Podcasts about though paul

Today's chapter is pretty short, but nonetheless intriguing. Though Paul is a man of great intelligence, he tells the Corinthian church that is resolved to know nothing among them except Christ and him crucified. This does not mean that he is emptying his mind, but that he orients all of his knowledge in such a way that Christ and his cross and central in his mind. The power of God's wisdom was not given to the rulers of this age, but to the church. He has revealed his truth to us by his Spirit. Those who do not have the Spirit find God's wisdom to be foolishness, because they are not equipped to evaluate spiritual things. Those with the Spirit, however, have the mind of Christ. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Though Paul's life is distinctive, it is also imitable. Here we see the early days of his life as a disciple: the people he was with; the proclamation he proved from Scripture; the progress he made; the persecution he endured; and, the preservation he enjoyed. In these respects, we all have something to learn.

Federal agents call it a "house of horrors," but for Sean “Diddy” Combs, it was home. As headlines blaze with accusations of drug-fueled assaults, coercion, and the systematic abuse of power, the world watches a man once heralded as a music mogul fight to clear his name. “At first, he was incredibly friendly,” the anonymous accuser said in a haunting interview that aired this morning on CNN. This accuser, identified in court filings as John Doe, recounted the evening he crossed paths with Combs at an exclusive Hamptons party. Doe had been hired as a security guard, ensuring the safety of guests at one of Combs' famed soirées. The evening began innocuously enough, with glamorous attendees and glasses of champagne flowing freely. Combs, the host, was charming—gracious even. But by Doe's account, that charm soon twisted into something far more sinister. “The first drink started to have some effect on me,” Doe recalled. “I thought, ‘Wow, these are really strong drinks.' But it wasn't until the second drink that it was already too late.” ## Allegations of Drugging and Assault In the federal complaint filed earlier this fall, Doe alleges that Combs or his associates laced his drink with a cocktail of drugs, including GHB and ecstasy. What followed, he claims, was a chilling sequence of events that left him forever changed. “He was watching,” Doe told the interviewer. “Waiting from a vantage point until I was helpless. Once he knew he had power over me, he took full advantage.” The complaint paints a horrifying picture of Doe being forced into a van, where he says the music mogul sexually assaulted him. Through tears, Doe described the assault as “abusive beyond belief,” adding, “I was screaming, begging him to stop. He acted like it was nothing, completely disconnected.” ## An Expanding Case This case, explosive in its details, represents just one of over 120 allegations now leveled against Combs. Among them are accusations involving minors, with at least 25 complainants claiming they were underage when the alleged assaults occurred. Federal prosecutors have called the claims a “pattern of behavior,” alleging that Combs leveraged his immense wealth and influence to operate what they describe as a criminal enterprise designed to exploit and silence his victims. The investigation took a dramatic turn earlier this year when federal agents executed search warrants at Combs' Miami and Los Angeles properties. Homeland Security agents seized phones, firearms, and other evidence while questioning witnesses on allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and narcotics distribution. Law enforcement sources say the raids uncovered disturbing links between Combs' inner circle and illicit activities allegedly tied to his sprawling business empire. One of Combs' associates, Brendan Paul, was arrested during the Miami raid on suspicion of drug possession. Though Paul has since entered a diversion program, his arrest has cast a long shadow over the case, raising questions about who else within Combs' orbit might face legal jeopardy. Details from the raids themselves were unsettling. Witnesses described agents storming the properties with a military-level presence, a move criticized by Combs' legal team as excessive. Phones, laptops, and personal files were seized, all of which prosecutors claim contain damning evidence. Reports suggest that these devices may hold communications and media that corroborate accusers' claims, further tightening the legal noose around Combs. Combs' legal team, led by high-profile attorney Marc Agnifilo, has fiercely denied the accusations. “These are meritless claims from individuals looking for a payday,” Agnifilo stated. “Sean Combs is innocent and will fight these baseless allegations with every fiber of his being.” But the denials have done little to quell public outrage. Last week, attorney Tony Buzbee held a press conference announcing that dozens of new victims had come forward. “The scope of these allegations is staggering,” Buzbee said, detailing claims ranging from drug-facilitated rape to the dissemination of compromising video recordings. “This is not just about one man's misconduct; this is about a system of abuse designed to protect the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable.” Public opinion appears to be shifting. While some fans and colleagues have rallied to Combs' defense, others have expressed shock and disappointment. Comedian Jeff Wittek recently shared his own unsettling experience at one of Combs' infamous “freak off” parties. “It was like something out of a movie,” Wittek said on his podcast. “I saw things that night I'll never forget. It was just crazy.” These “freak off” parties, long whispered about in entertainment circles, are now under intense scrutiny. Former attendees have come forward describing wild scenes, some of which reportedly included illicit substances and predatory behavior. Prosecutors are said to be investigating whether these gatherings were used to recruit or groom victims, further expanding the case's scope. Even as the allegations pile up, Combs remains steadfast in his declarations of innocence. Speaking through his attorney, he described the federal investigation as a “witch hunt” driven by media sensationalism. His mother, Janice Small Combs, echoed that sentiment, calling the allegations “a public lynching.” The music mogul's defense has also highlighted inconsistencies in some accusers' stories, with Agnifilo pointing out a few instances where timelines or details have conflicted. “We're confident that these discrepancies will ultimately discredit the claims,” Agnifilo said. However, legal experts caution that such arguments may not hold up against the weight of overwhelming evidence if the seized materials substantiate key allegations. But with the trial looming and prosecutors reportedly building a robust case, the stakes for Combs couldn't be higher. He faces charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and obstruction of justice, among others. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. For now, the world waits. Will the evidence reveal a predator who abused his power for decades, or will Combs emerge vindicated, his reputation scarred but intact? The next phase of this trial promises to reveal whether the accusations hold the weight of undeniable truth or crumble under scrutiny. One thing is certain: this story, already shocking in its revelations, is far from over. Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com 

Federal agents call it a "house of horrors," but for Sean “Diddy” Combs, it was home. As headlines blaze with accusations of drug-fueled assaults, coercion, and the systematic abuse of power, the world watches a man once heralded as a music mogul fight to clear his name. “At first, he was incredibly friendly,” the anonymous accuser said in a haunting interview that aired this morning on CNN. This accuser, identified in court filings as John Doe, recounted the evening he crossed paths with Combs at an exclusive Hamptons party. Doe had been hired as a security guard, ensuring the safety of guests at one of Combs' famed soirées. The evening began innocuously enough, with glamorous attendees and glasses of champagne flowing freely. Combs, the host, was charming—gracious even. But by Doe's account, that charm soon twisted into something far more sinister. “The first drink started to have some effect on me,” Doe recalled. “I thought, ‘Wow, these are really strong drinks.' But it wasn't until the second drink that it was already too late.” ## Allegations of Drugging and Assault In the federal complaint filed earlier this fall, Doe alleges that Combs or his associates laced his drink with a cocktail of drugs, including GHB and ecstasy. What followed, he claims, was a chilling sequence of events that left him forever changed. “He was watching,” Doe told the interviewer. “Waiting from a vantage point until I was helpless. Once he knew he had power over me, he took full advantage.” The complaint paints a horrifying picture of Doe being forced into a van, where he says the music mogul sexually assaulted him. Through tears, Doe described the assault as “abusive beyond belief,” adding, “I was screaming, begging him to stop. He acted like it was nothing, completely disconnected.” ## An Expanding Case This case, explosive in its details, represents just one of over 120 allegations now leveled against Combs. Among them are accusations involving minors, with at least 25 complainants claiming they were underage when the alleged assaults occurred. Federal prosecutors have called the claims a “pattern of behavior,” alleging that Combs leveraged his immense wealth and influence to operate what they describe as a criminal enterprise designed to exploit and silence his victims. The investigation took a dramatic turn earlier this year when federal agents executed search warrants at Combs' Miami and Los Angeles properties. Homeland Security agents seized phones, firearms, and other evidence while questioning witnesses on allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and narcotics distribution. Law enforcement sources say the raids uncovered disturbing links between Combs' inner circle and illicit activities allegedly tied to his sprawling business empire. One of Combs' associates, Brendan Paul, was arrested during the Miami raid on suspicion of drug possession. Though Paul has since entered a diversion program, his arrest has cast a long shadow over the case, raising questions about who else within Combs' orbit might face legal jeopardy. Details from the raids themselves were unsettling. Witnesses described agents storming the properties with a military-level presence, a move criticized by Combs' legal team as excessive. Phones, laptops, and personal files were seized, all of which prosecutors claim contain damning evidence. Reports suggest that these devices may hold communications and media that corroborate accusers' claims, further tightening the legal noose around Combs. Combs' legal team, led by high-profile attorney Marc Agnifilo, has fiercely denied the accusations. “These are meritless claims from individuals looking for a payday,” Agnifilo stated. “Sean Combs is innocent and will fight these baseless allegations with every fiber of his being.” But the denials have done little to quell public outrage. Last week, attorney Tony Buzbee held a press conference announcing that dozens of new victims had come forward. “The scope of these allegations is staggering,” Buzbee said, detailing claims ranging from drug-facilitated rape to the dissemination of compromising video recordings. “This is not just about one man's misconduct; this is about a system of abuse designed to protect the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable.” Public opinion appears to be shifting. While some fans and colleagues have rallied to Combs' defense, others have expressed shock and disappointment. Comedian Jeff Wittek recently shared his own unsettling experience at one of Combs' infamous “freak off” parties. “It was like something out of a movie,” Wittek said on his podcast. “I saw things that night I'll never forget. It was just crazy.” These “freak off” parties, long whispered about in entertainment circles, are now under intense scrutiny. Former attendees have come forward describing wild scenes, some of which reportedly included illicit substances and predatory behavior. Prosecutors are said to be investigating whether these gatherings were used to recruit or groom victims, further expanding the case's scope. Even as the allegations pile up, Combs remains steadfast in his declarations of innocence. Speaking through his attorney, he described the federal investigation as a “witch hunt” driven by media sensationalism. His mother, Janice Small Combs, echoed that sentiment, calling the allegations “a public lynching.” The music mogul's defense has also highlighted inconsistencies in some accusers' stories, with Agnifilo pointing out a few instances where timelines or details have conflicted. “We're confident that these discrepancies will ultimately discredit the claims,” Agnifilo said. However, legal experts caution that such arguments may not hold up against the weight of overwhelming evidence if the seized materials substantiate key allegations. But with the trial looming and prosecutors reportedly building a robust case, the stakes for Combs couldn't be higher. He faces charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and obstruction of justice, among others. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. For now, the world waits. Will the evidence reveal a predator who abused his power for decades, or will Combs emerge vindicated, his reputation scarred but intact? The next phase of this trial promises to reveal whether the accusations hold the weight of undeniable truth or crumble under scrutiny. One thing is certain: this story, already shocking in its revelations, is far from over. Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com

Federal agents call it a "house of horrors," but for Sean “Diddy” Combs, it was home. As headlines blaze with accusations of drug-fueled assaults, coercion, and the systematic abuse of power, the world watches a man once heralded as a music mogul fight to clear his name. “At first, he was incredibly friendly,” the anonymous accuser said in a haunting interview that aired this morning on CNN. This accuser, identified in court filings as John Doe, recounted the evening he crossed paths with Combs at an exclusive Hamptons party. Doe had been hired as a security guard, ensuring the safety of guests at one of Combs' famed soirées. The evening began innocuously enough, with glamorous attendees and glasses of champagne flowing freely. Combs, the host, was charming—gracious even. But by Doe's account, that charm soon twisted into something far more sinister. “The first drink started to have some effect on me,” Doe recalled. “I thought, ‘Wow, these are really strong drinks.' But it wasn't until the second drink that it was already too late.” ## Allegations of Drugging and Assault In the federal complaint filed earlier this fall, Doe alleges that Combs or his associates laced his drink with a cocktail of drugs, including GHB and ecstasy. What followed, he claims, was a chilling sequence of events that left him forever changed. “He was watching,” Doe told the interviewer. “Waiting from a vantage point until I was helpless. Once he knew he had power over me, he took full advantage.” The complaint paints a horrifying picture of Doe being forced into a van, where he says the music mogul sexually assaulted him. Through tears, Doe described the assault as “abusive beyond belief,” adding, “I was screaming, begging him to stop. He acted like it was nothing, completely disconnected.” ## An Expanding Case This case, explosive in its details, represents just one of over 120 allegations now leveled against Combs. Among them are accusations involving minors, with at least 25 complainants claiming they were underage when the alleged assaults occurred. Federal prosecutors have called the claims a “pattern of behavior,” alleging that Combs leveraged his immense wealth and influence to operate what they describe as a criminal enterprise designed to exploit and silence his victims. The investigation took a dramatic turn earlier this year when federal agents executed search warrants at Combs' Miami and Los Angeles properties. Homeland Security agents seized phones, firearms, and other evidence while questioning witnesses on allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and narcotics distribution. Law enforcement sources say the raids uncovered disturbing links between Combs' inner circle and illicit activities allegedly tied to his sprawling business empire. One of Combs' associates, Brendan Paul, was arrested during the Miami raid on suspicion of drug possession. Though Paul has since entered a diversion program, his arrest has cast a long shadow over the case, raising questions about who else within Combs' orbit might face legal jeopardy. Details from the raids themselves were unsettling. Witnesses described agents storming the properties with a military-level presence, a move criticized by Combs' legal team as excessive. Phones, laptops, and personal files were seized, all of which prosecutors claim contain damning evidence. Reports suggest that these devices may hold communications and media that corroborate accusers' claims, further tightening the legal noose around Combs. Combs' legal team, led by high-profile attorney Marc Agnifilo, has fiercely denied the accusations. “These are meritless claims from individuals looking for a payday,” Agnifilo stated. “Sean Combs is innocent and will fight these baseless allegations with every fiber of his being.” But the denials have done little to quell public outrage. Last week, attorney Tony Buzbee held a press conference announcing that dozens of new victims had come forward. “The scope of these allegations is staggering,” Buzbee said, detailing claims ranging from drug-facilitated rape to the dissemination of compromising video recordings. “This is not just about one man's misconduct; this is about a system of abuse designed to protect the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable.” Public opinion appears to be shifting. While some fans and colleagues have rallied to Combs' defense, others have expressed shock and disappointment. Comedian Jeff Wittek recently shared his own unsettling experience at one of Combs' infamous “freak off” parties. “It was like something out of a movie,” Wittek said on his podcast. “I saw things that night I'll never forget. It was just crazy.” These “freak off” parties, long whispered about in entertainment circles, are now under intense scrutiny. Former attendees have come forward describing wild scenes, some of which reportedly included illicit substances and predatory behavior. Prosecutors are said to be investigating whether these gatherings were used to recruit or groom victims, further expanding the case's scope. Even as the allegations pile up, Combs remains steadfast in his declarations of innocence. Speaking through his attorney, he described the federal investigation as a “witch hunt” driven by media sensationalism. His mother, Janice Small Combs, echoed that sentiment, calling the allegations “a public lynching.” The music mogul's defense has also highlighted inconsistencies in some accusers' stories, with Agnifilo pointing out a few instances where timelines or details have conflicted. “We're confident that these discrepancies will ultimately discredit the claims,” Agnifilo said. However, legal experts caution that such arguments may not hold up against the weight of overwhelming evidence if the seized materials substantiate key allegations. But with the trial looming and prosecutors reportedly building a robust case, the stakes for Combs couldn't be higher. He faces charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and obstruction of justice, among others. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. For now, the world waits. Will the evidence reveal a predator who abused his power for decades, or will Combs emerge vindicated, his reputation scarred but intact? The next phase of this trial promises to reveal whether the accusations hold the weight of undeniable truth or crumble under scrutiny. One thing is certain: this story, already shocking in its revelations, is far from over. Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com

If ever there was a film that brings true terror out of something as every day as fan meeting their idol, Stephen King's Misery (1990) is that film. Directed by Rob Reiner and based on the bestselling novel by Stephen King, Misery tells a haunting story that swaps out supernatural threats for the all-too-real horror of human obsession. Released at the dawn of the '90s and now over 30 years old, Misery remains one of the most potent psychological horror films of our time. It is a perfect Halloween watch for those who seek more tension than jump scares.Misery centres on novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), a successful author famous for his romance series about a character named Misery. After a car accident in a snowstorm, Paul is “rescued” by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a devoted fan who happens to be a nurse—and who also happens to be completely unhinged. When Annie discovers that Paul has killed off her beloved Misery in his latest manuscript, she takes the word “fanatic” to a horrifying new level. A tightly contained, claustrophobic thriller ensues that leaves viewers on the edge of their seats, not with gore or traditional horror imagery, but with an unrelenting, stomach-turning tension.One of the most striking elements of Misery is its setting. From the moment Paul wakes up in Annie's isolated, snow-locked farmhouse, the world shrinks, trapping both Paul and the audience in an increasingly claustrophobic space where the only two characters are locked in a power struggle. Annie's house becomes a cage, meticulously designed to feel familiar and suffocating, with its well-worn furnishings masking a deadly intensity underneath. The snow-covered landscape outside reflects this feeling—cold, remote, and unforgiving. It's a classic King setting that director Rob Reiner uses to maximum effect, making the walls of that farmhouse press ever closer as Annie's mental state deteriorates.Kathy Bates' performance as Annie Wilkes is legendary, and rightly so. In what became her career-defining role, Bates brings vulnerability and sheer terror to the character, infusing Annie with a disarming sweetness that makes her psychosis even more chilling. She is charming one moment, terrifying the next—a character who could exist in real life and who taps into our deepest fears about trusting the wrong people. With almost no warning, the scenes where she switches from gentle caretaker to vengeful captor reveal Bates' extraordinary range and leave viewers with a sense of helpless dread. Her portrayal of Annie won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, a rare honour for a horror performance and one that cemented her place in film history.Opposite Bates, James Caan delivers a nuanced performance as Paul Sheldon. Though Paul starts as a somewhat self-absorbed writer who wants to escape his romantic series, Caan's portrayal evolves as he faces Annie's wrath. Caan captures Paul's vulnerability and determination, making his transformation from a helpless captive to a man desperate for survival both believable and gripping. His character is put through unimaginable psychological and physical torture, but his resilience offers a glimmer of hope amidst the nightmare. Caan and Bates create a twisted, unforgettable dynamic that keeps the film's tension at a fever pitch.One of the film's most famous—and undeniably hardest-to-watch—scenes is the “hobbling” sequence, in which Annie punishes Paul in a shocking act of violence to prevent his escape. The scene is iconic not just for its brutality but also for how it embodies the film's emotional and psychological stakes. By physically maiming him, Annie shows just how deeply she is willing to go to keep her fantasy alive. Her twisted affection is at its apex here, making viewers squirm from the sight and the implications of her actions. The scene became infamous in horror cinema and is arguably more memorable for the psychological horror it encapsulates than for its actual violence. For many, it is the film's defining moment, encapsulating its unflinching approach to the terror of captivity.Reiner, known primarily for his work in comedies and dramas (When Harry Met Sally, Stand by Me), was an unexpected but brilliant choice to direct this adaptation. He understood that Misery would benefit from a restrained approach, choosing tension over blood and psychological horror over spectacle. This restraint is a large part of what makes the movie so unsettling. The viewer is always left dreading what Annie might do next, imagining the horrors rather than seeing them explicitly laid out. Reiner's style here elevates Misery from a straightforward thriller to a layered character study, forcing audiences to confront the darkness in everyday people and situations.Beyond its immediate impact, Misery has left a lasting influence on pop culture, particularly how it portrays fan obsession. Annie's character has become a cultural symbol for the idea of the “toxic fan,” a trope that has only become more relevant with the rise of social media. Her obsession with controlling Paul's creative output and shaping his work to her liking echoes the demands fans sometimes place on creators today and the entitlement and anger that can arise when fans feel a creator has betrayed their vision. The film's exploration of this dynamic remains unnervingly relevant, making it more than just a Halloween thrill but a commentary on the power dynamics between fans and artists.Watching Misery today, it's remarkable how well it holds up and how fresh and frightening it feels. Stephen King adaptations have always been hit or miss, but Misery succeeds because it strikes at something deeply primal—the fear of being controlled, trapped, and hurt by someone who professes to love you. It's a horror story not of monsters or demons but of a real human capacity for cruelty. As a Halloween viewing, Misery offers horror in a way that is less about jump scares and more about slowly building dread, a psychological unspooling that lingers long after the credits roll.In the realm of horror movies, Misery stands out as a true classic, one that doesn't need blood-soaked scenes or supernatural elements to scare its audience. Instead, it relies on masterful performances, tight storytelling, and universal fear of entrapment to create an atmosphere of relentless terror. This Halloween, for those who crave a horror experience that's as intelligent as it is frightening, Stephen King's Misery (1990) is essential viewing. Grab a blanket, dim the lights, and prepare for an unforgettable ride into the dark depths of fandom gone wrong.Please follow the Podcast and join our community at https://linktr.ee/borntowatchpodcasthttps://www.borntowatch.com.au/

Title: Enemies Made Into Friends Text: Acts 16:26-34 FCF: We often struggle loving others especially our enemies. Prop: Because God strikes down all His enemies and does so by making some His friends, we must love all, even our enemies. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 16. In a moment we will read from the New English Translation starting in verse 25. You can follow along in the pew bible or in the version you prefer. Last week we saw that in correlation to God being sovereign over His mission and His people responding to His gospel, He has many enemies. We noted that though God allows these enemies to persist, He does so for His glory so that when they are finally put down, His fame will only increase. But we also left one major cliff hanger. The human enemies of God and His children have seemingly won. They were able to beat and imprison Paul and Silas without, as it stood, any response from God. We left Paul and Silas singing and praying in their jail cell as the other prisoners listened in. Where was God? Why did He let this happen to His children? Those answers will come today… and my friends… they come in a big way, especially for a certain warden and his household. Please stand with me out of respect for and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Father, we know that were it not for Your grace we would still be Your enemies. Were it not for Your love, we would still be opposed to You. Among us today we have many stories of how You took a wretch and made it Your treasure. Our lives are living testaments to the power of Your grace. Today, as we look into Your word, show us more of Your amazing grace. Reveal to us the power of Your gospel to destroy even the hardest heart so it can receive Your truth. Renew us today in the strength of Your Right Hand. For Your power unto salvation is the gospel of Your dear Son. It is in His name we ask this, Amen. Transition: Once again, we will go right to the text this morning as we attempt to fit all this in to a reasonable time. I.) God will eventually strike down all His enemies, so we must love all, even our enemies. (26-29) a. [Slide 2] 26 - Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose. i. Luke includes in his description of this earthquake, just enough details to assure us of the divine agency in it. ii. First, it must be said that earthquakes are quite common in Greece. 1. Some records indicate Greece on average has a small or moderate earthquake every two or three days. 2. Greater earthquakes are less common. The last great earthquake was in 1956 and they are expecting another large earthquake to occur sometime in the next 2-3 years. iii. Second, ancient Greeks would read considerable religious significance into great earthquakes. 1. They frequently built their temples along fault lines. There are two reasons for this. a. Natural springs occur around or near fault lines and they would be sought after for a temple. b. The connection to the gods, specifically Hades or Pluto and the underworld, or even Poseidon or Neptune and the sea would be far clearer as the faults are literally cracks in the earth to the underworld and the abyss. 2. Therefore, an earthquake would already be seen as a divine act. It is simply a question of which divine being did the shaking and why. iv. Third, is the particularity and specificity of which divine being caused this earthquake. And Luke gives us that by recording that all the prisoner's hands were freed and all the doors were opened. 1. Although this earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, the walls did not crumble and the prisoners and the guards were not harmed. 2. The only noticeable result of the earthquake was that the prisoners were freed. 3. It is no small coincidence, nor would anyone think it so, that the earthquake occurs on the one night in which these missionaries who preach the Most High God are imprisoned and then released by such an event. 4. And as we'll see the jailer's response actually points to this fact. 5. He will assume that it is the God of Paul and Silas that is at work here. b. [Slide 3] 27 - When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped. 28 - But Paul called out loudly, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” i. We have commented before on this very issue, but as a jailer it would be your primary responsibility to keep the prisoners from escaping. If you should fail at this task, your life is forfeit. ii. We saw how Herod killed the guards who allowed Peter to escape. iii. The same would be true for this jailer. iv. So, waking from the earthquake and seeing all the doors open he assumed that all the prisoners had escaped. v. If he would lose his life for losing 1 prisoner – how much more would he have to pay for losing all of them. vi. Indeed, he most likely faced crucifixion for his dereliction of duty. vii. Certainly, an act of the gods like an earthquake would excuse him from his failure we would think. But I'm not sure this jailer wanted to take that risk. viii. The honorable way to pay for allowing the prisoners to go free – divine act or not - would be to take his own life. And we see him taking out his sword to do just that. ix. Before he is able to complete the deed, Paul calls out to him loudly from within the inner cell. x. Though Paul was imprisoned unjustly and though the jailer was no doubt unkind and lacking empathy for Paul and Silas only a few hours prior – Paul does not want to see this man lose his life arbitrarily. xi. It is unclear how Paul is able to see him. Whether the light from outside allowed for those inside to see out but not for those outside to see in, or perhaps through divine revelation, we don't know, but somehow Paul knew the suicidal jailer's intention. xii. He informs him that every prisoner is safe and secure. There is no need for him to take his own life. xiii. Most likely, Paul knows that none have left, because they are all in the same prison room together. c. [Slide 4] 29 - Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell down trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. i. After hearing the voice of a prisoner claiming they are all still present – the jailer calls for torches to be brought in so he can verify that this is true. ii. He would not have been alone. He would have had guards helping him to secure the jail, probably members of his household. iii. After the lights are brought in and Paul and Silas are discovered - he falls down trembling before them. iv. Why is he trembling? v. As we have already discussed, earthquakes served as divine omens of judgment. The fact that these men were only here for one night, now freed by a very specific earthquake, and were kind to him even though he was probably not kind to them, clearly proved to this jailer that Paul and Silas' god –– whoever it was – was angry that they had been imprisoned. vi. And if that god was angry at them being imprisoned, that would mean that this god was also angry at him. vii. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. viii. Sure, he won't be crucified for letting prisoners escape… but now he faces something far more dreadful. ix. He faces the judgment of a god whom he has been caught actively opposing. d. [Slide 5] Summary of the Point: Last week we witnessed the apostles face down two enemies of God. Demons and humans. In the power and authority of Jesus' name, the demons were cast out. But last week we stopped short of God's victory over his human enemies. Today we see God acting in such a way that both proves He is above all the false gods that were worshipped by the Greeks and the Romans while simultaneously freeing His people from their grasp. In this process the indomitability of God is on full display. He is not able to be subdued, no creature can tell him no, no one can slap his hand away. The jailer got the point. His fear of this God far exceeded all the would-be gods he had feared in the past. As an enemy of this God, one who mistreated His servants, he was absolutely terrified at what this God would do to Him. But notice what the missionaries did… EVEN BEFORE the jailer knew what had happened. Paul saved his life. My friends, if God will put down all His enemies eventually, then we should love our enemies and show compassion and care for them. What more can you do to the enemies of God than God will do? Did Paul try to cast the demon into the abyss? No. He simply cast him from the slave girl. And Paul could have done nothing and watched this jailer end his own life. But instead, he told him – we are all here. Spare your life. Would I have been so gracious to a man who so recently mistreated me? I shudder to think. We must love all men, even our enemies. Even when they despitefully use us… we must pray for them. Transition: [Slide 6(blank)] But what comes of the Jailer? He is terrified at the coming judgment of God. But what happens? Does God destroy Him? If God truly destroys all His enemies, we might expect that to be the case. Are Paul and Silas as concerned about his soul as they are his life? Let's see. II.) Sometimes God will strike down His enemies by making them into His friends, so we must love all, even our enemies. (30-34) a. [Slide 7] 30 - Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” i. Most likely the prisoners are brought out from the inner room into the courtyard of the prison. Once in the courtyard they could get everyone to safety from the compromised building and do a proper head count of the prisoners. ii. It is here that this warden asks the missionaries a question. iii. His question is flawed in two regards. 1. First, it is probably flawed in its scope. a. While it is possible that the jailer had heard the gospel from the lips of the missionaries, or had heard the proclamation of the slave girl, it is more likely that his theological understanding is quite shallow. b. Thus, his question about salvation most likely has to do with the physical judgment of the God that these missionaries served. He wanted them to tell him how to be spared from that punishment. c. He is not far off the mark – but enough to where he doesn't understand the true depth of his need. d. He doesn't understand that it isn't only his mistreatment of this God's men which has led to him being in danger of judgment, but that all his sin has made him an object of the wrath of this God. e. As so many today, he thinks he has only slightly angered the god of the Jews, when in reality He has committed acts of treason against the Most High God, Creator of all that is and was and will be, Who is the First and the Last and beside Him there is no god. 2. Second, his question is flawed in means. a. Like the Jews at Pentecost when they were pricked to the heart and asked what they should do, like the Ethiopian Eunuch who asked what prevents me from being baptized, like the rich young ruler who lacked some command to enter the Kingdom of God, so also the Philippian Jailer asks what he must do to be saved. b. From a pagan perspective, he is probably asking Paul and Silas to prescribe to him a set of sacrifices or rituals which he can execute to square himself to their god and avoid his or her judgment. c. As many do today, he measured his offense on the cosmic scales of human effort, assessing that he would be able to pay the balance he owed by a few heart-felt rituals and sacrifices. If I do enough good it will outweigh my offenses. d. But should man do exactly what God desires, he has done what God has expected. There is no extra credit. Therefore, there is no way to make up the ground you have lost. Saying it a different way, in order to be pleasing to God you must be Holy as He is Holy. And if you violate the law in one point you violate the whole law and are condemned by it. e. Therefore, the question is asked amiss. f. What can he do? Truly? Nothing. He can do nothing. g. So how will the missionaries respond? Will they say – you can't do anything? b. [Slide 8] 31 - They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” i. The way this reads is much like the way the Elisha/Naaman scene transpired in II Kings. ii. The jailer, having seen the Lord's hand in freeing and preserving the prisoners and himself, and trembling in fear at being found opposing such a god, no doubt asks what great feat he must accomplish to be spared judgment. iii. He probably expected a very difficult task. The Greeks and Romans both had mythologies and legends where the gods assigned difficult tasks to people to get on their good side. It is probable that he expected some sort of task for himself to make things right. iv. But as Elisha told his servant to tell Naaman to bathe in the Jordan 7 times, so Paul and Silas (the servants of Jesus) tell the jailer to believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. 1. This is a pregnant statement by Paul. What is he saying? Is he saying, “Say a prayer and then you are saved forever.” No. 2. He says believe on the Lord Jesus - which is a command, that in the Greek, emphasizes its completion or fullness. Believe completely and undividedly on Jesus as Lord. 3. And then he says, if you do this, you will be saved. In the future. Believing completely does not immediately produce this salvation. It is something that occurs sometime after one believes completely. 4. Furthermore, your saving, is also done by someone or something else. It is passive. The believer is receiving the saving not doing the saving by their actions. 5. Now does this statement fully address what the warden is asking? 6. No, not really. But it does indicate that Paul probably understood exactly what the jailer was asking when he said “what must I do to be saved.” 7. Paul understood that the man was afraid of being judged by God and desired to do something to be square with Him. 8. Paul does not prescribe some great task… but instead commands him to believe completely in Jesus as Lord of all Lords and any future judgment he has earned, he will be spared of it. 9. Paul declares that this man must abandon every other lord he trusts in, and trust in only one Lord. Jesus. 10. Then He will be saved. 11. Paul speaks of a future aspect of salvation rather than a present one. Because that is what the Jailer feared. Future judgment. v. Before we move on we must address the last statement here. vi. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. 1. Proponents of the infant baptism view point out that here in the Greek the verb believe and the verb saved both occur in the singular form. Proving, they say, that the salvation of the head of the household is applied in one way or another, to the rest of the household. 2. But this construction is not uncommon in the Greek. In fact, the NET translates this in such a way as to help us see how this works. Because we do it in English too. 3. Let me give you a couple of examples in English. a. Wash your hands and you will be healthier, you and your family. i. Now if I said that, would you assume that my whole family will be healthier simply because I washed my hands? ii. Or would you assume that I was saying that if my family does the same, they too will be healthier. iii. Here is another. b. Eat and you will be filled, you and your family. i. This is even less ambiguous. ii. While we could make a case that my whole family would be healthier if only I washed my hands, it makes absolutely no sense that my family will be filled if I am the only one that eats. 4. Basically, the phrase, “You and your family” implies that the same command fulfilled will produce the same promise or reward for fulfilling it. 5. Paul, really, is predicting that the gospel call will go out to his household too. c. [Slide 9] 32 - Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house. i. Here we see a further explanation of the gospel to both the jailer and his household. ii. Probably his household consisted of his family and his servants, all of which applied themselves to the keeping of prisoners. Therefore, all of them are up at this late hour dealing with this peculiar situation. iii. His household has joined them in the courtyard where Paul and Silas elaborate on their previous gospel presentation. iv. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, is a true statement, but it certainly could afford to be fleshed out a little right? v. John Calvin called this gospel presentation a “cold and hungry” definition of salvation. vi. And he is 100% right. It is complete… but it would not be enough for the jailer. He will need more. And that is what we see happening here. vii. Believe on him for what? What has He done? What am I being saved from? What am I being saved to? viii. We can assume that the fullest expression of the gospel is given to the warden and his house. d. [Slide 10] 33 - At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized right away. i. Remember the situation not a few hours prior. The warden secured them against the wall and left them to a painful and sleepless night. ii. Now, moved by compassion that is only explained by saving faith, like the woman who washed Jesus' feet, he as the jailer washes their wounds. iii. My friends, wardens at this time did no such thing. As a jailer, his task was to keep the prisoners and afford them no luxury. He wasn't even required to feed them. That was the responsibility of their loved ones. iv. But here, he washes their wounds. v. And immediately after this – no doubt in the same water mixed with the blood and sweat of the missionaries, he was symbolically washed of his sins. He and all his house. e. [Slide 11] 34 - The jailer brought them into his house and set food before them, and he rejoiced greatly that he had come to believe in God, together with his entire household. i. Again, we see the fruit of the Spirit follow conversion. His hospitality and care for the missionaries which he formerly sought to harm, is evidence of a changed man. ii. He feeds them. A task which could actually get him in a lot of trouble. Why? He willfully released the prisoners to come into his home and fed them. This is at very least risking his career, if not his skin. iii. And again, we must deal with this final statement here in this text which seems to suggest that only the jailer believed even though his entire household was baptized. iv. There is actually a very good grammatical argument for why the way the NET translates it is quite excellent. But I can give that to any interested this Thursday night at Bible Study. v. Long statement short – the words at the end of the sentence show us that both the rejoicing and the belief in God were shared by the entire house. vi. And how remarkable for God to save not only this jailer, but also open the eyes of his entire house to believe the gospel. f. [Slide 12] Summary of the Point: In our last point we saw that our God is indomitable. He is unable to be subdued. He is unable to be tamed. He is unable to be controlled. He is the Most High God. And because of this, he will subdue all His enemies eventually. But in the Philippian Jailer's life – we see that that subjugation is not always punishment. Because our Lord is also gracious and loving, He sent His Son so that all the believing ones in Christ would not perish but be given everlasting life. Sometimes God subdues His enemies by making them His friends. Indeed, He is drawing to Himself a bride, a fold, a priesthood, a unified body of people in Christ. And because of this – as we see both the Missionaries and the jailer and his house do, we must love one another. We must love our enemies and we must love God's people. The missionaries loved this man enough to share the gospel with him and his household. And this jailer loved these new brothers so much he risked his career to care for them. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today CBC? How then shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 13] Building from the scene from last week, we know that our God has enemies both spiritual and physical. Although our God is sovereign over all things, He allows His creation to oppose Him in His plan to glorify Himself. And today, we are reminded that eventually God will subdue all His enemies. And He will do so in one of two ways. Either He will judge them for their sin, or He will judge another for it and make them His friend. Either you will be destroyed or you will be destroyed and rebuilt. The Philippian Jailer came to the end of himself, and though he was ignorant of exactly what his problem was or what he might need to do to fix it, one thing he knew for sure. He was in trouble. The God of these missionaries was able to shake the foundations of the prison, release his men and everyone else, and yet this God's followers were kind and even saved his life. As the Lord would have it – the Philippian Jailer's destiny was not to be destroyed someday in the future – but to be destroyed that very night in his jail courtyard, in the wee hours of the morning. He and all his household believed on the Lord Jesus and were remade into new creatures. The missionaries and the Jailer serve as our examples of the one application from this text. We must love all men, even our enemies. This application flows out of the fact that God will destroy all His enemies and some by making them His friends. If this is true, it is Anti-Christ to hate God's children. Since they are the body of Christ, His Son. And, it is Anti-Christ to hate God's enemies, for only He is the judge and will determine whether He destroys them or destroys them and remakes them. But let me make these applications much more concrete so that we may take them into our everyday lives all the easier. 1.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that all men, being enemies of God and deserving His eternal wrath, will eventually be subdued by Him. a. There is a lot in this little statement that we must believe. b. The Philippian jailer feared what the Lord would do to him since he had opposed His servants. c. The earthquake sent him quaking, fearing what their God's reprisal would be on him. d. But he underestimated his status before the Most High God, Creator of all things, and Holy Lord of Glory. e. He did not stand in offense… He stood opposed. f. He did not merely trespass, He mutinied. He was not merely an offender. He was an enemy. g. The scriptures declare to us that all men are enemies of God, children of wrath, of their father the devil, incurably sick with sin, desperately wicked, neither seeking nor desiring God. h. All men are guilty of the whole law and are subject to the only just penalty of breaking the whole law. i. Eternal wrath in a death devoid of God's mercy and empty of His grace. j. Many ask, why is the lake of fire eternal? Why cannot a man pay for his sin and then the Lord restore him to heaven or at least just snuff them out of existence? Why must God preserve their eternal souls to suffer forever? k. Such questions reveal the same shallow understanding the Philippian jailer had of his own sin. l. Sin is so heinous, so terrible, so egregious… it is so unnatural… so diabolical… that were we given all eternity to pay for even 1 sin against our Holy God… My friends… it would not be enough. m. That is why God's wrath is poured out eternally on those who are enemies of God. Because in that eternity – they are no closer to paying for their sin. n. And here is the kicker… o. All men are enemies of God. p. And here is the terrible warning I have for you today. q. All men will be subdued by God. All men will be put down. r. Every enemy of the Lord will be destroyed. One way or another. s. That is a terrifying thought. t. But it only gets worse. u. Let me continue with the bad news this morning. And it is found in something that many men believe that is false. 2.) Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that we are able to make up for or help God make up for our sin by acts of obedience, ritual, or sacrifice. a. The Philippian Jailer assumed, like many today, that his sin was only a minor matter. Something that he could easily make right by performing some act of obedience, some ritual, or paying some penance or sacrifice. b. Like the Philippian jailer this thought divides into two categories. c. Either someone may think that they can do good deeds, or give up things they love for a period of time, or perform certain rituals and this will somehow earn extra credit from God who will apply it to their account and allow them to balance the scales of His justice. d. Or as others concede, Christ has to help us in some degree. They believe He has built up for us a storehouse of merit, and because we still sin, we must continue to add to that storehouse lest we potentially run out. We must keep ourselves in this status of salvation and if we do not, then we risk punishment and even hell. e. But given our discussion about the heinousness of our sin, I hope you realize that such a thing is wholly impossible. No amount of good deeds could possibly make up for 1 offense against the Lord because good deeds are what He requires of us. There is no “extra” credit available for doing what He has commanded us to do. f. My friends, no act of obedience, ritual, or sacrifice could possibly make up for any sin we may commit. g. The bad news is… our sin is a real and deadly problem. h. Our sin separates us from a holy God… And there isn't anything we can do about that. Why? Because we are separated from Him. i. How do you make peace with a God you cannot approach? And even if you could get an audience with Him – what would be your offering to Him? j. Would you approach His holy throne with your righteous deeds? He has declared through the prophet Isaiah that all our righteous deeds are like used menstrual rags. Will you bring these to the Most High God and expect Him to be pleased? Pleased enough to forgive you? k. Nothing we can do can make up for our sin. l. We are wholly and completely destitute. Dead in our sin. m. But now it is time for some good news. Something we must believe. The gospel… 3.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that it is in the will of a loving and gracious God, to destroy some of His enemies by making them His friends and conforming them to His Son. a. What must be done with a vessel that does not serve the purpose it was created to serve? b. What does a potter do with a vessel that rips on the wheel? c. He must remake it. d. Yes, God destroys all of His enemies. e. But some of them, He remakes into His friends. He presses them into a new mold. Not the old broken mold of Adam which springs a leak and cannot hold water. f. He presses us into the mold of Christ which is a vessel fit to hold the finest treasures of our Lord. Namely His Spirit. g. God will destroy all His enemies. This is true. h. But some of them will forever praise Him for the glories of His grace because even though they should have been cast into the fire with the rest… i. He chose to save them, remake them, and build them back into a vessel fit for glory. j. What does that mean? 4.) Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must believe on the Lord Jesus and we will be saved. a. The Holy God, the Most High God, The Creator of all that is, was and will be, The first, the last, the alpha the omega, Yahweh… b. He has supplied exactly 1 way of salvation. i. He loved every nation so much that He sent His only and unique Son, the second person of the Godhead, to humiliate Himself by becoming one of us by taking on a human nature and adding it to His divine nature. ii. This Jesus, who is the Lord of Glory, submitted Himself to a shameful death after living a sinless life, and died as the most wicked sinner that has ever died – having taken on Him the sin of all of His people. And by dying He suffered the full wrath of God for them. iii. By raising again the third day He conquered death supplying a way for all who are in Him to go to the Father of Lights who is the giver of only good gifts. iv. And by ascending He now stands as an advocate for His bride while they are being prepared to be wed to Him. c. My Friends! d. Because you are absolutely, comprehensively, thoroughly, ultimately, exhaustively, extensively, inside out and upside down, through and through, woefully and perfectly wicked and unable to do anything to change it, unable to do anything to prevent this GOD from utterly destroying you… e. WILL YOU NOT BELIEVE? WILL YOU NOT BOW? Will you not cast all your hope on this One who has not commanded you to die for Him so you can be saved, but has died to save you from His own judgment? f. Will you not completely and finally believe no matter what it costs? g. Would you not do something far greater and more taxing to escape the coming eternal judgment of His wrath? h. Why then will you not only believe? i. And I do not speak of a simple mental assent where you just agree that He is who He says He is. j. No. k. I mean a belief that this Jailer had. l. A belief that cast aside everything else in order to obtain it. m. A belief that proves itself out in a changed life. n. One in which… 5.) Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must love one another, even our enemies. a. My friends, there is no such friend of God who is not completely and irrevocably changed by His remaking hand. b. God's people, those He has destroyed and sought to remake… DO NOT LOOK THE SAME AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE! c. This jailer only moments after his beleif was washing the wounds and feeding these prisoners. d. Why? e. Because He wasn't the same. f. Paul and Silas being ambassadors of the Living God, should have been treated like the Kings … but when they were maligned, abused, mistreated, mocked, ridiculed – they neither retaliated nor did they complain. g. Instead, they sang songs of praise to God. h. And when they had a chance to watch the jailer who treated them so poorly, end his life in front of their eyes so they could escape… they stopped him from doing it! i. And when he asked how to be saved – they could have refused, they could have laughed at his flawed question…but did not. They taught him and his WHOLE HOUSEHOLD the word of God. j. My friends… k. You cannot be a Christian and hate one another. You cannot be a Christian and withhold forgiveness from others. You cannot be a Christian and hate your enemies. l. God will put them down, one way or another. That is His role as a Just Judge. m. Our role… is to love one another. Even our enemies. n. Even those who abuse us. o. Even those who spitefully use us. p. Why? q. Because we've been remade. We aren't the same broken jar we once were. r. We hold living water. s. But perhaps your heart looks to the enemies of God and screams what mine often does. t. There is no hope for these people. They are too far gone. u. Or perhaps… you are saying that of yourself. Perhaps you think… you are too far gone too. v. Take heart… 6.) Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” There is no enemy of God beyond His reach to judge or to save. a. There are only two options in front of every enemy of God. b. Either they will be judged by the just judge and they will pay for every crime they have committed against Him… c. Or Christ will. d. That's it. Either Christ has already paid it, or they will pay it. There is no third option. e. Do you realize that Kamala Harris is 1 earthquake away from being your sister in Christ? f. Do you realize that Gretchen Whitmer is 1 opened heart away from being a friend of God? g. I don't care what you've done sinner… or how wicked you've been. h. Paul sought and killed Christians for a living. He did it zealously. He did it joyfully. He did it as a holy charge to the false god he served. He was the Hitler of the early church… And Jesus Christ threw him on the ground, rebuked him and commanded him to serve him. That Paul died that day. And the Paul we see today was reborn in his place. i. No one… is beyond the reach of God's destructive power. He will destroy all His enemies. And that is a great comfort to we, who were destroyed and then remade. j. And it is a terrible warning to you if you remain His enemy… k. But you don't have to succumb to a future destruction. You can be destroyed… right now. l. That is my prayer for you. Let me close with a prayer by the Reformer John Knox Strong and mighty God, You destroy the word of the ungodly and rid the world of tyrants, whenever You decide. No force can resist Your everlasting determination. Now look on Your cause for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is time, Lord. Bring to nothing all those things that stand against You and Your holy word. Do not let the enemies of Your truth oppress Your word and Your servants. We seek only Your glory, and above all things wish in our hearts that Your holy name would be glorified among the nations. Grant that we Your servants would speak Your irresistible truth and wisdom. Even though we justly deserve this plague and famine of Your word, we pray that You would release us in our true repentance. We vow before You to better use our gifts, and to order our lives according to Your will and pleasure. We will sing unending praises to Your blessed name, world without end, through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. Benediction: Let those who trust the Lord be like Mount Zion, Which cannot be shaken but endures forever. May that same Lord establish you in the Gospel So that all peoples might believe and obey Him Who is the only wise God; the glory is to Him forever through Jesus Christ! Until we meet again… Go in peace!

Title: The Home Run After Derbe Text: Acts 14:21-28 FCF: We often struggle growing while waiting for glory. Prop: Because God assures all those with saving faith will grow in their faith, we must disciple one another. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 14. In a moment we'll begin reading starting at verse 21 from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Today we will close out the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. As we do we will officially pass the half way point of the book of Acts by verse count. Paul and Barnabas's missionary journey to Cyprus, Pamphylia, and Southern Galatia has been full of ups and downs. Successes and perceived failures. Many have come to Christ, many have opposed Christ. We've seen the polarizing effect of the gospel, the natural wickedness of men, and the power of God to overcome it. And we've seen faithful men enduring great peril all for the sake of the Kingdom of God. The close of their journey takes some unexpected turns and ends in an unexpected way – but in a way that provides to us a strong application. Please stand with me to focus better on the reading of and give honor to the Word of God. Invocation: O Lord, You have said that You will search for Your sheep and will seek them out. Seek Your sheep here, we pray, and feed us. Shepherd us today and assist our feeble worship by showing us Yourself in Your Word today. Guide our hearts to greater love and adoration of You through what You have said. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] It is a bright and crisp morning. Dew has saturated every blade of grass. A huge crowd of people have gathered. It is the morning of a 5k run. Hundreds of runners have come dressed in their running attire and are warming up preparing to run in order to win the prize. As the morning progresses and the time for the race to begin draws to only seconds away, the crowd begins to notice that several runners have lined up to begin the race heading in the exact wrong direction. In panic they shout out to the confused runners to turn around and run the other way. As the gun blasts to announce the beginning of the race, quickly the confused runners turn and cross the starting line.Though many who had only just a moment ago been facing the wrong direction, had turned and began running the race with everyone else, oddly, there were a few who upon turning and crossing the starting line… stopped… threw their hands in the air and began celebrating as though they had won the race. The crowd tried to encourage them to run on to win the prize, but they insisted that the prize had already been won, they needed only to wait for it to be given to them. To their great dismay, they, each of them, finished last being disqualified for not finishing the race. As peculiar and nonsensical as this story is, I assure you that such a perspective on the Christian race exists in our day. Many well-meaning Christians truly believe that the race has been won when they cross the starting line. And while it is true that the people who turned and headed the correct way, were rescued from never finishing, they had to still run and finish the race in order to truly be rescued from never finishing. In the same way… as we'll find in our text… we can say we have been saved from sin and death at conversion and it be true to a certain degree. But that doesn't eliminate the need for us to run the race and pursue the prize in order to truly be saved from sin and death at the end of our lives. Let this silly story be a guide for us as we close out this first missionary journey. A missions work that was not completed simply because people were converted. Let's look. I.) Saving faith must be nurtured, grown, and overseen, so we must disciple one another. (21-23) a. [Slide 3] 21 - And after they had proclaimed the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, i. [Slide 4] Filling in the gaps a little, Derbe is 60 miles east of Lystra. That would be over a day's journey on foot. Most likely they passed through several other cities and although we are not told that they preached the gospel in these locations, we can all but assume they did. ii. [Slide 5] Another reason that calling the book of Acts a historical work is inaccurate, is the editorial brevity Luke employs in creating it. iii. Here in Derbe, Luke affords us 8 Greek words to summarize the whole time of Paul and Barnabas in Derbe preaching the gospel. iv. Luke is not recording a history but rather a defense of the Spirit empowered gospel of Christ going forward through the united and triumphant church. v. All we are told of the events in Derbe is that they preached the gospel there and that many became disciples of Christ. vi. But as far as summaries go – that is a very encouraging one. Far more encouraging than the previous three cities. At least they weren't run out of Derbe. vii. Then Luke records that the time of their missionary journey had come to an end. viii. He does not tell us the exact reason, although it is probable that there were many of them. 1. Finances were a likely cause. Certainly, much of the cost was deferred because of hospitable converts hosting and caring for the traveling missionaries. Nevertheless, travel expenses would certainly take its toll eventually. 2. The general health of Paul and Barnabas must be considered as well. Not only is Paul still recovering from Malaria but Paul was recently stoned to the point of death. And Barnabas is probably a good deal older than Paul. Maybe as much as 10-15 years. 3. [Slide 6] Location may have been a cause for them to turn back. Derbe is right on a provincial edge of Cappadocia, Cilicia and Galatia. Perhaps they didn't want to pass through Cappadocia? 4. Perhaps the Holy Spirit revealed either at this time or before they left Antioch of Syria that they were only to go to Derbe. ix. One interesting question we must ask is why didn't they carry on to Tarsus to get back to Antioch of Syria? x. It would have been a much shorter trip for them to continue on through the Taurus Mountains and the Cilician Gates and on to Tarsus and then to Antioch of Syria than it would be for them to go back through Southern Galatia and take a ship back to Seleucia to get to Antioch. xi. Instead, they revisit the places that they had already been (The yellow line on the screen). And certainly, they take added risk on themselves since each of the cities mentioned had run them out and threatened their lives. xii. Why would they risk all this? Why not take the easy way to Tarsus? b. [Slide 7] 22 - strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God.” i. Why did they take this risk? ii. Because the mission that the Holy Spirit had sent them on, was only half complete. iii. For now, their missionary work must turn pastoral. Their role now, after preaching the gospel and receiving a harvest, was to make stronger the disciples who had received Christ. iv. Most likely they entered the cities and met in homes avoiding public discourse in order not to re-stir up the mob. v. They ministered to the believers this time, teaching them and even encouraging them to continue in the faith. vi. What does this phrase mean? To continue in the faith. 1. It could mean duration. That the race to the Kingdom of God is a marathon and not a sprint. That their faith must endure and hold fast in the things they have believed. 2. It could also mean depth. That their faith must grow deeper and stronger in order to weather the storms of false teaching and persecution that are sure to come their way. vii. The next phrase is some of the content of their message. They tell these new believers that the only way they can, and indeed must enter the Kingdom of God is through many afflictions. viii. No one gets an easy ride to the throne. No one endures no hardship and pays no cost. No one gets to sit on the bus bench waiting for Jesus to come. ix. Therefore, both interpretations of continuing in the faith prove true. For our faith is not merely a once made decision or choice, but rather an ongoing firmly held constantly deepening knowledge and growth into Christlikeness. x. The apostles saw to it that these new converts were established, rooted, and given a heading for their growing faith. xi. But they didn't stop there. For this one-time encouragement to grow was not enough to make sure they did. c. [Slide 8] 23 - And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. i. Here we find another means of the missionaries to insure that these new converts would continue in their faith both in endurance and in growth. ii. Paul and Barnabas, through the leading of the Spirit, appointed Elders for them in every church. iii. A few things on this point. 1. First, because the term appointed is used here, we cannot conclude that Elders has the denotative meaning of elderly or older people. It would be foolish to appoint someone as or to be old. They either are older or they aren't. 2. Instead, we ought to see the connotative meaning of the term elder here to refer to the Office of an Elder. The office of an Elder is not unique to New Testament times. Indeed, in Jewish cities there would be Elders of the people who were tasked with making judgments on certain issues affecting the citizens. 3. It seems that church Elders take a similar but much more spiritual role in leadership of the people, not just settling disputes but actually caring for and nurturing the souls of the people. Basically, continuing to provide for them all that we saw Paul and Barnabas do in verse 22. 4. In Titus 1 we see that the office of the Elder and the office of the overseer are the same office in the church. Titus was instructed to appoint Elders in every church on the island of Crete and then Paul went on to describe the qualifications of such men who should be above reproach because an overseer must be above reproach. 5. Therefore, we see as early as AD 47, a mere 15 or so years after Christ's ascension, the church establishing a plurality of qualified men to lead the church and care for the spiritual maturing and growth of the disciples of Christ in a particular local setting. Not just in Jerusalem – but in every local place where a church was established. iv. We should also notice the great care that was taken to appoint and direct these men. v. We'd expect nothing less of the missionaries given the role that Elders play in the leadership and growth of the church. vi. They are continuing the work that Paul and Barnabas were only able to begin. vii. They pray and fast asking for God's grace and power to come alongside and go with these Elders to do the job that had been given to them. d. [Slide 9] Summary of the Point: The primary point of this section is abundantly clear. Paul and Barnabas' job was only half done after preaching in these various cities. Their view of their mission can be crystalized into a primary point of truth. Saving faith must be nurtured, grown, and overseen. When someone comes to Christ that is the beginning and not the end of their salvation. Paul and Barnabas return to establish and solidify the souls of these people. It is not enough that they believe on Christ. They must continue in this faith. Both enduring and deepening in it. And to ensure that that happens Paul and Barnabas take the most spiritually mature among them and install them as leaders responsible for guiding that spiritual growth. My friends, spiritual growth is not optional for a genuine believer in Christ. It is mandatory. You must grow, for if you don't or can't… then you don't have saving faith. And that is why we must devote ourselves to disciple one another. Transition: [Slide 10(blank)] This sounds like God has put a lot on our shoulders. He saves them and then leaves them to us to take care of? That doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound right because it isn't right. Let's read on. II.) God's grace is at work in His church to expand and strengthen it, so we must disciple one another. (24-28) a. [Slide 11] 24 - And when they passed through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia. 25 - And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 - And from there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. i. If we remember from our study of this first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas after landing in Perga went straight to Pisidian Antioch, passing Perga and several other major cities and populated areas to do so. ii. We guessed that this was because Paul had contracted Malaria on the ship and needed to get into a climate that would slow the progress of the disease in his body as he recovered. iii. Now it seems that on their way back home, they took the opportunity to preach the gospel to these places. iv. Here we see them preaching through Pamphylia and in Perga and even in Attalia. v. Although we are not told of the results it is reasonable to assume that Paul and Barnabas saw the Lord move in similar ways as in the other places they had preached. vi. From Attalia they sailed for Syrian Antioch where as Luke points out, they were commissioned in the grace of God to do this great work that they had now completed. vii. There are a couple things said in such a quick way that we should notice. viii. First, it is by the grace of God that they had embarked on this great mission. His empowering and His favor supported and guided all they did. ix. Second, we should see that it is also by the grace of God that they had completed their mission. His empowering and His favor has led them back from disease, pain, trouble, blessing, encouragement, and various other events to see them safely home having established churches throughout Southern Galatia. x. Thus, God's grace began and completed all that they had done. Luke recognizes this and Paul and Barnabas will recognize this too. b. [Slide 12] 27 - And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. i. It was here that they bore record to the church of all that had happened and how the Lord had blessed their preaching of the gospel and the establishment of churches throughout the area. ii. Notice also how they bore witness that all that was done, good, bad, great and small, was something the Lord had done with them. iii. They also bore record of how the Lord had continued to open the means of faith to unite even gentiles to Christ. iv. One did not need to be Jewish to be united by faith to Christ and His substitutionary atonement for sin. v. Indeed, faith alone is not only required for Jews but for Gentiles also. vi. And so, God's role in the salvation and growth of His people is highlighted here as the missionaries gave glory to God for all that had happened. c. [Slide 13] 28 - And they spent not a little time with the disciples. i. Most likely this was at the end of AD 47 or beginning of AD 48. ii. The next event recorded in the book of Acts, The Jerusalem Council, occurs around AD 50. iii. So, we can see that at least for a year or two Paul and Barnabas continued to spend time in the church there in Antioch of Syria, discipling and growing the people there and probably gathering financial provision to go on another missionary journey. d. [Slide 14] Summary of the Point: Luke is sure to put glory and praise and credit to where it is due. Though Paul and Barnabas were the instrument, the tool, the second cause for these people coming to Christ and seeing spiritual growth… ultimately, the first cause is God. His grace saves and His grace grows His people. His grace began and completed the mission. All the church in Antioch including Paul and Barnabas give testimony to this fact. The Lord alone is able and will save and grow His people. So without pressure for results… we must submit ourselves to disciple one another knowing that the Lord and His grace will bless those efforts in those who are His children. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today CBC and how does it affect how we live? Doctrinal takeaway: [Slide 15] We have learned that Paul and Barnabas were empowered and used of God as a second cause to lead people in Cyprus, Pamphylia, and Southern Galatia to Christ and strengthen and grow them and provide ongoing oversight for their continued and growing faith. This shows us not only that saving faith must be nurtured, grown, and overseen but also that God is still the primary agent behind all of this salvation process. From this we recognize the command of our Lord to make disciples but have the added comfort and promise that He will use us to this effect for those who are His people. Therefore, having this confidence that the Lord will use us, and having this need for ongoing and deepening faith, we must all be involved in making disciples of one another. But let me break this down for us into some very practical ways. 1.) [Slide 16] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that true conversion is a starting line not a finish line. a. We have talked about this often during the 8 years I've been your pastor. b. But just because it is an often-repeated theme doesn't make it any less important to address. c. There are various churches and Christians who consider salvation to be nothing more than a simple prayer or choice made in a person's life to accept certain facts about Christ and what He has done. d. And if you have prayed this prayer and agree with these facts, then you are saved. You are going to heaven. And there is nothing that can change that. e. You don't need to study the bible, you don't need to pray, you don't need to go to church, you don't need to serve your fellow believers in any meaningful kind of way, because you have prayed the prayer and you are headed for the Kingdom. Essentially – your job is to wait for Jesus to show up and take you home. f. Now parts of what I have just said are true. g. If a person genuinely processes saving faith, then they are headed for the Kingdom of God and nothing can pluck them out of the hand of God. Jesus promises that all whom the Father has given to Him He will by no means lose even one. h. And oftentimes genuine conversion does come by a person crying out to the Lord in a prayer of repentance of their sin and in humble submission to the gospel that Christ died for sinners and is now their Lord. i. But the text today absolutely decimates all the rest of what these folks believe. j. For the apostles did not consider their Missionary work to be complete until they went back to those who had professed Christ, strengthened their souls, encouraged them to press on in their faith, and appointed spiritual leaders to guide them in that task. k. The apostles assumed that saving faith was not finished at conversion… it was begun at conversion. l. Oddly enough the same people who believe that since they are saved they need not worry about spiritual growth or maturity are quite familiar with the children's song He's still working on me. m. Listen to these words i. “He's still working on me. ii. To make me what I need to be. iii. It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars, the sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars. iv. How loving and patient He must be. v. Cause He's still workin on me. n. My friends, there is absolutely no way you can read the New Testament and come away thinking that once you are converted, you can relax and grow at whatever pace is comfortable. o. What does Paul say? I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. p. What does Peter say? Therefore, my brothers, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. q. What does the writer of Hebrews say? Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has now sat down at the right hand of God... But you have not endured in your faith to the point of shedding your own blood. r. My friends… if you want the crown, you must have… first… the cross. s. Saving faith is faith that dies to self every day and lives to Righteousness every day. t. Let me say it very plainly… u. If you are not growing in spiritual maturity… then you cannot know with any certainty that you have saving faith. v. That is why Paul and Barnabas revisited these people… to establish, encourage, and oversee the path of their spiritual growth. w. Conversion is the starting line my friends. 2.) [Slide 17] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that we are the primary cause of anyone coming to Christ or growing in the Lord. a. The first half of this is recycled from much of what we've seen in the book of Acts. b. I won't belabor the point. c. I'll only quickly say that we are NEVER the primary cause of anyone coming to Christ. We are merely tools in the Lord's hand used to draw and call His elect to saving faith. d. But the second half is such a rebuke to me. e. Pastors, as you may or may not know, are not perfect. f. I wrestle too with pride over spiritual growth under my leadership. g. I wrestle also with embarrassment over lack of spiritual maturity under my leadership. h. Although the second sounds to be less serious, I assure you that both are rooted in the same aberrant theology. i. The erroneous theology is this… that I am the first cause of anyone growing in Christ at all. That I am directly responsible for God's people growing in their faith. j. To assume that I am directly responsible for the spiritual maturing of a person or to blame for them lagging behind is to think far too highly of myself. k. Instead, I must simply be faithful in teaching doctrine, holiness and love. Ensuring that this teaching is applied and demonstrated in my own life. Then I must trust the Lord that He will grow His people. l. We, all of us, are simply tools used for this end. May we be found faithful in this. 3.) [Slide 18] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop treating discipleship as an optional phase the follows salvation. a. As a counter weight to the previous point, I have heard the argument made that because God is the one who will see to it that the work of salvation is completed in His people, b. Since God promises that Jesus will present us faultless before the throne of God, c. That means that we can see the imperative of making disciples as optional for us. d. That since God will do it, we really only need to be concerned with sharing the gospel, because once they are saved, God will do the rest. e. The error here is the assumption that since we are not the first cause or the primary cause of someone growing in Christ, then we shouldn't bother being any degree of cause for someone growing in Christ. f. Obviously, Paul and Barnabas didn't think this was so. They knew God was the primary cause of all their missionary success both in conversions and spiritual growth. g. But they still stopped at each city, to their own peril, and strengthened them, and encouraged them, and saw to it that they had overseers to help them grow. h. No, my friends – discipleship is not optional. 4.) [Slide 19] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must disciple each other. a. Indeed, making disciples, helping others to conform to Christ is one of the primary tasks we have been given as His church. b. So much so that all of us have been given unique spiritual gifts to aid in that process. c. Whether it be service oriented gifts or speaking gifts – all of us have been given gifts to help each other to be more like Christ. d. The work of the ministry is first the responsibility of the church as a whole. e. And the aim of ministry is to mature someone in Christlikenss. f. Ephesians 4 is the blueprint for what every church should be doing. g. Our goal is that every person here become like Christ. A lifelong process that will be completed by Christ when we enter His Kingdom. h. The preaching on Sunday, Foundations, Wednesday Night, Basics class, various bible studies - all of these are there to do just that… but even if every person here were to attend every single one of these, it would not remove the imperative upon you to personally and intentionally go and disciple others. i. Teach them the ways of Christ. Show them how to be like Him. That is what the church is commissioned to do. 5.) [Slide 20] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God will use us to lead His children home and to conform them to the image of His Son. a. And of course we come back full circle… b. Reminding ourselves and comforting ourselves with this thought. c. God will ultimately save and keep His children. d. We have a role to play. We have a responsibility that the Lord has placed upon us. But its success does not depend on us. e. All we are called to be is a good hammer. Whether the nail is driven in in 4 whacks, 2 whacks, or we find out we've been hitting a screw instead of a nail and we need a screw driver instead… it doesn't matter. Just be the tool that God uses. f. That is all you are called to be. g. One can plant. One can water. h. God gets the increase. [Slide 21 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the church father Gregory of Nazianzen (Naz – eeee – an – zen) May we act like children of God, wherever we are, pure and blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And may we never be entangled in the snares of the wicked, or bound by the chains of our sins. May the Word in us never be smothered with the cares of this life, so that we would become unfruitful. But help us to walk on the King's Highway, never turning aside to the right hand or the left, and led by the Spirit through the Straight Gate. Then all that we do will prosper, both now and at the time of judgment, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory now and forever, amen. Benediction: May the One Who takes nobodies and makes them somebodies; Who takes the ridiculous and turns it to the sublime; Who raises those from the dustbins and crowns them princes and princesses; Cause you to prosper in every good work And to increase in the knowledge of God. Until we meet again… Go in Peace.

Paul was very grateful for his friends in the church in Philippi. He rejoiced in the Lord for their pattern of support for him, and for what it revealed about their hearts. Though Paul was in prison, he had learned how to stay satisfied and fulfilled, even if his friends hadn't been able to help him. Contentment is learned, and we mature in this God-honoring part of our own discipleship. Whether we have much or little, we are able to do all the things that God has commissioned us to do, not through ourselves but through the strength that comes through Jesus Christ.

Sometimes it's those who you would least expect to be jealous of you and would resent your being used for soul winning. Who would expect church leaders to attack another minister for doing what they should also be doing?Apostle Paul faced this when the Jews started a riot with street thugs to attack him. Though Paul was unable to minister for a long time in Thessalonica, he was able to witness converts for Christ.

Today's chapter is pretty short, but nonetheless intriguing. Though Paul is a man of great intelligence, he tells the Corinthian church that is resolved to know nothing among them except Christ and him crucified. This does not mean that he is emptying his mind, but that he orients all of his knowledge in such a way that Christ and his cross and central in his mind. The power of God's wisdom was not given to the rulers of this age, but to the church. He has revealed his truth to us by his Spirit. Those who do not have the Spirit find God's wisdom to be foolishness, because they are not equipped to evaluate spiritual things. Those with the Spirit, however, have the mind of Christ. :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

We're excited to welcome John North, the Australia National Director for Ambassadors for Christ International, to share from Acts 13:44-52, “The Turn.” Though Paul and Barnabas make it their mission to preach the gospel first to Jews in the synagogues, wherever they go, in Pisidian Antioch they experience extreme opposite responses to their message. Some Jews and devout Gentiles believe that Jesus is the Messiah—others band together to drive them from the city. Was this part of God's plan? Join us this weekend as we watch the gospel turn to the Gentiles!

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 In the preceding passage, Paul cites his willingness to forgo his right to receive financial support from the Corinthians.  He had done this because, in this instance, the gospel was heralded with greater power.  In the present passage the apostle describes what his life looks like when it is governed by the greatness of the gospel of Christ. One way his life was affected was that he lived in terms of practical flexibility.  Though Paul is free from living his life according to the opinions of others, he subjects himself to all for the sake of the gospel.   "I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them" (1 Cor 9:19). Paul's life goal is the conversion of lost people to the light of Christ.  Within the limitations of the Christian faith, Paul would be as 'Jewish' as necessary in order to win Jews to Christ.  When Paul preached the gospel to Gentiles, he reasoned with them without quoting the Old Testament.  "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some" (1 Cor 9:22) A second way Paul's life was affected by the gospel was in terms of personal discipline.  He was careful to guard himself, lest he tarnish the gospel and disqualify himself from being a herald of the truth.  Let us be so consumed by the glories of the gospel that we look for ways to spread its truth.  And let us be so taken by the gospel of Christ that we carefully guard ourselves against anything that would mar the name of Jesus. 

Though Paul is clear that our good works are not needed for salvation, our neighbors, our bosses, and our employees need our good works. Pastor Mollenkopf explains God's plan and purposes for our day-to-day work as followers of Christ.

Though Paul is writing primarily to combat false teachers threatening that congregation, his pastoral care for this flock is clearly evident in this letter. Since believers in Jesus have new life in Him, all aspects of our lives (our "walk") should clearly demonstrate that fact, including our speech—an exposition of Colossians 4:2-6. ★ Support this podcast ★

Though Paul is writing primarily to combat false teachers threatening that congregation, his pastoral care for this flock is clearly evident in this letter. Since believers in Jesus have new life in Him, all aspects of our lives (our "walk") should clearly demonstrate that fact, including our speech—an exposition of Colossians 4:2-6. ★ Support this podcast ★

The traditions of the eucharist. Communion, closed, open, traditional, meals, fellowship with results: strength, resolve, hope, wisdom, understanding, presence of God.Read and explore Text.Notice, before the big event, a daily investment in small faith steps prepares us for the great storms of life! Paul started by being faithful in little things along this great path he is living.Sea of Adria was in the middle of the Mediterranean while the Gulf of Adria what we today call the Adriatic Sea. As they near shipwreck, it becomes clear to the crew that Paul's prophecy is coming to pass.  Fear is still present.  Some want to escape.  Now Paul is in control with divine authority. His insight is followed by the centurion. When the ship starts to run aground, the centurion wants to save Paul, and the prisoners so all make it to shore.What is the purpose of the very clear and extensive account given by Luke here and not in Chapter 21? Notice the lack of calming the storm. Here there is something else that God is doing, namely, he is establishing the power of faith and God's control over history in sight of overwhelming paganism. What could be construed as magic has no place in the very real fear of the elements of nature. God is not tinkering with natural and human processes with arbitrary interventions, but with the direction of the human heart by revealing the purposes and call of God.  See Luke 21:12-19. When we are caught in the complexity of social entanglements, our faith in God must not be focused so much on the elimination of these circumstances but on God's power that enables us to endure and so gain possession of our lives!Here we find the real value of prophecy:  Though Paul is predicting the future and seeing it fulfilled, he is also a spokesperson for God! He advises, exhorts, comforts, strengthens, challenges as a servant of God whom he serves! And at the center of the storm and its ravages, fears, and confusion, he breaks bread.  Of the 276 on board, only 3 are Christians. Yet he includes all with dramatic results – not all believe, some try to escape, but all are brought to safety as he said they would. This act of faith changed the course of the events, as it gave courage, strength, and hope to all. Paul's faith reminds us of Mary, who chose to believe God and whet he said would come to pass.  Put your faith in Jesus today.

Paul Putz serves as the assistant director of the Faith & Sports Institute, part of the Truett Seminary at Baylor University. Though Paul and I connected previously through social media, we met in person at a conference in June in Minneapolis and found out we have quite a bit in common, mainly our passion for Jesus and sports. If you're a Christian who likes sports, you'll especially enjoy this conversation. Earlier in 2023, Paul gave a chapel talk called "Jesus and James Naismith," where he explored the Christian roots of basketball. In our conversation this week, he shares a little bit about that history and the Christian origin of one of the world's most popular games. Even if you don't like sports, stick around for Paul discuss how he followed his passions to end up where he is now professionally as well as how he goes about his research and writing. Speaking of his writing, he's writing a book about the history of sports and Christianity in modern American culture, which should be published in late 2024 or early 2025. Paul is pretty active on Twitter, so give him a follow @p_emory, or on Threads @paulemoryputz. You can also email him at Paul_Putz@baylor.edu. I'd love for you to connect with me by signing up for my newsletter, "The Road Ahead": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠coledouglasclaybourn.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also find more of my articles and content at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠coleclaybourn.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and on social media: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@coleclaybourn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ColeClaybourn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also find me on Facebook at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/ColeDouglasClaybourn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/in-no-hurry/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/in-no-hurry/support

Pastor Rich's message "For The Sake of The Gospel", is packed with powerful insights. In this passage, Paul is arrested for preaching the gospel in Jerusalem and taken before the Roman rulers. Though Paul is met with hostility and violence, he courageously stands up for what he believes in. Pastor Rich masterfully unpacks this passage and shares how Paul's unwavering faith in the face of persecution is a powerful reminder for all Christians to remain faithful no matter what. He also emphasizes the importance of standing up for our beliefs, even if it means facing opposition. This powerful message motivates us to keep spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, no matter what obstacles we may encounter along the way. With the Lord's help, we can gain a better understanding of this passage and be inspired to follow Paul's example of faithfulness.

One of our favorite Out to Lunch shows, for many reasons, was a 2019 episode  called High on Mushrooms that brought together two interesting, unlikely guests, whose worlds could not have been more different. Paul Charbonnet, a drone pilot and the owner of Atmosphere Drones, which shoots all sort of aerial scenes for movies, TV and a variety of users; and Cyrus Lester, co-owner of Mushroom Maggies Farm, a Saint Francisville based farmer of specialty and exotic mushrooms that Cyrus and his wife Maggie sell to local restaurants, farmers markets and specialty distributors. Though Paul and Cyrus were strangers to each other when they met on the show, several months later, quite by chance, they became next door neighbors! And from there they've become real friends. In the few years since a lot has changed. Both have weathered the pandemic. Cyrus has had a second child. Paul has started a second company called Compass Visuals, which specializes in robots that work with their cameras to hyper real videos for commercials. And Cyrus has had a second child, in addition to growing his farm. On this reunion edition of Out to Lunch we're welcoming back two old guests and new friends to see how they're doing and find out what's new at Atmosphere Drones and Mushroom Maggie's. Out to Lunch is recorded over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show at itsbatonrouge.la.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scripture Reading: Malachi 3:6-12 One of the sins of the Israelites in Malachi's time was the failure to give the tithes which the Mosaic law had prescribed.  The law required that the Jews pay ten percent of their income/produce to the Levites and to the temple (Num 18:21-26; Deut 14:22-27).  God justly accused the Israelites of Malachi's day of robbing Him (Mal 3:8,9).  Giving to the work of God is an important element in the life of a Christian.  Though Paul does not mention giving ten percent of our income as an ongoing command, the New Testament does reveal principles that should govern our giving.  "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come" (1 Cor 16:2).  "Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7). We are to give regularly.  "On the first day of every week . . ."  As regular exercise is more beneficial to the body than exercising only once in a while, so regular giving is more spiritually beneficial to the soul. We are to give individually.  ". . . each of you is to put something aside . . ."  The responsibility to give to the Lord's work belongs to every one of us, regardless of economic status. We are to give proportionally.  ". . . as he may prosper . . ."  Some proportion is suggested in this phrase.  The more one has, the more he should give.   We are to give deliberately.  "Each one must give as he has made up his mind . . ."  Giving should be planned, prayerful, thoughtful, budgeted, and not impulsive. We are to give willingly.  ". . . not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."  The God who owns all things does not lack for resources.  He wants our hearts, so He does not want us to give anything that is not offered willingly. The motive for giving comes from a realization of the effects it has on our souls.  God does not need our money, but we have the need to give to Him.   First, giving produces humility.   In giving to the building of the temple in the Old Testament, David declared, "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you" (1 Chr 29:14). Second, giving produces joy.  "Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly" (1 Chr 29:9). Third, giving produces compassion toward the needs of others.  "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Eph 4:28). Fourth, giving produces devotion to God.  "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Lk 12:34).  Giving to God's eternal kingdom unites our hearts with Him.  It follows that if we give regularly to the Lord, we will think about Him more and our hearts will be attached to Him more deeply.  The Almighty does not need our money.  He can make money out of the grass.  The issue in giving is our hearts.   In our giving, let us learn to say, with great joy, "O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own" (1 Chr 29:16).

Today's chapter is pretty short, but nonetheless intriguing. Though Paul is a man of great intelligence, he tells the Corinthian church that is resolved to know nothing among them except Christ and him crucified. This does not mean that he is emptying his mind, but that he orients all of his knowledge in such a way that Christ and his cross and central in his mind. The power of God's wisdom was not given to the rulers of this age, but to the church. He has revealed his truth to us by his Spirit. Those who do not have the Spirit find God's wisdom to be foolishness, because they are not equipped to evaluate spiritual things. Those with the Spirit, however, have the mind of Christ.:::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

Because of the clarity of God's Word, the path to life change is not mysterious or elusive. If it were complex, we'd all be in a mess. Did you know that Paul gave his protege, Timothy, a practical plan for change that we can replicate in our lives, too? Though Paul's process is not the final or plenary word for transformation, it's one of the most excellent thumbnail sketches you'll find in Scripture. It's concise, understandable, and, best of all, attainable. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/four-sequential-steps-to-change-your-life/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.

Gentiles in the city of Rome formed a church. Though Paul had not been to the church yet, he wrote to encourage the believers in that church. The book of Romans is his message to them. He chose Phoebe to deliver the letterAll God's Women is a daily devotional women's Bible study podcast and internationally syndicated radio show where we journey through the Bible one woman's story at a time. If you enjoy learning about women in the Bible, tune in each weekday for 2-minute Bible stories about Bible women.Take your study further with the Women of Prayer BIBLE STUDY Be a part of the Women of Prayer SIMULSTUDYLearn more at the All God's Women WEBSITEJoin the All God's Women FACEBOOK GROUPPin All God's Women on PINTERESTFollow Sharon Wilharm on FACEBOOK

Gentiles in the city of Rome formed a church. Though Paul had not been to the church yet, he wrote to encourage the believers in that church. The book of Romans is his message to them. He chose Phoebe to deliver the letterAll God's Women is a daily devotional women's Bible study podcast and internationally syndicated radio show where we journey through the Bible one woman's story at a time. If you enjoy learning about women in the Bible, tune in each weekday for 2-minute Bible stories about Bible women. Take your study further with the Women of Prayer BIBLE STUDY Be a part of the Women of Prayer SIMULSTUDYLearn more at the All God's Women WEBSITEJoin the All God's Women FACEBOOK GROUPPin All God's Women on PINTERESTFollow Sharon Wilharm on FACEBOOK

Though Paul was able to declare, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8), Paul also had a thorn—a burdensome pain from which he prayed to God for relief three times (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Today's devotional explores what we can learn from Paul's thorn.   If you would like more insight into today's devotional topic, listen to Dr. Michael Youssef's sermon The Secrets of Positive Living, Part 14: LISTEN NOW

Map of the Tribes of Israel Introduction      Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, Moses' death has loomed like a shadow over the nation. The book as a whole is his farewell address, as he imparts to them all that is needed for a life of success after he dies. Moses, after having communicated the core of the law to Israel, appointed Joshua as his successor and received the Lord's command to ascend Mount Nebo and die, is left only to offer his blessings to the nation before his graduation to heaven. Moses' blessing in Deuteronomy 33 reveals the heart of this great leader for God's people, Israel. The blessings were not predictive, but rather, express Moses' desires of what he wished for the nation. According to Eugene Merrill, “Moses' utterances concerning the tribes were in the nature of prayerful intercession. They express what he fervently desired for his people and what he confidently expected that God would do.”[1] Of course, under the Mosaic Law, Israel's blessing were conditional on the obedience of his people. The Blessing Introduction      “Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death” (Deut 33:1). This opening verse sets the tone for what follows, as it is Moses' blessing on the nation just prior to his death. The word blessing translates the Hebrew word בְּרָכָה berakah, which means to bless or favor someone. The blessing derived from Moses revealed his wish or prayer for the future of God's people. Of course, this was conditional, as they would receive the blessing if they would “listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today” (Deut 11:27). Though Moses sought their best interests, he can do no more than give them God's directives and encourage them to walk by them, knowing the Lord's blessings would follow if they obeyed.        Moses continued, saying, “The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones; at His right hand there was flashing lightning for them'” (Deut 33:2). Here, God is portrayed as the Divine Warrior who goes before His people, and this is seen elsewhere in Scripture (Judg 5:4-5; Psa 68:7-8). That God shone forth (יָפַע yapha – brightness, splendor) at various times and places revealed His glory in theophanic form. The holy ones mentioned in this verse refer to angels. The reference to flashing lightning could be a manifestation of the angels as they come with the Lord and do His work. This picture of God as Divine Warrior was intended to instill confidence among His people that He was with them, and to instill fear among Israel's enemies who sought to thwart God's purposes among His people.      Of the Lord, Moses said, “Indeed, He loves the people; all Your holy ones are in Your hand, and they followed in Your steps; everyone receives of Your words” (Deut 33:3). Here, Moses emphasized God's love for His people (cf. Deut 7:7-8), which is what motivated Him to set them apart. The holy ones in this verse refer to the nation of Israel, whom God had created as special (Isa 43:1, 15), to be set apart from the other nations and to walk with Him in righteousness (Deut 7:6, 11). The text continues, saying, “Moses charged us with a law, a possession for the assembly of Jacob. 5 And He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, the tribes of Israel together” (Deut 33:4-5). Moses had given Israel God's law (תּוֹרָה torah – law, instruction, direction), which was their special possession (Lev 27:34), which gave them everything they needed for a life of righteousness. And God was their king (Isa 33:22), the One who ruled over them, to provide, guide, and protect them in all things. The term Jeshurun (יְשֻׁרוּן Yeshurun) means upright one and was a nickname for Israel. Here, the word is used of how Israel was intended to be, as Moses hoped they would be, as upright to the Lord. In the NT we see where God's people are called saints (ἅγιος hagios – sacred, holy; Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; Eph 1:1), and the ideal Christian is one whose performance is that of his/her position in Christ (Eph 4:1; Col 1:10). Blessing the Tribes Reuben      Moses' first wish of blessing fell to Reuben, as he says, “May Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few” (Deut 33:6). Reuben was Jacob's firstborn son (Gen 29:32; 49:3). As the firstborn son, the birthright and blessing naturally fell to him. However, we know that Reuben committed a terrible sin when he had sex with his father's concubine (Gen 35:22), and for this he was cursed by Jacob just before he died (Gen 49:4), which meant he'd forfeited his inheritance. Reuben's descendants were judged, as they followed in the footsteps of their progenitor. Though there are always exceptions, children often model their parents values and behavior, and worldly parents tend to produce worldly children. According to Thomas Constable, “Reuben (v. 6) was the firstborn son of Jacob, but he did not enjoy greatness among the tribes because of his sin. He lost his father's birthright and blessing. Furthermore, no great civil or military leader or prophet ever came from this tribe, as far as Scripture records.”[2] Judah      Next in the order of Moses' blessings was Judah, where it reads, “And this regarding Judah; so he said, ‘Hear, O LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people. With his hands he contended for them, and may You be a help against his adversaries'” (Deut 33:7). Judah was Jacob's fourth son (after Simeon and Levi) and was singled out for blessing, from whom would come Messiah (Gen 49:8-12). Moses asked God to help Judah, to hear his voice, and to “bring him to his people” (Deut 33:7). This phrase likely refers to the safe return of Judahites after a military campaign. According to the book of Numbers, Judah was to lead the other nations in battle, as “They shall set out first” (Num 2:9b). This meant Judah would take the lead and be in a dangerous position, militarily speaking. It's natural that as they went into battle, they would ask to be returned safely to their people and that God would “be a help against his adversaries” (Deut 33:7b). Ultimately, through Judah would come David, and through David would come Jesus, the Messiah (Matt 1:1, 6, 16). Levi Concerning the tribe of Levi, Moses said: Of Levi he said, “Let your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man, whom You proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; 9 who said of his father and his mother, ‘I did not consider them'; and he did not acknowledge his brothers, nor did he regard his own sons, for they observed Your word, and kept Your covenant. 10 They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, and Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, and whole burnt offerings on Your altar. 11 O LORD, bless his substance, and accept the work of his hands; shatter the loins of those who rise up against him, and those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.” (Deut 33:8-11)      The tribe of Levi is mentioned here without regard to the tribe of Simeon. Previously, in the book of Genesis, Moses had recorded Jacob's genealogy and listed Simeon and Levi together, as the second and third sons in the lineage. Of those brothers, Jacob had said, “Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are implements of violence” (Gen 49:5). This refers to Simeon and Levi's exaggerated violence against the Shechemites, whose leader had raped their sister, Dinah (Gen 34:1-29). Jacob, having cursed his two sons for their violence (Gen 49:6-7a), said, “I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Gen 49:7). Though Levi retained land in Israel, Simeon was incorporated into the tribe of Judah (Josh 19:1, 9). Concerning this, Eugene Merrill states, “The effect of this is evident even here in the blessing of Moses because Simeon is lacking entirely in the list, and Levi appears without reference to territory of its own. Moreover, Simeon had already become involved in idolatry at Baal Peor (cf. Num 25:6–15), a sin that brought such devastating population loss that the whole tribe eventually became assimilated into Judah.”[3]      Though the tribe of Levi did not own land, they were blessed by Moses and became the tribe that was given to Aaron and his sons to help them in their priestly duties (Num 3:6-10; 18:1-7). The selection of the tribe of Levi came because of their faithfulness to God during the incident of the golden calf in which they stood with the Lord and Moses (Ex 32:25-29). In this way, they had been faithful to God's covenant (Deut 33:9b). Both Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi. Part of Moses' blessing referred to the function of the high priest who was given the Urim and Thummim to wear inside a pouch on his chest and was occasionally used to discern a divine answer (Ex 28:29-30; cf. 1 Sam 28:6).[4] One of the functions of the priests was to teach God's Word to the other tribes (Lev 10:8-11; Deut 31:9-13; 33:10; 2 Ch 17:7-9; Ezra 7:10; Mal 2:7). Another function of the priests was to offer sacrifices to the Lord, as Moses wrote, “They shall put incense before You, and whole burnt offerings on Your altar” (Deut 33:10b; cf., Leviticus chapters 4, 9, 16). Moses closed out this section on Levi, saying, “O LORD, bless his substance, and accept the work of his hands; shatter the loins of those who rise up against him, and those who hate him, so that they will not rise again” (Deut 33:11). To accept the work of Levi's hands meant God approved of their work. And to shatter the loins of their enemies meant they would be destroyed completely without descendants. Benjamin      Moses blessed Benjamin, the last of Jacob's sons (Gen 49:27), saying, “Of Benjamin he said, ‘May the beloved of the LORD dwell in security by Him, Who shields him all the day, and he dwells between His shoulders” (Deut 33:12). Moses' blessing was that Benjamin would dwell in security in the land. And God would be the One to shield him, as he dwelt “between His shoulders” (Deut 33:12b). Eugene Merrill notes, “The anthropomorphism here is suggestive of the most tender compassion and solid security at the same time. The phrase speaks not of carrying on the back but of being held close to the breast or bosom.”[5] Benjamin's safety in battle came, not because of his military prowess, but because of His closeness to God. Joseph (i.e., Ephraim and Manasseh) Moving on to Joseph, Moses wrote: Of Joseph he said, “Blessed of the LORD be his land, with the choice things of heaven, with the dew, and from the deep lying beneath, 14 and with the choice yield of the sun, and with the choice produce of the months. 15 And with the best things of the ancient mountains, and with the choice things of the everlasting hills, 16 and with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, and to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. 17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his, and his horns are the horns of the wild ox; with them he will push the peoples, all at once, to the ends of the earth. And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and those are the thousands of Manasseh.” (Deut 33:13-17)      Here, Joseph is represented by his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Deut 33:17). Living in Canaan meant relying on the weather—rain, dew, sun—to bring forth fertile crops. Moses' wishes for Joseph—i.e., Ephraim and Manasseh—was that their land would be blessed with fertility and production of vegetation (Deut 33:13-16). Moses also asked that they be given strength whereby they might judge other nations, perhaps in battle, as the Lord's instrument of judgment (Deut 33:17). The reference to “the ends of the earth” (Deut 33:17b), according to Merrill, “suggests an eschatological rather than historical fulfillment, a time when God's kingdom would rise above and rule over the kingdoms of the earth (cf. 1 Sam 2:10; Psa 2:8; 59:13; 72:8; Mic 5:4).”[6] Zebulun and Issachar      Next, Moses blessed Zebulun and Issachar, saying, “Of Zebulun he said, ‘Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going forth, and, Issachar, in your tents. 19 They will call peoples to the mountain; there they will offer righteous sacrifices; for they will draw out the abundance of the seas, and the hidden treasures of the sand'” (Deut 33:18-19). Zebulun and Issachar were the sixth and fifth sons of Jacob by his wife, Leah (Gen 30:18-20), here blessed by Moses in reverse order. Jacob also blessed them in reverse order of their birth (Gen 49:13-15), These two brothers were close, and so were their descendant tribes, as their land was near to each other. Both were to rejoice; Zebulun in their “going forth” and Issachar in their “tents” (Deut 33:18). The phrase forms a merism, a figure of speech with includes all activities of life. In this way, Moses wished for their blessings to be wherever they went and in all they did. These tribes would bring blessings to Israel by offering “righteous sacrifices” that were in conformity with God's directives, and by drawing out “the abundance of the seas, and the hidden treasures of the sand” (Deut 33:19). That is, their wealth was shared with their brethren, and in this way were a blessing to others. Gad      Moses' blessing on Gad was, “Blessed is the One who enlarges Gad; he lies down as a lion, and tears the arm, also the crown of the head. 21 Then he provided the first part for himself, for there the ruler's portion was reserved; and he came with the leaders of the people; he executed the justice of the LORD, and His ordinances with Israel” (Deut 33:20-21). When entering the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, all Israel proved faithful to fight, but apparently some fought harder than others and they were blessed in a special way with more land. Gad was known “as a lion” that was ferocious in battle. According to Peter Craigie, “The blessing indicates that Gad was to play an important part in the battle, and that as a result the tribe would deserve a lion's share of the fruit of victory.”[7] The tribe of Gad (as well as Manasseh and Reuben) requested to live east of the Jordan River, and Moses granted their request, but only on the condition they would help their brothers complete the military conquest into Canaan beyond the Jordan River (Deut 3:18). They would help their fellow Israelites by leaving their wives, children, and livestock behind (Deut 3:19). After victory was obtained, they could return to their own land (Deut 3:20). We know from the book of Joshua that they were faithful to help their brothers (Josh 22:1-6). Dan      Moses continued, “Of Dan he said, ‘Dan is a lion's whelp, that leaps forth from Bashan'” (Deut 33:22). As a lion's whelp, the tribe of Dan would display timidity early on, but would become strong and eventually leap forth as a powerful lion. Jacob, when blessing Dan, used similar language, saying, “Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up?” (Gen 49:9). Naphtali      Moses' next blessing was for Naphtali, and “Of Naphtali he said, ‘O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessing of the LORD, take possession of the sea and the south'” (Deut 33:23). This tribe was to be satisfied with the Lord's favor (רָצוֹן ratson – goodness, favor). The result of the Lord's full blessing was their taking “possession of the sea and the south” (Deut 33:23b). The sea is a reference to the Sea of Galilee. Eugene Merrill notes, “The Galilee region embraced by Naphtali did indeed enjoy many temporal and material riches (cf. Josh 20:7; 2 Chr 16:4; Isa 9:1), but by far the most abundant blessing was the fact that the Messiah spent most of his life and exercised much of his ministry there or in nearby Zebulun (cf. Matt 4:12–17).”[8] Asher      Moses continued, saying, “Of Asher he said, ‘More blessed than sons is Asher; may he be favored by his brothers, and may he dip his foot in oil. 25 Your locks will be iron and bronze, and according to your days, so will your leisurely walk be” (Deut 33:24-25). The tribe of Asher was blessed more than others and had good relations with his brothers (i.e. was favored). To dip his foot in oil was a reference to the many olive trees of that region as well as the overall fertility of the land and its produce. The reference to locks of iron and bronze meant the tribe would dwell in safety and would enjoy the leisure of their wealth. Conclusion to Moses' Blessings      Moses concludes this section, saying, “There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in His majesty. 27 The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He drove out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!' 28 So Israel dwells in security, the fountain of Jacob secluded, in a land of grain and new wine; His heavens also drop down dew” (Deut 33:26-28). Israel's God is unique and there are none like Him (Isa 45:5-6). He is pictured as the Divine Warrior “Who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in His majesty” (Deut 33:26b). According to Earl Radmacher, “Like a soldier, the Lord is constantly on the lookout for ways to defend His people from attack. The Divine Warrior is always providing protection because He is eternal. God is a refuge or fortress for the people to flee to in times of distress (Psa 90:1; 91:9).”[9] And the eternal God would be Israel's “dwelling place” where they would find refuge and safety “underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut 33:27a). The same arms that brought them to safety would be the ones used to drive out their enemies and would “destroy” those who opposed. Because of their relationship with Yahweh and their walk with Him, Israel would dwell in safety and seclusion (Deut 33:28a), and would live in a land blessed by the Lord, “in a land of grain and new wine” where “His heavens also drop down dew” (Deut 33:28b). Concerning this section, Peter Craigie notes, “The substance of verse 26-28 expresses once again the apparent paradox of Israel's existence. The path lying ahead was not one of peaceful existence and quiet solitude, but it was one beset on every side with danger. Yet it was within this danger and war that Israel would find its safety (v. 28), because the path of danger was the path in which the presence and help of God would be found.”[10]      Moses closed his blessing, saying, “Blessed are you, O Israel; who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you, and you will tread upon their high places'” (Deut 33:29). Israel's blessings were possible only because of their relationship with God, as He shielded them from danger and would defeat their enemies when they walked with Him in righteousness. And Israel's enemies would cringe in fear, knowing God was with them to grant them victory as they would “tread upon their high places” (Deut 33:29b). Summary      Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel before his death. He spoke about the Lord's love for His people and called for them to obey His law (Deut 33:1-5). Moses also made specific blessings for each tribe of Israel (Deut 33:6-25). And in conclusion, praised the greatness of God and how He protected Israel from their enemies and would allow them to dwell in safety (Deut 33:26-28). Moses ended his blessing by declaring the blessedness of the people of Israel, who were saved by the Lord and would tread upon their enemies Deut 33:29). Present Application      As Moses' death approached, his great concern was for the success of Israel in the days after his departure. The Lord had worked through Moses to liberate the people from Egyptian slavery, to guide them for forty years in the wilderness, and to educate them in the law of the Lord that they might walk with Him and know success (Deut 11:26-28; 28:1-2; 30:15-16). But God revealed to Moses that after his death the nation would turn away from Yahweh and pursue idols (Deut 31:16; cf., Judg 2:11-12; 2 Ki 18:11-12). Though this news saddened Moses, it did not hinder his efforts to guide them into righteousness, giving them what they needed for success—the Word of God.      Likewise, we see something similar in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. Paul had taught in Ephesus for several years (Acts 19:10; 20:31), and as his ministry was nearing an end, he called for the elders of the church to come to him (Acts 20:17). He reminded them about his faithfulness to serve the Lord and to teach them the Word of God (Acts 20:18-21), and that he was about to leave for Jerusalem where he would suffer persecution (Acts 20:22-24). He told the elders of the church they would no longer see him (Acts 20:25), which was upsetting news. He also told them he was innocent of harming anyone (Acts 20:26), and that he had been faithful to declare to them “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Afterwards, Paul gave them heavy news, saying, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). Knowing this, Paul instructed them to “be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears” (Acts 20:31). Paul was leaving, but he was not leaving them emptyhanded, as he said, “I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). Though Paul was leaving, God and His Word remained, and that was sufficient for a life of success. The church at Ephesus did well after Paul's departure, and he gave thanks for their faith and love (Eph 1:15-16). However, the generation that followed did not continue in their love, as Jesus said of them, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev 2:4). This shows that the faith of one generation does not automatically continue into the next, as each generation must choose for themselves whether they will learn and live God's Word.      As Christian leaders (whether pastors, parents, or teachers), we bear special responsibility for our own spiritual growth which comes by studying God's Word (2 Tim 2:15; 1 Pet 2:2), learning from gifted teachers (Eph 4:11-14), and applying His Word by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; Jam 1:22), which leads to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1). Furthermore, we seek to communicate His Word to others who will listen (Mark 16:15; Matt 28:19-20; Eph 6:4; 2 Tim 4:2; cf., Ezra 7:10). Once we've fulfilled our duty to the Lord, we then entrust our loved ones to Him, knowing that the Lord and His Word provides a fortress of truth and love that will protect their souls as they advance to spiritual maturity. Our desires and prayers for our loved ones are that they will “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18) and learn to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 431–432. [2] Tom Constable, Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Dt 33:6. [3] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, 438. [4] Only a descendant of Aaron could serve as the high priest (Ex 28:1; 40:13-15), and the non-Aaronic priests came from the tribe of Levi (Deut 17:18; 18:1; 24:8; 27:9). All priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. The priesthood consisted of men who could not have any physical defects (Lev 21:17-23), and restricted to the age of twenty-five to fifty (Num 8:24-25). [5] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, 440. [6] Ibid., 442–443. [7] Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 400. [8] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, 445–446. [9] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 269. [10] Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, 403.

One could be mistaken for assuming that Paul was anti-wisdom in view of what he has written from 1:18ff. Of course, one would be wrong. Though Paul was anti the “wisdom of the world,” he was pro the wisdom of God, for it is the power of God for salvation (1:23–24). Here, in 2:6–13, Paul exalts God's wisdom and exults in the Spirit's grace in giving such wisdom to those who embrace the message of the cross. He designates these as the mature. In this passage we will discover: 1. The Identification of the Mature (vv. 6–8) 2. The Illumination of the Mature (vv. 9–12) 3. The Instruction of the Mature (v. 13)

This Sunday we find Paul in a very unenviable situation. In fact, it looks utterly hopeless. Paul has been mobbed and arrested by the Romans. The Roman Tribune allowed him to speak to the crowd in the hopes that he would calm them and disperse them. Last week we examined what Paul said to the crowd as he explained the testimony of how the Lord Jesus transformed and called him. However, Paul is not allowed to finish his proclamation to the mob in the Temple courts. As we pick up in Acts 22:22, the crowd again goes berserk at the mention of Paul being sent to invite the Gentiles into God's covenant. At this point, things go from bad to worse. From Acts 22:22-23:11 we will examine how Paul navigates the impossible situation he now finds himself in. Though Paul does not act sinlessly throughout the next events, we do see some principles of wisdom in his actions that Jesus' witnesses must understand in order to be faithful in hostile situations. Whether we are speaking of overt persecution and attacks from the world or hostility from individuals to whom we bear witness, we must be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us, and to do so with gentleness and respect. Sunday we will see how to do so even when circumstances seem chaotic and hopeless.

The church needs a pastor, and a pastor needs the church. Timothy graduates from St. Paul Seminary, and Paul writes a letter to encourage him in this new ministry.

This week we will take a brief pause from our series in Genesis to reflect on the theme of thankfulness. Thanksgiving Day means different things for different people, but what I hope it allows us all to do is spend a few moments reflecting on our lives and all that we have to be thankful for. When Pastor Jason asked me to speak on this topic, I began to think about our church, and my mind instantaneously went to Philippians 1:3-8.    In this passage, we find the apostle Paul in rare form. He is not trying to convince the church of profound doctrine through beautiful greek rhetoric, but rather, is expressing his heartfelt love and gratitude for the Philippian church.    We find that the core of Paul's thankfulness stems from the Philippians' partnership with him in the Gospel. Paul had an incredible resolve for the mission and life that God had called him to, which was taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Though Paul could have been content doing it all by himself, in Philippians 1:3-8, we see a tired, old, and beaten up Paul getting emotional over how nice it is to have a church family partnering alongside him.   When I reflect on the last year, I can relate to Paul. It has been a privilege to partner alongside this Illuminate Community Church family as we continue through the grace of God to take ground for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.    I know that the holidays bring a bag of mixed emotions with all the different family dynamics that exist throughout our congregation. I hope that through the Word of God being preached, our hearts are stirred toward thankfulness for our church family, and our eyes are raised to exalt and glorify the head of the church body, Jesus Christ. 

     In the previous lesson, we observed how Judah's culture was improved from the top down, as good King Josiah led national reforms, and the people responded positively to him. Below is a NT example in Acts 19 of how the city of Ephesus was improved culturally from the bottom up, as a result of the apostle Paul's preaching the gospel and biblical teaching over several years.      The apostle Paul came to the city of Ephesus, and as was his custom, “he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). Paul's normal ministry pattern was to preach to Jews first, then to Gentiles (Rom 1:16; cf. Acts 13:46; 17:2; 18:4, 19). However, there were some Jews with negative volition who rejected Paul's teaching, who “were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people” (Acts 19:9a). Paul did not argue with them, nor did he try to force his teaching on them. Rather, “he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9b). It's very possible Paul was renting a room at the school in order to host his daily Bible classes. Luke tells us, “This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10). Though Paul was teaching, he continued to work with his hands to support himself and his traveling companions (Acts 20:34), and it's possible the seven churches of Asia were started as a result of Paul's ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:10; Rev 2-3). In addition to Paul's teaching, we learn “God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out” (Acts 19:11-12). In this way, God was authenticating Paul's apostolic authority and validating him as a true servant of the Lord. Ephesus was a city known for its occult practices, and there were some unbelievers who thought they could borrow the name of Jesus and use it to advance their own agendas. We learn there were some “Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, [and] attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, ‘I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches'” (Acts 19:13). These men were identified as “Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this” (Acts 19:14). But the results were not what they expected, as “the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?'” (Acts 19:15). The question implied they had no authority, “And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:16). Though these exorcists tried to use the name of Jesus in the form of a verbal incantation to control evil spirits, it backfired on them and caused personal harm, and the event “became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified” (Acts 19:17). The failure of these Jewish exorcists became widely publicized and began to draw people to hear the Christian message. Furthermore, many of “those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices” (Acts 19:18). Those who “had believed” were Christians who had not completely let go of some of their pagan practices, but now they were willing. Luke records, “And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver” (Acts 19:19). Though it took nearly two years, these Christians were finally willing to let go of their past practices by burning their magic books and turning fully to the Lord. The value of these books totaled a large financial sum, as each piece of silver was probably equal to a day's wage. “Ephesus was known for its magic, and apparently the Christians had not yet put away all such evil practices. So they brought their books and scrolls of magic and burned them as an open repudiation. Then—after the believers made their relationships with the Lord right—the Word of God grew and prevailed.”[1] The result was that people were being transformed from the inside out and Ephesian culture was positively impacted for Christ, as “the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing” (Acts 19:20). Here we see cultural improvement in the lives of those who were positive to gospel preaching and biblical teaching.      These events marked the high point of Paul's ministry in Asia. However, some pagan craftsmen who made their living selling statuettes of Artemis felt threatened by the cultural changes that were taking place (Acts 19:23-27). Acting out of rage and economic self-interest, they formed a mob and stormed the city theater, even dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul's traveling companions, who undoubtedly felt threatened by the uproar (Acts 19:28-29). Paganism has no real answers to Christianity, and when threatened, many will resort to violence to suppress the advance of truth. Though Paul wanted to address the mob, he was prevented by friends who were concerned for his safety (Acts 19:30-31). The riot lasted for several hours with great intensity (Acts 19:32-34), until eventually the crowd tired out, at which time a city official reasoned with them to bring their complaints to the courts, where matters could be handled lawfully and peacefully (Acts 19:35-41). These events likely occurred between AD 52-55. We know Paul was marked by these events (2 Cor 1:8-9), and by the end of his ministry around AD 62-64, everyone who once supported him in Ephesus turned away from him (2 Tim 1:15). By AD 95 the church in Ephesus had grown cold and lost its “first love” (Rev 2:4).      In this pericope we observe that gospel preaching and biblical teaching can, over time, bring about positive cultural change. However, we must keep our focus on evangelism and biblical teaching, and not reducing Christianity to a methodological system merely for the purpose of effecting social change (i.e., a social gospel). We also observe in Acts 19 that when Christianity does bring about positive cultural change, it threatens those who love and live by their paganism, and when this happens, people may resort to violence to suppress the biblical teaching. Lastly, gospel preaching and biblical teaching does not always yield large or lasting results. Remember that Noah preached for 120 years, but only seven persons besides himself were saved (2 Pet 2:5), and Jeremiah preached for 23 years to the same group of leaders in Israel, but they refused to listen (Jer 25:3). Jesus came as the Light into the world, but the majority of those who heard and saw Him rejected His message, as they “loved the darkness rather than the Light” (John 3:19). Jesus informed us that “the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it” (Matt 7:13), whereas “the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt 7:14). The result is that there will continually be believers and unbelievers in the world, as the wheat and tares will grow side by side until Jesus returns and establishes His earthly millennial kingdom (Matt 13:36-42). Even Paul did not always get the same results in each city where he preached, for though he had many disciples in Iconium, Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe (read Acts 14), there were only two positive responses in Philippi, namely Lydia (Acts 16:14-15), and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:27-34). As Christians, we are more concerned about our godly output rather than the responsive outcomes of those we interact with; for though we can control our godly life and good message, we cannot control how others will respond to it.      Lastly, we live in the reality that there will always be resistance to God's work in every Christian ministry because the world is fallen and Satan desperately wants to keep everyone—both saved and lost—thinking and acting according to his world-system. New Christians will inevitably face many obstacles, because at the moment of salvation, their minds are not automatically filled with Scripture and their characters are not instantly changed to be like the character of Christ. The process of being transformed into the character of Christ and learning to think biblically involves many thousands of decisions over a lifetime, in which worldly viewpoint is driven from the mind as the believer's thinking is renovated and brought into conformity with Scripture. Without regeneration and positive volition to God and His Word, biblical discussion is hindered and the appropriation of Christian values to culture is not possible. Christians who are learning God's Word and growing spiritually will prove to be the moral fabric of any community, as they manifest the highest and best virtues within society, not the lowest and worst. And the Bible is our sword by which we destroy spiritual and intellectual strongholds, within ourselves and others (2 Cor 10:3-6), realizing true cultural change occurs through preaching the gospel and consistent biblical teaching. As Christians, we should always pray for our leaders (1 Tim 2:1-2), strive to be upstanding citizens (Rom 13:1-7; Tit 3:1; 1 Pet 2:13-14), help the needy in our communities (Acts 20:35; 1 Th 5:14), and above all, share the gospel and preach God's Word (1 Cor 15:3-4; 2 Tim 4:1-2). As we grow spiritually and walk with God, we stand in opposition to Satan's world-system and sow the seeds of spiritual insurrection in the lives of those who live and walk in his kingdom of darkness. We disrupt Satan's kingdom when we share the Gospel (1 Cor 15:3-4), and influence the thoughts and lives of others through biblical discussion (Matt 28:18-20); which we do in love and grace (Eph 4:14-15; Col 4:6), not by argumentation (2 Tim 2:24-26).   [1] Charles C. Ryrie, Acts of the Apostles, Everyman's Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1961), 102.

How can God turn life's obstacles for good? Though Paul encountered injustices in prison, that didn't stop him from seizing the moment to communicate the Gospel. In this message, we're encouraged by two lessons from Paul's conversion story. Even amid disappointments and difficulties, God is still working to shine His light. This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at moodyoffer.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001. 

How can God turn life's obstacles for good? Though Paul encountered injustices in prison, that didn't stop him from seizing the moment to communicate the Gospel. In this message, we're encouraged by two lessons from Paul's conversion story. Even amid disappointments and difficulties, God is still working to shine His light. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/173/29

How can God turn life's obstacles for good? Though Paul encountered injustices in prison, that didn't stop him from seizing the moment to communicate the Gospel. In this message, we're encouraged by two lessons from Paul's conversion story. Even amid disappointments and difficulties, God is still working to shine His light. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/173/29

When God shines His light upon our consciences, we see everything clearly. Though Paul faced certain death in Rome, he took every opportunity to share about his conversion on a Damascus road. In this message, we see how Christ redeemed him from self-righteousness to a Gospel mission. How does the Gospel shine into our moral darkness?  This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at offerrtw.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001.

Too often, we sacrifice eternity on the altar of the here-and-now. Though Paul was on trial, he confronted the Roman governor Felix's sin face-to-face. In this message, we hear a clear warning against the love of money or people's opinions. We cannot delay being humbled before God.  This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at offerrtw.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001. 

How can God turn life's obstacles for good? Though Paul encountered injustices in prison, that didn't stop him. In this message from Acts 25, we're reminded of God's purposes in difficulties and disappointments. Let's watch Paul's conduct before and after Christ, from the perspective of a pagan ruler.  To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/172/29

How can God turn life's obstacles for good? Though Paul encountered injustices in prison, that didn't stop him. In this message from Acts 25, we're reminded of God's purposes in difficulties and disappointments. Let's watch Paul's conduct before and after Christ, from the perspective of a pagan ruler.  To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/172/29

How can God turn life's obstacles for good? Though Paul encountered injustices in prison, that didn't stop him. In this message from Acts 25, we're reminded of God's purposes in difficulties and disappointments. Let's watch Paul's conduct before and after Christ, from the perspective of a pagan ruler.  This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-217-9337.

Too often, we sacrifice eternity on the altar of the present. Though Paul was on trial, he confronted the Roman governor Felix's sins. In this message, we hear a clear warning against the love of money or people's opinions. We cannot wait until we die for our sins to come to light and for us to be humbled before God.  To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/172/29

Too often, we sacrifice eternity on the altar of the present. Though Paul was on trial, he confronted the Roman governor Felix's sins. In this message, we hear a clear warning against the love of money or people's opinions. We cannot wait until we die for our sins to come to light and for us to be humbled before God.  To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/172/29

Too often, we sacrifice eternity on the altar of the present. Though Paul was on trial, he confronted the Roman governor Felix's sins. In this message, we hear a clear warning against the love of money or people's opinions. We cannot wait until we die for our sins to come to light and for us to be humbled before God.  This month's special offer is available for a donation of any amount. Get yours at rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-217-9337.

Though Paul goes through trials, he always gives God glory for His strength.

Though Paul's leadership style can come across as condescending and patriarchal at times, his intention is quite different. What leaders in your life are truly looking after you? What leaders are just babysitters? If you didn't have the Bible, to whom would you look to imitate the Way of Jesus?

Jesus Christ is the most controversial person who has ever lived! There are as many opinions about Him as there are religions, cults, philosophies, and church denominations. Though Paul had never met the young Christians in the church of Colosse, he was deeply concerned for them since attractive, man-made philosophies were making inroads. He wanted them to know the truth, to grow in their faith, and to be careful of any human ideas that diminish the place of Jesus Christ. I have summed up Paul's concerns with three simple directives: Believe! Behave! Beware!

Acts 12:1-11: tells us about Herod who had James executed by the sword. Since this was pleasing to the Jews, he thought he would go after Peter too. You can imagine the hostility in the air when you execute someone and it makes them happy. Though Paul and Peter had some differences, their unity is symbolized by the famous kiss of peace, where they embrace on their way to their martyrdom. Preached in Ernescliff College on June 29, 2022. Music: Faith of Our Fathers | Fountainview Academy | The Great Controversy. Thumbnail: Greek Icon of Peter and Paul embrace. For more meditations, check my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EricNicolai/videos www.ernescliff.ca www.opusdei.ca

Today's chapter is pretty short, but nonetheless intriguing. Though Paul is a man of great intelligence, he tells the Corinthian church that is resolved to know nothing among them except Christ and him crucified. This does not mean that he is emptying his mind, but that he orients all of his knowledge in such a way that Christ and his cross and central in his mind. The power of God's wisdom was not given to the rulers of this age, but to the church. He has revealed his truth to us by his Spirit. Those who do not have the Spirit find God's wisdom to be foolishness, because they are not equipped to evaluate spiritual things. Those with the Spirit, however, have the mind of Christ.:::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” — Acts 17:32 In our reading today from Acts 17, the apostle Paul was preaching in Athens, Greece, about Jesus and the resurrection. Paul told the people that he could tell they were very religious because there were statues and shrines and temples to gods in every part of the city. There was even “an altar with this inscription: ‘to an unknown god'” (Acts 17:16-23). So Paul used that idea to tell his listeners about God the Father and Jesus the Son, whom the people of Athens did not know yet. In this way Paul shared the good news that God, who created everything, now calls on people everywhere to repent of their sin, because he sent his Son, Jesus, to pay the price for all our sin. Jesus gave up his life on a cross for our sake even though he had committed no sin. And then God proved his power over sin and death by raising Jesus from the dead. Though Paul's words were dismissed by some of the people who heard him, others were curious and wanted to hear more. The gospel can be sneered at—or, with a hopeful curiosity, we can ask to hear more about the wonderful things God has done for us by raising Jesus from the dead. Lord of life, though we do not understand every­thing about the resurrection, give us a hopeful curiosity about all that it means for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

In our third episode, I take a dive into 2nd Thessalonians, a letter written to a young church. Though Paul just wrote to the Thessalonians not too long ago, false doctrines and false teachings have began to creep into the minds of the young church. Match this with the church worried that the missed the Day of the Lord (the Rapture.) Paul, the great preacher and minister that he is, encourages them and pushes them to not believe any other doctrine than what he himself preached to them about Christ. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app