Podcast appearances and mentions of jesus well

In Episode 82 of Operation: Thriving Marriage, Bryon and Jen Harvey tackle a topic that hits close to home for nearly every couple: how mishandling money can sabotage your marriage. Bryon begins the conversation by asking Jen, “You deal with a lot of different family issues as a lawyer. What do you see as the biggest contributor to strife in marriage?” Drawing on both professional and personal experience, Jen explains that while financial stress is a common challenge, it's really about how couples connect—or fail to connect—through that stress. Money is emotionally charged. It touches everything: our goals, our upbringing, our values, and our sense of security. When couples don't know how to talk about money or approach it as a team, the consequences can be devastating.   Referencing a 2024 Fidelity study, Bryon and Jen note that 45% of couples argue about money at least occasionally, and 25% say money is the number one challenge in their marriage. Clearly, finances are a serious issue. But rather than focusing on surface-level fixes, this episode digs into the root causes of money-related tension in relationships and offers biblical, research-backed solutions for building financial unity in marriage.   One of the biggest takeaways from the episode is the importance of combining bank accounts. According to multiple studies, couples who combine their finances report higher levels of satisfaction in their marriage. It's not just about practicality—it's about unity. When you have a shared account, you're forced to communicate, collaborate, and create financial goals together, whether that's saving for a home, planning for retirement, or managing everyday expenses. On the flip side, keeping separate accounts can breed suspicion, secrecy, and division. Bryon sums it up with a powerful statement: “If you can share a bed, you can share a bank account.”   Another major factor that undermines financial harmony is what Bryon and Jen call “unexpectations”—the unspoken beliefs, habits, and assumptions we bring into marriage without ever realizing it. These come from our families of origin, our experiences before marriage, and even what we absorb from media, television shows, podcasts, and celebrity financial advisors. When couples don't talk about these expectations, they become invisible barriers that block trust and intimacy.   The episode also reminds listeners that expenses will inevitably increase over time. Whether it's the cost of raising children, adjusting to a higher standard of living, or dealing with inflation, planning ahead is essential. Couples who don't anticipate financial changes often find themselves overwhelmed and reactive, which only adds to the strain.   One of the more sensitive but critical points Bryon and Jen address is the role extended family can play in sabotaging financial unity. While it's perfectly okay to seek wise counsel from parents or friends, your financial decisions should be made by you and your spouse alone. It's crucial to establish boundaries, especially with in-laws, and to never share financial information with anyone your spouse isn't comfortable with. Financial privacy and unity go hand in hand.   As the conversation draws to a close, Bryon and Jen bring it back to a biblical perspective. Money is one of the greatest competitors for our loyalty to God. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24), and Paul warned that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). The goal of marriage isn't just happiness—it's holiness. God gives us marriage as a way to grow more like Christ, and learning to manage money together is a key part of that journey. When couples are faithful with the little they've been given, they position themselves to be entrusted with more—and to one day hear those words from Jesus: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”   Whether you're newly married or decades in, this episode offers valuable insight and practical steps for cultivating financial unity in your relationship. If you've ever argued about money, kept financial secrets, or felt misunderstood by your spouse about money matters, Episode 83 is a must-listen. Bryon and Jen combine biblical wisdom, real-life experience, and research-backed advice to help you avoid the common traps that sabotage marriages—and to build a thriving relationship grounded in trust, transparency, and shared purpose.   Subscribe to Operation: Thriving Marriage on your favorite podcast platform and share this episode with someone who could use a fresh perspective on faith and finances in marriage.

How wonderful is it to know that the Holy Spirit makes us more and more like Jesus?! Every single Christian should strive every day to be more like Jesus, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, that is possible! In today's message, Pastor Bill will show the importance of allowing God to sanctify you and your significant other! God will make a beautiful life for the two of you when you let Him mold you into a person who represents Jesus to EVERYONE! People who represent Jesus WELL!

How wonderful is it to know that the Holy Spirit makes us more and more like Jesus?! Every single Christian should strive every day to be more like Jesus, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, that is possible! In today's message, Pastor Bill will show the importance of allowing God to sanctify you and your significant other! God will make a beautiful life for the two of you when you let Him mold you into a person who represents Jesus to EVERYONE! People who represent Jesus WELL!

What does it mean to be an Ambassador for Jesus? How do we re-present Jesus well to the world around us? Paul talked about this a lot in his letters to the churches and it is black and white how believers in Christ are to act. Tina and Britt and sharing scripture that helps us to see how to re-present Jesus well and be the ambassadors we are called to. Listen to the Raising Kids on Your Knees Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/4Aq5n5wbY3FcQNEH488o90?si=35cb3ea566e94daf Hurricane Helene Relief https://RaisingKidsonYourKnees.org/hurricane-relief Flying Arrow Productions

Rev. Dr. Wendy Woods Getting To Know Jesus... Well Worth ItJohn 4:5-26, 28-30, 39-43Be Blessed as our Elder, Rev. Dr. Wendy Woods as she shares in this encouraging Word.Get ready to be blessed.Blessings Abound!

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 7, 2024

Hey friend! From my heart to yours- let's talk about why it's okay to have a platform + be seen + celebrated by others, and why it's okay to have season where you don't feel seen :)
 I pray this blesses you!

https://youtube.com/live/_vyUsuqP14Y

2024-03-10: More Like Jesus: Well Done!Continuing our series “More Like Jesus”, today Pastor Jodi teaches how our fulfillment as disciples of Jesus comes through discovering and serving with the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given us. As we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us who we are in Him and how He wants to work in and through us we can be fully released in our purpose and calling in life.Key Scriptures:Mat 25:20-23, 20:26-28, Rom 12:4-8, 1 Cor 12:4-11, Eph 4:11-16, 1 Pet 4:10-11

Church on Mission Colossians 4:2-6 Brandon Lemons

The narrative of the woman at the well has intrigued readers of the Bible for millennia. However, delving into the story reveals underlying complexities not immediately apparent. Questions emerge, such as: Why is Jesus at a well, and what is he anticipating? Join me as we discover the hidden gems in the story of the woman at the well. To find more "Uncensored Christian" content including Video versions of the podcast, Social Media links, and more use the Link down below!https://lnk.bio/dantewIf you would like to support this podcast financially you can give online by clicking here https://paypal.me/uchristianpod?locale.x=en_US. Your gift helps this podcast reach more people around the world!If you have questions or would like to reach out, email uchristianpod@gmail.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/dantebwill/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UChristianPodcast Support the show

Today we look at the fifth chapter - The Arrow and the Target

This episode implores us to be like Jesus --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dailyrowe/support

This week we continue our series called " 27 Books". This week's message is called "27 Books- 2 Timothy - "Following Jesus Well" given by Pastor EJ Tena. If you would like to support this ministry text "GIVE" to 479-777-4264.

8 Sometime afterward he went on through towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Cuza (Herod's household manager), Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources. 4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from one town after another, he spoke to them in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds devoured it. 6 Other seed fell on rock, and when it came up, it withered because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up with it and choked it. 8 But other seed fell on good soil and grew, and it produced a hundred times as much grain.” As he said this, he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”9 Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.11 “Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away. 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing the word, cling to it with an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance.16 “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light. 18 So listen carefully, for whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”19 Now Jesus' mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd. 20 So he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 But he replied to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

This message is from a Sunday morning worship service at Leverington Church. For additional messages and other resources go to www.Leverington.org

This message is from a Sunday morning worship service at Leverington Church. For additional messages and other resources go to www.Leverington.org

This message is from a Sunday morning worship service at Leverington Church. For additional messages and other resources go to www.Leverington.org

This message is from a Sunday morning worship service at Leverington Church. For additional messages and other resources go to www.Leverington.org

Thank you for joining us online!  For more information and to connect with us, use the links below:https://tekoachurch.org/connect/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tekoachurch...Tekoa Church meets on Sunday mornings at 10am196 N 3rd StreetSan Jose, CA 95112

WEDNESDAY SERVICE II HOW TO FOLLOW JESUS WELL PT.3

Jesus is the most well-known person in human history. Except… He's not. Because if we truly knew Him well, it would change everything.

WEDNESDAY SERVICE: HOW TO FOLLOW JESUS WELL PT.2

Wednesday Service: How To Follow Jesus Well

Join us for one of our online services, and check out our website to find a bit more information about us. We would love to have you join us at https://lifepoint.online.church Find locations, our beliefs, and more info about us at https://www.lpchurch.com/about.  CONNECT WITH LIFEPOINT Hub: www.lpchurch.com/hub YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/LifePointChurchNW Facebook: www.facebook.com/LifePointNW/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/lifepointnw

Square One, 2 of 9 from September 25, 2022 Big Idea: “We work hard to journey together because Jesus is paving the Way.” Ephesians 1:15-25 by Michael Lockstampfor (@miklocks) QUESTIONS

Jason Thacker, author of "Following Jesus in a Digital Age," talks about the challenges our social media age brings to our spirituality.  Matt Hammitt, former lead singer of Sanctus Real and producer of the documentary "Bowen's Heart," opens up about his family's struggle through his son's heart condition. Click here for show notes.

5 “First Steps” to Starting Your Journey with Jesus Well. Warren Mainard preaches from Acts 22:12-22.

5 “First Steps” to Starting Your Journey with Jesus Well. Warren Mainard preaches from Acts 22:12-22.

Ambassadors of Jesus must represent Him well. Paul returns to the theme that a comfortable life does not affirm God's power or work in our lives. Instead, it is the way He enables us to persevere, despite distress, that shows us as legitimate ambassadors.

Pastor Sean Palmer continues our series looking at the voices of women of faith by looking to the words of Barbara Taylor Brown. Barbara's words invite to engage with the Bible by seeing ourselves in the stories of Scripture. Live Teaching Podcast Scripture & Quotations “For all the human handiwork it displays, the Bible remains a peculiarly holy book. I cannot think of any other text that has such authority over me, interpreting me faster than I can interpret it. It speaks to me not with the stuffy voice of some mummified sage but with the fresh, lively tones of someone who knows what happened to me an hour ago. Familiar passages accumulate meaning as I return to them again and again.They seem to grow during my absences from them; I am always finding something new in them I never found before, something designed to meet me where I am at this particular moment in time.This is, I believe, why we call the Bible God's ‘living word.' When I think about consulting a medical book thousands of years old for some insight into my health, or an equally ancient physics book for some help with my cosmology, I understand what a strange and unparalleled claim the Bible has on me.Age does not diminish its power but increases it. When I recognize my life in its pages — when I am convinced that this story is my story — then I am lifted out of my own time and space and set free, liberated by the knowledge that my oddly shaped piece of life is not a fluke but fits into a much larger and more reliable puzzle. In other words, I am not an orphan. I have a community, a history, a future, a God.The Bible is my birth certificate and my family tree, but it is more: it is the living vein that connects me to my maker, pumping me the stories I need to know about who we have been to one another from the beginning of time, and who we are now, and who we shall be when time is no more. — Barbara Brown Taylor, The Preaching LifeMatthew 22:15-3515 At that, the Pharisees left. They determined to trap this Jesus with His own words — hang Him by His own rope, you might say. 16 They sent a batch of students to Him, along with a group that was loyal to Herod.Students: Teacher, we know You are a man of integrity and You tell the truth about the way of God. We know You don't cotton to public opinion. 17 And that is why we trust You and want You to settle something for us: should we, God's chosen people, pay taxes to Caesar or not?18 Jesus knew these men were out to trap Him.Jesus: You hypocrites! Why do you show up here with such a transparent trick? 19 Bring Me a coin you would use to pay tax.Someone handed Him a denarius. 20 Jesus fingered the coin.Jesus: Of whom is this a portrait, and who owns this inscription?Students: 21 Caesar.Jesus: Well then, render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.22 And those who had come hoping to trick Jesus were confounded and amazed. And they left Him and went away.23 That same day, a band of Sadducees — a sect of Jewish aristocrats who, among other things, did not expect a resurrection or anticipate any sort of future life at all — put their own question to Jesus.Sadducees: 24 Teacher, the law of Moses teaches that if a married man dies with no children, then his brother must marry the widow and father children in his brother's name. 25 Now we knew a family of seven brothers. The eldest brother married and died, and since he had no children, the next brother married his widow. 26 And shortly thereafter, that second brother died and the next until there were seven marriages with the same woman. 27 Eventually the wife died. 28 So now, Teacher, whose wife will she be at the resurrection? Will she have seven husbands, since they were each married to her?Jesus: 29 You know neither God's Scriptures nor God's power — and so your assumptions are all wrong. 30 At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the messengers of heaven.31 A key to this resurrected life can be found in the words of Moses, which you do claim to read: 32 “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Our God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living.33 And again the crowd was amazed. They were astonished at His teaching.34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, a group of Pharisees met to consider new questions that might trip up Jesus. 35 A legal expert thought of one that would certainly stump Him.“The Bible also teaches us how to imagine ourselves. In a world where we are offered so many unsolicited definitions of ourselves, it is easy to forget who we are. First there are all the voices that come to us from outside ourselves, describing us as successes or failures based on our looks, our performances, our incomes.Then there are the voices that come to us from inside ourselves, reminding us what we will never be, never do, never have. No one has ever explained to my satisfaction where this relentlessly critical chorus comes from, but it never, seems to tire of telling me how clumsy, lazy, weak, spoiled, thick-headed, ridiculous, and doomed to failure I am. There are some days when it all sounds true, but there are others when I recognize the voice of the Tempter and am able to fight back.You have overstated your case, I am able to say; you have gone too far. While there is a splinter of truth in all your accusations, you have missed the central truth: God made me, and God does not make trash.How do I know that? Because the Bible tells me so. The Bible tells me that God can make a human being out of a pile of dirt, that God can make a barren old couple the proud parents of a chosen people, that God can heal the sick and feed the hungry and raise the dead. If I believe that, then I cannot also believe myself or anyone else to be a lost cause. Nor can I believe only what my culture tells me about myself. The Bible gives me another authority to consult.When the culture treats me as if all I am good for is to produce or to consume, the Bible invites me to love. When the culture encourages me to think of myself as a rugged individualist, the Bible calls me to be a neighbor.When the culture conditions me to become a spectator on life, the Bible bids me to do justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly with my God. Over and over, the Bible offers me an alternative vision, not only of myself but also of other people and of the whole world. Sometimes it seems farfetched, but other times it seems truer than what is supposed to be true.” — Barbara Brown Taylor, The Preaching Life“My relationship with the Bible is not a romance but a marriage, and one I am willing to work on in all the usual ways: by living with the text day in and day out, by listening to it and talking back to it, by making sure I know what is behind the words it speaks to me and being certain I have heard it properly, by refusing to distance myself from the parts of it I do not like or understand, by letting my love for it show up in the everyday acts of my life. The Bible is not an object for me; it is a partner, whose presence blesses me, challenges me, and affects everything I do.” — Barbara Brown Taylor, The Preaching Life

Catch a replay of this week's message from My Church Winnipeg! Want to see the whole service? Check it out here: https://youtu.be/yX4YmvC1PLE ⛪️ To invest in the ministry of My Church Winnipeg and invest into the lives of others through giving click here: To support our growth and local & global impact: https://bit.ly/2KDwPjT​​​​​​​​​​​

Listen to this week's message from Jerry Harris for a diagram of building healthy relationships. See how God designed the foundation of our relationships to be formed. -- Download the One Crossing app: https://thecrossing.net/app To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: https://thecrossing.net/giving Helping people come to an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the vision of The Crossing, based in Quincy, IL with multiple locations throughout Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa.

Improvement in your relationships is a gradual and steady thing that requires effort. The effort is well worth it. It's how we can continue practicing representing Jesus Well. Care. Curiosity. Presence - all ways of being like Jesus to the people in our lives. To learn more about RCC or give online, visit:http://www.rccsunday.com​Connect with us! Fill out a Red Card:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqlSu_boxYwE6BaR_JBOsEijpJ3XkVOTUuzObz7FxsEd0tMg/viewformFollow us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/riponchurch

Jesus' character was strong, well-balanced, and centered in God. How did this center shape the kind of balance that he developed?

As we finish our on-going series about the tremendous explosion of new archeological insight into the world of the New Testament with Professor David Fiensy, we talk about how the life of Galilee was characterized both by contact with gentiles through trade and a concern about ritual impurity as indicated by the proliferation of stone water jars (as described in the Wedding at Cana), and also the avoidance of pagan coinage. We also look at the question of education, how rare it was and how special Jesus seems to have been compared to other laborers in the ancient world in being highly educated and sophisticated. Professor Fiensy is the author of The Archaeology of Daily Life: Ordinary Persons in Late Second Temple Israel.

She's trapped in a fat black trash can She makes friends at wasteland She takes tabs that taste bad DAMN. Half an acid after ASAP crapped on the map, Back to the BASSPOD for some awful crap She tried to dance to, She's trying—she's trying, but can't Thinks about camp, and the wristband she grabbed as a sample But the black man, her first fan, is holding her hand His first rave ever was at the promised land She left with a plan, panicked in Alaska, then ran Went manic with Uncle Sam, damaged; A sacrifice, like a lamb They call for Christ, and she wants to answer but hasn't; Advice from dad— “Humankind has gone mad.” The Day Met The Night She had to miss the man in the hat; but was glad The act she caught was by an artist that's also black Bass music lacks much, in fact; Every since Skrillex did it, Everyone else just does that Now they're programmed and mathematical, Dubstep is had, Everybody loves Excision and forgot how to dance; No offense to Jeff, It's just his fans are the worst— She was still in the hearse, but witness to the dress rehearsal. Till Death Do Us Part, So she did; but Rest In Peace, she didn't— She was almost asleep, then here comes The Nigga, Skrillex. The Aliens Did it. NO WE DIDNT. THE GODS DID. Call it Divine Intervention Right on Time for Dentention He wreaked of all the sadness and Liquor The Poor Thing, he needed attention she couldn't give it, just wished she didn't exist She was shook, and just booked it out of the Soul Kitchen The whole mission was meant to be a means of prevention; A rockstar musician and a mystic's intuition At Intermission, she interviews with Inside Edition— When he makes his entrance, She breaks away just to kiss him But Listen: In this dimension, the Media Captures the passion She had for the man on camera, a scandal happens! His girlfriend's mad, his fans all hate this random fat black actress, or rapper— whatever she is, she woke up famous, and the FanGirls attack They all love Sonny; Fight over him in forums like vultures; It's part of the culture, she knows because she studies producers— But this one is different, there's only one Skrillex— A loser; Money talks and bullshit walks, and that's an evil doer; She just calmly walked away, she couldn't do him the favor He just came into her life, and then he came back never; Now she just wonders what would have happened, had she acted on impulse; His hands were right between her thighs, but then he acted repulsed, as his fingertips brushed the skin of her belly— The Curse of her body: reality's depiction of gluttony; We all need love. Perhaps what Sonny needed was hugs, But Ugly she was, and had been cracked like a nut; A scar on her lip, A scar on her eye, The Sun God marked “Mine” Blinded by the light, polite tidings, moonlit nights fighting the right side— look at the bright side; We are alike, right? We like white. Fine. What is a pawn to a Knight? What's a King to a Queen? A Lion to a Lioness might seem to be priority; In reality it's just another misogyny She knows she needs; He needs nothing. Rafiki, believe me— I did see Simba under a Tree, With a Hog and a Meerkat, I think Take it easy on the DMT, Before Disney reads this catastrophe. Well, that's random. Well, so is Skrillex in your tent. Is he for sale, or for rent? Is she no more than a friend? I'm offended, but get it— That's just how it is, with a rich kid; I lost 200 pounds, but she's posing for “fitness”, Basic. Forget this shit. At the core, I resent it; I fell in a horrible instant Aplorable, isn't it? Now I just want to prevent; I saw through dimensions, Prayed for him, I went and I fasted Attracted spirits out of crypts with magic I flew the black flag, ship wrecked on an island and died again, All my friends and Family in heaven keep mentioning him I don't know what he did, But I'm just trying to save— Shh. What did Tim say? He tried to warn me about Garrett before I even knew his name; It's fucking crazy, But I lost it when he passed away— I remembered the day I called “A Long Drive, With You, Friends” Cause I was stuck in the Skrillex attemtpting to decipher the message; Ran down the mountain pouting about Dillon Francis, But when I got back to town, I found out what the past is; Los Angeles was smaller, but still back to back traffic— I looked down from Elysian Park at all of the Classics; It had to be about the 60's, it was a nightmare— Time Travel would be fun, if I had chosen to go there, But no! A flash went off as I was leaving the mountain, I didn't even feel the phototelepoertation, It was instant. I'm a crackhead, I'm a mental health case— Five years ago, I said I'd run for President someday I knew as the words came out; it was a fatal mistake I became #1 Enemy of the State The USA was under a brand new administration, We went Global, White Supremacy Funds Corporations Now it doesn't matter what I say or do; On paper, I've been documented as… Doesn't matter. The worst of it was, They gave me Sonny's head on a platter “Invest In Water” Telepathy is easy for me; But gnashing of teeth? I listen to Skrillex, the secrets I keep Now I'm starting to weep, Take it easy— He's probably busy. I'm standing in line at the showers, he's disappearing I can't believe it; His name wasn't on the roster An imposter, impossible; I already saw him His mom worries, a lot— But I don't know which one, She begged and pleaded for me to save her son And the West was won, Annie went and got her gun She's ugly, but she's skinny and she's also a slut; A DJs just a squirrel with a nut— Always looking for another with some tits and a butt Looks young? So what? ID says Connecticut, just turned 21 But she's sucking her thumb Dumb DJ wants to have fun Now thunder has struck; At least this time I'm in luck— I don't know what he's done, But Space Jesus is giving everyone a good in for their money, Here bassnectar comes; My assumption was—you've seen one, it applies to all of them. Apparently not, my previous favorite Previous, I say, because I think someone paid him As years pass by, I see what I've written—it's clearly a given, perhaps this is the reason I've risen; This is a prison. I don't want to listen to Skrillex. I'm so sick of Dillon Francis, And being a black chick I'm so sick of fitness models And Instagram fitness I'm so sick of Sonny Moore and this aryan woman. According to the Book or Mormon, I'm rather important, But neither myself or they would admit it— Untraceably ancient, they have questions of our Family's origins I'm like, Just ask Skrillex. That dudes way more a force than I—not adopted, but unwanted, and unaborted. Now I'm imported, an immortal now with African heritage— Not African, but they have to call me African American or black like, statistically— Thats seeming racist again, I think., I'm also indigenous—but white people see me as black; Blacks know that I'm half, they laugh and turn their back, As if. The Black Cat in the hat sat and splashed blood on his mask; he had to attack the bampheramph master, acting as captain He can't stand him, now he's trapped in a mansion with Dillon Francis and a Masked Banana, Happy with Hammocks for batting practice. [Skrillex is resting in a hammock. The masked banana Approaches.] WHAT THE FUCK. CUT TO: Here he is. is he dead? No, he's Skrillex. Don't be stupid. That's a shiner. It's a doozy… ...This Nigga. This Nigga. This NIGGA. Uh oh. Where is Skrillex? I found him. He's over there. He's over WHERE? You should go. [shrugs] I should stay. Now you're playing. It's your game. I'll kill you. I doubt that. Don't tempt me. Or you'll what? No, no, no! Dillon Francis?!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. < GO AWAY DUDE, I GOT THIS. NO, OKAY?! NO. Ay, no! Vamos! JUST STOP IT. What is he doing here? What are you doing here? I'm on the lineup. (Like, 6 people) HOW? Ask My Management. >< Man, fuck your management. GERALD: Hey, fuck you! Gerald?! S'that you? GERALD: Yes, ‘tis I! You look good! Back at cha! ...is that your piñata? Previously, kind of. What the fuck. Dillon. Heh. Oh, what—he's “Dillon” now? I've always been “Dillon” that's my name You're “Dillon Francis” DJ Dillon Francis. You wish you were a DJ. Why would I waste a wish—? [they bicker, as S Ū P A C R E E silently prepares for battle. As she sharpens The Battle Axe, Skrillex takes notice and moves quickly towards her.] Hey—where'd you get that?! Oh, what, this? The Battle Axe? Yeah, it is! What the fuck! I thought you had that. [Skrillex, startled, checks his pockets; which is ridiculous, because he's wearing Skinny jeans.] I thought he was wearing shorts. We like shorts. The Skrillex Shorts (Angrily) What did you DO? What did YOU do? Satan won't tell me unless I give him my sOuL Oh, goodness… Jesus Christ! What? Don't. ((Jesus: GODDAMMIT I TOLD YOU, I'M ON VACATION.)) Why with Satan? I am Satan. What the fuck! He's just kidding. Oh, Jesus Christ. Stop calling on Jesus, he's not coming. ((I ALREADY TOLD YOU, CALL CREE)) [Up, at Jesus] DONT CALL ME BY MY SLAVE NAME, JESUS—I FUCKING TOLD YOU. You know what—? [Jesus Appears.] Dillon Francis: *gasps* JESUS. What, Dillon Francis? What? Do we not spend enough time talking? What? Dillon Francis: Jesus: Just—practice patience, you'll get your fuckin shit—just. Ugh. And, YOU! Skrillex: Me? Jesus: Nah, dog. You're straight. Skrillex: Nice. Dillon Francis: WHAT? The FUCK. Jesus: hey—out of sight, out of mind; unlike your dumb ass—am I right? Dillon Francis: You know him? Jesus: We're booed up. Wait, you're fuckin' Jesus? Not with that inflection. Jesus: Oh what, jealous? Dillon Francis: This is awful. Jesus: It's God Awful. Dillon Francis: That's not punny. Jesus, Skrillex, and SupaCree: YES IT IS. Dillon Francis: Oh, My God. Jesus: Dont call God— SupaCree: No, she is not— —she's probably busy— —she's not available— Dillon Francis: What is happening. Gerald: How do you know Jesus? He's a Distant relative—Look. I don't have time for this; I'm on vacation. You've been on vacation since The Bush Administration! Wait, Which One? Dude, why bother? It's current events! This entire existence is a current event! Would you just forget about Heaven? Look, you're not getting back in again until you finish this—not without your little friends. Skrillex: I'm not her friend. Supacree: Skrillex isn't my friend. Dillon Francis: She's not my friend. GERALD: I'm your friend. Yeah you are! Yeah I am! Love You Gerald! ...Did you fuck? What's with you!? Jesus: She's not your friend. Skrillex: Hell nah! Jesus: I'm not talking to you, I know she's not your friend— Skrillex: Damn straight. Jesus: —You have no friends. Oooh. Goddamn. Christ's Sake. Jesus: Money is the root of all evil. Dillon Francis: Hey— I said that; I said Money Sucks, Friends Rule! [super serious] Jesus: No. Dillon Francis: ...No? Jesus: You—asked for a friend. I sent you a friend! Why isn't she your friend?! Dillon Francis: [makes a face] ...that was the friend you sent? Jesus: YES. Dillon Francis: ...that I asked for? Jesus: YES. What's wrong? Dillon Francis : I just… Adjust. [Jesus receives the Alien communication signal telepathically.] Jesus: Adjust? Fuck me. Supacree: Is that them? Skrillex: Mmmmm…. Dillon Francis: Oh, my God! Jesus: Oh, guess what? Now she's coming. Are they close? Seems like it. Dillon Francis: What the fuck! Fuck, alright then. “Fuck, alright then.” Shutthefuckup— Why don't you shutthefuckup— Jesus: Both of you shutthefuckup. Shut The Fuck Up, And Listen Oh, shit—fuck—there's still a battle? Uh, yeah, there's still a battle; God loves these things. Dillon Francis: Wait, wait, wait— Jesus: wait, wait what? Dude, just shut up go get your...what's your rave weapon again? Supacree: white privilege? Dillon: (at Skrillex) no, that's his. Jesus: oh please, it's basically everyone's—except hers. Yikes. Skrillex: [squints] Jesus: yeah, yikes. Now take a hike so I can talk with these two immortal morons without your face in my face. My face isn't in your face… Your face is in my face! Now get lost! Prepare to Save The Rave! ...this is strange. [to side, cut scene Gerald: what is your rave weapon, anyway? Dillon Francis: it's a secret. Jesus: Alright— [as they prepare, she each scan the skyline for a sign of advanced life.] Skrillex: not another flyby. Supacree: Jesus fucking Christ. Jesus: Where is it? Supacree: He has it. Skrillex: She has it. Both: no, I don't. Both: yes, you do! Jesus: Are you serious? Skrillex: What is your life? Supacree: I'm not alive, I just died! Skrillex: Oh yeah, right? Jesus: oh yeah, right. Skrillex: psh. That's bullshit. Jesus: you don't have to believe it. Skrillex: I don't, that's— Supacree: We get it, you're a satanist. Jesus l: why! Satan can't do shit. Supacree: I know, right? Skrillex: I'm not “Satanist” Skrillex: We're just binded. Supacree: Stupid Ass Skrillex. Skrillex: Nobody called you! Supacree: My phone died! That's how I got stuck with you on the last flyby! Skrillex: It wasn't me! Jesus: Yes it was. Supacree: I don't care. Jesus. You do care. Skrillex: more than cares! Supacree: less. Way less. Skrillex: she's obsessed— Supacree: I am obsessive. Jesus: this is impressive. Skrillex: Gee, thanks ref. Supacree: save your breath— Jesus: You're both miserable. Skrillex: I'm not miserable, I'm rich, Supacree: he's not miserable, he's rich. See? Okay—first of all— you're both rich. SupaCree: wait, I am? Skrillex: wait, she is? Jesus: YES. Supacree: when is this? Jesus: that's on you. And him. Supacree and Skrillex: what? How?! Jesus: Well, do you Wield the Sword of Skrillex? Skrillex: ...The What? Supacree: …oh yeah, huh. Jesus: there you go. Supacree: Huh. Skrillex: what the fuck!? Jesus: Yeaaah...anyway, we're way off subject, and we're arguably moments away from this dimension being ripped open; Half the family's in transit— Half? Oh, Goddamn. This is bad. Gimmie my sword. It's my sword! Technically, it's his. But it isn't. I mean, just because you Weilded it in Skrillex— When was this?! DUDE, QUIT DRINKING. Finally someone said it. Someone had to. *gasp* SUPER WHITE GURL: SKRILLEX HAS A DRINKING PROBLEM? No. What? You just said— This is fictional, Becky—a total-what if. My name Rebecca. My Name is Skrillex. No it isn't— —what is it—-? It's— —What's My Name? —its— —-?!?! ——?????!!! —it's Skrillex, Becky— —rebbeca— —SIT DOWN BECKY. (She sits.) Goddamn. Oh, she will. She's nothing like Rebbeka, Rebekah was beautiful. So you do have my memory. Nails in hands. You felt that? Shove it, Boomer! What are you? I TOLD you already. Jesus: She told you. Are you eating? I get hungry. Skrillex: UGHHHHGGGHHH. Supacree: AGGGHGHGHGH!!!! This is intense. Oh, like camping! It wasn't me!!! (Like, Everyone) Yes it was. This nigga doe. I know, huh. This nigga serious. He hella serious. He aint remember— —he ain't remember— —Nothin! Who the fuck are you? Creative Affirmative Action. What? There's not enough black people in this movie, so. What you mean? Skrillex is black. [Skrillex] No— Sure he is— —look at him— [Skrillex] Ugh, he's gonna sue me. For what?! Ridiculous. Exactly, yeah that. Skrillex is ridiculous. Yes, but si is this: The Nigga, Skrillex As not to be confused with Skrillex, The Nigga (He's a Rapper!) Of course he is. And, while we're at it—might as well go ahead and introduce— The Nigga Skrillex Not a rapper? Oh no, he does rap. It just doesn't matter. Because he's black. *gasp* Black Skrillex?! No, The Nigga Skrillex. What's the difference?! Well… Black Skrillex: Yes, Good afternoon—could I please get, $20 on pump 8 please? Thank you. Okay, so whats the— [As Black Skrillex exits, The Nigga Skrillex enters the same inconvinece store, looking shady.] [Actual Skrillex Makes a Face] Mmm—just wait, it gets better. Cut Back To: The Nigga Skrillex makes a menacing face at the cashier, whose hand hovers over the panic button. Its hella shady. cashier: can I help you? The Nigga Skrillex: Nah, prolly not. [beat] he turns towards the cooler and palms a 40 oz. the tension rises. he plops it on the counter and stares coldly at the attendant. you know what? …? Let me get a….$20 on the lotto, and some berry backwoods. okay. wait—how much is that? …$1.99 a pack. Goddam!... can i just get one? ...yeah. LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE.

Watch Drew kick us back into our series, “Community of Transformation.” Here, he challenges us to represent Jesus well not just in our words, but also in our affection and our actions towards people we might not agree with.

On this podcast of Sonshine USA our Bible study teacher Warren Landis expounds from Mark Chapter 10: 28-34. Serving Jesus is well worth any sacrifice! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/warren-landis4/support

It's that time of year folks where we break out the pagan holiday cheer and wish everyone a Merry Holiday and a Happy Christmas to all and all a bag of mushrooms! We're going to talk about the shamans and their holiday cheer and talk about the birth of the sweet lord baby Jesus. So sit down and Hore up to a war goddess of Egypt tells you where to stuff your stalking. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

You know the kind of friend, who, when you spend time with them, leaves you feeling closer to Jesus? Well, today’s guest, Kelly Hostetter, is definitely that kind of friend. After listening to today’s podcast episode, I’m sure you’ll agree. In this conversation, she talks about her life as a wife and mom of 8 […]

Who is Jesus? Well he's the Son of God... duh! Well there is way more to it than maybe you were taught in Sunday school. In this episode we'll unpack some of the key things that make Jesus who Jesus is. Psst Christ is not his last name. We'll unpacked a few passages from the gospels, and look at the humanity and divinity of Jesus, as well as key points of Jesus' message and how they impact us as his disciples. Follow along in your Bibles or click the links to get the scripture passages. John 1: 1-5, 14 & John 1:35-36 (Click Here) Mark 1:15 (Click Here) Matthew 25:31-46 (Click Here)

Does your home belong to you, or does it serve a greater purpose? Barbara Rainey invites you to think of your home as an embassy for the Lord.

What do you do when you have a burning passion for people, medicine, the environment and Jesus? Well if you're Natalie, you just pursue them all! We caught up with the Zero Waste Doc to talk about environmentalism and much more. Join Dan and Chris as they listen in and welcome back Emma to the podcast. The post Ep 38 – Protecting people and planet with Zero Waste Doc appeared first on We Are Tearfund.

I. “Comfort My People” (vs. 1-2) So I'm a man under authority today, I've been given a message from God, and my job, my task, is to deliver this feast to you without doing anything to mess it up. And that's my desire. I feel like a table waiter, and I've been told by the master chef, "This is the food, this is the meal, and I want you to bring it to the people." And when we come to the incredible words of Isaiah 40, I'm not the first table waiter to bring this message. As a matter of fact, the first was Isaiah himself. And the chapter begins with a direct command to him. The grammar of Isaiah 40:1,2 is interesting. It's a command coming from Almighty God to a single individual. It's a little clearer in the KJV. "Comfort ye," so that's imperative in that Old English style. The individual that was being addressed was Isaiah the prophet. He's being given a command by Almighty God to speak a word of comfort to the people of God. And it's strong, too, because He says it twice. "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." And so, I have a commission, I'm in a long, long line, a numberless line of proclaimers of these truths, and I'm just taking my place in line and I get to do the very same thing. I get to speak to you who are in the Kingdom of God, to you who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. I get to speak to you a word of comfort from Almighty God. And what a privilege that is. What an incredible message Isaiah 40 is. It's so glorious. The poetry, the images that flow in this chapter are so rich and full. It's easy, perhaps, for someone who loves poetry or images or literary things to study it as a piece of literature, and therein lies some of the danger. This isn't a piece of literature, this is the Word of Almighty God. God is speaking this to us. And He commands Isaiah the prophet to comfort His people and He says, "Speak tenderly," in the NIV, "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem." The words in the original language is, "Speak to the heart of." Speak to the heart. Speak to her heart. Almost like feminine language here, like a suitor speaking to a woman. Tenderly, words of courtship, words of tender affection. "I want you to speak tenderly to Jerusalem, I want you to speak to her heart." Or perhaps, like a father speaking tenderly to a young child some words of instruction or correction or training. "Speak tenderly. Speak to the heart of." I think in the absolute sense, in the big picture, it's "Speak sovereignly, speak the word of transforming grace to people who without that word will have hearts of stone and continue living in rebellion. So speak to the heart of my people. Speak tenderly. Speak this word." It's poignant and powerful. What Is the Comfort? Three Things (vs. 2) What is this comfort? This dual comfort, "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." In other words, Isaiah the prophet's saying, "You are the people of God. I want you to know what your God is telling me to tell you. I want you to know that God, your God, wants you to be comforted. He really wants you to feel comforted." Well, comforted about what? Well, he says three things. Jerusalem's "hard service" it says. Generally, the translation is "warfare." Warfare has been accomplished or finished. "Her sin has been paid for that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins." So, the context here is warfare, the warfare of Zion, the warfare of Jerusalem, the warfare of the people of God, of the Jews. Context of the Comfort: Jerusalem’s Sin Now, there was an immediate context in Isaiah's day. But then, there was a timeless context to the people of God in every generation. In the immediate context, Isaiah the prophet, living there in 700 BC or so, after the Assyrians have been swept away by the sovereign hand of God and godly King Hezekiah's rebuilding what the Assyrians have destroyed and they're going on with their history, He's already predicted in Isaiah 39 that someday Judah and Jerusalem will go off into exile in Babylon for sins. But now, he is looking beyond that exile, amazingly, to the time when God will sovereignly allow a remnant to go back to Judah and Jerusalem and rebuild the city. So the immediate context is, all of that time of turbulence, that exile, that suffering, will come to an end and Judah will be able to return and rebuild Jerusalem, rebuild the temple. That's the immediate circumstance, but the words just tower above that, the concepts go far beyond that immediate situation. God is speaking through this chapter to every generation of His people. And so, the warfare mentioned here is bigger than merely the Babylonian conquest and the destruction of Jerusalem and things like that. No, I think the warfare is explained by the rest of the phrase. Her warfare has been accomplished, her sin has been paid for. The Bible reveals that, apart from Christ, naturally, every one of us is at war with God, and even more significantly, that the Holy God is at war with us. Now, if you're lost, if you're not a Christian, you may not feel that at all, you may not be aware of that, but the Bible says it's true. If you're outside of Christ, the wrath of God remains on you every day. You're under the judgment of God. God, in His holiness, is at war with you and you may say, "Why?" It's because of His holiness and your sin. And my sin. That's why the warfare is there. We are sinners, we have violated the laws of God, there's iniquity in us, unrighteousness in us. That's the warfare. But there will come a time when that warfare will come to an end. It will end forever at a certain point, because God is speaking to us a word of comfort in the Gospel. And that word of comfort is, ultimately, we know through Christ, through His shed blood on the cross, God is at peace with us. And we, through the work of the Spirit of God, are now at peace with Him. We are reconciled, we're in a good relationship with God. And that is comforting, isn't it? That is comforting. And it says that Jerusalem has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Now, this is a vital statement here. Salvation originates with Almighty God. "She has received from the Lord's hand, double for all her sins." We can't save ourselves, there's nothing we can do to change this status of warfare with God, nothing. All we can do is make it worse by continual sin. We can't change it, we can't reconcile God to us by any good works or any pious attitudes or turning over of new leaves or any of that, we can't do it. No, it must come from God. Salvation is from the Lord. And so, Jerusalem has received from the Lord's hand, it says, "Double for all her sins." Now, I have meditated on this. I've read the commentaries, I've tried to understand what does this mean? Some commentators say that Jerusalem has been punished far more, perhaps, than she expected, which is true, I think that's true. I think people just generally underestimate where the sin is going to lead, just how bad it's going to get. Vastly underestimate just all the things that sin brings into your life, and that you end up getting far worse, double what you thought it would be. But I actually don't think that's what this is talking about here. I actually think that what happened to Jerusalem, the invasion of the Babylonians, the destruction of the city, the destruction of the temple is far less than they deserved, actually. Far less. So I don't think that's what double means here. No, I think this has to do with the worth and value of the atoning work of Jesus Christ, that we have received from the Lord's hand, through Jesus Christ, infinitely more than we needed to be reconciled. That the worth of the blood of Jesus just towers above the weight of our sins. Now, our sins are weighty, because God is holy and our sins are more numerous than the hairs of our head, that is true. Our sins are like vast mountains and they're numerous. So I'm not minimizing sin, I'm just maximizing the worth of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Jesus' blood is worth more than the impact, the weight, of all of my sins and all of yours and all of the sins of the whole world, and if there were a billion other worlds, just like this, it'd be more than all of that, too. That's the infinite worth and value of Jesus, and it comes right down to roost on us who are Christians, and we come to understand how sinfulness we are. You're getting educated on that. You know what I mean, brothers and sisters? You're being trained in sanctification, you're being led by the Spirit to find out how much you needed a Savior, how much you needed Jesus. You underestimated it when you first came to Christ. He's teaching you now, you know. And He's educating you on how hard your heart was, and still is, and how, as I mentioned a moment ago when I was up here talking about David Platt, how grievous it is the limits we'll put on what we'll do for God, how we'll give a certain amount of money and we'll give a certain amount of our time and our effort, but we're not going to sell out for this. And it's grievous and we see it and it's like, "Wow." The Spirit says, "In effect, you haven't seen anything yet, but I would just destroy you if I showed you the whole truth, but I want you to know this, dear child of God, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more." Isn't that comforting? "Comfort, comfort, my people", says your God." It doesn't matter how great your sins are. The worth of the atoning blood of Jesus is infinitely greater. I've used this analogy before, I keep using it almost daily in my own life. My sin, your sin could be likened to a fire. Some days, my sin is like a match, some days it's like a torch, some days it's like a bonfire on a beach, some days it's like the World Trade Center on September 11th. God's grace is like the Pacific Ocean, can handle all of the above. All of it. His grace in Jesus is infinitely greater than my sin, and that is incredibly comforting for me. And this message needs to be spoken because we are sinners, all of us. From the very beginning of this book, this has been the theme of Isaiah, one of the great themes, not the greatest theme, but one of the great themes, the great wickedness, the sinfulness of the people of God and how much we need the saving work of Jesus. And so, from the very beginning of this incredible book, Isaiah 1, Verse 2, "Hear O heavens, listen O earth for the Lord has spoken. I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me." And then, he unfolds very plainly in chapter, after chapter, after chapter, how God's created people, human beings have specifically rebelled against Him. Their idolatries, in Isaiah chapter 2. Isaiah 5 has a litany of sins of Judah and Jerusalem, just one thing after another, luxury and immorality, and injustice, and drunkenness, and brutality, and all of these sins just flowing. And we know it's true of us too and we deserve, they deserve eternal condemnation, and God in His grace gave them exile instead. And so, God is speaking to us now a greater word of comfort than He spoke immediately to those Jews who were going to be restored at some point and go back to Jerusalem, and that greater word of comfort is the saving work of Jesus Christ. It's clear now, we've got the New Testament, we've got the gospels, we know what Christ has accomplished. It was just spoken in prophetic vision at that point, but now we know. Let me just stop and just apply this to you right now. Does this bring you comfort today? Does it? Does it bring you comfort every day? Are you comforted as a sinner, saved by grace? Now, I know that it's the task of a preacher to disturb the comfortable, so the Word of God can do that, but here, the word is, "Please comfort the disturbed. Comfort them, and encourage them." II. Prepare the Way of the Lord (vs. 3-5) Secondly, verse 3-5, Prepare the way for the Lord. "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up and every mountain and hill made low. The rough ground shall become level and the rugged places a plain, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.'" By the way. I hope you see why I'm preaching three sermons on Isaiah 40 here. How rich is this? How rich are these words, and how powerful. So relax, we're not going to get to all, even all of verse 14, these 14 verses. But look what it says here. "A voice of one calling in the desert." Let's just pause for a moment, and try to understand this desert. We're going to see this image again and again, this poetic image of the desert, the wilderness in Isaiah 40-49, especially. What is it? Well, it should be understood both literally and figuratively. Okay? Obviously a desert is a place where nothing is growing, where there's no water, there's no life, it's a sterile barren place, hostile place. It is, I believe, a picture of Judah and Jerusalem under judgment, from God for their sins, also. So, it's a literal thing because God did judge the Promised Land. Remember how it was said to be a land flowing with milk and honey, a land you didn't have to irrigate with a foot pump like you had to do back in Egypt. No, it drinks in the rain from heaven, and it's lush and there are these huge clusters of grapes that you need a huge pole to carry, and it's just a lush land. Yeah, but by the time the sinful Jewish nation got done with it, it was a land under judgment. Remember how in the time of Elijah there was this drought, three years, specifically predicted by the book of Deuteronomy, "If you turn from me, says the Lord, to idols, the gods of the nations that you're going to displace, if you do that, I will command the heavens to stop raining on you and the Earth will turn into powder and dust beneath your feet." So, it's literal, but it's also metaphorical or spiritual for the hearts and the lives of people apart from the grace of God, people in their sins. This desert. And we're going to see the desert turned into a garden of Eden again, in these chapters. We're going to see the sovereign grace of God pouring down the rain of the Spirit and causing the people of God to flourish under His grace. Now in the desert, in the midst of their rebellion in the midst of their sins, there is this voice, a voice of someone calling in the desert, "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God." This Passage Fulfilled: John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus Well, we know who this is. If there was some other immediate kind of fulfillment of this... Something, some individual or individuals before the New Testament era, I don't know, but all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all four take these very words and apply them to John the Baptist. For example, Matthew 3:1-3, "In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the desert of Judea, and saying, 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.' This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, 'A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.''" So who was this individual, this John the Baptist? He was, I think, the last old covenant or Old Testament prophet, even though he's written about in the New Testament era, he came in the spirit of Elijah as a direct fulfillment of that prophecy in Malachi. He came in the spirit of Elijah, he kind of dressed like Elijah, he wore camel's hair and a belt of leather, just like Elisha the Tishbite did. He ate locusts and wild honey. Now, the honey I get, but the locusts, look it up if you don't know what I mean. Can you imagine doing that? But that was clean food. You could do it under the Law of Moses. I don't know if you would have enjoyed it. I'm just going to move on right now. But that's what he ate. But what was really important was his ministry, he lived, he was born, I think six months before Jesus Christ and you have the story in Luke about how all that came about and he preached powerfully in the desert and he baptized repentant people for their sins. “Every Valley Raised” and “Every Mountain and Hill Levelled” And it says, "Every valley shall be raised up, and every mountain and hill shall be leveled." Now, what does this statement mean? Well, first of all, you must understand, John the Baptist was not a civil engineer. We're not looking for literal fulfillment of this leveling of mountains and raising up of valleys. That's not what he did. His work was the work of a preacher, a prophet, a proclaimer of truth and a baptizer of people. So, in that manner, he leveled mountains, in that manner, he raised up valleys. Now, a simple interpretation of this is everything has to be gotten ready for the coming of the Lord, and that's valid. So you don't want to look at details or spiritualize them, just simply say, things have to be made ready in sinners' hearts before Jesus can come. There has to be a preparatory work of grace in someone's heart before they're ready to come to Jesus. And so that preparatory work is frequently painful, it's difficult. They see their sinfulness, their wickedness, they're in misery, they understand they're lost. They feel it acutely. And they know they need a savior, but they don't have an answer, they don't know what to do, and then the gospel comes and brings good news to them, and so there has to be a preparatory work, a leveling work, a work of grace. So that's a simple way. And I think we could all sign off on that, but I'm going to go on, and I'm going to press some of the details here. Every mountain and hill will be leveled. The mountains and the hills here are obstacles to the coming of Jesus, they're obstacles. In Isaiah 2, we have this image of lofty things that represents the idolatrous hearts of human beings and especially the arrogance of human beings thinking they don't need Jesus, they don't need a Savior, they're fine in their religion, they're fine in everything that they could do. And so when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, this is what he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." That I think is a leveling of every mountain and hill, leveling. These arrogant, self-righteous people needed to be leveled before the word of God, the word of Christ could come to them. Conversely, there are other people who feel so crushed by life, frankly, and so crushed by their sins, and so crushed by the justice and the wrath and the righteousness and holiness of God, that they just are utterly despairing of any hope of salvation for themselves. And they are too broken to even try, or even think there could be an answer for them. They are in this sense valleys that need to be lifted up, they need to be given hope that God could forgive them, that there could be grace for them, that there is an answer. And he did this by his baptism. And he was baptizing sinners who are coming to him and repenting and so there was a sense that they could be cleansed of their sins and restored and made new. And so John the Baptist came to do that. The Glory of the Lord Revealed... in Jesus Christ And then it says, "And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it." Don't you see how beautiful that is, how John the Baptist had the privilege of pulling back the veil and saying, "Behold your God. Look at Him, behold Him, see Him." How do you do that? Well, one day Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, came to him to where he was baptizing, and wanted to be baptized and he said, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Now, John says in John chapter 1, I wouldn't have recognized Him except the Spirit told me that He was the one, He didn't look unusual, extraordinary, He just looked like anyone else. But John knew who He was. And he heard the testimony of God the Father from heaven. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, a voice came, a dove came down, heaven was torn open, a dove came down representing the Holy Spirit and a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is my Son whom I love, with Him I am well pleased." John heard that voice himself in a special way as a prophet of God, and he said, "I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." And then the next day when he saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." So, we have in verse 5 of our text the glory of the Lord is revealed in the incarnation of Jesus, His status as fully God, fully man. Who walked on the face of the earth, who lived a life, a sinless life, and then who at some point in God's purposes, at some point in the fullness of time, died on the cross, shed His blood under the wrath of God, as an atoning sacrifice for sinners like you and me. Behold the lamb. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And all mankind, all flesh, the KJV says, together will see it for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. How do we do that, how do we do that now, how do we see the glory of Jesus? Well, you almost sometimes you need to close your eyes and just listen to the Word of God, close your eyes and just have someone speak these words, "This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." Picture the heaven torn apart and the Dove descending on Jesus, and this voice coming, picture John the Baptist pointing to a man and saying, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." You can see in your mind's eye, by faith through the hearing of the word of God, you can see the glory of Jesus. It's the only way, it's the only way. Everyone, it's available for everyone, all over the world, people from every tribe and language and people and nation can hear this message and see the glory of Jesus. And they do it by faith, by faith that comes from hearing the words about Jesus. Now there's going to come a day in the future, when the full glory of Jesus will be unveiled, revealed to the human race, and no one, no one will need any faith on that day. Jesus spoke of that day in Matthew 24. In verse 30, He says, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man... " That's His name for Himself. "Will appear in the sky and all nations will mourn. They will see the Son of Man," listen, "coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." They'll see it with their own eyes, no faith needed. And it speaks of that also in Revelation 1:7 where it says, "Behold He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him. Even those who pierced Him. And all nations on earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be, Amen." So there's coming a day when everyone will see Jesus in the sky with great glory and no faith needed then, but understand, at that point the opportunity for justification by faith alone will be over, no one will be saved by that sight, those who were not saved the day before that, those who had not found Christ before that will be condemned for their sins. Today is the day of salvation, today's the day to trust in Christ. And so I appeal to you. I don't know you all, I don't know what's going on in your life, I don't know what's going on in your heart. But I'm pleading with you, to see Jesus' glory now in the gospel, the glory of Christ who died on the cross in your place for sins, under the wrath of God, see Him in your mind's eye. See Him on the third day, raised to life bodily and call on the name of the Lord, that your sins may be forgiven. Don't leave this place lost. See Him. The Glory of the Lord revealed in your heart. III. Human Glory Fades; God’s Word Stands (vs. 6-8) And do it while you still have time because verses 6-8 say, your glory, my glory, it's fading away. Look at verses 6-8, it says there, "A voice says, 'Cry out.' And I said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.'" So this section begins, A voice says, Cry out. This must be the voice of God. So Isaiah the prophet is saying, Someone's saying, Cry out, it must be God. But I don't know what to say. What should I say? What shall I cry out? What's the message? I'm a table waiter, I'm not going to write the message. "No prophecy of scripture ever had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along." So what do you want me to say? Alright, tell them this, tell the human race, these words, "All men, all humanity is grass and all of their glory is like the flowers of the field, the grass withers, and the flowers fall. Surely the people are grass." It's like Isaiah says, That's the message. I'm going to go preach it. But yeah, I agree, I see it, I see it happening, I see that people are grass, I see their glory fading and the word of our God standing forever. What does that mean? Well, this is very humbling for us but we need to face it. James says, when we look in the Scripture, you're looking in the mirror. Well, look at yourself now, look at yourself in the mirror of the Word of God and see grass, see a flower of the field. You may be in your prime, whatever that means, you may be in your prime. In our culture, that means young and athletic and attractive and all that. Okay. I could say a lot of things right now, but I'm just going to keep moving, alright? We are mortal. You know what that means? We're going to die. Actually more than that, it means we are dying. We're in the process right now of dying. We're mortal. What's happening? We are aging, our cells are replicating, but imperfectly. We are developing wrinkles, our eyesight isn't what it used to be. We're losing abilities. Now you say, "Well I'm not, I'm 16." Alright, you're reaching, you're ascending to the peak, but if you live long enough, if God lets you live long enough, you're going to crest and you're going to find the back side. Now, some of you are saying, "Pastor, you haven't seen anything yet. Don't talk to me about that. I already have a sense of how it's going to go, but I'd rather just... " At any rate, so that's it. And we have in our culture a big deception on this issue going on with cosmetic surgery and Botox and plastic surgery, and all kinds of techniques to stave off what's so obvious. All flesh is grass, we're dying, we're going to die. We age, and we can't do anymore the things we could do when we were younger. I read recently an optimistic article about how Michael Jordan can still dunk at age 51. I see the writing on the wall on that one. Alright, do you see it? I don't know if he sees it. But I see it. He's in a battle with age, he's in a battle with time, and time's going to win because all flesh is grass. Not just some. Everything, our awards, our accolades, our skills, all of them are like the grass of the field. People forget, no one cares anymore. Who won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1955? I hope none of you are taking your smartphones right now and seeking to answer the question. It is answerable. But if you go there, you'll probably find out you don't know the dude. Okay. I didn't know him, I'd never heard of him. That year On The Waterfront was the big movie and all that. So you probably heard of Marlon Brando, but you've not heard of this best supporting actor. Look it up later if you want. But the point stands, we don't know who this guy is. And maybe that was his moment of glory when he got that statuette and all that, but it's faded now, what does it mean? Isaiah the prophet is going to talk about Cyrus, just says Cyrus. Humans added the phrase, The Great, Cyrus the Great. He's going to win an empire, but then you know what's going to happen to him? He's going to die, and he was buried at some place in Iran, Pasargadae. I don't know how to pronounce it, but it may be so. And there's this windswept tomb there, and according to an ancient historian named Plutarch, the tomb was inscribed originally with these words, "Oh man, whoever you are, and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their empire. Do not, therefore, begrudge me this bit of earth that covers my bones." There's your glory, there's your empire there's all your power and your grandeur. You can't even read those words now, they're effaced by wind and time and sand, rain. You extend this to all the earthly glory that could ever be pursued, the glory of massive buildings. We know what happens to Twin Towers in an instant, we've seen it now. Maybe you couldn't have believed it before you saw it, but how those twin towers came down in a few minutes down to a pile of rubble. So it will be with all human glory, the glory of fame fades away. I tried to pursue on the internet famous people in the 19th century who now no one knows, hard to get at. Didn't know what to Google. So I'm just saying, there must have been some... Because I don't know who they are. That's the whole point, maybe a Shakespearian actor who was all the rage in New York City for about 12 years and now no one knows his name. I don't know, all flesh is grass. All glory is fading. Even ordinary people, not famous people, they ascend, they reach a peak and then they come down, throw a stick in the air, watch it, that trajectory, that's you. That you. And in the future generations, people won't even know who you were, probably, unless you're famous. But you have to be really famous that if five, six, seven generations go down that anybody would know your name. All Flesh Is Grass – Only Hope is Christ’s Resurrection And why is this? It's because we're all of us under the curse of Adam, we are all destined to return to the dust. We came from the dust, and we'll go back to the dust. There's your trajectory, you're up and down, you're a stick thrown in the air and comes back down. Some go higher, some lower, but they're all coming back down. It's all the same shape, because of Adam. Do you not see now the glory of these words spoken by our Savior, "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will... " What? "Never die." Do you not see the value of that, the value of this gospel promise, that we will live forever? The contrast though to human flesh is God's Word that never fades, "Surely the people are grass," verse 8, "The grass withers, and the flowers fall. But the Word of our God stands forever." God's breath blows on people, and they fade, it's not an accident that we die. But God's breath also speaks out His word and He ordains that that lives forever. Jesus said "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." He said in the Sermon on the Mount, "I tell you the truth, until Heaven and Earth pass away, not the smallest letter or least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is fulfilled." God's Word is eternal. 1 Peter says that this is the word that was preached to you, this gospel message was preached to you. How awesome is that? And it speaks of a life incorruptible, eternal life that God is offering to you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. IV. Behold the Greatness of God: Gentleness and Majesty (vs. 9-14) Now verses 9-14, I'm only going to touch on lightly. Okay, lightly, really lightly. Next week we're going to talk more in depth about the majesty, the greatness, the infinite majesty of God in these verses. But I just want to make one simple point here, and behold the greatness of God in a conjunction, a combination of infinite majesty and gentleness with sinners like you and me. So look at these verses, 9-14, "You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!' See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?" So, we messengers... So, pastors, preachers, evangelists, missionaries, fine, but all Christians, we messengers, we should go up on a high mountain and proclaim this good news. What is the good news? Here's the good news: Behold your God, God is at the center of the good news, the greatness of God, and we're going to see His glory. Verse 10 talks about His power, He's going to come with might and His arm rules for Him, He's going to bring His reward with Him, but also his recompense. So He's going to reward His servants and He's going to punish His wicked enemies, both of those are going to happen. He's going to come. But in the middle of all of this, this greatness, this incredible God who measures the waters in the hollow of His hand and with the breadth of His hand marks off the cosmos. We'll talk about all that next week. This incredible God is able to tend His flock like a shepherd and gather the lambs up in His arms and gently lead those that have young. Do you feel the need for that today? Have you ever felt the need for that? You feel shattered, you feel broken by sin, you feel discouraged, you feel downcast. Satan is working on you, and you feel so weak. Picture Jesus your good shepherd, scooping you up and holding you in His arms, that's the picture of this infinite majestic God, who takes His hand and marks off the cosmos, this same one picks you up and holds you tenderly and speaks comfort, comfort into your ears. How sweet is that? Like I said, next week we're going to talk more about the infinite majesty of God. V. Application Some quick applications, I've been making applications throughout the sermon, but I want to plead with you again to come to Christ, I want to plead with you, who even now you're still holding out, you're not sure if you need the Savior, you do. Trust in Him. Trust in Him. And understand how God has provided an end to the war between you and God, you can feel and know and experience the peace of God in your heart, you can know forgiveness, and ample provision is made for the forgiveness of your sins. Those of you that are Christians, I invite you to just drink in and feel around you, the comfort comfort of the first verse, and the fact that He has provided double, infinitely enough for all your sins, and that He is tending you now like a good shepherd, and leading you gently and wisely. Rejoice in that, feel the comfort for that. And if I can urge you, behold your God more than you do, behold Him more than you do, more clearly and more frequently. So I would just suggest read this more. Read it, it's the only way you're going to see this invisible God, by seeing Him by faith, we walk by faith, not by sight, pick up the scriptures, don't miss a day, don't miss a day. Feed on Him, Behold your God, see His glorious greatness, behold your God and look forward to the second coming of Christ, when all nations will see Him and be heartbroken over those that will mourn when He comes back. And urge yourself and others to do everything you can to look forward to the day of God, and speed its coming by evangelism and missions. If I can just give a simple application, if you have time to come minister to some internationals at tomorrow's picnic, there's an application. Pick up one of the parking things there and come and let's meet some internationals. And that's the cheapest simplest mission trip you've ever had. You get to sleep in your own bed, you even get to eat foods that you recognize. Alright, and have a good time and you also get to invite people to come to know Christ, invite them to church, get to know them. It's a fantastic time of sharing. next week get ready for some explosive things that we see the infinite majesty, the greatness of God in the rest of this section of Scripture. Close with me in prayer.