Podcasts about master jesus christ

Delivered by Bella from the Parish of Kristus Raja in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Exodus 12: 1-8.11-14; Rs psalm 116: 12-13.15-16bc.17-18; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15MEANINGFUL HOLY THURSDAY Our meditation today is entitled: Meaningful HolyThursday. The Thursday in the Holy Week is called also “White Thursday” becauseobviously white is the color of the liturgical tools and clothing in today'scelebration. This color symbolizes joy and celebration. Today's celebrationcenters on Jesus Christ with its emphasis on Jesus' actions that manifestglory, joy, power and feast.  In this celebration there is a ceremony where Jesuswashes the feet of His apostles. This act of Jesus teaches us to serve oneanother with humility. This is a great joy. The atmosphere of joy and glory oflove among us can be revealed through mutual services. So Jesus says that weshould love one another as He Himself has loved us. He teaches us that Hisgreatest commandment is to love our neighbors. The Lord exists in our neigboursand fellow brothers and sisters.  The celebration of the evening reminds us of theEucharist, the great sacrifice of the holy Mass ordained by Jesus Christ. Wordsand deeds of love are indeed the manifestation of joy and the presence of theglory of God. The celebration of the Eucharist is definitely the joy of theincarnation of God's word to become His own body that we share together as one holyChurch. Along with the Eucharist, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of thePriesthood. This is an important joy for the entire Church because this Priesthoodis to minister the Eucharistic celebration in the Church. The priesthood is toexercise the power of the Lord to lead the Church and bring her members to thelight and truth of the Lord Himself.  In this celebration we also remember the criticalmoments of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the sweat of His blood are flowingand dripping to bring Him to the glory of the cross that is already soon to becelebrated. The atmosphere of Gethsemane describes the trials and difficultiesthat make this life uncomfortable and insecure. But like God Himself, we mustpass through it with confidence. Between Gethsemane and Golgotha are the crucialmoments called the threshold of sufferings. Usually temptation always comeswith the intention of leading us away from bitter reality, as shown in Jesus'own expression: Father, let this cup be taken away from me. But we must followour Master Jesus Christ to overcome that temptation, and to be willing to drinkthe cup of suffering. This is truly our joy. On this morning in general, the Diocesan Bishoptogether with his priests celebrate the Chrism Mass. In this feast, the Bishopblesses the holy oils, namely oil for chrism, oil for catechuments, and oil foranointing the sick. These three kinds of oil are the tools in the priesthood orderto minister the sacraments to God's people. Let us pray. In the name of the Father... Lord Jesus Christ,strengthen our faith to remain faithful to the Eucharist as the means of oursalvation. Our Father who art in heaven... In the name of the Father ...

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in the Diocese of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Genesis 37: 3-4.12-13a.17b-28; Rs psalm 105: 16-17.18-19.20-21; Matthew 21: 33-43.45-46MESSENGER Our meditation today has the theme: Messenger. Theterm "messenger" is attached to the Lord God who works to create allthings. After creation the first human beings, God sent and placed them in theworld. They were given a number of responsibilities. This sending out continuesto be made to the selected figures including Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Johnthe Baptist, and of course the greatest one certainly the Lord Jesus Christ,who were equipped with tasks that they must do. The messengers are basically askedto be responsible to God. The opponent of this sending out messenger is an evil ornegative agenda to send the chosen ones to carry out the plan of destruction ordeath. If the Lord sends the heavenly angels, the Church sends hermissionaries, the state sends its ambassadors or consuls, the community orcompany sends its managers or representatives; every attempt of evil and crimealso sends its representatives. A narcotics trafficking boss, for example, senthis men to trade drug elements, to be very well organized in the plan andsystem of the trade. He must be a great personality and so much feared by hismembers. Our common knowledge reveals that if God is omnipotentin sending his messengers, the rulers of evil also compete to send their bestpeople. If there is the Archangel Michael who is tasked to fight against Satan,there is also the greatest angel of Satan to keep up with the great armyMichael. This means that every time Satan and his messengers are so eager to finda flaw in God's messengers to deceive them and eventually master them. Ourreadings today describe the perfect state of the messengers, that is, they arethe trusted choice of the leader, ruler, father and God.  Joseph, the beloved son of the father Jacob, was sent tobe among his brothers who were very hostile to him because of their envy. The messengersof the master of vineyard were also sent out to the field. Those sent were hisconfidants, and even his own biological son to be his heir. All of thesemessengers are the best and most trustworthy, but Satan's power and evil act alsoseek to disturb and control them. This situation actually describes also our actuallife situation today. We are all together with our Master Jesus Christ becomemessengers of the heavenly Father, we carry out a mission to bring salvation ofthe world and all mankind. Jesus is the best model of sacrifice of the messengerof the Father. Salvation is the main duty to be realized. Each of us is thechosen and trusted messenger to continue the mission of Christ. We must be readyfor all the risks that come our way and threaten us. Every decision basically hasrisks. Let us pray. In the name of the Father... O Jesus, strengthenus with Your power so that we can be Your best messengers. Hail Mary full ofgrace ... In the name of the Father...

In the first week of our Abide series, we explore what it means to have true fellowship with Christ and walk in the light. Beginning with 1 John 1:1-10, we see the foundational truth that Jesus is the eternal Word, the one who was from the beginning (John 1:1-5, Genesis 1:1). The call to abide in Him is a call to repentance, as Martin Luther famously said, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said 'Repent,' he meant that the entire life of believers should be repentance." Join us as we dive into the beauty of confession, forgiveness, and the joy of abiding in Christ.For more information about Integrity Church, visit our website, http://liveintegritychurch.org Connect with us on social media throughout the week to stay up to date on events and things happening at Integrity! Instagram: @integrity_church Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liveintegrity/

This week we will be celebrating the Reformation, as well as concluding our series on David, studying 2 Samuel 12:1-25 under the theme “The Repentant Will Be Reconciled.” The first of Martin Luther's famous 95 Theses states: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Contrary to what this world thinks about progress or self-image, by God's design, the path forward for humanity is always in humbling ourselves before a holy, gracious Lord. This week we'll see how David experiences new life in repentance, but also how the prophet Nathan skillfully addresses sin in the life of a man he loved. SERIES SUMMARY: The life of David is the single longest narrative in all of ancient literature of a single human life. Dramatically packed with scandal, betrayal, murder, and redemption, it may or may not surprise readers that David is one of Scripture's most relatable characters. Much like our lives; however, David's narrative is less about David and more about the one to whom David points. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠How can we pray for you? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We want to know more about you! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fill out our online connection card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If you'd like to leave an offering or monetary donation to our ministry please click here.

This week we will be celebrating the Reformation, as well as concluding our series on David, studying 2 Samuel 12:1-25 under the theme “The Repentant Will Be Reconciled.” The first of Martin Luther's famous 95 Theses states: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Contrary to what this world thinks about progress or self-image, by God's design, the path forward for humanity is always in humbling ourselves before a holy, gracious Lord. This week we'll see how David experiences new life in repentance, but also how the prophet Nathan skillfully addresses sin in the life of a man he loved. SERIES SUMMARY: The life of David is the single longest narrative in all of ancient literature of a single human life. Dramatically packed with scandal, betrayal, murder, and redemption, it may or may not surprise readers that David is one of Scripture's most relatable characters. Much like our lives; however, David's narrative is less about David and more about the one to whom David points. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠How can we pray for you? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We want to know more about you! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fill out our online connection card!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If you'd like to leave an offering or monetary donation to our ministry please click here.

Money is a part of life, there's no getting around it. However, many of us either unknowingly or willingly fall into the trap of serving money above our Master Jesus Christ. This while thinking we're pursuing true happiness! Will we use our resources as a tool to draw ourselves and other people near to Jesus, the treasure of treasures? Connect: https://www.wellspringcc.org/connectOnline Giving: https://www.wellspringcc.org/giving About Wellspring: https://www.wellspringcc.org/about CCLI Copyright License # 1194988CCLI Streaming License # 20224379

Anything you cherish in this life counts your contribution and obedience as worthy! Jesus Christ said ; anyone who does not follow Him is not worthy of Him!! let's do all we can to follow diligently our Lord and Master Jesus Christ......

SCRIPTURAL WARNING & EXHORTATION: LUKE 15, LUKE 16, MATTHEW 25 Who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. REV. 2:7 PLEASE ALWAYS READ THIS INFO BOX WHEN YOU VISIT TMVP BLOG. #teaching #church #bible WWW.THE-MASTERS-VOICE.COM Welcome to The Master's Voice End Time Prophecy Blog: (Hear the words of the Lord). Today's Word: Separation is already underway in the world and in the Body of Christ. Belief systems, "preferences" and wayward teaching lacking TRUTH & DISCIPLINE has produced a Church choking on pig pods, but the problem is many prefer pods to real food. Do not be one carried away to fables in these last days, our Master Jesus Christ is coming swiftly with a reward for His faithful and a sorrowing punishment for the wicked. Therefore, seek Wisdom (Proverbs 8) while she is still available, for the darkness of confusion and a love of lies will cover the whole earth, leaving only a few bright lights to await the Bridegroom. HE WHO HAS AN EAR, HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES. Rev. 2:7 PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: If you'd like to support this work, it is appreciated. Kindly use PayPal or email me for other options at mastersvoice@mail.com, and *please* give me some time to reply. If using PayPal PLEASE DO NOT send any gift with "Purchase Protection". I have an ordinary PayPal account not a seller marketplace, so please do not damage my account by using purchase protection on your donation (as if I were making a sale to you). If you are not sure especially if you sent in the past, please check the format of your gift on the PP receipt before sending. It is a freewill offering, I am not selling goods or services. Please use *only* "Friends & Family" sending option. If you're outside the USA please DO NOT use PayPal, contact me instead at the email listed here & allow me a good window to respond. Thank you, God bless. PayPal ------- mastersvoice@mail.com.

The very first of Martin Luther's 95 theses was: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent' (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance”. They begin, continue and end their life of faith here on earth with repentance. - Martin Luther

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord with all your graces now outpoured. Amen. Christians celebrate three major festivals. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birth. Easter is the celebration of Jesus's resurrection. Today's festival is Pentecost. It doesn't get the hype that the other two get. Christians usually have a good grasp of the importance of Christmas and Easter; less so with Pentecost. So today we will speak about the importance of Pentecost, but before that we should speak about what happened. We will begin with Good Friday and Easter. Jesus's death on Good Friday and his Resurrection on Easter changed everything. Jesus died for sin and was raised with power. The Gospels describe how things were with Jesus after the resurrection, and things were a bit strange. Oftentimes people did not immediately recognize who Jesus was. Mary Magdalene didn't immediately recognize Jesus on Easter morning at the tomb. On Easter evening the disciples who were traveling to the village of Emmaus didn't immediately recognize him. In addition to Jesus not being immediately recognized, he would do things with his body that he hadn't done before. He suddenly disappeared from the Emmaus disciples after they recognized him. He suddenly appeared to the disciples in the upper room, even though the doors were locked. Jesus made these different appearances, speaking somewhat briefly—it seems—to his disciples, but the things he would say during these appearances were extremely important. In Matthew 28 he appeared to his disciples and told them to make disciples of all nations. Christians should baptize, teach what Jesus taught, and Jesus would be with them until the end of the age. In John chapter 20, in that upper room, Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosoever's sins you forgive, they are forgiven. Whosoever's sins you retain, they are retained.” With those words Jesus commanded his Christians to forgive the sins of all who repent, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant so long as they do not repent. These are extremely important instructions that continue to be carried out in the Christian Church. Jesus appeared and spoke with his disciples, here and there, over the course of 40 days. Then Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. We had a church service to commemorate that ten days ago, on a Thursday evening. Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father to reign and rule over all things. The way that he reigns and rules in his spiritual kingdom is through his Christian disciples. Jesus's disciples continue to do what Jesus commanded them before he ascended into heaven. Christians baptize, forgive and retain sins, teach, have the Lord's Supper together and so on. Through these things sinners who otherwise believe in false gods are turned to the true God, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing more important than believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is where Pentecost comes in with its great importance. About 50 days after Easter and 10 days after Jesus's Ascension, the Jews were gathered together for one of their Old Testament harvest festivals. While they were gathered together there was the sound of a mighty rushing wind, tongues of flame appeared over the disciples, and the disciples spoke with their fellow Jews about the mighty works of God. Some of these Jews came from far flung places and spoke different languages. Our reading from Acts gives us the first part of Peter's speaking to those who were gathered. He speaks with courage and enthusiasm about Jesus Christ being Lord. He vigorously argues that Jesus is the fulfillment of what was prophesied in the Old Testament. Jesus is God's Son, and they had crucified him! But he concluded his message in this inclusive way: “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He assures them that despite their murdering of God's own Son that the promise was for them and for their children. It was for those who were near and for those who were far off. It was for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Those who believed that day were baptized, and 3,000 souls were added. The most important thing that happened on Pentecost was the work of the Holy Spirit. People repented of all that was false, and believed the truth: Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners. Faith in Jesus is what makes a person a Christian. Faith in Jesus is the sole and indispensable requirement for being a member of the Holy Christian Church. It doesn't matter where a person comes from. They could be from Mesopotamia, Judea or Cappadocia. They could be of any race, any skin color. They could be poor or rich, well dressed or poorly dressed. They could come from any background—they could have been wild, inhabited by many demons, or they could be stuck-up Pharisees. Everyone who believes in Jesus the Christ turns away from their false and worthless ways and embraces the forgiveness, life, and salvation that come from Jesus. Pentecost is a festival about the Holy Spirit, who creates faith. Pentecost is also a festival about the Christian Church. It is the beginning of the Christian Church, so to speak, because from Pentecost onward the Gospel, the good news about Jesus, spread. Those who heard the Gospel believed it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Since they believed it, they also spoke it. Since they spoke it, still more believed it. There is a direct line from Pentecost to us being gathering here today. This is not some accident of history. God the Holy Spirit has been at work creating faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus causes those who believe in him to speak the Gospel. But as we consider that direct line from Pentecost to today, we might want to ask ourselves, “Are we still speaking the Gospel?” Before we answer too quickly with a, “Well of course we are still preaching the Gospel!” we might want to consider something. Jesus tells all those who want to be his disciples that they must bear the cross. The cross means to suffer and to sacrifice. Speaking the Gospel will always carry with it suffering and sacrifice. Even on Pentecost there was suffering. The Christians were made fun of. Some bystanders laughed at them and said that they had gotten drunk on grape juice. Already at Pentecost there was sacrifice. Immediately after Pentecost the book of Acts tells us that the Christians sold what they had so that they could provide for whoever was in need. The story of suffering and sacrifice is repeated over and over in the book of Acts. Wherever the Gospel went it caused trouble. Paul was kicked out of one town after another until he was finally carted off to Rome in chains. According to legend, eleven out of the twelve apostles were violently put to death. So, again, we might ask, “Are we still speaking the Gospel?” It seems to me that we are in trouble, and we've been in trouble for a long time. The trouble we have is that we want to come up with a Gospel that doesn't require suffering and sacrifice. We don't want to live how Jesus commanded and as the book of Acts puts on display. We want a Christian life where we get to live just like the rest of the world with all their selfishness, comfort, and ease, but we like to believe that we won't go to hell for it. We'll get a free pass. Why will we get a free pass? Maybe because we went to church all the time. Maybe we even gave a lot of money in offerings. That's not a bad deal is it? It's also not the Gospel. It is a false Gospel that pretends to be the true Gospel. This false Gospel was identified by the Lutheran Reformers. The Catholic Church is as good at this false Gospel as anybody is. They had figured out a way for Christians to have their cake and eat it too. All that was really necessary to be a good Catholic was to show up at church and give them some money. Depending on how much you gave it might even make you down right exemplary. Luther saw through this comfortable and convenient Christianity. It was, in fact, a cheap Christianity even if millions were given in offerings because it laid no claim on the person. As we all know it is not hard for those who are wealthy to write a check. Eventually those who are so filthy rich that they don't know what to do with all of their money start to write checks without even being asked. They want this or that building to be named after them. Christianity is much deeper than that. It requires much more suffering and sacrifice than that. Luther learned this from Jesus and he preached it. The very first of Luther's 95 theses from October 31, 1517 said, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Another way of saying this is that if you do not want to repent, then you do not want to be a Christian. Repentance is hard! It requires humility. A life of repentance and faith will be one of suffering and sacrifice according to Jesus's own words. Why should anyone live this life? We naturally don't like to suffer or sacrifice. The answer is that loving to the point of suffering and sacrifice is beautiful and divine. Such a life is good and beautiful like Jesus's life was good and beautiful with his suffering and his sacrificing. Now you might think, “I can't do that.” I'm glad that you are honest enough to admit that. I can't do it either. So also neither you nor I can raise ourselves from the dead can we? But today is Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is God. When a person is converted, and reconverted, and converted yet again to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit is given to that person. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. Furthermore, Jesus is Lord. He reigns and rules in his kingdom and we are following his lead. He is on the warpath, beating back the devil, sin, death, selfishness, apathy, strife, and whatever else is evil. Repent, believe, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the Gospel. It was the Gospel at Pentecost. It is the Gospel that gives eternal life today. Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord, with all your graces now outpoured. Amen.

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in Labuan Bajo, Diocese of Ruteng, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 5: 27-33; Rs psalm 34: 2.9.17-18.19-20; John 3: 31-36 SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE   Our meditation today has the theme: School of Obedience. One of the characteristics of the spirit of Easter is the school of obedience. This school is very different from the various schools that we have arround us, such as schools for military, nurses, police, communication, engineering, administration and so forth. All these schools obviously produce a lot of graduates, but did they all graduate or they really qualify in the virtue of obedience? This is a big question. We should be honest to admit the fact that these schools do not provide specific lesson and training to make a student obedient.   If so, it maybe more appropriate and better for all schools to take the spirit of Easter to be the lesson for acquiring the quality of obedience. In the school of obedience, the content of the lesson is Jesus Christ who completely obeyed His Father in order to fulfill the will of the Father. Jesus had fully practice the virtue of obedience by offering Himself as a sacrifice for the salvation of all mankind. This is the main source for the learning curriculum of obedience to be implemented by all His followers and all other people who in good will follow the will of God.   Jesus emphasized that our basic learning in His school is to believe in the One who was sent by the Father and follow the path that He had gone through, namely to carry out the will of the Father. This must be a common spirit for every follower of Christ. Every form of activity such as our mission, responsibility, commitment, service, and collaboration must relate to this school of obedience. The point is that we all commit ourselves to carry out the will of God. If the will of God is faithfully followed, then its expected outcome would be the divine graces that benefit us.   The school of obedience is shown in the today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter and the other apostles were examined in the court then followed by the order from the Jewish leaders that they should be silenced. They were strictly forbidden to preach to the public the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, because of their education, learning and training on the virtue of obedience had been strongly rooted, they responded with confidence: it is better for us to obey God than to any human being! They had undergone an educative journey with the Master Jesus Christ that focused on the priority of loyalty and obedience to God. By this means and strength, we are taught that any sort of temptation or threat intending to lead us to disobey God must be resisted.   Why is the Lord our priority in this school of obedience? Because in Him and from Him all moral teachings, goodness, truth, beauty, glory, and holiness originate. He is the source of all wisdom and intelligence. So if we consistently and faithfully choose to obey him, we will become His obedient sons and daughters in all aspects of this life and we will be able to renew this world.   Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... Almighty and most loving Lord, may our obedience to You not go in vain and without fruits, but truly a reflection of our commitment to obey our Lord Jesus Christ. Hail Mary full of grace ... In the name of the Father ... --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/media-la-porta/message

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in Labuan Bajo, Diocese of Ruteng, Indonesia. Exodus 12: 1-8.11-14; Rs psalm 116: 12-13.15-16bc.17-18; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15 A MEANINGFUL HOLY THURSDAY    Our meditation today has the theme: A Meaningful Holy Thursday. Thursday of Holy Week is called the Holy Thursday and white is the dominant liturgical color. Vestments for the ministers and servers, and the decoration are all in white or golden appearance. This color symbolizes joy and glory. In today's celebration, where the Last Supper celebration takes place, all our attentions go to that act of Jesus Christ to give us the significance of glory, joy, power and feast.   In this celebration there is the ceremony of Jesus washing the feet of His apostles. Through this act, Jesus wants to teach us to serve one another in humility. This is the sign of a great joy. The atmosphere of joy and the triumph of love that we share together as a community of the People of God can be manifested through our mutual services. For this, Jesus says that we must love one another as He first loves us. He teaches us His greatest law written in the Scriptures, namely to love our neighbors.   The celebration tonight reminds us of the Eucharist, the great sacrifice of the Holy Mass instituted by Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself, for that was the will of His Father . His words and deeds of love are actually the sources of our joy and they are the signs of the presence of God's glory. The Eucharist itself is our joy, as the incarnated Word of God present in His Body and becomes the spiritual food we share together as one Church. Along with the Eucharist, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Priesthood. This is an important joy for the entire Church because this Priesthood aims to perform the Eucharist for the entire members of the Church. The priesthood does the power of the Lord who leads the People of God and guides them in the light and truth of the Lord.   In this celebration we also remember the critical moments of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where beads of blood sweat flowing and dripping to bring Him to the glory of the cross which was just close at hand. The atmosphere of Gethsemane was full of trials and death threat that made everything so frightening and dangerous. But like the Lord himself, we must have courage and faith in order to be able to endure that trembling situation.   Between the Gesthsemane and the Golgotha there ​​is a crucial moment when one experiences how suffering and death are already awaiting to an actual happening. Usually temptation tends to bring us away from that terrifying reality. Jesus himself even says: O Father, let this cup be taken away from me. But we must follow our Master Jesus Christ, who, with all willingness and encouragement, went on to overcome that temptation, and be able to drink the cup of sufferings. This is the real Christian joy.   Although some of us do not experience the real Holy Thursday Evening celebration because of one or another personal or comunal reason, we all as the People of God should still experience spiritually the joy of the Eucharist and the glory of the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ in each of us and in our daily lives.   Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen our faith to continue to believe and be faithful to the Eucharist as a means of our salvation. Hail Mary full of grace... In the name of the Father ... --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/media-la-porta/message

These are the scriptures selected for Tuesday of Holy Week 2024 Psalm 55:16-19 As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change—he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God. Lamentations 3:40-51 Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and our hands to God in heaven and say: “We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven. You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity. You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through. You have made us scum and waste among the nations. All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us. We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin, and destruction.” Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. Galatians 6:12-18 (The Message) These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ's suffering and death. All their talk about the law is gas. They themselves don't keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible! For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! Quite frankly, I don't want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do—the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus. May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes! Luke 22:24-27 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. Prayer Lord Jesus, you took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered you punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. You were pierced for our transgressions, you were crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on you, and by your wounds we are healed. Praise be your name. Amen.

Romans 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. What a great question Paul asked his readers! I hope you can see the underlying assumption by Paul that anyone who believes in Jesus is His servant. Every believer who has received the abundant mercies of God knows Jesus is his master and he or she is His servant. In Romans 6:18 Paul wrote, “And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” And in Romans 12:10-11 he wrote, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” Is that your understanding of your and your brother's and sister's relationship with Jesus? You are Jesus' servants. He is your master, and therefore He does with you what He wishes. We are encouraged by this verse to never harbor attitudes of pride, superiority, or judgment in our hearts toward another believer when it comes to matters of opinion on debatable issues. What makes an issue debatable? If there is clarity in God's Word on a matter, then God has made the judgment about it, then there is no debate. Our master has told us what is righteous and loving. We trust Him. However when there is no clarity from God's Word, then the loving thing to do is leave it to God to deal with it through the faith He gives each individual. In other words, we trust Him to govern His servants in wisdom. The lesson to learn: the love of Jesus can only flow when we trust Him with all things. We love our master. We trust Him. We know He is able to make all of His servants stand or walk by faith on any issue. On debatable issues, what our master is most concerned with is not where one stands on the issue, but that one stands where he stands by the faith He has received from His master. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

In this message titled *"Commitment - Part Two"*, we take a deeper dive into understanding what it takes to our Master Jesus Christ.Aired on Radio HCi Today

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in Labuan Bajo, Diocese of Ruteng, Indonesia. 2 Corinthians 1: 1-7; Rs psalm 34: 2-3.4-5.6-7.8-9; Matthew 5: 1-12 COMFORT BRINGS HAPPINESS   The theme for our meditation today is: Comfort Brings Happiness. Man naturally seeks comfort, and when he finds it he is happy. Comfort is one of the many aspects that make us happy.   But the consolation of bringing this happiness depends on the intentions of each person. Bad and evil intentions bring people to comfort or consolation that is not good or inappropriate. Furthermore, the pleasure that is achieved is certainly in accordance with the desires of the flesh or the world, which may be considered as happiness. Followers of Christ are not taught and equipped by their Master Jesus Christ to have this kind of intention, consolation and pleasure.   Excellent followers of Christ like Saint Paul underline comfort as a key word in the first reading today taken from the second Letter to the Corinthians. He said, comfort comes to us from Jesus Christ to strengthen us in all difficulties, and in turn we also bring consolation for others who are experiencing difficulties.   The intention and goal of the followers of Christ is to follow Him and to take part in the entire plan of salvation, where the path Jesus takes is the cross. We followers of Christ are convinced from our baptism that the cross of suffering really promises joy and victory. This is the content of our consolation.   Jesus certainly does not leave or abandon us in all our troubles and suffering in the world. His presence through the word, the ministry of the Church's sacraments, worship, devotions and the works of the Church is the main part of consolation for each of His followers. Today He speaks to us to affirm Himself as our comforter. The keyword of His word is happiness or blessedness. Consolation from Jesus is for our happiness, there is no other purpose than this one.   Consolation must be related to a difficulty or suffering, both physical and mental, from which people seek God for help. For example, after I patiently listened to someone's complaints or outpourings, it was enough for me to share the same feeling on the difficulties he was facing even though I didn't provide any other help except listening to him, it has cheered him up and a moment of happiness has really been experienced by him. Simple examples and many other ways like this we can do in any opportunity we have, because in this way, we really do something to bring comfort to others.   Let's pray. In the name of the Father... Through this word that we hear and meditate on, O Lord Jesus Christ, kindle our enthusiasm so that we can play an active and real role in providing comfort to our neighbors who really need it. Our Father who art in heaven... In the name of the Father... --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/media-la-porta/message

#MERCY #PROPHECY #USA Welcome to The Master's Voice Prophecy Blog [READ FULL DESCRIPTION] Today's word: There will be no more mercy for America. Forgiveness is now unavailable and "more time" is out of stock. The land groans under the weight of iniquity and Yah says there will be a repayment for blood. Violence has entered the youth, they are carelessly indulging bloodsports. People must understand this and *change their prayers to what is effective,* otherwise their prayers will be in vain. God has judged the USA according to her sins, for rebellion, murder, abortion, perversions, slavery and a love of false prophecy, all these and more have taken away the hope that judgement could be averted. Only those who listen and repent will be ready to handle the coming seasons. Actions will have rapid consequences going forward, therefore return to righteous living and repent of all sin. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sins shall die. To live is Christ, to die is gain. VISIT TMV BLOG: the-masters-voice.com PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: If you'd like to support this work it's appreciated. Send with PayPal or email me for other options at mastersvoice@mail.com. On Paypal: *DO NOT* send your gift with "Purchase Protection", use *ONLY* the 'Friends and Family' option and please mention somewhere that it's a gift. Using purchase protection makes PayPal think I am a "Seller". This is a freewill offering, I am not selling goods or services. If outside the U.S.A. *do not* use PayPal, kindly email me for other options. Please do not use Cashapp. Thank you for supporting my work and God bless! Paypal ------- mastersvoice@mail.com.

AcknowledgementThank you to my colleague, Mr. Sean Maddigan, M.Ed., for his assistance in the research and formulation of many of the finer points of the atonement of Christ in this episode. Thanks, Sean!Perception of Serious Problems - Selling Indulgences?If you say the word “indulgences” to most people today, they would bring up Martin Luther. However, indulgences have been explicitly preached in Catholic theology since the 11th Century, and there have been reductions of penalties since at least the 9th Century. So, where and when does Martin Luther enter the scene?On October 31, 1517, Fr. Martin Luther an Augustinian monk and lecturer at the University in Wittenberg, Germany, issued his propositions for debate concerning the question of indulgences. The proposed debate was intended to be with Fr. Johann Tetzel, a German Dominican friar and preacher. Fr. Tetzel was an appointed papel commissioner for indulgences and was sent to his native Germany to make money to help build St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.From 1503 to 1510, Tetzel preached on indulgences and was effective in doing so. There are countless modern sources which say that Pope Julius II authorized the sale of indulgences, and that, likewise, Pope Leo X sold indulgences too and used the money to build the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. However, the claim that indulgences, as such, were sold seems to be a myth. At one time, one of the spiritual acts that you could receive an indulgence for is contributing to a charitable cause, such as the building of a church. Charitable organizations offer incentives today to increase donations. In the 16th Century, the building fund of St. Peter's Basilica did increase as the result of Tetzel preaching indulgences. There were absolutely abuses in the practice of indulgences, to be sure! But it is important to understand what they actually are. One of the main contributing factors to knowledge of the controversy was Martin Luther's “95 Theses.” In Luther's time, and especially now, there is no end to the horribly wrong interpretations of the Catholic teaching on indulgences. I have also had a few friends ask if I'd be willing to do an episode on indulgences. So, here you go, gents!Catholic Understanding of AtonementAfter the Fall of Adam and Eve, it was fitting that the atonement or reconciliation of mankind be made by a man. However, what mere man could stand in place of all of humanity? When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, He did so as fully God and fully man. Thus, His death and resurrection were offered in our place, in His humanity, and offered perfectly, in His divinity. In the sixth Session of the Council of Trent, chapter ii, we hear:“Whence it came to pass, that the Heavenly Father, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1, 3), when that blessed fullness of the time was come (Galatians 4:4) sent unto men Jesus Christ, His own Son who had been, both before the Law and during the time of the Law, to many of the holy fathers announced and promised, that He might both redeem the Jews, who were under the Law and that the Gentiles who followed not after justice might attain to justice and that all men might receive the adoption of sons. Him God had proposed as a propitiator, through faith in His blood (Romans 3:25), for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for those of the whole world (I John ii, 2).”There are a lot of things to unpack here. God the Father sent His Son, who was foretold, to redeem the Jews and the Gentiles. This redemption brought with it adoption of each of us by God the Father, in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The reconciliation or atonement (literally meaning to become “at one” with), comes through the propitiation of sins merited by Jesus' death on the Cross. The just wrath of God earned by our sin was turned away by the self-offering (the sacrifice and oblation) of our Lord Jesus on the Cross. By His wounds, we are healed, quoting the Prophet Isaiah. The Nicene Creed we profess each Sunday at Mass reminds us of this reality:“who for us men and for our salvation, came down, took flesh, was made man; and suffered…”Jesus did not come for Himself, He came to give His life as a ransom for many. We say “many” because not everyone will accept this gift, sad to say. However, this does not diminish that the gift of Christ's atonement was won for all mankind, without exception. But what is this ransom? Who was holding the souls of the fallen men? It is the Enemy, Satan.In his commentary on Psalm 95, St. Augustine puts it this way:“Men were held captive under the devil and served the demons, but they were redeemed from captivity. For they could sell themselves. The Redeemer came, and gave the price; He poured forth his blood and bought the whole world. Do you ask what He bought? See what He gave, and find what He bought. The blood of Christ is the price. How much is it worth? What but the whole world? What but all nations? (Enarration on Psalm 95, no. 5).”He goes on to explain, in a figure of speech that the Cross was like a trap for the Enemy:"The Redeemer came and the deceiver was overcome. What did our Redeemer do to our Captor? In payment for us He set the trap, His Cross, with His blood for bait. He [Satan] could indeed shed that blood; but he deserved not to drink it. By shedding the blood of One who was not his debtor, he was forced to release his debtors (Serm. cxxx, part 2).”The debt owed to Divine Justice was paid in full by Jesus Christ. Divine Justice was satisfied. But not everyone agreed with St. Augustine's reasoning. St. Anselm and Peter Abelard, for example, rejected the notion that Satan had some sort of right over man. St. Anselm held that an equal satisfaction for sin was necessary to pay the debt to Divine Justice. Abelard, though, did not hold to this strict notion of satisfaction and he argued that God could have pardoned us without requiring satisfaction. So, the Incarnation and the death of Chirst was the pure love of God. And Abelard was condemned by St. Bernard for this view because he argued the effect of the atonement was only moral influence and not any objective payment of a debt.St. Thomas Aquinas, later, agreed with Abelard in rejecting the notion that full satisfaction was necessary. He agrees with Abelard in so far as the atonement was the greatest demonstration of love, but still holds that under God's economy of salvation, the sacrifice of Christ objectively paid the debt of justice (which Abelard denied). Restoring mankind to grace was a work of God's mercy and goodness. It was fitting that Christ should die on the Cross to show the depths of God's love for us, but not absolutely necessary. Along the ages, Blessed Duns Scotus and St. Bernard of Clairvaux had differing opinions than Abelard and Aquinas.Though there is disagreement among theologians throughout the ages, what is shared among them is this. The Atonement is essentially a sacrifice and an act of love. The outward Sacrifice is the sacrament of the invisible sacrifice which comes from the heart of God. As the Catholic Encyclopedia puts it so well:“It was by this inward sacrifice of obedience unto death, by this perfect love with which He laid down his life for His friends, that Christ paid the debt to justice, and taught us by His example, and drew all things to Himself; it was by this that He wrought our Atonement and Reconciliation with God, ‘making peace through the blood of His Cross.'”Imperfect in the Old, Perfect in the NewIn the Old Covenants, the Jewish people would offer “sin-offerings” in which a cereal offering or animal was immolated, offered to God in worship, and then consumed by the priest. Likewise, we get the word scapegoat from the ancient practice of placing, so to speak, all of the sins of the town onto a goat and then releasing the goat to wander into the wilderness, presumably to die. This ancient notion of atonement was no clearer than on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement is centered upon repentance, fasting, asceticism, and the confession of sins. However, the annual nature of this event shows that it is an incomplete and imperfect atonement. Atonement is made perfect in Jesus Christ, who died once for the sins of man and then rose from the dead, to die no more. In the Holy Mass, Christ does not die again. Instead, the Cross of Christ, a propitiatory Sacrifice is renewed daily in a bloodless manner on the altar. What Is An Indulgence?What does any of this have to do with indulgences? Well, everything, really. An indulgence is classically the remission of a debt. In Roman law, it meant to be release from imprisonment or punishment. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines an indulgence as “a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven.”So, an indulgence is not permission to sin, it is not stockpiling forgiveness for a future action, nor does it forgive sin or the guilt of sin. An indulgence presumes that God has already forgiven the person receiving it! What is being remitted is the temporal punishment due to sin.Our sins affect us, our relationship with God, and our relationship with others. Particularly egregious sins, like rape and murder, have lasting effects which cannot be put right this side of Heaven. And putting things right is in the nature of justice. God will always set things right, one way or another, though we might not see it until the end of things. Nonetheless, once someone experiences contrition, there is a deep desire, rooted in justice, to make restitution. Imagine that you are a kid playing baseball in the street. Of course, this is a bad idea. Mistakes will happen. You know this, and, yet, you wrongly believe that you are special. So, nothing bad will happen. You will hit the ball perfectly and everything will be just fine. Then… you hit the ball and it goes sailing through Mrs. Johnson's bay window. Immediately, you feel terrible about it. You did not mean for anything to be broken. You experience contrition for the wrong you have done. You knew, of course, that you should not be playing baseball in the street. What did you expect to happen?! Now, you have a choice: run away and hide or go and fess up to what you have done. You decide to go and ask for forgiveness. You ring the doorbell and Mrs. Johnson answers. You immediately apologize for breaking the window and tell her that you are truly sorry. And she forgives you! … That's it, right? That's the end of the story?... No way! You still have to make restitution. You have to pay for the window. In this example, we can see analogously, how we can be forgiven for something, but justice still demands restitution, satisfaction, and even punishment. This distinction between forgiveness and the temporal punishment due to sin seems to have gone by the wayside in Protestant theology over the last five hundred years. Really, if we look at it with fresh eyes, hopefully we can see that it is basic common sense that a wrong done demands restitution. So, why can Protestants not go there? The answer really has to do with Martin Luther. In Luther's view, we can do nothing to merit our salvation and Catholics agree we cannot merit the gift of initial justification; it is completely a gratuitous gift from God whereby we are covered by Jesus Christ. Nothing in the Lutheran view demands cooperation with grace or even the internal change brought about by Baptism, which Catholicism has always held. How, Theologically, Does an Indulgence Work?But with Baptism there is a true change, right down to the core of our being. And grace is given, but our free cooperation is necessary. God's love does not force itself upon us. This means that our good actions, united with Christ, are meritorious. Our sinful actions require restitution. The Atonement won by Jesus Christ on the Cross is superabundantly meritorious, to use the language of the Church. When we unite our actions with the Cross, they do not add to the merits of Jesus Christ, but they come into communion with them. Likewise, the forgiveness of sins is a communion with the Cross of Jesus Christ! But, in justice, our bad actions still require temporal punishment and restitution. As the 14th Session of the Council of Trent puts it:“Add to these things, that, whilst we thus, by making satisfaction, suffer for our sins, we are made conformable to Jesus Christ, who satisfied for our sins, from whom all our sufficiency is; having also thereby a most sure pledge, that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him. But neither is this satisfaction, which we discharge for our sins, so our own, as not to be through Jesus Christ. For we who can do nothing of ourselves, as of ourselves, can do all things, He cooperating, who strengthens us. Thus, man has not wherein to glory, but all our glorying is in Christ: in whom we live; in whom we merit; in whom we satisfy; bringing forth fruits worthy of penance, which from him have their efficacy; by him are offered to the Father; and through him are accepted by the Father (The Council of Trent: On the necessity and on the fruit of Satisfaction).”Some Protestants hold to the erroneous view of “penal substitution” which is a theory of the atonement that holds that God punished Jesus on the Cross. But there is one glaringly huge problem: an innocent person cannot be justly punished. Jesus took upon Himself the sufferings and death that were due to our sins, but He did not take on the just punishment for our sins.Understanding How Christ Took on Our Punishment (And What That Means)Jesus Christ took our punishment upon Himself. As St. Thomas teaches:“Now by Christ's Passion we have been delivered not only from the common sin of the whole human race, both as to its guilt and as to the debt of punishment, for which He paid the penalty on our behalf (ST III, q. 49, a. 5, co.).”When discussing the fittingness of the death of Christ, St. Thomas also mentions:“... in this way Christ by His death brought us back to life, when by His death He destroyed our death; just as he who bears another's punishment takes such punishment away (ST III, q. 50, a. 1, ad. 3).”Satisfaction means taking up a penalty voluntarily in order to restore justice. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of taking up this voluntary penalty as someone experiencing something against the will out of charity. In the case of sin and justice, in charity this action makes up for sin because sin is voluntarily doing one's own will at the expense of charity. In other words, satisfaction derives its power from the strength of the charity of the one offering it. There is no need for Jesus to suffer the pains of Hell to save us because even one drop of His Precious Blood could have satisfied the wrath of God. The payment of Jesus, who is sinless and perfect in charity, merits not only release from punishment. By the Cross, He merits for us eternal life!When a debt is to be paid, the punishment is measured. In merit, the root of charity is measured. When one merits for another, he merits more for himself. Yet, when one satisfies for another, he does not also satisfy for himself, because the measure of punishment still covers both him and the one on whose behalf he is satisfying. In the case of Jesus, who is without sin, He has no debt to pay. He is satisfying for sinful men out of perfect charity. The punishment He bore made satisfaction for the sins of all mankind and merited more than any man is capable of: eternal life!Back to IndulgencesTemporal punishment acknowledges that the eternal punishment for sin has been taken away on the Cross, but the temporal consequences of sin still remain. These temporal effects of sin require restitution, to the ability that we are able. We ought to make amends for wrongs done. Expiation, satisfaction, amends, and reparation all mean the same thing when referring to the temporal consequences and punishment due to sin.Going back to this notion of the superabundant merits of Christ on the Cross, we can also add all of the meritorious actions of the Baptized faithful through the ages, most notably the saints. The Treasury of Merit, as it is called, is the collection of the perfect, infinite, and superabundant merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, the expansive merits of our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, and the merits of all the just. Our Lord gave to St. Peter, and to the Apostles and their successors, the authority to apply the fruits of these merits at their discretion when He said: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Mt. 16:18-19).”Likewise, in St. John's Gospel, Jesus says to the Apostles, and their successors by extension:“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld (Jn. 20:22-24).”When a confessor gives absolution to a penitent in the Sacrament of Penance, he is applying this forgiveness of sins which comes from God alone, through the instrument of the priest and the Church. Our guilt for sin and eternal punishment for sin are absolved, but the temporal punishment for sin remains. An indulgence is outside of the sacraments and it does not forgive sins. Instead, it applies the satisfaction of the Treasury of Merit to an individual thereby remitting their temporal punishment due to sin. In other words, by the merits of Christ and the saints, the debt of temporal restitution has been paid in full. The superabundant merits belong to God's mercy and justice, not to the Church absolutely. So, these concessions or diminishments of punishment are administered by the Church but they come from God as a free gift. There is value in what Christ has done for us. But there is also value in what Christ does through us. Either way, the primary action is God. But with our cooperation, we unite ourselves with the Sacred Action of Jesus. As St. Paul said:"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church (Col. 1:24).”What could possibly be lacking in the sufferings of Christ, except for our cooperation with His grace and our own meritorious actions? Not only do our good actions possess the value or merit, they also certainly possess the value of satisfaction.Luther Had a Couple Good Points, But a Lot of ErrorsIt must be said that Martin Luther had some great points in his 95 Theses. In fact, only 41 propositions of Luther's from the 95 Theses and his other writings up to that point, were rejected as heretical, scandalous, erroneous, seductive of simple minds, in opposition to Catholic truth, or offensive to pious ears by Pope Leo X in 1520. Let us look at the first three of the 95 Theses:* “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.* This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.* Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.”All three of these are true. Interior repentance is a reorienting of one's entire life, not just a momentary “I'll try a bit harder.” This call of our Lord to repentance does not refer to the Sacrament of Penance because it is a call which is first addressed to those who do not yet know Christ and the Gospel. And finally, interior conversion should find expression in visible signs, gestures, and penitential actions. It does seem, though, that Luther is presupposing that indulgences were being sold, with official authorization. This myth is prevalent today and it appears it was in Luther's day as well. Indulgences are drawn from the Treasury of Merit and applied freely when those seeking them fulfill the requirements with proper disposition. Luther's 95 Theses presents many theological errors in this regard. These errors are still being repeated today. For example, this 2009 article from “The New York Times” which gets it wrong from the title (the content of the article only goes from wrong to worse, by the way): “For Catholics, a Door to Absolution is Reopened.”By the way, to show just how seriously the Church took these abuses, Pope St. Pius V, in 1567, issued a decree which canceled all grants of indulgences involving any fees or other financial transactions.Seeking an IndulgenceMany Catholics think that indulgences, per se, were an abuse. They are not. And though it was a focal point in the Protestant Reformation, indulgences did not go anywhere. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church stated in the 1990s:"An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishment due for their sins… to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity" (CCC 1478).Everything that I have presented about indulgences belongs to the infallible teachings of the Church. We are not at liberty to dismiss them, diminish them, or disbelieve in them. The Council of Trent's anathema makes this clear:The Council of Trent "condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them."The Church does not remit temporal punishment due to sin with magic or the wave of a pen. The person who suffers those temporal punishments must be disposed to repentance and faith. As Pope St. Paul VI said:"Indulgences cannot be gained without a sincere conversion of outlook and unity with God (Indulgentarium Doctrina, 11).”Before the Second Vatican Council, indulgences were said to remove a certain number of “days” from punishment. Instead, this was to show that indulgences have two types: plenary and partial. Plenary, meaning full, means that all temporal punishment due to sin that a person owed is being remitted. Whereas, a partial indulgence remits part of the temporal punishment due to sin. In order to make this clearer, Pope St. Paul VI revised the handbook of indulgences (called the Enchiridion).As we have covered, satisfaction and temporal punishment for sin are ordered towards justice on the one hand and purification on the other hand. So, the actions for which one might receive an indulgence should likewise be ordered to justice, charity, and purification. Because the justice of God has been satisfied through the merits of Christ and the saints, applied to our lives, then the “time,” so to speak, needed for purification in charity after death has been lessened. Just as a checkpoint or reminder: indulgences remit the temporal punishment due to sin, not eternal punishment. Eternal punishment is remitted fully by the Cross of Jesus Christ, the merits of which we receive in the Sacrament of Baptism. Knowing rightly what an indulgence is, how can we receive this great gift? Please forgive the following lengthy quotation, but Jimmy Akin put it concisely and excellently in his Primer on Indulgences for EWTN:“To gain any indulgence you must be a Catholic in a state of grace. You must be a Catholic in order to be under the Church's jurisdiction, and you must be in a state of grace because apart from God's grace none of your actions are fundamentally pleasing to God (meritorious). You also must have at least the habitual intention of gaining an indulgence by the act performed.To gain a partial indulgence, you must perform with a contrite heart the act to which the indulgence is attached.To gain a plenary indulgence you must perform the act with a contrite heart plus you must go to confession (one confession may suffice for several plenary indulgences), receive Holy Communion, and pray for the pope's intentions. (An Our Father and a Hail Mary said for the pope's intentions are sufficient, although you are free to substitute other prayers of your own choosing.) The final condition is that you must be free from all attachment to sin, including venial sin.Because of the extreme difficulty in meeting the final condition, plenary indulgences are rarely obtained. If you attempt to receive a plenary indulgence, but are unable to meet the last condition, a partial indulgence is received instead.”The Church offers us special indulgences, both plenary and partial, for all sorts of things. But there are a couple of partial indulgences worth mentioning here. Partial indulgences are given by the Church for: * Devoutly spending time in mental prayer, * Reading Sacred Scripture with veneration as a form of spiritual reading (this one is plenary if done for at least 30 minutes), * Devoutly signing oneself with the Sign of the Cross and saying the customary formula: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”ConclusionIndulgences are not magic. They are a part of the infallible teaching of the Church. And they are for our spiritual well-being. We should not be wary of officially promulgated indulgences. We should be grateful to God for His superabundant mercy and His justice. Recognizing that we are sinners in need of His grace, we approach the Sacrament of Penance. Then, we do penance to seek temporal satisfaction and restitution for the consequences of our sins. All the while, we ought to seek out indulgences, because they are nothing more than being union and communion with Almighty God and striving to be more in love with Him who loved us first.Will Wright Catholic Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Will Wright Catholic Podcast at www.willwrightcatholic.com/subscribe

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. – Martin Luther, Thesis 1

In this week's episode from Nehemiah 5, Pastor Daniel talks about how Nehemiah responded when the people's behavior toward each other became sinful. He rebuked them and corrected their behavior. Every leader needs a trustworthy mentor or friend in the faith who can speak the truth to them boldly. Do you have people in your life who can rebuke you? This episode will tell you why it is truly important. In Pastor's Perspective, Pastor Joe Williams talks about how great leaders must learn to submit to authority. “Before you can be a good leader, you've got to be a good follower.” Submitting to authority keeps us accountable and humble. Pastor Joe shares his own experience with a great mentor in the faith. Quotes --- Quotes --- Quotes --- “Spoon feeding, in the long run, teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.” - E.M. ForsterFaithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. - Proverbs 27:6“Mentors have a way of seeing more of our faults than we would like. It's the only way we grow.” – George Lucas“When the enemy fails in his attacks from the outside, he then begins to attack from within; and one of his favorite weapons is selfishness.” -Warren Wiersbe C.S Lewis once said, “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.”“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,' he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.” - Martin Luther, First ThesisOpen rebuke is better than secret love. - Proverbs 27:5Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. - Proverbs 18:1

A new MP3 sermon from Pleasant View Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Mothers With One Master: Jesus Christ Subtitle: Family Speaker: Chuck Hunt Broadcaster: Pleasant View Baptist Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 5/8/2022 Bible: Matthew 6:19-24 Length: 47 min.

TRUE REPENTANCE IS A CONTINUAL LIFE OF REPENTANCE AND COMES WITH THE PACKAGE OF NEW CREATION. OUR STONY UNREPENTANT HEART MUST BE TRANSPLANTED WITH A TENDER REPENTANT HEART OF FLESH AND IF THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED OUR SALVATION IS NOT COMPLETE. MARTIN LUTHER THE KING OF THE REFORMATION PUT 95 COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHIRCH UPON THE WITTENBERG DOOR ON OCT. 31, 1517, THE FIRST 4 COMPLAINTS WERE ABOUT REPENTANCE: 1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying, "Repent ye, etc.," intended that the whole life of his believers on earth should be a constant penance. 2. And the word "penance" neither can, nor may, be understood as referring to the Sacrament of Penance, that is, to confession and atonement as exercised under the priest's ministry. 3. Nevertheless He does not think of inward penance only: rather is inward penance worthless unless it produces various outward mortifications of the flesh. 4. Therefore mortification continues as long as hatred of oneself continues, that is to say, true inward penance lasts until entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. GEORGE WHITEFIELD ALSO MAKES IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT THE NEW NATURE LIVES A LIFE OF REPENTANCE.

Reading is delivered by Andreas Dwi Septiaji Pamungkas and meditation is delivered by Sarah Angelique from Saint Peter's School in Jakarta, Indonesia. Exodus 12: 1-8.11-14; RS psalm 116: 12-13.15-16bc.17-18; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15 A MEANINGFUL HOLY THURSDAY Our meditation today has the theme: A Meaningful Holy Thursday. Thursday in the Holy Week is called Holy Thursday and white is its dominant liturgical color. Vestments for the ministers and servers, and the decoration are all in white or golden appearance. This color symbolizes joy and glory. Today's celebration, meaning the Last Supper celebration tonight, centers on Jesus Christ's actions that give us meanings of glory, joy, power and feast. In this celebration there is a ceremony of Jesus washing the feet of His apostles. This action of Jesus teaches us to serve one another in humility. This is the sign of a great joy. The atmosphere of joy and the triumph of love that we share together as a community of People of God can be manifested through our mutual services. For this, Jesus says that we must love one another as He first loves us. He teaches us His greatest law written in the Scriptures, namely to love our neighbors. The celebration tonight reminds us of the Eucharist, the great sacrifice of the Holy Mass instituted by Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself, for that was what His Father willed . His words and deeds of love are actually the sources of our joy and they are the signs of the presence of God's glory. The Eucharist itself is our joy, as the incarnated Word of God present in His Body and becomes the spiritual food we share together as one Church. Along with the Eucharist, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Priesthood. This is an important joy for the entire Church because this Priesthood aims to perform the Eucharist for the whole members of the Church. The priesthood exercises the power of the Lord who leads the People of God and guides them in the light and truth of the Lord. In this celebration we also remember the critical moments of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where beads of blood sweat flowing and dripping to bring Him to the glory of the cross which was just close at hand. The atmosphere of Gethsemane was full of trials and death threat that made everything so frightening and dangerous. But like the Lord himself, we must have courage and faith in order to able to pass through. Between Gesthsemane and Golgotha there ​​is a crucial moment when one experiences how the suffering and death are already awaiting to an actual happening. Usually the temptation always comes to bring him or her away from that terrifying reality. Jesus himself even says: O Father, let this cup pass from me. But we must follow our Master Jesus Christ, who with all willingness and encouragement went on to overcome the temptation, and be able to drink the cup of sufferings. This is the real Christian joy. Although all of us celebrate this Holy Thursday Evening still under the shadow of the Covid-19 outbreak, we all as a congregation should still experience spiritually the joy of the Eucharist and the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ in each of us and in our families. Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen our faith to continue to believe and be faithful to the Eucharist as a means of our salvation. Our Father who art in heaven... In the name of the Father ... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/media-la-porta/message

The gospel changes our view of work, our standards for work, and even makes our daily work worship unto Jesus for the glory of God and our joy as His chidren. This is such good news, because most people spend the majority of their life working and if we see it as a necessary evil or as a place to find our identity, we will miss God's design and gift of working for our true Master Jesus Christ!

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.1 Peter 1: 3-9; Rs psalm 111: 1-2.5-6.9.10c; Mark 10: 17-27 LOVING THE INVISIBLE The theme for our meditation today is: Loving the Invisible. The act of “loving the invisible” is the same as other actions such as believing, understanding, and knowing. Whoever has this vision and hope, he is like a man who dreams. He puts an achievement in the future that does not yet exist. The feeling of love and the outpouring of attention to these ideals is even greater, even accompanied by various sacrifices. This is the same as loving the invisible. We humans are gifted by the Creator with the ability to dream or aspire. In this ability we have sense of liking, delight, love, and hope. Each of us really likes and has great enthusiasm to achieve a distinctive, better, and higher achievement in the future. With this context, Jesus gave a challenge to a rich man who was looking for the highestpoint of happiness. He actually hoped to obtain what is unseen or invisible. The rich man had actually enjoyed a number of experiences of happiness in his spiritual life. All those achievements referred to both his actions and the fruits he gained. It could be that he wanted to enjoy something more yet he remained in a visible aspect of his ideals. It was here the point of his misleading. He lost his way. When he asked Jesus on the matter and the answer should be an invisible spiritual experience, he was desperately regret the challenge. Jesus taught that loving the invisible must be in a negative way. What is meant in a negative way is a form of suffering. This means that the suffering of a follower of Christ needs to be experienced and even enjoyed. How to interpret suffering or difficulties, and then accept, go through and learn from them, these are the ways of loving what isinvisible. These are all the possibilities that make a person willing and love to suffer any kind of difficulty. The reward or result that will be obtained is the gift of eternal happiness that is not seen in this world. Saint Peter advises us in the first reading that the fate of the followers of Christ will be the same as that of the Master Jesus Christ. They have to go through suffering as a form of participation in suffering with Christ, and that means that the true and final happiness with God is waiting for them at a proper time. The rich man who received a challenge from Jesus, if he resolved to follow, he must abandon all his possessions which were distributed to the needy. But he did not accept the challenge. It means he was unable to love the invisible. This challenge is our challenge too. Let's pray. In the name of the Father... O most generous Lord, may we continue to persevere in the way of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hail Mary full of grace... In the name of the Father... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/media-la-porta/message

It's about obtaining the holy spirit energy to do the will of our "MASTER JESUS CHRIST"! IN TIMES LIKE THESE

Daily Lectionary: Joel 1:1-20; Romans 10:1-21Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. . . .Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. (Joel 1:13-14)   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As the people of God gather today, the minister still takes the lead: "O almighty God, merciful Father." The rest of God's children then join in the cry, "I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment" (LSB, p.184).With the prophet, we, too, know that there's no point digging in our heels. While there may be no direct correlation between our sin and the trials and troubles we face in life (think Job), the trials and troubles we do face could never hold a candle to the trials and troubles, both "temporal and eternal," our sins say we deserve. The proper response among God's people to any trial, or to the locust plague Joel writes about today is not, "Why me, God?" As Luther's first of 95 theses teaches, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." In other words, the proper response is, "Thank You, God, for not giving me what I truly deserve, what my sins rightly merit. Thank You for giving all of that instead to Jesus, on the Cross, for me. And thank You for all the blessings You do give me."You will never find such faith by looking within. It's not born by mulling over your own subjective experiences. It is born of the Gospel. That is, it is given by God Himself every day in the water and promise of Baptism. By God as your pastor absolves you and preaches the Gospel to you. By God with Jesus' Body and Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." Faith is yours as the Gospel is yours. As the Gospel promises, everything that is yours belongs to the Cross now, and everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to you, now. There's your faith. Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.My soul, now praise your Maker! Let all within me bless His name Who makes you full partaker Of mercies more than you dare claim. Forget Him now whose meekness Still bears with all your sin, Who heals your every weakness, Renews your life within; Whose grace and care our endless And saved you through the past; Who leaves no suff'rer friendless But rights the wrong at last. ("My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker" LSB 820, st.1)-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane BamschPastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

When Martin Luther launched what has become known as “The Reformation” he began his famous “95 Thesis” with these words: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent, He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance”. Repentance is not a “one & done” event in the life of a Christ-follower. It should be an everyday, all of life experience. In this message Pastor Joe Still provides us with a “tool” that unlocks repentance, leading to a life of Continuous Breakthrough!

Martin Luther famously said, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ called us to repent, he meant that the entire life of the believer should be one of repentance." And when we repent, we will discover that Jesus has already come to us, is waiting for us, and has open arms (think the cross!) and an open heart. Just like Jesus' parents discovered that he was not lost at all, we will discover that he has never abandoned us. We've abandoned him. Thank God he's ready to be found, and welcomes us back into his heart whenever we repent.

In the Bible there is one word that captures what it means to have the spirit of your mind transformed, the eyes of your heart renewed. It was one of the first words Jesus used in his first sermon (Mark 1:15) and one of the last words he told his disciples to proclaim (Luke 24:47). The prophets used it (Isa. 30:15); the apostles used it (Acts 2:38, 17:30). When Martin Luther started the Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, he put this first: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ…willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”Repentance is a comprehensive process. It's not episodic: stop doing that. Nor is it only what someone does at the beginning of choosing to follow Jesus. It's a life orientation of learning to go with the grain of reality, with the flow of God's will, aligning with our Creator's intention. Repentance is not a heavy burden imposed on us; it's an invitation to become more human, to be more free, to have the image of God gradually restored in us. It feels like hard work (Luke 9:62), but it leads to rest for our souls (Isa. 30:15, Matt. 11:29). Repentance is an invitation to live into the way God sees things, which means to live into the way things really are. Repentance is Jesus' invitation to stop running, turn back, and live in the Father's embrace.

Reading is delivered by Happy De Rosari and meditation is delivered by Fhesty Maria Faustin from Catholic Religious High School Saint John Paul II Seminary Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Daniel 5: 1-6.13-14.16-17.2328; Rs psalm T Daniel 3: 62-67; Luke 21: 12-19 THE HAND THAT WRITES THE WORD OF GOD Our meditation today has the theme: The Hand That Writes the Word of God. There is a section in the today's first reading from the Book of Daniel, that describes the king Belsasar and his guests who were having a party, looked very frightened when they were watching the word of God expressed so provocatively in a vision of a mysterious hand that was writing the word of God on the wall (Daniel 5: 5 on). Then the king was very curious to know the meaning of the words on the wall, therefore, he asked the Jewish young man Daniel. God has been writing various expressions of His word in this world through the hands of many of His messengers. In the past there had been many hands writing the word of God on scrolls made of wooden skins, which were later updated into scriptures. The Word of God in the process of being written, was made readable to the people in a way that was either extraordinary or provocative. However, it has been accepted and practiced so wonderfully by some gifted human writers, when they listened to the Word very well and faithfully, and then proclaimed it fruitfully. They have indeed made the Word of God acceptable to human reason. It should be something different from the wall from where the king Belsasar read the word of God, when in our homes such as libraries, cupboards and shelves, we put one or several book of scriptures. Maybe they have been there for quite a time. Maybe our families do not know when was exactly the sacred bible written, how it was written, and how long it took to write it and who wrote it. These are all common questions. But there is a deeper question, which isabout the contents of the bible. If people rarely read it, it would be difficult to answer. If someone has developed a good practice to always read the bible, the result will certainly good, that is, he acquires some of the messages in it. When he realizes that some or most of the content is hard to understand, that is normal and common experience of many Christians. That's where curiosity comes from. But if someone never or does not like to read the bible, he certainly has no curiosity. The King had given us an example, namely the need of curiousity and asking questions about the word of God. The disciples and apostles of Jesus also always asked the Master Jesus Christ about many things that they did not know. During these days, it has been coming to us their various questions on the end of times and they got a firm and definite answer from Jesus. In today's Gospel, the answer of Jesus is even more emphatic, which is on the price of the end of times for His followers to be very costly, namely the sacrifice of oneself by experiencing torture, persecution and murder as first had been experienced by our great Teacher. They wanted to know, they asked questions and the got the real answers. We should not be afraid of all this, for so many martyrs have experienced the same, and we will have it also. Let's pray. In the name of the Father... Almighty God, encourage us to always be curious about your every word and will. Glory to the Father... In the name of the Father... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/media-la-porta/message

Your faith is not in your money, but in the Master Jesus Christ. Your faith is not in yourself, but in God alone.

Your faith is not in your money, but in the Master Jesus Christ. Your faith is not in yourself, but in God alone.

Your faith is not in your money, but in the Master Jesus Christ. Your faith is not in yourself, but in God alone.

Your faith is not in your money, but in the Master Jesus Christ. Your faith is not in yourself, but in God alone.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther did something remarkably un-revolutionary: he posted a list of propositions on the door of the chapel at the University of Wittenberg. Posting “theses” of this sort was common practice in sixteenth-century—it notified the academic community of matters to be disputed in a formal debate. Even the content of these ninety-five theses was not, on its face, particularly controversial. The familiar thematic emphases of the Reformation—faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone, as taught by the Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone—would not be fully articulated until several years later. Nevertheless, we mark the 31st of October as “Reformation Day”—the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The heart of its conviction comes in Luther's first proposition, he writes: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.” Luther was convinced that the Church of his day had turned repentance into selfish self-righteousness. It was (and is) a surprisingly easy thing to do. There are two ways it can happen. First, we can make repentance about keeping God happy—being concerned about how our sin might impact our prayers being heard or how it might diminish God's blessing in our lives. Sorrow over sin becomes sorrow over its consequences. We lament how our sin has ashamed us before others or diminished our credibility or closed the door to certain opportunities. We can even be tempted to rationalize our sin, “if you only knew how I've been treated, then you'd understand why I behave this way.” Luther saw the selfishness of sorrowing over sin for its consequences. This kind of sorrow was not repentance, but what the apostle Paul calls “worldly grief that produces death” (2Cor 7.10) because it missed the profound offence that sin is against God. Sin is an outrage against his holiness, a denial of his truthfulness, a revolt against his authority, an affront to precious atonement that is ours in Christ. As wicked as David's sin was against Bathsheba and Uriah, in Psalm 51, he prays “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (51.3). True repentance involves recognizing that the heinousness of sin is its offense against God. And, as Luther reminded the church, it involves heart-felt reformation, an overt determination to live in light of the gospel—to turn away from sin because doing so pleases God. But there is another way that repentance can be turned into selfish self-righteousness. In the sixteenth century, the word repentance had been exchanged for penance. Penance was the performance of prescribed behaviors to make amends for sin—reciting certain prayers, venerating shrines, depriving oneself of certain foods or comforts, scaling stairs on one's knees, etc. This distortion of repentance is a form of self-punishment in which we attempt to make ourselves so truly miserable and regretful that we feel like we deserve to be forgiven. We do it, today, too. We loathe ourselves, continually rehearse our record of wrongs, despair of our small progress, push ourselves into a regretful frame of heart. We attempt to atone for our own sin—to make ourselves righteous by our misery! But this, too, rejects the gospel. We don't have to make ourselves suffer to merit forgiveness. Instead, we simply receive the forgiveness is ours through the cross of Christ. “For our sake,” Paul says, the Father “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Cor 5:21). Luther realized that, for Christians, at the bottom of repentance is the reality that we have been accepted by God in Christ. What mercy! What grace! And when we grasp the reality of God's love in Jesus, it makes it easier for us to acknowledge our sin before him and to one another. The more loved and accepted we see that we are in Christ, the more often we will be repenting. And so that is the exhortation, this morning. Friends, make all of life true repentance. Come before the Lord, acknowledging all your sin—for he knows it already—and find in him the forgiveness that is yours because of Christ. Make war on sin, in his strength, and live in the joy of knowing that you are fully and finally his. Let's turn now, together, to him, to seek his mercy, in this time of silent confession.

Listen along as we look at the first half of Matthew 25 and what it looks like to fear, trust, and follow Jesus till the end. Notes/Quotes: “the Kingdom Parables in chapter 13 which began in the present tense with the words “the kingdom of heaven is like”—for they taught mainly how the kingdom enters our lives now by the power of the Word; the Judgment Parables in this chapter have a sharper future orientation.” - Dale Bruner “21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”  - Matthew 5:21-23 “The Christian life in Matthew is a life of tough discipleship (chaps. 5–7), of persecuted mission (chap. 10), of practicing joyous demands (chap. 13), and of exercising self-denial for the sake of others' salvation (chap. 18). The Christian life in Matthew is not the second-soil faith that believes a conversion experience is all one really needs; when the devil, pressures, and temptations come to “conversions-only” people (conversio sola!), they are deeply embarrassed by the gospel and its requirements and make as quick an exit as they did an entrance (13:20–21). Discipleship is a life of patient listening to the Word and of constant repenting under the conviction of the Word. “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘repent,' he intended for the whole life of believers to be a life of repentance” (Luther, thesis one of The Ninety-Five Theses). “The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17). One-shot Christianity is misleading and finally fatal. The lamp oil of experiential Christianity, without the reserve oil of discipled Christianity—that is to say, an experience of Jesus without obedience to his teachings—betrays unbelief and will not find entrance into the end-time kingdom.”  - Dale Bruner “But “safe” as this conduct may be, there is a lack of adventure in it, an unwillingness to take risks, a preoccupation with one's own security, which Jesus clearly dislikes. This piety is too unworldly, too withdrawn, too removed from the secular to please the earthly Jesus who sends disciples into the world to disciple it (28:19), puts salt into the meat to season it (5:13), and brings light into the room to give light to all who are in it (5:14–16; cf. Mark 4:21). Talents mean mission.  - Dale Bruner “The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”  - Oswald Chambers “sees this servant's laziness as the lawlessness of lukewarmness toward the demands of discipleship—as antinomianism.” - Kingsbury “Jesus does not end this parable grimly from a macabre pleasure in telling horror stories—Jesus loves human beings and wants to save them from messed-up lives and eternities, and that's why he tells his scary stories.” - Dale Bruner “The gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, but more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope.” - Timothy Keller  

In today's session podcast episode we study the inspired information revealed through the penmanship of the Holy Spirit written in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 5:11. This for the purpose of our comfort and building up. For those outside of Christ grieve without hope. They are vulnerable to death. Unprepared. In darkness, blind. Ignorant. Yet those "in" Christ grieve with hope. Prepared. Ready for the coming of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. Eagerly anticipating eternal life. Weekday Podcast. 10 AM ADT. Live Streaming. From the addedSOULS.com Studio. Delivering Christian Content, Perspective, Principle. Study, and Discussion. We tackle everything. From Socio Political. Food. Entertainment. To deep meaty Bible teaching. Do you have something you'd like for us to address? Be sure to send us an email. Subscribe. Give a thumbs up. Write a comment. Hit the Notification bell. And Share the link. Thank you kindly for knocking digital doors with us. DIGITAL SUPPORT: www.patreon.com/addedsouls www.subscribestar.com/addedsouls PAYPAL: addedsouls@gmail.com CHECK SUPPORT: church of Christ 365 Pine Glen Road Riverview N.B. Canada E1B 4J8

Reading is delivered by Brother Noel, SDB and meditation delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB (from Salesian Don Bosco Comunity in Jakarta, Indonesia). 2 Corinthians 1: 1-7: Rs psalm 34: 2-3.4-5.6-7.8-9; Matius 5: 1-12. CONSOLATION BRINGS HAPPINESS Our meditation today has the theme: Consolation Brings Happiness. Man naturally seeks consolation, and after finding it he becomes happy. However, any available consolation that brings happiness depends on the intention of every person. When someone has bad and evil intention, the way to do things and the goal achieved should be an unkind or an inappropriate consolation. Furthermore, the pleasure attained is a product of carnal or worldly desire, which in that regard is considered as a happiness too. The followers of Christ are not taught and endowed in the Spirit of the Master Jesus Christ to have such kind of intention, comfort and pleasure. The genuine follower of Christ and the apostle for the nations, Saint Paul, spoke about comfort or consolation as the key point in his second letter to the Corinthians as our first reading today. His highlight point says that consolation indeed comes to us from Jesus Christ in order to strengthen us in all difficulties. We in turn should also share that consolation to others who are in need. Saint Paul strongly expected that we are to follow his examples and become parts of the entire plan of God's salvation. That plan manifests itself in the way of Jesus Christ which is the way of the cross. From the sacrament of Baptism, we the followers of Christ have been convinced in our true faith that with the cross we can bear all kinds of suffering until the moment when we obtain joy and victory. This is the content of our consolation. Jesus certainly does not abandon or forsake us in all our troubles and sufferings in the world. His presence through the Word proclaimed, the ministry of the sacraments of the Church served, worship, devotion and the work of the Church offered, are considered the major parts in the life of the Holy Church that provide comfort and consolation to every follower of Christ. Today Jesus speaks to us and makes us believe all the more that He is truly our Comforter or our Consoler. His word gives us happiness. Consolation from Jesus is only for our happiness. There is no other purpose from Himself than to give us happiness and salvation for our souls. That consolation must refers also to certain physical or mental suffering from which one seeks God for help. For example, when I was so patient in hearing someone's complaints or cry, I actually have put myself to be participating in his difficult moments, even though I have not provided any other significant assistance except my being silent and at his side to hear him. I have kept him consoled and feeling calm. He indeed experienced what the happiness was. There are many other practices of such kind that we can do in our respective place and situation through which we may provide consolation to our neighbors. Let's pray. In the name of the Father... Through these proclamation of Your Word, O Lord Jesus Christ, kindle our spirit so that we can work wholeheartedly to provide consolation to our neighbors who are really in need. Our Father... In the name of the Father... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/media-la-porta/message

Reading is delivered by Antonius Prasetyo (from the Church of Santo Yohanes Bosco in Jakarta, Indonesia) and meditation is delivered by Margareth Sembiring (from the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Singapore). Acts of the Apostles 5: 27-33; Rs psalm 34: 2.9.17-18.19-20; John 3: 31-36. SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE Our meditation today has the theme: School of Obedience. One of the characteristics of the spirit of Easter is the school of obedience. This school is very different from the various schools that we have arround us, such as schools for military, nurses, police, communication, engineering, administration and so forth. All these schools obviously produce a lot of graduates, but did they all graduate or they really qualify in the virtue of obedience? This is a big question. We should be honest to admit the fact that these schools do not provide specific lesson and training to make a student obedient. If so, it maybe more appropriate and better for all schools to take the spirit of Easter to be the lesson for acquiring the quality of obedience. In the school of obedience, the content of the lesson is Jesus Christ who completely obeyed His Father in order to fulfill the will of the Father. Jesus had fully practice the virtue of obedience by offering Himself as a sacrifice for the salvation of all mankind. This is the main source for the learning curriculum of obedience to be implemented by all His followers and all other people who in good will follow the will of God. Jesus emphasized that our basic learning in His school is to believe in the One who was sent by the Father and follow the path that He had gone through, namely to carry out the will of the Father. This must be a common spirit for every follower of Christ. Every form of activity such as our mission, responsibility, commitment, service, and collaboration must relate to this school of obedience. The point is that we all commit ourselves to carry out the will of God. If thewill of God is faithfully followed, then its expected outcome would be the divine graces that benefit us. The school of obedience is shown in the today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Peter and the other apostles were examined in the court then followed by the order from the Jewish leaders that they should be silenced. They were strictly forbidden to preach to the public the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, because of their education, learning and training on the virtue of obedience had been strongly rooted, they responded with confidence: it is better for us to obey God than to any human being! They had undergone an educative journey with the Master Jesus Christ that focused on the priority of loyalty and obedience to God. By this means and strength, we are taught that any sort of temptation or threat intending to lead us to disobey God must be resisted. Why is the Lord our priority in this school of obedience? Because in Him and from Him all moral teachings, goodness, truth, beauty, glory, and holiness originate. He is the source of all wisdom and intelligence. So if we consistently and faithfully choose to obey him, we will become His obedient sons and daughters in all aspects of this life and we will be able to renew this world. Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... Almighty and most loving Lord, may our obedience to You not go in vain and without fruits, but truly a reflection of our commitment to obey our Lord Jesus Christ. Hail Mary full of grace ... In the name of the Father ... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/media-la-porta/message

Reading is delivered by Postulant Debora Mongina and meditation delivered by Sister Maria Cilinia PRR (from Formation House PRR Sisters in the diocese of Eldoret, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa). Exodus 12: 1-8.11-14; Rs psalm 116: 12-13.15-16bc.17-18; 1Corinthians 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15. A MEANINGFUL HOLY THURSDAY Our meditation today has the theme: A Meaningful Holy Thursday. Thursday of Holy Week is called the Holy Thursday and the dominant liturgical color is white. Vestments for the ministers and servers, and the decoration are all in white or golden manifestation. This color symbolizes joy and glory. In today's celebration, namely the Last Supper celebration tonight, all our attentions go to that act of Jesus Christ to give us the significance of glory, joy, power and feast. In this celebration there is a ceremony of Jesus washing the feet of His apostles. Through this act, Jesus wants to teach us to serve one another in humility. This is the sign of a great joy. The atmosphere of joy and the triumph of love that we share together as a community of the People of God can be manifested through our mutual services. For this, Jesus says that we must love one another as He first loves us. He teaches us His greatest law written in the Scriptures, namely to love our neighbors. The celebration tonight reminds us of the Eucharist, the great sacrifice of the Holy Mass instituted by Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself, for that was the will of His Father . His words and deeds of love are actually the sources of our joy and they are the signs of the presence of God's glory. The Eucharist itself is our joy, as the incarnated Word of God present in His Body and becomes the spiritual food we share together as one Church. Along with the Eucharist, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Priesthood. This is an important joy for the entire Church because this Priesthood aims to perform the Eucharist for the entire members of the Church. The priesthood exercises the power of the Lord who leads the People of God and guides them in the light and truth of the Lord. In this celebration we also remember the critical moments of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where beads of blood sweat flowing and dripping to bring Him to the glory of the cross which was just close at hand. The atmosphere of Gethsemane was full of trials and death threat that made everything so frightening and dangerous. But like the Lord himself, we must have courage and faith in order to able to endure that trembling situation. Between the Gesthsemane and the Golgotha there ​​is a crucial moment when one experiences how suffering and death are already awaiting to an actual happening. Usually temptation tends to bring us away from that terrifying reality. Jesus himself even says: O Father, let this cup be taken away from me. But we must follow our Master Jesus Christ, who, with all willingness and encouragement, went on to overcome that temptation, and be able to drink the cup of sufferings. This is the real Christian joy. Although almost all of us do not experience the usual Holy Thursday Evening celebration because of the Covid-19 still threathening us, we all as the People of God should still experience spiritually the joy of the Eucharist and the glory of the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ in each of us and in our daily lives. Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen our faith to continue to believe and be faithful to the Eucharist as a means of our salvation. Hail Mary full of grace... In the name of the Father ... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/media-la-porta/message

Martin Luther said in his first of 95 Theses, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” To walk in repentance is not to walk in condemnation, but in freedom. For the Father so loved us in kindness (Ephesians 2:7), that he sent his only Son to do justice for us (Romans 3:26), in supreme humility (Philippians 2:5–8), that we might have eternal life in which to know and enjoy him (John 3:16; Philippians 3:8–11).

Martin Luther said in his first of 95 Theses, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” To walk in repentance is not to walk in condemnation, but in freedom. For the Father so loved us in kindness (Ephesians 2:7), that he sent his only Son to do justice for us (Romans 3:26), in supreme humility (Philippians 2:5–8), that we might have eternal life in which to know and enjoy him (John 3:16; Philippians 3:8–11).

A Whole Lot of Trouble (Genesis 13:1-18)   Central Point: We Live By _______________ and Not By ______________   The Bible Teaches Us That Believing is __________________ (Matthew 6:22-24)   Abraham Set His Sights On _________________ (Genesis 13:1-4) Repentance Is Only For  ___________________________ Repentance Isn't Only For __________________________   “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” - Martin Luther, 95 Thesis   Abraham Set His Sights On _________________ (Genesis 13:5-9)   What Attitude Do You Take During Conflict? (Matthew 5:9)   Lot Set His Sights On _________________ (Genesis 13:10-13)   Have you Made Your Faith Your Own? (Matthew 7:21-23)   Abraham Set His Sights On _________________ (Genesis 13:14-18)   Who Are The Offspring of Abraham? ________________________ ________________________ (Matthew 1:1) ________________________ (Galatians 3:7-9, Romans 9:6-8)   What Role Can I Play in the Great Commission? (Matthew 28:18-20, Revelation 7:9, Genesis 13:16) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Memory Verse: I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Genesis 13:16 ESV  

Today was Remember your Baptism Sunday! The liturgy of remembrance is some of the richest writing in the Christian faith. Our message therefore on why it’s important who we are in Christ is only about 12 mins. However, we invite you to read the questions below we asked our 4 who asked their Baptism to be remembered, and the congregation who joined them. The world is competing hard for the loyalty of Christians right now. Today was a great day because with our vows, we told the world in all its troubles that we care, but our Master Jesus Christ has carried our curse for us, and doesn’t share power! On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,reject the evil powers of this world,and repent of your sin?I do.Do you accept the freedom and power God gives youto resist evil, injustice, and oppressionin whatever forms they present themselves?I do.Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,put your whole trust in his grace,and promise to serve him as your Lord,in union with the Church which Christ has openedto people of all ages, nations, and races?I do.According to the grace given to you,will you remain faithful members of Christ's holy Churchand serve as Christ's representatives in the world?I will.

What is reformation day and why do we celebrate it? Find out why as we listen to Dr. Steven Nichols of Ligonier Ministries. What is Reformation Day? To answer that question, let's ask another question. When is Reformation Day? It's October 31; it commemorates the events of October 31, 1517. On that day, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Now, why would Luther do that? To answer this question, we need to introduce a few more characters. One of those characters was Albert of Brandenburg. Albert was not old enough to be a bishop, yet in 1517, he was already bishop over two cities, which was against church law. On top of that, he wanted to be archbishop of Mainz. To hold three offices was also against church law, which meant that Albert needed a papal dispensation. So now, Pope Leo X enters our story. Leo was from the Medici family of Florence. The Medici were a prominent banking clan and patrons of the arts. It was Leo who brought Michelangelo in to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican. Albert met with Leo about getting a dispensation, and like good businessmen they struck a deal. For ten thousand ducats, Albert could have his three bishoprics. But Albert had a problem: his money was largely in land and not in cash, so he needed to raise the money. The real main character in Reformation Day is not Luther. It's the Word of God. And so another character enters, the enterprising friar Johann Tetzel. He sold indulgences on Albert's behalf, and some of the money went to help Albert pay the cost of becoming archbishop of Mainz. These indulgences were supplied by the pope and not only provided for past sins to be forgiven but for future sins to be forgiven as well. And these indulgences also allowed the buyer to get his relatives out of purgatory. And so Tetzel began selling these indulgences, using a jingle to sell them: “As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” This development deeply troubled Luther. He saw how these things were contrary to the church's doctrine at the time, and he watched as the people under his care went to buy Tetzel's indulgences. So, he did what a scholar could do. He went into his study and penned his Ninety-Five Theses to invite public debate. He posted the theses on October 31. The very first thesis says this: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said ‘Repent,' willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.” It's fascinating that Luther makes this reference to Jesus' calling people to “repent” in Matthew 4:17. There is something else that came into play here, something else that explains Reformation Day. In 1516, the Greek New Testament was published by the humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus. And when Luther read the Greek New Testament, he realized that the Latin Vulgate—for centuries, the official text of the church—was wrong. The Vulgate had translated the Greek word in question—rendered in English as “repent”—as “do penance.” This translation had served for centuries to support the Roman Catholic sacramental system. The real main character in Reformation Day is not Luther. It's the Word of God. What Luther discovered as a monk is that for centuries, the true teachings of the Word of God had been hidden by century upon century of tradition. That's what Reformation Day is about: it's about pulling back the covers and releasing the power of the Word of God and the beauty and the truth of the gospel. That's why we celebrate Reformation Day.

258 If Only You Would Hear His Voice, A Guided Christian Meditation on Psalms 95:6-8 with the Recenter With Christ app I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: NABRE 6 Enter, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. 7 For he is our God, we are the people he shepherds, the sheep in his hands. Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the desert. ESV 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, Meditation on Scripture: What does God’s voice do in you? I’ve had conversations with people who are searching for a way to connect with God. It is my experience that the influence of the spirit reaches each of us in different ways. Just as each person has unique spiritual gifts, so too does each person receive God’s word differently. A huge part of the purpose of our lives is to learn how that works for us. Once we learn to listen, what do we hear? What else in our lives can we hear? St Benedict said in the 500s AD, “Listen carefully, my child, to the teaching of the master and bend close the ear of your heart.” I find this a powerful concept. Listen with the ear of our heart. When we learn to listen with this ear we can more clearly hear others and then love them. The teachings of our Master Jesus Christ constantly invite us to listen and follow. What does that listening and following look like in your life? Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: How does listening to God teach you to listen to others? Final Thought: I periodically get emails from people who have used this very podcast to help them deal with relationships. For example, I have heard from people who connect with God to help them overcome current or past abusive relationships God’s influence helped them get emotionally and spiritually safe. I also had someone reach out to me and show me how the very last communication she ever had with her own mother was to recommend this podcast and her mom liked the text. Then her mother died. Having faith in Christ can speak into every single relationship we have, including those we consider our enemies. FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

"If you want your life to count now and forever for Christ, here is all you need to do. Fear the Lord. Turn away from evil. Do that alone and your life will be magnificent." - Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. Today's Scripture: Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in your own eyes;   fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. (ESV) Don't be impressed with your own wisdom.   Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.  (MSG) Other verses mentioned in the episode: Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. (Romans 12:16) Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:21) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7) [[ theme verse]] Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 1:28-29) Then you will discern the fear of the Lord And discover the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:5) Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. says, “Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Yes, it's a simple thing to say. But we need to be told, because it is radical. The first of Martin Luther's 95 Theses was this: Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ in saying, “Repent, “ intended that the whole life of believers should be repentance. You probably have a to do list for this coming week. Here are the priorities God wants at the top of your list in terms of urgency. #1: Fear the Lord. #2: Turn away from evil. #3: As time permits, breathe. That is the urgency of your life this week. It will add greatness to your life. It will add life to your life. It will save you from a wasted life.” If you want a place to see and answer the questions I ask in the episode and to keep track of the discoveries you make as we study Proverbs, we include a set of free journal pages for this devotional series in each of our Sunday emails  Free journal pages to follow the study: www.getwisdom.link/email www.getwisdompublishing.com www.graceandthegravelroad.com

No more fear & restlessness in your life by the experience of the Presence of Jesus. May the grace of our Master Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of our Father God and the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit be with you all! Love & Shalom in Yeshua!

Message delivered on the Death and Resurrection our Lord and Master Jesus Christ by Rev. Richard Kwasi Yeboah. It is unlike for many to understand that the Resurrection is of a greater benefit to believers. Listen to this message as the servant of God expounds and the benefit Christians enjoy from the Benefit of the Resurrection.

Reading by Margareth Sembiring and meditation by Father Peter Tukan, SDB A MEANINGFUL HOLY THURSDAY Our meditation today has the theme: A Meaningful Holy Thursday. Thursday in the Holy Week is called Holy Thursday and white is its dominant liturgical color. Vestments for the ministers and servers, and the decoration are all in white or golden appearance. This color symbolizes joy and glory. Today's celebration, meaning the Last Supper celebration tonight, centers on Jesus Christ's actions that give us meanings of glory, joy, power and feast. In this celebration there is a ceremony of Jesus washing the feet of His apostles. This action of Jesus teaches us to serve one another in humility. This is the sign of a great joy. The atmosphere of joy and the triumph of love that we share together as a community of People of God can be manifested through our mutual services. For this, Jesus says that we must love one another as He first loves us. He teaches us His greatest law written in the Scriptures, namely to love our neighbors. The celebration tonight reminds us of the Eucharist, the great sacrifice of the Holy Mass instituted by Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself, for that was what His Father willed . His words and deeds of love are actually the sources of our joy and they are the signs of the presence of God's glory. The Eucharist itself is our joy, as the incarnated Word of God present in His Body and becomes the spiritual food we share together as one Church. Along with the Eucharist, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Priesthood. This is an important joy for the entire Church because this Priesthood aims to perform the Eucharist for the whole members of the Church. The priesthood exercises the power of the Lord who leads the People of God and guides them in the light and truth of the Lord. In this celebration we also remember the critical moments of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where beads of blood sweat flowing and dripping to bring Him to the glory of the cross which was just close at hand. The atmosphere of Gethsemane was full of trials and death threat that made everything so frightening and dangerous. But like the Lord himself, we must have courage and faith in order to able to pass through. Between Gesthsemane and Golgotha there ​​is a crucial moment when one experiences how the suffering and death are already awaiting to an actual happening. Usually the temptation always comes to bring him or her away from that terrifying reality. Jesus himself even says: O Father, let this cup pass from me. But we must follow our Master Jesus Christ, who with all willingness and encouragement went on to overcome the temptation, and be able to drink the cup of sufferings. This is the real Christian joy. Although almost all of us do not experience the usual Holy Thursday Evening celebration because of the Covid-19 outbreak, we all as a congregation should still experience spiritually the joy of the Eucharist and the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ in each of us and in our families. Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen our faith to continue to believe and be faithful to the Eucharist as a means of our salvation. Our Father who art in heaven... In the name of the Father ... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/media-la-porta/message

What is the one of the best things you can give someone? In Matthew 18 Jesus uses a story to tell about 2 servants. One received, but he never gave to his servant. There is a principle there for us. let's not be like that servant, let's give in the measure we received, and in so doing, we'll be able to enjoy fully what we received from the Master Jesus Christ.

Preached by Apostle Sydney Quaye, Head Pastor of Shekinah Avenue. There are essential things Christians should develop as a lifestyle. These Christian essentials are revelations, attitudes, principles, instructions, and commitments that must be understood and practiced by all until it becomes a lifestyle. In this message, Apostle uses the example of David and the Master Jesus Christ to admonish us to cultivate the habit of “Prayer”. He assures us from the word that God has qualified us and therefore our prayers are heard and answered. So, we should be confident and willing to pray without ceasing. May the attitude of a consistent prayer life be stirred up in you as you listen and pray along with this message.

Luke 13:1-9 Sermon Notes1. The Worst Sinners? vv. 1-52. The Warning Shot, vv. 6-73. The “One More” Solution, vv. 8-9Questions for Reflection:1. Read vv. 1-5 and then read John 9:1-3. Is Jesus denying that the blind man and his parents sinned? Or is denying that their sin is the cause of his blindness? Also, how are “the works of God” displayed in this man? (See the rest of John 9, especially vv. 7, 13-16, 24-25, 30, 32-33)2. Martin Luther once wrote: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.” How do you see this idea explained in Scripture? (If you can’t think of an example, see Romans 6:19 and Romans 7:12-25.)3. Why doesn’t God punish all sin right now? Why does He wait so long? (First off, we should be glad He does wait. But also see Romans 2:1-4, especially v.4, regarding God’s kindness and patience.)

Pastor Ross preached from Luke 3:1-24 on John the Baptist's message of repentance. Repentance Is How God Breaks Through Repentance is How God Breaks Through Ross Tenneson / General Luke / Repentance; Baptism / Luke 3:1–14 Summary Exegetical Main Point: True children of God must repent and bear the fruit of loving other people with their possessions. Sermon Main Point: Repentance delivers us from death and brings us new life. Sticky: We must repent daily to get more of God. Sermon Me (Connection) Just the other night at dinner, I was out with my parents for my mother’s birthday. My cousin had come over for Christmas a few days earlier. Sometimes when we interact, I feel like she has some barbs and walls and won’t let me connect with her like I want to. I didn’t quite know it at the time, but our interactions had left me with a frosty heart. When I was talking with my parents at dinner, I blurted out something about her that completely lacked compassion toward her. My heart will crop up anytime and anywhere and the only option for the Christian is to repent in that moment. We (Tension) I’m going to get into this more in the sermon, but repentance is related to acknowledge your wrong and seek to restore the relationship you have damaged. Thankfully, by the grace of God, I was able to repent in this situation. Other times though, it is harder to admit you are wrong and seek to restore the relationship you have damaged. We find ourselves in the worst situation when the person we do not want to repent to is God, and yet we need to. Here are a few reasons we don’t: We may love our sin just too much and not want to let it go. We may dread facing him and it is easier to just keep running away. We may feel stuck and unable to return to him and don’t know why. The question I want to answer in this sermon is: What do I do when I need to repent but I don’t want to? And if you are not yet a follow of Jesus, I want to explain to you why repenting to God could be the most important thing you ever do in your life. God (Revelation) The Messenger (vv. 1-6) Now that we have walked through Jesus’ birth narrative and a story of his childhood, we fast forward several years. He is now a man of thirty and he is about to begin his three year ministry. These three years will be the most consequential in history. Let’s see how Luke introduces this part of the narrative. Luke begins in verse one by turning our attention back to the historical context. We are actually about to see a bunch of names listed one after the other. It may leave us wondering, “where is he going with this?” His slowing down is actually literary technique that is building a sense of tension toward a significant point.[1] He says in verses one and two, English Standard Version Chapter 3 3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. What do we see Luke is building up to? “the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” This phrase is a call back to Old Testament prophets.[2] After over 400 years of silence toward his people, God has finally begun to speak again. Through this poor prophet in the wilderness, God beings expressing his authoritative revelation: an authority that surpasses that of the earthly political and religious leaders whom John contrasts in this text.[3] God gives his authoritative word to John in the wilderness. And he sends him into the region of the Jordan river. What would be first thing God would want to say to his people after all this time of distance and silence? Verse 3 tells us, English Standard Version Chapter 3 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. So John comes out of the wilderness after being there for many years, back into civilization and starts preaching sermons about how people need to come and receive a baptism from him and receive forgiveness from God for their sins. He is saying, “your biggest problem is not what you might think it is. It’s not the political system, or your financial situation, or your divorce, or your poverty. Your biggest problem is you need forgiveness of sins.” That’s true for all of us this evening: our biggest need is for God to forgive us of our wrongdoing. And he brings this beautiful picture along with him to accompany his message: baptism. In other words, “For anyone who receives forgiveness of sins, I want to accompany it with a beautiful picture: of lowering you down into the water and pulling you back out again.” The water symbolizes the washing away of guilt and shame and also of the new life as John would symbolically lower people into their grave and pull them back up out of it in a picture of new life. John then references Isaiah as foretelling his ministry and what he is accomplishing. Like so many other references in Luke, these verses come from Isaiah 40, English Standard Version Chapter 3 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” These verses speak of a highway God is constructing to come to his people The king of highway you would construct for the arrival of a king.[4] It is not a literal highway, it is a figurative highway. God overcomes every obstacle to his coming, including sin and rebellion and unbelief.[5] God was about to come and be among his people. When he says, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God,” It adds into Luke the theme that people of all nationalities, not just ethnic Jews, will experience the salvation of God.[6] Essentially, we see God removing obstacles in order to come to his people. He is filling valleys and leveling mountains to get to them. When God sets his eyes on someone to save, he does so with unstoppable power. What obstacle could possibly stand in the way of God from coming to his people? The Message (vv. 7-9) We now get to see what the obstacle is and how God will remove it. Verse seven immediately reveals to us what it is. At this point, crowds of people had gathered to listen to John preach. Here is the beginning of his message to them: English Standard Version Chapter 3 7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Is this what you would expect a man of God to say? We might think he would come and say, “God loves you.” Or, “you’re special just the way you are.” Yet, that’s not what people need to hear. He’s not trying to hurt or demean the crowds of people: he is trying to show them something. Something they need to desperately see lest they will not be able to receive God when he comes and they will remain cut off from him. What is it that they need to see? That the greatest obstacle keeping them from God, above everything else, is their own sinful hearts. There’s nothing out there: no army, no mountain, no devil that is keeping them from God; it’s in here. That’s what’s the matter. This is what John means when he address the crowd as a “brood of vipers:” the imagery of snakes in the Bible image Satan and his rebellion against God. For them to be a brood of vipers means that the same rejection and rebellion against God is in their own hearts. John shows us that you don’t have to be a ruler to oppose or reject God, ordinary people do it all the time. And if we are all honest here, apart from the grace of God, we too have this same opposition and rejection to God in our hearts. John then asks them this question: “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” There was a whole slew of people there in the crowd. Some sinners with a poor reputation and some religious leaders of the day. Yet, John adjusts all of their expectations. He declares that they have hearts that oppose God and not only will it keep God from coming to them, they will eventually face his never-ending wrath in punishment. This crowd represents all of humanity: this is who we all are apart from the grace of God. Why is that? The biggest reason is the God that John is proclaiming is a holy God! Do you know what the word means? It means God is so pure, so spotless, so perfect, he is utterly beyond us in every way, unimaginably so. And when he comes into contact with our sin, his holiness compels him to judge us! Hence, since God is returning to the earth to be kind and each of us are sinners, wrath is coming! The Bible says even if we die, he will raise us up to face the judgement. John is not pulling any punches: he is being completely direct. Which is actually good for this crowd of people and is good for me and you also. One pastor puts it this way: “hard truths make soft people.” I think the most important question at this point is: is there any hope for these crowds of people who are under the wrath of God— these crowds of people who represent all of humanity, even us? In the beginning of verse 8, we see the alternative to living in opposition to God and his purposes. It says, English Standard Version Chapter 3 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. The one solution to the object in our heart cutting us off from God and bringing his wrath upon us is “repentance and the fruit that comes from it.” Well, in that case, we better well know what repentance is. This is a religious sounding word we throw around a lot. Think for a moment, how would you explain this to someone who didn’t know what it means. The Greek word means most directly a “change of Mind.”[7] At its most basic level: it is the turning away from sin and instead turning toward God. It is the renewal of the inward man that results in outward change in how you live.[8] Here is how the Apostle Paul puts it in Acts 26:20 English Standard Version Chapter 26 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. You might ask, “how can I flee from the coming wrath? How can I remove the obstacle in my heart so that God may come into my life and I may enjoy him?” (those who are not yet following Jesus, this question is for you) The answer in a word, is “repentance.” Acknowledge in your heart that you are indeed a sinner and have need for a savior, and then turn to Jesus as your savior in faith and hope and belief. Trust that his perfect life and death on the cross pays for your sins and removes them from you. While I’m talking mostly about repentance, I want us to know that faith in Jesus goes hand in hand with repentance. They are two sides of the same coin. To turn from you sins is repentance and alternatively to turn to Christ in trust is faith. Here is how the Apostle Paul explains John’s message in Acts 19:4 English Standard Version Chapter 19 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” You might ask, how do I know I have repented? John’s teaching here is very helpful. He does not say merely “repent,” but rather, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Does anyone here like apples? They are so good! (unless they are rotten or sour!) Good apples come from good trees. It’s the image God uses to show us what repentance is like. Repentance is the process of the tree (or in our case our hearts) changing from being corrupted to being holy. The “fruit” is the new ways we love God and others that grow out of our changed hearts. The way you know if you have really repented is very simple. John is saying you know you have repented when your life changes and you don’t commit particular sins as much anymore— possibly some of them not at all anymore. There is an inward hatred of sin and remorse for the ways we have fallen short in repentance (Calvin). The way your life changes does not (and can never!) save you, it only shows that God has already saved you. God doesn’t save those who are righteous; he saves those who know they are not.[9] And just to be clear, repentance is not only for unbelievers. Martin Luther taught us, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” If you are already walking with Jesus, the most relevant question to ask is not, “did I repent back when I accepted Jesus?; rather it’s, “have I repented afresh today?” I wake up needing to repent every day. The first thought on my heart in the morning is not, “only Jesus!” It’s usually much less holy than that. I need to turn immediately from the worries or the cravings I have and come to Jesus for help. Now I want to raise an important question: why do we not repent sometimes? John anticipates what is going on in the hearts of his listeners and what will keep them from turning from loving their sin to loving God. He warns them in the second part of verse 8, English Standard Version Chapter 3 And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. The Jewish audience who was listening to John thought they had no need of repentance. They thought that God was comfortable with their sin because of their connection to Abraham (the first Jew through whom God made the whole nation). They thought, “If I’m this guy’s descendent, then God will forgive me no matter what because he promised him spiritual descendents.” They thought they were aligned with God’s kingdom, but they were actually opposing God for no greater reason than they hadn’t repented. And the question at hand is: how will they respond to John’s stinging rebuke? After all, baptism at this time was a ritual washing for gentiles to join the Jewish people, and here is John telling Jews that they, the descendents of Abraham, also needed a washing and cleansing.[10] He said to them, “you are not God’s people like you think you are, you need to become God’s people through repentance. God actually doesn’t need you at all: he could make worshippers from these rocks, but if your turn from your wickedness, he will forgive you.” This kind of language could get him stoned or killed by the crowd. Before we see, let’s notice that John reveals in this verse one major thing that keeps us from repenting: we construct false understandings of ourselves in which we don’t see ourselves as in need of repenting. We think of all sorts of things that we use to convince ourselves that God is okay with us and we don’t need to renounce ourselves yet again and turn to him in fresh dependence. What are some of the one’s you come up with? Perhaps it’s some sacrifice or some good work that you have done, so God owes you. Perhaps it’s that your parents were Christians and you grew up in a Christian household, so God must be alright with you. Perhaps it’s that you pray a lot or read your Bible a lot. Perhaps it’s that you go to church or you were baptized. Perhaps it’s that your parents think you are a perfect child or you do everything you can to be the perfect parent. For me, it’s “I’m not really that bad” or “God knows all the sacrifices I make and all the ways I serve him, so he is alright with me.” And yet, whether or not you are a follower of Jesus yet, this is a need we all have each and every day: to repent. For the unbeliever, you need to repent so you can have your sins forgiven and for the believer we need to repent so that we can have more of Jesus today. This brings me to my main point: We must repent daily so that we can have more of God. In repenting, we both die and rise. When repenting, it will actually never feel pleasant because there is no repenting without renouncing yourself. At the level of your heart, you embrace that what you did fell short, and you part ways with your false identity that you are alright without God. Until we repent, we are all wearing a mask where we pretend everything is alright with us when it’s not. The mask the crowd was wearing is “descendent of Abraham.” The masks we wear are other ways we come up with the avoid the fact that we need God’s forgiveness for the particular sins in our lives. When we repent to God, the mask comes off and that false version of ourselves dies. It’s that moment where we just kind of cringe and think, “could this really be me?” And yet it is the same moment where God removes the obstacle that was keeping him from our hearts and he comes to us! Some of my sweetest moments of communion with Jesus have been after my hardest falls. That’s because those falls bring me to repentance and I stop pretending I’m alright and plead desperately to Christ and he answers! And then, our lives and behaviors change to become more like Jesus. If you repent, you get to be with and be like Jesus. What could be better than that? John is very clear. His command to repent is not a suggestion or something we should just ponder, but rather it is urgent! He says in verse 9, English Standard Version Chapter 3 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Judgment from a holy God who cannot tolerate any sin is coming imminently. We are always one heart beat away from eternity, and quite frankly we never know if the next moment will be the one Jesus comes back and judges the earth. So, quite frankly, judgment is as close to us as a sharpened axe, laying beside the tree it is about to fell. And John is clear that part of judgment will be an inspection of our lives. He says “every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” As repentance is an inward renewal of our hearts that has outward effects on how we act and live, God will inspect to see if we have repented by whether or not our lives have changed at all. I just want to be clear: the Bible does not teach that we earn it or that we have to do enough good works to get God’s love. It teaches that once we have it, the evidence of our having received it is how our lives change. God will save us as we are, but never leave us as we are. God can accept us as we are, even before we change at all, because of Jesus. Jesus hung on a tree and received the axe stroke of God’s wrath in our place already so we would never have to. The goodness of Jesus and all he has done is the reason we can lay down our false sense of our own righteousness and come to him in repentance and faith. I want to be clear here: changing your behavior does not put you in a right relationship with God. Your heart shifting from loving sin to loving Jesus and then placing your trust in Jesus to be your savior puts you in a relationship with God. Then, the way that inward renewal changes the way your live shows God has already saved you. Yet, we need to understand a critical warning here: if sin characterizes our lives and we are not turning from it, then the wrath of God still hangs over us. A true inward renewal will always show itself in outward transformation. I have a word that I want to speak to those who do not yet follow Jesus (although this also applies to you if you are a follower of Jesus). Each of us is either fleeing to God or fleeing from God. Unexpectedly, the way to flee from God’s wrath, is to flee to God as savior through Jesus Christ. Please, if you are not yet a believer in God, think that you can run away and escape from him somehow. Here is what one Bible teacher named John Calvin said, “For a good part of men, in order to escape the wrath of God, withdraw themselves from his guidance and authority. But all that the sinner gains by fleeing from God, is to provoke more and more the wrath of God against him.”[11] If may feel safer, and more comfortable to flee from God now and not face him in repentance and be right with him. But oh, you will have wish you had when you leave this earth when you still had a chance to flee from his wrath. This is actually a very scandalous message! The Jew’s message that God would save religious Pharisees is actually pretty tame. When John breaks down that notion and says repentance is the only way for God to save someone, it opens up the floodgates. Through repentance, any person can be saved! Were an Isis terrorist or a neo-Nazi to walk through the door and repent, they would be welcome into God’s people. How amazing how God has done it! The self-sufficient religious get left out, and the poor sinner who knows he needs a savior is welcome. Now we can see the answer to the dilemma: how can I repent when I don’t want to by putting together the last few verses: (1) We must see ourselves rightly as sinners in need of a savior. We have to take our masks off and forsake our false identities by reminding ourselves of the goodness of God. We hide from God when we don’t believe he is good and will receive us, yet come to God when he is good and know that he will forgive us. Romans 2:4 says, English Standard Version Chapter 2 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (2) Conversely, we need to remind ourselves regularly of how terrible God’s judgment is if we do not repent. John reminds us that the axe is laid by the tree and if we do not bear fruit, we will pass into the judgement of God. Rehearsing both of these truths: our need for a savior and the goodness of God, and the terrible judgement of God help bring us to repentance when we feel stuck. I remember when I was stuck in the habitual sin of pornography, it was reminding myself of the wrath of God that helped me get free. I remember telling myself, “Ross you will either break this habit and stop doing this, or you will keep doing it and go to hell— it’s your choice.” And God used that powerfully to help me. I want to talk about verses 12-14 on the midweek podcast and share with you a quote from Rosaria Butterfield about how powerful of an effect repentance could have in our community if we embraced it: Paul knows how deep real repentance goes— how it undoes a sinner and remakes him, and how it leaves him raw, vulnerable, and transparent. I imagine Paul— years after the Lord had made him an apostle, years after his days of slaughtering Christians for religious zeal— breaking bread with a fellow believer and recognizing something in the shape of an eye, the turning up of a nose, the tone of a laugh or cry. I also imagine the horror that could have seized him, stopped him, made him gasp for breath. I can feel the recognition: that eye, that nose, that voice, so similar to someone he had murdered. Paul may have found himself at table fellowship with the children of a faithful mother that he had killed in his Pharisaical zeal. Repentance changes everything. Through it, you become something you could never imagine. And repentance is a gift from God. It cannot be manufactured or faked. Repentance goes so deep and transforms us in such miraculous ways because it is a work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gets all the credit when we repent and he gets all the glory for what happens when we repent. It is a sweet, wonderful gift that shows us what a wonderful savior we have. [1] Runge, S. E. (2010). Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament: A Practical Introduction for Teaching and Exegesis (p. 216). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. [2] Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 159–180. [3] Philip Graham Ryken, Luke, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, vol. 1, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009), 114–125. [4] Morris, L. (1988). Luke: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 3, p. 112). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [5] Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 252–254. [6] Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 252–254. [7] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 640). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [8] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 190. [9] Tim Keller sermon, The Dangerous God, https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/the-dangerous-god-6278/. [10] [10] Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 30–34. [11] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 189.

When Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, sparking the Lutheran Reformation, he started with a very basic premise in his first thesis: When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.This Reformation Day sermon uses the alternate RCL text for the day and focuses on the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector who had gone to the Temple to pray. It uses the Tax Collector's prayer as a model of the Christian life.

Coming to Christ is the intitial and most important decision one can ever make. And then we invest, or should, our lives to doing what the Master Jesus Christ instructs us to do by His Spirit.  And He anoints us to minister the Gospel in every ASPECT of our lives!! (Luke 4:18)

A short story about a little boy and girl (brother and sister), each time their mum asked what they were about to do when kneeling down to pray, they will reply "praying to our Divine Yahuah and His beloved son Master Jesus Christ” about their Divine soul purpose and life mission.

Thanking God for the Reformation Part 3 - Luther's 95 Theses  G’day and welcome to our series, Thanking God for the Reformation, where we are looking at and celebrating that momentous event in history, and including in that, Church history. These are extracts from the book “Heroes And Heretics Abound” available on Amazon sites. As we saw yesterday in Part 2 of this series, on 31st October 1517, Luther nailed his 95 Theses, statements against indulgences, to the Castle Church door at Wittenberg. Here are the opening 3 statements of Luther’s 95 Theses… Download the audio mp3 using the link below to hear them all… They may not be as you think!   1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. 2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy. 3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.    These are extracts from the book “Heroes And Heretics Abound” available on Amazon sites. Click or Tap here to listen to or save this as an audio mp3 file ~ You can now purchase our Partakers books! Please do click or tap here to visit our Amazon site! Click or tap on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!

HAVE YOU BEEN SET FREE BYTHE GREAT WORK THE JESUS DID ON THE CROSS? THERE'S ROOM AT THE CROSS FOR YOU, THOUGH MILLIONS HAVE COME THERE'S STILL ROOM FOR ONE, THERE'S ROOM AT THE CROSS FOR YOU. SEE YOU AND YOURS IN THE WORLD OF RADIO, RIGHT HERE AS WE OPEN UP GOD'S WORD.  BRING FAMILY AND FRIENDS. TO THE CROSS OF JESUS. BLESSINGS AND SHALOM, EVANGELIST LACEY KAY GREEN www.laceykayministries.org  contact me there. pray for the lost and dying world.  

HAVE YOU BEEN SET FREE BYTHE GREAT WORK THE JESUS DID ON THE CROSS? THERE'S ROOM AT THE CROSS FOR YOU, THOUGH MILLIONS HAVE COME THERE'S STILL ROOM FOR ONE, THERE'S ROOM AT THE CROSS FOR YOU. SEE YOU AND YOURS IN THE WORLD OF RADIO, RIGHT HERE AS WE OPEN UP GOD'S WORD.  BRING FAMILY AND FRIENDS. TO THE CROSS OF JESUS. BLESSINGS AND SHALOM, EVANGELIST LACEY KAY GREEN www.laceykayministries.org  contact me there. pray for the lost and dying world.  

The Point: Apart from JESUS our lives, our families, and our country will fall APART.How do we respond?When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance. – Martin Luther

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” – Martin Luther (the 1st of 95 Theses)

Last week, we learned it was helpful to each other to be generous with our service, kindness, and truth. This week, our founding pastor Erick Riddle took us to the life of Elijah to remind us that if we wish to be helpful to others in God's kingdom and our circles of influence, we must steward carefully the gifts of time, energy, and health that he has given us. If we aren't operating with good rest and good margins, we won't be in a position to help others, or serve our Lord and Master Jesus Christ!

Martin Luther said, "Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ…willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." Everything in our lives flows from repentance - relationship with God and others, worship and mission.

Introduction On October 31, 1517, history was changed forever when Martin Luther took the Ninety-Five Theses and nailed them to the door of the Wittenberg Castle. He saw a problem in the way the medieval Catholic church was addressing salvation. He was incensed by the preaching of a friar named Tetzel who was preaching indulgences and misleading people, concerning what it is that saves our souls from sins. He was moved by it, by zeal for the glory of God and by concern for souls. And so, being an academic, he wanted to debate about it. So he wrote out these Ninety-Five Theses and nailed them to the door of the Wittenberg Castle and thus began the Reformation. Very important beginning, but I'm interested in how the Ninety-Five Theses themselves begin. The first thesis said this: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when he said ‘repent,’ he willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.” What kind of revivals would come in this church or even in evangelical churches across America if we read and understood the import of those words? That you, as a child of God, should spend your whole life in repentance. Now, the beginning of the Reformation was important, but even more important was the beginning of Jesus' preaching ministry. Jesus began his preaching ministry with the exact same conviction. Matthew 4:17, “From that time on, Jesus began to preach ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” He called on the people of God to repent from their sins. The very thing that John the Baptist had been doing, same message. My yearning today is that this sermon would be a call from almighty God to you, the people of God, to repent. And me too. To repent earnestly, to turn away from sin, hating it as we have never hated it before. Motivated as never before to be conformed to the image of Christ, in purity and holiness. To fight against the influences of the devil and the world, as they call to our indwelling sin to commit acts of sin, to yield to temptation that we would fight as never before, and grow in holiness. I'm calling on you and on me, the Spirit is calling on us to repent from sin. To be serious about sin, to take it seriously and to mortify it, to put it to death. Now last time I began by looking at a parallel passage, Romans 7. In Romans 7, these ideas that are in just seed form here in Colossians 3 are more fully developed. There Paul said, “I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do I do not do.” What does that mean? He wants to be holy, he wants to have a good quiet time, he wants to share his faith, he wants to say no to wickedness and ungodliness, he wants to be a Christlike, kind loving person in all circumstances, he wants to put a guard over his mouth, and never say anything that would defile his soul or hurt others. He wants all of this, he has great ambitions for holiness, but he says, “What I want to do, I do not do.” Conversely, what I hate, now that's what I do. I don't understand myself. The very thing I hate, I do. Why? Well he says, as it is, “It is no longer I who do it but it is sin living in me that does it.” So we began with this despicable enemy. This vile thing. How do we picture it within us? Sin living in me, in my body. How much do I yearn to have it out? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” There's my hope. This is a hopeful sermon. We will be filled with righteousness if we're in Christ. But right now is a time of hungering and thirsting for that filling. Of yearning for it, and repentance. Therefore, Paul calls on us in verse five, Colossians 3 to warfare. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature,” put it to death. “Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry,” put it to death. “Anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language from your lips and lying,” put them to death, all of them, and all the others besides. Now the context here in Colossians 3 is the full flowering of what Christ has done for us. We have been made complete in Christ. We have been given gospel completeness. Jesus came. He who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. He came and entered the world, he took on a human body. So therefore the physical universe is not evil as the Colossian heretics were teaching. It's not evil, or else Jesus would never have taken it on. He took on a human body. In human flesh, there was the fullness of deity. He suffered on a cross and died that we might have full freedom from sin but the Colossian heretics are saying that's not enough, that's not enough. You've got to have human philosophy. Gotta understand things, a kind of secret wisdom coming from man. You've gotta have that secret philosophy. And you've got to have Jewish legalism, coupled with that asceticism, the harsh treatment of the body. All the Jewish rules and regulations, leading to a harsh treatment of the body. And to kind of lift it up into the spiritual realms, you can have the worship of angels, mysticism, this concoction of heresy, is what was afflicting the Colossian church. Paul says these things lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence, they don't work, they don't sanctify us and they sure don't save us from our sins. Instead, the work of Christ does, and he gives us a different vision of life in Colossians 3:1-17, a vision of a happy, healthy, fruitful Christian life. You wanna be happy, you wanna be healthy, you wanna be fruitful as a Christian, then immerse yourself in the practical wisdom of Colossians 3:1-17. It begins with a heavenly mindset, Colossians 3:1-4, “Set your minds on things above, set your hearts on things above, not on earthly things, for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” And because of that, put sin to death. Because of where you're going. Because of how glorious it's gonna be, because of the fact there'll be no sin there. You'll be stripped of it forever and how delighted will you be at that time, because of that, because Christ is your life, because he's coming back to judge the earth, because of all of these things that put it to death, put sin to death, that's the context. Vigorous Warfare Against Sin (vs. 5-9) Steely-Eyed Killers of Sin And so I said last time that you're to be a steely-eyed killer of sin, show it no pity, hunt it down and assassinate it, show it no mercy. And John Owen, in his classic On the Mortification, or the killing, of Sin, he said, “You need to be killing sin or sin will be killing you,” it's that simple. And I said last time that happiness and fruitfulness is impossible without warfare. You can't go to heaven on a flowery bed of ease, it's impossible. If you're on a flowery bed of ease right now you are deceived, you need to wake up and you need to fight sin. It's impossible to go to heaven that way, it's through much difficulty that we enter heaven. Understanding the Enemy Outside the Walls And this is part of the difficulty. Part of it is persecution through faithfulness and witness, the part of it is this internal battle that we must fight, a part of our salvation. And so I said we have to understand who we're fighting, we have to understand Satan, how clever he is, how relentless, how powerful, how vicious, and we have to understand the world system that he has crafted. A masterpiece of wickedness crafted to entice us and to lure us constantly, lure us toward sin. The pull, like a magnet, like an overpowering magnetic attraction pulled all the way, away from God, away from holiness, away from purity toward defiling things and wickedness, like a magnetic attraction. Understanding the Body … and the Enemy Within the Walls Well, you don't have to be a physicist, you don't have to be an engineer, to know magnets don't attract wood, they attract iron, they attract something and there's something inside us that is attracted to all that. Isn't that disgusting? There's something in me that likes it, that's attracted to it. So I've likened it to having like chunks of iron or iron filings that I kind of eat and take into myself, and then the pull gets stronger and it's harder to resist, and they come out, like one at a time with a tweezer. And so, it's so important that we not immerse ourselves in evil things, the enemy outside calls to the enemy within and the two of them do business at moments of temptation and we sin, and that's the battle. And therefore we have to understand our body, our body created originally in the image of God, nothing wrong with any biological function, sexual, digestive, any of the functions God created, these things are good. God made them that way, there's nothing wrong with that, there's nothing wrong with the human body, per se. But there's something wrong with the body of sin. There's something wrong with the body of death, and that's what these bodies are called: body of sin, body of death. That's what we have and why? Because of history. First of all, Adam's history. He sinned for us and we got from him a position before God and a nature. We were born with a nature of bent towards sin and as soon as we understand the law, we sin. As soon as we understand it, it happens. You parents know what I'm talking about, you've seen it happen. You were there at that moment, you were there twice because it happened to you when you were a child. And we understand sin, and look at verse 7, Colossians 3:7, “In these sins, sexual immorality, lusts, impurity, evil desires, greed. In these things you used to walk in the life you once lived.” That's how you used to live, you have a history with this. You programmed your body how to sin, you programmed your brain. Understanding Salvation So we have to understand this, we have to understand the body, and I said we also have to understand salvation. If you don't understand salvation, you won't know where mortification or putting sin to death fits in, you'll get it wrong, you'll make a mistake. And so there are three main parts to salvation: Justification, sanctification, glorification. Justification, at that moment by simple faith in Christ, by looking to Jesus crucified for you, His blood shed on the cross for you, trusting in that as your only righteousness. The exchange there: he taking your defilement on himself and suffering under the wrath of God, and him giving to you a gift, an immeasurable gift, an infinite gift of perfect righteousness, that is justification. And if you're a Christian today, that's already happened for you and nothing can reverse it. And God sees you today holy and blameless in Christ, perfect in position, nothing can change that. Nothing can move you from your secure position in justification, but that's not the end of the story now, is it? What you are in position, you need to become in practice, you need to start acting like Jesus more and more and more, and he was perfect. And you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. You must be like Jesus in every area. And the battle is a cooperative effort between the believer and the Holy Spirit. You work together. “If you,” Romans 8:13, “by the Spirit put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” You have to do it by the Spirit. Cooperation. And in that lies a struggle because some of you aren't cooperating very well. And neither am I from time to time. And this is a call on us to step up and put sin to death. It's our responsibility as justified Christians to be sanctified and to grow. Progressively grow more and more to be like Jesus. Then the third step: glorification. God takes over again. Just as he did in justification, he'll do it again in glorification. And instantaneously, all sin will be removed from you. Completely. And you will end up holy and blameless. Physically, mentally, morally, emotionally, spiritually, your body and your soul, or your heart, will be pure as Christ. And you will dwell in that state forever. That's the whole salvation plan. By the way, we are calling “Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel.” That's what he came to do. And he will not stop until it's done for all of his children. Naming the Battlefields Now, we have to get specific. Last time, we named the battlefield sins of perverted love, lust, sexual immorality. Sins of broken relationships, anger, rage, malice, slander. We talked about those in detail last time. This is what's besetting us. And friends, this is an immensely truncated list. There's far more sins than just these. They're just suggestive of the kind of things we fight. What Is at Stake And what's at stake? Colossians 3:6, “Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming.” The wrath of God. I heard a sermon this past week. Don Whitney preached an incredible sermon, wrote a book on spiritual disciplines, and I heard him preach on hell. Very few of us actually hear sermons, expositions, on hell. And it left me so grateful, so grateful for Jesus that I had been rescued from what I deserved. He focused on one verse, Matthew 25:41, what the judge of all the earth will say to the goats, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” One verse tells you what you need to know about hell. I'm tempted to just preach that sermon because it was so good. Terrifying Warning But hell is real. Hell is terrifying. It's eternal. It's powerful. And Jesus warned us, more than any person in history, Jesus warned us from hell. No other prophet or apostle spoke as much about hell as Jesus did. But Jesus rescues us from the coming wrath. Praise God. Praise God. 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “Jesus rescues us from the coming wrath.” He is doing it right now through this sermon. He is rescuing you from the coming wrath. And he'll keep on rescuing you until he will finally rescue you on the Day of Judgment from the coming wrath. The rescue is present and the wrath is future. And the rescue is going on right now, and it will continue until the day you die. And then He will finally rescue you, and there'll be no more threat. Forever. That's what's at stake. Practical Guidelines for Killing Sin How do we do it? This is where we get practical. And here I just lean on a brother in Christ who's been dead for centuries. His name is John Owen. And he wrote a book called Mortification of Sin. And you may have noticed, when you came in, these books. God wants you, I think, to have this book and to read it. And so I've made 200 of them available for free. The price is right, okay? They're at the entrance, or I guess, now exits of the sanctuary. Back there, side tables, inside there's 200 of them. There's more than 200 people here. So there's a little psychology going on here. A little competition, alright? But I'll say this. If you want one at the end of this day, and didn't get one, I'll see to it you get one, alright? So I bought 200 of them. They're available. Along with that is a paper I wrote when I was in seminary. Now, I'm not saying this is any great thing, but this is like the CliffsNotes version, okay. To this, it's basically a summary of his arguments. Don't do this instead of this, okay. Do this to help you with this. But you can get all these pages down, and you can skip if you want to all the introductory stuff about Owen, the history and all that, and just go to the summary of what he wrote. And from this, I got what you're about to hear in my sermon. So this is a thin stream of this, and this is a thin extract of this. So I would just urge you to go to this, and be convicted, and to be strengthened. Get it. You're all gonna be out of here quickly, and go grab them. But as I said, if you don't, if you want one and didn't get one, let me know. Call the office. Talk to me. Well, don't talk to me at the end, I won't remember. I won't know what you said to me. But email or whatever, and say, “I wanted to get one, didn't get one.” We'll order some more. But it would be a tragedy for this book to sit in stacks on the table as you guys are walking by it. That makes no sense. Even if you have a copy at home, take another one so you can give it to somebody who might need it. Come to Christ Practical advice. First step. This is where I ended last time. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. You have no business fighting sin if you're not a Christian. You know why? You can't put sin to death because sin's already put you to death. You're dead spiritually. Dead in your transgressions and sins, Ephesians 2, in which you used to live. So you can't fight it. You're already killed. And only Jesus can give you life. Come to Christ. And he will give you life. And part of that life will be mortification. So if you're here today, and you don't know whether you're saved, you have never trusted in Christ, then the rest you can get to by and by, but you come and look to Jesus. Look to him dead on the cross. His blood shed for you. Think, “He is my righteousness. He's my only hope for escape from hell. I must have Christ,” and look to him and then the mortification can begin. Come to Christ. We talked about that last time. Determine to Fight this Vicious Battle Every Day Secondly, to you Christians, determine to fight this vicious battle every day. Make it your business every day to get up and mortify the deeds of the flesh. John Owen put it this way, “There's not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is prevailed upon and it will be whilst we live in this world.” In another place he likened it, as I've said many times, to a wrestling match with a poisonous viper. Imagine you've got this snake by the head and it's hissing and it's strong and all that. And it's a battle to the death. You can't get halfway through and just, “I'm tired,” just put it down and try to walk away. It's not gonna let you go. You don't take a poisonous viper to bed with you. You don't coddle it like a pet. You don't feed it. You kill it. Be killing sin or sin will be killing you. You gotta get up every day and determine to fight this vicious battle. You don't get any days off. Sin's not gonna take any days off. By the way, the day you think you're taking a day off from sin, sin's winning. It's already deceived you. Rely on the Holy Spirit, Not on Fleshly Means Next, rely on the Holy Spirit, not on fleshly means. We already saw in Colossians 2 that harsh treatment of the body and all kinds of stuff lacks any value in restraining sensual indulgence. That will not work. And all of our steps in mortification, all they do is set the stage for the Spirit to kill the sin. He has the power to do it. And so all of these things are somewhat like Elijah in his battle with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. And they're up there and all of the sacrifice, all is ready, but the fire's gotta fall from heaven and so it is with mortification. Get everything ready and the Spirit will put the sin to death when you have done all the things he's commanded you to do. “If you, by the Spirit, put to death the misdeeds of the body.” So the Spirit acts somewhat like a weapon there. If you, by the Spirit, kill. And that's how it works. You must fight by the Holy Spirit. Be Cross-Centered Next, you must be cross-centered. Isaac Watts said, “When I survey the wondrous cross.” Every Sunday I look up at this big wooden cross up here over my head. I just look at it. I remind myself that Jesus died there. I think about it. I think about Jesus bleeding to death. Really that practically, that his blood was falling out of the wounds of his body, he was bleeding to death on the cross. I think about that. And I say to you that Christ's blood shed on the cross has sin-killing power in the minds and hearts of believers. Galatians 6:14, very important verse, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” You come to the cross and the world's allure and temptations and enticements look to be the filthy things they are. It was those things that put Jesus to death. So be cross-centered, be much in meditation on Christ's death on the cross and sin will shrivel as the nasty thing that it is. There's another sense in being cross-centered, and that is that you must crucify sin. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, sin is not going to die while you live, it isn't. Sins can die. But sin is gonna be with you until the Lord glorifies you. And so the image I have is lust up on the cross, slowly bleeding to death, and begging me to take it down off the cross every day. And woe to me if I get those tongs and pull the nails out and let lust down and feed it and give it a break and give it some... So it regains its strength a little, give it a little water and wipe it... That's lust! It wants to kill me. So I have to put it on the cross. I have to crucify it. It's a slow lingering death. Remember how Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly. It's not a quick death, it's a slow one. So be cross-centered. Understand what Mortification Is Not and What It Is Next, understand what mortification is not and what it is. I've already touched on this briefly, but first of all, it is not to kill any particular sin completely for that cannot be in this life. There are other schools of thought on sanctification that say you can have that sin removed from you like a bad tooth. And so if you could find a pastor who'll do that kind of dental work on you and remove that bad tooth of lust or covetousness or anger or unforgiveness, you could just have all those bad teeth removed one after the other. It's not like that. And the reason you know is, can you imagine, what would you think if you met a man or a woman who said, “You know, I used to struggle with such and such. But I never need to worry about that again.” What would you say to that person? “If any man or woman thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.” It's not over yet. So it's not killing one particular sin completely for that cannot be. Nor is it to allow sin to conceal itself and then to appear in a different costume. Oh, sin is tricky! You think you got lust down, but it's popping up in other areas. You don't do that anymore, but you do this instead. That's what it does. Nor is it to develop a quiet, thoughtful, peace-loving nature. Kind of like a monk in meditation. That's not mortification. And nor is it to divert a particularly annoying and troubling sin so that that sin pattern isn't so prevalent anymore. That's not it. Non-Christians can stop drinking, for example. They go to AA, they can stop drinking. They can divert certain things, but that's not mortification. And nor is it to conquer certain sins occasionally. Like, what's your batting average? That's not mortification. How are you doing? Three-quarters of the time, it used to be just two-thirds of the time, I say, no, but now I'm up to three quarters. Well, good brother, keep it going. That's not mortification. Well, what is it? It is a habitual weakening of sin's root as how a victim dies on the cross. Gradually, slowly losing power and influence over your soul. It is a constant fighting and contending against all indwelling sin, on all fronts. It involves both attack and defense. You go out after sin and cut off the things that it feeds on. You make no equipment or provision for providing for the lusts of the flesh. You don't have the equipment of it, it's out. You just go on attack, you go on a commando raid and get rid of things in your life. They're out. And also it's defensive. You're ready, you're ready, you're ready for the attack. Ready. It's coming. You know you're ready and your stand is both offensive and defensive. And it results in consistent success over individual temptations. Now, temptations you can kill. Individual occasions, you can kill. It comes to you, you see it, you know what's going on and you can say, “No! I won't. Not today. I will not do this.” You can do that. Resolve to Fight Sin on All Fronts It is a resolve to fight sin on all fronts. You're not gonna put the white flag up over any sin in your life. You're not gonna surrender, never, on any front. You're gonna fight all sin everywhere that it's found. Now, I say to you the Holy Spirit hasn't shown you everything. You can't handle the truth. It's not possible. Imagine if your eyes were open, you were to see how far you are from Jesus. It's overwhelming. You'd wanna die immediately. But if he has revealed some things to you, you must fight them on all fronts. Sin is evil, it is wicked. And God's work consists in universal obedience not just partial. Some people say, “I know this isn't right, but I'm really working on this right now.” It doesn't work. That's not mortification. Study the Lusts that Are Attacking You Next, study the lusts that are attacking you. Owen does a great job here on when a lust is particularly dangerous. And I can't go into the details but, basically, if it's survived lots of work on your part, lots of conviction, lots of occasion, times of weeping, people praying for you and all that and it's still around, be afraid. Be very afraid, it's a serious lust problem for you, whatever it may be. Serious habit. Take it seriously. Study also what the sin does to defeat you. I think too often, we just quickly confess and - No, no, no, break it down. What happened? You had a conflict with your spouse. You said you didn't wanna do that anymore, but here you did it again. Now, what happened? You walked in, he said this, she said that, this happened. What happened? What were you feeling? What was your motive? Where did pride creep in? Look for pride 'cause it's there. And just try to find out how sin got you. Study it. Don't just go on too quickly. Labor on Your Heart Labor on your heart next. What do I mean by this? Work on yourself to feel what you ought to feel about sin. Seriously, I think we go on too quickly. You've heard of easy believism? I think there's easy confessionalism. “Oh Lord, I confess in Jesus' name, amen. Thank You, Lord. I'm forgiven.” Don't do that. You've gotta slow down. James says, “Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.” That is not a heaven verse is it? 'Cause there will be no more mourning in Heaven. That's a here and now verse. Why do you need to change your laughter to mourning? Because of sin. And so when you are convicted of sin take the time to mourn over it. Take the time to feel what the Holy Spirit felt when He was grieved over what you did. We go on too quickly. Labor on your heart and get a constant yearning and breathing after righteousness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” If you don't hunger for it enough, then stimulate your hunger. Say, “Oh God, I yearn to be free in this area. I want it, oh Lord. Please.” And just turn up the knobs on it. It's like, “Woah, we're getting serious.” It is serious. It is very serious. And you just get hungry and thirsty for righteousness and God will give it to you. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Crush Sin Early in the Battle Labor on your heart and crush sin early in the battle. You talk about the camel getting its nose in the tent. Pretty soon you have the whole camel family with you inside the tent. How did that happen? Well, you didn't get it early. You know, you talk about the root of bitterness that can defile a whole community, we didn't get it early, didn't nip it in the root before it had a chance to develop and now broken relationships. There's unforgiveness, there's all kinds of stuff going on. You've gotta get it early. So it is also with lust. Get it early in the battle. I think often of that classic movie, The Longest Day, and it begins with a quote by the German commander of the beaches there in Normandy, General Field Marshal Rommel. And what Rommel said is, “The world will be won or lost on the beaches.” Once the allies get a beachhead established in Normandy, they would break out and sweep across France and the world would be lost. And he said this, “The first 24 hours will be critical for both the allies and us. It will be the longest day.” Well, we've been in the longest day since we were justified. We're still fighting. And I think the principle is true, get it on the beaches before it has a chance to establish a beachhead. You know why? Beause sin doesn't establish boundaries. It doesn't stay put and once it comes into your life it just grows and grows and grows. It doubles and doubles again. It just keeps metastasizing. That's what it does. Deal Thoroughly with Sin in Confession and Repentance Deal thoroughly with sin and confession and repentance. Yes, 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But don't go too quickly. Don't go too quickly. Confess your sin and deal thoroughly with it. Be Filled with the Spirit and All of His Graces And be filled with the Spirit and all of His graces. The best way to not eat illicit food is to be filled with legal and good food, alright? Fill yourselves with the Spirit. Fill yourselves with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. Fill yourself with Christ, and sin will lose its power over you. Be filled with the Spirit. Later in this same section we're gonna learn how to do that through the word of God. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, but just be filled with Christ. Be Optimistic in Christ And finally, be optimistic. Be optimistic. Romans 16, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Isn't that sweet? There will come a day when all of your lusts and all of your angers and all of your malice and all the filthy language and the lying and all of the complaining and all of that sin will drop away from you forever. And therefore, any effort you make now will be effective through the Spirit. I love what John Owens says, “Christ's blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls. Live in this and you will die a conqueror; yes, you will through the good providence of God live to see your lust dead at your feet.” A Call to Repentance Now I have given you practical advice on how to kill sin. I'm going to end where I began. I'm gonna call on you to repent. Because I don't sense that I or anyone I know in this church is doing this kind of stuff like they should, taking it seriously, fighting sin at this level. Now you might say, “Well, how would you know?” I don't know for sure, and I praise God for brothers and sisters that are, do it all the more. 'Cause those that are doing it, know they need to do it all the more anyway. But for all of us, let's repent. Let's get serious. Let's look at that list: Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, lying. That's just suggestive. Find the other lists and say, “Lord, am I doing these things? And if so, I'm ashamed. These are the very things that put you, Lord Jesus, on the cross. I hate them and I want them to be dead in my life too.” Repent and you will know the forgiveness and the joy and the freedom that comes through Christ.