Podcasts about scriptures god

2025 Jan 26 SUN: THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Neh 8: 2-4a. 5-6. 8-10/ Ps 19: 8. 9. 10. 15/ 1 Cor 12: 12-30/ Lk 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21 (I added 4: 22-30, which would have been heard next Sunday, were it not for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord.)   It happens that we have some really wonderful Scriptures prepared for us here in the early Sundays of Ordinary Time. One difficulty, however, is that a week from today we will be celebrating the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and some really good Ordinary Time readings are going to be skipped. So I commend to you the reading on your own of First Corinthians 13. This follows on what we've heard -- this really utterly understandable analogy of the body which St. Paul has given us. It goes on to say that, yes, we have many gifts but without love our gifts are nothing. And if you were following along there in Breaking Bread you noticed that the gospel went a little long because I included the Gospel which we would have heard next Sunday, had there not been the Feast of the Presentation and it follows immediately upon what was prescribed for today, and we find Jesus at the beginning of his ministry provoking people and we consider why they were so provoked.    But I'd like to give you three principles which will explain the rest of what I say today. First is that truth is not anyone's possession. Truth is something which we discover together. The second one: If friendship were based on people agreeing completely with one another, there would be no friendships. And third: in our day it is unfortunate that we have become used to hurling opinions at each other as if they were rocks. And it is on the basis of these principles that I share with you how grateful I am for the act of the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde,  when she lifted up her voice and pleaded for mercy.    We are living in difficult times -- difficult for so much as the communication of truth with one another. We think of this analogy of the body which even very young children can grasp. But we ask whether the point of this analogy is understood: that the whole Christian people is a body and truly the entire world is a body and we each have our contribution to make. There are those who would look upon themselves as the brain, saying, "I know everything; just follow my orders." If you were only a brain disembodied you would have a hard time getting your inspirations carried out. And again we look at this Gospel and people are complimenting Jesus. And then he mentions that in the Scriptures God showed favor to foreigners, and this enrages the people in the synagogue and they want to throw him off a cliff. But it was not his time; he escaped them. But this is all the foreshadowing of the fact that his ministry would end in his death.    Now if you disagree with me in any respect on any topic whatever that's good; that's natural; that's normal. We must recognize that we must not take up the position of those who hug their opinions to themselves when they are not hurling them like rocks. Disagreement is the first step toward finding the truth together. And we have a very big task before us as we in fact listen to one another and discover how we act as a healthy body of human beings acting on behalf of mercy and love.  

Endure to Manifest Salvation (6)  (audio)  David Eells (7/14/24)  I'm going to pick up where we left off in our last teaching about how our faith transforms us. I mentioned just briefly about the rewards. There's a difference of reward concerning sonship. Many have been taught that everybody gets the same reward, but that's contrary to the Scriptures. There's a difference of reward because every servant will not become a son. They may have been called, but they will not be chosen. Let's start in (Eze.46:16) Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince.... The “prince” was the High Priest in the Old Testament and it says in (Heb.4:14) Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Jesus Christ is our High Priest. (Eze.46:16) Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. (17) But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty.... The “year of liberty” is the Marriage Feast. The “year of liberty” to the Jews was when the land went back to the original owner and when the servants were set free.   As it says in (Lev.27:21) But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's. (25:54) And if he be not redeemed by these [means,] then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him. Those who were in bondage were set free and we have come to a debt jubilee in NESARA/GESARA. All of this earth is going back to its original owner and those servants who are manifesting sonship are going to be set free and be joint heirs with Jesus. (Eze.46:17) But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty (So if God gives this gift to an unprofitable servant, he's going to keep it only until the year of liberty.); then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.  See, He's going to take the talent away from the unprofitable servant who has the one talent and He's going to give it to His sons! His sons get the inheritance of all those other servants because the other servants didn't walk in faith and they didn't manifest Christ. The sons get the whole inheritance. We see this in (Eze.46:18) Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession. We are joint-heirs with Christ! We receive the same inheritance He receives!   God does what He says He's going to do. And a person who doesn't manifest fruit from the gift given to them by the Lord will have their gift taken away and given to those who have chosen sonship and are bearing fruit. There's a difference of reward for what we have loosely called “Christians.” First of all, there was the servant with the two talents and the servant with the five talents. That's a difference right there, but both of those people brought forth everything that they could bring forth and that's what God put in.   God has given you knowledge and understanding, and He's going to hold you responsible to do something with it. (Luk.12:48) ... And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more. God expects you to do something with what He gives you. It's not a heavy burden that He puts upon you. (Mat.11:28) Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. He said, “my burden is light,” because knowledge is the way to fruit. If you don't know what His promises are, then you can't set your faith on them and you certainly can't have them.   It says in (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (4) whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. We see here the profitable servants become sons having been set free by the divine nature. See, you have to know what to reach out for. Some people are going to use the excuse, “Well, the preachers didn't teach me!” Or, “The preachers lied to me!” But Jesus said, (Joh.7:17) If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself. In other words, “If you do the will of the Father, you're going to know the teaching.” No one can stop you from getting the truth, if you really want to know God, because He will make sure that it gets through to you.   Those who stay in apostate religion, don't really seek for truth, and risk being cast out and losing their inheritance. (Pro.2:16) To deliver thee from the strange woman (This is the Harlot, Babylon.), Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words; (17) That forsaketh the friend of her youth (Jesus Christ), And forgetteth the covenant of her God: (18) For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead. And then He goes on to warn these people in (21) For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. (22) But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it. Remember the wedding guest who didn't have the wedding garment on? He came to the marriage feast but then he didn't get to stay. It's important to understand this because it really motivates you.   The Lord says in (Isa.65:8) Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all. He is talking about the apostate people of God. He's saying that there's a remnant of something good in their midst and that's why He's not going to destroy them all. (Isa.65:9) And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.  (Notice the servant doesn't inherit the land but dwells there for a while.) (10) And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor (This represents tribulation. The root word for “Achor” means “to afflict” or “trouble.”) a place for herds to lie down in for my people that have sought me. (11) But ye that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain (speaking of His Kingdom), that prepare a table for Fortune (These people are lusting after, and paying attention to the things of the world, prosperity.), and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny; (12) I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not. A brother, who is a friend of mine, asked, “Lord, what is going to happen to the carnal Christian?” And these were the Scriptures God gave him.   Another warning follows just a few verses later in (Isa.65:17) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. So after God has created a new heaven and a new earth, (20) There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. We saw previously that a “child” and “servant” are the same. (Pro 29:21)  He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last.  Here we saw that the “bondservant of sin” and the “child” are the same. The servant is someone who hasn't entered into sonship, either through faith or through manifestation. And Isaiah says, “the sinner being a hundred years old.” Well, 100 is a tenth of the millennium, a tenth of 1000, and a lot of people under the Law are just doing business with God. They say, “I give God my 10 percent,” like the Israelites did in the Old Testament. But Jesus said we must renounce ownership of 100% to be a disciple.  But Paul said in (Gal.5:4) Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. We are free from the Law, we are free to follow the Spirit and, if we follow the Spirit, we will surpass anything that the Law says. Again, remember that the guest without the wedding garment was in the wedding feast and he did get to stay for a little while, but then he was cast out. I believe that's what this is talking about: (Isa.65:17) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (18) But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem (the Bride) a rejoicing, and her people a joy. (19) And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.   (20) There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. These bondservants of sin, who chose to remain children instead of believing and entering into sonship, will not be able to enter into the New Jerusalem Bride as it says in (Rev.21:27) And there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life. and (22:15) Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. These people will be cast forth from the city. There's a big difference of reward between those who do serve God and those who profess God but don't serve God. Everyone who has not believed on the only begotten Son of God is already judged, but the judgment is going to be in the “separating.” We see this in (Mat.13:24) Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: (25) but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares (which has small useless fruit) also among the wheat, and went away. (26) But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. (27) And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?   (28) And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? (29) But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. We're entering into the Kingdom right now and the separating the sheep from the goats is happening.   We know that we are sons of God through faith, but the Bible also teaches, (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God (The Greek word there is teknon or “child” and not huios, which is the word for “son.”) and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. (3) And every one that hath this hope [set] on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Wow! That's a promise, isn't it? The Lord commanded us that, (Mat.5:48) Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. You know, it would have been ludicrous for Him to make a command like that, if He hadn't given us the power to bring it to pass!  Now see what Jesus said in (Joh.19:30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. And in (16:33) These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. “Be of good cheer ... it is finished ... I've overcome the world.” We are privileged to enter in by faith to what Jesus has already done. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.   The only thing that remains is for us to put our trust in God and enter into those works by faith. (Joh.6:28) They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. We must do the works of God, which is made possible when we, “believe on him whom he hath sent.” That's the Gospel! We just have to believe that what Jesus accomplished on the cross is ours! It's our gift and it covers it all!   What Jesus bought and paid for is that we would be sons of God, not just sons by faith, but sons by manifestation. (1Pe.1:15) But like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; (16) because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. (22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: (23) having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. You are progressively being saved in your soul through your obedience to the truth.   You can read this message of progressive salvation over and over in the Scriptures, but as the Bible also says, you have to be able to see your goal before you can reach it. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. We see the goal by faith! If you can see in the Scriptures what it is that God has provided for you, then you can reach out your faith to it and you will manifest the sonship that Jesus paid for you to have. Jesus is the progenitor of the new creation man. He's the Father of the sons of God. (This is not to be confused with the erroneous and dangerous Manifestation of the Sons of God or Joel's Army movements, which arose from the Latter Rain movement of the late 1940s and are still being promoted today by apostate leaders.)   Throughout the Scriptures, we see a parallel with the adoption traditions of the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. As it says in (Pro.29:21) He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. They all had a tradition of adopting their servants and making them sons. A fictional example is the story of Ben Hur by Lew Wallace. Briefly, Ben Hur is sentenced to be a galley slave, but after he saves the life of the warship's commander, Arrius, he adopts Ben Hur and makes him a free citizen. Ben Hur becomes the heir of Arrius, who is a leader in the Roman government and, through his inheritance, Ben Hur gains the power and authority that he wants. Can you see that this is what God is doing with us?   God used the traditions of those cultures, or else He created the traditions of those cultures, so that we would understand what He was saying when He said He adopted servants and made them sons. Paul says this in (Rom.8:16) The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: (17) and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified with [him]. We can see where we are, but we also have to see where we are going. (Psa.119:105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path. Without the Word to show you where you are going, you have nothing to exercise faith in. God is showing us in the Scriptures that we are going toward sonship, which is why the Bible commands us to see Jesus in the mirror.   Most of the church says, “No, that's not possible!” But that's what the Bible commands us to do, whether they like it or believe it, or not! It's the Good News; it's the Gospel that we are to accept from the first moment of our salvation. From the very beginning, by faith we receive everything that God has provided for us, even before we see it manifested. That's why we say, “We are saved.” People don't realize what they are saying when they say, “I'm saved.” They don't understand that the Greek word soteria, which is the word translated as “saved,” incorporates total deliverance from the curse of sin and of death. Total deliverance! When people say, “I'm saved,” they're saying a word by faith. It's a deception to believe that you are saved by manifestation because then you have no reason to walk it out. We're told in (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We are progressively saved by working out our salvation.   We were baptized and then, as we let the water of the Word put to death the old man, that baptism is increasingly manifested in our life as we walk on with God. Baptism is an act of faith. God has given us the goal of sonship through faith in Jesus Christ. We accept it as a free gift and, as we keep on confessing sonship in the face of trials, troubles and tribulations, we will see the manifestation of sonship in us. It will be just as automatic as planting a natural seed in the ground. That seed comes up, it produces a plant and the plant bears fruit, according to the type of plant it is. God's seeds are just like that, too. You plant them in good soil hearts and they're going to come up, and they are going to bear the fruit of God.   Now it says in (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. What is it that keeps us from being led by the Spirit? Staying a child is to remain a servant and that will keep you from being led by the Spirit. (Gal.4:1) But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; (2) but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father. The manifestation of sonship is coming in the lives of those people who will give up being children or servants.   Children or servants are in bondage as it says in (Gal.4:3) So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world. What is it that causes us to stay in bondage to the rudiments or principles of the world and not bear fruit? Walking by the carnal senses will keep us in bondage to the flesh, to the devil and to the world. Our biggest problem is walking by sight, by hearing, and by feeling. (1Co.13:11) When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. A son of God must give up walking by what is seen in the natural and start walking by the eyes of the Spirit.   And it says in (Heb.5:11) Of whom we have many things to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become dull of hearing. (12) For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. Notice that we're looking at two different sets of rudiments. We have the rudiments or first principles of the world and the rudiments of the first principles of God, but you can't stay in either one, if you're going to mature to bear fruit. “Babes” are in these rudiments.   (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men (or “perfect men”), [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. “Babes” are not experienced in the “word of righteousness” because they don't have their “senses exercised” to discern good from evil. “Babes” in the Lord walk according to the first principles of the Lord and they speak what comes to their mind through their natural senses. They can't experience the “word of righteousness” because they walk after their carnal mind. Their knowledge is not a knowledge of what Jesus meant when He said, (Mat.13:9) He that hath ears, let him hear, and (16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.   The people He was talking to all had physical eyes and ears, but Jesus was saying that the people who received His Word would be those who had spiritual eyes and ears. Your carnal mind is influenced by your natural senses and it assimilates the influences of your natural senses. That's why people who walk after their natural senses can't walk by faith. They can't see the wonderful works of God! And they will never see the manifestation of Jesus, if they don't walk by faith, because it's just not possible. Often, people will have faith in one area, yet not in other areas. All of God's promises are manifested through faith and that means faith must be in every area of our lives. We read in (1Jn.5:4) For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. Faith “is the victory” that overcomes the world. However, even babes can be justified by receiving sonship through faith. This means they are accounted righteous through faith, believing they have received.  “Babes” who walk by their natural senses, many times, do warfare that's carnal, but (2Co.10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. This warfare must be accomplished, but it cannot be accomplished with your carnal senses! You are fighting an enemy that's unseen and you have to fight him with the unseen. We have to “call the things that are not, as though they were.” (Rom.4:17) ... even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. Did you know that the things that are made are not made out of things that appear? We read this in (Heb.11:1) Now faith is assurance of [things] hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. (2) For therein the elders had witness borne to them. (3) By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.   The things that are seen are made out of faith! Sonship is made out of faith. So you can't war in the flesh; you can't war with the natural senses. We're taught in (2Co.10:4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), (5) casting down imaginations (or “reasonings”), and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Where do “reasonings” come from? Reasonings, or imaginations, come from what your carnal mind has assimilated through your natural senses or dead religion. But we're told in, (Rom.12:2) And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We're commanded to repent!   Again, “repent” is the Greek word metanoeo and it means “change your mind.” We must change our mind! We must not receive into our mind what is put there by the carnal senses. We have to receive what is put there by the spiritual senses, by the hearing of God, by the seeing of God. You have to change your mind to have any hope of Christ manifesting Christ in you. I don't say this to make anyone fear because sons of God are, first of all, sons of God through faith. You have to receive sonship through faith before you have it by manifestation and faith is accounted as righteousness. (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.   There are people who preach the manifestation of sonship, but they leave out the Grace of God. See, until righteousness is manifested in you, faith stands in its place. By faith, we are sons of God now! And we're studying to know what a son of God looks like, so that when we look in the mirror, we can be transformed into the same image. Be careful that the Jesus in your mirror is the Jesus of the Bible. Paul warned us about those who received another Gospel, another spirit and another Jesus! (Gal.1:6) I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; (7) which is not another [gospel] only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. (9) As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.   Our Jesus has to look just like this Jesus! If not, you'll be transformed into a “Jesus” that is not the Jesus of the Bible and that's not the sonship of the Bible, either. I see it happen all the time! The fault here is people are somewhere in between assimilating through their natural senses and assimilating through their spiritual senses. We have to learn to see the way God teaches us to see and Jesus came to be our example of that. Now I'm sure a lot of people will say, “Well, yeah, that was just Jesus.” No, the Bible called Jesus a “sign.” (Isa.7:14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Luk.11:30) For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. Jesus came to be our example, our pattern, in everything He did. Paul said, (1Co.11:1) Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.   When Jesus was baptized, it was “to fulfil all righteousness.” (Mat.3:13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him. In other words, “Here is what you need to do for the sake of righteousness.” He taught His disciples to do what He did. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked, so obviously, it must be possible for us to do that. And what we have to learn from Jesus is the way He wants us to walk. (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself.... This is the Sabbath rest of God!   There is a Sabbath! It says in (Heb.4:9) There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. (10) For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. The sabbath rest for the people of God is to cease from your works. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest.... If you believe the Word of God, it's going to cause you to cease from your own struggling, cease from your own works, cease from trying to be a son of God and, instead, to accept “sonship” as your gift! The Word of God is designed so that when we believe it, if we really do believe it, we have to stop trying to deliver ourselves. (1Pe.2:24) ... by whose stripes ye were healed, and, if you believe that, then you have to stop trying to heal yourself. If you believe that, then you are healed.   All the rest of the Bible is designed the same way; it's designed in the past tense. We have been made free from sin. (Rom.8:2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. See, you should never be anxious about your sin because the Bible says you've been made free from sin. (Col.1:13) Who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. You have been made free from the power of darkness. Why is it always past tense? It's past tense so that when you believe it, you can enter into the rest. You automatically have to cease from all of your self-works. It's a privilege to do that; it's not a law. This is our opportunity to keep a New Testament “Sabbath unto the Lord” by ceasing from our own works.   Jesus kept a New Testament sabbath! (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself.... That seems strange, doesn't it? He said, “The Son,” and do you know why He said that? It was because He wasn't talking about just Himself. (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. Do you think He saw a vision of everything He was about to do? I don't think so, but He did have a vision of what the Father was doing.  One of the places He got it from was in Isaiah's prophecy about the anointing. (Isa.61:1) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound; (2) to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (3) to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Jesus had a “vision”; He knew, He saw what the Father's attitude was toward those who accepted His Word. He knew His responsibility and He knew His ability!   And what we have to do is get a “vision” of, “Where does my responsibility start and where does my ability start?” You know, folks, it's big! It's real big! (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. That's what Jesus said and He meant it! We are the ones who are loosing what's coming into our lives. We sow a seed that brings forth a harvest in our lives. (Gal.6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (8) For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.   We're creating our tomorrow right now! The Bible says, “What you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” And did you know that we can bind the devil and we can bind God? That's because God will not change His Word. (Mat.24:35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Psa.119:89) Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. He will not go beyond the boundaries He has set. A good example of that is what Jesus experienced in His own hometown. In (Mat.13:54) And coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?   (55) Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? (56) And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? (57) And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. (58) And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Jesus Himself couldn't do many mighty works because of their unbelief! They had bound God! By our faith we loose God and we bind the devil. And by our unbelief we loose the devil and we bind God.   Jesus did those things that He saw of His Father and He said, (Joh.14:9) ... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.... Not because they were one and the same, but because He was the express image of the Father as it says in (Heb.1:3) Who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. What Jesus believed, the Father believed; what Jesus said, the Father said.   You know it says in, (1Pe.4:11) if any man speaketh, [speaking] as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Col.3:17) And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. That means everything that we do, we do to represent Him. We can't do anything to represent ourselves. In word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. That is ceasing from your works. That is accepting a death-to-self, so that, (Gal.2:20) …it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.   This is what we must accept! It's a radical, death-to-self walk. I've heard some groups preach, “You must die to self. You must crucify yourself.” But you have been crucified with Christ! We are privileged to have been crucified with Christ. (Rom.6:11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. If you don't reckon yourself to be dead unto sin, then you will never become dead unto sin. If you don't believe that He bore all your sins, past, present and future, at the cross, then they'll never go away!   Jesus said that He only did those things that He saw of His Father. And we have to learn to do the things that we see of our Father, too, because He put these in the Bible for an example to us. If you see it in the world, that's not a good enough reason to copy it. If you see it in religion, that's certainly not a good enough reason to copy it. But He will honor His Word, if we do the things we see our Father doing! (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. (20) For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth (And you know, the same is still true for us.): and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel.   He also said in, (Joh.14:12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. So we know that Jesus is still talking to us. (Joh.5:21) For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. (22) For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son. By the way, it says in (Joh.20:23) Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained. “David, do you mean, God gave that authority to men?” Yes! The Pharisees rebuked Jesus because He had that authority and Jesus passed it on to His disciples, the sons of men.   (Joh.5:22) For neither doth the Father judge any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son; (23) that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him. (24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. We pass out of death and into life by hearing the Word! We have to hear the Word in the midst of the circumstances and situations that come against us! We have to hear the Word because, if you hear the Word, you won't hear the flesh and you won't hear the devil.   When you hear the Word, you experience a spiritual resurrection from the dead and you pass out of death and into life. As it says in (Eph.2:1) And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins. And (Col.2:13) And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, [I say,] did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. We were dead and all around us are people who are dead! (Joh.5:25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. Notice: “and now is”. Jesus is not just talking about a physical resurrection of the dead but a spiritual one. He's talking about passing out of death and into life because you hear the Word!   When we hear the voice of the Son of God, we come up out of our graves; we come into resurrection life. The Word is the seed that's being sown by Him and that seed brings forth the fruit. The seed has all the power it needs to bring forth the fruit. All it needs is good earth for God to sow His Seed in and that's about all the natural man is good for; he's the dirt.   Next Jesus goes on to talk about the physical resurrection of the dead. He says in, (Joh.5:26) For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself: (27) and he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. Notice, Jesus had to be a son of man in order to have the authority to execute judgment. Adam was given authority over the creation and now the “last Adam” has it. The Father gave this authority to the Son because the Son came down here in “the likeness of sinful flesh” and overcame, conquered and condemned sin in the flesh. We read this in (Rom.8:3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (4) that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.   (5) For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Jesus had the authority to judge because He overcame His flesh. (Rom.4:15) For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Do you know why the “old man” can't judge? It's because the old man is the one who's done all the sinning in the first place! He's guilty! (Rom.2:1) Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself.... If you judge others, you judge yourself. Our old man has no authority to judge, but the spiritual man in us has every authority to judge.   And in (1Co.2:14) Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. (15) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man. The spiritual man judges all things and he's judged of no man because he has the mind of God. When the natural man is subject to the spiritual man there is no sin or its curse. Back to (Joh.5:28) Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, (29) and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. Do you know who's going to be resurrected to life? Only those who have been resurrected spiritually in this life are going to have the resurrection of life. You have to wonder about all those people who say that the whole Church is going to be raptured out. Wait a minute! Look what it says in (Eze.18:4) Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. “The soul that sins, it shall die”; that's the Word and the Word cannot ever be broken (John 7:23).  And as we have seen those who attain to life will have star, moon and sun glory, bodies. Therefore, if anybody's going to fly away without dying, it's going to be those who have overcome because the soul that sins must die. So what they're talking about is not scripturally possible. We're here to go through trials, troubles and tribulations, in order to receive resurrection life, which is His life. We must lose our life to gain our life as Jesus said. We are constantly faced with making decisions. “Am I going to accept the Word?” Or “Am I going to do things my way? If we choose our way, if we choose to do things the way of the world, we separate ourselves from God. If we choose to accept the Word and do things according to the Word, we manifest more and more sonship. It's ludicrous to think that God would plant us here and pluck us up before we bear fruit! Nobody who wants a harvest picks the plant before it bears the fruit and nobody who wants a harvest pulls the seed out of the ground before it bears the plant. God doesn't do that, either, because He wants a harvest.  The reason we study the Scriptures is so that we will have spiritual eyes and spiritual ears. Jesus said, (Joh.5:30) I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. The Lord only did those things that He heard and saw of the Father. We want spiritual eyes and spiritual ears so that we'll no longer be “babes,” but we'll be able to experience the “word of righteousness.” (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. The Scriptures are called the “word of righteousness” because justification is through faith in the Word.   “Justification” means “accounted righteous,” so when you speak faith and you walk by faith, God will count you as righteous, just as He did Abraham in (Gen.15:6) And he believed in the Lord; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. He counted Abraham as righteous and it didn't have anything to do with salvation. It had to do with the fact that Abraham believed what God said. That covers everything, not just what we normally think of as salvation. God said Abraham was righteous; He called Abraham His friend because he believed what He said. (Jas.2:23) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.   God reckons righteousness the same way today. There are a lot of God's people who have no eyes or ears because they are not hearing what God says. (Joh.8:47) He that is of God heareth the words of God: for this cause ye hear them not, because ye are not of God. The righteous are those who hear what He says. Jesus was talking to religious people, those Jews who had believed Him (John 8:31), and He told them that! If we are, ultimately, the elect of God, we will find out. Do you know why? It's because we are going to hear God's Word! People who won't listen to you when you try to gracefully give them the Word of God either aren't being drawn by God at that time or they're not children of God.  “He that is of God hears the words of God.” Jesus gave us this example. He didn't do anything but what He heard and saw, and that's what babes do, too. The problem is that sometimes babes are using the wrong eyes and ears, and so they are without experience of the Word of righteousness. Speaking faith, which is “calling those things that are not, as though they were” (Romans 4:17), is a Word of righteousness. God has done everything from the beginning this way. He didn't create the world in any other way, but this way. It says in (Isa.46:9) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me; (10) declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. God speaks the end from the beginning and it comes to pass. We are in training to be sons who do this.  Now He's teaching us, as sons and daughters, to do the same thing, but you won't be able to do that, if you're paying attention to your natural eyes and your natural ears. You will always be inexperienced in the Word of righteousness. You will always be a babe, unless you begin to say the things the Bible says you should say. You will always be a babe, unless you begin to see the way the Bible commands you to see. And we need to be reminded of how the Scriptures tell us to see because it's so easy to slip back to seeing in the natural. Do you know what happens when you walk in the natural? You become worried and anxious, you become troubled because you're not seeing come to pass what's in the Scriptures. You start thinking, “It will never come to pass.” Well, it will never come to pass, unless you have spiritual eyes.   You have to see the way God tells you to see. And He tells us, (2Pe.1:2) Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (So, the more you know about God, the more grace and peace you're going to have, but then he goes on.); (3) seeing.... You're not going to have grace and peace without being able to see this! (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted (Notice this is past tense; it's already done.) unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue. If you can see that His divine power has already granted us everything that pertains to life and godliness, you can have it! If you can't see that, then you can't have it! Grace comes from being able to see this way.   Jesus was always bold to speak things before they came to pass, and you've probably never seen a miracle that you didn't speak first, before it came to pass. The biggest miracles that I've ever seen were bold statements of faith right out in front of everybody! Look at this in (Jos.10:12) Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. (13) And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.   (14) And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. Joshua stopped the whole solar system! He spoke it right out in front of everybody. That sounds like something a fool would do, doesn't it? But the Bible says that no one who puts their trust in Him will ever be put to shame. (Rom.10:11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. If you're going to see miracles, you may have to step out there and look like a fool.   I'm not talking about saying things that you don't see; I'm talking about things that you do see. That “seeing” could be something that you see in the Word of God or it could be something that you've received in a dream or a vision from the Lord, or it could be a Word of knowledge or a Word of wisdom from the Lord. “Seeing” can come many ways and one foundational “seeing” is that God has already given you everything that pertains to life and godliness! He's telling you this is what you must see, if you're going to have it. You can't be what Peter describes as near-sighted. First he lists all the Christ-like virtues: (2Pe.1:5) Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue; and in [your] virtue knowledge;   (6) and in [your] knowledge self-control; and in [your] self-control patience; and in [your] patience godliness; (7) and in [your] godliness brotherly kindness; and in [your] brotherly kindness love. (8) For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he tells you, (9) For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. So a near-sighted person is someone who sees with their natural eyes, not their spiritual eyes; and you can't have these gifts, these virtues of Jesus Christ, if you're near-sighted. (Jas.1:23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. Someone who sees their natural face in the mirror becomes a hearer of the Word, but not a doer of the Word.   This is how we're told to see, in (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. We have to see Jesus in the mirror by faith! We have to see Him with spiritual eyes and call the things that are not as though they were because the way that God does His work is through our faith. (1Co.1:26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called:] Notice that God is speaking of people here not “things”, which is not numeric in the following text.) (27) but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; (28) and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are: (29) that no flesh should glory before God.  God chose the things that “are not” to bring to nothing the “things that are.” What are “the things that are”? It's the curse! What are “the things that are not”? It's what Jesus accomplished on the cross! He gave us sonship at the cross, but it is not yet manifested! (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. If you don't see Him as He is, you can't be like Him. We study the Scriptures so that we get a vision of Christ and we see Him as He is. He had a vision of His Father; that's why He did what He did. We study the Scriptures to get a vision of Christ so that we can do what He did, live what He lived, be what He was!   Of course, most of the Church says, “No! It's not possible!” But those people say that because they are only counting upon their own strength and they don't count upon the promise of the Word of God, which is backed up by God's strength. If God says, (Mat.5:48) Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, you can have faith in Him and He will do it in you. Now, I agree that “perfect” is different for every one of us. The Greek word here for “perfect” is teleios, which is the same word for “mature.” God is maturing each one of us to do a different job in His Kingdom, so we are not going to look alike. The Bible clearly states that we're supposed to be growing into the fullness of Christ. In (Eph.4:13) Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That's what we are supposed to reach; that's God's promise to us.   Now the bad report preachers are like the spies who went into the Promised Land and said, “Nope! We can't take it! We just have to settle for where we are! We can't overcome sin. We are always going to be sinners!” (Num.13:31) But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. (32) And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. (33) And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.   They, and everyone who believed them, died of the plague in the wilderness. They didn't go into the Promised Land because they brought a bad report! (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me, (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.   That's because Joshua and Caleb said, (Num.14:9) Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. They told the people, “Those giants are bread for us!” If they're “bread” for you, that must mean you're supposed to eat them and they'll cause you to grow, right? Yes! That's what it's all about! In type, those “giants” are the natural man who dwells in the Land of Promise. The spiritual man has to go in there to kill that giant and take his house, which is this body of our flesh.   God bless you Saints! I suggest that you meditate on this teaching to give roots to it. It is very important.

Jesus Is Better | Better Covenant | Hebrews 8:7-12This year, we're on a series of teachings based on the book of Hebrews and centered on the preeminence of Jesus Christ, “Jesus Is Better.” In today's sermon, pastor Abie Kulynych shows us that throughout the Scriptures God's way has always been unfolding, better and beyond human comprehension because there was always a Better Promise in Christ. 

The Gradual and Glorious Unveiling of Jesus Christ.In the Scriptures God reveals Jesus our Mediator:1. this is a gradual unveiling;2. this is a glorious unveiling.

The Gradual and Glorious Unveiling of Jesus Christ.--In the Scriptures God reveals Jesus our Mediator---1. this is a gradual unveiling--2. this is a glorious unveiling.

Watch this episode uncensored & ad-free on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones @GnosticInformant is a YouTube channel by Neal Sendlak, focusing on History, Mythology, and Comparative Religion. SPONSORS https://www.bubsnaturals.com/djp - Use code DJP for 20% off. https://buy.ver.so/danny - Use code DANNY to save 15% on your first order. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS Neal's YouTube Channel: @GnosticInformant https://x.com/Gnosticinforman https://www.facebook.com/GnosticInformant FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Biggest misconception about the Bible 10:22 - Dr. Ammon Hillman & Jesus in the park 20:18 - Hebrew vs. Greek as religious languages 23:21 - How old is the Old Testament? 33:26 - Yahweh is Satan 42:25 - Who was Jesus? 53:21 - Was Jesus smart? 01:05:26 - The Dark Ages 01:10:36 - Eleusinian rituals 01:22:05 - The men crucified with Jesus 01:24:28 - Exorcisms 01:31:20 - Burning purple 01:36:19 - Ancient Christian cults 01:41:26 - Jesus is the serpent 01:49:26 - Easter & self-castration 01:58:37 - John Allegro's sacred mushroom 02:02:02 - Most rebellious christians 02:05:54 - Oldest Gospels say God was SATAN 02:18:55 - Valentinians & gematrias 02:27:26 - Jesus Christ's birthday 02:35:52 - Nephilim vs. Anunnaki 02:54:11 - DMT

* Duffy Challenges Producer Lanphere about Freedom to Sin: Will Duffy pointed out to Les Lanphere, the producer of the film Calvinist, that by the doctrines of Calvinism, men are not even free to sin. So he asked the producer, Does your film admit that Calvinism teaches that man is not free to sin? After all, John Calvin himself taught that men can only sin by divine decree and that they are unable to sin in any way other than how God decreed that they would commit each of their sins. Of course, Calvinists like Lanphere happily argue that men do not have free will, nor the freedom to choose God, nor the freedom to do right. Simultaneously though, they avoid discussion of the Calvinist teaching that men are also not free to sin, either. By Calvinist philosophy, men have no freedom to choose evil, or one sin over another sin, or to do anything outside of the divine decree. And because the eternal divine decree allegedly includes every thought, every desire, every action, and the history of every bit of matter, therefore by Calvinism men are not free to do good, nor to sin, and they can only do the wicked and perverse things that, before they were even conceived, they were decreed to do. (When Calvinists reply, Yes, but men sin just as they desire to, of course, by Calvinist philosophy, those men were unalterably created to desire and to commit the specific sins that they commit.) Lanphere responded but by avoiding the substance of Will's challenge. (Hear this at 16:30 into today's program and click here for Part 2 of today's program.) * Ask a Calvinist, What Prevents a Man from Sinning Differently from God's Decrees? Will presents his second question to Lanphere (at 18 minutes into today's program) that likewise exposes the perversion of Calvinist doctrine. What prevents a man from sinning differently from God's decrees? Their only answer: God. By the corruption of Calvinist doctrine, the only thing that prevents a man from sinning other than how God decreed that he would sin is that divine decree itself. In duplicity when pressed, Calvinist will sometimes deny this. Then asking, "So you don't believe that God has decreed everything?", usually demonstrates their obfuscation. So if eternally decreed to rape a victim, they cannot instead murder that victim, and if decreed to murder, they cannot instead rape. (At 21 minutes into today's program, here this in audio from Reformed theologian James White.) Calvinism is not merely wrong. It is sinful, and brings reproach upon the holiness of God, trading away God's qualitative for His quantitative attributes, trading His goodness and love for how much change, how much knowledge, etc. (the OMNIs and IMs.) * Today's Calvinist Film: Bob Enyart and Will Duffy discuss Lanphere's film Calvinist with audio from the movie and quotes from John Calvin himself. Calvin rejected the claim that God only permits wickedness and insisted that God is the author of sin. Now in heaven, he knows otherwise. The film however quotes still-living Calvinists who haven't learned as much as their namesake. From Paul Washer and R. C. Sproul (father of RCS Jr. who denies that God the Son took upon Himself a human nature), the film presents these comments, not to highlight their error, but affirmatively: - "From the time a child in the United States enters kindergarten, he begins to be taught... a particular understanding of the nature of man, this concept of free will, that man is free to choose the good or evil, on either side. That's a blasphemous doctrine." (Like D. James Kennedy's N.T. prof in debate with Enyart, Sproul confuses "ability to accomplish" with one's "ability to decide") - "The greatest heresy in the American, evangelical, and Protestant church is that if you pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart, He will definitely come in." (Calvinism denies the Bible's repeated teaching that one must believe to be saved, for by it's convoluted human reasoning it teaches the reverse, that you can't believe until after you are saved.) "Yes, they can be saved. Regardless though, Calvinists are intellectual reprobates." -B.E. * God is the Author of Sin according to these Quotes from John Calvin, Institutes Book One, Chapter 18: All Calvinists (including Matt Slick) concerned with defending God's holiness should repudiate these tragic claims by John Calvin from Chapter 18 which begins on page 228: [Of] the Works of the Ungodly [God] Bends their Minds To Carry Out His Judgments. Chapter 18 Section 1: "No mere 'permission'"! "And now I have already shown plainly enough that God is called the Author of all the things that these faultfinders would have happen only by his indolent [lazy] permission." [That is, Calvin tragically but explicitly claims here that God is the "Author" of sin. Every obfuscating Calvinist should be asked to repudiate John Calvin's this teaching on this.] "Therefore they escape by the shift that this is done only with God's permission, not also by his will..." "However, that men can accomplish nothing except by God's secret command, that they cannot by deliberating accomplish anything except what he has already decreed with himself and determines by his secret direction, is proved by innumerable and clear testimonies." "If the blinding and insanity of Ahab be God's judgment, the figment of bare permission vanishes: because it would be ridiculous for the Judge only to permit what he wills to be done, and not also to decree it and to command its execution by his ministers." "Therefore, whatever men or Satan himself may instigate, God nevertheless holds the key, so that he turns their efforts to carry out his judgments." "man does by God's just impulsion what he ought not to do" "Great are God's works, sought out in all his wills” [Ps. 111: 2; cf. Ps. 110: 2, Vg.]; so that in a wonderful and ineffable manner nothing is done without God's will, not even that which is against his will." "For it is easy to dispose of their first objection, that if nothing happens apart from God's will, there are in him two contrary wills, because by his secret plan he decrees what he has openly forbidden by his law." "not because he would teach impious and obstinate men to obey him willingly, but because he will bend them to execute his judgments, as if they bore his commandments graven upon their hearts; from this it appears that they had been impelled by God's sure determination. I confess, indeed, that it is often by means of Satan's intervention that God acts in the wicked, but in such a way that Satan performs his part by God's impulsion and advances as far as he is allowed." "As far as pertains to those secret promptings we are discussing, Solomon's statement that the heart of a king is turned about hither and thither at God's pleasure [Prov. 21: 1] certainly extends to all the human race, and carries as much weight as if he had said: “Whatever we conceive of in our minds is directed to his own end by God's secret inspiration." "Yet from these it is more than evident that they babble and talk absurdly who, in place of God's providence, substitute bare permission— as if God sat in a watchtower awaiting chance events, and his judgments thus depended upon human will." * And from chapter 16: "Hence we maintain that, by his providence, not heaven and earth and inanimate creatures only, but also the counsels and wills of men are so governed as to move exactly in the course which he has destined." * It's Been Said: "If Calvinism is true, then love cannot exist. If love exists, then Calvinism cannot be true."* Warren McGrew Said: Find at kgov.com/warren-mcgrew that Calvinism claims, "There's a perfect amount of evil."  Uh-huh. * Dom's Been Heard Sayin': "No theology makes less of man being made in God's likeness than Calvinism", Dominic Enyart once said to his dear-ole' dad. He's also pointed out that in the Scriptures God utterly abhors the person who brings another person to do evil. Yet this wickedness is what Calvinism pins on God. Not surprisingly then, Dodge is the official car of Calvinists in debate. Dom also observes, "One of the main reasons why Calvinists are legalists is because they argue that faith and works are the same thing. When a Calvinist denies that if you believe you will be saved by claiming that faith itself is a work, they are not only disagreeing with Scripture, they are contributing to legalism. They argue that by total depravity the unsaved cannot believe for salvation. They claim, rather, an elect person must first be regenerated in order to believe. Otherwise, they claim, absurdly, you are being saved by works, because if you need faith to be saved, then that is a work. However faith and works are not the same thing. So Christians should not be surprised that Calvinists, blurring the distinction between faith and works, tend to be legalists." * Toy Refutes Calvinism: For those who have been told that everything occurs by God's eternal decree, thus making Him the author of every thought and word, consider the gibberish on a product imported from China. This toy, with its confused imprinted warning refutes Calvinism for all those who accept the Bible's teaching at 1 Corinthians 14:33 which states that, "God is not the author of confusion." The helicopter blade says, "WARNING: If blade damage, don't be fly, otherwise it will create the human body or blame damage."  * Vegas Mass Shooting Today: Our hearts go out to all those suffering in Las Vegas. Today's program was pre-produced for the launch of the film Calvinist. Undoubtedly, because of his superstition masquerading as theology, the producer of Calvinist must have wondered why America's deadliest mass shooting was decreed to occur on the same day as his long-planned premiere. Update: Bob Enyart conducted an unauthorized, off-the-record interview with a Mandalay Bay employee who was there during the massacre to discuss the absurd conspiracy theorist claims like the FBI wiped the phones of the concertgoers (what, all 20 thousand of them?), that there were multiple shooters, that the government was somehow behind the mass murder, and even that concertgoers were being illegally held by FBI agents inside of the casino. See also, kgov.com/conspiracy-theorists (all of which, of course, was decreed in the mind of God from eternity past if the above craziness were true).

Lesson 5 – Do Our Part and Let God Do His Part Text: Acts chapter 26. In today's lesson we see that our part is to share the gospel; God's part is to save the soul. Mark 16:15; 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 Intro: The apostle Paul went from Pharisee to persecutor to preacher but God used it all to make Paul the greatest soul winner the world has known. Only God could do this! Note these great truths from Paul's own personal testimony: 1. Paul was exposed to the Word of God. • He was educated in the Scriptures = a Pharisee. Acts 26:4-5 • He had read the promises of God. Acts 26:6 • He read in the O.T. that Jesus would die and raise from the dead. Acts 26:8. Ref: Psalm 22, Psalm 16, Isaiah 53, and so many more. • Though he didn't understand these Scriptures God later illuminated Paul. Acts 26:9, 13. He saw the light. This is why it is so important for us to expose people to the word of God: Preach the word; give them a Bible; give them a tract. 2. Paul's past prepared him for God's plan. • Note: It is never God's will for one to have a sinful past but God will use our past for His glory. James 1:13; Galatians 6:14 • He despised the name of Jesus. Acts 26:9 • He persecuted Christians to death. Acts 26:10-12 • He experienced the Grace of God that he would later preach! 1 Timothy 1:11-17 3. Paul heard from Jesus personally. • Jesus got Paul's attention. Acts 26:13 • Jesus spoke to Paul directly. Acts 26:14 • Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. Acts 26:14-15 = "I am Jesus" I am God! I am the One you are persecuting. • Paul confessed Jesus as Lord. Acts 9: 5-6, Ref: Romans 10:9 Conclusion: Paul became the greatest soul winner the world has known. Acts 26: 16-19; Acts 26:23-27

Patriarchal blessings!GET YOURS, God has to tell you something. thanks for listening as always! We love you.xo,Tj, Tal, & Grace

Patriarchal blessings!GET YOURS, God has to tell you something. thanks for listening as always! We love you.xo,Tj, Tal, & Grace

Welcome to Part 2 of The Compromised Drift. I decided to do part 2 because God brought me to a few different scriptures during my time with Him last weekend. If you missed Part 1, definitely go back and listen. A quick recap of last week's episode. God is showing me how so many Christians have drifted away from the WORD of God. People have drifted closer to the enemy than to God and it has happened like a drift.So the compromised drift means that the enemy has made you vulnerable and has unauthorized access to your soul and he has done this slowly and steadily that you didn't even realize it.Scriptures God took me to:2 Timothy 2: 22-25 Devils Trap2 Timothy 3: 1-9 Last Days2 Timothy 4: 1-4 Strange MythsJames 5: 19-20 - Restore Wandering BelieversEphesians 4: 11-16 Unity in the Body of ChristThis episode will help you to figure out how you can start chasing the right bag, which is what God created you. Grab your pen and journal and ENJOY!Stay Anchored with me on IG and dr_kerrie or YouTube at dr_kerrie.Love yall :)

Reporting "big numbers" (of baptisms, churches, etc.) seems to result in controversy, and many Christians are hesitant to openly pursue the salvation of multitudes of people. We can get disappointed when we aren't seeing big numbers of people coming to Christ in our ministries, and wonder what we're doing wrong. Jesse shares from 2 Cor. 4:15 (and several other Scriptures) God's heart to have more and more worshippers, which should also be our heart, and how to shepherd our hearts when we aren't seeing abundant fruit in our ministries. 

During trials have you ever secretly wondered, "What if the Lord doesn't come through and the worst happens?" In this episode, Kim and Judi tackle this question head-on using the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and how their response to a fiery trial can give us courage too when we face trials.Focus Scriptures: Proverbs 12:25, Psalm 138:8, James 1:5-6, Hebrews 2:14-16 , Daniel 3:25  and Hebrews 11:6 Support the show

Have you ever felt like your emotional state is “like waves tossed to and fro” during trials? Anxiety can cause emotional instability and when you are unstable, you are most likely to make decisions that you will regret later. Discover how to regain your stability and peace again so you can fulfill your God-given purpose.Focus Scriptures: Proverbs 12:25, Psalm 55:22, James 1:5-6, Hebrews 6:19-20, and ·       Matthew 7:24-27Support the show

Series: Usually the more powerful something is, the harder it is to control. Not so with God. After Jesus returned to heaven, God unleashed his power in the world through his Holy Spirit. At the same time, he tied up that power to his Word so that we would always know where we can find it and how we can use it. Today: The more complicated something is, the more likely people are to avoid speaking of it. Why try to explain astrophysics or computer software to a three-year-old? Yet the triune God does the exact opposite with his divine nature. In the Scriptures God clearly communicates the majesty and mystery of the Trinity. Why? Not so that we would comprehend it with complete understanding but so that we would apprehend it with hearts of faith. The one eternal God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- makes himself known to each of us in order to bless us and keep us now and forever.

I'm sure I'm not telling you something you didn't already know, but just last month people all over the United States were celebrating the LGBTQ lifestyle, in what they called Pride Month. But when you open the Scriptures God makes it very clear what He thinks of this behavior and what it leads to. So today on Sound Doctrine pastor Jeff will encourage us to agree with God, helping us understand what's really going on around us. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/621/29

God calls us to reach out to people in the world, especially the lowly and oppressed.

19-Jun-2022 Shelly Zuehlsdorff

Sermon by Darvin Weaver All through the Scriptures God has been merciful to His children. If we are Christians, we will share this mercy with others in our everyday life.

In the Scriptures God has a lot to say about stewardship. Jesus spoke regularly about stewarding our time and our resources. In His grace God has have given us the privilege to live and minister together as the church and we should desire to be good stewards of this gift. We should desire to use what He has given us in a way that honors Him and impacts our world. In 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul reflects on his time with the Thessalonian church and he says that this ministry was “not in vain.” In this message we will consider Paul's ministry to the Thessalonians and answer the questions: What does it look like to have an unwasted ministry? What part should each of us play in helping the church accomplish the mission of God in the world?

ROK-05 130224AM Peter most clearly explains the Day, of the Lord's Second Coming as King, and we need to frame our understanding of Rev. 6-19 through the other Scriptures God has already given to us.   Avoiding the Pitfalls   Peter who is writing at the end of his life, lays out for the early [...] The post DO YOU KNOW SECRETS TO ENDLESS WEALTH–FROM GOD THROUGH PETER? appeared first on Discover the Book Ministries.

The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to magnify the resurrected Christ. When Jesus Christ was on the earth the Holy Spirit descending upon Him at His baptism and remained upon Him for ministry. After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven the Holy Spirit was dispensed upon His disciples so that their personal ministry would glorify the resurrected Christ. What the Spirit accomplished through Jesus Christ He still desires to accomplish through His church today. Using selected Scriptures God showed us much about the ministry of the Holy Spirit and His desire to work in and through our lives. May you hunger and desire more of the Spirit's work. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub

This Sunday was "Bible Sunday" wherein we thank God for His inspired word. Through believing the Scriptures God fills us with hope and we can overcome despair while waiting for Christ's glorious return. Lesson: Isaiah 52:1-10 Psalm 97 Epistle: Romans 15:4-13 Gospel: St. Luke 21:25-33

Worthy of Our Worship Mark 14:3-9 Introduction What we treasure occupies our hearts. Jesus warned uw that there is only room for one true treasure in our lives. Matthew 6:21-“where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The battle for our hearts is over whether Jesus is our true treasure. Today we are looking at Mark 14:3-9 and turning our attention to the town of Bethany before the Passover Big Idea: When Jesus becomes invaluable (priceless, precious, treasured) your worship of him will be incredible PRAY Context: 14:1-2 – 2 days before; CP and Scribes plot to kill Jesus 14:10 – plan to betray Jesus (Judas) READ 14:3 – woman celebrating Jesus at Simon the Leper's house John 12:1-3 ON SCREEN – parallel story 6 days before Passover; Lazarus (raised), the disciples, Martha (serving), and Mary (the woman) “They gave a dinner for him there” - guest of honor, appreciation dinner Why? - John 11 – Lazarus resurrection (11:25 – I am the resurrection and the life; 11:43 – Lazarus come out). This house is full of joy, celebration, and love towards Jesus! The mood in this house is that Jesus is worthy of our worship . . . .He is worthy of … Extravagant Worship, 14:3-5 READ 14:3 What do we learn about her worship . . . It was Expensive – very costly Imported perfumed oil from India Street value is 300 denarii – worth over a year of wages – could have fed at least 300 families food for a day. Where did she get it from? Family heirloon passed down, dowry, did they all pitch in? We do know it is expensive! It was Sacrificial Not only very expensive but it cost her something. It was Excessive/Elaborate Poured it over his head Not unusual to anoint the head of the guest of honour (Psalm 23:5) (John 12) flows down to his feet; hair to wipe with oil There is a totality and completeness in this – from head to toe! No holding back – full out honor, celebration and worship of Jesus. It was Misunderstood/ Challenged/Condemned READ 14:4-5 Wasteful - Why was the ointment wasted like that? She is doing this to Jesus; wasted; indignantly (angry) Under the disguise of wisdom they express condemnation Almsgiving to the poor during Passover time They scolded her (snorted like horses at her) – What are you doing? Application When it comes to Jesus are you more like Mary or more like the disciples? Mary – full out, no holding back extravagant worship of Jesus Disciples – they don't see worship or celebration but a lack of wisdom and waste. Examples: Widow's Offering (Mark 12:41-44) – she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. Worship?/Wisdom?/Waste Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-31); - Go sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Worship?/Wisdom?/Waste? Adoniram Judson's request to his Father in Law to marry Ann Hasseltine; 1812 would be married and then 2 weeks later off to India and then Burma Quote ON SCREEN – Worship?/Wisdom?/Waste? We need wisdom but there are times that we use “wisdom” as a disguise for our idols of security, significance, acceptance, love and meaning! THE QUESTION: Why aren't more of us worshiping Jesus like Mary? Where does this extravagant worship come from?? All-Encompassing Worth, 14:6-8 BIG IDEA: When Jesus is invaluable our worship becomes incredible READ 14:6 Jesus rebukes his disciples, 14:6 Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? . . . Stop bothering her! Jesus reveals her worship as beautiful, 14:6 Wouldn't you love to have Jesus say, you have done a beautiful thing to me? “Beautiful” – pure, noble, perfect, complete Jesus tells his disciples this is what you should be doing – don't stop her What makes this so beautiful to Jesus? The cost of the sacrifice - pouring out this expensive oil on Jesus?? NO – it's not the size of the cheque but it is her heart Her worship reveals that Jesus is her PRIORITY, READ 14:7 Jesus is not against ministry to the poor. - Luke 4:18 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor; The Scriptures: God loves the poor and calls us to care for the poor Point is that Jesus is her priority – she has made me her priority Play on you always have you will not always have It is beautiful because Jesus is her priority – he is worth everything to her. That should not be too surprising: She had experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus in her own life. She a disciple of Jesus sat at his feet and listened to his teaching She loved Jesus and he loved her She had experienced the power of Jesus in the resurrection of her brother – when you see your dead brother walking out of a grave – it is going to bring great affection, thankfulness, and wonder. Yet not all disciples who experience the same things respond in the same way. Jesus is everything to her! He is her priority. This is what makes her worship beautiful. And it is beautiful because . . . Her worship was PREPARATORY, READ 14:8 Did she know? Not sure. Jesus recognizes what God is doing. Her act of anointing is God's sovereign way of preparing him for what is about to happen next. Attributes her act as an act of preparation for his burial. It is a Gospel act: death, burial and ultimately resurrection Application: Many/Some – admire Jesus, appreciate Jesus, respect Jesus This does not lead to beautiful, extravagant worship. Our hearts have to be full of delight in, devotion and dedication to Jesus and that comes from his all-encompassing worth to us. REALITY CHECK – for some of us the good news of Jesus has become old news. We can't let that happen. What happens in Mark 14-16, what really happened over 2,000 years ago changed everything. Where would /we be without Jesus? He rescued us/me from . . . Judgement – Romans 3:23 – all have sinned …we all disobey God, live for ourselves and our glory and not God's. There is none that are righteous. God's holiness demands judgment – God saves sinners; Jesus took my place – died on the cross and on took on God's judgment – my Lets rejudgment. Restlessness – no one is righteous – he rescued me from trying to earn God's favour and acceptance. There is nothing I can do for God to love me more or love me less. By grace through faith. Lostness – I am convinced that without Jesus I would be living a life addicted to feeling good and living for the moment . . . my heart on its own Jesus saved us/me to New life – because I am in Christ and he is in me I am able, in his power in my life, to say no to ungodliness Eternal Family – Father who loves me, protects, provides, guides, is good to me; brothers and sisters from every nation by grace through faith Hope – Meaning and Purpose – live on mission for him Let it be known that in Christ alone my joy is found! She has done what she could. , 14:8 No hesitation just a complete and total response in her life . . . she looks around and grabs the one thing that she believes will express to Jesus how much she loves him! What about us? What about you? Are we doing what we could in worship? In response to the all encompassing worth of Jesus are we worshiping Jesus extravagantly? Is our worship beautiful. What can you do? The one thing that you can give in response to Jesus? Romans 12:1-2 (ON SCREEN) – our alabastar flask - ourselves Parents – offer your kids as an act of worship to God Students – offer your dreams of the future to seek first God's Kingdom . . . to go and make disciples of all people groups Retired – Live your days for the Kingdom of God This leads to . . . An Enduring Witness, READ 14:9 Jesus loves this extravagant/beautiful worship so much so that he memorializes her worship.(WOW!) Jesus loves extravagant worship of him that responds to the all-encompassing worth of Jesus. Conclusion: No holding back because when Jesus is invaluable our worship becomes incredible Some of us – like the Church at Ephesus in Revelation 2 – abandoned the love that they had at first. YES – good works, orthodox in doctrine - testing false teachers, persevering – patient endurance. But there was no extravagant worship of Jesus because they had lost the all encompassing worth of Jesus – Jesus warns us “repent”! Lord help us to repent and rejoice along with all the saints in the throne room of heaven where the worship of Jesus is eternally extravagant. Sermon Title – Worthy of Our Worship Text – Mark 14:3-9 Slide One When Jesus becomes invaluable your worship of him will be incredible! Slide Two Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound[a]of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:1-3 Slide Three (Main Point #1) Extravagant Worship, Mark 14:3-5 Slide Four I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world? Whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? Whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death? Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall resound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?” – worship? Wise? Adonirum Judson Slide Five (Main Point #2) All-encompassing Worth, Mark 14:6-8 Slide Six 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.[b] 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect Romans 12:1-2 Slide Seven (Main Point #3) Enduring Witness, Mark 14:9

God.is.Love. Throughout the Scriptures God is said to be full of abundant loyal love. But what does love look like in public? A world where injustice seems to be taking the day? Listen in as Pastor Arnaldo unpacks the reality that God is a God of justice and calls his people to a life of justice. We pray you're blessed.

The Scriptures — God has no desire to make himself acceptable to human reason. The eternal enmity between Scriptures and man's own traditions and precepts. The unavoidable reality of enemies.

The Scriptures — God has no desire to make himself acceptable to human reason. The eternal enmity between Scriptures and man's own traditions and precepts. The unavoidable reality of enemies.

Getting well is by reading and meditation so if your not interested in working and digging in Gods promises of healings then thank Him! That your not interested, He will work with you and He will tap dance with you to get you well. He is incredible! And ready to help with mercy, healing and peace. Praise God for the healing power of our Lord and Savior JESUS Christ. Amen --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/fernando-montes-de-oca/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fernando-montes-de-oca/support

210111PM I was studying the Scriptures God has left us about prophetic events, or What’s Next. I was examining just how much God has left for us to know about the future. Here is what I found summarized by a series of NUMBERS! I hold in my hand the ONE Book that God wrote—the Bible. [...] The post WARNING SIGNS THE END IS NEAR–THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE END TIMES appeared first on Discover the Book Ministries.

ROK-05 130224AM Peter most clearly explains the Day, of the Lord’s Second Coming as King, and we need to frame our understanding of Rev. 6-19 through the other Scriptures God has already given to us.   Avoiding the Pitfalls   Peter who is writing at the end of his life, lays out for the early [...] The post DO YOU KNOW SECRETS TO ENDLESS WEALTH–FROM GOD THROUGH PETER? appeared first on Discover the Book Ministries.

The second round of Bildad the Shuhite (Job 18) has a note of desperation to it. When the argument is weak, some people just yell louder.Bildad begins by telling Job, in effect, that there is no point talking with him until he adopts a sensible stance (Job 18:2). Job is worse than wrong: he is perverse or insane. In Bildad’s view, Job is willing to overturn the very fabric of the universe to justify himself: “You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, is the earth to be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place?” (Job 18:4).The rest of the chapter is given over to a horrific description of what happens to the wicked person—destroyed, despised, trapped, subject to calamity and disaster, terrified, burned up, cut off from the community. “The memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name in the land” (Job 18:17). People from the east and from the west alike are “appalled at his fate” (Job 18:20)—and of course this means he serves as an admirable moral lesson for those with eyes to see.Up to this point, the three “miserable comforters” have united in agreeing that Job is wicked. Unless the last verse of the chapter is mere parallelism, the charge now seems to be ratcheted up a notch: “Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one who knows not God” (Job 18:21). Job, in short, is not only wicked, but utterly ignorant of God.It is time to reflect a little on this sort of charge. At one level, what Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar keep saying is entirely in line with a repeated theme of the Scriptures: God is just, and justice will be done and will be seen to be done. Everyone will one day acknowledge that God is right—whether in the reverent submission of faith, or in the terror that cries for the rocks and the mountains to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6). The theme recurs in virtually every major corpus of the Bible. The alternative to judgment is appalling: there is no final and perfect judgment, and therefore no justice, and therefore no meaningful distinction between right and wrong, between good and evil. Not to have judgment would be to deny the significance of evil.But to apply this perspective too quickly, too mechanically, or as if we have access to all the facts, is to destroy the significance of evil from another angle. Innocent suffering (as we have seen) is ruled out. To call a good man evil in order to preserve the system is not only personally heartless, but relativizes good and evil; it impugns God as surely as saying there is no difference between good and evil. Sometimes we must simply appeal to the mystery of wickedness. This podcast is designed to be used alongside TGC's Read The Bible initiative (TGC.org/readthebible). The podcast features devotional commentaries from D.A. Carson’s book For the Love of God (vol. 2) that follow the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” — Genesis 1:26 For the Christian, our identity and worth is tied to this incredible truth in the Scriptures — God made us! We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), not a random product of chance. God has a plan and purpose for us (Jeremiah 29:11), we are not aimless. If this wasn't enough, in Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we have His peace (John 14:27) — whether we are dealing with everyday challenges or a global pandemic. What is your identity and worth tied to? What is your purpose in life? What is your source of peace? If you have any thoughts/questions on this topic OR if you have yet to place your trust and faith in Jesus and would like to know more about Him, please share them on my Facebook page. God bless you.

Let me offer a brief orientation to our text since this is the first time, at least in a while, that we're jumping into the Epistle of Hebrews. So, Hebrews was probably written sometime in the mid 60s AD or so. It's a unique book in the New Testament canon because we don't really know who wrote it. Unlike most of the epistles in the New Testament, the author never reveals himself. Although many in church history have suspected that the Apostle Paul, who wrote so many of the other epistles in the New Testament, is also responsible for the Epistle of Hebrews. That's possible, but it also seems unlikely for a variety of reasons. Among other options proposed for the mysterious author of Hebrews some have suggested Apollos, who we encounter in the book of Acts, that's what Martin Luther thought. Others think that Luke may be the author. Others think Barnabas, and still others Silas or Sylvanus may be the author. In the end we don't know and it's probably best to say merely that Hebrews is apostolic. It was almost certainly written by a companion of one of the apostles, and it without a doubt promulgates the apostolic gospel. Beyond that it's probably best to land where Origin of Alexandria lands in the mid 3rd century AD on this question when he writes, “but who wrote this epistle? In truth God knows.” Nonetheless, while we don't know the human author who's responsible for penning this theologically rich and pastoral sensitive sermon, many scholars actually say that this has more affinities to a sermon than it does a formal epistle. Nonetheless while we don't know with certainty who wrote it, we do know like every other book of the Scriptures that this is a book with a divine author. So, with that said, hear now the words of the Lord from Hebrews 1:1-4. 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our Fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV Again, this is the word of the Lord. One of the major pastoral and theological concerns of this epistle before us, the book of Hebrews, is the issue of perseverance or endurance in the Christian life. We will hear this theme of perseverance or endurance repeat itself over and over as we work our way through the epistle. You see certainly acknowledged that the original Christian audience, to whom our author is writing in the mid 1st century AD, were faced with the potent persuasion by way of some type of persecution. We don't know the nature of it but some type of persecution they were undergoing was causing some to renege on their commitment to Jesus Christ. They were more than likely a Jewish Christian audience, hat is Christians who converted out of a Jewish background. They were undergoing some type of social marginalization, as our author writes. They may have feared something more severe, maybe something like martyrdom, lay on the horizon. Because of that, some among the original Christian readers of this epistle were ready to throw in the towel on Christ and to return to their former lives in Judaism. They were ready to go back to the Old Covenant, the Old Testament system of bloody sacrifices and temple. They had once embraced those systems that, theologically speaking, had been rendered obsolete given the person and the work of Jesus Christ, but systems for whatever reason that wouldn't have stirred up as many waves as their present commitment to Christ was doing. So, faced with these persuasions to turn back from Christ, to renege on their commitment to Jesus Christ and to live like Christ really hasn't accomplished anything, our author presses his readers in all sorts of ways throughout this epistle. He presses them to stay the course, to recognize that the goal of everything the Old Covenant, Old Testament, system of bloody sacrifices for instance look to had all arrived in Jesus' priestly ministry. So, don't turn back from Christ, don't return to shadows and types when the incarnate reality is there to behold by faith. Not to be sure a few of us, and more likely none of us, have faced pressures to toss aside Christ for the sake of bloody sacrifices. Yet we do regularly face an equal and opposite persuasion to go beyond Christ. Whether it's because we fear marginalization or ostracization in our world, the world that would seek to render the church irrelevant. Maybe it's because we can't see how the Bible really has anything applicable to say the big questions of our day. Perhaps we have been persuaded in our Christian walk at one time or another to go beyond Christ, to live our lives as if the fullness of revelation in the Old Testament and New Testament that collectively bears witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ and His gospel, offers nothing more than an outmoded ethic that no reasonable or enlightened person could accept. To live and act as if Christ, and in particularly the Word of God where we encounter Jesus Christ, simply offers a sage advice that could be placed alongside any number of texts that promulgate the philosophies of our day. Friends what both of these approaches to Christ and His Word have in common, the approach that stops short of Christ and the approach that goes beyond Christ, is the belief that Christ is deficient. They share the common assumption that something is lacking in Christ and something is lacking in the fullness of the revelation that testifies to Jesus Christ in Old Testament and New Testament. Whatever ways we might be persuaded in our lives to set aside Christ and his Word, whatever persuasions we face to capitulate, what we need to hear is exactly what the original Christian readers of Hebrews needed to hear. That is the absolute supremacy of God's Son and the absolute sufficiency of his Word. It is a Word that reaches its completion, it's fulfillment and fullness, in the God's Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. So, our big idea this morning is this, God has spoken definitively in his Son. In this text were challenged above all else to behold the Son of God by faith. To recognize that Christ, in whatever we face, is worth it really is worth it. That Christ is the Amen to all of the promises of God throughout the Scriptures and to trust that his Word is really sufficient to tackle the big issues that we face in our day and in our lives. In particular we're challenged to behold the Son of God in three ways in our text, and here's our outline. 1. Behold the Son as the Completion of Revelation 2. Behold the Son as the Fullness of God's Glory 3. Behold the Son as Prophet, Priest and King Behold the Son as the Completion of Revelation So, first, behold the Son as the completion of revelation. When our passage opens our author offers up a proposition, a proposition that nearly every person among his original readers would have heartily assented to, but a proposition that remains extraordinary, nonetheless. Again, we read in verse one, 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our Fathers by the prophets, Hebrews 1:1, ESV Now right off the bat we learned something about the God that we have we worship, the God who calls his church into worship this morning. Namely that we worship a speaking God. A God who voluntarily and intentionally took the initiative, in diverse manners and ways throughout history, to communicate with his people divine truth so that we might know him. While our minds could never in themselves reach into the infinite depths of God and there is no possible way that we could reason that towards God, God gladly and willingly revealed himself in history to conscious subjects like you and me. When we open up our Bibles, we see this voluntary revelatory act on the part of God unfold from the very beginning of history. In the Garden of Eden, in the book of Genesis, Adam didn't have to engage in some kind of existential self-reflection about his own self existence or about the God who created him and created the world. God, from the very beginning, met with Adam and Eve in the garden. He spoke with his creatures and he revealed his will for them to walk in. Then later after Adam and we find that God even speaks to Noah, he speaks to Abraham, he speaks to Moses, to David, and the rest of the prophets who prophesied both before the Exile, during the Exile, and after the Exile. He spoke in various epochs of redemptive history, progressively revealing more of himself and more of his will and in each of these epochs. He also spoke, as the author of Hebrews tells us, in many ways. To some God spoke through angelic intermediaries, to others he spoke through dreams or visions, and we saw a little of both of that in our recent study of Daniel. As each prophet received revelation from God, well what did they do? They wrote it down, they wrote down what God communicated to preserve the Spirit inspired words of God for God's people, which we have at disposal for us in the Old Testament Scriptures. Friends understand that the God who we come before, the God who calls us into worship, is a God who speaks to his church. He spoke to our Fathers through the prophets and he still speaks to us today. Not in the sense of giving us new revelation mind you, or a fresh word from the Lord, but by his Spirit who illuminates the words that are written down and preserved for us in the Scriptures. We don't look under a rock to find God. We don't look into ourselves to find God, as an article proposes that I read this week. If you do that, you're only going to find a god made in your own image, I promise you that. Instead we look to God's Word and God's Word alone to find God and to meet with God and to know God. As remarkable as it is that God would speak, that we worship the speaking God, that God has spoken to us, that God still speaks to us through the Old Testament Scriptures, these words of the prophets that our author alludes to here were still in themselves incomplete. The words of the prophets themselves looked forward in redemptive history to new revelation, they look forward to a new covenant that would come with covenant documents of their own. They also look forward to the completion of this metanarrative of redemption that began in the book of Genesis. So our author continues in verse 2 that while God spoke long ago and many times and in many ways in the prophets, in what we now know as the Old Testament Scriptures, in these last days what he spoken to us by his Son, in the person and work of Jesus Christ, in all that Jesus Christ accomplished, we have God's final word. Friends that completes the words of the prophets in Jesus and in Jesus's apostles who testify authoritatively to his person and work with the New Testament Scriptures that that complete the Old Testament and finalize God's revelatory activity for his church. 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Hebrews 1:2, ESV Notice in our passage that God's revelation in and through his Son is said to take place in these last. So, there's a conclusive character to this revelation in his Son. Understand that when you encounter this phrase in the New Testament the last days or are similar derivatives of that which we encounter in several places in the New Testament, understand that that's not a reference to something that still lies in our future. Perhaps that's what we think about when we think, or we read of the last days. Yet throughout the New Testament the shared understanding amongst the apostles is that the days in which we live, the days between Christ's first coming and the days between his second coming, between these two poles are understood to be the last days. Wer ae in these last days right now, as much as Calvin was, as much as Augustine was, and as much as the apostles were. As one scholar put it, “these last days isn't a commentary on the length of time that remains until Christ comes again as much as it's a commentary on the quality of time in which we live.” The last day signals that there's no more redemptive work required until Christ comes again to make all things new and nothing else redemptively speaking that needs to happen before Jesus comes again and the curtain closes on the grand finale of redemptive history. That has implications for how we understand the sufficiency of revelation, the sufficiency of the Scriptures. Understand that because God has already spoken in these last days by his Son, there's no new revelation or word from the Lord that we should expect beyond the Scriptures, beyond the words of the prophets and the words of the Son. The Old Testament and the New Testament leave nothing unsaid that's left to be said until Jesus comes again on the clouds and brings us home. Divine revelation has been completed in and through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and it's to that revelation, the fullness of that revelation Old Testament and New Testament, that we as the people of God are called to look, to know God and to hear God's voice speak authoritatively for his church. So, don't, as maybe the original readers of Hebrews were tempted to do, don't stop short of the fullness of that revelation but also don't go beyond that revelation. I'm going to circle back around to this point a little bit later, especially when we unpack a little application and what we're supposed to take away from this text. Before we do that and consider our next point, there are two theological points that we should also bear in mind on this topic of divine revelation. Understand this is a theologically rich passage and so we're getting a little bit theologically dense, so just bear with me because these are important thing, nonetheless. The first is this, in the New Testament Scriptures, again we have the final complete and decisive word that God spoke, but that doesn't mean that the words of the prophets that spoken many times or in many ways are of less or subsidiary value in comparison to the New Testament. After all, all Scripture, as Paul tells us, is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in all righteousness. All Scripture, friends, has the same source. All Scripture is equally valuable to equip the church for lives of godliness and holiness. Our author's point here isn't that that the words spoken to us by his Son obliterates the words that were spoken by the prophets. Instead his point is that the words spoken to us by the Son completes and fulfills the words spoken by the prophets. Now there is discontinuity also in terms of the Son's ministry being so much more superior to the ministry of the prophets, and we'll get to that in the next point. Importantly there's also an indispensable continuity between Old Testament and New Testament. Together as the Word of God they unfold one grand story of redemption. There's also continuity in the people of God right; the Fathers to whom God spoke through the prophets and the Old Testament are called, in this text, our Fathers. We are saved in the same way that they were, and they were saved in the same way that we are, through faith in Jesus Christ as God's Messiah. There may be two Testaments friends, but there's one unified story of redemption, there may be Jew and Gentile, but in Christ we have become one. There may be two different agents of revelation, the prophets of God and the Son of God, but there is one God who speaks in and through the Scriptures. So that's the first theological point that is to bear in mind. The second is this; even though God spoke in these last days through his Son, which again corresponds to the New Testament Scriptures, that doesn't mean that the Son of God was in any way absent in the Old Testament. Reformed theologian, Michael Horton, reminds us that, “In every external work of the Godhead, the Father speaks in the Son, and by the perfecting agency of the Spirit.” Remember a few weeks ago that Pastor Jacob reminded us that every external work of the Godhead is both undivided and common. Well the same is true in terms of God's revelatory activity, whenever it took takes place, the Father, Son, and Spirit do not exist apart from one another and neither do they work apart from one another. In 1 Peter 3:18-20, I'll be at a text that elicited a fair amount of debate, we learned that even in the days of Noah, many years before Jesus Christ incarnate ministry on earth, Christ actually preached in the Spirit through Noah. U Unlike the revelation of the Son in these last days, this was still revelation mediated through a prophet, but the eternal Son of God was nonetheless present throughout God's revelatory activity throughout the Old Testament. So that's the second, somewhat dense but important, theological point to keep in mind. In all of this, in both of these theological points and also in the text itself, lies an important expectation for us to heed an exhortation that's summarized so saliently for us later in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where in Hebrews 12:25 our author exhorts, 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. Hebrews 12:25, ESV Friends, as you interact with God's Word in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, don't spurn Jesus Christ by failing to trust him and him alone as the solution to our sin problem, a sin problem that runs the gamut of the story of redemption. Don't spurn Jesus Christ by treating him, or appraising him, as anything less than the way, the truth, and the life. Don't spurn Jesus Christ by looking beyond his Word for answers to the big questions of life. Look to the Son and to his Word as the climax, the completion, and the fulfillment of God's revelation. Behold the Son as the Fullness of God's Glory As we come to our next point, our second point, we learn why this revelation in and through the Son is the fullness and the completion of God's revelation. That is because the Son who speaks is also himself the fullness of the glory of God. So, second point, behold the Son as the fullness of the glory of God. Now if we were to study this passage in a classroom setting, which might be fruitful to do at some point, and maybe even get into the Greek of this introductory four verses a little bit, we'd be able to marvel at a few things. One we'd be able to marvel at just how intricately structured these four verses are, how well-written they are. You know Hebrews is generally said to have the best Greek in the New Testament, and that's the case especially in these first four verses. We'd also be able to see even more how theologically dense and rich these first four verses are, there's so much that's packed theologically speaking into these first four verses. One of the structural features that we would also notice if we were to unpack this passage in a classroom the setting is that this entire passage, structurally speaking, drives us towards the center, it drives us towards the end of verse 2 and the beginning of verse 3. There our author takes us not to the climax of revelation in the Son, nor to the work of Christ's redemption, as important as those topics really are and we'll get to them, but he takes us into the mystery of the inner life of God. Brothers and sisters this is why the revelation in the Son is the completion and the fullness of the revelation spoken by the prophets, because in the Son of God we learn what is the fullness of the glory of God. He is, as our text tells us in verse 3, the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. Now in helping us to think of this divine Son relation, our author uses two metaphors from nature. The first is of the radiance of light and its source. Now as theologians who unpack this metaphor note, while you can distinguish the light from its source, whatever lights you're talking about, you can't separate the two. If for instance I were to shine a flashlight at you right now, you could distinguish between the rays of the light that are shining and the flashlight itself. Yet as long as the flashlight is on and it's working properly, you couldn't really separate the two, you couldn't really separate the source from the light. So, it goes with the Father and the Son. The Father and the Son remain, as our confession says, two distinct persons, but they share in the same essence and the same nature. The second image of our text is that of an imprint. If you think of the imprint of a face on a coin, which mirrors the stamp when it's pressed down upon a piece of metal thus leaving an exact representation on the face of the coin. Well just as you can distinguish between the two, the stamp that presses down on the piece of metal and leaves an imprint and the coined imprint on the coin itself, they nonetheless share the same exact imprint. So, it goes with the Father and the Son. Now of course as Calvin reminds us, any time you take metaphors from nature and you apply them to the Father-Son relationship, you can't assume the two are absolutely identical in nearly every way. Any metaphor you used to describe the inner life of God, especially a metaphor from nature, is going to break down eventually if you press it beyond its original intent. The same goes here. While that remains true, and it's important to qualify that the doctrinal point our author is making is nonetheless abundantly clear. That is that the Son of God is no less than the Father either in substance or in glory. Although each person in the Godhead can be distinguished, after all the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father, and the Father, Son, and Spirit remain separate persons, nonetheless together they share in the same essence, the same nature, and the same glory. Now theologically the church has confessed throughout history, based of course on the Scriptures, that when we read about the Father begetting the Son, you know we read that kind of language elsewhere in Scripture or we read in the case of our text that the Son is the light or from the source of light of the Father, that the Scriptures are teaching in all of those different metaphors a doctrine known as eternal generation. Eternal generation and this doctrine teach us, to paraphrase one theologian, that in the infinite depths of God's triune life the Father, who is life in himself, has granted somehow the Son to have life in himself. Both Father and Son are again completely equal in being, and contrary to the early church heretic Arias, there was never a time when the Son was not. Nonetheless from eternity past, before the foundations of the earth, the Son, who was equal in power and glory with the Father, has his Sonship eternally from the Father. Yet never apart from the Father. Now if all this sounds somewhat mysterious and challenging to grasp and conceptualize, well there's a simple explanation for it; it is. God is the incomprehensible one and although he graciously gives us revelatory glimpses into the infinite depths of his divine life, we do not, and we cannot know God exhaustively. We nonetheless confess what's revealed to us, and actually at the end of today's sermon we're going to do just that by confessing the Nicene Creed together. There's much in that creed, which we confess often during the Lord's Supper, that reflects and mirrors what we find in this text. When we get to our confession of that creed at the end of our sermon, you'll hear specific language that reflects this incredible doctrine of eternal generation, specifically in a phrase in the Nicene Creed, “the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds. God of God, light of light, very god of very God. Begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father.” All of those rich theological statements that we find reflected in the Nicene Creed reflect what we find in this text, the inner life of God. These glorious realities that God gives us gracious revelatory glimpses into so that we can know that the one who speaks to us in his word is in fact God himself. Now when we understand the nature of the Son of God in this way, it comes as no surprise why the author of Hebrews continues in our text by predicating or attaching to the Son of God God's works of creation and God's works of providence. First, we learn in in Hebrews 1, the end of verse 2, that through the Son God created the world. The apostle Paul reflects the same kind of thing in Colossians where he writes, 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16, ESV Just as we noted a few minutes ago, every external work of the Godhead involves all three persons in that work, so to in creation. Then we learned that God's works of providence also belong to the Son. He upholds the universe, our author tells us, by the word of his power or by his powerful word. The words of Colossians 3, again he's before all things and in him in Jesus Christ all things hold together. All things friends are sustained and governed and directed towards a particular ordained end according to the eternal decrees of God in and through the Son of God. New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce writes, Jesus upholds the universe not like Atlas supporting a dead weight on his shoulders, but as one who carries all things forward on their appointed course.” Friends, all of these remarkable Christological realities that plunge us, in this text, into the inner life of God's triune lie and that they move us then outward into the external works of God in creation of providence. They explain for us why the Son of God is so much better than the prophets and why the revelation revealed in and through the Son is more complete and fuller and more definitive. It's because in the Son of God we have God himself. In Jesus Christ we look upon the face of God through faith and faith alone. In the work of this perfect sinless spotless Son of God a victory was won for us and for our salvation, that would not have been possible otherwise. This week I was reminded of a particular story from World War Two history and let me explain. On August 15, 1945, so this is the very end of the Pacific Theatre in World War Two, the Emperor of Japan, Emperor Hirohito, did two things that were unprecedented in Japanese history and culture. first as I understand it in the Japanese Shinto religious tradition, the Emperor of Japan had been considered for centuries a divine figure, a divine like monarch. One of the implications of this national theology of Japan at the time was that the Emperor's voice was rarely, if ever heard in a public setting. It was too transcendent to be heard by the masses in public. In fact, before August 15, 1945 the public had never heard the Emperor's voice over the radio waves. On that day the Emperor, a person who believed himself to be divine and was believed by the masses to be divine, broke that precedent and he addressed the nation of Japan himself not mediated through couriers or servants, but himself, over the radio waves. Here's where he did the second thing that was unprecedented in Japanese history and culture. The message that this divine monarch communicated wasn't what one might expect to hear from a supposed god, because it was a message of unconditional surrender. It was a call to the people of Japan to endure the unendurable and to lay down arms. When this purported divine monarch person who is considered transcendent above all peoples in Japan spoke, he issued a message of defeat. Friends, when our Lord Jesus the eternal Son of God in human flesh, spoke in these last days to the people of God, he issued not a message of defeat not a calling for his people to endure the unendurable but the message of victory. A message that through his person redemption has been accomplished and the forces of sin, death, and the devil have been vanquished. He did this by becoming for us the perfect mediator, the perfect prophet, priest, and king. Behold the Son as Prophet, Priest and King This leads us tour in the final point where we read third that we should behold the Son as prophet, priest, and king. So, what we learned this passage at revelation reaches its climax, it reaches culmination in the Son of God, the one who eternally proceeds from the Father. We also learn that in his work of redemption, the Son is for us and for our salvation the perfect mediator, the perfect prophet, priest, and king. Now you may know then the Old Testament these were three offices that God had set apart for his Old Testament church for Israel. There were prophets in the Old Testament people like Moses and Elijah and Isaiah who were called to speak the truth of God's will. They were vested with the authority of God himself to the people of God. They spoke God's voice, “thus saith the Lord”, they often said. Then there were priests who were called offer sacrifices on behalf of God's people to God to assuage God's wrath. They were to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving unto God. There were kings who, subject to the Lord, ruled and governed God's people according to the Law. They defended the church the Old Testament church from all of her enemies near and far. When we come to the New Testament, we learn throughout the New Testament that Jesus Christ the Son of God occupies perfectly these three offices. First according to his prophetic ministry, we learn in the New Testament and in this text that Jesus is the prophet to whom all of the prophets looked. A prophet like Moses, but the one who was better than Moses. A prophet who perfectly represents the Lord in his person and all of his work, because he is again by nature the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of his nature both before and after his incarnation. As on scholar say says he, “quote exercised his prophetic office in a particular way, by even causing the origination of Scripture.” In both word and deed, friends, our Lord Jesus Christ perfectly and authoritatively reveals to us in the Scriptures God's will for the church. Second then as it pertains to his priestly ministry, Jesus is the great high priest. In the words of our author here in verse three, “who made purification for sin”. He offered something better than the blood of bulls and goats that the original readers were tempted to return to. He offered a better sacrifice for sin on behalf of God's elect, in the words of our text, after he made purification for sin. What did he do? He then sat down. Well the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, stood daily. Our author will tell us this later in Hebrews 10, that the priests stood daily to offer sacrifices in the tabernacle and temple. This sort of endless cycle on repeat every single day and year. We learned that Jesus is the great high priest who offered a single sacrifice for sin and then sat down, indicating completion and perfection. From that high heavenly position our Lord Jesus also intercedes for his church. In the words of our catechism, “he makes continual intercession for us, praying for us in the heavenly places as our great high priest.” Then finally, as it relates to his kingly office, Jesus is the one who rules, protects, and governs his church. In one sense Jesus has always been king by virtue of being the Son, by virtue of sharing in the divine being. Or who this law says he possesses from eternity royal power over all creation that belongs to God. Ever since creation, ever since there were believers on the face of the earth, the Son has exercised his rule as king. Then it is in incarnation Jesus was revealed to the world as king, a king before whom every knee in heaven and earth and below the earth should bow. He is a king who now reigns into heavenly places and rules and defends us. Especially when we think things are chaotic and out of order on this earth, friends, we have a God who is in control, ruling and reigning through King Jesus. This is the one we behold, the Son of God, Jesus Christ who for us and for our salvation is the perfect mediator, the perfect prophet, the perfect priest, and the perfect king. Application So what should we take away from this passage then? Well three applications. 1. Do not look for further divine revelation. Providentially Pastor Jacob talked about this in last week's sermon when we studied 1st Corinthians 12. The same theological point is also addressed in our passage in Hebrews 1:2, because God has spoken in these last days through his Son there is no further revelation. Through his apostles we have been given the New Testament Scriptures to complete the Old Testament revelation and to close out God's revelation for his church. Therefore, there is no more word from the Lord that we could receive outside of this book. We no longer have apostles, or prophets, or the spiritual gifts associated with those offices because God has spoken conclusively, definitively, in these last days through his Son. Now of course that doesn't mean that the Spirit is no longer at work. Of course, the Spirit regularly illuminates the Scriptures to us every time we read and study them and encounter Jesus in them. He draws out fresh application for us in whatever life situations we face and drives us to a conviction of our sin in whatever sins we might be entangled. The spirit continually uses the ministry of the word to draw people near and far to Jesus Christ. Friends don't mistake that for me saying the Spirit is not at work because the Spirit of our Lord is very much at work, just not in the sense of speaking fresh revelation. Only the Bible is the final authority for us. Sufficient to guide us and to lead us in all righteousness and knowledge of the Lord. So that's our first point, look to the Scriptures friends, don't look beyond them. 2. The second is really an implication of the first point that is, the Scriptures are authoritative and enduringly relevant to address the pressing issues of the day. One commentator in my studies this week made the very simple, but very important, observation that if God wrote this book, if he's responsible for every word in this, then the Bible is both enduringly relevant and supremely authoritative. Friends the Scriptures are relevant to guide us as we navigate the most pressing issues of the day, whatever they are whatever they are. The Scriptures are authoritative to speak into those very same issues. If these are the words of the eternal, the timeless, the omniscient, and the only wise God, how why would we expect anything other than that when we come to the Word of God? Now that doesn't mean they give us step-by-step instructions we navigate Coronavirus or navigate racial tensions in our day. Yet they do address the fundamental reason for brokenness, and they hold before our eyes Jesus Christ and his kingdom as the only hope for the sin and misery we face this side of glory. So, yes read up on other issues of the day, other solutions to those issues, but friends don't toss aside the Bible as if it's irrelevant or non-authoritative to address the most pressing issues of the day. It very much is. 3. Marvel at the Lord who speaks. Anselm of Canterbury, about a thousand years ago, once famously remarked, “we believe that thou art a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.” Friends while we can never know exhaustively the infinite God, we've nonetheless been given true revelation of God through His Word. So as much as we come to this word, which is authoritative and relevant, to direct us this way and that. As much as we come to this word to learn how to navigate this situation or that or to know what we should believe about this situation or that come. Regularly to the word, as well, to simply marvel at the God who speaks to us in his word and to know God and his Son who stands as the only mediator between God and his elect. Let me pray. Lord God we thank you for your word. We pray that we would love your word more and more as we go about our lives and as you sanctify us by word and Spirit. Help us to be captivated more and more with who you are as we read your word and encounter you in your word. Help us to dive deeper into your word every single day we live, move, and have our being. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Friday, May 22nd is Jerusalem Day, marking 53 years since Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria was liberated during the War of 1967.  On this week’s podcast, we have a special interview with Daniel Luria, a man who is at the forefront of resettling Jewish families in Jerusalem. From reclaiming Jewish homes in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, to establishing families in the modern day village of Silwan, Daniel is part of an amazing work. Listen to him describe the importance of Jewish life in Jerusalem, and how Christians can be a part of it all over the world.  Zac Waller shares from the Scriptures God’s heart for Jerusalem. Also, find out how you can participate in Jerusalem Day celebrations from wherever you are in the world! Partial music in this episode is by Bryan Atkinson, original game and media composer. You can find out more about Bryan’s work at bryanatkinson.productions.

  Did you know there are at least six recorded adoptions throughout the Scriptures? God made adoption a central part of the lives of Moses, Samuel, Esther, Ruth, Jesus, and John. They are the focus of a new Bible study--Second Mother written especially for foster and adoptive moms and authored by the amazing Jodi Jackson Tucker, International Director for Orphan Sunday and Stand Sunday.    Join us for Episode #218 as host, Sandra Flach, talks with guest, Jodi Jackson Tucker. This episode includes: -the needs of foster and adoptive moms -why Jodi wrote Second Mother -a deep dive into all six lessons in Second Mother -Adoption in the Bible -Orphan Sunday -Stand Sunday -Second Mother Facebook Group -Second Mother on YouTube -Purchase the Book HERE   Thank you for listening. Please share this podcast with your friends and leave us a review.

Sermon by Rev. R. Bredenhof--In the Scriptures, God reveals Jesus our Mediator---1. This is a gradual unveiling-2. This is a glorious unveiling.

In Daniel 10, the curtain is pulled back to show that there are spirit beings that are active behind the scenes. Humans lust for this interaction even though it is harmful. The desire for Babylon without boundaries and direct, tangible interaction with spirits has never gone away. This will not happen until Daniel's 70th week.

In Daniel 10, the curtain is pulled back to show that there are spirit beings that are active behind the scenes. Humans lust for this interaction even though it is harmful. The desire for Babylon without boundaries and direct, tangible interaction with spirits has never gone away. This will not happen until Daniel’s 70th week.

In the Scriptures God describes sin, and the work of the devil, using much the same language as the alerts which come with mountain lion activity.

In the most famous sermon of all time, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Jonathan Edwards speaks of God's white hot hatred for sinners. He famously compared humans to loathsome spiders dangled over the fires of hell. This is the God that lurks in the subconscious of evangelical Christianity. But is this REALLY how Abba Father feels about humanity? It's easy to lift a story like Sodom and Gomorrah out of context and defend this twisted version of God. However, if Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God's nature, then the question is no longer "can I prove this with the Bible?" The question is "Can I prove this with Jesus?"  When we look at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah through the lens of Jesus, we actually see a God of tender mercy. A God who fights for the oppressed. A God who cares deeply about human decisions. A God who's making all things new.  Everything about God is Love, even His Wrath. Let's explore this together!  To support House of Bliss, visit our Patreon  This episode is largely inspired by the writings of Greg Boyd. Check out his weekly Podcast  Intro Music: www.pond5.com Bumper Music: Glowing Moses    

Collin Packer Today, nostalgia wins political campaigns and keeps churches from imagining our best future together. Others in our culture believe God and the Scriptures God has inspired are behind the times. Is the best future a return to an imagined, pristine era when things were ideal, or is our best future actually in the future?

Being made in God's image, we can be certain that the more we come to know God, Who He is and what He is like, the closer we come to answering the question: "Who am I?" The problem is there are more versions of God than there are flavors of ice cream. But when we look to the Scriptures (God's self-disclosure), Who is the God we find there? Is He anything like our own interpretations of Him? 

Strategically in the Scriptures God met with individuals on mountaintops and revealed Himself. We can learn of the character and calling of God ourselves and find strength to live our faith out in the valleys of life.

Strategically in the Scriptures God met with individuals on mountaintops and revealed Himself. We can learn of the character and calling of God ourselves and find strength to live our faith out in the valleys of life.

Strategically in the Scriptures God met with individuals on mountaintops and revealed Himself. We can learn of the character and calling of God ourselves and find strength to live our faith out in the valleys of life.

Jesus’ first miracle-that of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana-is a significant moment in Jesus’ ministry. It’s also an important explanation of God’s character and mission. Throughout the Scriptures God’s relationship with His people is compared to a marriage. God wants an intimate connection with us in which we are loved, known and made known.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time It's a natural human tendency to make sense of things.  We ask the question "Why?" and we come up with an answer to appease our minds.  Our brains will even make up answers (even wrong ones, and totally believe them) just to satisfy this impulse to make sense of things.  When it comes to suffering, pain, difficulty, and even death, however, coming up with an answer for "Why?" often makes God into some kind of monster.  In the Scriptures God never gives an answer to "Why?" (I don't think there is one), but what He does do is show us "where" He is when it comes to suffering, pain, difficulty, and even death: "I'm right there with you!  I walked that path already so that you would never have to walk it alone!  You're never alone!" 

Scriptures God is Near to the Brokenhearted – Psalm 34:18. He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Jer 29:11. Is 61:1 The Spirit of GOD, the Master, is on me because GOD anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, Announce freedom to all captives SPONSOR https://www.facebook.com/The-Ranch-at-Js-Corner-store-393967230802731/ CHALLENGES http://dreamcatcher320.com/challenges/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dreamcatcher320/support

Throughout the Scriptures God is very intentional and very personal with His names. He reveals aspects of who He is through His name in different situations and circumstances, and as you learn His name you learn His character. As you learn His character, you learn to trust His character even when you don't understand His activity. In the final week of our series, Who is God? And What Difference Does it Make? Pastor Gabe teaches from Psalm 54 on the name of God our Helper.

Throughout the Scriptures God is very intentional and very personal with His names. He reveals aspects of who He is through His name in different situations and circumstances, and as you learn His name you learn His character. As you learn His character, you learn to trust His character even when you don't understand His activity. In week 5 of our series, "Who is God? And What Difference Does it Make?" Pastor Gabe teaches from Psalm 57 on the name of God Most High - El Elyon. There is only one way to overcome the pain that we experience in life and that is from the perspective of the Most High God.

Throughout the Scriptures God is very intentional and very personal with His names. He reveals aspects of Who He is through His name in different situations and circumstances, and as you learn His name you learn His character. As you learn His character, you learn to trust His character even when you don't understand His activity. In week 4 of our series, Who is God? And What Difference Does it Make? Pastor Gabe teaches from Psalm 23 on the name of God for our rest and nourishment. When you are spiritually, emotionally, and physically living in a state of exhaustion, God has a name to restore our souls.

Throughout the Scriptures God is very intentional and very personal with His names. He reveals aspects of Who He is through His name in different situations and circumstances, and as you learn His name you learn His character. As you learn His character, you learn to trust His character even when you don't understand His activity. In week 3 of our series, _Who is God? And What Difference Does it Make?_ Pastor Gabe teaches on the name of God for the giants that we face in life. Regardless of the name of your giant, God's name is greater and He is fighting on our behalf.

Throughout the Scriptures God is very intentional and very personal with His names. He reveals aspects of Who He is through His name in different situations and circumstances, and as you learn His name you learn His character. As you learn His character, you learn to trust His character even when you don't understand His activity. In week 2 of our series, Who is God? And What Difference Does it Make? Pastor Gabe teaches on the name of God that has the power to deliver us from bondage and release into the fullness of His potential for our lives.

The greatest writings in Church History were penned persons who had experienced great persecution.  Don't get me wrong, material wealth and its appropriate disposition or lack thereof may be one of the greatest temptations. However, according to the Scriptures God is more concerned with our character development.  He uses circumstances,, persons, and events to build our character.  He works on us without apology  and permission.  If we belong to Him, this is what he does to our great benefit. 

Steve Cummings - AM Assembly - Jeremiah 29:11

Steve Cummings - AM Assembly - Jeremiah 29:11

An exposition of II Timothy 3:14-17

Everyone goes through difficult times and followers of Jesus are not exempt, but we do have a great promise throughout the Scriptures…God is near.

What does God have to do with plants? Find out on the season finale of We Dig Plants! Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by Shelley Cramm, author of NIV God’s Word for Gardeners Bible: Grow Your Faith While Growing Your Garden . God will meet you personally in your garden . . . and in his. Throughout the Scriptures God has revealed spiritual truth in the language of growing things. This Bible will take you into a deeper relationship with God through the contemplation of soil and soul. The NIV God’s Word for Gardeners Bible will inspire you to seek God in a personal way through informative essays, devotional readings and prayers that explore the nature of the gardener’s work, the rewards of gardening, the influence of seasons and weather, and the joy of the harvest. In this Bible you will also find botanical-themed pages containing horticultural information for the prominent plants noted in Scripture and landscape-themed pages highlighting the main gardens and regions in which the events in the Bible took place. Draw near to the One whose garden is planted with delight—in you! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA. “The culture of herbs are very forgiving. You don’t need to be particular in your pruning you hardly have to water these guys! Herbs endure.” [12:00] “The anticipation that comes with gardening is wonderful. You look forward and move forward.” [18:00] –Shelley Cramm on We Dig Plants

Special guest, Delvin Ishman, shows us how throughout the Scriptures God has called His people to live among and infect the people that He has placed around them.

We come to the Scriptures to know God and be transformed by him. It is through the study of and meditation upon the Word of God that we find light in the darkness, a sure strength for traveling life's journey, truth for the mind and relationship with our God. In the Scriptures God reveals to us his character and purposes and the wise will take up the book for life and godliness.