consisted of 13,156 men divided into 5 Shih regiments 2500 men with officers. Each shih was divided into 5 “leu” battalions of 500 men and each had 5 “tsu” companies of 100. Each tsu had 5 “liang” platoons of 25 men with a sergeant. A Liang was made up of 4 “wu” Squads of privates with a corporal. Now the Qing garrison of Guangxi was not particularly strong at this time as they were dealing with other uprisings, this is 19th century China afterall, not a year went by without a few.    The Qing commander at Xunzhou, Li Dianyuan led the Qing forces went attack Hong Xiuquans residences within the village of Huanzhoushanren in Pingnan county. It was a dangerous situation, but both Hong Xiuquan and Feng Yunshan were saved by reinforcements sent by Yang Xiuqing and the god worshippers retained Jintian. Then a Qing force led by Zhou Fengqi alongside his subordinate Li Dianyuan attacked Jintian and erected a siege of the town. The god worshippers anticipated this and ambushed the Qing forces along the way to the Jintian at a smaller village called Caijiang near Thistle mountain. The Qing forces were ambushed by the god worshipers both men and women wielding mostly pikes and halberds. The Qing forces were defeated and one of their high ranking officers was killed.   Then on January the 11th of 1851, Hong Xiuquans birthday, the god worshipers proclaimed an uprising in Jintian and Hong Xiuquan declared the founding of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with himself as its new emperor, or better said Heavenly King. Feng Yunshan alongside 3 other lt's were appointed the kings of four directions: Feng Yunshan was the South King, Wei Changhui the North King, Xiao Chaogui the West King and Yang Xiuqing the East King. Eventually there was also an additional king, the flank king who was Shi Dakai. These men would go on to control roughly 100,000 people each including their own army.  Hong Xiuquan ordered the god worshippers to cut their manchu queues as a universal symbol of severing their allegiance to the Qing dynasty. Many of the Taiping would go on to let their long hair grow leading to the nickname “chang mao tsei / long haired bandits”.    Now from 1851-1852 the Taiping army began to fight its way north, absorbing the poor, disenfranchised, the criminals and all those other groups who hated their manchu overlords. It was a blend of those seeking to be part of something, to join the religious aspect of it and those who simply hated the Qing dynasty and sought to overthrow it. Yes its very much like the White Lotus rebellion 2.0. Now I had mentioned there was another rebellion going on, in fact if you look up a list of how many rebellions take place in the 19th century for China its….just comical, its insane. One rebellion was led by the Tiandihui and a large reason the Taiping won at Jinian was because the Qing were too busy dealing with the Tiandihui. After the victory at Jinian many Tiandihui joined them bolstering their ranks. Meanwhile the Qing began tossing more and more forces at the growing Taiping menace.    General Xiang Rong led 3000 men and was aided by other Qing forces led by General Li Nengchen and General Zhou Fengqi. The idea was simple, the forces would converge on the rebels to encircle them. Their 3 armies attacked the Taiping at Dahuangjiangkou on February 18th. As they approached the town from the west and east they ran straight into minefields set up by the Taiping and were ambushed leading to hundreds of casualties. The Qing forces were eventually forced to stop their offensive and hunker down for a siege. Now something important to note is what exactly is the Qing forces I am speaking of. If you remember during my opium wars episodes I explained the difference between the Green Standard army and the Eight banner army. To brutally summarize, the manchu armies that conquered the Ming used the banner system, with each colored banner being a different group. Well the eight banner army by the turn of the 19th century had become sort of a ceremonial, guardsmen type force. They were extremely ineffective as a large standing force and thus the Green Standard army was formed as a need for a more…well standard army haha. The Green standard army can be seen more so as a police force, but when the White Lotus rebellion broke out they proved to be very ineffective and in decline. The major reasons for this was their pay did not rise with inflation requiring many of them to seek additional work: they were widely dispersed preventing centralized training; more often than naught their ranks came about only in times of conflict; rampant corruption from higher officials led to embezzlement and I mean insane levels, a lot of armies left their rosters unfilled so officers could simply pocket soldiers pay and pretend they were leading more men than they had; soldiers literally could hire substitutes, often poor people to train and fight in their place; overall lack of morale and discipline; and the ultimate culprit at the time, opium addiction. The reason I bring this up is much like the White Lotus Rebellion, the Qing officials would find the Eight banner army and Green Standard army unable to cope with the task of quelling a rebellion and would be forced to find new alternative ways to find armies. This very well became a major reason for the downfall of the Qing dynasty and why China would find itself in a warlord era from 1916-1928, something I am currently writing a seven part series about on my personal channel, the pacific war channel. Lame plug in I know forgive me, but the Warlord Era is fascinating and the Taiping period holds so much roots for it.   Now when the Qing began to strangle the Taiping, they yet again broke out at night on the 10th of March marching towards the East village in Wuxuan county. The Qing forces pursued them but every time they got near the Taiping ambushed them. The Taiping and Qing eventually found themselves in a stalemate near Sanli Dyke. In early april the governor of Guangxi province, Zhou Tianjue and General Xiang Rong rallied 6000 troops to attack East Village, but yet again the rebels repelled them. By May the Qing were losing more and more men when the Taiping broke out of another siege and marched towards Xiangzhou. General Xiang Rong decided to coordinate a net strategy and had the aid of General Wulantai stationed at Liangshan Village while his men struck out from Jie Ridge.    The Taiping fought the 2 Qing forces at the battle of Du'ao Ridge just due north of Liangshan village and General Wulantai's force were smashed. Despite the major Qing losses, they still had managed to encircle the Taiping for the 4th time. The Taiping fought a war of attrition until july when they pulled out of Xiangzhou to a former base of operations at Mt. Zijing in Guiping. The path north was effectively blocked to the Taiping by the Qing forces, but the entire time and everywhere the Taiping went they converted more and more to their cause.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  And so the self proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ, Hong Xiuquan gathered his flock and chose to wage a war on the demon Manchu who sat upon the Dragon Throne. Hong Xiuquan and his kings now march forward to their destiny.  

There seems to be a shift happening in churches, moving away from a focus on Jesus. Do church goers have more fear of the culture than they do Jesus? And, we find out why our first show of 2022 was delayed... 

Lessons from their lives. Talk 30.  JESUS Welcome to Talk 30 in our series, Lessons from their lives. This is the final talk in the series and our subject today is the Lord Jesus. If you're already wondering why I am only giving one talk on the life of Jesus, it's because between March and June 2019 I gave weekly talks on various aspects of Jesus' life and ministry. You can find them by visiting my website www.davidpetts.org   What's more, as we are approaching Christmas, next week I'm planning to give a Christmas message with the title Christ the firstborn. Be sure to listen in to learn some exciting truths about who Jesus is. He's much more than Mary's firstborn son.   But, for now, let's just consider one aspect of how we can learn from the life of Jesus. Of course Jesus is unique. He is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and at first sight it might seem impossible that we might live as he lived. Yet Peter, who was only too conscious of his own shortcomings, encourages us by saying that Jesus left us an example so that we might follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21).   This is possible because, as Peter tells us in  2 Peter 1:3-4   (God's) divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.   And Paul tells us that with the help of the Holy Spirit it is possible for us to show qualities of character similar to those that Jesus showed.   In Galatians 5:22-23 he tells us that … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.   Compare Colossians 3:12-14 love binds them all together   As we shall see, these are just the kind of qualities that Jesus exhibited throughout his earthly life, and so in this talk I am going to consider the fruit of the Spirit in the life of Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit in the life of Jesus   Self control After 40 days of fasting Jesus resisted the temptation to turn stones into bread When Jesus was crucified the mockers said: If you are the son of God, come down from the cross…   Gentleness (humility) John 13:3-4 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.   Faithfulness In the garden of Gethsemane   Faithfulness to his Father - not my will… Faithfulness to his followers - sleeping, the flesh is weak.   Goodness Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.   Kindness Turning water into wine was an amazing miracle. But what motivated it?   Patience John 14:8-9 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'?”   Peace Peace of heart springs from a right relationship with God. So Jesus must have always been at peace. But what about Gethsemane? the cross? Jesus sacrificed peace that we might have peace. Joy Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.   Jesus lived life in God's presence   Love Throughout his life everything Jesus did was motivated by love Consider all the examples we've already looked at. Undoubtedly the greatest demonstration of his love was at Calvary   Cultivating the fruit   2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding (or reflecting) the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.   1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

11/07/2021 Bro Gary "Is Jesus Welcome in Your Home?"

This is part 5 of a series of Reflections entitled "Knowing Jesus". This week we are reflecting on the welcome and grace that Jesus always offers. Our reading is Mark 2:13 - 17 and the reflection also contains the hymn, "Just As I Am, Without One Plea". --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/stephen-ogston/message

This Sunday we'll see how Jesus was treated in his local synagogue and we'll be asking whether He is welcome in our churches.We're in Ballyhaise at 9am, Larah at 10am, Drung at 11:15am and Killoughter at 12:30pm. If you are unwell or unable to get out you can join us live on Facebook and on YouTube at 11:15am, You can get the service sheet here and the Children's Sheet here. Please let those offline know that they can phone 049 4305485 to listen to a recording of the service.

In the midst of an uncertain world, we're saying “Welcome Home.” Join us as we take a deep dive into looking at who Jesus really is. We may know a lot about him, but have you taken the time to really know him and see how he can change your life?

Sunday Morning Service with Pastor Jason Fink 

At The Well: Transformational Encounters with Jesus Welcome to another episode of The Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast. In this episode of The Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast Annemarie speaks about one of her favourite Bible stories where Jesus had an encounter with a woman at Jacobs Well in Samaria. She'll be sharing a new series which is coming [...] The post [Ep#340] At The Well: Transformational Encounters with Jesus appeared first on The Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast Network.

At The Well: Transformational Encounters with Jesus Welcome to another episode of The Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast. In this episode of The Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast Annemarie speaks about one of her favourite Bible stories where Jesus had an encounter with a woman at Jacobs Well in Samaria. She'll be sharing a new series which is coming [...] The post [Ep#340] At The Well: Transformational Encounters with Jesus appeared first on The Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast Network.

Can a church be too nice? When is the right time to say stop? What happens to churches that make tough calls for Jesus? Welcome to Day 8 of the daily devotional podcasts called HEAVEN HELP US. I’m Phil McCallum with the People Magnet School. We are here to help you to become ridiculously influential for Jesus. Your Influence for Jesus will grow when you know when to be silent and when to speak you. Today we will read about a church that was too nice. The city was Thyatira. We will read from Revelation 2:18-29.Today’s Bible Reading Revelation 2:18-29 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%202:18-29&version=NIV&interface=printMore talks on Revelation from Pastor Phil McCallum https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_fgB8bCiMoIOyUITlxoWTNpkyUNewk6QRead how to do SOAP Devotions. https://evergreenchurch.tv/habit/devotionSearch Meanings of Bible Words with Blue Letter Bible https://www.blueletterbible.orgListen to worship music. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_fgB8bCiMoIvUDS94X8BTAP7REcbv_G_Watch the history of paintings of Jesus mentioned in today’s podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sqkwuIPkIY-----------------Find the PeopleMagnet.School on all your favorite platforms https://linktr.ee/peoplemagnetschool Subscribe on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmFLtqFcIHOYZt-xyM1OJg Subscribe on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/people-magnet-school/id1505275403 Subscribe on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/2tHekDtpRRUetgmpmm4rBJ Like on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/peoplemagnetschool Follow on Instagram @PeopleMagnetSchool---------------- Follow Phil McCallum on Social MediaFacebook https://www.facebook.com/philmccallumInstagram @philipmccallumLinkedin https://www.Linkedin.com/in/PhilMccallumTwitter @PhilipMcCallum

Encountering Jesus series

Imagine a crowded street... God’s King has come (12:12-19) God’s people want salvation (v. 13) God’s king comes in humility (v. 14-15) Jesus’ disciples don’t understand, yet (v. 16) Two responses to Jesus – Welcome, or rejection (v 17 – 19)

Sometimes we don't want Jesus to invade every part of our life because it would require giving up some of our comforts or pleasures.  Sometimes the cost of giving up a detrimental habit is not worth the sacrifice of following Jesus to us. Learn how to let strongholds go in today's podcast.  

Date:  July 7th of 2019 Speaker:  Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard Text:  Luke 15:1-10 Context:  Sermon at St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Minot, ND Manuscript:  CLICK HERE

1st broadcast of "All about the Jesus" Welcome to "Keeping It Real" with Pastor Paul Hamlett. This is a Q & A forum where you can ask questions and get answers to your biblical questions. Feel free to tune into on Facebook Live ...Friday's at 330 PST

2nd broadcast of "All about Jesus" Welcome to "Keeping It Real" with Pastor Paul Hamlett. This is a Q & A forum where you can ask questions and get answers to your biblical questions. Feel free to tune into on Facebook Live ...Friday's at 330 PST

If Jesus showed at your house today, would you be prepared? Mary was but her sister Martha wasn't, find out the difference between the two and how to be prepared to welcome Jesus into your home.

Luke 15:1-2, 11-32

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com. Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee. Have you ever lived or worked in a place that required you to be covered head to toe to protect you from exposure to the elements? Welcome to the world! Scripture John 20:22-23 Jesus: Welcome the Holy Spirit of the living God. You now have the mantle of God's forgiveness. As you go, you are able to share the life-giving power to forgive sins, or to withhold forgiveness. Devotional Between my freshman and junior year of college, to earn a little money, I worked in a grocery chain warehouse loading their delivery trucks. It was hard work, but I didn't mind it so much. It kept me in good physical condition pay wasn't so bad for a young kid Negatives were night work, 7 to whenever trucks were loaded Worked in the freezer I don't like the cold Born and raised in Tennessee Got some snow and few days, maybe a week at a time below freezing Never liked cold After serving in Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia, hated cold - anything below 60 degrees In the freezer temperatures at zero or just below Dry ice in boxes to keep frozen foods cold during transport dressed from head to toe Thermals Freezer coveralls Gloves Hat Mask Stayed protected from the cold and severe injury When we ask Jesus into our lives He gives us the mantle of God's forgiveness I think about the covering I had when working in that freezer Covered from head to toe with His Spirit Protected by His forgiveness Guilt and burden of sin cannot get through Free from the internal injury sin because His spirit keeps the fiery darts of Satan away from us We underestimate the power of forgiveness God's forgiveness to us Our forgiveness of others When He forgives us, we have the power to forgive others His grace and mercy extended to us shows us how to love and how to extend that same grace and mercy to those who wrong us What does forgiveness do? It takes away the barriers that keep us from loving each other It tears down the walls in relationships It stops the negative thinking that builds up about our neighbors It helps us see others as God sees them, their potential as His children It helps us love unconditionally Invite Him into your life and be covered by the mantle of His forgiveness If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don't, tell me. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow for "A Little Walk with God."  

It is finished.

It is finished.

At some point in our lives, we all have to answer this question: “Who is Jesus?” Welcome to Holy Week! Yesterday was Palm Sunday and next week is Resurrection Sunday: Easter! Today’s One Verse comes from the story of Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem. As He came in riding the donkey, people began to wave palm branches and shout “Hosanna!” This caused another reaction. Many began to ask the question, “Who is this?” This is a question we all have to ask at some point in our lives. Who is Jesus? But we don’t just ask it once. I think we need to keep on asking this question throughout our lives. So… Who is Jesus to you right now? About One Verse One Verse is a short, daily devotional designed to help you grow closer to God through less than 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Consistency trumps intensity. When it comes to working out, eating healthy, or managing our finances, consistency always trumps intensity. We reach our major life goals through small, purposeful steps taken daily. The same is true in our spiritual lives. I truly believe you will grow closer to God by spending just 5 minutes a day with Him versus cramming in an hour once a month. The One Verse Devotional is here to help take away the barriers of spending time with God. Now, during your workout, drive to work, or even shopping for groceries, you can invest in your spiritual life.   http://phosphorusproject.com/