Podcasts about pontius pilot

Life just seems to happen doesn't it? We get up, do pretty much the same thing as yesterday, over and over. And as someone who believes in Jesus it can be easy for us to lose sight of what God wants us to do with our lives. And it turns out – that in His eyes, you and I – we're Ambassadors of Christ. That's quite a calling.   First a Citizen, Then an Ambassador Right about now, depending on how you count some of the smaller ones, there are over 200 countries in this world. One source I read lists 223, another 192. Let's say there are around 200 – some of them are huge and powerful, right down to the smallest country in the world. What a huge variation: China, population 1.34 billion, at one end of the scale, right down to the Pitcairn Islands, official population 50, at the other end and everything in between. Now, anyone whose had brothers and sisters knows that siblings don't always get on. And the history of humanity is a history of wars, invasions, conquests, dominance, exploitation – in fact right now, there are around thirty recognised wars going on around the world, not to mention the other, quote "lower level" conflicts. So how do all of these cuntries get on? Well, hopefully these days, most of the time, when there's disagreement on an issue, instead of fighting wars as the first step in the process, countries use a thing called, "diplomacy". They have diplomats and so they use diplomatic channels to discuss and resolve most of the issues between them. The head of a diplomatic mission is usually called, "the ambassador". So in my country we have an American ambassador, we have a Chinese ambassador; we have an Indian ambassador and so on. And here's the thing: none of those people are Australians. The American ambassador is, well, he's American, the Chinese ambassador is Chinese, the Indian ambassador is, well, as you would expect, Indian. So not only is the ambassador a citizen of the country which he or she represents, they also look like they come from that country and they speak like that they come from that country because they do come from that country. Now, all of that is, I would hope pretty much blindingly, glimpsingly, obvious to all of us and the job of the ambassador of each country is to be his or her country's representative with a foreign government – the channel through which their country raises issues with another government and vice versa. Sometimes; many times those are difficult issues. You can imagine, for instance, the exchanges that occur between Indian and Pakistani diplomats or at times between China and America on trade issues or between the various European countries within their Union. Ambassadors are there to represent their country; the country of their citizenship, in a foreign land. The Apostle Paul had this to say on the issue. Have a listen it comes – if you have a Bible, open it up – Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 16: From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though once we knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. See, almost sounds as if Paul is saying he's not so much a Roman citizen, which he was, but he's a citizen of God's Kingdom, sent as an ambassador to explain and to share God's message of reconciliation and forgiveness into a foreign world. “So we are ambassadors for Christ since God is making His appeal through us.” And in fact, elsewhere, Paul writes exactly that. Philippians chapter 3, verse 20: Our citizenship is in heaven and it is from there that we are expecting a saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. So there it is. Paul sees his role as being an ambassador of Christ – declaring the forgiveness that God has for each and every person on this planet, if only they will put their faith in His Son and the eternal and glorious reconciliation we can have with Him when we take that step. And that ... that is simply carrying on what Jesus came to do. Mark chapter 1, verse 38 – Jesus answered: Let us go on to the neighbouring towns so that I may proclaim the message there also for that is what I came out to do. John chapter 18, verse 37 – Pontius Pilot asked Him: So are you a king? And Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king, for this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. Jesus came in order to tell us the Good News, and in fact, to "be" the Good News. The Apostle Paul saw himself as an ambassador of that Good News, even to the point of being an ambassador in chains, on death row. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 19: "Pray also for me so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness, the mystery of the Gospel for which I am,” writes Paul, “an ambassador in chains". My friend, what did you come to do? Where is your citizenship? Are you a citizen of this world or are you an ambassador in a foreign land, bringing the Good News of the Gospel of reconciliation with God, through Jesus Christ, into a lost and hurting world? My hunch is that anyone who calls themselves a Christian; anyone who takes on themself the name of Christ, is called, not to a life of comfort, so much, as a life of following hard after Jesus. Luke chapter 4, verse 27: Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Over these coming weeks on the programme we are going to be talking about living our lives as ambassadors ... ambassadors of Christ. What does that mean – what does that look like? Well, we will be looking at that. Today the point I think we are meant to get out of our time together, you and I, is that firstly a disciple is a citizen of the country that he or she represents. And if we are to be ambassadors of Christ, as Paul wrote, as much as we are immersed in our culture, as important as that is in reaching out to those around us with the Good News of Jesus, we are not, my friend, citizens of this world, but we are citizens of heaven, sent as ambassadors into a foreign land. And as ambassadors often find, the foreign places into which they're sent – they don't always want to hear what they have to say. It's not always easy being an ambassador. In fact, the reason that countries need ambassadors is to deal with difficult issues; the tensions that could escalate into conflicts. Ambassadors, yes, have to be diplomatic but they also have to tackle the difficult issues. And as Jesus came as an ambassador of heaven to proclaim the truth and was ultimately crucified for it and if Paul followed in His footsteps as an ambassador of Christ and was ultimately executed for it, if you and I are going to life out our lives in the small corner where God has put us as citizens of heaven, we are to be ambassadors of Christ. That's not always going to be easy! The world won't always want to hear – it could cost us everything but I'm afraid it comes with the territory ... the territory of being an ambassador of Christ.   Did God Really Mean That? I know of people who believe in Jesus, who go to church Sunday and Sunday; they sit there in the pews, sing the songs, listen to the preacher but they're not flashy; they're not up front performers or musicians or speakers or leaders. Every now or then perhaps, they make morning tea or contribute somehow to the life of the church, but because they're not high profile, up front people, because they're more people who blend into the background, they've decided, in their heart of hearts, that they have nothing to contribute. The world's been telling them and subtly the church has been telling them, too, "You have nothing to contribute". So lots and lots of people have come to the conclusion that they have nothing to contribute – lots and lots of people have stopped trying to live out their faith in Jesus; a faith that used to burn so brightly, and gradually, little by little, the flame within has grown dim – it's almost gone out. But for some reason ... some reason they can't quite put their finger on, they toddle along every Sunday, hoping ... no, surely, there's no more hope; secretly hoping perhaps – hoping in a way that they would never admit to themselves, let alone anyone else – that God is going to come along and do something powerful in their lives and through their lives. I wonder if you know anyone like that. Well, if you do, if perhaps there's just a little or even a lot of that going on in you; if perhaps you've been waiting and waiting and waiting for God to do something powerful in you and through you; to give you some part to play in His plan that's custom made, handmade for who He made you to be, and I believe with all my heart that today, that wait comes to an end. Today, that is over because He has a word for you today – His Word, not mine – that will set you free to be what He always planned for you to be an ambassador of Christ. Not in the same way as anyone else, you know, because you are not the same as anyone else you know, but in a unique way that fits with who you are. Now, I know beyond any shadow of any doubt that there are countless of people listening to this message today who simply cannot believe that this could possibly be true – the flame has almost gone out. That's why we are going to share with you a powerful, powerful word from God from Jesus own lips, in fact. Anyone who spent just five minutes reading one of the Gospel accounts of His life, in the first century, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, will be able to account a stream of powerful miracles that Jesus performed. He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He made water into wine, He fed thousands with almost nothing – He did so many amazing, powerful miracles ... miracles that were witnessed by many people. I mean, there's no doubt that He actually performed those miracles. It was this power that in the end got Him crucified. Not only did He preach with power, He acted in power and the people flocked to Him. It was because of the preaching and the deeds of power, the miracles that the Pharisees and the Sadducees – the religious leaders of the day – became so threatened by Jesus that they had Him crucified. And ultimately, just in case anyone was in any doubt, He Himself was raised from the dead. Now you and I, we look at Jesus – He is after all, the Son of God. He is someone that you or I can never, ever, ever be. We look at Him and we think to ourselves, "WOW, no one could ever minister that powerfully again here on earth." Have a listen to what Jesus said to His disciples, just before He was crucified – John chapter 14, verses 11 and 12: Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Jesus didn't say that we would just be able to do the things that He did. No, no, He said that “anyone who believes in him will not only do the things he was able to do but, in fact, will do greater works than these,” Even greater! Now, it seems to me we have a choice here. We can sit quietly in church, the third pew from the back, on the left hand side – you know, where we have sat every week for what seems like an eternity – we can just sit there and believe the world and the devil's perception, that we have nothing to contribute, no role to play in God's great plan of redeeming and saving and reconciling this world to Himself. We can believe that rubbish but if we do that ... if we continue doing that the flame in our hearts for Jesus, the one that's growing dimmer and dimmer these years; that flame will eventually go out. Or, we can believe God and what He has to say. We can believe Jesus and what He has to say. We can believe God's Word. See, so often, faith is believing God's apparently outrageous claims and promises, square in the face of the mundaneness of life – a world that squeezes us into its mould – mundaneness verses majesty. The power of the Spirit verses the power of this world. Let me tell you something, I've made my choice. I was a man whose life was broken; a terrible mess. When I accept Jesus, with simple faith of a child, just on face value and still today, I'm accepting what He has to say, really simply. Not in any complicated, theological sense, just on face value and Jesus said John chapter 14, verse 12 – He said: Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and in fact, will do greater works than these because I am going to the Father. I'm taking that, how about you? You see, I think He really meant it ... I think He really means it right now. Just as Jesus came as God in the flesh to bring the Kingdom of God near to us, I believe He's calling you, He's calling me to take up our cross and to follow Him and to be His ambassadors and to do just the things He'd always planned for us to do – not in our power, but in the power of His Spirit. Works greater than His because He has gone to the Father and His plan is to involve you and me in bringing His love ... the love of Jesus Christ, the love that saw Jesus crucified on that cross; that love to those who need it. That's what I think. But in a sense, it doesn't matter what I think. Question is, what do you think?   Does the World Really Want to Know? So, God's plan is that we should be His ambassadors. It's a great plan! This plan that God has, to take every man, every woman, every child who believes in Jesus His Son and is therefore a citizen of heaven and appoint them as ambassadors of heaven; ambassadors of Christ to their little part of the globe so that through them God can make His appeal ... an appeal of grace and love, to people so that they will be reconciled to Him. Question is: does anyone want to hear what we have to say? See, so many people shy away from being an ambassador of Christ because they somehow imagine that it's the guy with the smooth voice on the radio – it must be his job to be an ambassador of Christ. Or the one they see on TV or maybe it's the youth pastor down at church – must be his job to be an ambassador of Christ. We imagine somehow, that being an ambassador in this great upfront role, someone with great public speaking style; someone with a presence – "Uh, you know, that's not me. I can't possibly do that; that can't be my job." Whatever country you may live in you have diplomats from foreign countries living in your country; performing their roles as ambassadors, so let me ask you: how often do you see those guys on TV or hear them on the radio or read about them in the newspapers – how often? The answer is almost never! Yea, maybe every now and then an ambassador might get quoted but I know if I tripped over the Ambassador of China or the Ambassador of the U.S.A. in the street, I wouldn't know them from a bar of soap. Why? Because most of the time, being an ambassador isn't about being up front in the public eye; most of it is about quietly building influence, one on one, or with small groups so that when there's a difficult issue to be dealt with between the two governments, there's a bridge already in place over which the parties can travel and talk. When there's a sensitive issue or a border dispute or a difficulty with a foreign national in a country, the diplomats talk quietly, mostly in measured tones; mostly unseen and unheard by the rest of us, to resolve the issue. Diplomacy is much more about individual relationships and trust than it is about overt brinkmanship. I wonder if we applied that model of diplomacy to our role as ambassadors of Christ, whether that doesn't cast a whole new light on the job description. We all have friends and family and work colleagues; people with whom we already have relationships of trust and I wonder whether being an ambassador of Christ isn't a whole lot more about letting our goodness shine into their lives than it is about standing up on a soapbox on a street corner or in the mall or down at the weekend at a crowded market, as I saw recently – screaming out words, supposedly from God, to a whole bunch of people with whom we don't have a relationship and who don't want to listen anyway. I wonder whether it isn't a whole bunch more about quiet diplomacy than beating someone over the head with a Bible. The people whom I allow to influence me, I've got to tell you, are the ones that I trust and the ones that I trust are the ones that I've known for quite a while. I've watched them, I've observed them – they are good people; honest, decent, have their lives together. You know what – they are the ones to whom my heart is open. Why would we expect that it's any different in being an ambassador for Christ? Jesus put it this way – He said – you can read this in Matthew chapter 5. He said: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under the foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. In other words, anyone who steps out into the world who loves God, believes in His Son – anyone who is prepared to share that love and that faith with other people as an ambassador of Christ – you're going to be persecuted. Look back through history and that's what you'll find. Now, where I live "persecution" simply means, people might reject you or they might make fun of you, they might keep their distance. Most people I know, know who I am and what I do and what I believe and even in that role, I don't get much of that sort of stuff. And even if I did it's not much of a price to pay. Of course, in other parts of the world, persecution is very real – prison, torture, even death – very real. Look at Jesus – nailed to a cross. But what He's saying here is to be the salt of the earth anyway; add flavour! “Be My light, anyway,” Jesus is saying, “Shine light into dark places. Do those things; be those things! Shine My love into the hearts of the people around you. And if you're some upfront creature, okay, sure do that and if you're a quiet, unassuming, relationships oriented kind of person, my oh my, what a great ambassador you are going to make.” Go and build bridges and build relationships and build trust and let people see the goodness that's in your heart and in what you do. Shine light, add flavour – people like some light; people like flavour – go and do that. Sometimes we are so worried about whether other people want to hear about Jesus or not; sometimes we are so concerned with how they will react. I imagine that being an ambassador involves a lot of subtlety. I imagine the role is all about timing; knowing when to quietly build relationships; knowing when to speak about hard things. The Bible talks about speaking the truth in love – that's what diplomacy is. I read an interesting Proverb this morning in my own personal time with God. Have a listen: Well meant are the wounds of a friend but profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Sometimes that's a friend's job – to speak the truth in love – and sometimes it's hard and sometimes it hurts but the thing I know is this: being an ambassador of Christ is the job of every disciple of Jesus. Sometimes that involves just living a good life and shining a light; sometimes it involves dealing with difficult issues and doing it in love; sometimes it involves embracing your enemies; it involves all sorts of different things at different times but each one of us who believes in Jesus is called to be an ambassador of Christ in our own way, in our own neck of the woods.

This teaching is from Matthew Matthew 26:69 - 27:31, Deuteronomy 27:25, Zechariah 11:12.-13, Jeremiah 19:1-13, Isaiah 53:4-8 The story of Jesus' trial continues with a look into what's transpiring in the courtyard. We see Peter being accused of knowing Jesus 3 different times and all three times Peter denies knowing Jesus. But then the rooster crows and he remembers Jesus' words predicting his denial. Peter leaves the courtyard in tears. Meanwhile, Judas is experiencing remorse as he sees that Jesus is condemned. Judas returns the 30 pieces of silver realizing he has betrayed innocent blood and goes out to the hang himself. The story moves into the Roman part of the trial.  Note: it is not just the Jewish leadership sentencing Jesus, it is the Gentiles as well.  Showing us that It is all of us who have put Jesus on the cross.  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.  Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.” Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilot and asked, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Throughout the testimonies against Him, Jesus remains quiet. Jesus' silence is a fulfillment of the prophetic verses found in Isaiah 53:7-8 “He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
 For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.” Pilot could see that the charges against Jesus are drummed up - and while proceedings are going on Pilot's wife sends him a message, “Don't have anything o do with the innocent man for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of Him.” Pilot had the option to release one prisoner - asking the crowd who they would like released - Jesus or Barabus - the crowd chooses to release Barabus and they cheer for Jesus to be crucified. Pilot then washes His hands saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your responsibility.” And then Pilot has Jesus flogged and handed over to be crucified. Visit our website here https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website https://www.awakeusnow.com/matthew-discipling Watch the video from Youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOxHZDaamNk9DaM7h7LejJj7 Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app. We invite you to join us for our Sunday service every Sunday at 9:30am CT (live or on demand) here: https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Matthew 27 & John 18 - Pontius Pilot by Calvary Chapel Irmo

The Unchanging Word is in Romans 13:5-7 in this lesson. We will look at the God's purpose for government, for those are part of the higher authority. It is important to remember how Jesus reacted and what He said while on trial and being questioned by a governing authority of His day in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilot.  John 19:9-11 - 9 and he (Pontius Pilot) entered into the Praetorium again, and said unto Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. 10  Pilate therefore saith unto him, Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release thee, and I have power to crucify thee? 11 Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee has the greater sin. Jesus took no revenge and let God, the highest authority, be the final judge. Take your Bible and turn with us to Romans 13:5 with Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unchanging-word/message

Open Forum – Questions Covered: 05:45 – Why do we say that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilot in the Creed? 13:18 – If a gay couple can offer a good well balanced homelife why would the Church's teaching be relevant anymore? 23:01 – What are your thoughts on the bible claim that few go to heaven, and many go to hell? 32:58 – Matthew 5:27, Dennis Prager said that this quote is mistranslated, and the term is not actually “lust” but instead “covet.” Is this true? 40:30 – You wrote an article that said that not everything in the bible is historically accurate. Could you expound on that? 46:04 – Have you ever run into an argument that would try to discredit the papacy and the name change of Peter? 51:03 – How can we claim that Moses was a prophet since in Numbers he was so violent? …

In this Palm Sunday sermon at Shepherd of the Hills, we focus on the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, where he is celebrated by humble people who recognize their need for salvation. Using the contrasting parades of Jesus and Pontius Pilot, the sermon challenges listeners to choose Jesus over other options that may seem more exciting or appealing. The message emphasizes the importance of humility and desperation in seeking salvation and experiencing the transformative power of Jesus. We encourage you to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and his disciples in choosing a parade in your life! Matthew 21:1-11

Summary of the Apostles' Creed. The Apostle's Creed is a summary of the Christian faith that depicts the full story of scripture. The Apostle's Creed contains one of the most concise summaries of the Christian faith in straightforward scriptural language. It follows the narrative arch of scripture from creation to incarnation, crucifixion to resurrection, and Pentecost to life everlasting.The Apostle's Creed reminds us that our story and church are rooted in an ancient faith. There is no singular author by which this creed can be traced, rather it is the work of the Western Catholic Church. Though, it seems to have grown out of Peter's confession in Matthew 16:16. Its origin is as a baptismal confession, those that are laying down their life to join Christ in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:4) confess this as their new reality and guiding story.The Apostle's Creed is not simply a routine repetition of doctrine but rather our pledge of allegiance to one God– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not a routine repetition of doctrine. It is a liturgical poem meant to move our heart as a pledge of allegiance to the triune God revealed in the person of Christ.The Church and church people are way more acquainted with the God of the mountaintop than we were with the God of the valley. What would it look like to develop a theology of the valley? “He suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified, died, and was buried.”“And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” – Luke 22:39-48In this passage we see Jesus experience the fullness of human suffering in four themes: Theme 1: Loneliness “To be crucified was to be cast out of the human community, rejected by God, and the world- a fate worse than death.” - Benjamin Myers, Apostles CreedTheme 2: Anxiety Theme 3: Broken relationship Theme 4: Death “Because in Jesus, God has fully shared our condition there is no human experience that can alienate us from God- every affliction is an opportunity to identify with Jesus- to suffer with him so that we may be glorified with Him. We die differently because the Son of God has touched our frail mortality and has drawn it into the wider context of his life. We die differently because we know that “neither death, nor life … will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Benjamin Myers, Apostles CreedSTEP 1: Experience Grief STEP 2: Re-story STEP 3: A New Narrative Emerges We can find God in moments of suffering when we allow ourselves to experience grief, restory, and emerge with a new narrative, one that knows how to walk with Jesus in the valley.

Questions Covered: 07:56 – My protestant friend is asking why the pope has authority. How do I answer?  17:56 – When our lady of Guadalupe appeared, was she really pregnant with Jesus?  38:08 – Did Jesus have brothers and if they exist, what happened to them?  50:04 – Do you think the letters from Pontius Pilot to Rome are authentic?  51:26 – How do I respond to my atheist friend who claims that the Church has only been pro-life in the last 200 years?  …

Questions Covered: 4:16 – What is the biblical evidence for guardian angels?   06:42 – Is the Trinity incestual because it implies that Mary is both mother and bride?  11:44 – Is it possible that St. Clement wrote Hebrews?  14:42 – What accounts for the difference in the treatment of the apostles between Herod and his son Herod?    20:25 – Do novenas have their origin in the preparation for the time of Pentecost?  28:53 – Before I formed you in the womb. I knew you Jer. 1:5. With that in mind, when was the soul created?  33:00 – Why do we say in the creed, “Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilot” when Pilot did everything he could not to harm Jesus?  36:34 – Why are the KJV and Catholic version of the Our Father different? Why did we add the ending into the Catholic Liturgy?  43:28 – What did Jesus mean when he said, “Easier for a camel to enter through the eye of the needle”?  …

Give God Your Allegiance (Even When You Pay Your Taxes) Luke 20:19-26 Main Point of the Sermon: Give God your allegiance, even when you pay your taxes. Introduction Maybe you remember getting your first paycheck when you realized that 30% or so was taken out in taxes? You probably weren't saying, “Man, I'm so happy to be contributing to my government!” I've been through a couple tax seasons that I got caught off guard with large tax bills. It was tempting to try to get by without paying, and shamefully, I admit there were times when I wasn't totally above board with my taxes. But as I came to surrender my life and allegiance to Jesus more and more I realized that becoming a citizen of heaven should never diminish my ability to be a good citizen on earth. Just the opposite. I learned that it is not just my worship on Sunday or the bigger issues of morality that mattered to God. He cares about smaller details like my taxes and how I respond to the government I live under, even one's I disagreed with, even unjust ones. You don't have to look very long in the news to find that to be the case everywhere you look, including the Russia/Ukraine situation. I'm thankful for this text. There's some practical wisdom for us in it. 1) The Scripture is going to challenge us on where our true allegiance lies. 2) It's going to show us that sometimes loyalty to God actually demands loyalty to human governments. Context: But before we get into our passage, I want to remind you of the context. Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and while many were eagerly receiving him as king, the Spiritual Leaders rejected him and actually tried to trap him in his words so they could condemn him to death. So in response to them we heard Jesus's parable last week directed at the religious leaders. In it, he showed that these religious leaders were the culmination of generations of leaders who abused and killed the prophets whom God had so generously sent to them. So, the kingdom would be taken from them. One of the striking points Ross made from that parable is that having allegiance to anything over and above God is not neutral ground, but actually opposition to God. Though these religious leaders appeared very religious and God-focused, their own position of power and their ideas of what Israel and God's kingdom should look like had their ultimate allegiance. Ironically, these leaders with fallen allegiances are going to challenge Jesus's allegiances in their next attempt to catch him in his words. So let's look at verse 19 as we get into our text. Spies 19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. If they could have, they would have taken him out right then, but they couldn't because they feared the people who held Jesus in such high regard. So what was their next plan? Verse 20 20 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor [that is, Pontius Pilate]. They sent spies to try to catch him. When I read this I get an icky feeling in my stomach. They are so full of murderous hatred towards Jesus they send spies who can trap Jesus. Friends, sin makes us do slimy things. Sin will lead us to deceitful and manipulative behavior. When we oppose God by making allegiances with our sin or our agenda, we will find ourselves looking more and more like the deceptive serpent Satan than like the image bearers of God we were made to be. Let's see what the spies say. Verse 21. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. They first try to appeal to Jesus's ego, they try to butter him up, something that typically has great persuasive power to humans. They insincerely praise him for not being moved by culture or people's opinions, but for teaching truly and rightly the way of God. But then comes the million dollar question: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” Taxes to Caesar? What about this question is a set up? It may seem like a simple question that we can all relate to, “does God require us to pay taxes or not?” But it's so much more than that. This loaded question was meant to challenge Jesus's allegiances and hopefully expose something that could get him killed. The question behind this question is “Are you allegiant to Yahweh and his everlasting kingdom or to Caesar and his Roman Empire?” Either answer would have put Jesus in a predicament. If Jesus says, “Yes, it is lawful,” then they have grounds for questioning his allegiance to Yahweh and his lordship. Some Jews believed that paying any tax to a pagan ruler contradicted God's lordship over his people (ESV Study Bible, 1869). So he would lose favor in the eyes of those burdened by the taxes and perhaps be seen as no better than the tax collectors, worthy of death in the eyes of the Jews. If Jesus says, “No, the Roman Empire is subservient to God alone,” he could be guilty of insurrection, of being a revolutionary who was leading the people to revolt against the empire. Either answer has the potential to get Jesus killed. So what does Jesus do? Look at verse 23. 23 But he perceived their craftiness… A similar word was used of the serpent in Genesis 3:1. They are acting like God's chief enemy, the serpent, showing their true opposition to God. Jesus recognized their serpent-like deceitfulness. and [He] said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” The denarius was a Roman coin worth a day's wages, used throughout the empire. One side of the coin was the profile of Tiberius Caesar, with the Latin inscription “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus” around the perimeter. On the other side was a picture of the Roman goddess of peace, Pax, with the Latin inscription “High Priest.” (ESV Study Bible, 1869). When they presented a coin to him, Jesus asked them, who is stamped on it? “Caesar”, they said. Verse 25: [Jesus] said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” Verse 26 shows the spies' response. 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent. They were speechless. They had nothing on Jesus's answer. In his wisdom, Jesus diverts their attempt to trap him in his words. He doesn't choose one or the other, but shows that we can be faithful to God's Law as the first priority while also paying taxes. Let's dive deeper. 1) Jesus doesn't delve into discussion on whether Roman rule was just or unjust. Rather, he appeals to the reality that the image on the coin shows who rules over that current social order and thus to whom taxes are due. Simply put, Caesar rules over the current social order. So give him what is due. 2) On the other hand, there is a superseding principle in Jesus's second statement, “Give to God what is God's.” You may give taxes to an earthly ruler, but there is a kingdom and a God that transcends every kingdom and ruler on earth, who demands far more than taxes. He demands our very lives. 3) Jesus's answer doesn't allow us to reduce God's kingdom to something that can be compared to another human kingdom. Jesus says in John 18:36, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” Obedience to the Roman (or American) government, therefore, does not ultimately determine who your allegiance goes to. The bigger question is, do you give yourself to God? Does he have your allegiance? Do you surrender your entire self, every nook and cranny of your life, to God? Who Has Your Allegiance? Last week, we saw that the spiritual leaders' challenge of Jesus's authority ended up putting their lives on the line. In this second challenge, as they challenge Jesus's allegiances, their own heart allegiance was put to the test. Jesus is revealing that their eternal lives are on the line. Jesus's response actually brings a challenge to his opposers: “you challenge me on where my allegiance lies, but who really has your heart allegiance?” The problem with the spiritual leaders and those who would follow them in rejecting Jesus is that their allegiance was not ultimately to God, but rather to self-preservation, to money, to social status and position. So often this is the reason that people reject Jesus today. It is not so much that his works or his message are inadequately displayed or argued, but rather the reality that one must surrender their desires, their behavior, their thinking to God. Yes, there is work to be done to defend the faith and give an answer to those who challenge it, but you need to know that the core issue is usually a problem of allegiance. Is sexual freedom or orientation more important than God? Is money or power more important than God? Is control of your future more important than knowing Jesus? What matters is who has your heart allegiance. Do you give to God what belongs to him? YOU Why is this so important? In order to answer this question, I want to take you back to the beginning of human history for a moment. When God made humans, he made us, male and female, in his image. If you want to know what God is like, you can look around at anyone in this room and get a decent glimpse. We are all made to be little representations of God and his character on earth, kind of like your children bearing your image, who will grow up to be representatives of your family name. Everyone of us was born with that great purpose, to be fruitful and multiply the image of our God on earth. Like the silver coins marked with the inscription of Caesar, God has always intended for his people to be marked by his name and character. Their entire lives, all they do and say, is meant to look like God, to be given back to God. Our lives, then, do not belong to ourselves ultimately, but to the God who gave us breath and purpose in this world. Even more, who purchased us with his blood in his great mercy! In his letter to the Romans, The Apostle Paul helps us understand what total allegiance to God and his purpose for us looks like. He says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”(Romans 12:1). Because of all that God has done, because of his great mercy towards us, chiefly through Jesus, all of our lives, body and soul, ought to be lived for God. A living sacrifice. A sacrifice can't be half-hearted. A sacrifice in the Old Covenant looked like an entire animal dead on God's altar. In the same way, our whole being is meant to be presented to God daily, where we are dead to self but alive for his purposes. Paul says, that is worship. It's the only appropriate response to his generosity. Whether you are working, playing, raising kids, paying taxes, or whatever you're doing, we ought to live holy lives, for his glory! But the problem with the world is that humanity has not given to God what truly belongs to him. Though every human bears the image of God, we have rebelled against him. So, rather than spreading the image and glory of God on earth, we have become twisted and distorted images that look more like the serpent than God. You might be thinking, “Daniel, I've never given allegiance to Satan.” Listen, Satan is crafty in the way he gains our allegiance, like he was with Adam and Eve. He uses anything – whether money, or food, or people, or government, or sex or even religion – to turn our allegiance away from God. It doesn't matter to him ultimately because heart allegiance to anything other than God is submission to him. A person's life and everything we do, both big things and small things, prove who has our allegiance, our worship. The truth is, at one time all of us by our sin gave our allegiance to Satan. When Paul was sent to preach Jesus to the Gentiles, God said to him, “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' (Acts 26:18). That is why Jesus had to come. No human that has ever lived gave God full and total Lordship, so we were all under the power of Satan and deserving God's wrath. But God didn't leave us there. He sent his son, God took on flesh and walked on earth flawlessly, sinlessly, as a living sacrifice so that through his death, the death we all deserved, he could deliver us from the power of Satan to God, so that we could be forgiven for our rebellion and so that our marred image of God could be transformed again into the image of Christ, who is the perfect image of the Father. What about you? I ask you today, who has your heart? Who has your allegiance? Who do you belong to today? Sitting in these seats today doesn't prove you belong to God. Not even a simple confession of faith. Your everyday actions must prove your faith and allegiance to God because faith without works is dead. And when I say this, I do not mean that any of us have fully arrived. I don't stand here as someone who has confessed Jesus as Lord once and that's it. Done deal. No! I'm still learning every day what areas of my life are surrendered to God. The important thing is that you are not resisting God when he brings something to your attention that you must surrender to him. Should I Pay Taxes? Now I want to get practical. What are the implications for how you and I interact with government systems today? 1) Should we pay taxes? a. Jesus says, yes. Pay your taxes. His words give us a mandate to pay taxes to whom they are due. Even more, they give us freedom to do so with a clean conscience, even if to a pagan or corrupt government, like the one Jesus was living under. 2) But you might ask, how is it possible to be loyal to both God and human governments? a. Paul helps us again here in Romans 13 as he expounds on this teaching from Jesus. i. It will be on the screen. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. [WHY?] For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 1. What this means is that God appoints ALL government authorities for his purposes. Jesus himself said to Pontius Pilot, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). ii. Let's continue in verse 13:2. “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them [Don't these words sound a lot like Jesus]: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 1. Surprisingly, we're told that appointed government officials are “God's servant for your good.” “The Servant of God.” “Ministers of God”. This is shocking considering that Paul is writing these words while they are under a corrupt and brutal Roman rule. Yet Paul sees that God's kingdom rules sovereignly over and above every other kingdom and that he is able to use earthly kingdoms to accomplish his purposes. 2. Secondly, it's often the case that when we are resisting government officials, we are resisting God. Verse 5 says, therefore, you must be in subjection to avoid God's wrath AND for the sake of conscience. It also says that we pay taxes so that we can have a clean conscience before God and man. You see, when we submit even to unjust governments, we submit to God. When we pay our taxes honestly behind closed doors, entrusting ourselves to a faithful and just Creator, we put our faith in God on display. That is worship. It's important to say that there is also a time to resist the government, like if they try to silence you from speaking the Gospel or worshiping God. We see Peter and the Apostles opposing their Jewish leaders in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than men.” b. This is the conclusion, because God is ultimate over everything, he commands us to give moderate allegiance to human authorities, even unjust ones, while giving ultimate allegiance to God. What does that look like? It looks like paying taxes or obeying other government laws where their commands don't contradict the command of God in the Scriptures. We need one another in these trying times we live in. That's why the church exists in part to help us make it safely to our heavenly home. We need to remind each other of what God has said when we are tempted and despairing over the challenges life throws at us, like Corrie Ten Boom needed her sister Betsy to remind her to give thanks to God in all circumstances and to pray for her enemies when they were being brutally mistreated in German concentration camps during World War II. Now I want to remind you of the good news. Church, this world and its government systems are finite. Yes, a single human like Nero, or Hitler, or perhaps even Vladimir Putin can inflict great pain and suffering on the world. But I need you to know that God is sovereign and his kingdom and his purposes transcend all of it. My wife reminded me this week, even these men only have a single lifetime to inflict evil. God is eternal. His purposes remain. As we read earlier, “The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth” (Psalm 135:6). Even Job, who endured great suffering at the hand of Satan, confessed, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). So, take heart. Do not fear or be anxious right now, whether over what is happening in Russia or what is happening in the United States. Put your faith in Jesus. Remember, he defeated his enemies by dying on the cross. And God raised him to the right hand of God, where he is ruling now. Every enemy will be placed under his feet. Do not, therefore, try to take matters in your own hands and do things your own way with taxes or otherwise. Make your requests known to God. Is any government, even unjust one's, outside of his hands? I assure you he will in his time, take down any and every evil power when the time is right. Just a few short days after this interaction, Jesus would be betrayed and marched before Pontius Pilate. The people of Israel, incited by the Jewish spiritual leaders, would cry “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Though Pilate tried to release Jesus saying, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests would respond, “We have no king but Caesar.” And Jesus would be turned over to them to be crucified. The Jews bowed to Caesar in order to uphold their positions of power. But Jesus, though he was led to slaughter by his authorities, willingly submitted himself to God even unto death. Through his death on the cross he triumphed over Satan, sin, and death, over every evil power. I challenge you today, when you feel like you are unjustly treated by human governments, cling to God in trust and submit to him in all things like our Lord Jesus, and he will also raise you up to eternal life in his kingdom as he did the Son of God. He is worthy of our trust and worship. Give God your allegiance, even when you pay your taxes. Let's pray

Many know facts about Jesus. Though all are loved and welcome few know Jesus as their Saviour. Soldiers and betrayers approached Him in the Garden of Gethsemane as He was about to be betrayed, beaten, and crucified the next day.Slowly read and reflect on what follows.____________________Jesus asked a deep brooding question, “Whom do you seek?”John 18:7A short time later Jesus was taken in chains to meet with Pontius Pilot, the Roman Governor. He asks Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Perhaps Pilot too felt the hole in his heart and was curious enough perhaps to move from curious to a devoted follower.How about you? Curious? Aware of a deep unfilled longing in your heart? What, or who are you looking for? Are you weary? The One you seek has come for you.Jesus is the One you have been searching for.____________________Imagine If your spouse or child had inoperable brain cancer what lengths would you go to find a cure? Would you consider unorthodox treatment not recommended by Western medicine? Would you travel the world to find a doctor who has found success with a new medication?This is the story with all of us. We all have a terminal disease called “humanity.” Only One can rescue us from the abyss of the unknown.Action If you knew you would die today would you be certain of what lies ahead for you? You can have the assurance of heaven. The Bible tells us is available to all who come to believe in Jesus and accept Him as their Saviour. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12Ask Jesus Will you be my Lord and Saviour? I believe You are the One.Begin attending a church. Tell someone you have become a follower of Jesus. Drop me a note at budlamb@infaith.org or give me a call at 831-566-4131____________________ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quizmasters Lee and Marc meet for a general knowledge quiz on topics including Sports, Phobias, Food, Classic Cartoons, Ancient Wonders and more! Round One RAP LYRICS - "Remember when we was jackin' cars / Now you better keep your distance / Cuz it's not safe for you / You switched like a pssy you little btch" are lyrics from "Super Gremlin" by a what top ten appear? TEAM NAMES - Which city's baseball team changed their name for five seasons in the 1960's for political reasons over fears spurred by Senator Joseph McCarthy? SURFING - What seaside city in California, known for its long, 9.5 mile stretch of sandy terrain, is nicknamed "Surf City"? PHOBIAS - Osmophobia is a fear of stimuli pertaining to which of the five senses? FOOD - What are the two main ingredients of a Spanish omelette? TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES - What is the name of the female ninja turtle (the only to be named after a masterpiece rather than a master artist)? Round Two CLASSIC CARTOONS - Accompanied by his companion Muttley, which villain serves as a main character of the Hanna Barbera series Wacky Races? MEDICAL TERMS - Syncope is a medical term for what? ANCIENT WONDERS - Which wonder of the ancient world stood for 56 years, was destroyed by an earthquake in 238 B.C., and depicted the Greek sun-god Helios? PERIODIC TABLE - The element Selenium is named after the Greek word for what celestial object? OLYMPIC SPORTS - In the sport of curling, what is the term for the target to which teams compete to place their stones closest? RUGBY RULES - Rugby Union has 15 players per side, while Rugby League has how many players? Rate My Question CITY NAMES - Sharing it's name with a one-time national capital of the United States, what is the former name of Toronto? Final Questions FAMOUS ROLES - Which famous musician had an acting role as historical figure Pontius Pilot in Martin Scorsese's 1988 epic The Last Temptation of Christ? AVIATION RECORDS - In 1958, Robert Tim and John Cook broke what aviation record (that remains unbroken to this day)? Upcoming LIVE Know Nonsense Trivia Challenges February 16th, 2022 - Know Nonsense Challenge - Point Ybel Brewing Co. - 7:30 pm EDT February 17th, 2022 - Know Nonsense Trivia Challenge - Ollies Pub Records and Beer - 7:30 pm EDT You can find out more information about that and all of our live events online at KnowNonsenseTrivia.com All of the Know Nonsense events are free to play and you can win prizes after every round. Thank you Thanks to our supporters on Patreon. Thank you, Quizdaddies – Brandon, Issa, Adam V., Tommy (The Electric Mud) and Tim (Pat's Garden Service) Thank you, Team Captains – Matthew, Captain Nick, Grant, Mo, Jenny, Rick G., Skyler, Dylan, Shaun, Lydia, Gil, David, Aaron, Kristen & Fletcher Thank you, Proverbial Lightkeepers – Justin M., Robb, Rikki, Jon Lewis, Moo, Tim, Nabeel, Patrick, Jon, Adam B., Ryan, Mollie, Lisa, Alex, Spencer, Kaitlynn, Manu, Luc, Hank, Justin P., Cooper, Elyse, Sarah, Karly, Kristopher, Josh, Lucas Thank you, Rumplesnailtskins – Cara, Megan, Christopher, Brandon, Sarah, FoxenV, Laurel, A-A-Ron, Loren, Hbomb, Alex, Doug, Kevin and Sara, Tiffany, Allison, Paige, We Do Stuff, Kenya, Jeff, Eric, Steven, Efren, Mike J., Mike C., Mike. K If you'd like to support the podcast and gain access to bonus content, please visit http://theknowno.com and click "Support." Quizmasters Lee and Marc meet for a bonus general knowledge quiz on topics including Birthstones, Sports, Movies, Celebrities, Musicals, 90's Memes and more, exclusively for our supporters!

Catechism Class LORD'S DAY 15 Q37The Extent of the Atonement.We are looking at Lord's Day 15, which is an examination of the phrase in the Apostles' Creed that reads, “Suffered under Pontius Pilot.” We are going to divide this catechism question into several parts, over several lessons. In this lesson, we will ask one of the most important questions of all, a question that has divided opinion among evangelicals for generations. For whom did Christ die? Or, to put it better, “What is the extent of the atonement?”Our catechist asks us: What do you understand by the word “suffered?” The answer we must give in reply is, That all the time He lived on earth, but especially at the end of His life, He bore, in body and soul, the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race in order that by His suffering, as the only atoning sacrifice, He might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation, and obtain for us the grace of God, righteousness, and eternal life.Psalm 107:10-16. Tune: Morven:10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom, in chains of iron held; 11 They scorned the ways of God Most High, against his words rebelled12 And so he made them labour hard in bitterness and shame. They stumbled, and they could not rise; to help them no one came.13 Then to the LORD they cried for help; he saved them from their doom. 14 He broke away their cruel chains and brought them out of gloom.15 So let them thank him for his love, the deeds which he achieves— 16 Because he breaks down gates of bronze and iron bars he cleaves.This topic is difficult! If you haven't followed it all, please don't despair. Read the transcript, and check out all the Bible verses - and more! Find the Transcript HERE.Psalm 107 with grateful thanks to Conner Quigley, www.ThePsalmsSung.orgPodcast Music on license from www.NeoSounds.comSRP Theme, “In Another Time” by Roland Rudzitis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pontius Pilot famously asked Jesus Christ, “What is truth?” The response of Jesus was fascinating. Jesus answered as recorded in John 18, “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” He said in effect that He was truth . . . https://www.wordsfortheday.com/index.php/2021/08/what-is-truth-2/

Bear with us as we begin to unload our introductions, backstories, basic founding points of our show, and what defined our religion and childhood environment as a cult. Resource: Characteristics Associated With Cults - http://cultresearch.org/help/characteristics-associated-with-cults You can engage with us on Instagram at @thecult_podcast and send us your questions and stories at thecultpodcast@mail.com. We might open more streams of social media to engage with you further... Stay tuned! Song featured is an edited mix by Liso from his single: Rattling Eyes. Check out the full original track here: https://open.spotify.com/track/4I2GamjvpEe4xjufeqJILo?si=1a2695cf17b6426f Also available on Apple Music, iTunes and Soundcloud --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thecultpodcast/support

Apostles Creed 5 - He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried Watch the sermon on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OQbzgMu4u-0 READ JOHN 18:36-38 1. What do these Bible verses say about what Jesus came into the world to do? 2. Why is it important to believe in Jesus as more than an abstract, vague, philosophical idea? Why is it important for us to believe together that Jesus Christ is the Truth of God incarnate? 3. Why is it significant for the Apostles’ Creed to emphasize the biblical accounts of Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion, death, and burial as historical facts? 4. How is the cross a picture of God’s love for us? How is it a picture of God’s hatred of all sin? What sins do we treat as more or less hated by God? 5. Where in the Bible does it say, “All sins are equal in the eyes of God”? Why has this “Christianese” statement been so poopular? 6. If we believe no sin has more power than the cross, why do we struggle with feeling forgiven? Why do we struggle with forgiving others? 7. Why is the death of Jesus foundational for Christian community? 8. In what ways are you striving to feel lovable and worthy rather than accepting the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus? 9. What does it look like for you to rest in the accomplished work of Christ? 10. Suffering is an inevitable part of the human experience. The degrees of suffering might differ from person to person, but everyone experiences periods of suffering. What emotions, thoughts, or questions have you had when suffering? READ ISAIAH 52:14; 53:4-5. 11. These verses prophesy the suffering Jesus would endure in His crucifixion. List the words used in these verses to describe Jesus’ suffering. READ MATTHEW 27:24-26. Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea from A.D. 26 to 36. This mention of Pilate in the Apostles’ Creed may seem odd, but it highlights Christ’s suffering as a historical event. The eternal Son entered our world, and a human court convicted Him of crimes He didn’t commit. 12. Why is it important for faith to be rooted in historical facts? How does it change your perspective in day-to-day events—especially in suffering—not only to look to the future in faith but also to remember what Christ has already done for you? READ ROMANS 5:1-11. 13. List the words used to describe in past tense what Christ has done for you. 14. Believing in Christ doesn’t exempt you from suffering. In fact, some suffering may result because of your faith (see John 15:18-21). What hope do you have as a Christian in the midst of suffering? The crucifixion was the ultimate display of human animosity toward God’s authority in our lives. Our sinful hearts rejected Christ, in spite of all His displays of love, because we hated His claim of lordship. If He’s the rightful King over our lives, we must confess and repent of our rebellion, surrendering our lives in submission to His rule. But instead, we demanded that Jesus be executed. READ MATTHEW 27. 15. What does this passage say about People? About God? What will you do about what you just learned? ______________________ For Further Study: Matt Chandler. The Apostles' Creed reading plan: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/11335-the-apostles-creed-12-day-plan Matt Chandler. “The Apostles' Creed - Bible Study Book.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-apostles-creed-bible-study-book/id1222607689 Who was Pontius Pilot? https://www.gotquestions.org/Pontius-Pilate.html

Ohio – particularly Cleveland – is central to the story of rock music. Blues-rock, folk-rock, heavy metal thunder, whacked-out experimental stuff made by idiosyncratic creators following wild whims: Ohio musical history has all of it. It’s a home of the uncooperative, the rebellious, the irrepressibly energetic, and the torchbearers of rock’s tradition of recalcitrance and marvelous mischief. John “Charlie” Templeman of Jib Machine Records knows all about that tradition because he’s a part of it. He’s become one of the most recognizable faces in the Cleveland underground – a label owner who cares deeply about the musicians on his roster and the future of music, both live and recorded, in Ohio and beyond. He’s a champion of the underdog and a friend to dreamers and rockers of all kinds, a guardian of a safe harbor for misfits. Through Jib Machine, he’s raising an entire region’s profile, calling attention to a corner of the country loaded with talent, but, too often, overlooked by the tastemakers on the coasts. Since its inception in 2004, Jib Machine has released more than sixty records, many of which were made by unforgettable Cleveland characters. Templeman and Jib Machine have kept their ears to the clubs and done their best to boost contemporary Ohio rock’s signal. But they’ve never forgotten their roots or the roots of the local sound, and they’ve reissued music by area legends and assisted the re-formation of beloved, fondly remembered groups. Slammin’ Gladys, for instance, brought their distinctive amalgam of hard rock, funk, blues, and glam-metal out of a decades-long hibernation to cut a new album for Jib Machine. It’s doubtful that anybody but Templeman could have turned that trick. Hostile Omish, one of the longest-running and most respected bands in Cleveland punk, have made Jib Machine their home for fifteen years. And whether solo, with his guitar army or the Blindside Blues Band, electrifying guitarist Michael Onesko delivers his style of protean blues to the label. These artists possess a quality that Templeman loves: audacity. It’s a common thread that runs straight through the Jib Machine roster, present in the forthright songs of local legend Eli “Guitarman” Fletcher, the outspoken political punk and molten metal of Gwazi, the bedrock gospel of Philomena Gales, the adventurous, hallucinatory psychedelia of Sweden’s Mouth Of Clay (Jib’s first European artist), the relentless, funky, thoroughly unclassifiable Hot Ham & Cheese, and many other artists who proudly fly the Jib Machine banner. None of this music is shy – it’s bold sounds made for bold listeners – Ohioans and the many millions of rockers worldwide who are Ohioans at heart. As Templeman continues to expand Jib Machine’s reach, he has shaken hands with like-minded independent ventures: Jib Machine distributes records by Akarma, Shroom Angel, DSI and other imprints. He’s also the founder of 13 Recordings, a production operation that specializes in sonic ferocity. Some of the Jib Machine catalog’s best-known titles were cut by 13 Recordings, but others availed themselves of the local resource, too. And that’s Templeman, and Jib Machine: always ready to help boost area music, always on the lookout for ways to amplify the voices of his artists, steadily supplying the world with some genuine heartland electricity. A historic roster is listed below… Active Roster Hot Ham & Cheese (on label since 2005) Hostile Omish (on label since 2006) Eli “Guitarman” Fletcher (on label since 2012) Gwazi (on label since 2015) Brad Demiter (on label since 2015) Dennis Baker (on label since 2016) 9E$V$ (on label since 2016) Philomena Gales (on label since 2016) Mike Onesko (BLU-K, The Kwik, Blindside Blues Band, Guitar Army…on label since 2017) Dave Brooks (on label since 2018) Slammin’ Gladys (on label since 2018) Dizzy Dizzy MK II (on label since 2019) David Curtis Band (on label since 2019) Mouth of Clay (on label since 2020) Darkening Skies (on label since 2020) Jib Alumni  Johnny Mohawk and the Assassins (signed in 2005 but now defunct) “Slowhand” Jack Labgold (signed 2010; passed away in 2015) 7th Day Creeps (signed 2010 but now defunct) Pat Zelenka (long-time friend of Jib… he’s currently signed to Red Ridge Entertainment out of Nashville)   Side projects that have releases The Drug Fux Poor Ass Leon  J TEMP 13  Pontius Pilot  Alcoholic Spok

The Eternal Life CoinThe World's Most Beautiful Christian GiftKristy is representing "The Eternal Life Coin: The World's Most Beautiful Christian Gift" and shares her testimony as well as sound advice during the COVID-19 crisis.Life 2,000 years ago was drastically different— and yet strikingly the same— as life today. While the advancement of technology has significantly changed the way we live, we still find ourselves, witness, to the same political tension and search for meaning today as those who lived centuries before us. Thankfully, what remains unchanged is God's steadfast love for us and His Promise of Eternal Life. The inspiration behind The Eternal Life Coin, however, is a mixture of spiritual and archaeological factors…Interestingly, a recent announcement was made by authorities that the road to the “City of David” said to have been built by Pontius Pilot was discovered by archaeologists in Jerusalem. Underneath it was 10 coins buried under the road. This magnificently constructed road was positioned between the Siloam Pool [where Jesus was told to have healed the blind and The Temple Mount. Over the centuries, archaeologists have discovered and studied Byzantine Coinage depicting Jesus during the years following his death. Proudly Made By Christians, for Christians, in the USA Designed in America Minted in America Distributed in America American Customer Service Supporting Christian fundraising Ideal for Christian corporate gifting To purchase your Coin today visit: https://www.eternallifecoin.comThank you for listening and supporting the 'Faith and Family Fellowship PODCAST SHOW'. We are excited to connect with each of our listeners on our various platforms. Below are just some of the ways you can not only connect with us but also support our various Christian Ministry projects around the world. Support the show (https://cash.app/$laymedownministry) Connect with the show on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/faith.family.fellowship.podcast) Connect with Pastor Chris Buscher (https://www.facebook.com/cmbuscher87) Connect with Dallas O. Monticue (https://www.facebook.com/dmonticue) Connect with Lay Me Down Ministries (https://www.facebook.com/LayMeDownMinistries) For Marketing and Publishing needs, Buscher's Social Media Marketing LLC (https://www.facebook.com/buscherssmm)

Views From The Jon Podcast | Episode 60 | This week, Jon welcomes special guest Joey Testaroni to the show as the guys discuss policing Thanksgiving dinner, the origins of Thanksgiving, eating vomit, school cafeteria food, getting yelled at by a Karen in a carwash, Pontius Pilot, Back to the Future infidelity, Black Friday, Brittany Zamora, the pornography awards, restrooms, and other comical nonsense. | Watch this episode in full HD video at https://youtu.be/X2S9wpuKNys

Gene talks about several biblical ruling figures and their relevance to the early church. He touches on Pontius Pilot, Lucius Gallio, and Herod Agrippa II- their biblical and extra-biblical references. Finally, Gene mentions King Abgar V of Edessa, who ruled over Damascus during Paul's journeys there, and tradition that links the King and an early Christian relic.

Why is there so much disagreement amongst the medical community about Corona Virus? The reason is that there is no clear specific risk along the lines that is being presented to us which can bear logical scrutiny. The average age of a corona virus death is 82.4 years old which is higher than the average life span i.e. the average person cannot expect to experience death from corona in their life time . Whereas misery and poverty depression stress cancer heart attacks suicide panic are guaranteed companions of lock down. Further more where is the logic of justifying lockdown because of lack of trained medical staff ? At a fraction of the cost of trillions of pounds borrowed for furlough we could have trained staff and opened medical facilities rather than just held hands up Pontius Pilot style. The risk of dying from corona under 30 and under 50 is less than being struck by lightening and less than being run over by a car respectively. Yet millions are now being thrown on the unemployment scrap heap. What lock down will do is increase civil unrest as it will increase the disparity between the haves and have nots as lockdown is vastly more punitive on the poor versus the rich. The academic models being used are generally accepted to overestimate risk and they are the same types of model that produced vastly overinflated risk figures for foot and mouth and SARS which led to hundreds of thousands of animals being needlessly killed. Academics by their nature have a very obtuse field of view and are usually far less effective at dealing with illness in the real world than clinicians. Yet it is government funded boffins the government are listening to.The logic of. the bigger picture of the cost of lockdown being exponentially higher than the cost of corona is so patently and reasonably obvious to anyone clear thinking without vested interest that enforcing lockdown may even be considered criminal and indeed a threat to the integrity of the state which has its own definition. Treason. The results of modern democracy.

Why is there so much disagreement amongst the medical community about Corona Virus? The reason is that there is no clear specific risk along the lines that is being presented to us which can bear logical scrutiny. The average age of a corona virus death is 82.4 years old which is higher than the average life span i.e. the average person cannot expect to experience death from corona in their life time . Whereas misery and poverty depression stress cancer heart attacks suicide panic are guaranteed companions of lock down. Further more where is the logic of justifying lockdown because of lack of trained medical staff ? At a fraction of the cost of trillions of pounds borrowed for furlough we could have trained staff and opened medical facilities rather than just held hands up Pontius Pilot style. The risk of dying from corona under 30 and under 50 is less than being struck by lightening and less than being run over by a car respectively. Yet millions are now being thrown on the unemployment scrap heap. What lock down will do is increase civil unrest as it will increase the disparity between the haves and have nots as lockdown is vastly more punitive on the poor versus the rich. The academic models being used are generally accepted to overestimate risk and they are the same types of model that produced vastly overinflated risk figures for foot and mouth and SARS which led to hundreds of thousands of animals being needlessly killed. Academics by their nature have a very obtuse field of view and are usually far less effective at dealing with illness in the real world than clinicians. Yet it is government funded boffins the government are listening to.The logic of. the bigger picture of the cost of lockdown being exponentially higher than the cost of corona is so patently and reasonably obvious to anyone clear thinking without vested interest that enforcing lockdown may even be considered criminal and indeed a threat to the integrity of the state which has its own definition. Treason. The results of modern democracy.

Libros De La Biblia (Books Of The Bible): Parody of We Won by D-Block EuropeOriginal written by Young Adz & Dirtbike LB) Libros de la Biblia:Con Proverbios y Salmos,Números, Números.Esdras, Nehemías, Apocalipsis,Ezequiel, Ezequiel.Lucas, Isaías, Reyes, Oseas.Filipenses, Gálatas, Abdías.Santiago, Hebreos, Timoteo,Judas, Pedro, Cantares.Crónicas y Juan,Nahúm, Romanos, see.Miqueas and Genesis,Libros para mí.Samuel, Rut, Jueces para Thee.Lamentacionces and EclesiastésDeuteronomio y Zacarías.Job, Job, not to mention MalaquíasHageo to the church in EphesusLeo Levitico, amo Daniel.Mateo to Marcus,You showed them your pearls.Jeremías to Filemon, Your Spirit is served.Corintios, Tito, Habacuc,They served.Thessalonians to Ester, my girl.Miqueas and Genesis,Libros para mí.Samuel to Rut, Jueces para Thee.Lamentacionces and EclesiastésDeuteronomio y Zacarías.Con Proverbios y SalmosNúmeros, Números.Esdras, Nehemías, Apocalipsis,Ezequiel, Ezequiel.Lucas, Isaías, Reyes, y Oseas.Filipenses, Gálatas, Abdías.Santiago, Hebreos, Timoteo,Judas, Pedro, Cantares.Jonás to Amos,Colonsenses, Thine.Sofonías and Exodo,So Divine.Hechos para mí, God’s Spirit shines.Josué to Joel, These boys shine so bright.Necesita ayuda estudiar la Biblia?Visita la concordancia.I pray to a man called Jesus Christ.Brothers and sisters, in Him,There’s family innocence.A royal blood line,He was destined.To save us all,With His bloodshed.Because of His death,We remember crucifixtion.He even had Pontius Pilot deliberating.Antiguo y Nuevo Testamentos,En la Biblia.Your design is unique,Beauty restorating.Praising Holy when I call Your name.Without You, baby, there’s no space.Con Proverbios y SalmosNúmeros, Números.Esdras, Nehemías, Apocalipsis,Ezequiel, Ezequiel.Lucas, Isaías, Reyes, Oseas.Filipenses, Gálatas, Abdías.Santiago, Hebreos, Timoteo,Judas, Pedro, Cantares.Con Proverbios y SalmosNúmeros, Números.Esdras, Nehemías, Apocalipsis,Ezequiel, Ezequiel.Lucas, Isaías, Reyes, y Oseas.Filipenses, Gálatas, Abdías.Santiago, Hebreos, Timoteo,Judas, Pedro, Cantares.Written by Melissa ‘Mel’ Smith (AKA Melzy of Wonderland on Youtube, Mel’s Music on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and FB)

We speak to Utah State Rep. Kera Birkeland on topics and issues facing the great state of Utah. Also on the show, we talk about the mass boycotting of pro sports and CNN comparing Donald Trump to Pontius Pilot.

In Matthew 27:11-31, Jesus is seen standing before the Roman governor of Judea in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilot. He asks Jesus several questions. Even though the Lord Jesus spoke truth to this man, even though Pilot found no fault in Jesus, he still let Jesus be crucified. And why did he do this? The people wanted Jesus to be crucified. The religious rulers were envious of Christ and they wanted to get rid of the Lord. So, they asked for a murder, Barabbas by name and rejected Jesus. As Dr. Mitchell says, they preferred the murderer to the Savior. What will you do with Jesus who is called the Christ? Will you believe in Him right now? Let's join Dr. Mitchell. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unchanging-word/message

We continue our deconstructing of the Apostles’ Creed — The Core of Our Beliefs. Today we talk about historical record. Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilot, the Roman Governor at the time. There are some powerful words in this next section that we take for granted. Let’s stop and ponder them… Keep reading in my blog.... If you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation and a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven and that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, this is what you have to do… Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit. Pray this prayer humbly and wholeheartedly… “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and my life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. I surrender my whole life to you and I will follow you for the rest of my life. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. In Jesus' name, Amen.” Jesus Christ is coming back soon! Are you ready? Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be the Glory! Subscribe and share! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/seek-the-truth/message

Can a lawyer who is trained to rely on evidence still believe in the God of the Bible? Is faith more about feelings than facts? That’s what we’re exploring today on Bleeding Daylight.Reverend Doctor Ross Clifford AM is a former lawyer, a theologian, political commentator, pastor, radio personality, and so much more. He has authored or co-authored over a dozen books. In June, 2010, he was made a member of the Order of Australia.  Leading Lawyers' Case for the Resurrection: https://www.amazon.com.au/Leading-Lawyers-Case-Resurrection-Clifford/dp/1945500638Ross Clifford on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Clifford  (Transcript is a guide only and may not be 100% correct.)Emily Olsen: Wherever there shadows there are people ready to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight. This is bleeding daylight with your host Rodney Olsen.Rodney Olsen: Can a lawyer who is trained to rely on evidence still believe in the God of the Bible? Is faith more about feelings than facts? That’s what we’re exploring today on Bleeding Daylight.Rodney Olsen: My guest today seems to have had enough careers for several lifetimes. He's a former lawyer, a theologian, political commentator, pastor radio personality, and so much more. He has authored or co-authored over a dozen books. In June, 2010 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and it's a real honour to welcome Reverend Doctor Ross Clifford AM to Bleeding Daylight. Ross. Thanks for your time.Ross Clifford:  Good to be with you, Rodney.Rodney Olsen: Do you get worn out just thinking of all the roads that your life has actually traveled down?Ross Clifford: I don't actually I mean, I find it fascinating, but I think that's going to be the new normal. If I could use that term again that seems to be out there today.I mean, so many people are exploring, you know, different aspects of life and changing vacation and God taking them into other directions. So for me, Rodney has just really been open to where you think you meant to be and where God's taking youRodney Olsen: And a lot of those different careers, so to speak have been simultaneously haven't they?Ross Clifford: Oh, they were and still are, I'm still doing radio and I'm still principal of a theological college and, and writing. And, uh, you know, I just think that's, you know, who I am, that that's what God's called me to do. And I'm pretty comfortable with it.Rodney Olsen: Let's go back to those very early days and your training and work as a lawyer. What drew you to that vocation?Ross Clifford:  It was by chance, in some sense, I was looking for something to do and I left school and school had been pretty rocky and I found myself, uh, in the public service, the Attorney General's Department and discovered if I was going to move forward anywhere as a young, 19 year old, I had to study law. So that's basically how it happened, Rodney. And, uh, through that, I fell in love with law and had a real sense that this was somewhere where I could make a difference. Uh, and so I decided to do community law, really work with people and, and, and, and, you know, not the top end kind of law, which I found so distanced.So I worked at King's cross in Sydney for a while. And then in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek.Rodney Olsen: It must've been some interesting cases that you're working on with the sort of places you were working.Ross Clifford: Oh, absolutely. And a Tennant Creek, for example, in, in the Northern Territory, it was an honor to stand with, uh, indigenous people and a stand for them before the courts.But I must say though, you know, the sense of angst that we hear today was not there. You know, you could work with police and work with magistrates and courts, and I don't know, it just seemed to be a more decent society, if I can say that.Rodney Olsen: So does it concern you that the issues that existed back then don't just still exist, but are being amplified at the moment ?Ross Clifford: They are being amplified and I just don't know why, uh, you know, one would have thought that we would have moved on.We were confronting them. 30, 40 years ago and you would've thought we've moved on, but rather it seems even more hostile, more hatred, more underlying ideologies playing out. And I think we're at a real stage in human history where we have to decide what are our values? Where are we heading? Uh, you know, we won't be taken over by people who have, uh, whatever agendas I have, but we'll work together on this in order to ensure that Australia is the place we wanted to be operating on Christian values, all people are equal. All people have human worth and we can do that together. Rodney.Rodney Olsen: So that wishing that people would move on. That's not a case of, Hey, let's just forget the past. As some people would suggest, of working together to, to overcome that and move on.Ross Clifford: Oh, absolutely. And having sat with indigenous people and represented before courts and done Aboriginal lists in places like Tennant Creek and being a regular lawyer under settlements, like , Warrabri, you know, it's about sitting and listening and hearing and understanding.And, and finding structures that work with that. And we certainly had those structures days, years ago, nothing was perfect, but I'm sure we can do it again. And it's, it's honoring who we are, the past, we've all been through and finding solutions together on that basic Christian principle of human worth and human dignity for all people.But let's be sure, Rodney, we don't let the agenda written take over this. We do it together as decent human beings.Rodney Olsen:  It's interesting that in everything you're talking about, you're bringing this Christian aspect into it and where God is leading you. And that is as a trained lawyer who. Is dealing with the facts who is dealing with the evidence in front of you and yet, so often we hear this dilemma between people of faith and people who are looking at the science and the real evidence. Is there a conflict there at all?Ross Clifford: Ah look, I'm one who knows what it is to doubt, Rodney. And my story is as a lawyer and exploring my Christian faith and being happy and having a real sense that God wanted me in ministry.I came back from Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, and I came back to train for Christian ministry and within six months, I really had such a strong sense of doubt that I was leaving. The, uh, the, uh, the early studies for being a Christian minister and heading back to the Northern territory to practice law and to be involved in, in politics.And it was over the resurrection of Jesus. I still had a God out there, but I wasn't sure that this guy was God. And I wasn't sure what this guy did rise from the dead. And so I was in the, in the middle of that personal angst. So, for me, the resurrection of Jesus and belief in the Christian faith is not just, Oh, that's something that I'd like it to be.I mean, that's hard earned. I mean, God took me through a real cycle of seeing that I could have confidence to place my faith in the person of Jesus Christ.Rodney Olsen: We're talking about an event that happened over 2000 years ago. How do you look at evidence? How do you deal with that conflict that in your own mind and come to a place where you can say, I can believe this?Ross Clifford:  Well, that's a really good question. Uh, and I guess why my training as a a lawyer really helped me there. Uh, but you know, it's not rocket science and the stuff I've written, hopefully, you know, the average Australian can see, it's just common sense. I had to go back Rodney and ask, well, how good are these documents that tell the story of Jesus?And that's just a miracle. Let me tell you. They're better than anything else we have from antiquity. And that's not just me speaking. That's scholars speaking. Yeah. We have 5,000 early Greek copies of the gospels and there's absolutely no doubt, Rodney, that as you read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John you're reading, as it was written.And it goes to one of the most, uh, established and important techs for the resurrection of Jesus is one Corinthians 15 chapter 15. And I don't know how a scholar alive, who does not believe that was written by the apostle Paul. It's a very early writing. And it tells us clearly what he believed, what he believed he saw and what the early church practiced and what they're prepared to lose their lives for.Mate, its just gold mine kind of evidence, if you know what I mean. These documents are good stuff.Rodney Olsen: In one sense, we've got to say, we can look for the evidence that we want to see. Like for instance, I drive a blue Ford Escape. I really didn't know much about Ford Escapes until I bought one. Then every second car on the road seem to be that, cause that's what I was looking for. How do you overcome the bias of just going to seek for what you're after anyway?Ross Clifford: Ah, good question again. And I think skepticism is not inappropriate.  God's asking us to believe in something that is life changing, and calls you and me to put our life into this movement and this cause, you know, being skeptical is not inappropriate, but Rodney, because of skeptical old Roscoe here, imagine what God gave us. You know, if you read one Corinthians 15, you read the gospels, you find, Rodney, the ones who give the best evidence, the ones who saw Jesus die, the ones who saw him buried and the ones who him rise again, are the women. I mean, it's not that the men are not in there somewhere, but the women give you that unbroken chain, uh, in that day, women weren't allowed to give evidence in a court of law.The Jewish historian Lapide says the fact that it's women at the forefront is a sign that this is not an invention. This is not made up in order to get you convicted to these guy's bias. You you'd have Peter and Paul or whatever, being the primary witnesses. It's the women, it's a ring of truth. And then you've got people who were skeptical, who didn't believe in him at all.People like the apostle Paul people, like his half brother James, they were skeptics. They were total skeptics. What turned them around? The resurrection of Jesus. You've got 500 witnesses, Paul says who were out there most are still alive. In our terms, Rodney, it's basically saying, look, here's the app. It's got the list of everybody.You need to know who's around Jerusalem at the time. Uh, you know, check them out. They even throw in stuff like Joseph of Arimathea. They give you the name of the guy who was involved in the burial of Jesus. And they say he's from the Jewish council, the sanhedrin. It's giving you data. You don't do that if you're creating lies,.You can check it out. No, one's come back and say, Oh, Joseph didn't exist. No one came back and said he didn't bury him. I mean, it's just extraordinary. You just sit there and go, Oh my gosh, God wrote this for me.Rodney Olsen: There's a reliance there on the Christian scriptures, but how do we know that they're for real?How do we know that they haven't been reinvented over the years? Is there any evidence coming from outside that, that Christian scripture, that Bible that we know today?Ross Clifford: Oh yeah. I can tell you the whole Jesus story without going to the Bible. I can tell you that he's locked death crucifixion and believed resurrection believed resurrection without going to the scriptures.I mean, from the Jewish Talmud, from historians, like Josephus, uh, from, uh, stories like Tacitus, the Roman historian, you know, that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilot. That's, that's how they understood as historians. And it was believed, says, Josephus. By his disciples that he rose from the dead. So mate, you can get that all out there.Look, Christian philosophers by the name of Moreland had Habermas and they dedate this at Oxford University and whatever, and you and I don't need to do this, but they say there's a number of agreed facts by even the skeptical historians that we could all put out, you know, we could all say, yeah, this happened, the agreed facts are simply things like Jesus existed.Jesus died upon the cross. The disciples believed the disciples believe he rose again. The disciples gave their lives for that belief. And you've got the incredible transformation historically of people like James, his half brother, who was a skeptic, who became a leader of the church and the apostle Paul, who was the major antagonist against the church.He believed Jesus died, but didn't believe in any of this resurrection stuff. He encountered the resurrected Christ and he became a believer. So they say you take those five facts together. You don't need to open your Bible to get those five facts from history. That enough is to say there's a case to answer here.Rodney Olsen: And yet there are still people who are writing books, looking back at history and saying the facts don't stack up. So are they not looking at the evidence? Are we looking at different evidence? How do we account for that?Ross Clifford: Oh, well, you're looking at times, uh, at people who have not looked at the evidence. I remember a debate that took place, uh, in Sydney with a mentor of mine called John Mark Montgomery.Who's a well known lawyer historian. He's got three doctorates. He communicates well with the public and he was the biding, a guy called Plummer from Melbourne who was a lawyer, and it was over these particular matters and someone from the audience asked Montgomery how he could be so sure Jesus existed, died and rose from the grave and the gospels are reliable.And Montgomery took him through the whole thing, 5,000 copies. That means that whether you're Christian or not. 5,000 copies from early dates, different places. You can check the gospels, check the reliability, and you can come as a scholar with a conviction that as you read, these gospels is as they were written.There's no debate about that. With respect to what Paul writes in one Corinthians 15, then you've got to ask, okay, as I read it is, as it was written, but are these truthful witnesses, are they seeking to tell the truth and this basic tests look how they're honest. Look how they share everything. Look at how they believe this.Look, how they died for it. You guys, for all of this. And then Plumber. Who's a lovely guy. a leading lawyer, uh, represent the Skeptics Association. Then someone said to him, well, Mr. Plummer, why don't you believe the gospels are reliable and they told the truth about Jesus and his answer, I kid you not Rodney, his answer was, well anything that Robert Schuller follows must be doubtful.Rodney Olsen: And right there, we have a biasRoss Clifford: Right there. He lost the debate.Rodney Olsen: Does this come back to that thing I was mentioning earlier in that sometimes we're looking for what we want to find?Ross Clifford: Oh, absolutely. I couldn't agree more. And look, I did say healthy skepticism. I'm not saying I can prove that Jesus died and rose again historically a hundred percent.I mean, I can't tell you a hundred percent that Robert Menzies lived and died. I mean, history is always probable. We need to remember that history is always probable, but there's more evidence for Jesus' death and resurrection than there is for Julius Caeser. So, you know, come on. Um, so we know we need to remember that we do have bias.Uh, not dismissing any of that. Uh, I remember Barbara Thieirng, who's a leading Australian skeptic and a really nice woman. I did some study with her, but Barbara said to me, Ross, you just believe this stuff because you have this great need to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. And I said, well, thanks Barbara for pointing that out.And you obviously don't believe this stuff because you have a great need, not to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. And she said, Oh, Ross, come on. Absolute rubbish. This is not just emotion. I don't believe because the facts. Oh, well guess what Barbara? The same thing happens for me. Why do you assume I want the Jesus story to be true?I was very happy being a lawyer, Barbara. I would really love to be in politics. I liked money. I had a happy life. I wasn't running around, saying I need a Jesus story, Barbara, and she got it. We were friends. I'm standing here, not because I don't think any of that other part is relevant. I'm standing here. because mate, I actually believe it happened.Rodney Olsen: And going back to your court days, we hear about this idea of beyond a reasonable doubt. So is that how you convinced yourself? You thought the evidence stacks up and it stacks up beyond a reasonable doubt?Ross Clifford: Yeah, basically. Uh, and of course, you know, that's kind of working, you know, at sort of a God factor.And there are people here that are listening, who may not be Christians and that's fine. Take an honest, look at the evidence for the resurrection, you know, pray. The doubters prayer. Lord, help me, show me if I'm meant to be leaving here or not, but let's look at it. Make and take that sort of strong look at, and I'll be very confident, you'll come to a conclusion that there is a case to answer. But Rodney it gets deeper than that. In my life, when that's happening, you've got the work of the Holy spirit that then brings the conviction that what is mounting up here is more than probable. It is actually true. That's the work of God in your life, but it's not just the truth of the resurrection historical fact.That's nice. That's out there. When you start thinking about it, you all of a sudden discover, that this resurrection thing is mind boggling, Rodney, absolutely mind boggling. Cause we all are looking for worldviews to follow. You have foundations for our life. And the resurrection says if Jesus has resurrected, as Paul says, you and I will be resurrected.It says that God is concerned for you and I, as whole people will be changed and transform yes but our life in the future, Rodney, is as resurrected people before God. And if God's going to raise you and I up to be with him forever, that means he's concerned for you and I now. And that's why it's transformed me.That's why there's Christian hospitals, that's why we're in the forefront of edge of education. That's why Christians have been the forefront of compassion. Resurrection says God's concerned for the whole of me. It's one of the most profound understandings of the world that you can have. And there's atheists out there now all over the place saying, Oh, we mustn't have the fact of the resurrection, but we want the theology, the worldview of the resurrection.I've got news for you. You can't split the package. You can't take, Oh, I want a resurrection but without actually believing in one. Um, and the resurrection has this incredible foundation, Rodney, that, uh, it is true, but more than that, it is life changing. It changes the whole way you see the world. There's a common argument.Rodney Olsen: I hear where people talk about this idea of a moral code or of having morals and they can be quite indignant to say, how dare you say that it is only through religion, only through a faith in a God that, I don't believe in, that I can have a moral stance. I have morals beyond that. What is your answer to that?Ross Clifford: Look, I believe there's truth in most understandings of the world, but it doesn't mean they're necessarily true and I'm sure there's decent people have fair dinkum morals that might be based on Christianity and the like, but in the end, Rodney, what's the test? What's the ultimate test? What puts your moral code against somebody else's moral code?What puts your understanding against another person's understanding? Both of you might be decent, but have very different moral codes. Well, what puts the difference here is if there's a person who died and rose again, and he says, that's the moral code. You have a test, you have a foundation, you have a certainty to the moral code that you are following is just not coming from the pack, it's just not coming from a bunch of good people creating something. As the philosopher. Rousseau said years ago, to have a moral code that you can actually base your life on must come from the gods. Guess what? There is one that does come from God. The resurrection affirms it. .Rodney Olsen: I spoke earlier about the fact that you have authored or co-authored over a dozen books. Let's go back to that first one. You put together something by the title of Leading Lawyers look at the Resurrection. Tell me about that early book.Ross Clifford: Yeah, look, it was actually written for Russia. That's interesting thing. Uh, I was over there with a mission group in Russia after the Gorbachev stuff was all unfolding.And, uh, they said, look, Russians, like to think about things. Can we have a book? We haven't had one that actually points the case for the resurrection. And someone said, Oh, you've done a thesis on stuff like that. And I said, Oh, yeah I could make it very popular, and I did, but the way God works an Australian publisher, John Waterhouse, found out about it, uh, from Strand and then Albatross originally Albatross.And he said, Ross, could you put that into English for us? You know, it was in English, but can we have an English edition and it was, and Rodney  it was my privilege really to launch that book in a real way at the Gorbachev Foundation, with the director of the Gorbachev Foundation, uh, who indicated she'd handed it out to a thousand judges and lawyers at a recent conference.She said the reason why is we are a people of kind of faith, religious faith. We've lost it through communism. We're trying to come back to that. Your book has the faith component, but more than that, she said, you  know, the KGB told us how to decide cases. Whether we were the judge, the prosecutor, defence lawyer.We'd all get a phone call the night before telling us you better, you know, do whatever. We're not used to arguing or presenting a case and not does only your book open us up to the question of faith again, but it shows us how to logically and legally and in a popular way, get our case together. And so that's, that's how it happened, but, uh, you got to remember it's life transforming a number of those lawyers actually brought me out of the darkness.I read this stuff and I looked at the gospels again and I was born again. So, uh, this was very precious to me.Rodney Olsen: So these lawyers have looked at the evidence they've said, yeah, it does stack up how many lawyers were there and are they all believers?Ross Clifford: Yeah, they're all believers. Many of them weren't believers until they started doing, uh, you know, exploring as I've indicated.Oh, there's just a pile of them, uh, including senior lawyers in Australia. Like, Sir Leslie Herron, I mean, The world's most famous lawyer, the world's. most successful lawyer was a guy called Sir Lionel Luckhoo, who was knighted twice by the queen, Rodney. Now I see that Perry Mason's making a comeback, can't wait, all of you who remember the old Perry Mason legal series.Well, Perry Mason got to about 70 murder acquittals, which he won. Then they thought he had to lose one that so no one would believe it. Sir Lionel Luckhoo got 240 murder aquittals, 240 in a row. Um, and he was 63 he had everything, the world's best advocate, you know, knighted twice by the queen, and then he says I had absolutely nothing. And he took a look at Jesus. And Sir Lionel Luckhoo stood up after looking at the evidence and reading the gospels, et cetera, totally convinced that this Jesus had died, buried and rose again. And he committed the rest of his life to sharing the message of Jesus.And it was my privilege. And he came out from the West Indies and launched this book with Clarrie Briese. And so Clarrie Briese was the Chief Magistrate of New South Wales, who's also in the book.Rodney Olsen: There seems to be two sides of this. There is the evidence that as you say, does seem to stack up, it does seem to take us beyond a reasonable doubt, but at the same time, you're speaking about something different. You're speaking about something that goes beyond just reading a set of beliefs and saying, yep. It seems to stack up. I will follow that belief. Tell me more about that.Ross Clifford: Yeah. Look, Rodney. Most Aussies approach things like this two ways.Is it true? Does it work? And many of us start with, does it work? And if we think that it works, then we'll ask , is it true? Others of us ask, is it true? And then we'll say, well, so what.  Well, we've been talking about is it true? Yeah. Does it work? Does it change my life if we hinted at this? Yes. Because the resurrection of Jesus points to resurrection as a state of eternity, you know, transform change.Let's not get literal, but the whole sense is, the whole of Rodney goes  to be with God forever. When you get that kind of context, Rodney, the resurrection brings you incredible message of hope. Hope. I mean, in one of my books, I talk about George Gittoes, who's the war photographer, you know, one of the world's best.And he's in Rwanda at the, you know, at the end of all that incredible civil violence and, uh, ethnic cleansing and he's with a particular tribe with the United Nations and Australian medical team taking photos and whatever. They've been told to leave, because another tribe is coming in to clean out that tribe that they're with.So they get in their cars and whatever you already to leave, can't do anything. And I've got the picture. He took a picture and this guy stands up in the crowd, that's just about to be massacred with machetes, a guy stands up, opens his New Testament and starts reading out the, the hope they have in the Lord, Jesus Christ and Gittoes, and I paraphrase basically said, now I know what religion, Christianity is all about. I mean with all our technology, with all our care, we had to leave and hopefully come back and be able to patch some people up. He stood up in the crowd and offered them, hope, offered them hope. I mean, how powerful is that?I mean, we go through coronavirus. We go through all sorts of situations in our world, and we're reminded today that for many people around our globe, crisis is normal. This is their every day existence. You know, the Corona virus is just one more step in a crisis as normal. And we can say to them, we care for you, we love you. We're going to support you. We're going to support compassion. We're going to support you because simply we understand God cares for everyone, the whole person. Resurrection tells us that cares for all people. And as we care for you and minister to you and seek to share our assets and resources at the same time, we want to hear you, we want you to hear the message. That even in this God, in death, there's only resurrection. There's no other worldview that offers this. Mate, whatever trial, whatever situation. The resurrection of Jesus says God cares. God loves God's understanding. God's been there. He's been on a cross, whatever we faced legally or morally or spiritually or sense of abandonment, he's been through all of that. He's been through false trials. Uh, you know, he's been disowned by friends. Uh, he's physically suffered, been through all of that, and he's the one who's risen. And says, I'm there with you. I'm there with you, Rodney. I mean, it's just profound. It's just, it's just incredibly profound.Rodney Olsen: You're talking about that sense of hope, even in very difficult circumstances. And you touched on that story there from Rwanda of someone standing up with hope for the future because of their faith in Jesus., and yet there's still a massacre. I've been to Rwanda. I've been through the Memorial and, and read the, the heart wrenching stories.And many people would turn around and say, Well, if this God does care for us, if this God does care for the whole person, as you say, why does he not step in at moments like this and hold back the hand of the person who brings the massacre?Ross Clifford: Every understanding of the world, whether you're Christian or Buddhist or atheist really struggles with this issue.It's not just the Christian faith that struggles with it. And I heard a former Prime Minister of Australia, who's an atheist. His the answer to that was, and this guy, achieved so much, he became Prime Minister of Australia. He said, well, I'm just half a grain of sand on the beach. In other words, who cares?Who gives a stuff? It doesn't matter. There's no, God, there's no purpose, and I'm just a half a grain of sand on the beach. And who cares about half a grain of sand on the beach? I mean, I can give a more philosophical answer about, you know, God created a world, which is, which is fair to create where we, as a people had a choice of loving him or not loving him.And we decided to go our own way and there's consequences for all of that. And in those consequences, you know, sin and darkness fill-in, and I can do that mate with time and do that very reasonably, I believe better explanation than any other worldview. But for our purposes today, let me just remind people that in that darkness and that situation, why does God not?Well, you know, they're very difficult questions, but I can say this in answer the God who goes the God who goes through this with us fully understands because he's been there every kind of predicament we could imagine, his son, Jesus went through all of that. So he clearly identifies with us as Hebrews four says, we can cry out to him in honesty, but more than that in the resurrection of Jesus, he says, well, whatever they throw at you in me, there's only resurrection, whatever life throws at you, there's only hope whatever happens is only the empowerment of the Holy Spirit upon you and in your life and grab hold of that truth.Nothing gets close to it. I'm not a half a grain of sand on the beach. The story of the resurrection says I'm valuable. The most significant person in the universe loves me so much, he would die upon a cross for me. Mate when I know that nothing can touch me. Absolutely nothing.Rodney Olsen: I find it interesting that there's not a complete or a, uh, an immediately satisfying answer for that question of why does God allow suffering?There are many attempts that we've heard over the years to come to that. And yet you're saying that, the evidence still stacks up to say that this is for real. So does that mean we don't have to have absolutely everything straight in our mind before we can believe and put our trust in this hope?Ross Clifford: I agree fully. Let me just repeat though. I can give a philosophical answer to the question and if you're interested in people like plan together. Done that. And most secular philosophers have agreed that, that, that it's, it's possible to be an all powerful, all loving God and still create a world where there's freedom and freedom of choice, because you believe that your created beings, your highest created beings, human beings.If you really love them, you're going to give them the choice of whether they love you back. And in that world, there will be evil, and suffering because people choose to go their own way, and Plantinga's philosophically done that question to the satisfaction of the Academy, but I'm trying to work here with myself and everybody else out there, Rodney, and I'm simply saying, you know, we don't have answers to everything. It doesn't mean we shouldn't ask the questions, but when you get an answer that brings you an understanding of the world that is so powerful. So embracive. So empowering and based on a central fact in history, that is just overwhelming, then, you know, I'm moving on.I'm moving on. Some things I'm just going to leave to eternity. You know, Rodney, a few years ago on that program, Q and A, they had a guy on Peter Hitchins. Peter Hitchins is the brother of Christopher Hitchens, who was one of the best known atheists of our time. Now Peter himself had been an atheist, but then he was converted to Christianity.And this Q and A was during the festival of dangerous ideas, and Peter was the only Christian on the panel,  and some of you would not be surprised to hear that, and Tony Jones said, well, okay, let's finish. Let's talk about what we think is the world's most dangerous idea. And he turned to Peter and said, what's the world's most dangerous idea and I paraphrase, but basically said the world's most dangerous idea is that 2000 years, a guy called Jesus lived. died buried, and rose again, because if that's true, it changes and transforms everything. It's the  world's most, dangerous idea, mate. Nothing is the same. If this is true, nothing is the same again.Rodney Olsen:  I find it interesting that that is so transformative, as you're saying. But what does it mean for the here and now for those people who say, yep, I believe in the resurrection, does it stay as a belief or does it dramatically alter the way we live our lives?Ross Clifford: Oh it dramatically alters. Mate if this is true. You've got the risen, God walking with you. Um, if this is true, uh, you celebrate no matter what, that's, why Paul could celebrate in shipwreck and, in hardship, and even facing death because he knew the one who had defeated death was there with him and poured out his Spirit upon him.If it's true, it means that we care for those who are disadvantaged and poor and vulnerable because there's human, dignity and human worth. The basic. Oh, you know, the basic human rights documents like the 1948 declaration of human rights. It's the foundation for the United Nations. That's based on the 10 Commandments. Numerous human rights documents are based on this premise of love God and love your neighbor as yourself.It transforms you  mate,  you've got to care. You've got to be involved. You know, God loves and cares for you. You know, there's a moral code, like a sermon on the Mount that you can live by and put your life to. So it's discipleship changing, right? It's it's, it's the, world's most dangerous idea.Rodney Olsen: I hear ofpeople who say, I've looked at the evidence. I don't believe it and I don't want to believe it and they'll just walk away. But there are other people I hear these voices who say, I can't believe that, but I really wish I could. What would you say to those people?Ross Clifford: Look to the first, I support you've got to live by your own conscience, and if you really believe that's the case.Then, you know, that's what, that's the step that you take, but there are eternal ramifications for that. Many people just turn their back on this thing because they don't want to be controlled by anybody else, but themselves. I mean, they don't want a God out there who tells them how to live life and tells them what the values are and not might actually tell them that they've got to go overseas and make a difference, you know?Um, that's that first group, the second group I understand. And I'd simply say suck it and see. Taste it. Actually ask, what would the resurrection, what would it make a difference in my life? How would it transform my values? How would it transform how I see other people. And uh, if I can see that really making a difference to how I live my world, then step out and say, God, I'm really not so sure about this, but, you know, give me the strength, give me the conviction.Uh, give me people that I can speak to that allow me to cement this. So take a step, take a step towards Jesus. And you'll find that after one step two steps, three steps, four steps, five steps. You'll wake up one morning and think, Oh my gosh. I'm in.Rodney Olsen: It's interesting that there are those camps that you're talking about, but there are also those in the camp that say, I've seen what Christians are like.They're a group of people that are against this against that, and they seem to be very hateful.Ross Clifford: Oh, and I understand that. I mean, the McCrindle research shows that the number one objection, that people who are open to faith have to the Christian faith is Christians themselves. The basic problem that the community or they seeking a faith have is not God.The number one problem they have is us and  I understand that. And that's a real call for us to get our lives together, but just remember Rodney, that we have charities, Tim Costello, you know, who was the CEO of World Vision a again, I quote, but I think he said something like 90% of charities and NGOs in Australia began from a Christian involvement and movement.So we need to bear that in mind. Mother Teresa. I mean, you can just go global, all sorts of people. Catherine Hamlin who's just passed away in Ethiopia. Who must be the Australian of the last 10 years who spent 50 years there, uh, creating fistula hospitals, so women could give birth, have, uh, awkward results and not be outcasts in tribes, but actually come back and live with their kids and their husband in the major community.She's committed her life to that, man. We can repeat that, time and time again. And just remember how we started this. Plummer said why don't I believe in the gospels, he said anyone who believes, anything Robert Schuller believes in, I can't believe. And that's no answer. You know, it's a concern that you find people that you don't think you're authentic, but you know, I'm offering you Jesus.I'm not offering you me. I'm not offering you Rodney Olsen. I'm offering you Jesus. Look at him. Transform and change world's most dangerous. I didn't, no one is perfect, but my gosh, mate, it is it's mind boggling stuff.Rodney Olsen: So if anyone has heard something today and they think. I need to investigate this further. Where would you send them?Ross Clifford: Oh, well, you know,without being rude, Leading Lawyers Look at the Resurrection, is a book that I've written that people might find helpful. There's some books out there that guys like John Dickson have written. Some of you might've heard, uh, that, uh, that name, I mean, you find some of those helpful, um, it's really not hard to find a book like that, that gives you that kind of background and impetus, but also don't forget to just read your gospels.Maybe you've never read one before. Read John's gospel look up in your index in a Bible and you get Bibles anywhere. Look up in your index, or you can even Google it. You can Google John's gospel for nothing. Uh, look for the NIV translation. Just read it through, ask God to go with you on the journey and then read one Corinthians 15, uh, chapter 15 of the book of one Corinthians written by Paul.No doubt about that. Early read what he says about what happened and transformed and who saw that and just go to those texts with an open heart.Rodney Olsen: There's plenty for people to think about and to investigate further. I love your passion for what you're doing. I love your passion for that resurrection message that you carry. Ross. I want to say thank you for spending some time with us today.Ross Clifford: Good to be with you, mate. God bless you, Rodney. God bless everyone.Emily Olsen: Thank you for listening to bleeding daylight. Please help us to shine more light into the darkness by sharing this episode with others. For further details and more episodes, please visit BleedingDaylight.net

This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) decides who is to blame for the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. She is joined by returning guests Matt Hobby and Mary Grill, Fact Checker Chris Smith, Producer Amanda Lund and Guest Expert Dr. Helen Bond (Director of The Centre of Christian Origins at Edinburgh University and author of The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed.) On the board this week: Pontius Pilot, Jesus and wild card, Barabbas.Tell us who you think is to blame at http://thealarmistpodcast.comEmail us at thealarmistpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram @thealarmistpodcastFollow us on Twitter @alarmistTheCall the Earios hotline! 844-370-8643 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/alarmist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kristy is representing "The Eternal Life Coin: The World's Most Beautiful Christian Gift" and shares her testimony as well as sound advice during the COVID-19 crisis.Life 2,000 years ago was drastically different— and yet strikingly the same— as life today. While the advancement of technology has significantly changed the way we live, we still find ourselves, witness, to the same political tension and search for meaning today as those who lived centuries before us. Thankfully, what remains unchanged is God’s steadfast love for us and His Promise of Eternal Life. The inspiration behind The Eternal Life Coin, however, is a mixture of spiritual and archaeological factors…Interestingly, a recent announcement was made by authorities that the road to the “City of David” said to have been built by Pontius Pilot was discovered by archaeologists in Jerusalem. Underneath it was 10 coins buried under the road. This magnificently constructed road was positioned between the Siloam Pool [where Jesus was told to have healed the blind and The Temple Mount. Over the centuries, archaeologists have discovered and studied Byzantine Coinage depicting Jesus during the years following his death. Proudly Made By Christians, for Christians, in the USADesigned in AmericaMinted in AmericaDistributed in AmericaAmerican Customer ServiceSupporting Christian fundraisingIdeal for Christian corporate giftingTo purchase your Coin today visit: https://www.eternallifecoin.com/To connect with Host Chris Buscher or Co-Host Dallas Monticue visit:Chris' Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/pastor_chris_buscher/?hl=enDallas' Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/dallasmonticue/?hl=en

A look at John 19 and the decisions of Pontius Pilot in Christ's crucifixion

Growing up Catholic, I had to memorize and recite the Apostles Creed regularly. There's the "Good Friday" part that says, "He was tried under Pontius Pilot, suffered, died and was buried. Sounds rather simple, right? But it's not. Here's an in-depth look at Jesus' suffering on the cross when he bore all of our sins, past, present and future, once and for all so that we could have true salvation and a 1-way, non-stop ticket to heaven. Quote from Lenten Bible Study plan in the Bible app: "Journeying with Jesus" by Susan Narjala. Bible Verses in this episode: Matthew 27:46 Psalm 22:1 If Purgatory exists, then Jesus suffered and sacrificed His life for nothing. Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit. Pray this prayer: “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. I will follow you for the rest of my life. Thank You for saving me. Amen.” Soli Deo Gloria -- to God Alone be the Glory! Share this with your #Catholic friends & family. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/seek-the-truth/message

Pastor Ben preaches on the significance of Jesus Christ's suffering, crucifixion, and death.

Mark the host of the show has spent the entire decade spilling his heart and thoughts into the Q show and trying to bring some semblance of morals and thought to the political things he says and puts out. With that, we go into the 2020's ending on the most important discussion of the show's history...The impeachment of Donald J. Trump 45th President of the USA.  As this show was ramping up, the House decided to vote and Impeach the 45th president of the USA. This has been talked about for weeks and weeks. Debated for weeks  and months. It's a very serious and sensitive subject, but also a huge change to the way the President is viewed worldwide and by other foreign leaders.  Mark is joined to discuss all of this by Brandon Travis (our verified high flyer and resident thrill seeker) and Owner of Take A Hike Bike Shop, Joe Russell. First up, Mark and the guys discuss being thrill seekers and how they connect and become acquainted with each other. This leads directly into impeachment talk. Joe and Brandon not being deeply ingrained in national politics discuss why Trump is in the position he is in. Mark illuminates other aspects and the gentlemen discuss their opinions about Trump and this impeachment that is ACTUALLY happening.  Including the way the debates went defending Trump with crazy Pontius Pilot talk and other things.  This leads to discussion of False Flag operations and some conspiracy theories that Brandon wants to discuss. Mark points out to the men that being conspiratorial is technically anti-american in it's normal stance. Mark must defend his remarks but it all comes back to Trump not even having his cabinet full three years into his presidency.  Finally, and on the last one of this decade, Joe Russell of Take a Hike Bike shop jumps on the HOTSEAT to discuss all the questions Mark and Brandon pose to him. This leads down a road discussing the past decade and the favorite moment in the past 10 years for Joe and Brandon. This open another pandora's box and the guys talk about life and the strange places it takes you when viewing such huge chunks of your past.  From everyone at the Q...Joe Russell and Brandon Travis...and to all of you and your families...Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We are gonna finish off the decade in Style and bring in the New Roaring 20's. Thank you 2010's for being amazing to The Q and all the friends/fans we made in the past decade. We look forward to doing it great for another decade too!  

Ultimately, we’ve come to a point when we have lived at the limit of a good enough life in a broken society.We feel like I have reached the edge of the “minimum” life. People are searching for something more in every possible idea, belief, self-help book, television show, and celebrity spokespersons but we know only God can take us to the next stage in our lives.Jesus Triumphal Entry – Matthew 21When Jesus entered the city on Sunday, Palm Sunday, he was greeted by cheering crowds proclaiming Him king much to the dismay of the religious leaders, Pontius Pilot, and the 10th Roman Legion, who had taken up residence in the Antonia Fortress to control the enormous crowds that swelled the city during Passover. A time where the normal population of Jerusalem grew from 100,000 to over a million people in a matter of days. Jewish unrest was rampant during the time of Jesus with numerous radical rebellions and uprising occurring all throughout Palestine. The northern territory of Galilee, Jesus’s home, was a fountain of radical thought and revolutionary movements during this time, around 32 A.D. Jesus entering the city, on Passover, with a million frustrated Jews, and the crowds loudly proclaiming him King was more than volatileThe Jewish leaders would have been shocked and outraged at Jesus’s behavior at the temple, chasing out the money changers and the Romans were on high alert because of the events surrounding Jesus in the city.The Delegation Confronts Jesus – Matthew 21 and 22The Parable of the Wedding Feast – Matthew 22:1-14“And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”The warning in these two parables is if we do not continue to cultivate Christians in the correct way based on biblical truths, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from us and given to someone else. This is regardless of how big our church may be, how many members we have, how famous we are on tv, how many books we sell, or speaking engagements we book.We are all equal in the eyes of God and the Holy Spirit and we can just as easily grieve the Holy Spirit in ways potentially detrimental to our relationship with Christ, which we will go into more detail in later discussions.Just because we stand and say, “I believe” during a church service doesn’t insure we will inherit the Kingdom of God. It is so much more in the relationship, the way we live out our lives for Christ and being present in the Holy Spirit than it is just to say a couple words and join a bible study.Why is this important as we come to the next stage in life in partnership with the Holy Spirit? We’ve discussed “where” we are. Before we discuss “how” to get there, I believe it’s important we talk about “why” first. Why Now?Revelation 7:9 (ESV)A Great Multitude from Every Nation: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,”There are 85 verses in the Bible stating Jesus will not return again until the Word of God has reach:a) All the peoplesb) The whole worldc) Every tribe and language and people and nationd) Every kneee) Every tongueWhat is a people group?“An ethno-linguistic group with a common self-identity that is shared by the various members. For strategic purposes it is the largest group within which the Gospel can spread without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance.”11,757 people groups (7.6 billion people)How many are unreached?7.088 unreached people groups (4.5 billion people)“A people group is considered unreached (UPG) when there is no indigenous community of believing Christians able to engage this people group with church planting. Technically speaking, the percentage of evangelical Christians in this people group is less than 2 percent.”How many are unreached unengaged?3,159 unengaged unreached people groups (238 million people)“Unreached people groups are unengaged (UUPG) when there is no church planting strategy, consistent with evangelical faith and practice, under way. Gathering believers and planting churches are the keys to establishing an effective and multiplying presence among these people groups.”Table 71 – YWAM Group. 25 ministries bringing the gospel to the remaining tongues and people group of the World. Reaching every Unengaged Unreached People Group (UUPG). The goal is to establish a strong and viable church within each of the UPGs, so that the number of UPGs is reduced to zero. By 2020, Onestory.org, will be initiating such work in more than 5,500 UPGs (unreached people groups) by the year 2020. By 2025, all of the plans to reach the UUPG’s will be submitted by the teams we saw in the video. By 2026, all of the plans will be approved and will begin implementation. Again, we ask, why now?Because the minimum requirements for the second coming will have been met, completing the prophecy that before Christ will come again every tongue and people group will have heard the word of God.Now, let me be clear, I am not prophesying that I know when and where the second coming will take place. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” – Matthew 24:36. What I am saying is boxes will all be checked, and the stage will be set for the second coming. God could choose not to come for another 500 years but the urgency remains the same.Matthew 25:14-3019 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.” We cannot know when but we know we have to be prepared to give an account. We can’t waste anytime in performing our duties now for when God comes again. The time is now. The urgency is now.Urgency and Immediacy just Like When John wrote the Book of Revelations“However, if we were to canvass the prophetic utterances of the Hebrew Bible and the phenomenon of prophecy within the New Testament and early Christian worship, we might instead arrive at the conclusion that, while prophecy could include a predictive element, it was primarily a declaration of God’s action in the present. In these cases, prophecy served as an announcement of God’s evaluation of the present actions of God’s people, diagnosing problems and calling for realignment with God’s values.” – https://blog.logos.com/2016/08/3-mistakes-people-make-reading-revelation/We will never know for certain if the book of Revelations actually comes true unless we are around for the events to occur or we are in heaven. What we can know for certain was the expressed urgency of the writing that mirrored the cultural context of where John was and the events that happened, precluding him to write the text with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.The sense of immediacy with which John writes made it sound like the events would occur within the current generation of peoples. However, when it did not occur because the prophecy of Revelations 7:9, which we previously discussed, had not come to pass, the Christians of the day made written copies of the manuscripts; in order to, disseminate them throughout the nations. This brings up a concept which we will talk more about in later sessions having to do with the two forms of God’s will we see in the Bible relating to The Hidden will of God and the Revealed Will of God.How do we get to the next stage in life in partnership with the Holy Spirit? Now that we’ve discussed the current cultural climate and why it’s important that we begin now, we can now discuss the how and introduce the ministry in our discussion on what we need to do.“There is the right way and then there is everything else which is inferior. Everything can be backed up and documented. You cannot do something that is new.” – Dave Berke,Dave is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, fighter pilot, ground combat leader. He was an F/A-18 pilot deployed twice from the USS John C Stennis in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spent three years as an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN where he served as the Training Officer, the senior staff pilot responsible for conduct of the TOPGUN course.We are at a pivotal moment in our world history where nearly every possible idea or iteration of an idea has already been developed or created. The same can be said about God’s word. The bible in its latest canon, is the living word of God and it is infallible. Therefore, every possible way of sharing God’s word has been conceived and performed. All of the moments in its rich history tie beautifully into the dynamics of our human history.History is commonly referred to as, God’s Story because after all, we were all created by God and I believe that all wisdom and understanding comes from Him, therefore it is His Story to us so that we may learn everything we need to know to be better men and better followers for His Kingdom.What do we have to believe?1. We believe God is the King above all kings2. We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, its power and its presence in us4. We believe in Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross5. We believe in the resurrection and that Jesus conquered death6. We believe in the Holy Spirits calling for us7. We believe He is coming back againWhat we have to avoid:We are always competing for money and market share. Enough! We aren’t competing and we are not separate. We are all part of one body of Christ. I would prefer not to use secular media as a quote for a scripture-based training program, however, in this case I found it quite fitting: “Winter is coming. We stand together or we all die” – Tyrion Lannister, Game of ThronesThe objective is to take back territory from the darkness not to squabble and fight amongst ourselves for donor bases. The sooner we all wake up to that the more equipped to tackle the real enemy we will be.We cannot be naïve to the enemy’s tacticsThree Questions:1. How do we improve the Kingdom?2. How do we improve the lives of others?3. How do we improve our own lives?When we can search for answer to these three foundational questions, we then begin to understand what is truly at stake.

Week 6 in the Apostles' Creed series where LeeEric Fesko explores one of only two individual call outs in the creed: "suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified." With such great effort to use as few words as possible, why does the creed choose to mention Pilot specifically?

In a tiny town named Sans Marie de la Mer on the Southern coast of France, where the Rhone River empties into the Mediterranean, they still celebrate the coming of a small boat which arrived a little over 2,000 years ago.  The boat carried with it a group of Christ believers who had been chased out of Palestine after Jesus's crucifiction and set adrift with no sails, or oars, or rudder- to perish in the Mediterranean Sea. Among this group  were Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome, the mother of James and John the Disciples, and Mary Cleopas, like Salome, a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.- all witnesses to Jesus Christ's death, and all devout believers. Also in the small entourage- Joseph of Arimathea, who had asked Pontius Pilot for the body of Jesus, Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, and other believers who would build churches throughout Europe and spread the word. This is their story, and a story in which we discuss the discovery of the long buried Gnostic Scriptures, the Gospel of Mary, Saul's purging of Christians from the Holy Land, the Coptic Christian sect, and more, In Part two we'll cover the incredible story of Joseph of Arimathea, the man who was Jesus's uncle, the legend of where he took Jesus during those years Jesus was missing from the bible, and his tin mines on the coast of England- tin that the Romans needed.. We'll discuss the legend of Mary Magdale's work and her death in France, and the legend she left behind, as well as the works and the fates of the other Mary;s and their companions on their journey.  SUPPORT OUR SHOW MONTHLY AT PATREON Become an Assistant Producer at 1001 Stories Network ( a great resume enhancement) and support us at Patreon today! Here;s the link:  https://www.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork YOUR REVIEWS AT APPLE/ITUNES ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! Catch RADIO DAYS now at Apple  iTunes!   https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 Catch 1001 HEROES now at Apple iTunes Podcast App:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2 Catch 1001 CLASSIC SHORT STORIES at iTunes/apple Podcast App Now:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622?mt=2 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at iTunes/Apple Podcast now:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901?mt=2 ANDROID USERS- CATCH OUR SHOWS AT WWW.CASTBOX.FM  SUBSCRIBE FREE  THEN SHARE  THANK YOU 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales:  https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Classic-Short-Stories-%26-Tales-id381734?country=us 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries:  https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Heroes%2C-Legends%2C-Histories-%26-Mysteries-Podcast-id1114843?country=us 1001 Stories for the Road: https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Stories-For-The-Road-id1324757?country=us Catch ALL of our shows at one place by going to www.1001storiesnetwork.com- our home website with Megaphone. Website For  1001 Heroes is still www.1001storiespodcast.com  (we redirected that one to www.1001storiesnetwork.com) Website For 1001 Classic Short Stories is still www.1001classicshortstories.com ( we redirected that as well) Website for 1001 Stories For The Road is still www.1001storiesfortheroad  (we redirected that one, too) Website for 1001 Radio Days is www.1001radiodays.com  Links: Our Twitter:  @1001podcast Our Facebook: www.Facebook.com/1001Heroes Our Email:  1001storiespodcast@gmail.com

Did you know that the stairs Jesus walked up to face Pontius Pilot are now located in Rome? Did you know that you can see relics of the Passion of Christ, including thorns from the Crown of Thorns and pieces of the Holy Cross in Rome? Did you know that wood from the crib of … More 9 Major Central Rome Christian Sights The post 9 Major Central Rome Christian Sights appeared first on One Perfect Day In.

James (Jamie) Boone, ObjectivelyDan, Denis Loubet. YouTube now censoring hate speech and reverses strike against Atheist Youtuber for comments of an interviewee. Should the government 'humanely' execute gays? Secular Student Alliance (SSA) Conference in Columbus Ohio. Street epistemology. Listener mail. Changes on Non-Prophets. UK outlawing gay conversion therapy. Is gay conversion ethical? Homosexuality is an addiction? Why is this still happening? Does Jamie like torture? Buff gay guys. Jayden Smith's Twitter. Pre-show commercials for a Christian University; lets take their faith money. Patreon. Teach people context to teach robots context. Post-Adpocalypse. Indianapolis church condemns government's current immigration policy. Is it ok for Atheists to agree with religious people on specific views/topics? Is any good done by a church which is funded by irrational belief actually still good? Denis can't find a metric tape measure. Flying Spaghetti Monster visits DC on National Pasta Day. National Atheist Day 2019 to be celebrated with a green circle symbol. How easy is it to screw up God's plans? Do the Devil and Jesus have free will? Jesus was born a 33 year old white man? Is the Holy Spirit an alien? The Holy Spirit is the new energy drink. Can you return a gift from god for store credit? Flat Earthers. Book of limericks is easier to understand than the Book of Revelation. #someonesgoinginthevolcano Someone is going into the volcano. If life is a dance floor, god is a lazy DJ. What is criminal crime? Blame Jesus, says Bible. Pontius Pilot a saint for not following-through? Why isn't Judas a saint? You can't pair just any wine and cheese. Jamie can't rap. Christians wouldn't save Jesus. Jesus was a criminal. #JudgeJesus. #Jesusify. Respect the government so much you destroy it. Happy 4th of July. Divided society. Alex Jones predicted Civil war, or did he? Alex Jones and Waco.

So, this week I get the overwhelming pleasure and the completely impossible task of taking the darkest line in the whole creed, allowing it to point us back to the scripture, and to unpack it just a little bit. Today we are talking about Jesus Christ - who Suffered under Pontius Pilot, Crucified, Dead and Buried - and the ever popular line, “He descended into Hell.”

How many times do you deflect or blame others at work? Don't be Pontius Pilot. Hear how you can be accountable and help your fellow co-workers instead of washing your hands of an issue in this teaching on Matt. 27:24.

Giving you a taste of what is to come. First episode next Friday (January 15th).

Our Religion, the Christian religion is rooted in human history. It is not like so many other non Christian religions that have stories of a distant past. Although even in their stories they have elements of truth, for universally every religion there was a perfect, a golden age and something went wrong. Christianity is rooted in human history so that we do not depend only on the scriptures for historical fact, but we can compare it with secular history and see indeed that the two mesh together. And so in today’s reading in the third chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, we hear of specific times and unique individuals being named. So we see Tiberius Caesar has been in the throne for fifteen years, this is a historical fact, there was Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar and then Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. He will be there for ten years and he was appointed in the third year of Caesar’s reign. Herod who was the son of Herod the great who attempted to put Christ to death as an infant was the Tetrarch of Galilee, that is he had been given a forth part of the kingdom of Israel, his brother Philip another son of Herod, was a Tetrarch of two other areas and Lysanias was the Tetrarch of the fourth. So the civil rulers, the Roman Emperor, the kings and the Tetrarch of Palestine are named. And now the religious leaders are named, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas. All of them are named for the simple reason that all of them would be in some way be influential in bringing about the death of the Saviour. The word of God came to John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness, so all of this happened in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilot would be one of the judges, Herod the Tetrarch would be another of the judges and Annas and Caiaphas would be another judges of Christ. So then God has set the stage and all the actors are present and so the drama begins...

Luke 3:1-6

Seminary Grads in Deep Debt, Jesus' wife theory revisited, Noah Movie Banned, Blood Moons rising, Westboro gets run out of Oklahoma, and Jesus of Nazareth vs. Pontius Pilot for the heavyweight championship of Jerusalem, this week on RGR.   Visit Matthew Pancake's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/matthew.pancake Visit Pastor Gary Held's Facebook http://www.facebook.com/garyheld Visit our Website www.RadicalGraceRadio.com    

Pastor David Guzik examines to role Pontius Pilot played in send Jesus Christ to the cross.

The Morality Wars Of all the movements in Christian History, none have compared with the rampant Moralism that has taken root in our churches today. Where the true central article of the faith was once Christ and Him Crucified, and even such statements as Christ alone is central to all of our faith and practice used to be the norm, there has been a slow shift towards making our deeds central to our faith rather than our creeds. Where once the confession was that we believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilot, was Crucified, Died, Buried, and risen on the third day, the church at large has all but abandoned this simple proclamation in favor of what is seen as “Good Christian Morals”. Indeed, this is the message that is too often proclaimed instead of the cross.

The Trail of Blood Open your Bibles to Matthew Chapter 10. We'll be looking this morning at verses 16 through 25, as Jesus prepares His apostles for their mission. I think in this section of Matthew 10, it becomes clear that He's really preparing the whole church throughout all the ages for trouble ahead, the suffering that is indispensable to the advance of the Gospel. In the time that we're living in American history and world history, especially recently, over the last two years or so, we're starting to see more and more of an aggressive militant spirit among our Muslim neighbors, friends around the world. We're seeing Islam, I think, for what it really is. I know our president called Islam a religion of peace, but the fact of the matter is, both in precept and in history, Islam has advanced behind the curved scimitar, behind the aggressive militant “conversion or die' approach that Islam has always taken. From the very beginning, Islam advanced by the sword. There was a time when North Africa was the Bible belt of the world. That's where Augustine and Tertullian were, and many other heroes of the faith lived in North Africa. But about 100 years after Muhammad, Islam swept through behind the power of the sword and basically forced everyone who lived there to either convert or die. That is one pattern or one example of a way that a religious kingdom can advance. Jesus gives us a different pattern here, doesn't he? He has given the apostles the approach that we are to advance the kingdom, not by causing suffering, but rather by being willing to suffer ourselves even at the point of death. Not that we would grab the sword and wield it, and we know that some have done that in Christ's name, but rather that we would humble ourselves below the sword and be willing to die, that the Gospel might advance. While we recognize that many Muslims are themselves peace-loving people, we see that that whole pattern of advance, that's so intrinsic to Islam must be rejected by Christians, because Jesus Christ has said, "Behold I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves." Jesus says, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men, they will hand you over to the local councils and flog in their synagogues. On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. At the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household." We see Jesus preparing the twelve apostles for a difficult mission, a mission in which He is going to be willing to pour out their lives, even to death. Now, what is the context of Matthew 10? We've seen throughout Matthew's Gospel the context is that of the advancing kingdom of heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is here," Jesus said. John the Baptist preached it, and then Jesus Himself said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Gospel of Matthew is written to portray Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, as the King of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew is seeking to give His credentials both in word and in deed, in genealogy and in His miracles. In one way after another, he brings out the evidence for how Jesus is truly the King of the kingdom of heaven. Fearless Sheep Surrounded by Ferocious Wolves At the end of all of that evidence, at the end of Matthew Chapter 9, we have a sense of Jesus' heart of compassion and the reason behind the advancing kingdom, what He's seeking to do by the advancing kingdom of God. Above all things, He's seeking to advance for the glory of God and for the reputation of His name, but he has clearly in mind some loss sheep. He has clearly in mind people who are [Matthew 9], “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." He calls His disciples around Him and He says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out laborers into His harvest field." He says that we need to pray, we need to ask the Lord of the harvest, so that there would be workers for this vast harvest of souls of lost people. He's compared these lost people to harassed and helpless sheep. They're tormented in every way, tormented by their lives, tormented by demonic presence, tormented by temptation, tormented by sin and by fear of death, and ultimately, they may even be tormented by the wrath of God and hell. This is a terrifying situation. He has compassion on them, and He urges the disciples that they should pray for laborers. But it's not enough that we should simply pray, is it? It's not enough to say, "Well, I don't need to witness. I don't need to share the Gospel with a suitemate at college or with a co-worker or with a neighbor. I don't need to reach out to a relative who doesn't know the Lord. What I'm going to do is I'm going to pray, and I'm going to ask God to send somebody to go talk to them." You know that's not going to work, because the Lord is going to lay that person on your heart so fully and so completely that you must go, you must say something. The twelve apostles are selected out, and Jesus gives them authority to drive out demons and evil spirits, and to proclaim the Gospel as they go out. The apostles were not the only ones that were to be sent out, but they were the forerunners and we're following in their lead. In Matthew 10 are His instructions to the twelve as they go out to preach the Gospel. Now we come face-to-face with some of the difficulties. The twelve were sent out with a specific mission, and they're going to go out two by two, and they're going to go out for just a little while. After a little while, they're going to come back and get more training from their mentor and their instructor. But the words of Matthew 10 go well beyond that limited first mission, don't they? In verses 16 through 25, we see very, very clearly how these instructions were meant for all time, not just for that limited mission. Jesus said in Verse 5, "Do not go among the Samaritans or enter any town of the Gentiles. Don't go among the Gentiles, stay away from them,” but here in this section, He says, "On My account, you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." Clearly, these instructions go well beyond this first moment, they go to the end of history. We're being prepared, we're being shaped and molded for a very challenging mission. We're being told that our lives are forfeit now that we're Christians. Isn't this ironic? He sees the lost people, He compares them to harassed and helpless sheep, and then He says, "I am sending you out like sheep to be surrounded by wolves." Who are the wolves? Could it be that they're the harassed and helpless sheep who haven't come to Christ yet? Could it be that some of the greatest persecutors of Christians are those who are about to become Christians themselves? I myself was a great persecutor of the person who led me to Christ. For over a year I was rude and unkind to Steve. He would come and sit next to me at a meal at our fraternity, and I would look at him and I would get up and take my plate and go to some other place. Then I'd come back and get my silverware, and then come back and... I probably took four trips and did it on purpose, to let him know I had no desire to sit next to him. Why? Because he was rude or vicious or unkind? No. Because he was telling me the truth, I needed a savior. For a year he was willing to lay down his life, metaphorically in one sense, to stand up to the kind of abuse that I was giving him. Jesus sends us out like sheep to be slaughtered in a sense. In Romans Chapter 8: 35-36, Jesus says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep for the slaughter.' Behold, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. The Greek is actually intensive in Verse 16. "I myself am sending you out that way. I'm sending you out to die." How could that be loving? How could it be loving for Jesus to sit up there at the right hand of God Almighty and watch Stephen in Acts 7 be stoned to death? Actually, He was standing. Stephen says, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And at this his persecutors cover their ears, screamed at the top of their voices, and began to stone him to death." Right before they did that, they took off their outer cloaks and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul who was there giving approval to his death. They stoned him to death, and Stephen sank to his knees and said, "Lord Jesus, do not count the sin against them." He died very much like Jesus did when Jesus said, "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." How could Jesus, at the right hand of power, omnipotent power, not raise a finger to save Stephen? Why? Because He wanted Saul of Tarsus converted, and He was willing to give Stephen up for that. Stephen was going to heaven. Jesus was standing to welcome Stephen, "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." He's ready to take him in. But Saul of Tarsus’ heart is full of hatred against Christians and against Jesus Christ Himself, and He must be converted. That path is tortuous and difficult, and it involves the blood of martyrs, at least one martyr, Stephen. He's willing to pour out Stephen's blood so that Saul and others can be converted. Are you willing to have your blood poured out? Are you willing to be sent as a sheep to be surrounded by wolves? In this section, we see that the persecutors are government officials and the Sanhedrin. Therefore we see an example of government gone demonic. The government was meant to be provider and protector. Instead, here in this section, it's persecutor and punisher. Jesus says, "I'm sending you to be surrounded by ferocious wolves." Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, is it? It's against the rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world, and against spiritual force of evil in the heavenly realms. Yet they use, in so many cases, human governments and authorities to pour out Satan's hatred against the church. Jesus says, in Verse 17 and 18, “Be on your guard against men, they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." Romans 13 portrays government as a good servant of God for the benefit of the people. It commands us to be subject, for the Lord's sake, to every authority instituted among men, the governing authorities. "He is God's servant to do you good.” [Romans 13] But Revelation 13 portrays government gone demonic, the beast from out of the sea, the anti-Christian government, and so it has been for twenty centuries of church history. It's first seen, I think, in the vicious attacks of the Jewish Sanhedrin and council against the early church. Then they hand the baton of persecution off to the Roman government, and so it has gone through generation after generation. We have a hard time accepting this because we live in a free country. We live in a free country, where government has not been, up to this point, a persecutor. It may not continue that way. But around the world, it is not so. In so many places government is the vicious demonic persecutor of the church. Perhaps one of the best examples of demon-possessed government is that of Adolf Hitler, who I believe was demon-possessed. His generals behind his back, mind you, called him"Teppichfresser," which means carpet chewer. From time to time, he would be so enraged that he would throw himself down on the carpet, rolling around, foaming at the mouth, and chewing the carpet. He did this in front of emissaries from other nations. The man was probably demon-possessed. Now, we know what he did to the Jews. We know about Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and all of these terrible concentration camps, but we also know that he was attacking the church as well. What is not so well known is that he intended, as soon as the war was won, to eradicate Christianity forever, to destroy it forever. He's a good example of the demon-possessed government leader. But we've had this scene repeated again and again, the Godly, humble, meek sheep of a servant before the powerful demonic government council. It began, of course, with Christ before Pontius Pilot and with Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, then all the twelve apostles again before the Sanhedrin, and then Stephen, as we've mentioned, later Paul before Felix, and Agrippa. Again and again, the scene is repeated. Finally, Paul, before Caesar himself. And then on into church history. There was Polycarp in Ephesus, standing up for the Gospel, even at age 87. And Jan Hus, in Bohemia, 1414, willing to seal his teaching in his final words, "I will seal my teaching with my blood." Courageous. Martin Luther in 1415, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer before the German tribunal. Again and again, the servant of God has been called to stand before the earthly human tribunals and give account. What is the reason? He wants a witness. He says, "as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." He wants them to hear the Gospel, and He's willing to pour out your earthly life in order to get a good clear Gospel presentation out of you. He's willing to trade your earthly life for somebody else's immortal soul. What are His marching orders? He calls on us to be shrewd, innocent, cautious and trusting. Look at Verse 16, He says, "Therefore, be a shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." In verse 17, however, He says, "Be on your guard against men." You’re going to have to be shrewd as a snake. That means a little bit tricky, a little bit wise. Ever heard of the story of the Roman Christians in the catacombs, and the fish symbol, they would trace half of it with their foot or their toe in the sand? If the other person was a Christian, they'd know to complete the curve, so that they would know that they were in the presence of another Christian. They were shrewd and they were careful. Why? So, they could maintain their earthly lives. But meanwhile, they had to be harmless or innocent as doves, leading pure lives, with no hidden agenda, not insurrectionists or revolutionaries, but simply Christians living for the glory of God. They had to be cautious and guarded against their neighbors. Today, be careful about what you say. If you're living in a communist country today, perhaps like in China or some other place, you have to be so very, very careful whom you talk to and how you act. Then Jesus says, "Be trusting." Yes, be cautious and shrewd and careful, but be trusting in God." Look at Verse 19 and 20, "When they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, it will be given you what to say, for it will not be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." I want to clear away, for any of you that are in seminary preparing for the ministry, any misconceptions. This does not mean that you don't have to prepare sermons or study or read commentaries. You can go and take this verse right to your preaching professor and say, "I don't need to prepare because God is going to give me what to say at that time." The professor will tell you, "You know something, you haven't learned much from your New Testament interpretation class. You're ripping it out of context. I'm not a persecuting counsel. I'm a professor of homiletics at the seminary, and you will prepare your sermons." A preacher does need to rightly divide the word of truth, study diligently in order that they might rightly divide. That's not what it's talking about. He's talking about when you are in the cell, waiting for your capital trial, you know that your head is on the line, and you don't know what to say, that the entire reason for you being there is your witness to the resurrection of Christ. You're afraid that at the last moment you're going to wimp out, you're not going to be able to give a good clear presentation of the Gospel. You know your weakness. Up until this point, you weren't even able to cross the street and witness to a neighbor. You weren't even able to say anything to a relative perhaps. But now you're arrested for your faith, will you at that moment be able to speak? He said, "Don't be anxious ahead of time what you will say, because the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you." Some of the great moments in church history have been the statements made by people dying for Christ. Like Perpetua, the Roman Christian who's in front of the Roman governor, and she's stating to him, "While I live, I shall defeat you. And after I die, I shall defeat you even more." You can't come up with that kind of thing. The Holy Spirit speaks that through you. Jan Hus speaks, "I will seal my teaching with my blood." You can't generate that kind of courage. "Here I stand," said Martin Luther. Polycarp, "For 87 years, I've been a servant. He's never done me wrong, how can I turn my back on Him?" You can't write that out ahead of time. It's the Holy Spirit. He's not going to miss the significance of what's happened. Second Timothy chapter 4 is the fulfillment of what's going on in Matthew 10. Jesus says, "On my account you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." Who is the king of the Gentiles back then? It is the Roman Emperor. The Roman Emperor therefore must hear the Gospel; Jesus mandated it. Who is the messenger who is going to bring that gospel message to the Roman Emperor? It would be none other than Saul of Tarsus, who himself originally was a persecutor but converted by the power of God. In Acts 9, Ananias was called to baptize Saul but didn't want to go because he feared arrest from Saul. Jesus told him to go ahead and go. “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." So Ananias complies; he goes and baptizes Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul. From the very beginning Paul was set on a mission that would end up in Rome, witnessing to Caesar. At his trial in Palestine he says he appeals to Caesar because he’s a Roman citizen. As he's sailing across the Mediterranean there's a terrible storm, and an angel appears to Paul and says, "Don't be afraid, you must stand before Caesar and I have graciously given you the lives of everyone else on the ship." It was all about the mission. At the end of Ephesians 6, Paul says, "Pray for me that I might fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should. Pray for me, pray that I might be bold and courageous, pray for me because I might not do it. At the last moment I might give in, cave in, I might not proclaim the gospel to Caesar so please pray for me.” [Ephesians 6] In 2nd Timothy 4: 16 , Paul says, ”At my first defense no one came to my support but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them." There is Paul all alone, all alone, or is he? “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message of the Gospel might be freely proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it”. Who is included in “all the Gentiles”? Caesar himself. Paul then says, "And I was delivered from the lion's mouth." I do not believe that has to do with Paul's earthly physical life. What lion do you think Paul has in mind there? Some physical lion? No, he already knows he's going to die, he says, "I've fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith, I'm ready to go, ready to die." What is he talking about? He was delivered from Satan who wanted him to wimp out at the last moment and not proclaimed the Gospel to Caesar, but Jesus stood at his side and gave him strength so that he didn't do it. He proclaimed the Gospel fully and boldly. Do you look on yourself as a bold, courageous proclaimer of the Gospel? Ask Jesus for help; “He's the same yesterday, today and forever.” Say, "Lord Jesus, you stood at Paul's side and gave him help, stand at my side and give me help. Help me to go across the street and say something to a neighbor. Help me to go across the office and say something to a co-worker, maybe even to a boss, help me to witness for you." The Lord stood at Paul's side and gave him strength. Betrayed Fugitives and an Unfinished Task In Matthew 10 Jesus says, "You must be witnesses for me, for my sake, for my name's sake and I am going to speak through you." What is the cost of that witness? It's going to be vicious and brutal through church history. This is not just theoretical death. This is actual physical death for many. Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. “All men will hate you because of me.”Do you still want to sign up? Do you still want to go? Betrayal. Do you know what the word betrayal means? It means somebody who was precious to you, somebody you loved, somebody that was close to you, a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, brother or sister, a good friend, they'll turn you in to death. This is going on in the Muslim world, did you know that? If you come to faith in Christ as a Muslim your family is under obligation to turn you into the Imam and have you killed, and it happens. They think they're saving your soul and you have to be courageous enough to face that betrayal to death. The cost is great, but you know the wonderful thing is that when you become a Christian you will enter into a whole new family. You've got new brothers, new sisters. There was a time when they came and said to Jesus, "Your mother and brothers are here." and he said, "Who were my mother, who is my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples he said, "Here are my brother and sister and mother for anyone who does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” You've got a new family. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt when your family rejects, it's difficult, it's hard. If your family is unbelieving and you try to lead them to Christ and they don't listen, it's hard, and for years you have to bear that burden. For years and it's painful and it hurts. Are you still willing to do it? Then Jesus says, "All men will hate you because of me." This is one of those times when the word “all” does not mean every single solitary person because there's going to be some people who will respond, who will love you, who will cherish you, who look on you as in the Book of Galatians, like an angel from God bringing the Gospel to you.What this does mean is that you'll be hated by all possible categories of people, even parents, even family members, even good friends, former friends. Lots of kinds of people will hate you. Don't be shocked and don't be surprised. But Jesus says, "He who stands firm to the end will be saved." It's not those who start, it's those who finish. It's not those who walked the isle and pray a prayer, it's those who live the life by the grace of God the entire life. Have you heard the martyr story of forty martyrs for Christ in Sebaste during the time of the Roman persecution? The Roman governor Licinius had determined to persecute Christians. The Thundering Legion, it was called was stationed at Sebaste and 40 men in that Thundering Legion were identified as Christians. The order went out that they should be executed by freezing to death on a frozen lake, they were stripped of all of their clothes, sent out in the middle of a frozen lake. Waiting nearby is a warm fire, bowl of stew, some warm clothes and full acceptance back into the Thundering Legion for any that turned back and came across that lake and renounced Christ. They began to sing, "O Lord, forty wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee, Grant that forty wrestlers may gain the victory. Forty have begun; grant that forty will finish." Through the bitterly cold night they kept singing; “Forty wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee. Grant that forty wrestlers may gain the victory.” Towards the end of the night one of them said, "That's it, I've had it." He crawls back to the Legion, he looks for that stew, that warm fire, he seeks to save his life and he is welcomed back, he's given clothes. A Roman centurion saw him come back and he heard the few that were left still singing the song. “Forty wrestlers have come forth for thee. Grant that forty wrestlers may gain the victory” but there's only thirty-nine people out there now, so he went out, took off his clothes, went out there and joined them and died with them, fulfilling the prayer. "He who stands firm to the end will be saved." Persecution has the effect of weeding out false Christians from the church. It can be acceptable societally and culturally to be a Christian and then the church gets mixed, but when you have to pay for your life, for your Christian witness, then things get serious and the church gets weeded out. You may think, “I can't make it, I can't survive.” Now you're getting back into that worrying that he told you not to do. If you are a true Christian, no one will be able to snatch you from Jesus' hand. You will find not within you, but outside of you by faith the resources to meet that trial and you will most certainly stand firm to the end. Hebrews 3:14, "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first." And then he says, "When you are persecuted in one place flee to another, I tell you the truth you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." The persecution is going to come. I know it's hard for you Americans to understand this, but the fact is it will come and what he says is, try to preserve your life, flee. Try to live as long as you can. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I'm going to go on working in this body and it's fruitful labor for me, I want to keep doing that labor, so flee, try to save your life if you can. Why does it says, "Because you're not going to finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." That's a difficult verse. I think basically what he's saying is there's always going to be more work to do. There's always going to be another city to go to. I [God] am the one who decides when it's over. I'm the one who says when you've done enough or when the work of the Church is finished. It was God's hand that shut Noah's Ark's door, sealing it off. God decides when the work is finished and he says there will still be work to do until the day the Son of Man comes. So keep going, keep ministering even to the end. What Did You Expect? The Master was Crucified. The final question I want to ask you today is what did you expect? Look at verse 24 and 25, "A student is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household." What did you expect? How did they treat Christ? They called him Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies. They treated him shabbily and very soon after Him saying this they would terminate his life with extreme prejudice, they would crucify him. And he says, “That's the best treatment because I'm the master of the household. How are they going to treat you? They're going to treat you worse. It is enough, however, for you in the end to be like me.” What does it mean to be like Christ? He said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains by itself a single seed, but if it dies it bears many seeds, much fruit." If you want to be like Christ, die. Die to yourself, die to your earthly ambitions. Application Brothers and sisters, this gospel is a message that was born or birthed in blood, the blood of Jesus Christ. I wish I could look into your hearts today and know which of you is on un-regenerated, which of you is not born again because you're still under the wrath of God. God has been keeping a careful record of all your sins and you've been storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed. Don't leave today without trusting in Christ. Secondly, this is a Gospel message which is borne or carried by blood as well. People who are willing to die for their faith.. The remaining bastions of unbelief, what the mission board calls the 1040 window, is the Muslim world, the communist-Chinese world, the Hindu-India world, and it's not going to be taken easily. It's going to be taken by people who are willing to lay down their lives, all their possessions everything they own. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also, the body they may kill, God's truth abideth still, his kingdom is forever.” People who are willing to live that out, those are the ones who are going to be able to crack those fortresses for Christ. We have to be willing at least to do our part and to pray that we might be prepared for doing that. Finally, I want you to go out under marching orders and be willing to suffer. Don't expect an earthly comfortable existence. Don't be surprised when the liberal media portrays Christians as narrow and bigoted. Don't be surprised when you go across the office to witness to your boss, he rejects the Gospel and you get no raise next year. Don't be surprised when you try to share the gospel with your family member or a friend and they reject you. There's no government authority they'd turn you in to but they would if they could. That's the level of hatred. Don't be shocked, don't be surprised because that's how they treated your master, but are you willing to pay the price that some might be saved? Commit yourself not just to pray for others as Matthew 9 notes, but to go and witness and invite them to come to worship.