Podcasts about jewish rabbis

Study 14 - Luke 10:25-42 Loving God and Neighbour The parable of the Good Samaritan is usually considered by itself. It should not be! It is part of a pair with the story of Mary and Martha. The two go together because in the original Greek the stories are about 'a certain lawyer' (v 25) and 'a certain woman' (v 38). The two sayings of Jesus that conclude the stories are: in 37b 'Go and do likewise' and in 42b 'Mary has chosen what is better'. Question 1. Which saying is the more important in popular thinking and preaching? Which does the words Jesus used suggest is the more important? There is a great deal more interest in the story of the good Samaritan because of its simple brilliance as a story and the way it can be taken as an example by anybody, Christian or not. Everybody recognizes that they should help other people; not everybody is prepared to listen to Jesus as Mary did. Yet the words that Jesus used strongly suggest that the latter is the more important. Before we read the verses let's think about the structure a bit. The famous parable is set within two short dialogues, the first in 25 - 28 and the second in 29, 36 and 37. Both dialogues have the same, quite natural, formats: 1) a question from the lawyer; 2) a challenging question in reply from Jesus; 2') an answer to Jesus from the lawyer; 1') an answer to the lawyer from Jesus. The well-known parable is inserted before the question of Jesus in the second dialogue. We read the first dialogue: Luke 10:25 - 28. Did you get the pattern? And the second dialogue: Luke 10:29, the story, 36, 37. What a wonderful teacher Jesus was! Wouldn't it be good if all teachers were as good as he was at getting people to answer their own questions! Question 2. In the first dialogue the answer of Jesus in v 28 does not exactly answer the lawyer's question in v 25. What significance can you see in the discrepancy? What does this tell us about the nature of eternal life? The lawyer asked about eternal life. Jesus answered about life, a good life maybe but still only about life. What the Gospel's call 'eternal life' Jesus says starts in the here and now with a good life lived in this present world. That good life is a life of following him. It is time to read the famous parable. Luke 10:30 - 35 and the conclusions Jesus draws in 36, 37. Some things usually missed: a) The lawyer's question in the first dialogue (v 25) is deeply flawed: one can do nothing to inherit. b) The parable does not answer the lawyer's question in the second dialogue (v 29) but a slightly different one: 'Which of these three became a neighbour'. c) The priest would have been rich, therefore on horseback contrasting the Samaritan's donkey. d) The Samaritan would have risked his life taking a wounded Jew into a Jewish town, where the inn would necessarily have been. The men in the street might well have thought he was responsible for wounding the man and started to attack him before finding out what really happened. Question 3. Who is the Samaritan portraying? How does this relate to the point about the danger to the Samaritan going into a Jewish town? Jesus is the Good Samaritan. All others aiming to copy the story are simply following his example. This is another point about the story often missed. In coming into this world Jesus fully accepted all the danger that was to him. He died on the Cross to rescue those who are wounded: physically, spiritually, morally. Moving on to the second story: to put this story of Mary and Martha in context: the Jewish Rabbis said 'let thy house be a meeting place for the Sages and sit amidst the dust of their feet and drink in their words with thirst ... but talk not much with womankind.' We read Luke 10:38 - 42. In that culture a teacher sat to teach and a student, necessarily male, stood to recite and sat to learn. Question 4. How does Luke indicate that things were not as they would have expected them to be? Mary was sitting and listening. We can only imagine what the reaction of the men who wanted to be around Jesus might have been. Horror, shock, disgust, amusement - perhaps just a few of them would praise her for what she did. We are dominantly either doers or hearers: the Samaritan or Mary. By putting these two stories together Luke, and Jesus, are presumably saying that we ought to be both. Question 5. How can the doers learn to listen better? How can the hearers learn to be more practically active? These things are a matter of intent and will. Doers can always say 'I'm too busy' and hearers can say 'Ill do it tomorrow when I have finished listening'. Only if we are prepared to listen to what the Word of God is saying to us will we be all that we should be. Question 6. How does verse 42a provide a complete answer to the lawyer's original question in verse 25? If we truly follow Jesus all the rest will fall into place. We are never told whether the lawyer did set out to follow Jesus. We know that Jesus told him what he needed to do. Some of us need the same advice: 'go and do likewise'. Some of us need to copy the example of Mary more closely. Which category do you fall into: more action or more meditation? Tap or click here to save/download this as a MP3 audio file

In this 'EPISODE 401 TEMPLE MOUNT AND THE NEW REBUILD OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE WILL IT HAPPEN SOON? WHAT LIES IN STORE FOR SAUDI ARABIA IRAQ IRAN ISRAEL AND SURROUNDING NATIONS? WHAT ARE THESE TIMES OF TROUBLE?'.Author/speaker and host Elbert Hardy (itellwhy.com) reads from Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Revelation, and Daniel about the Temple Mount, perilous times and the proposed construction of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.Muslims now rule the Temple Mount and the Jewish Rabbis are anxious to rebuild Solomon's Temple on it, which is unthinkable to the Muslim religion. Will Jerusalem become 'Ground Zero' for World War Three?Go to itellwhy.com to read Elbert's books free of charge, no Ads and no requests for money or Email addresses. You can watch faith building YouTube Links to Videos and the listen to Elbert's Life of Christ Audio Book in 30 minute Episodes arranged and read by the author straight from the Bible, but rearranged in logical harmony of the Gospels, Revelation and other scriptures. All FREE of charge in the public interest.

Title: “God vs. Magic” Part 1 Text: Acts 19:11-16 FCF: We often struggle to believe that God alone is sufficient for all we need. Prop: Because God's power is greater than magic, we must trust God alone without polluting His exclusive worship. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 19. In a moment we will read from the ESV starting in verse 11 and going to verse 20. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last time we learned of the incredible success that the Lord is giving to Paul in his third missionary journey. For two years he is able to preach the gospel and teach the commands of Christ to many in the city of Ephesus. He does this with very little opposition and the Lord blesses his ministry allowing the gospel to go out from Ephesus to all the province of Asia and many believers are strengthened. Today, we will see one final episode occurring in Ephesus forming the climax of Paul's missionary career. The reason I say this, is because in the book of Acts we will see Paul endure a great number of trials from this point forward. God will test him as Jesus said He would to Ananias the day Paul was converted. Paul will know what it is to suffer for the name of Christ. This final episode includes two scenes that go hand in hand with one another. We won't quite have time to see the effect of these two scenes on the city of Ephesus and on the believers there – but we will get a deep look into the cause of that effect this morning and God willing we will pick up the rest next time. So, without further delay, please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Most High God, we come to You today as Your children whom You have called out of the kingdom of darkness to join You in Your Kingdom of light. We were once Your enemy, deserving only Your wrath. We were the children of the devil and had unknowingly but willingly sworn allegiance to him and his vile program against You. We were subject to his tyranny over us with his weapons of sin and death. But Your Son has conquered both of these weapons formed against us. He has borne our sin, bearing in His flesh the wrath of God that was meant for us. He has died our death and has been raised to life. We now inherit Life through Him. And though the forces of darkness pursue us and hunt us – we know that when we resist and submit to You, they must flee. Your power is great. And the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. We beg You today to be among us and to teach us from Your word. We ask this in the name of Your Dear Son, the Second person of the Godhead, co-equal in essence and authority eternally begotten by You, Amen. Transition: We have much to get to today, so let us get right into the text. I.) God's power is greater than magic, we must trust God. (11-12) a. [Slide 2] 11 - And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, i. Holy relics have been a part of many religions since the age of ancient empires. ii. Even Judaism had holy relics placed inside the ark of the covenant, which was itself a holy relic. iii. The Israelites began to treat the ark of the covenant as a good luck charm, taking it into battle to assure their victory. iv. This led to God judging them and having the Philistines defeat them in battle and take the ark from them. v. From this we can see that completely divorcing relics from the God who is behind them or treating them as if they were as special as the God behind them is a form of idolatry and something the Lord hates. 1. Some branches of Christendom today come dangerously close and I would say actually do cross the line into this error concerning relics. 2. They venerate or regard with great respect or reverence certain relics which are said to have great significance being connected to Christ, His apostles or famous members of the church. 3. The line between worship and veneration is not clear though. Even for these Christians who venerate these relics, it would be difficult for them to parse out exactly what it means to worship God and how that is different from what it means to venerate a relic. vi. So why all this discussion? vii. I think this passage has a great lesson for us regarding religious relics and what we should think about them. viii. Luke tells us that what God does in this passage is extraordinary. ix. The Greek literally says, that God was doing not ordinary miracles. They are odd, different than He usually does. x. This doesn't necessarily mean better or more powerful or more magnificent. xi. The NLT actually translates this – unusual miracles. I think that hits the nail on the head. xii. Luke's point is not to suggest that what is happening in this text is grand or marvelous. Simply what is not usual. xiii. So, what is happening through Paul that is unusual? b. [Slide 3] 12 - so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. i. So, with all that discussion about relics, I want to point out something here that I think we might miss. ii. Since Luke is not saying that what is happening with Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons is majestic or magnificent, or marvelous – but is instead not the same kind of miracles God normally does… iii. We can reasonably conclude that nothing is special about the handkerchiefs, aprons, or even Paul for that matter. iv. In other words, these relics are not special because Paul had them or even that they had touched his skin. That is not why they are different. v. They aren't even really different because of the miracles they perform. God has done these miracles of healing and exorcism through His apostles before. vi. They are different because God is using them to heal people and cast out demons of people, by someone simply touching them. vii. God does not normally do this. viii. That should lead us to ask the question… Why? Why is God doing this? What is the purpose that Paul's clothing should give healing to others? ix. The answer to this question is abundantly simple. x. God chose to heal in this way because of the superstitious nature of the Ephesians and their love of magic, incantations, spells, witchcraft, sorcery and exorcisms. xi. Although the Roman empire in general was awash with all kinds of magical practices connected to pagan gods and even the worship of the Emperor, Ephesus was at the very center of that. xii. So much so, that Clement of Alexandria, when speaking of magic spells written on papyri, calls them Ephesian writings. We get the impression that all spells had earned this monicker because of the city of Ephesus' connection to magic. xiii. God stooped to heal people in this way to draw a direct comparison between Himself, His Kingdom, His Son and His apostle Paul, to the magical powers and spirits that were an integral part of the Ephesians' lives. xiv. But God does not normally function this way. xv. What did Abraham say to the rich man in hell when he asked if Lazarus might go and warn his brothers about that terrible place he was in? Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets, if they will not listen to them, then even if someone who was raised from the dead goes to them, they will not be convinced. xvi. God's only means of drawing people to Himself is by His word. xvii. Mere miracles won't convince anyone to believe. xviii. But God does sometimes send signs and wonders to people who are slow to believe. He provided many such signs to the Israelites in leading them out of Egypt. xix. God also provides signs to those who are especially wicked - to deepen their punishment for continuing in disbelief. xx. He provided a sign for Ahaz that God should be believed and the sign was that a virgin would conceive and bear a Son. xxi. Jesus during His ministry said that a wicked and perverse generation asks for a sign, because it is only people who are slow to believe or wicked who need signs. And only wicked people would want to be a people who need signs in order to believe. xxii. In other words, miraculous signs and relics are only as good as their ability to authenticate God and His messengers. xxiii. And that is exactly what it did for Paul in the city of Ephesus. xxiv. Suddenly Paul has been granted a voice to speak the message because he is apparently… more proficient at magic then their magicians… at least this is what the Ephesians would have thought. xxv. But Luke tells us that it was God… not Paul. c. [Slide 4] Summary of the Point: Luke's point in reference to the entire book of Acts here is again proving that God is the gatherer and grower of His church. He expands His Kingdom's reach. The specific permutation of that teaching here is by comparison to the Kingdoms that stand opposed to His. The kingdoms of darkness and the kingdoms of this world are becoming the Kingdom of God and His Christ. In the heart of the Roman Empire, in the heart of magic and pagan worship, with the temple of Artemis on full display, God stoops to prove that He is more powerful than the magic that they have trusted. He condescends to prove this to them by providing unusual miracles done through Paul's sweaty clothes. In this He shows that there is nothing that can stop His Kingdom and His gospel power. Nothing at all. By direct comparison all the attempts of men to gain power, natural and supernatural, fail to compare to the stooped power of our God. So, what application shall we draw from this? What else other than that we must trust God. Not in God as if to believe He merely exists. But to trust God. All that He says, all He commands, all He does, all He will do, we must put our trust and hope completely in the triune God Yahweh. Transition: [Slide 5 (blank)] In what seems like a new episode, Luke moves on from this event to another event during the course of Paul's stay in Ephesus. But I believe Luke sets this in close proximity, and even that they are chronologically related to one another. To the extent that we must view verses 11 through 20 as one narrative episode and not two. What follows is the strength of those who wield magic. What is their power compared to God's? Let's look. II.) God's power is greater than magic, we must not take the Lord's name in vain. (13-16) a. [Slide 6] 13 - Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” i. What is recorded here is the object of Jewish myth and legend. 1. Josephus in his work of Jewish Antiquities noted that Solomon had legendary power to cast out demons. This power was believed to have been transmitted via incantations and formulas by family blood lines to first century exorcists. 2. Both in Matthew 12 and Luke 11 it is presupposed that these exorcists existed. And to some degree they were able to have success although it is clear from their writings that the Jewish Rabbis of the day did not approve of the practice. 3. Therefore, these Jewish exorcists were outliers. Jewish to some degree but only tangentially. 4. They would be something like those who practice Voodoo today. Voodoo has elements of paganism but is mixed with elements of Christianity. 5. Most Christians would not perceive those who practice Voodoo as being Christians. In a similar way, most Jews, especially those from Judea, would not perceive these Jewish exorcists as being Jews. 6. But the Gentiles would. In fact, they would probably care very little as long as the exorcists were successful in their craft. ii. The art of exorcism is another matter we must discuss. 1. Exorcisms at this time were primarily the use of one spirit or deity's power to cast out another spirit. 2. This gives some clarity as to why the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. a. Beelzebub is the Philistine God of flies or filth. By the first century the Pharisees had come to regard Satan as this same entity and described him as the lord or prince of demons. b. With both of these things in mind, Jesus' comments about a kingdom divided against itself make a lot of sense and repudiates the common thought of how to perform exorcisms. c. Although it may seem like one spirit invoked causes the removal of another – Jesus' words considered would lead us to understand that though one demon may give way to another more powerful one – ultimately, they are all on the same side. d. The removal of a spirit by any power save by the power of God is at best a stall and at worst, part of a grander plan to possess the person to an even greater degree. e. Why do I say that? f. For two reasons really. i. First, In Matthew 12 where this confrontation occurs with the Pharisees, 1. Jesus actually gives an example of how demons return to people after they have gone out of them. 2. And when they return, they bring more spirits more powerful than they are with them. ii. Second, in Luke's gospel, the man who was possessed by a large number of demons that called themselves Legion, had been possessed many times before. iii. Perhaps this indicates that he had received exorcisms before, which only increased the appeal of more demons to return and possess him in greater numbers. 3. Along with exorcisms, the name of the particular spirit or deity is of great significance. a. According to Jewish and Pagan legend and mythology, to know the name of a demon or spiritual entity is to possess power over it. b. This is no doubt where stories like Rumpelstiltskin got their inspiration. c. And so, unsurprisingly, these exorcists had observed Paul and his preaching and recognized Jesus as nothing more than a great power source to tap into and ply their trade. d. They attempt to use Jesus' name in vain (using it without the honor or respect it deserves to do something selfish), namely to bind or force this demon to leave this man. e. The word adjure means to command someone under penalty for failure. iii. Before we get to what happens, Luke has a few details he wishes to convey to us about these men. b. [Slide 7] 14 – Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. i. The significance of this comment is somewhat lost on us. ii. Sceva is a Latin name. It means “the left-handed or The Left hand”.” His name occurs nowhere in the records of the high priests associated with the temple in Jerusalem. iii. Having seven sons who are all powerful in exorcism magic communicates the inherited nature of some special bloodline of power. iv. Sceva being linked to the high priests may indicate that he is of a Levitical line. v. Some suggest that he pretended to be of the high priestly line but it was only a title he gave himself. vi. I think that he was probably of a line of so-called priests, descended from those who inherited the legendary secrets of Solomon for casting out demons. Perhaps a priestly line different than the Levitical line that God established. vii. Perhaps the title meaning Left-handed actually refers to him being the Left hand of God. A way God works that is through evil or darkness. viii. But assuming any of this is true, why does Luke tell us this without explaining its significance? ix. I believe this comment is primarily for Theophilus insomuch that perhaps the line of Sceva and his great spiritists were still known when Luke wrote to Theophilus in the early 60s. x. To know what happens next in light of these people still be regarded as great magicians, would do much to prove to Theophilus that what he believes is true beyond doubt. c. [Slide 8] 15 - But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” i. This verse is, perhaps, one of the most chilling verses in the scriptures. ii. Not perhaps as chilling as “depart from me for I never knew you” but it is certainly high on the list of sending chills down your spine. iii. Here we are given the words of this evil spirit, and they are a warning to us as we consider the power of demons and their place in the world, even to today. 1. First, we should observe that Luke says it is the evil spirit that answers. Is this with the use of the vocal cords of the person he possesses? Perhaps. a. We do know that these spirits are intelligent spirit creatures, meaning that they are probably able to speak and have voices of their own. b. Indeed, as creepy as it might be to consider, the voice could have come from within the man and without his lips moving. c. We spoke about this in Acts 16 where the girl was crying out with a demon's voice. The word used there is where we get our word for ventriloquism. 2. Second, we should take a look at what this demon says. Essentially, it says three things. a. Jesus, I know. i. The word “know” here is the Greek word which implies an experiential knowledge of something. ii. It is a more deep, more personal, more intimate knowledge. iii. Obviously not going so far as to mean love… but it is a knowledge borne of familiarity. iv. This demon knows Jesus. v. It is well aware of the God-Man Jesus Christ and His defeat of the forces of darkness via His death and resurrection. b. Paul, I recognize. i. The word for “recognize” is the Greek word which implies cognition. ii. Something learned, heard of, acquainted with, or recognized. iii. This does not imply a familiarity or experiential knowledge but rather a passed down through the grapevine kind of knowledge. iv. It is the word from which we derive the word epistemology, which is the study of how we come to know something as more than merely opinion. c. But who are you? i. Greek sentences do not have punctuation. ii. Sometimes it is difficult to know whether what is being said is a question or a statement. iii. In this case, whether we put a question mark or not, the evil spirit is not asking a question at all. iv. It is not asking who these men are… it is making a statement. v. That statement is that they do not have the pedigree to be able to cast it out of the man it is possessing. 3. This is quite the chilling little sentence for a few reasons. a. First, it is chilling to know that the demons do not resist Jesus because they do not know Him. Indeed, they are quite familiar with Him and still hate Him. James says they believe in Him and tremble. b. Second, it is chilling to know that the demons know our names… or at least can know our names. For this demon had heard of Paul. c. Third, it is chilling to know that demons do not fear any of us. Not in and of ourselves. iv. One final point before we move on… 1. What is clear here is that invoking the name of a more powerful deity or spirit to push out another spirit is obviously not the “key” or “secret” to exorcisms. 2. Combining what we observed from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees, it seems Jesus was well aware of the game that demons would play with these exorcists, allowing themselves to be removed to convince these exorcists that they had some sort of power and to make room for even more possessions in the future. 3. In this particular case, this demon wasn't playing along. Why? 4. My guess is that it probably didn't want to voluntarily leave at the behest of Jesus' name – for to do so would only give the name of Jesus and Paul credibility among the Ephesians. 5. One thing we are clear on here, is that merely invoking Jesus' name is not enough to cast out demons. As if it were some magic spell that beats them every time. 6. In fact, to invoke Jesus' name in such a way for selfish ends, while not being His servant, is a form of breaking the third command not to take the Lord's name in vain. 7. But when Jesus' name is invoked by one who knows Him, serves Him, and it is the will of God to do as the one who invokes His name has requested… then there is nothing that can stop it… 8. This, my friends, is why we pray in Jesus' name. v. So, how does the demon react to these men who think they have power over it? d. [Slide 9] 16 - And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. i. In short, the spirit used the body of the man he possessed to beat the snot out of these 7 sons of Sceva. ii. The fact that there were 7 of them contributes to the supernatural aspect of this beating. iii. Even some of the most well-trained martial artists, if they are outnumbered 7 to 1, it is not likely they will make it through unscathed if they make it through at all. iv. The more people you face at the same time in a fight exponentially increases the likelihood of losing. v. The only way this can be overcome, is by significant difference in force. 7 starving men against a Master, or 7 men against 1 with a machine gun. vi. The fact that these 7 men were so squarely defeated, to the extent that their robes were ripped from them and they all left wounded… proves that this man was indeed possessed. e. [Slide 10] Summary of the Point: Luke's primary point endures as we take the somewhat comical story of some people being healed and cleansed of evil spirits by Paul's sweat rag, while others cannot cast out demons even though they invoke the name of the Jesus that Paul preaches. This proves once again that God is greater than magic. All the powers and all the forces and all the works of witchcraft and wizardry – all the legends, all the ancestry, all the secret and forbidden knowledge, all the might of all the armies of all the kingdoms of hell, if we stack it all up against God's divine will and power… it is not a comparison worthy to be made. God wins. Without effort. Without breaking a sweat. So, what is the application for us? The name of God, The Father, His Son, and His Spirit, is not to be used in association with anything else. In fact, it is not able be used for personal gain, power, or selfish purposes. We must refuse to see Jesus, the Father, or the Spirit, as little more than a talisman or good luck charm to make our lives better. Instead, His name must be honored and revered. He must be worshipped and served. We are His. And because we are His and because He offers Himself to us, and because we desperately need Him to be what HE wants us to be… He is ours. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today CBC, and how shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 11] Although we must leave the text this morning before we take a deeper look at the effect of these events on the people of Ephesus, there is already much for us to process this morning. Luke's primary point in this passage is a direct comparison between the power of God and all the would-be powers that exist in this world. We saw the wisdom of the gospel proved to those who were the wisest that humanity had to offer in Athens, but now we see the power of God and His gospel directly compared to the greatest power that can be attained in the world. The power of magic. Though magic is often a concept only conveyed to us in stories, the bible speaks of magic as real power granted to people through created beings who are opposed to the work of God. These real powers by force or by permission lend their aid to humans for their sinister purposes. To consider them to be extinct or in hibernation would be to adopt a hyper materialistic view that any missionary who has spent time in darker countries could immediately rebuff. These forces still exist today – not just in cute stories, but in reality. And there is real power that can be gained from the use of magic. But hear me now… it is nothing compared to the power of God. Even when God condescends to display His power in the same way magic does, His power still dwarfs it. There are two things we must do because of this. First, we must trust God. What He says, commands, does, will do – we must put all our eggs in His basket because there is only hope in Him. Secondly, which is a further explanation of what it means to trust God, is to not trust Him only so we gain something from Him. Our God cannot be used as a talisman, a good luck charm, a relic, or an icon to give us blessings or good fortune. He will not allow this to be the case. He is too great to enter into some kind of pact with us. He needs nothing from us. In fact, we are completely dependent on Him. We are nothing without Him. We cannot use Him to help us get what we want… because He is all we should ever want or need. That is the only relational arrangement that is appropriate with Yahweh, the God of the bible. He is either our everything or we are nothing. But how do we apply this more concretely to our lives today? 1.) [Slide 12] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that there are other sinister powers at work in this dark world. a. We have all grown up in an age of materialism. b. What I mean by that is that the basis for rational thought, science, philosophy, psychology, medicine, and even theology to some degree, is built upon the belief that all things are material. c. All that is can be experienced by our senses. d. Added to this we have TV shows, books, movies, and video games, and other media conveying to us through the medium of make believe the absolute absurdity of the spiritual realm being in any way real. e. Whether we want it to or not, this concept infects our understanding of biblical passages to where many so-called churches now find materialistic ways of explaining the miracles we see in the scriptures. f. And stories like the one we have seen today, are interpreted through the lens of dramatic license of the biblical authors. As if Luke spins a yarn to convey a deeper theological truth. g. But the bible speaks of a spiritual world that runs parallel to this one. It does not do so to any degree of grand specificity. It does not provide to us the exact hierarchy of the angels or demons. It does not tell us the inner workings of the war between light and darkness to any great detail. h. But occasionally it does prove to us, through stories like these that sometimes that spiritual world connects, intersects, and pushes into our physical world. i. And unless they are messengers of God, all other powers and forces have sinister and nefarious intentions toward the God who created them. They have rebelled and have aligned themselves with Satan. They have taken up the cause to oppose the Lord and His people. j. If the bible is true, then how dangerous is it to be convinced that such forces and powers do not exist in reality. k. This is a terribly frightening story, the thing of horror novels. l. Magicians and exorcists, necromancers and witches performing spells and incantations, invoking spirit beings to force them to use their power for the benefit of the spell caster. m. If the scriptures speak of these things, we gain nothing by denying their existence. In fact, we put ourselves in a rather vulnerable position on a couple levels. i. First, we are vulnerable because we have to interpret these passages in such a way that it calls into question what exactly we can ever glean from the scriptures. 1. We must have a consistent hermeneutic. 2. It is not a strange coincidence that those who deny the miracles in the bible are now claiming that women can be pastors and have authority over men in the church. 3. It is not a coincidence that those who deny the spiritual nature of these dark powers are suddenly supporting the LGBTQIA+ agenda. 4. Once you begin to interpret the scriptures in such a way that what is plainly said is interpreted to mean the opposite somehow – that hermeneutic applied to every other passage of scripture allows for you to make the bible say whatever you want it to. ii. Second, we are vulnerable because if the bible is true and these dark powers do actually exist, we can rest assured that we will never see their oppression or possession coming. 1. If these creatures are real and are intelligent evil in our world – do you think they would want the world to believe they exist? 2. Perhaps at one time they did. Prior to Christ's coming and achieving victory over them. 3. But now, they hide in plain sight. They do not reveal themselves to the whole world. So that they might do their hunting in peace. n. We gain nothing by denying that magic, witchcraft, sorcery, demonic possession and oppression exist. o. Indeed, we stand to lose much in doing so. p. I do not have a command from the Lord for you to stop reading, watching, or playing things where these powers are included in the make-believe world… but I do have an application for you – DO NOT ALLOW these pass times to convince you that these forces are fake, benign, or under your control. q. But while we affirm that these horrible forces and powers exist… as we concede that these principalities and powers of this dark world do continue to oppose our God even now, and even here in the US… r. We MUST deny… 2.) [Slide 13] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that such powers are greater than our God. a. It isn't even close folks. b. That doesn't mean that God does not allow them to have minor victories. That doesn't mean that God does not grant them minor successes and minor influences in the world. c. For as we see with the crucifixion of Christ – such successes are actually grave defeats to them. d. God turns their victories into defeats and their defeats into His glory. e. He is not troubled by them. He is not bothered by them. f. Though we call it a war between Light and Dark – that is creature talk. If the Lord so desired, the war could be over with a mere thought. g. But God's purposes are bigger, even bigger than the war between Angels and Demons. h. Bigger than the souls of mankind. i. Bigger than the kings and kingdoms of this world. j. Bigger than this world itself. k. God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is so far beyond all that is a creature… l. All else besides Him is a finite creation. He is the infinite Creator. m. My friends. As real and as powerful as magic, demons, witchcraft and sorcery are – They are nothing compared to the glory, the majesty, the power, the wisdom, the might, the holiness of our great God, Yahweh, the Most High. n. Indeed, although other things are called gods in the scriptures, because God is so far above them – they do not deserve the classification. For the Scriptures also plainly declare that there is no God but Yahweh. He is in a category by Himself. And none approach Him. o. So, what must we do? 3.) [Slide 14] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must trust God alone. a. If these powers exist and actively oppose our God, but they do not even come close to His power, then we would be fools to attempt to oppose them without His strength. b. Like the sons of Sceva, we would find ourselves woefully outmatched. c. Instead, we must put our full confidence, hope, and trust in God alone. d. Not just for salvation, but for everything. e. For life, for eternal life, and for protection from these forces. f. God is all we need. g. He tells us to seek His Kingdom and righteousness first and then, when we do that, all our other concerns will be taken care of. h. Because His Kingdom and His Righteousness are all that really matter. Everything else… is just extra. i. We must trust the God who saves and the God who is in a category all to Himself. j. But that means we must stop doing something else… 4.) [Slide 15] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop merely adding God to what we already worship. a. Many people in America claim to be Christians. b. They claim this because they attend a Christian church, or their family did, or they prayed a prayer and asked Jesus into their heart, or they have some vague affiliation to or affection of Jesus. c. But in reality, most people who claim to be Christians in this nation do so with little better motives than these sons of Sceva who used His name to try to gain power over this demon. d. Many people claim Jesus as their Savior because they want to be saved from hell, but that is as far as the relationship has gone. They want forgiveness but no commands. Love but no Lordship. Acceptance but no correction. Mercy but no authority. They want heaven but would very much like to keep practicing all the fruits of hell. e. They live their lives as if Jesus is a wonderful addition, giving them security for their next life as they live this first one for their own pleasures, lusts, desires, and plans. f. My friends, such affiliation to Jesus is idolatry. It is taking the Lord's name in vain. g. To profess belief in Jesus only insofar as he forgives the sins you keep committing and gets you out of the hell you keep living for – such a Jesus doesn't exist. h. Jesus' name cannot be invoked, manipulated, manhandled. He cannot be strongarmed, seduced, deceived or abused. i. Our God is so far above you – that the only person you are fooling… is you. j. Our God demands exclusive, unpolluted, undivided, worship. And You don't bring anything to that worship that God actually needs from you. You only bring what He deserves from you. k. In this we find His mercy, for without Him we are nothing. l. God is all we need and God is all we have. m. Without Him we are nothing. Without us, He is the same. n. Therefore, to add God, Jesus, His Spirit, to our lives and live for ourselves is the most subtle of all forms of idolatry… and no man will be saved who confesses Christ in this way. o. God is either all you worship or you don't worship Him at all. p. My friends, God is too big and too powerful, too wise, too holy to be a god you add to your life. q. He demands to take over your life. That is true Christianity. That is true conversion. 5.) [Slide 16] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” There is no other god besides our God. a. The passage today is scary. b. These beings exist. They know our names. And they hate our God. c. It would be all we could do but to flee in fear… d. But our God is greater. e. Our God is stronger. f. There is no god but our God. g. Trust in nothing else. Trust in nothing less. [Slide 17(end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Reformer Martin Luther Lord, there is no doubt that we are poor sinners, and by our disobedience we have deserved infinitely more severe discipline than we are now bearing. But look, Lord, at the wicked enemy's intentions. The enemy hates you and your name, and hates us too because we hold fast to you and your name, because we find comfort in your word, and because we hope for mercy through your death and merits. Therefore, dear Lord Jesus Christ, punish our enemy, and help us for your name's sake! Such a thought cheers our hearts, giving us confidence and boldness to pour ourselves out to you in prayer. For this reason the prophets also prayed in this way, constantly pleading the name of God, as David does: "Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered" (Psalm 44:22). So we now pray this in Jesus' name… Amen. Benediction: May the Lord your God be to you a safe retreat In troubled times, a stronghold and refuge when you are oppressed, So that you can say, I will be glad and rejoice in you, I will sing praise to your name O Most High. Until we meet again, go in peace.

- Genetic studies on Ashkenazi Jews reveal mental disorders - Generations of inbreeding have produced mental illness defects - High levels of schizophrenia among "God's chosen people" - Netanyahu thinks God is talking to him and telling him to commit genocide - Quotes from Jewish Rabbis calling for mass death of non-Jews - The U.S. has provided nuclear weapons to mentally ill sociopathic inbreds - Jewish inbreeding has also removed "mirror neurons" responsible for empathy and compassion - High risk of nuclear war that kills billions, due to Israel's insane genocide - Interview with Kristen Meghan (part 1) on nuclear fallout, radiation and dirty bombs - Today's sermon: Daniel Ch. 7 - Is the BEAST a symbol of Zionism? God destroys Israel and ends evil with the 666 weapon For more updates, visit: http://www.brighteon.com/channel/hrreport NaturalNews videos would not be possible without you, as always we remain passionately dedicated to our mission of educating people all over the world on the subject of natural healing remedies and personal liberty (food freedom, medical freedom, the freedom of speech, etc.). Together, we're helping create a better world, with more honest food labeling, reduced chemical contamination, the avoidance of toxic heavy metals and vastly increased scientific transparency. ▶️ Every dollar you spend at the Health Ranger Store goes toward helping us achieve important science and content goals for humanity: https://www.healthrangerstore.com/ ▶️ Sign Up For Our Newsletter: https://www.naturalnews.com/Readerregistration.html ▶️ Brighteon: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/hrreport ▶️ Join Our Social Network: https://brighteon.social/@HealthRanger ▶️ Check In Stock Products at: https://PrepWithMike.com

Martin Tanner discusses the purpose and meaning of Temple Garments.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sacred clothing, which is not unique. Sacred garments are mentioned in Genesis 3:21 says God made clothing for Adam and Eve. Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, was given a coat of "many priesthood powers" (not many colors). Nuns, priests, ministers and Jewish Rabbis all wear sacred clothing, with meanings, similar to Temple Garments.  When Elijah was taken into heaven, he left his "Mantle" or sacred cloak/coat, which was a symbol of his power as a prophet, to his successor Elsha.

Friday, 2 August 2024   Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:1   “And Jesus, having been born in Bethlehem Judea, in days Herod the king: Behold, magicians from sunrisings – they came unto Jerusalem” (CG).   Chapter 1 ended with the note that Joseph refrained from having physical relations with his wife, Mary, until she had brought forth Jesus. Now, the narrative continues in Chapter 2, beginning with, “And Jesus, having been born in Bethlehem Judea.”   The words are stated to confirm the prophecy of the Lord through Micah –   “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” Micah 5:2   Matthew will deal with this prophecy in a few verses, but this confirms another prophecy that had to be fulfilled concerning Israel's true Messiah. Next, it says, “in days Herod the king.” He is known as Herod the Great. Of him, Albert Barnes says –   “Judea, where our Saviour was born, was a province of the Roman Empire. It was taken about 63 years before his birth by Pompey, and placed under tribute. Herod received his appointment from the Romans, and had reigned at the time of the birth of Jesus for 34 years. Though he was permitted to be called king, yet he was, in all respects, dependent on the Roman emperor. He was commonly called ‘Herod the Great' because he had distinguished himself in the wars with Antigonus and his other enemies, and because he had evinced great talents in governing and defending his country, in repairing the temple, and in building and ornamenting the cities of his kingdom. He was, however, as much distinguished for his cruelty and his crimes as he was for his greatness.”   It was at this time that Matthew next records, “Behold, magicians.” The Greek word is magos, a magician, astrologer, wizard, etc. HELPS Word Studies says of them, “one of a sacred caste, originally Median, who seem to have conformed to the Persian religion while retaining some of their old beliefs.”   Various opinions have been given concerning who exactly these magicians were and where they came from. What is possibly the case is that they were from the area of Iran. It is to the east of Israel, and it is where the great empire that replaced the Babylonians was. Daniel and others were exiled to Babylon. However, Babylon was destroyed by the Medes and Persians. This is detailed in Daniel 5, which ends with –   “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.” Daniel 5:30, 31   When Babylon was destroyed, the new empire would have received all of the ancient writings of the Chaldeans. They also acquired their wise men, such as Daniel. This body of knowledge would have been incorporated into their empire, and it is possible that this included all of the Jewish prophetic writings.   It appears from Isaiah 44 that they possessed the book of Isaiah. If so, it may be that they had copies of all of the writings. The coming verses will show that there was an awareness of the book of Daniel and Numbers. Thus, it seems that all of the Jewish writings were maintained in the archives of this eastern empire.   Therefore, the ancient prophecy of a coming Messiah would be known to these magicians. The word magos is likely connected to the Aramaic name of the Rabmag [Great Mag] found in Jeremiah 39.   This would confirm that these people once were a part of the Chaldeans and were assimilated into the empire of the Medes and Persians. Because of their libraries and training, these men were alerted to the ancient prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures. Of them, Matthew next notes that they were “from sunrisings.”   Most translations say, “from the east.” However, the word is anatolé, a rising of light. In this case, it signifies the rising of the sun. Further, it is plural. Thus, these magicians are “from sunrisings,” and thus east of Israel. Whoever they were and wherever they were from, it next notes that “they came unto Jerusalem.”   These men had traveled from outside of the land of Israel. They had a specific knowledge from prophecy concerning the coming of Christ, and they came to behold what they were certain of. As Jerusalem is the seat of government, they first came there to proclaim what they knew and to ask for further details. This will be seen as the verses continue.   Life application: One interpretation of who these men were that has arisen is that these Magi were Jewish Rabbis who had remained a part of the exile. This has become a point of boasting among Jewish believers in recent times, but it hardly seems likely.   These Magi will ask about the King of the Jews, not specifically the Messiah. It is unlikely they would ask about a king first and foremost. Likewise, they will ask where the King would be born. However, a Jewish rabbi would know where to look for such information, as is evidenced by the verses ahead.   But most notably, if these were Jews, the text would have said so. The problem with this type of analysis is the same as with much else that is ascribed to the Jewish people today. Since the return of Israel to the land and with the modern messianic movement, everything Jewish has become fashionable.   Many deceitful people have arisen because of this, profiting off of their heritage. Many of them do not hold to the grace of God in Christ, but to their traditions and to law observance, in part or in whole. What has been sound theology, and a proper interpretation of Scripture for millennia has been upended by such unsound teaching. The Judaizers Paul warned of have come back like an overflowing flood.   Be sure to not get caught up in the hype of genealogy, culture, or tradition. Hold fast to the word of God as it has been revealed. And that revelation is one of God's grace being bestowed upon undeserved sinners, not man's effort to reconcile himself through an obsolete law that only God in Christ could (and did) fulfill.   To return to what is fulfilled is to say to God, “I know you did Your best, but I will take it from here.” What a slap in the face of God, who has done it all for us. Let us never mar the grace of God in Christ. To Jesus alone is to be our hope, and He alone is our place of refuge.   Lord God, may we hold fast to the grace of God in Christ, never trusting in our own merit. We have no standing before You without Jesus. Help us to recognize this and to exalt You for what You alone have done for us in the coming of our Lord. All hail the glorious and exalted name of JESUS! Amen.  

"We are not reflecting the Book of Mormon; the Book of Mormon is reflecting us." Chief David Midegah of the Great Lakes Area Ojibwe, or Anishinaabe people, discusses prophecies of his people that date back generations. He has also corroborated some of their teachings directly with Jewish Rabbis who have declared these native teachings to be in alignment with the Laws of Noah. Many of his people's teachings are in oral form, but many come from written scrolls. Some of these surprisingly (or not) align with the teachings of the Restored Gospel. Also, how temple and lodge practices align. Website - www.cwicmedia.com 

Lesson 26 – Deuteronomy 21 DEUTERONOMY Lesson 26 – Chapter 21 Today we begin Deuteronomy chapter 21, and this chapter begins with a very odd ritual that Jewish Rabbis and ancient Hebrew sages have had a hard time explaining. Christian scholars don't even bother to try. We'll explore that ritual and see what sense we […] The post Lesson 26 – Deuteronomy 21 appeared first on Torah Class.

Lesson 4 – Genesis 3 & 4 GENESIS Lesson 4 – Chapters 3 and 4 Today we’re going to study Genesis chapter 3, so let’s jump right into our Scripture reading. READ GEN. 3 all The great Jewish Rabbis and sages of long ago point to something rather interesting in verse 1 about the serpent: […] The post Lesson 4 – Genesis 3 & 4 appeared first on Torah Class.

SPECIAL REPORT: This is Part One, of two parts. I'm teaching about so called Jewish Rabbis that hate the Goyim, especially followers of The Christ. Part Two will be broadcasted on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Be sure to go to Www.Youngevity.com Use my Associate ID. 100-956-526. Grab yourself a Healthy Start Pack or a canister of the BTT or a bottle of the Plant Minerals. My contact:TheDennyDShow@gmail.com Cash App—$DennyD19.

Fifth Sunday of Lent - John 12: 20-33 Alison Ryan has worked with young people for all her working life, first in OOSH care and then in different Parish Ministry positions. And over the years those roles expanded to include adult faith formation. Growing up in the Parramatta Diocese she calls St Anthony's Parish Toongabbie her home. Now, working for the diocesan Mission Enhancement Team, Alison feels very blessed to serve the communities. She loves every day supporting Parishes and other local Catholic communities in pastoral planning, leadership development, parish renewal and adult faith formation. Alison had a life changing experience in her 20's studying the Bible with Jewish Rabbis and Christian scholars in Jerusalem which inspired her love of learning and teaching with the Bible. On her return to Australia, she completed a Bachelor of Theology at the Australian Catholic University, majoring in Biblical Studies and Theatre Studies! Alison believes that relational ministry is the best resource we have as a Church when doing the work of mission. That it is vital to create spaces in our Church that are welcoming and encouraging, surrounded by authentic communities in safe and inclusive environments. Alison is a disciple of Jesus, a lifelong learner and she finds joy walking the journey of discipleship with others. She loves talking all things faith and life, and can't wait to share some of what she has learnt with you all. Alison acknowledges Bishop Tom Wright and Fr Michael Fallon MSC for their commentaries which helped shape this reflection.

Title: Go And Find My Lost Sheep Text: Acts 8:26-40 FCF: We often struggle being faithful witnesses as a result of God's sovereignty. Prop: Although God is absolutely sovereign over salvation, we must be faithful witnesses. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 8. In a moment I'll begin reading at verse 26 from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible starting on page 1239 or in whatever version you prefer. Last week we saw the faithfulness of the Lord to affirm the true conversion of the Samaritans and their incorporation into the body of Christ, not as a separate wing, but as one church united in one faith. But although God confirmed many of them were His children, Simon confirmed for us that he was not truly a child of God. But as heart wrenching as the story of Simon was… today we will see a story even more heart… warming. Please stand with me out of respect for and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Transition: As has become typical of the sermons in Acts, we have much to cover this morning. So let us get right to it. I.) Although God is absolutely sovereign over salvation, we must be witnesses to the outcasts. (26-28) a. [Slide 2] 26 – But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Rise up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) i. When this occurs, we are not told. ii. Philip was no doubt present for Peter and John laying hands on the Samaritans and them receiving the Spirit. But Philip's gift and office at this time seems to be that of an evangelist. iii. That being said, he may have been told to leave even during the apostles' continued teaching in the Samaritan city. iv. Where does the angel delivering God's message tell Philip told to go? v. [Slide 3] On the screen behind me should be a map of Judea. We see a southern road from Jerusalem that goes down toward Gaza. This road would be mostly deserted or uninhabited land. vi. Hence, we see God's test of Philip. Sending an evangelist, who just saw many come to Christ in a village in Samaria, down a deserted highway with very few, if any people… would be a bit difficult to swallow. vii. It harkens back to Jesus telling the disciples to cast their nets on the other side. Or God telling Abraham that he must got to a land he would show him and that he would be the father of a great nation. God is always giving absurd commands. God's true people are those who trust and obey anyway. b. [Slide 4] 27 – So, he rose up and went; and behold there was an Ethiopian eunuch, i. As difficult as it may be for Philip to leave populated areas to go to uninhabited areas as an evangelist… He rose up and went. ii. And separated by a semi colon is the great answer to the test. And behold there was… somebody. Anybody. 1. Jerusalem to Gaza is about 50 miles. 2. Depending on where on the road Philip met the man, he could have been walking for hours and maybe even days. Remember he wasn't in Jerusalem. He was in Samaria. He would have to go to Jerusalem first and then take the desert road. 3. And on that desert road for hour after hour, he probably saw not a single solitary person. iii. But who is this person that Philip sees? 1. First, he is described as an Ethiopian. Ethiopian would be a term used at this time to describe those living along the Nile south of Egypt. His nationality is easy enough but this second description is less so. 2. Eunuch is a term used in scripture which we have somewhat lost a handle on in modern times. a. What I mean by that is that this term eunuch has a wide variety of definitions that are somewhat difficult to pin down since they are tangled together. b. Why does it matter? Well, it has both an interpretational relevance to this text as well as a cultural relevance to us living in 21st century America. c. [Slide 5] Let's get the word's definitions down first, then we can move on to significance later. i. Definition 1: A male who has either been mutilated to be unable to bear children, or is naturally unable to bear children. ii. Definition 2: A chamberlain, or keeper of a royal bed-chamber. iii. Definition 3: A royal official in a close and perhaps even adviser kind of role to the royalty. iv. Definition 4: A person who has dedicated themselves to celibacy. v. Definition 5: A non-practicing homosexual d. We see a natural relationship between the first three definitions. Although the word's primary definition was definition 1, we can see how definition 2 and 3 came about. Caring for female royalty in their bed chambers or even being a close personal advisor to a queen or female royalty would in many cultures require either that the man be naturally or unnaturally rendered celibate, lest there be a pollution of or uncertainty in the royal lineage. e. But by the time this word occurs in the New Testament, definition 3 and 4 come into play, without requiring the first definition always being the case. f. The last definition of this word is a definition that is not as divorced from reality as we might expect it to be. i. Pagan priests certainly would be castrated and perform sexual acts as part of their worship. These would not be limited by the by gender of the worshipper. But this is mostly in the Old Testament. ii. By the time Luke has written this, the term eunuch would be quite divorced from this idea of temple priests and temple prostitutes. iii. To the extent that there is NO necessary correlation to temple worship and the term itself. iv. Try as progressive “Christians” might – both the Old and the New Testament eunuch is not a code word for homosexual Christian, or same sex attracted Christians. As if it is a condition that cannot be altered, or is without sin or temptation to sin. g. But even in eliminating definition 5, this still does not help us to determine which of the 4 others Luke may mean by this term. h. Let's keep reading. Maybe Luke will say more to help us determine what kind of eunuch we are talking about. c. [Slide 6] a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; i. The fact that Luke includes in his description both the term “eunuch” and the further description that he was a court official, seems to indicate that unless Luke was simply stacking terms that mean the same thing, that he probably intended something different from the term eunuch than the term court official. ii. And since Luke goes on to say that he is a financial adviser to the queen over Ethiopia, we can add two more clues that help us with defining the term. 1. He is not a chamberlain. 2. He serves a queen, indicating close proximity to a royal line that must remain unquestionably pure. iii. Candace is probably not her name. Much like Pharoah in the Old Testament, the title Candace was granted to several queens in succession of one another. Probably a family name, indicating still further the need for bloodline purity. iv. And since the practice of castration occurred not just to protect the bloodline but to protect accusation of polluted bloodline, we can reasonably conclude that we are not talking about a man who chose to remain celibate. v. We are talking about a man who was made celibate by castration. vi. You say Chris… this is kind of an awkward topic. Why do you keep bringing this up? d. [Slide 7] and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, i. What is the genre of the book of Acts? Do you remember? ii. It is a gospel. Meaning what? iii. Everything in it speaks to some facet of the gospel of Jesus Christ. iv. This physical eunuch... came to Jerusalem… to worship. v. [Slide 8] Look at Deut 23:1. 1. As God outlines his law for how the nation of Israel should live, how they should govern their civil government, how they should ritually worship Him – He establishes barriers for certain people who could not be affiliated with the nation. People who would be cut off from the covenant promises – regardless of their heritage. 2. Here we see that God eliminates any male person who has been castrated from entering the assembly of the Lord. 3. [Slide 9] Coming back to our text in Acts 8, what does it mean that this eunuch is in Jerusalem to worship the Lord? It means that no matter how much he feared God, and no matter how Jewish he wished to become… he could never convert to Judaism. 4. Though there is some indication that he might be allowed to worship in the court of gentiles, the sacrifices that he could bring would be very limited. Friends, he may not have even been welcomed in synagogues – meaning no one would teach him what the scriptures meant. 5. And worst of all, he would never be included in the promises God made to Israel. vi. Philip was sent by God to meet a gentile. A gentile who worshipped Yahweh. But a gentile who could NEVER have the promise of God applied to him. vii. Friends… this is heartbreaking. e. [Slide 10] 28 – and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. i. Not only is this eunuch coming back from worshipping Yahweh, but he has a copy of the scriptures in his chariot. ii. He is reading the prophet Isaiah. iii. He is pouring over the scriptures trying to understand. iv. To have potentially traveled hundreds of miles to worship Him. To read aloud Isaiah trying to understand. Does this not communicate someone who wants to know God. One who is pursuing God? One who is being drawn… by God. f. [Slide 11] Summary of the Point: Although we spoke much of the status of the man from Ethiopia, and whether or not he was a physical eunuch, I don't want you to miss the true teaching of the passage so far. God is absolutely sovereign over all things… including salvation. My friends, God foreknew and predestined this man before the foundation of the earth to be His child. To the extent that He sent His servant Philip down an uninhabited road in the desert heat to find this man. What did Philip do? He arose and went. Hey obeyed the command of the Lord. We see both truths working in absolute harmony. They do not contradict. This Ethiopian is an elect child of God… but God wants Philip to go to him. The angel sent Philip, for the preaching of the gospel is a responsibility laid at the feet of the church. So, we too, as the church, must go to all men, even the outcasts, and preach the gospel. Transition: [Slide 12(blank)] God's sovereignty over each individual's salvation will be the central theme of the entire sermon, but along with that will be the church's responsibility to be faithful witnesses. We've seen how part of being a faithful witness, is to preach the gospel even to those whom many say should not be welcomed. What else does it mean to be a faithful witness? II.) Although God is absolutely sovereign over salvation, we must faithfully expound the scriptures in presenting the gospel of Jesus. (29-35) a. [Slide 13] 29 – Then The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” i. Now the Spirit of the Lord speaks to Philip. ii. God no longer relies on a messenger. He speaks directly to Philip. iii. This is probably more description than prescription. The Spirit speaking directly to someone is not common in scripture. iv. That is what makes this event so remarkable. Philip heard the voice of the Lord. God wants to be very clear that Philip is to engage this man in conversation. b. [Slide 14] 30 – And Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” i. Philip, again, obeys the voice of the Lord. ii. We don't know exactly how much Philip knows of this man. It is possible that Luke has told us more than Philp knows. iii. But Philip would know this man was a gentile just by looking at him. iv. The term Ethiopia is actually translated burnt skin. This man was probably quite dark complected. No doubt he was dressed in clothes suited to a royal adviser. And no doubt the idea that he was a gentile royal adviser would have suggested that he was a eunuch. v. Nevertheless, Philip cared not about his skin, his office, or his status as a eunuch… but about his interest in the scriptures. Why? vi. Because the Spirit said to go and join his chariot. And that was enough for Philip. c. [Slide 15] 31 – And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. i. The man is not able to understand what he is reading. ii. As a eunuch, no one would bother taking the time to explain the scripture to him. But his lack of understanding is not simply because he lacked a teacher… as he supposes. iii. I Corinthians 2 tells us that the scriptures are Spiritually discerned. That the Spirit must illuminate or reveal it to us. iv. And though the eunuch believes that all he lacks is to have someone explain them to him… in truth, he needs the Spirit of God to open up their meaning. v. But who sent Philip to the chariot? d. [Slide 16] 32-33 – Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “AS A SHEEP IS LED TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. 33 IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RECOUNT HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.” i. Remembering of course that there were no chapter divisions and verse designations at this time, Luke reveals the passage he was reading by an opening line. ii. What is quoted is Isaiah 53:7-8. iii. But given the long journey by chariot, we should assume that what is quoted here is only a portion of what they were reading. e. [Slide 17] 34 – And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you earnestly, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” i. The long-standing interpretation among Jewish Rabbis for Isaiah 53 has been that it is about Israel in general. ii. This is not a baseless conclusion since many chapters leading up to chapter 53 describe Israel as the Lord's Servant. iii. However, in chapter 49:5 a shift occurs. Yahweh tells His servant whom He formed in the womb to lead Jacob back to Him. All of a sudden, Israel is not the servant… another is. iv. But this other, who is destined to lead them back to Yahweh, they reject and despise. He is killed… cut off from the land of the living. His life is removed from the earth. v. No wonder the eunuch is confused. f. [Slide 18] 35 – Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. i. Beginning from this scripture… what a beautiful encapsulation of evangelism. ii. Every page of scripture has a redemptive focus. iii. Philip began in Isaiah 53 – but did not stay there. iv. He pulled from all of the Old Testament and preached to this man the good news about Jesus of Nazareth to him. g. [Slide 19] Summary of the Point: Once again, God's sovereign hand guides Philip to a child He is drawing to Himself. He commands Philip to go to the man's chariot, identifying very clearly that this is the reason he is on this desert road. This is the reason he was sent on this absurd mission. And once again we see the faithfulness of Philip. He sits with the man and expounds the scripture showing Him the good news about Jesus. The church must, not just go to all men and preach the gospel, but we must do so, excellently, from the scripture, expounding the gospel of Jesus Christ. Transition: [Slide 20 (blank)] So we must not only take the gospel to the outcasts, but when we take the gospel to anyone, we must carefully expound the scriptures to show the good news about Jesus. What else does it mean to be a faithful witness? III.) Although God is absolutely sovereign over salvation, we must make disciples of those the Spirit indwells. (36-38) a. [Slide 21] 36 – And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” i. Again, we see the providential sovereign hand of the Lord. 1. Philp was told to come to this man. 2. Philip was told to join this man's chariot. 3. Philip in the midst of teaching this man, happened upon

In this new episode, we will delve deep into scripture as well as extrabiblical evidence to understand the origins of the name that should never be spoken, not even by Jewish Rabbis. Where did the srangr Tetragrammaton YHWH originate from, and is it a truncated form of a much longer name or perhaps names. These are the topics that I will discuss in today's show. Enjoy! Sources are: Bernard Lamborelle and Mark Smith

In Matthew 11 Jesus makes a little statement that many Christians today find great comfort and hope in. For His first hearers, it was explosive! Even today, Jewish Rabbis continue to refine the “Yoke of the Commandments” that every Jew must accept. Male Orthodox Jews wear hats as a visual symbol of this commitment. Jesus invited his Jewish listeners who were “weary and heavy laden” to come to Him and take His yoke upon themselves. It was a clear indication that Jesus was not just another Rabbi among Rabbi's. He was claiming to be The Rabbi, inviting people to trade in their loyalties to other teachers and come follow Him instead. As He did this, He completely changed how we relate to God's laws. Instead of relying on teachers to tell us what God expects us to do; Jesus invites us to come walk alongside Him as He accomplishes every good purpose God has on our behalf. That's how we find rest for our souls. It's how we are made right with God. It all rests on Jesus!

CHILDREN OF LIGHT MINISTRY --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/aei-leon/message

Psalm 92:1-15 A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.   “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this. When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever. But You, LORD, are on high forevermore. For behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”   When we wake up in the morning, we have no idea what the day holds for us. No one would have thought for a moment what would happen that day when they woke up 22 years ago on September 11, 2001. The nation was shocked as we watched the attacks by terrorist and 2,977 people were killed in just a few short hours. Many of us will never forget our horror as we watch the tragic live pictures of dear people jumping to their deaths out of the top stories of the Twin Towers to escape the flames.   Today we should take time to remember that infamous day and the many families who still grieve over the loss of their loved one. And also the many hundreds of men and women in our military who have died fighting the evils of terrorism in Afghanistan and the Middle East since then.   We are reminded of a verse in Proverbs 27:1 that tells us that “we should not boast about tomorrow, because we do not know what a day may bring forth.”  This is why it is important that today we are prepared for eternity and live each day in a way that pleases God and blesses others. Psalm 92 is a great passage of Scripture to read and reflect upon on this special day of remembrance.   Psalm 92 is a song of the Sabbath. The title reads: "A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day." It is closely followed by five other psalms without titles, which has led commentators to believe that they were deliberately arranged by the compilers of the Hebrew hymnbook to form one continuous song service for the Sabbath.   We do not know when or why the psalm was written.  Spurgeon believes that it was written by David. There are some Jewish Rabbis who even believe that it was composed by Adam. But for sure we know that this Psalm was inspired by God and intended to encourage us to give thanks and to sing praises to the name of the Most High God!   The major theme of Psalm 92 is the sovereign rule of God. It proclaims that God is the Most High God (v. 1). In verse 8, He is on high, and He is exalted forever. The covenant name Jehovah (Lord) is used seven times; Elyon (Most High) is found in verse 1 and Elohim in verse 13.   Because our God reigns supremely, and always will, we can be the people of God that He wants us to be. No matter what the day “brings forth”, we can put our trust in Him and take the time to worship Him for His “lovingkindness in the morning” and reflect on “His faithfulness every night” (v. 2).   God bless!

Today's Topics: 1) The diabolic roots of the transgender movement 2) Does God hear the prayers of a person in unconfessed, unrepentant mortal sin? 3) Movie trailer: The Possession - Based on the true story of a young girl who buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child. They take them to Jewish Rabbis to perform exorcisms. Can Rabbis perform exorcisms? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVjggWQRlQQ 4) In the section on diabolical obsession (pages 276-279). Father talks about three kinds of anxiety and quotes Saint Thomas Aquinas. Anxiety as it relates to sorrow is explained. Question: It seems like we are all waiting for some future evil to occur and and cannot see how it can be diverted and that it will probably last for awhile. Please expound on this if you can. I see this in my husband and maybe in myself. I was under the prayerful impression that I have been feeling the sorrows of Mother Mary. We have not lost hope….Thank you for any attention or comments you can make regarding this

Today's Topics: 1) The diabolic roots of the transgender movement 2) Does God hear the prayers of a person in unconfessed, unrepentant mortal sin? 3) Movie trailer: The Possession - Based on the true story of a young girl who buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl's father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child. They take them to Jewish Rabbis to perform exorcisms. Can Rabbis perform exorcisms? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVjggWQRlQQ 4) In the section on diabolical obsession (pages 276-279). Father talks about three kinds of anxiety and quotes Saint Thomas Aquinas. Anxiety as it relates to sorrow is explained. Question: It seems like we are all waiting for some future evil to occur and and cannot see how it can be diverted and that it will probably last for awhile. Please expound on this if you can. I see this in my husband and maybe in myself. I was under the prayerful impression that I have been feeling the sorrows of Mother Mary. We have not lost hope….Thank you for any attention or comments you can make regarding this

Message: Ever heard the term hard-headed? When we have things that are hard to let go of, something we're stuck in, it is referred to as hard-headed. It's difficult to walk away when we're stuck in our ways and have a new way in Christ. Paul is reminding Jewish believers in Rome of the futility of works, to earn our salvation and righteousness in the sight of God. He reminds them of the need for spiritual understanding of the truth to accept the inheritance promised to Abraham. The Jewish Rabbis believed Abraham was justified by keeping the Law perfectly. Paul reminds them of Abraham's faults, so he was not made righteous by keeping the Law, but was accounted righteous by God. Faith kept Abraham from boasting in his own works to obtain righteousness and placed it all on God. In comparison, we are saved by God's grace through Christ, so we are unable to boast in our own works. Dependence on works strips us of the credit of grace, instead incurring the debt of works. In Greek, grace translates to a spontaneous generosity of the heart without any expectation of return. In modern terms, grace translates to God's unmerited grace. A system of works seek to put God in debt to us, His favor and salvation given to us by being being good. To all who believe, have relationship and depend on God, righteousness will be credited. Another entry point and exclusion of the Gentiles to righteousness before God, was the Jewish interpretation of the Mosaic Law by circumcision. Abraham's righteousness through faith occurred before he was circumcised, so Paul questions the Jews and proposes the extension of righteousness to all. He explains that faith by works and circumcision through the Mosaic Law retains the debts and righteousness through Christ cancels the debt. He concludes with a question, do you trust in your own abilities or do you trust in God to obtain righteousness. Step into belief and watch God work through you. Scripture: Romans 4:1-3 "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." - KJV

In Chapter 40, verses 28 through 31 of the Book of Isaiah, the author's focus has moved from a critique of Israel's waywardness to comfort and encouragement. The Jewish Rabbis called this part of the prophecy, the Book of Consolations, believing that Isaiah was seeking to comfort the Jewish remnant in Babylon after their years of captivity and to assure them that God has not left them or forgotten them.  The prophet is reminding the people of God in every generation, despite what we are experiencing, of the worth of waiting on God. This sermon tells us why.   

Est 2:12-18 ESV 12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women— 13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king's palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name. 15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity. CHOSEN AND CROWNED The time came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months of beauty treatments—six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. She could choose whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem. After this first meeting, She would be brought to the second harem, where the king's wives lived. There she would be under the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would never go to the king again unless he had especially delighted in her and requested her by name. In other words, this was their only opportunity to see the king personally. When it was Esther's turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. Esther had such natural beauty and charm that she required no special adornments to make her more attractive. "Both Josephus and the Jewish Rabbis exaggerated the beauty of Esther and elaborated on her virtues and piety. The Rabbis held that Esther was one of the four most beautiful women in history along with Sarah, Rahab, and Abigail (Megillah 15a). Josephus maintained that Esther 'surpassed all women in beauty' in the entire habitable world." [by Dr. Constable quoting Yamauchi, "The Archaeological . . .," p. 106. See Josephus, 11:7, for his account of the story of Esther.] God has ‘chosen us in Him[Christ]' [Eph 1:4] There is no way God would be delighted in us, sinners. However Christ's righteousness is clothed upon us. As Paul declared, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”[2 Cor 5:21] Thus, we only became attractive and acceptable because of Christ. In God's sight it appears that we are flawless, that we never had committed any sin at all. We are declared righteous. The king set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast.

In a quick bite episode, we sat down with Rabbi Yaakov Menken—director of the Coalition for Jewish Values—to discuss anti-Semitism, as well as why exactly young Jews tend to vote progressive, despite most Jewish congregations being typically more conservative. ⭕️ Sign up for our NEWSLETTER and stay in touch

About this series: In this 10-part series we look to show how counter-cultural Jesus is, and to give confidence that he will help those who follow him to do likewise. Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today. To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It's to this that he calls every single person who follows him.  It's a lifestyle: - That requires obedience to him above all else. - That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil. - That witnesses to the world of his greatness. The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we'll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We'll be asking how we submit to his words and live like him in a world where his values are so dramatically opposed to the values of our culture. About this talk: Matthew 22:34-40 This famous encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees comes towards the end of a series of similar encounters, where various groups are seen questioning Jesus. Chapter 21 ends, “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.” Jesus has entered Jerusalem on a donkey (21:1-11) and is now less than a week from his crucifixion. The tension is high and the religious authorities are plotting how to arrange for him to be killed. All of this is the immediate setting for the question, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” On the face of it, this is a perfectly reasonable question, but it should be noted that the expert in the Law was seeking to test Jesus.   Rather than give one of the 10 commandments, Jesus answers with the commandment recited every day by faithful Jews, from Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. To which he adds, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself'” (from Leviticus 19:18). In other words, love for God, which is first, is intimately connected to love for others. In Jesus' day: In a very God-conscious culture, the Jewish Rabbis had found 613 commandments in the law and added many other restrictions to ensure they didn't break any of them. They liked to put another level of ‘fencing' around the commandments so that people would be in no danger of breaking any of the laws. The Pharisees' priority had been to obey God by keeping all the commandments; Jesus says the priority is to love God and others. If they focus on that, they will obey find that they are in fact obeying God and keeping the intent of all his commandments. In our day: In our God-unconscious culture the continual message is that your priority is to your own happiness, to realise your own potential and express the ‘real you.' And so, from a very different angle, Jesus' words challenge the core narrative of our day. He strips away all the nonsense about self-actualisation (loving oneself as the central point of life) and refocusses us on loving God with all we have; which, if genuine, then flows to loving and caring for others with the same intensity we love and care for ourselves (cf. James 2:14-26).

This podcast goes through the Sermon on the Mount used to straighten up the laws that had been distorted by the Jewish Rabbis and Scribes. Jesus' new followers must have been happy to hear them cleared up by Jesus.

Trump hate watches the January 6th hearings. Evil GOP'rs aren't doing much for women after they nixed Roe. The testimony of former White House attorney Cipollone has caused the select committee to delay the next hearing. Tech douche Elon Musk and rapist President Trump have clashed over Musk's shenanigans surrounding the sale Twitter. The worst COVID variant is about to smack the US. Buddhist monks have joined Jewish Rabbis in their fight regarding Rona in Florida. Shitler has hosted secret donor dinners in preparation for a supposed 2024 run at POTUS. Sky-god created the Fish and Wildlife Department according to a JEEBUS-BOT. Radicalized simpleton podcaster Stew Peters insisted the Georgia Guide Stones were destroyed by lightning despite contradictory video evidence. Boebert E Lee's gun-themed eatery closed due to landlord heroics. President Obama is up for an Emmy. The Saturday b-team at FOX complained the negativity surrounding slavery at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello plantation.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today is Prophecy Friday and we'll read the book of Habakkuk. I'm calling today's episode “The Conversation.” Comments on Habakkuk There is a lot of conjecture on just who this prophet Habakkuk was. The fact is, we don't have much information about him. The Jewish Rabbis have their ideas. Roman Catholicism has... The post Habakkuk 1-3: The Conversation first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Part 90 of the David Pawson 'Unlocking the Bible' Podcast series  David Pawson says the letters of John are grandfatherly letters because John was an old man - and the only apostle to die of old age. John sees things as black or white. It's in contrast to the relativism which has swept across the world in modern times. He seeks to ensure that his readers' joy may be full, that they may be living blameless lives, that they may be safe from the wiles of the Devil and that they may have assurance. David puts John's aims this way: To Promote Harmony; to Produce Happiness; to Protect Holiness; to Prevent Heresy – (David says “we have to be on constant guard against it”) - and to Provide Hope. The arrangement of John's teaching is characteristic of Jewish Rabbis' manner, not analytical but unstructured wisdom. The heresy of the time came from Greek philosophy which separated physical and spiritual, secular and sacred, temporal and eternal – and gave the impression that anything physical was dirty. They could not see that God could really become man. David says when we come to Christ, only our past sins are forgiven at that time. Future sins must be dealt with as they happen. This is a very important study for all.   

Things you'll learn in this episode of Our Prophet:- Why did Quraysh approach the Rabbis of Medina?- Three questions presented by Jewish Rabbis- Did the Prophet make a mistake by not saying 'InshaAllah'?- The significance and meaning of 'InshaAllah'- The Surah revealed to answer questions of RabbisTo watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qZJT5fX7-XQHelp us create the most comprehensive biography of the Prophet of Islam. Dedicate episodes in the memory of your loved ones by visiting https://thaqlain.org/ourprophet.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/our-prophet/donations

Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." 13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; V9 could refer to the Jews being better than the Gentiles or the Christians being better than the unsaved.  But we are no better than the unsaved because, but for the Grace of God we would be in the same state and be headed for hell for eternity.Jews and Greeks are all under sin- this word under means to be in the power of or under the authority of sin. Until we are saved we are completely enslaved and dominated by sin.V10-12 are quoted from several OT texts:Verses #10-12 come from #Ps 14:1-3, and 53:1-3. The first half of #13 from #Ps 5:9, the second half from #Ps 140:3; verse #14 from #Ps 10:7; #15-17 from part of #Isa 59:7; verse #18 from #Ps 35:1.Paul is quoting verses 10-18 from memory, so they are not exact quotations of the verses. He is using a common technique the Jewish Rabbis used called stringing pearls. 4 times in v 10-18 Paul says there is none, God is including everyone in these passages, twice he says no, not one and then lastly he says there is no fear of GodPaul is going to describe in verses 10-18 the Wickedness of the character, the tongue and the conduct of man. V10 As it is written: This is a common introduction to a quotation of OT verses and it also implies their divine authority.Paul now talks about the Wickedness of the character of manNone is righteous: Man is incapable of doing that which is right in the sight of God Ps 14:1The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 they have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, No, not one.Ps 14:2 clearly implies that all false religions are man's attempts to escape the true GodV11 There is none who understands:1Corinth 2; 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.Our natural tendency is to seek our own interestsPhil 2:21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.But our only hope is for God to seek after us, because it is only a result of God seeking us that anyone seeks himJohn 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.If men really understood how bad our sin is, how Holy our God is, what the difference between heaven and hell are, and at what cost God provided our salvation we would be in a hurry to be savedV12 Turned aside: this word basically means to lean in the wrong direction, it was used of a soldier who deserted in a fight.Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.Next we see the Wickedness of the tongue of man in v 13-14V13 This expresses the filth of human speech and the rottenness that comes from within as a grave is sealed to keep the stench or smell in.They have practiced deceit: They lie and cheat and show themselves to be sons of the devil who is the father of all liesJohn 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you

Podcast guest 441 is Hila Baruch who had a near-death experience. During her nde experience she encountered 3 Rabbis. After her near death experience she started IANDS in Isreal. Israel IANDS https://www.facebook.com/Iands.Israel/?ref=page_internal --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeffrey-s-reynolds/support

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” ‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:3-4. Jewish Rabbis today claim to be speaking to the “messiah”, and suggest that he will soon reveal himself. The Bible tells us this day will come and we must be prepared when it does. Great deception will take place leading up to that day and will continue after it happens for a time until this false Christ reveals himself to be the antichrist. Get your wicks trimmed and your lamps filled with oil because the time draws near for the bridegroom to receive his bride.

When the disciples returned from getting food and found Jesus speaking to a woman by a well, the book of John says they marveled at Him. Why? Because in that day and age most Jewish Rabbis wouldn't have been caught speaking to a woman in a public place. But of course, this is just another example of Jesus showing us the way. Depending on your faith tradition or denomination growing up, your belief of a woman's position of leadership in the church may vary. But as we scan the pages of scripture, names like Lydia, Deborah, Esther and Priscilla give us examples of strong female leadership that we must not overlook. In this discussion with Lacy Pollock, we dive into this topic of woman's leadership roles in the church. Lacy is a teacher and leader in the Vineyard Church, Circleville, Ohio but is also a great friend and passionate believer in the power of the Gospel. Hold on!

 This week's stories include: 1. The Vatican response to the Jewish Rabbis' "dubia;" 2. French Bishops are told to limit Latin Masses now; 3. Another bizarre Papal press conference ranging from giving communion to pro-abortion politicians to an attack on the recovering Cardinal Burke; 4. A great legal victory of Ferrara shuts down New York's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. 

Title: Trouble Makers Part 2 Text: II Timothy 3:6-9 FCF: We often struggle keeping the church and the gospel pure Prop: Because people in the last days will be ungodly and do ungodly things, we must avoid these people. Scripture Intro: ESV [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to II Timothy chapter 3. Last week, we saw Paul balance the hope from the end of chapter 2 with the reality of chapter 3. Chapter 2 finishes in hope that the opponents of the gospel and even those wayward Christians will be turned around. That they will listen and God will grant to them repentance that leads to a knowledge of the truth. But that is all counter balanced with the reality that in the last days the church will experience a time of trouble because of people maintaining some outward form of Christianity but having lifestyles that prove they are still unconverted. Paul instructs Timothy that he should avoid these kinds of people. He should instruct and rebuke them – but ultimately if they prove that their conversion never happened by continuing to live in unrepentant lifestyles of sin, he should separate from them and excommunicate them from the church. The goal is the purity of the gospel and the church. The goal is to prevent what Paul will talk about next. Today, Paul will isolate a group within that class of nominal Christians, that not only appear to be godly yet without the gospel's power, but also stand in opposition to the gospel itself. They are compared to Jewish mythical boogeymen who only destroy these nominal Christians and hasten their demise. Timothy is called to action, and so are we. I am in II Timothy chapter 3. I'll begin reading in verse 1 and we'll read through verse 9. I am reading again from the ESV today but you can follow along in the pew bible on page 1343 or in the version you prefer. Transition: Today's message will be a good deal shorter than last week, but we will seek to wrap up Paul's idea from last week and apply it to ourselves. Let's dive in. I.) What people do in last days will make Christian life difficult, so we must avoid these people. (6-9) a. [Slide 2] 6 – For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, i. This is why avoiding the staunchly nominal Christian is the absolute necessity of the church. ii. Among them are those who seek to distort the gospel. iii. These people who have this form of godliness but their lifestyles do not show any power of the Spirit in their hearts, are not content to doom themselves in their denial of Christ. iv. They must pass on their poison to all who will listen. v. But where would they find an audience who will listen to them? vi. Paul lists several who are at risk for falling prey to their influence. vii. First it is those who allow or entertain their teachings. They are cunning and sneaky. We ought to never allow just anyone into our home to teach the word of God. So those who lack vigilance will fall prey to them. viii. Only those who are tested, tried, and qualified ought to teach the scriptures to the church. ix. And even then, like the Bereans did with Paul and Silas in Acts 17 – we take what they say and see if it fits with the rest of the scriptures. x. And this includes not just people in our churches who are untested or untried but even the people on the radio, TV, and internet who we go to and hear preach or teach us. Be very careful who you allow in your home. Measure each person by the Word of God. xi. You can get ordained on the internet in 2 weeks today. Ordained Pastor is not a viable descriptor for someone who is trustworthy. We must get more specific. xii. So not doing our due diligence on the faith and practice of the teacher is one risk factor. xiii. But another is a willingness to be captivated by teachings they've never heard before. xiv. These men creep in and capture. They stealth in, appearing to be just like every other teacher, but then slip in their different message and captivate the hearers. xv. You should be looking for teachers who challenge you and are used of God to bring conviction of sin and hope in Christ. xvi. If the preacher is only telling you what you want to hear, confirming everything you already believe, making you feel good about yourself, or focusing on you and not God – then look out! This is a huge red flag. xvii. So, risk factors for these men influencing us are a lack of vigilance for who we listen to, and a willingness to only listen to what feeds what we want to hear. xviii. What else? xix. Paul reveals that these women are weak. xx. I do not think that Paul is saying that women are weak in general. Nor do I think he is saying that being a woman is a risk factor in being duped by false teachers. But being a weak woman is a risk factor. xxi. Perhaps you remember from I Timothy, it seems that the women, particularly young widows in Ephesus, had a particularly hard time resisting these men. Not only accepting their teachings, but also being sexually immoral with the teachers and usurping the authority and teaching roles of the Elders of the church. xxii. This is probably the only reason Paul highlights these weak women here. Not that all women are weak, but that these women compared to godly women, were particularly weak. xxiii. Rather than guess at what he means, Paul seems to explain himself in the following phrase. What are weak women? b. [Slide 3] Burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, i. First, they are burdened with sins. What does this mean? ii. That they are burdened with the guilt of sin and not able to find mercy from God. iii. Why might this be a risk factor for being influenced by false teachers? iv. If you are overwhelmed with guilt over sin – any message that puts that to rest will be appetizing. v. Remember that God alone grants repentance to men. But what about messages that skip this step or circumvent this truth? vi. Messages such as legalism where man can work their way to God and please Him with their lives. They do not need to repent for sin committed – they just need to try harder. vii. Messages of license insisting that what is clear sin is not actually sin. They do not need to repent because virtually nothing they have done is sin. God is love – you need not repent – He accepts you just the way you are. viii. Messages that tell us to wipe away the guilt of sin by getting over it, letting it go, or forgiving ourselves. These messages teach us that the problem of our guilt is because we still lack something after being given repentance by God. When in reality our guilt points to our lack of trust that God is right when He says – There is now therefore no condemnation in Christ. We need not forgive ourselves, for we have not sinned against ourselves. Instead, we need only to believe God when He says that those who are in Christ are a new creation. Our past sins are gone, and our new person has come. We still look back at previous sin with disgust and hatred – but not because we are still held accountable for them – rather because God has changed our hearts in the gift of repentance toward them. Indeed, that is what the gift of repentance looks like – an utter opposition to our former ways. ix. But these women, when being overwhelmed with guilt of sin – rather than accepting that only God grants repentance – they succumb to teachings that free them of needing God's gift of repentance at all. x. They are also weak because they are led astray by various passions. xi. Not only do they have this guilt of sin hanging over them – but they are also still captivated by fleshly desires and lusts. xii. They are weak because they have not mortified their flesh. At this point their identity in Christ becomes suspect. Because all those who name the name of the Lord must turn away from evil. xiii. What makes them weakest? They do not have a sure testimony of faith in Christ that produces obedience. xiv. And so, when these cunning serpents – these fork tongued prophets enter and teach a message that allows for some of their passions to be fulfilled without transgressing God's laws. And when they give somewhat plausible answers for why they are able to satisfy their lusts without sin– weak people walk willingly and happily into their trap. xv. But weakness is not just in reference to lifestyle. It is not just guilt over sin or desire for lusts… c. [Slide 4] 7 – always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. i. From where does a knowledge of the truth come? ii. As Paul said in chapter 2 – it comes as a gift from God. It is linked to the gift of repentance. iii. God must grant repentance to people. When He does, that leads them to a knowledge of the truth. iv. And so, another reason that these women are weak, is not just that they are still captivated by lusts and guilt over sin, but that they are also captivated by a pursuit of learning. v. Having circumvented or neglected the need for true, genuine repentance, they are attempting to find answers without the one who gives them all. vi. And so, what do we have here? vii. Well, if there are three groups of people in the world; those who are believers, those who are unbelievers; and those that are a big question mark, what is this text saying? viii. Those who are unbelievers, opponents to the gospel, will have their greatest effect and influence upon those who do not have a strong testimony of faith. ix. Those who are weak in faith and practice. Those who are enslaved by their passions and guilt and are not satisfied with the answers they have found because God has not given repentance unto knowledge of the truth. In other words, the nominal Christians not only contain these sly enemies, but are easy prey for their schemes. x. This is yet another reason that the last days will be full of difficulty for true believers. These trouble makers will prey upon the nominal, religious, nationalistic Christian, and they will have GREAT success. d. [Slide 5] 8 – Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, i. Jannes and Jambres are two names which are not mentioned in the bible save in this text. ii. Yet they were supposed to have opposed Moses. But no Old Testament scripture passage records this. So where do these names come from? iii. These names are pulled from extra-biblical myths and legends. Pagan, Jewish, and Christian myths and legends abound concerning these two men. iv. The records are conflicting, developing, and heavily suspect in what we can believe is true. But nearest we can understand… v. Jannes and Jambres were the two Egyptian Wizards who were able to mimic God's power in style but not in magnitude. Remember? Moses cast down his rod which turned into a snake. The two wizards did the same. But the snake of Moses ate the snakes of the two wizards. vi. According to Jewish tradition, they were two chief magicians in the court of Pharoah who foretold the birth of Moses as “the destroyer of the land of Egypt.” This caused Pharoah to call for the death of Jewish young boys. vii. They also were said to have asked Moses when he did his miracles “Do you wish to introduce magic into Egypt, the native land of the magic art?” viii. They were also said to have made themselves invisible and flown over the Red Sea's destruction of Pharoah and his army. They then disguised themselves among the Israelites and instigated the people to make the golden calf. Some records say they were the two servants who went with Balaam as he was commissioned to curse Israel. And it was only in Numbers 31 that Phineas finally killed them with the sword. ix. We can clearly see Jewish Rabbis making these men into the boogey men of the Israelite people, possibly even trying to pass responsibility of Israelite disobedience in the wilderness to these two trouble makers. e. [Slide 6] So, these men also oppose the truth, i. And like these two, the false teachers in Ephesus are trouble makers. They are hounding the church. ii. And they are able to mimic the style of the gospel in its message – but they lack its power. iii. They have disguised themselves as the church having a form of godliness but they are the enemy of the church as they deny the gospel's power. iv. How did they get here though? f. [Slide 7] Men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. i. Their minds and their faith are both lacking. ii. Their minds are corrupted. This is the same word we use for the doctrine of depravity. iii. However, when we talk about the depravity of man we are mostly referring to man's inability to seek, desire, or otherwise come to God without God's intervention. God alone grants repentance, right? iv. But here, this depravity more refers to the same kind from Romans chapter 1. Where God gives people over to a depraved mind. What does that mean? v. They have been duped as well. They have fully believed and accepted what they are teaching as the truth. vi. While some false teachers peddle their teaching knowing it is false. Most of them have gotten high on their own supply. They have believed, hook, line and sinker, what they are teaching. And if we see this as the same as Romans 1, this is actually, ALSO, a judgment of God for their opposition to the truth. vii. In this, their faith – their trust – their confession – is proven to be null and void. viii. In order for faith to qualify it must believe the same things the apostles taught and must conform to the same lifestyles the apostles lived. Paul will get into that in the next section when he turns to Timothy to show him how he is to oppose such teachers. But before he gets there, Paul wants to comfort Timothy and the church g. [Slide 8] 9 - But they will not get very far i. With such a dire picture of difficulty in the church in the last days because of these kinds of people… both the false creepers and the weak confessors… it may leave those who are God's true children in fear for what could happen. ii. But Paul lovingly finishes a section as daunting as this with hope. He has done similar things before, even in this very book. iii. And of what does He assure Timothy and the true church there in Ephesus? iv. Although these opponents of truth will have influence that is powerful among those who are weak – ultimately they will not succeed. v. Not because we are strong – but because the power of the gospel works to make us strong in the truth – in faith and in practice. h. [Slide 9] For their folly will be plain to all as was that of those two men. i. Just as Jannes and Jambres were eventually seen to be lesser compared to the true God, Just as the sword of the Lord in the hand of His servants slew these wizards, so also these false teachers – though duping many of the weak – will be defeated by those whom God has made strong. ii. The Spirit of God in us will enable us to see their deception and keep us free of their lies. iii. The Lord knows who are His… yes? iv. So those who name the name of the Lord must turn away from evil. i. [Slide 10] Passage Truth: So last week, we saw that people who look godly but are not actually converted have always and will continue to infiltrate the church. These people we have labeled nominal Christians – or Christians in name only. Paul expands the text here to show that among this group of nominal Christians, there have always been and will continue to be a group whose intentions are not simply to appear to be godly, but will also seek to reshape a new gospel for themselves and lead astray whoever they are able. Ultimately, they will be unsuccessful, but that doesn't mean Timothy can be idle. j. Passage Application: Timothy must avoid all nominal Christians. Especially those who seek to reshape the gospel and lead others astray. He can be comforted in the knowledge that they will fail to succeed against the true church – but the fulfillment of that, requires his avoidance of them. Both refuting their teaching in meekness and putting down their influence by shunning the teachers in excommunication. k. [Slide 11] Broader Biblical Truth: Zooming out from this text is easy because Paul has already begun that discussion. Although pulling from extrabiblical material, the concept is purely scriptural throughout. Even in 2nd Timothy he has alluded to Korah's rebellion. We have seen this same truth appear in Joshua, Judges, and the stories of the Kings. Those appearing to be true Israelites, worshipers of God, have abandoned Him for something far less. So the cycle continues. It repeats itself. That even in the New Covenant community, there are still those who merely look like God's people but lack His power in them. Among them still are those who wish to undermine or question God's truth. l. Broader Biblical Application: And like Timothy we as a church must be vigilant against such a threat. Of course, heavenly vigilance gifted by our God does not express itself in violence or arrogance. Rather it expresses itself in a meek and kind desire for purity. Purity beginning in our hearts and going out from there to the rest of our local church, and even beyond to the whole of the visible church. We ought to have a desire to see the church protected against false teaching and teachers. They will arise, mostly, from among us. So we must be ready to meekly refute their teaching with the truth and suppress their influence with rebuke and church discipline. Avoiding such men will ensure the purity of the church and thus the purity of the gospel preached from the church. Conclusion: [Slide 12(end)] So taking Paul's point from last week, that nominal Christians will infiltrate the church, and adding to that this point that from among them will arise those who oppose the truth, how then shall we live? With Timothy we are to avoid these people. But what does that look like? Paul has already answered this question in chapter 2. To the nominal Christian, those who say all the right things, mentally agree to all the points of doctrine we do, those who come to every service, those who perform every ritual, but are still enslaved to sin, living burdened by their guilt, seeking knowledge and never arriving at the truth… what should we do with these weak people? We must instruct them with diligence, patience, and meekness. We must rebuke them when we see them practice sin. We must call them to repentance. And knowing that God alone grants repentance that leads to a knowledge of the truth, we must pray for that end. Our goal in ministry here at CBC should be to get as many people out of, and keep as many people out of the middle question mark group that we can. Part of purifying the church is sorting out the backslidden from the never converted. This is done through church discipline which in its earliest stages is simply rebuke and instruction. But at the end it will either restore the weak confessor to strength or it will confirm that they were never truly a believer. If the second is the conclusion, that is where we must avoid these people. They must be excommunicated from us for the sake of the purity of the gospel and to protect the rest of the church still in that question mark group. Ultimately it is this unknown middle group that are most susceptible to the lies of false teachers and opponents of the truth. This is the second group we must avoid. A group from among the nominal. But lest we think we should militantly or violently address this group – Paul commands Timothy to meekly instruct his opponents. Knowing full well that they will not succeed in their corruption of the gospel. Either they will fail and their lies will be seen and understood by all, or they will be granted repentance which leads to knowledge of the truth. Ultimately, Paul declares the victory of God's true church over and above all that oppose it. God knows who are His. He will keep them. And what is the human responsibility of that keeping? Avoid these people. Instruct them toward repentance and faith, but if they will not listen, they should be excommunicated and treated as unbelievers. As the last days continue to roll on, the church will see many more deny Christ either by forsaking what they have confessed as truth or by forsaking Christ by living lifestyles of unrepentant sin. Yet we know that the true church of God will not fail. We will not succumb to the teaching of false teachers, nor will the nominal be able to remain so for long. But rather than rest in this knowledge, we are tasked with actively avoiding these people in the church. We ought to be concerned with the purity of the visible church of God hoping to bring the true church and the visible church closer to being the same thing. We do this by preaching and teaching the truth, living it out in our lives, and avoiding those who cannot or will not do likewise. With this Paul's antidote for false teachers is complete. Both instructing and refuting them meekly and avoiding those who have shown themselves to be deaf to the calls of God, these are sure ways to help protect the true church from their influence. But Paul will speak to personal protection against false teaching and even dead faith next week. For now, it is enough for us to have a godly vigilance. Desiring the church and the gospel to remain pure. May we do this meekly hoping that God will gift repentance rather than judgment to our opponents and the nominal Christian.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (07/08/21), Hank concludes the ninth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, reading the last few verses. To say that the crowds Jesus had compassion on were like sheep without a shepherd was not a condemnation of the sheep, but rather an indictment of the Jewish Rabbis who had the duty to be shepherds but abdicated that duty by becoming as it were, wolves preying on the sheep. This is why Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37 NIV).

Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." 13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; V9 could refer to the Jews being better than the Gentiles or the Christians being better than the unsaved.  But we are no better than the unsaved because, but for the Grace of God we would be in the same state and be headed for hell for eternity. Jews and Greeks are all under sin- this word under means to be in the power of or under the authority of sin. Until we are saved we are completely enslaved and dominated by sin. V10-12 are quoted from several OT texts: Verses #10-12 come from #Ps 14:1-3, and 53:1-3. The first half of #13 from #Ps 5:9, the second half from #Ps 140:3; verse #14 from #Ps 10:7; #15-17 from part of #Isa 59:7; verse #18 from #Ps 35:1. Paul is quoting verses 10-18 from memory, so they are not exact quotations of the verses. He is using a common technique the Jewish Rabbis used called stringing pearls. 4 times in v 10-18 Paul says there is none, God is including everyone in these passages, twice he says no, not one and then lastly he says there is no fear of God Paul is going to describe in verses 10-18 the Wickedness of the character, the tongue and the conduct of man. V10 As it is written: This is a common introduction to a quotation of OT verses and it also implies their divine authority. Paul now talks about the Wickedness of the character of man None is righteous: Man is incapable of doing that which is right in the sight of God Ps 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 they have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, No, not one. Ps 14:2 clearly implies that all false religions are man's attempts to escape the true God V11 There is none who understands: 1Corinth 2; 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Our natural tendency is to seek our own interests Phil 2:21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But our only hope is for God to seek after us, because it is only a result of God seeking us that anyone seeks him John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. If men really understood how bad our sin is, how Holy our God is, what the difference between heaven and hell are, and at what cost God provided our salvation we would be in a hurry to be saved V12 Turned aside: this word basically means to lean in the wrong direction, it was used of a soldier who deserted in a fight. Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Next we see the Wickedness of the tongue of man in v 13-14 V13 This expresses the filth of human speech and the rottenness that comes from within as a grave is sealed to keep the stench or smell in. They have practiced deceit: They lie and cheat and show themselves to be sons of the devil who is the father of all lies John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. The poison of asps: They lie about their neighbors and ruin their good names Asps are small and so is the tongue, yet they cause much harm to those who feel their bite. Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?    John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32 Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.  hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555 The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

Thoughts Who Is Habakkuk? There is a lot of conjecture on just who this prophet Habakkuk was. The fact is, we don’t have much information about him. The Jewish Rabbis have their ideas. Roman Catholicism has theirs, based on one of the books of the Apocrypha.  What we do know is that this is a... The post Habakkuk 1-3: LSFAB0296 first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Thoughts Who Is Habakkuk? There is a lot of conjecture on just who this prophet Habakkuk was. The fact is, we don’t have much information about him. The Jewish Rabbis have their ideas. Roman Catholicism has theirs, based on one of the books of the Apocrypha.  What we do know is that this is a book of Habakkuk’s statements to God in the name of the people, and God’s statements to the people through Habakkuk. That is the textbook definition of what a prophet is.  Overall, the book speaks of the land of Judah’s invasion by the Chaldeans. Origins One sentence in the book should have certainly stood out to you if you have studied Martin Luther and the Reformation at all. Did you hear it? It was chapter two, verse four. Here it is again: “But the one who is right with God will live by faith.” Or it might be more familiar to you from the King James Version: “but the just shall live by faith.” You might not have known that this was from the book of Habakuk. You might have thought that it was from Romans 1:16-17. Here it is, again from the King James Version: “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Homework There in Romans, Paul was quoting Habakkuk. And the phrase, “The just shall live by faith” is the verse that caused Martin Luther to begin questioning the Roman Catholic church’s practices. It’s an important piece of church history that I recommend you study if you’re not familiar with it. Today's Bible Translation Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 1-3 NIRV Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission, and you will earn our gratitude. Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Helena Lopes on Unsplash Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents By Rod Dreher / Sentinel Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn once noted that people often assume that their democratic government would never submit to totalitarianism---but Dreher says it's happening. Sounding the alarm about the insidious effects of identity politics, surveillance technology, psychological manipulation, and more, he equips contemporary Christian dissidents to see, judge, and act as they fight to resist the erosion of our freedoms. 304 pages, hardcover from Sentinel.

A Good Fit A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli for Foundry UMC July 5, 2020, fifth Sunday after Pentecost. “Living As If…” series.  Text:  Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 It has become very clear over the past couple of weeks that many of us are feeling a deep weight and weariness in the wake of all that has happened and is happening in our world. And today we hear Jesus say, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” I want to swim into this invitation like cool water on a hot summer day. But notice: as soon as Jesus says, “Let me help you lighten your load,” he invites us to pick up something else: “Take my yoke upon you…” What’s up with that? Well, let’s get clear about what a “yoke” is. A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull. Yokes were carved carefully to fit the animal who would be using the device; a carefully made yoke would rest well on the shoulders and wouldn’t bind or blister. The Greek word for “easy” (chréstos) can also mean “well-fitting.” The well-fitting yoke was used to make carrying a burden or pulling a load easier. And the yoke allowed two animals to share a load, thus lightening the load for both. The Judeo-Christian tradition uses the metaphor of the yoke to describe the way of God revealed through the law and the prophets.  It is also a word used to describe the teachings and way of life of Jewish Rabbis—that is, the way a rabbi interpreted and practiced Torah, the law, was that rabbi’s “yoke.” A disciple of a given Rabbi would take on the “yoke” of that teacher.   In both the literal and figurative sense, a “yoke” is something you put on, that you wear. And think for a moment about things you wear that don’t fit well…they’re unflattering at best and really uncomfortable at worst. Ill-fitting or inappropriate shoes can cause blisters and over time can affect your whole body alignment causing strain and pain. In the same way, ill-formed, ill-fitting yokes do damage. If I put on a yoke that was made for a body with much broader shoulders than mine, think about what that will do to my body. If I take on an interpretation of biblical law that is ill-formed—say lacking careful study or grace—just think about how that will affect the shape and health of my whole life. If I am yoked with someone who is pulling in an opposite direction from me or if I’m unwilling to move when the person with whom I’m yoked is trying to move, we’re both going to get hurt. If the yoke is well fitted for me but ill fitted for the person with whom I’m yoked, even if we’re traveling the same path, my way will be easier than that of my partner on the journey, though we will both struggle more than is necessary. The bottom line is that yokes—both literal and the law—can either do damage to those who “wear” them or can provide help and freedom from carrying burdens too hard to bear alone. Jesus invites us to put on his “yoke,” the way of life he taught and embodied, a way of life guided from start to finish by the great commandment to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourself. This, Jesus says, is the yoke that’s “easy,” that’s a good fit for our most human shape. Jesus’ embodiment of love that preaches good news to the poor, healing for the wounded ones, freedom for the captives, mercy, compassion, and peace for a bruised world, gentleness, humility, and justice in our relationships with one another, is the yoke we are all made to put on. I have heard folk describe the yoke Jesus offers as an exclusively “me and Jesus” or “God and me” situation—that is, the yoke is about Christ helping us carry our load. I don’t disagree that’s part of the promise. But here’s the thing: Jesus’ yoke—Jesus’ way of life—binds us to one another, commits us to one another, connects us, yokes us. It’s never going to just be “me and Jesus” because whenever we invite Jesus into our life, he brings all his friends with him. I have been ruminating on the juxtaposition of Jesus’ invitation to take on his yoke and this weekend when our country observes Independence Day. On the one hand, you could say that Jesus’ way of life, his yoke, is about liberation, about freedom so it’s a happy coincidence to get this text in the lectionary on this day—plus the bonus of Jesus giving us permission to rest, to chill. But a couple of things give me pause. The story we have traditionally told is that Independence Day is a celebration of our freedom from tyranny, our commitment to “liberty and justice for all.” And the words penned at our founding are beautiful and the goal lofty. They would seem to align with the vision of care and right relationship that Jesus taught. But the truth is that the liberty, the freedom, the justice, was for some, not for all. The yoke of Christ was severed from the beginning.  Over the years I have come to more deeply perceive the irony of a national celebration of “freedom” first celebrated in 1777 when one in five people in the colonies were African human beings who were enslaved by white people. Frederick Douglass in 1852—well before passage of the 13th Amendment that ended slavery—brilliantly denounced the national celebration of July 4th saying: What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour. Then a hundred years later Langston Hughes wrote a poem with the refrain “America never was America to me.” He wrote: O, let my land be a land where LibertyIs crowned with no false patriotic wreath,But opportunity is real, and life is free,Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me,Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”) Hughes, of course, was African American and in this poem he speaks not only for his community, but also for poor whites, indigenous people, immigrants, and all who hope in the dream of America yet find “only the same old stupid plan / Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” And fifty years since Langston Hughes passed into the next life, we find ourselves in this moment. Some would argue there is much to honor from our past and also much that’s changed for the better. Both are true. But our present moment has blown the lid off the injustice, suffering, and rage so many of our neighbors continue to experience in their lives. Poverty, systemic racism, homophobia and transphobia are still rampant in our country, placing crushing burdens upon beloved children of God. Pernicious interpretations of religious texts, twisted applications of biblical law, and greedy, unjust civic laws and policies create a reality in which some are free, expecting and enjoying every opportunity life affords, and others can’t drink the water from their tap, can’t go for a run, can’t answer their front door without fearing for their lives. Some in our land suck up all the air leaving others with no air to breathe. Our Gospel for today begins by Jesus highlighting the fact that some people are determined to judge and reject anything that might challenge them to perceive something new or to change. Both John the Baptist and Jesus were called names and rejected, even though their practices and message were very different. Different approaches didn’t reach those who were challenged by the message of the Gospel. If people don’t want to hear it, they won’t. And we sadly see this right now in many ways related to safety protocols for COVID-19, systemic racism, skewed narratives of American history and more. To be asked to acknowledge the suffering of the most vulnerable and oppressed, sacrifice some comfort to protect others, accept that part of our past and present as a nation is marred by racist violence and greed, is perceived by many as impinging upon their freedom. No matter how lovingly or authentically it is shared—whether in protest, movie, data and studies—if folk don’t want to hear it, they won’t. But, Jesus says, “wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” And wisdom made her home in Jesus and guided Jesus’ teaching and actions. And Jesus offers his “yoke”—an offer that is heartily received in Jesus’ time and in our own by those weighed down with the burdens of injustice and systemic violence. Jesus comes alongside the downtrodden, the sick, the disinherited, the oppressed and says, “You matter. Let me share the load, carry your burden, journey with you. You are not alone.”  And the offer of a well-fitting yoke is extended to everyone. Jesus wants all of us to put on a way of life that does no harm, a yoke that doesn’t do damage to others or to ourselves. That is our work—each and all of us in our own way. We are called to set down hurtful things that have creeped up around our shoulders and into our thoughts and hearts. That stuff is ill-fitting, heavy, and shreds our soul. We are invited instead to pick up and put on the yoke of Jesus who says, “Learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Be gentle and humble with others in this time when there is so little grace margin in the world. Be gentle and humble with yourself. And trust that Christ will help you do the hard work needed for the living of these days. And it is hard work. The “yoke” Jesus offers is not an “easy” life without any burdens or challenges. Rather it is a yoke that is well-fitting, that doesn’t do harm when we put it on, that binds us to Christ AND to one another, so that the burdens we bear become lighter because they are shared.  I believe the heart of the teaching today is that true freedom in human life is not found in independence but rather in interdependence. We are created for interdependence and the yoke Jesus offers is fitted with that in mind. It connects us to God and each other in love, in compassion, in mercy, in grace and helps us pull together toward the Kin-dom vision that’s our goal. And that means that your suffering is yoked to me and my suffering is yoked to you. As Paul taught, if one member of the body suffers all suffer together with it (1 Cor 12:26). God gives us grace to help one another carry the burden, to ease the weight, to lighten the load one for another. Your life is bound up with my life and my freedom is bound up with your freedom, your safety is bound up with my safety and my good is bound up with your good. No one is free until all are free.  Many of us are weary today. Many are carrying heavy burdens. And the pain of the world can seem too much to bear. But the good news is we are yoked to one another and to Christ. And together we press on to freedom. Thanks be to God. https://foundryumc.org/

In this episode, my guest, Donna Marie Todd, treats us to the wonderful art form of storytelling. Donna Marie calls herself a singer of stories. Stories are one of the most ancient forms of entertainment, education, and insight. The International Storytelling Festival held in Jonesboro, Tennessee each year celebrates this art form In this episode, Donna Marie introduces us to a particular kind of storytelling called Biblical storytelling. Jewish and Christian scripture, referred to by Christians as the Bible, is full of stories and the overall arch of Jewish and Christian scripture is that of story. Christian hymns such as 'I Love to Tell the Story,' 'Tell Me the Story of Jesus,' and 'I Will Sing the Wondrous Story' make reference to that overarching story. Jewish Rabbis use story extensively as commentary on the Torah and as a tool for moral instruction. Rabbi Jesus followed that tradition in his use of parables. In Biblical storytelling, the storyteller uses a passage of scripture as the basis for the story. Sometimes the passage is quoted verbatim with vocal and bodily dramatic emphases. Sometimes the scripture passage is blended with creative additions or paraphrased in creative ways. In all of its forms, Biblical storytelling brings insight out of the passage that causes 'Ah!' and 'A-ha!' moments. In this episode, Donna Marie tells us the story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah.

Recently, archaeologists working in northern Peru made a discovery they called “disturbing and disquieting.” Digging in the outskirts of the pre-Columbian city of Chan-Chan, they found the remains of about 140 children and 200 animals, mostly llamas. The condition of the children's remains made it clear that they had been sacrificed along with the animals, perhaps in response to some emergency or dire threat. According to the Washington Post, it's the site of “the largest known child sacrifice in the world.” While this is a very unpleasant subject, it serves as a gruesome reminder of how biblical religion, especially Christianity, changed the course of human history. Chan-Chan was the capital of the Chimú empire. Before their disturbing find, the archaeologists were not aware that this ancient people practiced child sacrifice. Their hypothesis is that the sacrifices were in response to a severe weather event, perhaps a strong El Niño, which caused catastrophic flooding. Whatever precipitated the child sacrifice, the Chimú were far from alone in their attempts to placate the gods by slaughtering their children. Their conquerors, the Incan Empire, also practiced child sacrifice in times of emergency. In the Old World, the Carthaginians, who were descended from the biblical city of Tyre, sacrificed children to their gods at shrines the Hebrew Bible called “tophets.” The Romans made a big deal out of this fact in their anti-Carthaginian propaganda, conveniently omitting the fact that they did the same in response to the Carthaginian general Hannibal's invasion of Italy. The Carthaginians weren't the only ancient people who emulated Canaanite child sacrifice. Pre-exilic Israel practiced this demonic rite, as well. In Jeremiah 7, the Lord denounces the “high place of Topheth” where the people “burn their sons and daughters in the fire.” On account of this abomination, the Lord said that “I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.” Then, of course, there's that one specific example cited by the Washington Post in its article about the find in Peru: the “Binding of Isaac” in Genesis 22. While parts of this story are perplexing and even troubling, it's inclusion along with the other examples misses a crucial point: There was never a chance Isaac would be sacrificed. If Abraham, to quote Bob Dylan's paraphrase, had replied to God “Man, you must be putting me on,” Isaac lives. If, as actually happened, Abraham was willing to be fully obedient to God's instruction, Isaac lives because God prevents the sacrifice. Jewish Rabbis have long taught that this story of Abraham and Isaac condemns the practice of child sacrifice, especially in light of the repeated subsequent condemnations of the practice throughout the Old Testament. It was part of Abraham's coming to understand that the God who'd called him to leave his homeland was a very different God than the gods he left behind. This God, as Christianity would later teach the world, doesn't demand our children as a sacrifice, but rather sacrificed His own Son on our behalf. In fact, early Christians took the Jewish prohibition on child sacrifice and extended it to cover contemporary Roman practices such as abortion and infanticide. Ultimately, it's because of Christianity's clarity on the killing of children that we find the discovery at Chan-Chan so chilling today, despite our own culture's embrace of moral relativism. Chilled or not, we still fail to see the obvious parallels between what happened at Chan-Chan and recently-enacted laws that permit the killing of infants who could easily survive outside the womb. Just as biblical religion made the world a far safer place for young children, the decline of Christian influence over our culture threatens to reverse the moral progress we've made since the ancient world. It may be that future archaeologists, as they dig through the remains of our civilization, will find themselves disturbed and disquieted, too.     http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/03/breakpoint-god-vs-child-sacrifice/

Thanks for listening and if you feel led to: Become a NIGHT SHADOWS Member for just $9.95 per month: http://nightshadows.valueaddon.com/us... One time donations – please copy paste into your browser: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr... If you do not have a PayPal account, just click on “DONATE with debit or credit card” Stewart Best P.O. Box 55 Downsville, WI 54735 Larry Taylor P.O. Box 197 Smithville, OK 74957 The best way to stay in touch with us is to be on the email list: http://eepurl.com/bs1HBv TONIGHT’S SHOW: The multiple signs appear to be converging for 3-19 through 3-22 all appear to be pointing to a 4-11-2019 event of some time, if not before then. The third and last SUPER MOON is TONIGHT on the spring equinox and also Purim - the last of which in 3-22, the Skull & Bones number 322, the Georgia Guide-stones dedication on 3-22, and the Denver Airport on 3-19, 1994!! Is antichrist about to rise? Are the floods now going on all over the globe reminding us of Noah's flood and the deliverance? Does the Mayan date of 12-21-2012 have a hidden code that points to March 22 and April 11th, 2019? Was that date a CODE, WHICH WE CAN NOW UNDERSTAND? Is it possible that the age of Grace is almost over? Is it possible that Jewish Rabbis who claim antichrist will soon be revealed are correct?

Episode 97 | Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Show Notes CoreChristianity.com Key questions answered in today's show: 1. What does it look like to fix my eyes on Jesus? 2. If Jesus is the son of God how can he also be God? 3. How do you think Christians should be involved in or think about problems surrounding the environment? 4. Do you think Christians can learn important truth from Jewish Rabbis? 5. Should we wait for sanctification or strive to be obedient? 6. What does glorification mean? 7. Are heaven and hell other dimensions?

Today on TruNews we detail how a union between prominent American Christian Zionists and Kabbalah practicing Jewish Rabbis has birthed a heresy masquerading as divine intervention, leading millions away from Jesus Christ. Will the promise of a Third Temple lead to the final Great Deception?

Today on TruNews we detail how a union between prominent American Christian Zionists and Kabbalah practicing Jewish Rabbis has birthed a heresy masquerading as divine intervention, leading millions away from Jesus Christ. Will the promise of a Third Temple lead to the final Great Deception?

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan delves into Ayat 41 and 42 of the esteemed Surah Al Baqarah. When the Prophet ﷺ informed the people that he was the Messenger of Allah SWT and that his description also appears in the previous Scriptures, the people went to the Jewish Rabbis to confirm if this was indeed true. ... Read more

Photo provided by Israel Today... Headline for today's report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwIr4LyGZkMOSTV0NFNlV1M1VVk/view?usp=sharing One of the most significant prophecies in the Bible is finding fulfillment in the headlines today. The reason this prophecy and promise is so important is because until this is fulfilled, The Lord Yeshua, has promised He cannot return. Jesus has made one of the conditions and there are a few in scripture, that His people the Jews, must accept who He is and bless Him prior to His return. See Matthew 23:39 Here's a post I made in our Facebook group, http://facebook.com/groups/BroStef last week: Prophecy in the making! Yeshua said, "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" Matt 23:39 Psalm 118:26 - "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD." Zechariah 12:10 - "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." My comments: So we see the Orthodox Rabbi community beginning to see that Yeshua, Jesus is someone they must come to terms with! We know they will discover Him because the Bible says they will. My Prayer of Thanks: I thank you Lord that you are fulfilling your Word in our midst. Thank you Lord for beginning to open the eyes of your people, our people, and the scales are being removed. I praise you with all of my heart my God and my Savior! In your name Yeshua, Jesus amen. All Christians everywhere ought to be dancing in the streets over this very important development. What an amazing prophecy in the making! Once God begins to fulfill a prophecy He doesn't stop until it is completely fulfilled. This fulfillment will happen over the course of time. What a wonderful start to the New Year! Baruch HaShem Adoni Yeshua HaMashiach... Blessed is the name of The Lord Jesus The Messiah! Happy New Year! If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now is the time to make4 that decision. Learn more about asking Christ to be the Lord and Savior of your life at http://brostef.com see the right margin on any page. Remember to live out your faith and keep looking up because Jesus is coming back soon! Bro Stef Connect with me: http://brostef.com [Ezekiel 33]

Photo provided by Israel Today... Headline for today's report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwIr4LyGZkMOSTV0NFNlV1M1VVk/view?usp=sharing One of the most significant prophecies in the Bible is finding fulfillment in the headlines today. The reason this prophecy and promise is so important is because until this is fulfilled, The Lord Yeshua, has promised He cannot return. Jesus has made one of the conditions and there are a few in scripture, that His people the Jews, must accept who He is and bless Him prior to His return. See Matthew 23:39 Here's a post I made in our Facebook group, http://facebook.com/groups/BroStef last week: Prophecy in the making! Yeshua said, "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" Matt 23:39 Psalm 118:26 - "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD." Zechariah 12:10 - "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." My comments: So we see the Orthodox Rabbi community beginning to see that Yeshua, Jesus is someone they must come to terms with! We know they will discover Him because the Bible says they will. My Prayer of Thanks: I thank you Lord that you are fulfilling your Word in our midst. Thank you Lord for beginning to open the eyes of your people, our people, and the scales are being removed. I praise you with all of my heart my God and my Savior! In your name Yeshua, Jesus amen. All Christians everywhere ought to be dancing in the streets over this very important development. What an amazing prophecy in the making! Once God begins to fulfill a prophecy He doesn't stop until it is completely fulfilled. This fulfillment will happen over the course of time. What a wonderful start to the New Year! Baruch HaShem Adoni Yeshua HaMashiach... Blessed is the name of The Lord Jesus The Messiah! Happy New Year! If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now is the time to make4 that decision. Learn more about asking Christ to be the Lord and Savior of your life at http://brostef.com see the right margin on any page. Remember to live out your faith and keep looking up because Jesus is coming back soon! Bro Stef Connect with me: http://brostef.com [Ezekiel 33] --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/brostef/support

The Ethiopian Eunuch is reading from Isaiah 53 about "the Lamb" and asks Philip, "to whom does this refer?" Learn the enormous significance of this term for Israel. Consider the options for Philip’s answer: a historical figure, the nation Israel, or an individual who is Israel’s suffering Messiah? See when early Jewish Rabbis saw Isaiah 53 as a reference to their suffering Messiah and when and why that began to change. Learn about the different servant songs in Isaiah and the Servant who is the center focus, the delivering Servant of God who is fully God, fully man, the branch of David and eternal king. See the ongoing thread of the role of servant throughout Scripture that can be fulfilled by Jesus Christ alone.

The Gospel of Matthew is God's discipleship masterpiece. Jesus developed His disciples in the tradition of Jewish Rabbis. Jesus is serious about developing maturity in His people.

A Sweet Blessing Gone Bad Alright, so this morning I practiced this sermon and it was 56 minutes and 44 seconds long, okay? So it led me into a quandary. I can do one of two difficult things. I can hold your attention for 56 minutes and 44 seconds, or I can try to split this sermon in two on the fly. Either one of those are difficult to do. I've chosen to do the second, and so I'm going to preach in my normal way at the normal length, and I don't know where that's going to be, but I think what's going to happen is, I'm going to establish this morning from Matthew 19, the clarity of Jesus' teaching on what marriage is, from the way God intended at the beginning. So I'm going to set up the standard that Jesus sets up. And then next week I'm going to deal more thoroughly with the questions of divorce and remarriage that so plague us and are so difficult and painful for so many. So next week then I'll have to re-establish again with clarity that clear standard that Jesus established, and then try to answer as many practical questions as I can. The problem at the end of this sermon is that I seek to apply it as well, and I will want to apply some things that I might have to say again next week, so please bear with me. As Jesus said, the night before He died to His disciples, "I have much to say to you, more than you can now bear." Alright, [laughter] so let's go with it that way, okay? So I've decided to go that approach. Remember Your Wedding Day On my dresser in my bedroom there's a picture of Christy and I taken on May 14th, 1988. I asked her permission to say those words to you before I came up here. She has granted that permission. It's a picture of the day that I received the greatest earthly blessing I've ever gotten in this world. Christy said often we look like children in that picture, and I think about that, we look so young. I don't think we fully understood what we were getting into at that point, I don't think we still fully understand what we've gotten into. [laughter] But I know this, that a river of blessings has come to me from the commitment I made that day, as I stood before God and man and made a promise to her that I would be her husband, she made a promise to me that she would be my wife, and God has held us to that promise for over 20 years now, continues to hold us to it, and it's been a river of blessing. Those of you that are married, I ask you to think back to your wedding day, that day that God gave you the greatest earthly gift that He could give, another human being created in the image of God, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish from that day on and forever until death parted you. Remember how happy you were, you remember what hopes that you had, what longings you had for the future. Remember how beautiful each of you looked. You never looked better physically in all your lives. Wore your best clothes, you looked wonderful. I've seen lots of you in that condition. Lots of weddings. And you looked incredible, wearing special clothes for the most important act of your lives in this world. And how many pictures were taken that day? Some videos maybe, capturing your happy faces, the hopes in your hearts. How is it now? How is it now? Remember the First Wedding Day I wanna say to all of you married and unmarried alike, I want you to go back in your minds to that very first wedding day, God had made a perfect world. We can scarcely imagine the radiant beauty and glory of that pristine world, a perfectly blue sky, a radiant sun, glowing vegetation, all the flowering plants, fruitful trees giving off their fragrance, boasting of their succulent fruit. The Garden of Eden, a lush paradise of sights and sounds and smells and sensory pleasures by the fountain of delights the God who made them all for our pleasure and our enjoyment. Magnificent beasts with all their strength and variety, the creeping things, the soaring birds with their magnificent plumage, and there God put the man that He had fashioned from the dust of the earth, a living and breathing man now tasked with the responsibility of watching over and protecting the Garden of Eden, taking care of it, serving it, tasked also with the responsibility of naming all of those animals, and tasked with the responsibility of filling the world with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, of replicating the image of God throughout the world, of filling the earth with that image. It was a task that Adam could not fulfill alone, he needed a helper suitable for him. And so God caused him to fall into a deep sleep, and while Adam sleeping God took a rib from his side and closed up the place with flesh, and God wondrously crafted a woman from the rib and brought this magnificent gift, categorically the last thing God ever created. Some would say the best, I would have to agree. But I won't argue the point theologically, God saving in that sense the most magnificent creation for the... And I think Adam would have agreed when he saw her, a beautiful woman perfectly suited for Adam, a helper suitable for him, and he responded the only way that a man can when he sees the woman he's gonna spend the rest of his life with, with poetry. "This at last is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman for she was taken out of man." I often wondered how Adam knew that in that he was asleep at the time, but I think it was that God told him about her, God understanding a woman perfectly, as only God can do. [laughter] Adam had an education that lasted hundreds of years after that, but God explained from the beginning what she was and where she had come from. So God had given Adam the greatest physical gift he would ever receive, and Eve would become eventually the mother of all the living. But sin soon entered the world through Adam's rebellion, through his sinful negligence, his failure to act, sin of omission of immense proportions as he stood there saying nothing while the serpent tempted his wife. And we have been suffering bitterly ever since, and divorce is part of that sin package. And it is the sad focus of our time in the Word this morning and next week. How Is It Now? So how is it now with marriage? How is it now? Well, there is, some have called it an epidemic of divorce. Some years ago, a journalist for a national news magazine asked this rhetorical question, "Are there any person's left in this land who have not had a friend or child or parent describe intimately the agony of divorce?" The statistics are shocking. Annual divorce rate is 3.9 per thousand people of population equaling well over one million new divorces every year. Sadly, the divorce rates among self-described Christians are not very much different from those of non-Christians. With one million new divorces every year, of course, comes two million newly divorced people plus several million perhaps new children of divorce. Every single person involved in this process is hurt deeply, some use this language that they have been wounded for life, scarred for life. One commentator I read said this, “Every divorce destroys a little world, a little society with its own culture and traditions and history and network of relationships. A miniature world has been crushed forever.” The tragedy is unspeakable. Men and women feel rejected to the very core of their being, ripped apart from inside. The most significant promise they ever made broken, the most significant relationship in their lives ended in tragedy. It's bitter beyond all measure. And they remember all the moments with bitterness and sadness, the photo of the couple on their first date, a love letter tumbling from the pages of a book, a box of memorabilia from the wedding day, video of the wedding itself, all the smiles, the kisses, promises made, hopes for the future. The honeymoon, their first home together, started their life together and how tragic now, the photos of their first child coming home from the hospital, the three of them smiling around the Christmas tree, the baby's first Christmas smiling for the camera. And now all of it is destroyed and they can't look at those photos pleasantly. It's somewhat in that way like a suicide, where you just can't look at the photos of the person the same way ever again. And in that way, again, I think far worse than if it had ended by a tragic auto accident or a terminal illness, this world, this little world has come to an end through the choices to some degree that each person has made and their own foolishness, their own sin has brought it to an end. We cannot calculate the agony that these one million divorces pumps into the national atmosphere every year. Now, divorce used to be rare. Why was it rare? Well, in past years, the vast majority of marriages held secure and stable, it doesn't mean that people were any less sinful than we are now, but there were certain pressures brought to bear in a positive way to the marriages. John MacArthur lists some of these pressures. He says, first of all, the extended family was a powerful moral force. Relationships to parents continued to exert tremendous pull long after marriage. Married couples felt the pressure to work out their differences rather than bring shame on their parents by getting a divorce. So also there was a much stronger network of relationships extending to grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etcetera. These relationships did not merely put pressure on the couple to save the marriage, but they also offered resources that the desperate couple would need at that difficult time. Advice, prayer, moral example, money, a shoulder to cry on, etcetera. This network has become gradually weakened over the last number of decades. The fluidity of our society, frankly the multiplication of divorces itself as we've mentioned tends to create more divorces. So also the proliferation of anti-biblical ideologies, like moral permissiveness, feminism, humanism, proliferation of television, movies, internet, etc., have pumped out a worldview that is hostile to the biblical worldview, and divorce is one of the by-products. MacArthur also lists community expectation back in the day. The surrounding communities expected marriages to survive for the most part, and responded generally to divorce negatively, divorce laws therefore were difficult. Divorce was hard to come by, community ethics stood in favor instead of working out the issues and maintaining marriage. Strongest of all the influences that John MacArthur lists are... the spiritual or religious aspect. Churches universally taught the Bible truth on divorce and remarriage. All branches of Christianity, Catholic, Protestant, orthodox strongly supported healthy family life and just as strongly opposed divorce. But this has all changed, especially in the church more and more people feel compelled in the name of Christian love and compassion to change the clear biblical teaching on divorce. I read recently that a Christian entertainer got a divorce, claiming that her husband stood in the way of her career advancement. She said she did not believe her divorce related to her religious views as a Christian in any way, and even if it did, she believed God would forgive anything she did, and loved her the same either way. More and more Christian counseling, both of the formal and informal sort, has imbibed this kind of approach, and the general prevailing worldly perspective, and has turned to helping people through the divorce process and has turned to giving worldly advice rather than biblical advice. Helping people through with minimal pain, helping them prepare for their future lives after the divorce. Some Christians in the name of love then become hostile to anyone that teaches the biblical standard on divorce and remarriage, and calls it legalism. However, other Christians, seeing all of these things, what is going on in society in general, raise the biblical standard beyond the biblical norms. In a zeal to protect what the Bible says, they established strictures that I think go beyond what Jesus says in this text. John MacArthur, speaking of that phenomenon, either way it says, “But that which is contrary to Scripture can never be either loving or spiritual. A human standard may be more lenient or more restrictive than Scripture, but it can never be better.” Do you believe that? The Bible is the measure for all things and can never be more lenient, it can be lenient, it can be more strict, but never can be better. “When God's word is ignored or perverted in any area, tragedy is always the consequence, the matter of marriage and divorce standards then are no exception." Now, generally in our culture, there are deeper questions about marriage that go beyond even this issue of divorce and remarriage. More and more confusion exists on what marriage is. Hence, we are starting to talk about things like gay marriage. I saw a humorous piece recently about a clerk who is working in a town hall issuing marriage licenses to an ever stranger series of people who are applying. First of course a regular couple, a man and wife wanted to become husband and wife, and then came two men who wanted marriage license, then two women, then a man and a boy, then a woman and a girl, then three people together, ended up with a man who wanted to marry himself, [chuckle] and at that point the clerk resigned his position. I believe in this general societal discussion on what marriage is, it is impossible for us to carry it on in the end without an absolute standard of truth and right and wrong. It's really just going to be impossible. In this pluralistic society in which we live that kind of thing may well come. Because we are talking about a definition that comes from God. It is God that defines marriage, and the further we get away from, "Thus says the Lord," the more confusing the discussion is going to be. It's going to be very difficult for Christian apologists who do not argue from Scripture to talk about what marriage is. I don't know how they're going to do it. I don't think they should. I think they should say, "Thus says the Lord," and say what marriage is, and just keep doing that, 'cause it is the truth. Now, this morning, we're going to face this painful question together as brothers and sisters in Christ. We're gonna sit at Jesus' feet, we're gonna allow Him to teach us about marriage and divorce. I believe every one of us who has been married, is married now, will face painful issues concerning our marriage, and we're going to be called on by the text as always to repent. There's a constant call from Jesus to repent. All of us will need to do it. We're going to look at Jesus' standards of marriage, and all of us are gonna look in and find flaws. And so therefore, it's my joy to proclaim forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even over this issue. There is grace, there is mercy, and there's forgiveness for any sin and blasphemy Jesus said. But still there needs to be repentance. Jesus loves us too much to allow us to continue in sin. So we're gonna let Him speak the truth to us, no matter how painful it may be. We're gonna allow Him to heal some of the most painful of spots in our souls, and hopefully we're going to prevent, as a church, future pain and agony. All of those things are in my mind as I preach this morning. The Pharisees Ask a Treacherous Question Context So let's look at Matthew 19 and the context. In Matthew 19:1-2 it says, "When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed Him and He healed them there." So for about two years, Jesus has been ministering almost exclusively in His home area of Galilee. Now, for the last two months in the narrative, He'd been focusing, it seems, almost exclusively on training the 12 for their future responsibilities as leaders, Apostles of His church. He now goes south to the most important appointment of His life, and that is His arrest, His condemnation, His death on the cross, and His resurrection on the third day to save us from our sins. So that's why He's traveling south. The region beyond the Jordan that He's in now in this text is part of the territory of Herod Antipas, the very man who had arrested John the Baptist for preaching that his marriage to Herodias, his brother Philip's wife was unlawful. Herodias and Herod did not take it kindly and arrested John the Baptist and had him executed for it. Now, I believe the Pharisees came seeking to get Jesus into similar trouble. I think they were trying to have Him killed. It clearly says in the text that they're asking a question in order to test Him, or trap Him, they're seeking to get Him into trouble. The Treacherous Question And so, look at Verse 3 at the treacherous question. "Some Pharisees came to Him to test him. They asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?'" They're not looking for information and they don't want a debate. They really just hated Him, and they wanted Him killed. The backdrop in Judaism to their question is a long-standing debate between Jewish Rabbis on a text in the Old Testament. The text is Deuteronomy 24, and in that text, based on that text, the Jews believe that every Jewish man had the right to divorce his wife. The text talks about a condition in which a man finds something indecent in his wife and writes her a certificate of divorce and sends her away, and then she goes and then becomes the wife of another man, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and sends her away. She cannot then go back to her first husband and marry him. Would not the land become utterly defiled? That's what Deuteronomy 24 says. Now, as they wrestled over that text, the Rabbis had different opinions on what it was that was the indecent thing in Deuteronomy 24. What was it that was indecent, and on the basis of that the man wrote his wife a certificate of divorce? Now, the stricter school of the Rabbi Shammai felt that the indecent thing that the first husband found had to be adultery. He found adultery in her, but it doesn't say adultery, but that's what they interpreted. Now, the more lenient School of Hillel interpreted it more widely and said it referred to anything offensive to the husband, even to the point of the spoiling of the husband's dinner. The Pharisees tended to follow this latter and broader interpretation to follow Hillel, and allow divorce for any and every reason, whatever the husband thought was best. A later Rabbi along the same line named Akiva interpreted the words of Moses, "if she finds no favor in his eyes", to mean that if the husband simply found a prettier woman, he could divorce his first wife and marry her, because she no longer finds favor in his eyes. So you can tell that even back then feelings ran very high on this topic. No matter what answer Jesus gave, He would antagonize somebody. Maybe especially they were hoping, I think, Herod Antipas, who had the power to kill Jesus. So you can see that divorce was a hot topic in Jesus' day, just as it is in our day. The Timeless Answer of Jesus So look at the timeless answer of Jesus to this question, Verses 4-6, “‘Haven't you read,’ He replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, “for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” So they are no longer two but one. Therefore, what God has joined together let man not separate.’” Now, I'm about to give you four foundations, timeless foundations to Jesus' answer, and then His answer, but just for clarity's sake I just want to draw out what's happened here. They came and asked Him a treacherous question, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” Jesus' answer is, “Absolutely not.” I mean, that's a summation of it. His answer is no. Now, there's more to say on that, and we will say more, but just if you're looking at the question they ask, “Is it lawful to divorce a man... For a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” Jesus' answer is no. But He does give foundations to His answer. And I wanna look at those four foundations. These are four immovable foundation stones on which our concept of marriage should be based. Foundation #1: The Sufficiency of Scripture The first foundation is the sufficiency of Scripture to address this issue, foundation number one, the Scripture itself. "Haven't you read?", He says. Now, these were the Pharisees, they spent their whole time working on Scripture. This is what they did. And so Jesus is really to some degree critiquing them for missing this. "Haven't you read?", He said. He begins this dispute by setting the ground rules. The answer will be found only by a right reading of Scripture. Therefore I take from this, just as a pastor, as a preacher, and as a counselor, and a Christian man, Scripture is sufficient to answer all questions of marriage and divorce and remarriage. And we don't need another book, we don't need any more information, we need to understand the Scripture rightly, that's all. Jesus teaches us the sufficiency of Scripture. I think this is the big flaw with much Christian counseling these days, they get more information about marriage from psychological studies and clinical research and prevailing patterns of therapy in the field than they do from the Scripture. In this way they are widely divergent from Jesus' methodologies and counseling centers. True Biblical counseling answers the problems of marriage the same way it answers the problem of all of life. "Haven't you read?" Or Romans 4:3, “What does the Scripture say?” Now, I want you to notice some aspect of Jesus' view towards Scripture. Now this is one you might miss if you read too quickly. I'd like to ask that you take... Keep your finger here in Matthew 19, and go back to Deuteronomy... Sorry, Genesis Chapter 2. Genesis 2, Jesus quotes Genesis 2 at the end of the chapter, Verse 24. So just keep your finger in Matthew 19, we're just gonna be in Genesis 2 for a moment. But quoting Matthew 19:4-5, this is what Jesus says. “‘Haven't you read that at the beginning the creator made them male and female and said, “for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”’” Now, Jesus here says that the creator, God, does two things, not just one thing, He does two things. “‘Haven't you read,’ He said, ‘that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female,’” so He makes them, the Creator makes them male and female and said, "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh." So the creator not only creates them, but He makes a statement about them, that's what the force of the phrase "and said". The Creator made them male and female and said for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh. Now, if you look at Genesis 2:24, you do not see the introduction phrase such as "the Lord said" or "the Lord God said" or "Lord God answered", "the Lord God replied", or any of those introductors that you see frequently in the Genesis narrative. They're not there. What is the significance of that? You know what it is? It's Jesus' mind towards the Bible. Every single word in the Bible is God's word to you. The Creator is speaking to you today about marriage. That's Jesus' attitude towards Scripture. This is the one who'd rather die than Scripture be broken, friends. He has a very high view of Scripture, I would say He has an infinitely high view of Scripture. He has a higher view of Scripture than I do, he has a higher Scripture view... View of Scripture than any one of you does, that's Jesus' view of Scripture. We ought to come more and more up to His standard. And so, Augustine says in The Confessions, "Indeed, oh man," this is putting this mentality in the voice... The words of God. "Indeed, oh man, what my Scripture says, I say." Now, should you thereby get rid of your red letter editions to the Bible, which have Jesus' words in red and all the other words in black? No, you can keep them, that's fine, but please don't put any higher value on the red letters than you do on the black ones, or the purple ones or the green ones or whatever color the editors chose to print the Word of God, and it doesn't matter to me. What matters is what the Scripture says, okay? So just notice in Genesis 2, it's not the Lord God that says it, Moses wrote it just in the narrative. But in Jesus' mind, it's God that's saying this to you. So go back to Matthew 19. God wants to speak to you today about marriage, and so He's saying, What my Scripture says to you, husband and wife, I am saying to you." Foundation #2: God’s Original Intent Foundation number two, God's original intention of marriage. What did He intend by creating marriage? Look what Jesus said. "Haven't you read that at the beginning, the Creator made them male and female?" We need to go back to the beginning. What did God intend? What God did with Adam and Eve, therefore in Jesus' mind was intended to be a pattern for every marriage that followed. It is the pattern for all marriages, right from the very beginning. At the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. When Jesus says, "For this reason," He's saying, this is a lasting principle for all time. Adam didn't have a father or mother, Eve didn't have a father or mother. These words are inserted in the Genesis narrative, though there were no fathers or mothers at the time, to teach us all, the whole human race about marriage. It's a lasting principle. So foundation number two is what is God's original intent in marriage? Jesus calls God the Creator, the Creator does everything for a purpose. He will argue then that divorce was no part of God's original purpose. Look at Verse 8, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard, but it was not this way from the beginning." Do you see that? He's arguing from original principles. What was God's original intention? And God's original purpose was one man, a male, one woman, a female, coming together in a complete physical union, one flesh for the purpose of filling the earth with His glory, the knowledge of His glory with His image. Genesis 1:27-28, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God, He created him, male and female, He created them, God blessed them, and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it.'" So essential to God's purpose in creation of marriage is procreation or children. He wants children, He wants the birth of little ones. Though it is not God's only purpose in marriage, yet this is why the gender, I think, is mentioned here, male and female. This completely rules out so-called homosexual marriage, which I liken to speaking about a square circle. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Homosexual marriage is nothing, it doesn't exist. God defines marriage and procreation is part of it, right from the very beginning. God wanted children, He wanted lots of children. He wanted lots of human beings who would fill the Earth with the image of His glory, and they would know His glory and worship Him, that was God's purpose. And so, in the covenant marriage relationship from the beginning with a male, a father, and a female, a mother who would train them, at least in part, to get ready for their own future marriages. That was a bad slip there. Not to get rid of them, alright? But rather get them ready for their future marriages, alright? There does come a time that they leave, and they cleave together and they form their own home. And so for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh. This is the precise reason I believe that God hates divorce, it violates His purposes and is therefore violent to the spouse. Listen to Malachi 2:13-16, this is the prophet speaking to sinful Israel centuries down the line, this is what the prophet says, “Another thing you do, you flood the Lord's altar with tears, you weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings, or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask why? Well, it is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her. Though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit, they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. ‘I hate divorce,’ says the Lord God of Israel, ‘and I hate a man covering himself with violence, as well as with his garment,’ says the Lord Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.” Do you see how God equates divorce with violence there? At any rate, to understand marriage, we must go back to God's original intention as related in the Genesis account, and as commented on throughout Scripture. Foundation #3: God’s Action in Marriage Foundation number three is God's direct action in making marriages. Christ says that the Creator physically prepared them for marriage by making them male and female, their physical bodies were well suited for God's purpose in marriage. Parenthetically, some aesthetics within Christian church history have written against any kind of sexual involvement as though it were somehow dirty or unclean. As if it were intrinsically evil, because it is fleshly. The Scripture stands vigorously against their viewpoints. God created marital relations within the context of marriage. That anti-flesh bias is more from philosophy than from the Bible, end of parenthesis there. The creator made them male and female, and then Jesus says, brought them together so the two would become one flesh. It says very plainly in the Genesis account that God made the woman at some remote location, wherever that was, I don't know, and brought her to the man and the two became one flesh. And so, there is a distance between the two when they're single, and then God closes that distance and providentially brings the two together. And so God makes marriages, that's what Jesus is saying here. What God has joined together, let man not separate. That's the third foundation. Foundation #4: The Two Become One Flesh The fourth foundation is that the two become one flesh. What happens in a marriage in God's mind? The union is deep and real. It's not merely a piece of paper as some unbelievers who co-habit together say, "It's just a piece of paper." I've heard them say this to me. Frankly, if it's just a piece of paper, then Satan would behave differently than he does around it. He would behave differently, he would stop tempting Christian kids have relations before they get married, and tempting Christian spouses to stop having relations after marriage. He behaves radically differently after you say "I do". He changes his entire strategy. He doesn't think it's just a piece of paper, because God doesn't think so. So, we are deceived when we think it's just a piece of paper. No, the two become one flesh. God does something very profound, very mystical. Yes, it is physical. The marital bed is pure and undefiled and physical, but God also creates a unity where there was none before. It is so profound that the Apostle Paul likens it to the spiritual unity between Christ and the church, quoting the same Scripture, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery, but I'm talking about Christ and the church, says the Apostle Paul, Ephesians 5:32. Even more amazing, then, Christ's unity with the church is itself a picture of the trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in perfect unity with one another, it's a picture of all human relationships after that. As Jesus prays in John 17:21, "That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, and may they be also be brought to complete unity." So therefore, these are the four foundations, the sufficiency of Scripture, God's purpose at the beginning of marriage and setting marriage up, God's providential actions in forming marriage, and then the unity that He speaks of here, the two become one flesh. The Timeless Answer Those are the foundations, now comes the answer. Christ gives this timeless answer, "Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate." And answer to the treacherous question, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?", the answer is simply and clearly absolutely not. We have no right to undo what God has joined, to rip it apart, separate it, cleave it apart in any way. Because Scripture is God's perfect word to you, because in Scripture God's original intention of marriage is made plain, because God is active directly in marriage from the very beginning and even now is personally involved in making marriages, and because the two become physically, spiritually, mystically one. "Let man not separate what God has joined." Now, there are more questions to ask. Indeed, the Pharisees and the disciples ask more questions, we won't answer them today. God willing, we'll have time next week. We might say, "Of course, this is God's standard and it would be best if all of us followed it, but things happen. Will God still love me? Will He still forgive me? Will He still bless my life if I violate this standard?" Well friends, that's an entirely different question, isn't it? In Jesus' world view, it's somewhat like asking, "How much poison can I drink before I die? How many times can I shoot myself before I bleed to death? If I scoop fire into my lap, will my whole body be burned or only part of it?" Whenever we violate God's standards and go our own separate way, either as individuals or pastors or as a church, there are deep and painful consequences. Now, is the grace of God acting through Jesus Christ sufficient to cover this river of sin? I tell you, yes, in an infinite number of rivers besides. In a single day, Jesus atoned for the sin of the whole land. And that is the glory of the Gospel I preach, that there is forgiveness, that God's grace can put together a broken life, it can put together a broken heart. That God is able to work through second and even third and fourth marriages when the people come to repentance and bring their sin to God and be honest about it, He can establish a new home. God moves on. We'll talk more about that next week. Look at the case of David and Bathsheba and the birth of Solomon. Study it in advance. God moves on. But what if it hasn't happened yet? What if it hasn't happened yet? What does God's grace do for you? Doesn't it behave very strongly with you and tell you, "Don't get a divorce. Work on that marriage."? I have much to say about that, more next week. I just wanna give you a couple of applications and we'll talk more about divorce, remarriage, and how to work on a marriage next time, God willing, but I wanna begin by just urging you to celebrate the gift of marriage. This is a good thing. I think it's so interesting that the Lord says, "It's not good for the man to be alone." The disciples contradict and say, "Well, it's good not to get married." Well, who's right then, God or the disciples? Is it good or not good to get married? I'll go with God. What do you say? It is good to get married, it's a good thing. Now, the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but God comes to give life and give it abundantly. So let's celebrate the goodness of marriage. I think you ought to celebrate, if you're a married couple, celebrate it every day, thank God for your spouse. No, I really mean it, thank God for your spouse. Thank God deeply and richly and fully for your spouse. Thank God for marriage, thank God that He invented it. Thank God for your life together. Thank God for it. Secondly, can I urge you to glorify God in your marriage? Glorify God, let your marriage be a lamp, a light shining in a dark place. Let God put it up on a stand, make it glorious. Go back one sermon to the 10,000 talents, if you need help on forgiveness, but forgive each other, forgive each other deeply and fully and richly and love each other and work on your marriage so that it can be glorious. I have more to say about that next time. Thirdly, I want you to think of divorce as unthinkable. Think of it as unthinkable, don't bring it up when you're having an argument, don't talk about it. It's unthinkable. Again, I wanna talk more about that next time. But just no, the Lord said, no, we're not going there, we're gonna work on the problem, we're gonna work on our communication. We're gonna work on our sin, we're gonna pray for each other, we're gonna love each other, we're gonna fast, we're gonna do whatever it takes, but we're going to work it out. Think of it as unthinkable, I'll say more about that next time. Just like I did with my pro-life sermon a few weeks ago, I just wanna finish with just a word to those of you that have been just deeply hurt by this topic. I hope not un-wrongly hurt by my sermon. I just wanna promise you that the grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient for you. Wisdom of God and the Word is sufficient for you. There is a path ahead from this point forward in which you can live a life completely pleasing to God, and that's a sweet thing, isn't it? God's mercies are new every morning, they're new every moment. If we turn to Him honestly, we seek forgiveness, He will give it. Trust Him for that and pray for me over this next week as I put together what's left of this sermon into something coherent next week, and let's talk some more about this topic then. Close with me in prayer.

Introduction Well, you don't have to know me very long before you find out that Ben-Hur is my favorite movie. And it is my favorite movie, it's a great story. And in that story, it's a historical novel that was written by General Wallace in the 19th century, a picture of redemption, “A Tale of the Christ” is the subtitle in his novel. But in the movie, which most of us have access to and we, many of us, have seen, Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish nobleman, wealthy, a Jewish man, he's got a beloved mother and sister, lives in Jerusalem. And as the movie begins, a boyhood friend who was a Roman, a man at this point, named Messala comes back. He has been made lieutenant governor of Judea, and he returns and the two of them try to rekindle their friendship, but it isn't long before they realize that they have grown apart, they have different ways of looking at life, they have different ways of looking at the world. And when Messala tries to use Judah Ben-Hur as an informant against the zealots among his people, the bitterness starts to set in.They quarrel, they divide, and their friendship comes to an end. But the bitterness just grows and grows throughout the movie. As the new governor enters the city, he rides right below Judah Ben-Hur's house and a stone falls from the roof, it causes the governor's horse to rear. Governor's thrown from his horse, injured seriously, but doesn't die. Soon the Roman soldiers are pounding on Judah Ben-Hur's house, they open the door, and they come in and they arrest Judah and his mother and his sister. Very tense moment. And at that moment, Messala appears. And Judah is immediately relieved and he thinks that this clear mistake and injustice will be dealt with right then, and he makes a direct appeal to his boyhood friend, Messala, to let he and his mother and sister go, because it was just an accident. But this man stands there with a heart of stone and eyes of coal, and says nothing and the three of them are hauled off at that moment. All three are condemned. Mother and sister to languish in the prisons there in Fort Antonia, and Judah Ben-Hur is condemned to row in the slave galleys, leaving from Tyrus. As he's making his way in chains down to the port city of Tyrus, he's about to expire from thirst, and a man just shows up, you never see his face, and as he's lying there on the ground about to die, this man pours water on his face and then lifts his head up and pours water down his throat and revives him, basically gives him life. Well, for three years Judah lives a life, a brutal life of a slave on a galley and with every stroke of the oar he vows vengeance against Messala. And his burning hatred for Messala keeps him alive. Through one circumstance or another he gets freed from being a slave, he ends up becoming the adopted son of a Roman nobleman and makes his way back to Jerusalem, and he has one task, there's only one thing he wants: he wants revenge, he wants vengeance for Messala. He would also like to find his mother and his sister and as he goes and confronts Messala, it turns out that Messala has no idea where they are. And as he sends to find out about them, we come to learn that they have become lepers, and he sends them to be in a leper colony there. One of the climaxes of the movie, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala ride in a chariot race, climactic chariot race and Messala is thrown from his chariot and trampled by his own horses, and it's a mortal wound. And as he lies there dying, Judah Ben-Hur goes to see him and he, just to twist the knife in a little bit deeper, let's Judah know that his mother and his sister are now lepers living in the valley of the lepers. And at that point Judah's hatred intensifies greatly, but Messala dies and now he's just filled with hatred and a yearning for vengeance. And the only avenue he can find for it is to basically take down Rome, if he can. It's a suicidal hatred and vengeance. However, as he's carrying his leper sister into Jerusalem, he sees the same man who years ago had poured water down his throat and saved his life, but now he's carrying a cross up to Calvary, it's Jesus, and their lives intersect at that particular moment and he leaves his mother and sister with a friend and goes and stands there and watches Jesus die. And as he's dying his blood flows down the cross and is carried by the rain water down the streets, and somehow reaches the mother and the sister and they are miraculously cleansed of their leprosy. Judah doesn't know it, but they're cleansed. But something more miraculous happens, something more astonishing. And as he watches Jesus die, he hears Jesus speak these incredible words. “Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing.” He stands there transfixed and soon transformed. He returns to his now healed family and tells them that he too has been healed of his hatred, his unforgiveness, his suicidal thirst for revenge, and the movie ends with Judah's awestruck words, “As I stood there, I felt his voice take the sword from my hands.” It's my prayer today that this sermon, this parable will take the sword of unforgiveness from your hands. I'm convinced that every one of us wields it from time to time, sometimes for years. And I think it's every bit as suicidal as was Judah's against Rome. I think it's a bitter poison that ruins life, ruins marriages, it ruins relationships, it ruins churches. It's bitterness, and Jesus and his love would have us free from it, so he uses a very heavy-handed parable to do it. Because that's what it takes to free us up from that suicidal thirst for vengeance. Unforgiveness is Human, Forgiveness is Divine A World that Delights in Revenge We live in a world that doesn't know anything about forgiveness. It's a world, the lost, the non-Christian world isn't comfortable with the topic of forgiveness. If you ever try to go apologize or seek forgiveness, I mean, genuine forgiveness from a non-Christian, they will cut the conversation off very quickly. They don't know what to do with it, they don't wanna deal with it, and so they just quickly say, “Oh, don't worry about it, it's nothing.” They minimize. They do not deal with it. We live in a world that delights in unforgiveness and in vengeance. Many, many movies these days are focused on the issue of vengeance and the joy in getting revenge on somebody who's hurt you. The Sweet Power of Forgiveness… Even to Enemies But Jesus from the cross teaches us a better way as we've already heard. He didn't just teach in Matthew 5, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” he did it from the cross. “Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing.” By the way, I am convinced that those for whom Jesus prayed are in heaven now. Jesus doesn't throw away words and if they're forgiven, they're forgiven. So, how sweet would it be to see the Roman centurions, and all that party that was around Jesus crucifying him up there in heaven and actually see a little bit of fruit toward the end after Jesus dies when the centurion says, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” There's the fruit of Jesus' prayer, what an effective prayer ministry Jesus has, amen? What a sweet thing it is, but he has shown us the way. Peter’s Question of Accounting: “How Many Times…?” Context: Life in the Church Now, Peter begins this whole conversation with a question of accounting. “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” So he's bringing this question of forgiveness. Now, let's set it in context in Matthew 18. You remember as the chapter opens, the leaders of the church, the apostles are there, and they're having an argument with one another about which of them is the greatest. And Jesus calls a little child and has the little child stand in their midst and says, “I tell you the truth, unless you are converted and become like a little child, you'll not even enter the kingdom of heaven, the essence of the kingdom of heaven is brokenness, humility, meekness, lowliness.” He goes on from there to talk about the danger of sin, because they are going to be the under shepherds, they're gonna be the ones that are caring for the church, and he wants them to know, the real issue isn't which of them is the greatest, but that their ministry is gonna be a ministry of shepherding little ones just like this child concerning sin. So he talks about the danger of sin, he gives a warning to the world because of the things that cause people to sin with that picture of the millstone being hung around the neck. He talks to them personally about the danger of sin. “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one hand or one foot, than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown in the fire of hell.” The great danger of sin. Talks about the ministry, they're going to have as undershepherds and going to look for the one that wanders off. And we do wander off, don't we? And so these undershepherds shouldn't be bickering and arguing about which of them is the greatest, they should go look for the wandering sheep. That's their ministry. Then Jesus gives us this whole issue of dealing with sin in the church, which we took three weeks to look at, and if your brother sins against you, then go and reprove him or rebuke him, show him his sin, just between the two of you. And so we ran through that whole issue concerning church discipline, even to the point of verse 17, “if he refuses to listen and even to the church, then treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” Verses 18-20 speak clearly about the church's rights and responsibilities in dealing with sin. “Whatever you bind on earth to be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth to be loosed in heaven,” and talks about the need we have to pray for one another. “So if you agree about anything you ask for it will be given to you, for where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” So, he's just dealing with the issue of sin all the way through this chapter. Issue Here: Forgiving other Christians And so, therefore, Peter's question is quite reasonable. Now, how many times shall I forgive my brother? Let's say we go through the whole church discipline pattern and the brother repents and comes back, but then he falls back into sin again. Now, how many times are you gonna go through that? Up to seven times? So that's how he asks. Now, I believe that the context here isn't so much that of forgiving enemies and unbelievers outside of the church. He says, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?” But I think that there are principles that go and extend even beyond the walls of the church, but let's focus on the issue of forgiveness within the church, forgiving other Christians. I think that's the focal point here, an in-house, a family matter about forgiving other Christians. Although, I do think we can extend it even to enemies as we've already seen. A Question of Accounting: How Many Times??? And so, we have this issue of accounting. How many times shall I forgive him? And he gives a recommendation. “Up to seven times?” he says. Now in this, I think almost certainly Peter felt he was going above and beyond the call of duty. In his day Jewish Rabbis limited forgiveness to three times. I think they use references from the Book of Amos in this; Rabbis took statements that God makes about sinning nations in Amos 1:3, eight times we have this kind of thing, but Amos 1:3 says, “For three sins of Damascus and even for four, I will not turn back my words.” So the rabbis zeroed in on this, and one rabbi said, “He who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than three times.” So that's three strikes and you’re out long before baseball was invented. So also another rabbi said this, “If a man commits an offense once, forgive him, if he commits an offense the second time, they forgive him, if he commits an offense a third time, they forgive him. The fourth time, they do not forgive him.” So, that's pretty solid teaching from the rabbis, three times. Now, what's going on with Peter? Well, I think that Peter has been watching Jesus' sweet, merciful, loving ministry for all of these years, and he knows that three times just can't be enough. He's seen Jesus be gracious to tax collectors and prostitutes, he's seen Jesus be gracious to his own enemies who are trying to kill him. We've seen him be gracious to Pharisees and Sadducees and lepers, and it's just a river of grace and mercy and so, he says, “Well, we've gotta up the ante. Maybe double it and add one,” okay? How about seven times, up to seven times, is that good enough? But Peter is still thinking like a man does. He's thinking in the ordinary human way, of forgiveness measured in the ordinary way, and by ordinary human accounting techniques. Imagine keeping a tally sheet saying, alright, you're up to four times now. More than half way here, you only have three left. Use them well. That kind of thing. This is just human arithmetic, and we know from 1 Corinthians 13, it says, “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” And so, Christ wants to expand Peter's heart and mind and takes him to the infinitude of God's forgiveness of us as sinners. Based on that, commands us to forgive freely from the heart. He gives an overwhelming and a stunning answer in this parable of the 10,000 talents. Christ’s Stunning Answer, and Overwhelming Parable Christ’s Stunning Answer: There is No Limit!! And basically, the answer I get is, there is no limit, there's no limit. Jesus says in verse 22, “I do not say to you seven times, but 70 times seven.” 70 times seven. The Greek, definitely, I think tends not merely to 77 times as the NIV gives us, but 70 times seven as we have in the King James, New American, RSV, and ESV. So you're up to 490 times, if you're still wanting to keep a record, okay? But that's for everybody. So you can imagine carrying around the record books, okay? You gotta keep a record, and if you have a large family, you need a lot of books. And if you're in a church, you need even more books, you need a wagon full of books for 490 times. You're up to 280, we've got 210 left. It's ridiculous. Clearly, he's pointing to open-ended, unlimited forgiveness. That's what he's doing. The Parable of the Ten Thousand Talents And he gives us the Parable of the 10,000 talents, it's a shocking parable. And I think, as I looked at it, there are four real shockers in it, four real stunning aspects of this parable. First of all, the size, the magnitude of the servant's debt, it's really stunning, 10,000 talents, we'll talk more about in a moment. Secondly, the unconditional forgiveness by the judge that he just at a word forgives it all. Just out of mercy, forgives it all, that's stunning to me. Thirdly, the unforgiveness of the servant after that is stunning, really is the central stunner. Jesus is meaning for us to be shocked by it. It's really stunning. And then the final fate of the servant. He gets handed back over to the jailer to be tortured until he should pay back the original debt. Stunning and with theological implications and difficulties. We have four shocking aspects of this parable. So, let's go at it verse-by-verse. He starts the parable in a common way, he says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like...” At the center of this kingdom is a king, and so therefore, as in all of his parables he wants you to come face-to-face with the king. Understand who the king is. And so, there was a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. So we have the first act of this three-act drama. Okay, the first act is the trial before the king or the accounting, let's say, we'll call it an accounting before the king. All servants are accountable to the king. In the ancient world, the king's authority was absolute. And he was your king and your life was in his hands. Every subject of the kingdom was under his dominion and everyone was accountable to him. And so, look at verse 24. “As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him.” It is essential for you as a Christian to see yourself in this light. I am a servant of the king and some day I will stand before him and give him an account. So, this servant who's called in is probably, I think, a high ranking official, perhaps even a nobleman, very high in the kingdom. How else would he come into such a huge debt? And so, he's an important official in the kingdom, but he's still accountable to the master. He must give an account for everything that he's done. Now this man's debt is astounding, 10,000 talents. Let's try to understand that. It's really an overwhelming debt beyond pretty much, I think, beyond calculation, let's calculate anyway. Bear with my engineering heart for just a moment. A talent was anywhere from 52 to 83 pounds, generally taken to be 75 pounds. So you have 750,000 pounds of some precious metal, generally gold. So let's go with gold, since the tendency of this parable is toward the extreme anyway, so it's 750,000 pounds of gold. Simply doing the math that I didn't check the market this week, I don't know, but let's go with market prices from a week or two ago. You've got $12,400 per pound times 750,000 pounds. So that's $9.3 billion, that's a lot of money. Imagine owing $9.3 billion. But let's go beyond that. Information from the ancient tax record of the time shows that Roman provinces of Jumia, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, the income from those four provinces was around 900 talents annually. This man owed 11 years of taxes from four regions of the Roman world. Or again, if that's not good enough for you, how about this? The amount of gold that Solomon used to build his temple was just over 8,000 talents, this guy owed 25% more than the amount of gold Solomon used to build his temple. Solomon in his heyday was taking in 666 talents of gold every year, that means Solomon would have to save up all his gold for 15 years to pay it off. This man wasn't Solomon, this man is in deep trouble. And even beyond that, the Greek word for 10,000 is related to the word for “myriad.” So, if you can just say, forget the calculation, he owed an incalculable debt. One might even say infinite. Now this man is in deep trouble. It's hard to imagine how any individual could amass such a debt as that. He is unable to pay, one of the great understatements in the entire New Testament. Unable to pay and the king orders that he and his wife, and his children and all that he has be sold to pay the debt. Now, it's not gonna pay it off. I don't care if he and his wife and all his children work the rest of their lives, it will not add up to that kind of sum. It really is just a punishment. Immediately the servant falls on his face before the king and pleads with him. “Be patient with me,” he says, “and I will pay back everything.” Now this is amazing, it's astonishing, there's no way he can repay this. Solomon himself couldn't have repaid if he saved everything he had for 15 years, and so the king is moved by compassion and pity for this man in this situation. He makes a shocking pronouncement. In verse 27, “The servant's master took pity on him, cancelled the debt, and let him go.” Just like that, just like that, all that money is gone. Now we know the parable of the prodigal son, it's the father that's prodigal, it's the king that's prodigal. All of that forgiven, just like that, forgiven. Oh, how lavish, and how generous is God. I know we're in the middle of a parable, but I can't stay there that we could owe that much to God and he can just forgive it like that. By simple faith in Jesus, our sins can all be forgiven, it's so astonishing. Oh, how much God deserves our praise and thanks and worship and adoration that our debt has been forgiven just like that by the mercy of God. We'll talk more on that later. So the servant walks out of the king's throne room a free man, he doesn't owe anybody anything. So now we come to act two of this drama, “He finds another servant who owes him 100 denarii. He grabs him and begins to choke him, ‘Pay back what you owe me.’ The fellow servant falls on his knees and begs him, ‘Be patient with me and I'll pay you back.’ But he refused, instead he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.” Now, this is a repugnant scene almost beyond imagination. You're supposed to feel a sense of revulsion, like, let's say David did with Nathan, when Nathan came and told the story about a man who took somebody else's sheep and killed it. You're supposed to feel disgusted, but then Jesus says, you are the man, you are the woman. This is who you are when you won't forgive. It's a disgusting story really. He finds his servant and he begins to choke him, just one of his fellow servants. The Greek gives a strong sense of equality before the king, they're on a par, they're just servants of the king, and he begins to choke him. Now, this man owes him 100 denarii, it is a mistake to minimize that sum, it's a mistake. Because you'll then forget or think improperly about this parable and not understand what's going on. A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer. So you work all day long, you get one denarius. This man owed about a third of a year's wage for a laborer. So in our day and age it might be somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000. So let's say $15,000, it's wrong to look on it as pocket change, a buck 98 or something like that. It's not that, it's maybe $15,000. And imagine, somebody owed you $15,000 and he's not gonna pay you back. It would be upsetting to you. If you minimize the 100 denarii, then you'll also think the parable doesn't have anything to do with this situation in your life or that situation or the other. These are very serious things. That was a minor thing. No, it's a significant sum, but it is nothing compared to the sum that the king forgave the servant. That's the point. As significant as you think it is, it's still nothing compared to what the King has forgiven in your case. That's the whole point. So, he begins to choke him and, as though he's gonna kill him, something like a collection thug for a mafia racket, he's gonna break both his legs. And what happens next is really quite striking. The servant falls on his knees before him and says, “Be patient with me and I'll pay you back.” Does that sound familiar? It should, it should have sounded familiar to the servant who's choking him. That's exactly what he had done before the king. But the difference is, this man refuses, instead he has the man thrown into prison till he should pay back everything he owes. So now we come to act three of this drama, act three. The other servants are shocked at what they saw, and they go to the king and they tell the king everything that happened. The king is enraged, and he calls that servant back in. “‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to, shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’” Now, the English word “should” gives a sense of moral imperative. You owe this, you ought to do this, you're in some kind of an obligation. You're in some kind of debt to the king. There's a sense of moral obligation here. Hence the title of my sermon. Title of the sermon is the doctrine of the sermon and that is this: “Forgiven Sinners Owe Forgiveness to Other Sinners.” That's the doctrine. Forgiven sinners owe forgiveness to other sinners. And God will hold you accountable for that. Now, the servant says nothing in act three. There's nothing to say. He is there under the power of the king to hear the king's sentence over him, and there's nothing he can do about it. Verse 34, “In anger, his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed.” Now, there is an open question as to whether the servant is now back under the original debt again, the 10,000 talents and it brings us into the theological question of is this a picture of our own salvation with God, down to theological details, like justification by faith, apart from works of the law? And how do we deal with that? Do we go in and out of indebtedness with God, justified one day, not justified the next, back justified again, based on how well we forgive? It cannot be friends. Justification is a timeless, a once for all declaration by Almighty God that you have been forgiven of all debts, past, present and future. Well, how do you line that up with this parable? I think what's going on here is that Jesus is telling this parable to say, if you don't forgive, you haven't been forgiven. You're not forgiven. You're still under the debt and you always were. And so, if you live a life of unforgiveness, you're not saved, you're not justified, you're not regenerated. No, Christians pay attention to this parable. We take the warning, and we live a life of forgiveness, and we hunt down on forgiveness in our hearts, we hunt it down and we kill it as the murderer of our own souls that it is. That's I think what Jesus is saying here. Christ’s Final Warning So he gives a final warning, verse 35, “This is how my Heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Now, some may feel that this parable is quite heavy-handed on Jesus' part. Somewhat like he's taking our arm and twisting it behind our back saying, 10,000 talents, you must forgive everyone else, but the phrase from the heart removes that vision or that image. We should be glad to forgive, we should be delighted to forgive. We should be delighted to be free from bitterness friends, we don't have to walk around hunting people down who owe us things. We can forgive readily, we can forgive quickly, we can live a clear free life. I liken it to, in the Book of Genesis, Jacob talks about the anger of his sons who murdered a whole village because they defiled the sister. And at the end of life, when he's blessing each of the tribes, he talks about the anger and how it has clouded the hearts, their lives are clouded with hatred and anger. I don't want a heart that's clouded, do you? I wanna be like clear mountain water, you know, you scoop it up and you look through a clean glass and it's just as clear as crystal, and the glory of God can shine through it. We should be glad to forgive. Not grudging about it, delighted to forgive. You know what the key is? The key is the 10,000 talents and the master's pity on you. That's where it comes from. You want power to forgive, go there and work on yourself until you believe the 10,000 talents. You're probably up to 180 talents right now, okay? Alright, alright, I owed God 180 talents. No, you didn't 10,000. No, not quite. Alright, maybe 800. Well just keep working on it, keep thinking, keep praying and little by little, you'll start to see the greatness and the magnitude of God's forgiveness for you in Jesus Christ. And all that you've been forgiven. Now, I know in this life, you will not come to the full measure. The psalmist says, “I praise the Lord for his salvation every day, though I know not its measure.” You'll find out on Judgment Day, you'll see it. When you see the holy God sitting there on the throne, and you see your life properly and you will see it, then you will be filled with joy and tears of gratitude to Jesus for all he forgave in your case. Right now just take the 10,000 talents on faith, alright? Take the 10,000 talents that you owed God an infinite debt, start there and it will make you a happy forgiver, and you will be glad to forgive anyone else. Lessons and Implications from the 10,000 Talents God is a King, and We are All His Slaves, Accountable to Him So, what are the lessons and implications from this parable? Number one, God is a king; we are all his slaves accountable to him for everything in our lives. Lesson number one. God Has an Accurate Record of All of our Sins Lesson number two, God has an accurate record of all of your sins and mine. Our Sins Are Infinite in His Sight Lesson number three, naturally, our sins are infinite in his sight, an incalculable debt. God is Willing to Cancel our Infinite Debt Number four, God is willing to cancel our infinite debt. How is that, friends? How can it be? Well, let me just pause and tell you about Jesus. Not the parable teller alone here, but the one who actually pays the 10,000 talents, and not for one individual, but for a countless multitude from every tribe and language and people and nation. Millions and million strong. You can't do the math. And he did it in one afternoon in the shedding of his blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. He shed his blood. “Father forgive them, Father forgive them,” that's what the blood cries. And if you're a sinner here today and you owe God that 10,000 talents, you have never accepted Jesus' forgiveness, you are in an infinity of trouble, and you face eternity in hell. That's the measure of the infinite debt, eternity in hell, that's how I know it's an infinite debt. But the good news of the Gospel is that, if you just fall on your knees and before the king in the name of Jesus say, forgive me. Oh, let's your blood be for me. Let your salvation be for me that he'll save you. But when you get up from that, he's gonna say, you owe every other sinner you ever meet the rest of your life, you owe them free full forgiveness. Deal? And he only says it 'cause he loves us, 'cause it's right. Others’ Sins Against Us Make them Our Debtors And so, lesson five, yes, other's sins against us, make them our debtors. They do owe us 100 denarii, it's a good chunk of money. But let's not forget, there's other horizontal things going on, like, you owe somebody else 100 denarii, multiplied by more times than you wanna hear about, right? So yes, they owe you. You also owe a bunch of other people too, and probably them as well. It's just debt all around, because there's just so much sin, alright? We Have a Powerful Tendency Not to Forgive Those Debts Lesson number six, we have a powerful tendency not to forgive those horizontal debts. There's something that just rankles us about it and we don't want to do it. We are in effect playing god with a little g. And how much of a lesser God are we than he. He's so gracious, so merciful and loving and we just will not forgive. We say no. Send them to prison, playing little God, that's what we're doing. If God Cancels Our Debts, We Owe Him to Forgive Others’ Debts Seventh, if God cancels our debts, we owe it to him to cancel other people's debts. If We Don’t Forgive At All, We Have None of Our Sins Forgiven Lesson number eight, if we don't forgive at all, we have none of our sins forgiven in God's sight, and we will go to hell. If We Don’t Forgive Specific Sins, We Will Have a Diminished Relationship with God Number nine, if we don't forgive specific sins or have difficulty forgiving sins, are slow to forgive, sluggish in some way, our relationship with the king is thereby hindered. Forgiveness Must be “From the Heart” And tenth, forgiveness, if it's genuine, must be from the heart. Those are the 10 lessons I got out of it. You might be able to get 10 more. But let me take all those lessons in this parable, and apply them specifically to this church. Practical Applications Have YOUR Sins Been Forgiven? First of all, I just wanna ask, have your sins been forgiven? Have you come to the cross? Have you trusted in Jesus? Don't walk out of here with that 10,000 talent debt, trust in Jesus. Are You a Forgiving Person? Secondly, I wanna ask you this question, are you a forgiving person? Are you characterized by forgiveness, is that who you are? Would your spouse say that about you, would your children say that about you? Would your parents say that about you? Your friends? Are you generally, freely, and graciously a forgiving person? The implications of this parable is that those who have been forgiven much, love much and those who've been forgiven much, forgive much freely. If you don't forgive readily, there's a clear implication you may not be saved yourself or if you are, then you have some specific sin problems. Let's look at two of them. Pride for example. You make too much about yourself, you think too much about yourself. Well, you don't know what it's like, you don't know what happened. Well, tell me what happened. Well, it was a family reunion, and my brother made a joke about me, everybody laughed, I laughed too, but it wasn't funny. And every time I get a Christmas card or something or a phone call from him, I remember. Friend, you're making too much of yourself. You are not the center of the universe. Your reputation is not as important as you think it is, and so, you have a pride problem. Secondly, you probably have a power problem, you know why? Because when you don't forgive, you're in charge. Everybody's gotta walk on eggshells around you, they gotta come kowtowing to you and ask for things from you. And it's kinda a good feeling, you know, you'll kinda be in charge, it's a power play. Friends, it's disgusting. And the sad thing is, all of us have the pride and the power, all of us, that's why we don't forgive. I think the cross of Jesus Christ is a remedy, don't you? Stand before it and be free, be free of pride. The cross is designed to humble you, and me too. Be free of it, be free of power, give it to Jesus, he's the king, not you. Just let him be God, let him forgive. Is There Anyone You Haven’t Forgiven? Third thing I wanna ask is, is there anyone you haven't forgiven? Think right now, just think in your mind, is there somebody you haven't forgiven? Did somebody pop in your mind? That person you're thinking about right now, you haven't forgiven them probably. If a lot of people are popping in your mind, you have a lot of work to do. It's spring cleaning day here at First Baptist Church, you have a lot of work to do. Search the Realms of Life for People to Forgive You have to find out who you haven't forgiven. Let me help you, let me help you think. Let's start at home. Let's start with the husband and wife relationship. Husbands, have your wives sinned against you? If they haven't sinned against you, you're newlyweds, you've been married for one second, okay? And even then, I'm not sure, you know, there are moments. I actually saw a YouTube of a bridegroom as he was taking a vow, taking a cellphone call right there. I couldn't believe it. I think if I'd been the pastor, I would have stopped it and said get another man, okay, you need more counseling. Alright? He took the call, he took the call. They probably had years of counseling ahead of them after that, okay? He took the call. Well, at any rate, husbands and wives, have your wives sinned against you, husbands? Forgive, forgive. Wives, if your husbands sinned against you, you need to forgive them, Jesus is saying so. And it pollutes your marriage, it pollutes your parenting, it pollutes everything, if you're holding on to old memories of things that happened in the past. What about parents and children? Staying at home now, we're still at home. We've got growing children, we've got teens at home. We've got children age 8 to 10, whatever. Even at that early age there can already be issues of bitterness and forgiveness. Parents can be bitter towards their own children. Children can be bitter towards their parents and think that they're not parenting them well. Siblings horizontally, brother to brother, brother to sister, sister to sister, sister to brother. Is there unforgiveness going on? Is there anything you need to forgive? Are there incidents? They borrowed your outfit and didn't ask, and then stained it and now you can't wear it, it was your favorite. Forgive. Whatever it is, forgive. Let's move out to extended family. Let's talk about grown children with aged parents. There is all kinds of room for bitterness and unforgiveness in that kind of a relationship. The aged parents might be bitter toward their children because they neglect them. They don't call enough, they don't show enough care, enough concern, enough consideration. It may all be true, again, 100 denarii is a lot of money. It's a lot of money. And they should be honoring, they should be loving, they should be doing more than they are. It's true, but you still need to forgive. Grown children of parents. Maybe your parents put some habits into you or showed some bad examples that you're fighting even now, maybe you remember some abuse, you remember perhaps some alcohol problems or some other things, and there's just bitterness in your heart towards your elderly parents, maybe that's why you neglect them. You still need to forgive. Extend it out to grown siblings. Brother with brother, brother to sister, sister to sister, sister to brother. Bitterness, unforgiveness, things that were said, things that should have been done. How about the church? That's a home base of this parable. Let's start with the elder/pastor and church member relationship, okay? There are no perfect elders, no perfect pastors. The sins that pastors hear the most about generally are sins of omission, not sins of commission. Things that the church thinks the pastors should have done. They probably should have done them. They're not perfect men. You need to forgive anyway. Give up on the bitterness, it doesn't help you. And elders need to give up on bitterness against church members as well. Things that were done and said and that hurt, and they're painful. Which people showed a lack of understanding and spoke out of ignorance, words of judgmentalism, needs to be forgiven. How about horizontally, church member to church member? Do you know what I'm talking about? Are there any issues, any unforgiven debts, I mean, things that were said, things that were done, hurtful things sometimes years or even a decade old or more? Extend it out to the world. Christian or non-Christian alike. You may have a boss that is, you don't even know what he's like. Forgive him, forgive him. Ken Sande, Peacemaker Ken Sande has written a book called Peacemaker. I think we ordered maybe 10 or 15 of them. They're in the resource center. This is the best book on reconciliation and dealing with problems in relationships, conflict resolution that I've ever seen. Very thorough, very well written. I urge you to get it. He's actually written a number of books along the peacemaker line. This is the main volume, but there's also Young Peacemaker, peacemaker for children and then other different books, and we've got some of them there. I would urge you to get it. But the children's version stuck with me more than any other. He defines forgiveness in four easy to remember terms, and I've never forgotten and I wanna give it to you. “Good thought, hurt you not, gossip never, friends forever.” When those four things happen, you've forgiven somebody. Good thought. I'm not gonna harbor bitterness, and have bad thoughts in my heart toward that person. I'm done with it. I wanna be clear as a mountain stream, I wanna be clear of it. I will not think dark thoughts about that person anymore. Good thought. Hurt you not. I'm not going to go on some kind of rearguard action or a covert operation in the middle of the night with my face black and trying to hurt this person. That's what Christians do. I mean, it's covert operation. A little bit of, and you know how to do it, you know how to play the game or hurt somebody without people knowing, that's what you're doing. Give it up, don't hurt them, bless them, seek to bless, seek to love, to lavish. Good thought, hurt you not, gossip never. You know what we do, we start getting some allies together. Tell the story, tell it again, tell it a third time. By the way, every time you tell it, you look sweeter, and purer and more like, light, sunlight and they look darker and more evil and it's really frankly not hard to rally allies when you do that kinda thing. Friends, it's gossip, and it's sin, and you make a commitment, I am just not going to tell this story to people, I'm not gonna say anything, I'm not gonna gossip. Gossip never. And this fourth one, the sweetest of all: friends forever. Look forward to spending eternity in heaven with that person. Think about it, pray for it, and then make it as much like that here on earth as you possibly can. Good thought, hurt you not, gossip never, friends forever. Three Key Questions on Forgiveness I wanna finish with a couple of questions on forgiveness and will be done. Should I forgive somebody who hasn't asked forgiveness and doesn't think they need it? What should I do about that? Well, in the context here, if your brother sins against you, go and reprove him, work with him. Bring him to repentance. There is a point in that. But suppose they don't think they've done anything, should you still forgive them? The answer is absolutely yes. Forgiveness is something you do in your own heart, to free you from bitterness. Suppose the person is dead, are you then jailed to bitterness the rest of your life, a dead parent or whatever? No, you're not. You're able to forgive, even if they never came to you and asked for it. Yes, you can forgive and you ought to, even if they don't ever ask for it. Now, you should labor that they ask for their good, that they could be reconciled, that they could walk, but you don't need it, that's the whole point, you're free already. Secondly, what about repeat offenders, what if they keep coming back and coming back? Well, I think we're back at the beginning of the sermon, aren't we? Isn’t that what Peter said, “How many times shall I forgive my…” Alright, you guys have up to 490 times, okay, so that you forgive up to 490. The point is, as many as often as they need it. And third and most poignantly, what about my memories? What about my memories? Let's talk about a very serious sin, like adultery in a relationship, the husband and wife, the offended person wants to continue in the relationship, wants to cover the sin, but they ask this poignant question, “What do I do with my memories?” Well, one of the things, the key things that I've learned about atonement is that God doesn't actually remove the sin as though it never happened. Why? Because he knows it did, he's not writing an alternate universe history in which it never happened. What he does is, he covers it in something more precious. That's the language that's used of atonement. It is the day of covering. And so it says, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are” what? “covered.” That's what you do for others. Cover the memory, cover it with the blood of Christ, cover with the grace and the mercy of God. Cover it, cover it, cover it, and as often as it pokes back up, cover it again, cover it until it doesn't need covering anymore. Cover it forever. Pretty soon there's gonna be a Bible for Life class, elective class on the need, reality, and power of forgiveness, Dr. Bob Hatch is gonna teach it. I urge you, if you can get away, to come and listen. This could be an issue for you. Close with me in prayer.

We read about this issue TWICE in synagogue this past Sabbath...It could not be clearer...Just look at the penalty...Just look at the list of abominations and sins that male homosexual acts are included in...Yet two out of the three Conservative Jewish Rabbinical Institutes are accepting homosexuals for ordination...Also...The mainstream Arab Israeli political party declares "Hizbullah is NOT our enemy"...Can these people be considered complete citizens of Israel?...I don't think so...All this and more on "The Marty Roberts Show"...

We'll take a look at Jewish Rabbis, Ozzie Guillen's use of the word faggot and Steele's Friend's Wife stops by to tell us about a fat guy she met.