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Reformed Brotherhood | Sound Doctrine, Systematic Theology, and Brotherly Love
The Wheat Among Weeds: Christ's Call to Faithful Endurance

Reformed Brotherhood | Sound Doctrine, Systematic Theology, and Brotherly Love

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2025 65:36


In episode 465 of The Reformed Brotherhood, hosts Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb explore Jesus's parable of the wheat and tares (weeds) from Matthew 13. This thought-provoking discussion examines Christ's startling teaching that good and evil will always coexist within the visible church until the end of time. The brothers carefully unpack the theological implications of Jesus's command not to separate wheat from weeds prematurely, challenging our natural tendency to judge others while offering wisdom about God's sovereign plan for final judgment. This episode wrestles with difficult questions about church purity, assurance of salvation, and how believers should approach the reality of false professors within Christ's church—providing biblical guidance for faithfully enduring in a mixed communion. Key Takeaways The Coexistence of True and False Believers: Jesus teaches that the visible church will always contain a mixture of genuine believers and false professors until the final judgment. The Danger of Premature Judgment: Christ explicitly warns against attempting to completely purify the church before the harvest (end of age) because doing so would damage the wheat (true believers). Proper Biblical Interpretation: Unlike some parables, Jesus provides a detailed allegorical explanation of this parable—the sower is Christ, the field is the world, the good seed represents believers, and the weeds are the sons of the evil one. The Challenge of Discernment: One of the most difficult theological pills to swallow is that it's often impossible to perfectly distinguish between true and false believers. Final Judgment as God's Prerogative: The separation of wheat from weeds is reserved for the angels at the end of the age, not for current church leaders or members. The Reality of False Assurance: Some professing Christians may have false assurance of salvation while genuinely believing they are saved. The Importance of Theological Integrity: Public theologians and pastors have a moral responsibility to be transparent about their theological convictions and changes in their beliefs. Deeper Explanations The Difficult Reality of a Mixed Church Jesus's teaching in the parable of the wheat and weeds directly challenges our natural desire for a perfectly pure church. By instructing the servants not to pull up the weeds lest they damage the wheat, Christ is establishing an important ecclesiological principle that will hold true until His return. This means that no matter how rigorously we apply church discipline or how carefully we examine profession of faith, we will never achieve a perfectly pure communion this side of eternity. The visible church—which can be understood as those who profess faith and are baptized—will always include both true and false believers. This reality should cultivate humility in how we approach church membership and discipline. Jesus isn't suggesting that all attempts at church purity are wrong (as other Scripture passages clearly call for church discipline), but rather that perfect purification is impossible and attempts at achieving it will inevitably damage true believers. This teaching directly refutes movements throughout church history (like Donatism) that have sought absolute purity in the visible church. The Problem of Discernment and Assurance One of the most challenging aspects of this parable is Christ's implicit teaching that true and false professors can appear nearly identical, especially in their early development. Like tares growing alongside wheat, false believers can profess orthodox doctrine, participate in church life, and exhibit what appears to be spiritual fruit. This creates profound implications for how we understand assurance of salvation. As Tony notes, while "assurance is the proper and rightful possession and inheritance of every Christian," there's also the sobering reality of false assurance. Some may sincerely believe they are saved when they are not, raising difficult questions about self-examination and spiritual discernment. This doesn't mean believers should live in perpetual doubt, but rather that we should approach assurance with both confidence in God's promises and healthy self-examination. True assurance must be grounded in the finished work of Christ rather than merely in our experiences or behaviors, while false assurance often lacks this proper foundation. The brothers wisely note that final judgment belongs to God alone, who perfectly knows who belongs to Him. Memorable Quotes "The visible church is set before us as a mixed body. Maybe everybody else's churches, but certainly not my church, like the one that I actually go to on the Lord's day. So it seems like there might be this shocking statement possibly that he has for us, whether you're Episcopalian or Presbyterian or independent or Baptist or Christian life assembly, whatever it is, that no matter what we do to purify the church, our churches, we're never gonna succeed in obtaining a perfectly pure communion." - Jesse Schwamb "I think that's what I find shocking. It is like a massive statement of reality that is at equal points totally sensible. And other times we would think, 'well, surely not in the church Lord, like of all the places, like aren't we talking about a kind of purity of your people?' ...and what I think he's striking at, which I do find a little bit wild, is that Jesus is essentially saying, at least to my ear, anything we try to do, even the purest preaching of the gospel, is not gonna prevent this in every age of the church." - Jesse Schwamb "I'm affirming that assurance is the proper and rightful possession and inheritance of every Christian." - Tony Arsenal Full Transcript Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 465 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I am Jesse. Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. Guess what? It looks like you and I are taking another trip back to the farm on this episode. Tony Arsenal: Yes. For a couple episodes. Jesse Schwamb: For a couple episodes. Yeah. [00:01:01] Exploring Jesus' Parables in Matthew 13 Jesse Schwamb: Because what, Jesus will not stop leading us there. We're looking at his teachings, specifically the parables, and we're gonna be looking in Matthew chapter 13, where it seems like, is it possible that Jesus, once again has something very shocking for us to hear? That is for all the ages. 'cause it seems like he might actually be saying, Tony, that good and evil will always be found together in the professing church until the end of the world. Like in other words, that the visible church is set before a mixed body. I mean. Maybe everybody else chose churches, but certainly not my church, like the one that I actually go to on the Lord's day. So it seems like there might be this shocking statement possibly that he has for us, whether you're Episcopalian or Presbyterian or independent or Baptist or Christian life assembly, whatever it is, that no matter what we do to purify the church, our churches, we're never gonna succeed in obtaining a perfectly pure communion. Could that possibly be what Jesus is saying to us? I don't know what we're gonna find out. Tony Arsenal: We are. We are gonna find out. Jesse Schwamb: It's gonna be definitive. And if now that makes sense. If you don't even know why we're looking at Jesus' teachings, you could do us a favor even before you go any further. And that is just head on over in your favor, interwebs browser to or reform brotherhood.com, and you can find out all of the other episodes, all 464 that are living out there. There's all kinds of good stuff, at least we think so, or at least entertaining stuff for you to listen to. And when you're done with all of that in a year or two, then we'll pick it up right back here where we're about to go with some affirmations or some denials. [00:02:39] Affirmations and Denials Jesse Schwamb: So Tony, before we figure out what Jesus has for us in Matthew 13, in the parable of the weeds, or the tears, or the tears in the weed, what gets all of that? Are you affirming with, are you denying against, Tony Arsenal: I am denying. First of all, I'm denying whatever this thing is that's going on with my throat. Sorry for the rest of the episode, everyone. Um, I'm denying something that I, I think it is. How do I want to phrase this? Um, maybe I'll call it theological integrity, and maybe that's too strong of a word, but maybe not. So the listener who's been with us for a little while will remember that a while back. Um, you know, we've, we've talked about Matthew Barrett and he was a Baptist, uh, who's heavily involved in sort of the theology, proper controversies. He wrote Simply Trinity, which is just a fantastic book. He was a teacher or a professor at Midwestern, um, Baptist Theological Seminary. And he recently, um, uh, converted is not the right word. I hate calling it a conversion when you go from one faithful Bible tradition to another. But he recently, um, changed his perspective and joined the Anglican Church. And at the time I kind of, you know, I kind of talked about it as like, it's a little bit disappointing, like the reasons he cited. [00:03:57] Theological Integrity and Public Disclosure Tony Arsenal: Where I'm bringing this into a matter of sort of theological integrity. And it's not, it's not just Matthew Barrett. Um, there's other elements of things going on that I'll, I'll point to too is it's often the case when someone who is in some form of professional theological work or professional vocational ministry, that as they start to change perspectives, um, there comes to be like an inflection point where they should notify whoever it is that they are accountable to in that job or vocation, uh, uh, and then do the right thing and step down. Right? And so with Matthew Barrett, um. He continued to teach systematic theology at a Baptist Theological Seminary, which has a faith statement which he was obligated to affirm and hold in good faith. He continued to teach there for quite some time, if, you know, when he, when he published the timeline and he's the one that put all the timelines out there. So it's not like people had to go digging for this. Um, he continued to teach under contract and under that, that faith statement, um, for quite some time after his positions changed. I remember in college, um, sim very similar situation, one of my professors, um, and I went to a Baptist college. It was a General Baptist college. Um, one of my professors became Roman Catholic and for quite some time he continued to teach without telling anyone that he had converted to Roman Catholicism. Um. And I think that there's a, there's a, a level of integrity that public theologians need to have. Um, and it, it really makes it difficult when something like this happens to be able to say that this is not a moral failing or some sort of failure. Um, you know, James White has jumped on the bandwagon very quickly to say, of course we told you that this was the way it was gonna lead. That if you affirm the great tradition, you know, he was very quick to say like, this is the road to Rome. And I think in his mind, um, Canterbury is just sort of one, one stop on that trip. Um, it becomes very hard after the fact to not have this color and tarnish all of your work before. 'cause it starts to be questions like, well, when, when did you start to hold these views? Were you writing, were you, were you publicizing Baptist theology when you no longer believed it to be the truth? Were you teaching theology students that this is what the Bible teaches when you no longer thought that to be true? Um. Were you secretly attending Anglican services and even teaching and, and helping deliver the service when you were, you know, still outwardly affirming a Baptist faith statement. And the reason I, I'll point out one other thing, 'cause I don't want this to be entirely about Matthew Barrett, but there's a big, uh, hub glue going on in the PCA right now. Um, a guy named Michael Foster, who some of our audience will probably be familiar with, um, he and I have had our desktops in the past, but I think he and I have come to a little bit of a, of a uneasy truce on certain things. He, uh, went to work compiling a, a list and there's some problems with the data, like it's, it's not clean data, so take it for what it's worth. But he compiled a list of. Every publicly available church website in the PCA. So something like 1800 websites or something like that. Huge numbers. And he went and looked at all of the staff and leadership directories, and he cataloged all the churches that had some sort of office or some sort of position that appeared to have a, a woman leading in a way that the Bible restricts. And that more importantly, and starting to say it this way, but more importantly, that the PCA itself restricts. So we're not talking about him going to random church websites and making assessments of their polity. We're talking about a, a denomination that has stated standards for who can bear office and it's not women. Um. So he compiled this and people in the PCA are coming out of the woodwork to basically defend the practice of having shepherdess and deacons. There was one that he cataloged where, um, the website actually said, uh, that was the pastor's wife and the title was Pastor of Women. Um, and then as soon as it became public that this was the case, they very quickly went in and changed the title to Shepherd of Women or Shepherdess of Women or something like that. So it's, it's really the same phenomena, not commenting, you know, I think we've been clear where we stand on the ordination of female officers and things like that, but not that all that withstanding, um, when you are going to be a part of a body that has a stated perspective on something and then just decide not to follow it, the right thing to do the, the upstanding morally. Uh, in full of integrity move would be to simply go to another denomination where your views align more closely. PCA churches, it's not super easy, but it's not impossible to leave the PCA as an entire congregation and then go somewhere like the EPC, which is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which still on the spectrum of things is still relatively conservative, but is in general is in favor of, uh, female officers, elders, and diegans. So I, I think, you know, and you see this with podcasters, there was the big, there was a big fu and Les became a Presbyterian, and then when Tanner became a Presbyterian on the pub, I think it is, um, incumbent on people who do any form of public theology and that that would include me and Jesse when our views change. There comes a point where we need to disclose that, be honest about it, um, and not try to pretend that we continue to hold a view that we don't be just because it's convenient or because it might be super inconvenient to make a change. I don't even want to pretend to imagine the pressures, uh, that someone like Matthew Barrett would face. I mean, you're talking about losing your entire livelihood. I, I understand that from an intellectual perspective, how difficult that must be, but in some ways, like that kind of comes with the territory. Same thing with a pastor. You have a Baptist pastor or a Presbyterian pastor. It can go both ways, I think. I'm more familiar with Baptist becoming Presbyterians. I don't, I don't see as many going the other direction. But you have a, a Baptist pastor who comes to pay to Baptist convictions and then continues to minister in their church for, I've, I've seen cases where they continue to minister for years, um, because they don't, they don't have the ability to now just go get a job in a Presbyterian context because there's all sorts of, um, training and certification and ordination process that needs to happen. Um, so they just continue ministering where they are, even though they no longer believe the church's state of, you know, state of faith statement. So that's a lot to say. Like, let your yes be yes and your no be no, and when we really all boil it down. So I think that's enough of that. It, it just sort of got in my craw this week and I couldn't really stop thinking about it. 'cause it's been very frustrating. And now there are stories coming out of. Doctoral students that, um, that Barrett was teaching who have now also become Anglican. Um, so, you know, there starts to be questions of like, was he actively pros? I mean, this is like Jacob Arminius did this stuff and, and like the reform tradition would look down on it, where he was in secret in like sort of small group private settings. He was teaching convictions very different than the uni. I'm talking about Arminius now. Not necessarily Barrett. He was teaching convictions very different than the, the stated theology of the university he taught for, and then in public he was sort of towing the line. You have to ask the question and it is just a question. There's been no confirmation that I'm aware of, but you have to ask the question if that was what was going on with Barrett, was he teaching Baptist theology publicly and then meeting with, with PhD students privately and, and sort of convincing them of Anglican theology. I don't know. I'm not speculating on that, but I think it, the situation definitely right, brings that question to mind. It forces us to ask it. Um, and had he. Been transparent about his theological shifts sooner than that may not be a, a question we have to ask. Um, the situation may not be all that different, but we wouldn't have to ask the question. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's totally fair. I mean, disclosure is important in lots of places in life and we shouldn't think that theological dis disclosure, especially like you're saying among our teachers, among our pastors, it is a critical thing. It's helpful for people to know when perspectives have changed, especially when they're looking to their leaders who are exhibiting trust and care over their discipleship or their education to express that difference. If there's been a mark, change it. It's worth it. Disclose, I'm guessing you don't have to over disclose, but that we're talking about a critical, we're talking about like subversive anglicanism, allegedly. Yeah. Then. It would be more than helpful to know that that is now shaping not just perspective, but of course like major doctrine, major understanding. Yeah. And then of course by necessary conviction and extension, everything that's being promulgated or proclamation in the public sphere from that person is likely now been permeated by that. And we'd expect so. Right. If convictions change, and especially like you're talking about, we're just talking about moving from, especially among like Bible believing traditions, just raise the hand and say loved ones, uh, this is my firm conviction now. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I think if someone walks up to you and says, do you think that we should baptize babies? And you're like, yeah, I think so. Then you probably shouldn't be teaching at a Baptist seminary anymore. Like, seems like a reasonable standard. And that seems to be what happened, at least for some period of time. Um, you know, and, and it, that's not to say like, I think, I think there are instances where the church, a given church or um, or a university or seminary or, or whatever the situation might be, can be gracious and recognize like, yeah, people's perspectives change and maybe we can find a way for you to continue to finish out the semester or, you know, we can bridge you for a little while until you can find a new, a new job. Um, you know, we'll, we'll only have you teach certain courses or we'll have a guest lecturer come in when you have to cover this subject that is at variance and like, we'll make sure we're all clear about it, but it doesn't seem like any of that happened. And that's, um, that's no bueno. So anyway, Jesse. What are you affirming and or denying Tonight? [00:13:43] Music Recommendations Jesse Schwamb: I'm just gonna go with something brief. I suppose this is an affirmation of me. I'm saying that like somewhat tongue in cheek, but maybe it's, wait, I'll rephrase. It's because this will be more humble. I'm affirming getting it right, even more than I thought. So I'm just gonna come back to the well and dip it into something that I mentioned on the last episode. So the keen listener, the up-to-date listener might remember. And if you're not up to date, uh, just let this be fresh for you. It'll, and I, it's gonna be correct because now I have posts, you know, I'm on the other side of it. I've clear hindsight. I am affirming with the album Keep It Quiet by Gray Haven, which I affirmed last week, but it came out on the same day that the episode released. And since you and I don't really like record in real time and release it like exactly as it's happening, I only did that with some, a little bit of reservation because I only heard they only released three songs in the album. And I thought I was overwhelmed that they were, they were so good that I was ready to jump in and loved ones. Oh, it, it turns out. I was so correct and it was, it's even better than I thought. So go check it out. It's Grey, GRE, YH, and they are, this is the warning, just because I have to give it out there and then I'll balance it with something else for something for everybody here today. So, gr Haven is music that's post hardcore and metal core. You're getting two cores for the price of one, if that is your jam. It has strong maleic sensibilities. It's very emotional, it's very experimental. But this new album, which is called, um, again, keep It Quiet, is like just a work of arts. It real like the guitar work is intricate haunting, lovely, and it's bold, like very intentional in its structure and very el loose in its construction. It's got hook driven melodies and it's got both heart and soft. It really is truly a work of art. So if you're trying to, to put it in your minds, like what other bands are like this? I would compare them to bands like, every Time I Die, Norma Jean, let Live Hail the Sun. If you just heard those as combinations of words that don't mean anything to you, that's also okay. No worries. But if you're looking for something different, if you're looking for something that's maybe gonna challenge your ear a little bit, but is like orchestral and has all of these metal core post hardcore, melodic, textured movements, there's no wasted notes in this album. It's really tremendous. If that's not your thing. I get, that's not everybody's thing. Here's something else I think would be equally challenging to the ear in a different way. And that is, I'm going back to one other album to balance things out here, and that's an album that was released in 2019 by Mark Barlow, who I think is like just. So underrated. For some reason, like people have slept on Mike Barlow. I have no idea why he put together an album with Isla Vista Worship called Soul Hymns, and it's like a distinct soul and r and b album of praise with like these really lovely like falsetto, harmonies. It's got these minimalistic instrumentation, warm keys, groove oriented percussion, like again, like these false soul driven melodies. It's contemplative. It's got a groove to it. This is also equally a beautiful album for a totally different reason. So I think I've given two very book-ended, very different affirmations, but I think there's something for everybody. So my challenge to your loved ones is you gotta pick one or the other. Actually, you could do both, but either go to Gray Havens, keep it quiet, or go to Mike Bellow's Soul hymns. I do not think you will be disappointed. There's something for everybody on this one. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I, it was funny because as you were saying the names of those bands, I literally was thinking like Jesse could be speaking Swahili and I wouldn't know the difference. And then you, you, you know me well, yeah. Uh, I haven't listened to Gray Haven. Uh, I probably will give it a couple minutes 'cause that's how it usually goes with songs that meet that description. Uh, I can always tell that the music that Jesse recommends is good from a technical perspective, but I never really, I never really vibe with it. So that's okay. But I mean, lots of people who listen to our show do so check that out. If, if you ever. Want a good recommendation for music. Jesse is the pers so much so that he can recommend amazing music before it's even available and be a hundred percent correct, apparently. That's right. So Jesse Schwamb: affirm with me everybody, because turns out I was right. Uh, it was easy to be correct when of course I had all of that fair sightedness by being able to listen to those. Yeah, those couple of songs, it, this is a kind of album. Both of these, both of these albums. When I heard them, I reacted audibly out loud. There are parts of both of 'em where I actually said, oh wow. Or yeah, like there's just good stuff in there. And the older you get, if you're a music fan, even if you're not, if you don't listen to a lot of music, you know when that hook gets you. You know when that turn of melody or phrase really like hits you just, right. Everybody has that. Where the beat drops in a way. You're just like, yes, gimme, you make a face like you get into it. I definitely had that experience with both of these albums and because. I've listened to a lot of music because I love listening to music. It's increasingly rare where I get surprised where, you know, like sometimes stuff is just like popular music is popular for a reason and it's good because it's popular and it follows generally some kind of like well established roots. But with these albums, it's always so nice when somebody does something that is totally unexpected. And in these, I heard things that I did not expect at all. And it's so good to be surprised in a way that's like, why have I never heard that before? That is amazing. And both of these bands did it for me, so I know I'm like really hyping them up, but they're worth it. They're, they're totally worth it. Good music is always worth it. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I, uh, I think that is a good recommendation. I will check those out because, you know, you're a good brother. I usually do, and I trust your judgment even though it, you'll like the second one. Yes. Hopefully. Yeah. Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: You'll like the second one. Second one is like, just filled with praise and worship. And like, if, if you're trying to think, like say, here's how I'd couch the proper atmosphere for Mark Barlow's soul hymns you're having, you know, it's, it's a cold and chilly. A tal evening, the wind is blowing outside. You can hear the crisp leaves moving around on the pavement and the sun has gone down. The kids are in bed, the dinner dishes are piled up in the sink. But you think to yourselves, not tonight. I don't think so, and you just want that toneage to put on. You want that music as you dim the lights and you sit there to just hang out with each other and take a breath. You don't just want some kind of nice r and b moving music. You don't want just relaxing vibes. You want worshipful spirit filled vibes that propel your conversation and your intimacy, not just into the marital realm, but into worship and harmony with the triune God. If you're looking for that album, because that situation is before you, then sol hymns is the music you're looking for. Tony Arsenal: See, I'm gonna get the, I'm gonna get the recommendations backwards and I'm gonna sit down with my wife with a nice like evening cup of decaf tea and I'm gonna turn the music on. Yes, it's gonna be like, yes. That was me screaming into the microphone. That was not good for my voice. Well, the good news is it's gonna, it's gonna wake the kids up. That's, I'm gonna sleep on the couch. That's, it's gonna be bad. That's, Jesse Schwamb: honestly, that's also a good evening. It's just a different kind of evening. It's true. So it's just keep it separated again, uh, by way of your denial slash affirmation. Tony disclosure, I'm just giving you proper disclosure. Everybody know your music KYM, so that way when you have the setting that you want, you can match it with the music that you need. So it's true. Speaking of things that are always worth it. [00:21:30] Parable of the Weeds Jesse Schwamb: I think the Bible's gotta be one of those things. Tony Arsenal: It's true. Jesse Schwamb: And this is like the loosest of all segues because it's like the Sunday school segue into any topic that involves the scriptures. We're gonna be in Matthew 13, and how about we do this? So this is one of these parables and in my lovely ESV translation of the scriptures, the, we're just gonna go with the heading, which says the parable of the weeds. You may have something different and I wanna speak to that just briefly, but how do we do this, Tony? I'll hit us up with the parable and then it just so happens that this is one of the parables in the scripture that comes with an interpretation from our savior. It's true. How about you hit us up with the interpretation, which is in the same chapter if you're tracking with us, it's just a couple verses way. Does that sound good? Tony Arsenal: Let's do it. Jesse Schwamb: Okay. Here is the parable of the weeds. Jesus puts another parable before them saying The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sewed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sewed weeds among the weeds and went away. So when the plants came up and bork rain, then the weeds also appeared, and the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? He said to them, an enemy has done this. So the servant said to him, then, do you want us to go and gather them? Then he said, no. Lest in gathering the weeds, you root up the wheat along with them, but let them grow together until the harvest and at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, gather the weeds first, and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn. Tony Arsenal: Alright, so then jumping down. To verse 36. We're still in Matthew 13, he says, then he left the crowds and went into the house and his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. He answered, the one who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angel. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age, the son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all that, all causes of sin in all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. It is that in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears let him hear. Jesse Schwamb: So let me start with just like a little bit of language here, which I've always loved in this passage because where else in like the contemporary context, do you get the word tear? Yeah. Aside if you're like using a scale, and that's a totally different definition. I like this. I like the word tear. It force, it forces to understand that what's common to our ear, why that's being used, it often is translated weed. Here's just like my, my little like linguistic addition to the front end of our discussion and is the reason I like it is because here does have a specific definition. If like you were to look this up in almost any dictionary, what you're gonna find is it's like a particular type of weed. It's actually like an injurious weed that is indistinguishable in its infant form from the outgrowing of green. So I like that because of course that is exactly why. Then there's all this explanation of why then to not touch anything in the beginning because one, it causes damage to it looks like everybody else. I just thought I'd put that out there as we begin our discussion. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, yeah. You know, I, um, I am a homeowner and I don't own the land that I'm on, but I'm responsible for the land that I'm on. And we have this really gnarly weed problem. There's this, uh, sort of floor growing, uh, carpeting weed called, uh, I think it's called like a carpeting knob, head weed or something like that. Some really descriptive thing. And I went out there the other day and there's really nothing you can do about this other than to rip it up. But I went out there the other day to start to pull some of it up and it totally wrecks the yard. Like it totally pulls up the grass, it destroys the sod. And when you're done, this is why it's kind of nice that I don't have, I'm not responsible for the land as I'm not gonna have to pay to resod the land. But when you're done pulling up this weed, you have to resod the whole place. You have to regrow all the grass because it, first, it takes over for the grass, and then when you rip it up, it rips the roots of the grass up as well. And so this parable, um, on one level is immediately obvious, like what the problem is, right? The situation is such. That the good, uh, the good sower, right? He's a good sower. He knows what he's doing. He understands that simply ripping up the weeds. Even if you could distinguish them right, there's this element that like at an early stage, they would be very difficult, if not impossible to distinguish from, uh, from wheat. Even if you could distinguish them, you still wouldn't be able to pull up the weeds and not do damage to the grain. And so we, we have this sort of like, um, conflict if you wanna follow like literary standards, right? We have this conflict and as we come to sort of the climax of this, of this plot is when all of a sudden we see that, that the problem needs a resolution and there is a resolution, but it's not necessarily what we would think it would be. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I think that's what I find shocking. It is like a massive statement of reality that is that like equal points or equal times totally sensible. And other times we would think, well why surely not in the church Lord, like of all the places, like aren't we talking about a kind of purity of your people, the very people that you're assembling together, the chief of which is Christ and the apostles being the building stones and Christ of course being the cornerstone. And I, I think that's what I find and I wonder the people hearing this, if they thought like, well, surely Lord, that not be the case like you are bringing in and ushering in this new kingdom. Isn't this new kingdom gonna be one of absolute purity? And, and what I think he's striking at, which I do find a little bit wild, is that Jesus essentially saying, at least to my ear, anything we try to do, even like the purest preaching of the gospel, is not gonna prevent this in every age of the church. The same state of the things that's existed in that is in the time of the early fathers. In the first century, and the church as it stands right now in the land and the time of the reformers, and of course with the best ministers at this hour right now and on your next Lord's day, and everyone after that, there is always and ever will be a visible church or a religious assembly in which the members are not all wheat. Yeah. And then I like what you're saying. It's this idea that. There's a great harm that's gonna come about if you try to lift them up because you cannot tell. So, and this is what's hard, I think this does influence like how we interact with people online. Certainly how we interact with people in our own congregations, but we are going to have no clear convicted proofs. We might only have like probable symptoms if we're really trying to judge and weigh out to discern the weeds from the weeds, which at most can only give us some kind of conjectural knowledge of another state. And that is gonna sometimes preemptively judge cause us to judge others in a way that basically there's a warning against here. It, it's, it's not the right time. And ba I think mainly from the outside where I find like this parable coming together, if there's like maybe a weird Venn diagram of the way Christians read this and the way unbelievers hear this, the overlap between them is for me, often this idea of like hypocrisy and you know. When people tell me that the church is full of hypocrites, either like Christian or non-Christian, but typically that's a, a, you know, statement that comes from the non-Christian tongue. When people say that the church is full of hypocrites, I do with a little bit of snark, say it's definitely not full of hypocrites. There are always room for more in the church and, and there's like a distinction of course between the fact that there is hypocrisy in the Christian or whether the Christian is in fact or that person is a hypocrite. So like when I look through the scriptures, we see like Pharaoh confessing, we see Herod practicing, we see Judas preaching Christ Alexander venturing his life for Paul. Yeah, we see David condemning in another, what he himself practiced and like hezeki glorifying and riches Peter. Doing all kinds of peter stuff that he does, and even all the disciples forsaken Christ, an hour of trouble and danger. So all that to say, it goes back to this like lack of clear, convicted proofs that I think Jesus is bringing forward here, but only probable symptoms. And I'm still processing, of course, like the practicality of what you're saying, Tony, that in some ways it seems like abundantly clear and sensible that you should, you're, you're gonna have a problem distinguishing. But our human nature wants to go toward distinguishing and then toward uprooting sometimes. And the warning here is do not uproot at the improper time. And in fact, it's not even yours to uproot because God will send in the laborers to do that at the time of, of harvest. And so there will be weeds found among the wheat. It's just like full stop statement. And at the same time it's warning, do not go after them now. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I, I'm sure this, um, I, I'm sure this will spill over into a second conversation, but we, I think we have to talk a little bit about the interpretation here before we, before we even like talk more about the parable itself, because if you're not careful, um, and, and. I need to do a little bit more study on this, but it, it's interesting because Matthew almost seems to want you to sort of blend these parables together a little bit. Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Tony Arsenal: Right. These, these, there's three, um, there's three, maybe four if you count the parable of the treasure in the field. But there's three agricultural parables that have to do with sowing seed of one, of, one way or another. And in each one the seed is something different. And I, it almost seems to me. And then on top of that, the parables are like interwoven within each other. So like right smack in the middle of this, we have the parable. Uh, is given. Then the next parable of the mustard seed, which we're gonna talk about in a future episode, is given, and then the explanation of this parable of the tears is given. Um, and so we have to talk a little bit about it and sort of establish what the seed is, because we just spent three weeks talking about the seed in the par of the sower. Um, or the parable of the, of the soils. And in that parable, the seed was the word of God in this parable. And this is where I think sometimes, um, and again, this is like the doctrine of election in parable form, right? Yes. I think sometimes we read this and we, we misstep because the seed is not, uh, is not the word of God in this. The seed is the believers. Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Tony Arsenal: Right. So the good seed is sewn into, uh, into the field, which, you know, I think maybe there'll be some, we, we can save this for, for next week. But a little sneak peek is, it's not always clear exactly what the field is. Right. And I think we often, we often talk about the field as though it's the church that doesn't necessarily align a hundred percent with how Christ explains the parable. So we'll have to, we'll have to talk through that a little bit. I affirm that it is the church in, in a, a broad sense. Um, but, but the, the way that Christ explains it slightly different, but the, the seed is sewn into the world. The sons of the kingdom of heaven are sowed into the, into the world. And then the seed of the enemy, the bad seed, is the sons of the devil that's also sewn into the world. And so these two seeds grow up next to each other. If we think about the seed here as though it's the word of God, rather than the, the actual believers and unbelievers that elect in the ate, we're gonna make some missteps on how we understand this because we're not talking about, um, the, the seed being, you know, doctrine being sewn into the world. And some of it grows up good and some of it grows up bad or good doctrine and bad doctrine. We're talking about the believers themselves. Sorry, Jesse is mocking my rapid attempt to mute before I cough, which I, I did. That was pretty good. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that was, that was pretty good. Listen, this is real. Podcasting is how it goes. Yeah, I'm with you. Thank you for pulling out that distinction. 'cause it is critical. We, we have some overlap of course, with Jesus being really ascribed as the farmer, the son of man, right. He's sowing this good seed, but not the word. It's believers or the sons of the kingdom. And it is into his field, which is the world. Part of that world of course, is necessarily the church, right? But while everybody's sleeping, this enemy, the devil, he comes, he sows weeds or unbelievers, the sons of the evil one among this weed, they grow, go up together. And of course, like if I were servants in this household, I'd ask the same thing, which was like, should we get the gloves out? Yeah. Just pull those bad boys out. Like and, and so again, that's why I find it very so somewhat shocking that. It's not just, you could see like Jesus saying something like, don't worry about it now because listen, at the end of all time when the harvest comes, uh, I'm gonna take care of it. Like it's just not worth it to go out now. Right. That's not entirely The reason he gives, the reason is lest they uproot the wheat by mistake. So this is showing that the servants who are coming before Jesus in the parable, in this teaching here to really volitionally and with great fidelity and good obedience to him to want to please him to do his will. He there, he's basically saying, you are not qualified to undertake this kind of horticulture because you're just not either skilled enough or discerning enough to be able to do it right. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I think, um. Maybe just a word of meth methodology too. Um, this parable also flies in the face of all of the, like, parables are not allegories, kind of kind of people. Um, and this is, we talked about this in our introductory episode. You have to take each parable for what it's worth, this parable very much is explained like a traditional allegory, right? Right. [00:35:39] Understanding the Parable's Symbols Tony Arsenal: It's got, it's got several different elements and Christ goes through and the first thing he does is tell you what each element represents, right? The sower is the son of man, the field is the word. The good seed is the sons of the kingdom of the weed. It's like, he's like clicking down all of the symbols and then he explains how all of it works together and like a good, all like a good allegory. Once you understand what each element and each symbol is, the rest of it actually is very self-explanatory, right? When you understand who's what in the parable. The outcome and the sort of the punchline writes itself as it were. And I think this is one of those parables that we would do. [00:36:18] Challenging Our Sensibilities Tony Arsenal: I think we would do well to sort of let marinate a little bit because it does challenge a lot of our sensibilities of what, um, what is real in the world, what is real in terms of our interaction with the world, right? What's real in terms of the role of unbelievers in the life of a Christian, um, whether we can identify who is or isn't an unbeliever. Um, I think we, you know, I, I'm not one of those people that's like, we should assume everyone's a Christian. And I'm certainly not one of those people who's like, we should assume nobody is a Christian. But I think there are a lot of times where we have figures either in public or people in our lives. Like personal acquaintances that have some sort of outward appearance. And, and that's like the key here that that distinction between weeds is a, is not a great translation as you said. Right. Because right. That distinction between wheat and weeds, to go to my analogy, like it's very clear what is grass and what is this like carpeting, knob weed. Like there's no, there's no doubt in my mind, which is the weed and which is the grass. Um, that's not what we're talking about here. And so it does, it does say here, I mean, it implies here that it's not going to be easy to distinguish the difference between exactly. The, a son of the kingdom and a son of the evil one. And I think that's a, that's a. A theological pill that is very difficult to swallow. Yes. [00:37:43] Personal Reflections on Identifying Christians Tony Arsenal: Because a lot of us, um, and this goes back to like what I, what we were saying in the last, the last parable, A lot of us were reared in our Christian faith on sort of this idea that like, you can check your fruit or you can check other people's fruits and you can determine, you can easily identify who's a Christian and who's not. I remember when I was in high school, you know, I got, I was converted when, when I was 15 and, um, I got to high school and it felt very easy to me to be able to identify the people who were play acting Christianity and the people who were real Christians. That felt like the most natural thing in the world to me. Um, it, it's an interesting story, but one of the people that I was absolutely sure was not a Christian. That he was just doing kinda civic Christianity. He was in confirmation 'cause his parents wanted him to. Um, and I had good reason to believe that at the time he was very worldly. He, he, um, did not seem to be serious about his faith at all. There was good reason to make the assessment that I did. And then I ran into him on Facebook like 15 years later and he's a pastor at the Lutheran Church and he's, you know, he loves the Lord Jesus Christ. And he would not explain it as though he had a later conversion story. It's not as though he would say like, well yeah, in high school I pretended to be a Christian. And then, you know, I got through college and uh, I really became like I got converted. He would, would grow this, or he would explain this as slow, steady growth from an immature state that knew the facts of the gospel and in a certain sense trusted that Jesus was his savior and didn't fully understand the ramifications of that. I mean, who did at 15 years old? Mm-hmm. Um. And, and that it was a slow, steady growth to the place that he's in now. [00:39:21] The Difficulty of Distinguishing Believers Tony Arsenal: So I, I think we should take seriously, and maybe this is the takeaway for this week at least, and we can, we can talk about it more, is we should take seriously the fact that the Sons of the Kingdom and the Sons of the evil one in this parable are not only inseparable without doing damage, but in many ways they are not easily distinguishable. Jesse Schwamb: Right. On. Tony Arsenal: Um, and that, that's a baked into the parable. And I think we do spend a fair amount of time and I, I'll. I'll throw myself on on this. You know, this, we, I'm not just saying we, um, we as a genuine statement, like I have participated in this. I'm sure that I still do participate in this sometimes intentionally. Other times, uh, subconsciously we spend a fair amount of time probably in our Christian lives trying to figure out who is a Christian who's not. And it's not as though that is entirely illegitimate, right? The, the, as much as we kind of poke at the, the, um, workers in this who sort of are kind of chumps, right? They're sort of like the idiots in this. They, they don't seem to know how this happened. They propose a course of action that then the master's like, no, no, that's not, that's not gonna work. They can tell the difference, right? They can see that some are weeds and some are are weeds, and they're asking, well, what do we do about it? But at the same time he is saying like, you're not really competent to tell the difference, Jesse Schwamb: right? On Tony Arsenal: a good, uh, a good. Competent farmer could probably go out and take all the weeds out. Just like a really good, I dunno, landscape technician, I'm not sure what you would call it. I'm sure someone could come into my yard and if I paid them enough money they could probably fix this knobby grass, weed, whatever it is. Um, infestation. They could probably fix it without damaging the lawn. Like there are probably people that could do it. I am not that competent person and the workers in this are not that competent person. And I would say by and large in our Christian life, we are not that competent person to be able to identify who is and who isn't, um, a Christian who is or isn't a son of the kingdom versus a son of the devil. Jesse Schwamb: And there's sometimes like we just get history reprised, or it's like, again, the same thing microwaved over and served to you three or four times as leftovers. So it's also gonna remember like any as extension that like any attempt to like purify the church perfectly, and this has happened like donatism in the fourth century I think, or even like now, certain sectarian movements are completely misguided. Yeah. And Jesus already puts that out ahead of us here. It's almost like, do not worry what God is doing because God again is, is doing all the verbs. So here's a question I think we should discuss as we, we move toward like the top of the hour. And I think this is interesting. I don't know if you'll think it's interesting. I, I kind of have an answer, but I, I'll post it here first. [00:42:01] Visible vs. Invisible Church Jesse Schwamb: So the setup like you've just given us is two things. One, we got the visible church, we talk about the visible church. I think a lot across our conversations. Yeah. And we might summarize it, saying it's like the community of all who profess faith, maybe even the community of all who are baptized. Right. Possibly. Yeah. And it's going to include then necessarily as Jesus describes it here, true and false believers. So that's one group. Then we've got this invisible church, which as you said is the elect. Those who are known perfectly to God. So the good seed is those elect true believers. The weeds, then the weeds to me, or the tears, even better, they sound a lot like that. Second and third soils that we talked about previously to some, to some degree. I'm not, I'm not gonna lump them all in because we talked about receiving the word and it taking root, all that stuff, but to some degree, and also probably like a soil one. But here's, here's the way I would define them up and against or in contradistinction to the elector believers. They're the reprobate. They're false professors or they're children of the evil one. Now here's the question, Doni, Alex, I, I think this is very interesting. I'm trying to build this up for like more dramatic effect. 'cause now I'm worried it's not that good. The question is, I'm going to presume that this good seed, the elect, true to believers, the confidence of perseverance of the saints, the justification in sanctification of God's children is in fact though we at some points have our own doubts, it is made fully aware and known to the good seed. That is, we should have, as you and I have talked about before, the confidence that God has in fact saved his elect. So the question that on the other side is for the ta, do the tears always know that they are the tears? Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, you know, I think, um, I've said this before and I, I mean it, and I think it takes probably more. More discussion than we have time for tonight. And and that's fine because we can do as many episodes on this as we want to. 'cause this is our show and you can't stop us actually. Jesse Schwamb: Correct. [00:43:56] Assurance of Faith and False Assurance Tony Arsenal: Um, I've said before that assurance is the proper and rightful possession and inheritance of every Christian. Jesse Schwamb: Amen. Tony Arsenal: Right. So I, I am not one to say that the technical terminology is that assurance is not of the essence of faith. Um, I think we have to be really careful when we say that it's not, but we have to be equally careful when we say that it is. Because if we say that assurance is of the essence of faith, then what that means is someone who doesn't have assurance, doesn't have faith. Um, the reason I say that we can say that is because there's a sense that that's true, right? If you don't believe you're saved, then you don't believe you're saved and you don't trust that you're saved. But that doesn't mean that you always have full awareness of that confidence. And, you know, I think, um, I think. I think you're, you're right that, um, it may not always be, let me put it this way. I, I think that we have to consider the entire life of a Christian when we're, when we're making that analysis. And in a certain sense, like, I'm not even sure we should be making that analysis. That's kind of the point of the, the, um, the parable here, or at least one of the points. But, um, when that analysis is made, we'll, we'll channel a little bit of RC sprawl. It's not as funny when he's actually, uh, gone. I don't really mean channel RC sprawl. We will, uh, speak in the tradition of RC sprawl, um, in the final analysis, whatever that means. Whenever that is. You have to consider the whole life of a Christian, the whole life of a believer. And so there may be times in the life of a believer where they don't possess that full assurance of faith or that that full assurance is weak or that it seems to be absent. But when we look at the entire life of a believer, um, is it a life that overall is marked by a confident trust, that they are in fact children of God? Um, that a confident, uh, a confident embracing of what the spirit testifies to their spirit, to, to borrow language from Romans, I think in, in the life of a true elect Christian, um, that with the perseverance of the saints, uh, with the persistence of the saints and the preservation of the saints, um, I think that yes, those who are finally saved, those who are saved unto salvation, if you wanna phrase it that way. They finish the race, they claim the prize. Um, that assurance will be their possession in their life as a Christian. Jesse Schwamb: Right on. Tony Arsenal: All of that to say, I think there are, are, there's a good case to be made for the fact that there is also people who have false assurance, right? And this is where it takes a lot more, you know, finagling and jockeying and theological explanation of how can we know we have true assurance versus false assurance. You know, it's kinda like that question, like, does an insane person know they're insane? Well, does a false, does someone with false assurance know that their assurance is false? I don't think, I don't think so. Otherwise, it wouldn't be false assurance. Um, if they knew it wasn't real assurance, then they wouldn't have any kind of assurance. So I, I think I agree with you at least where, where I think you're going is that we do have to, we do have to make some judgements. We have to look at our own life, right? Um, there is an element of fruitfulness in this parable, right? We'll talk about that. I, I think we'll get into that next week. But it's not as though this is entirely disconnected from the parable of the soils. Both of them have a very similar kind of. End point. [00:47:20] Final Judgment and Eschatology Tony Arsenal: At the end of all things, at the end of the harvest, when the end of the age comes, and the reapers, the angels are sent, what they're gathering up are fruitful Christians, right in the parable, he sends out the, it's funny be, I love my dispensational brothers and sisters, but in this parable, like the rapture is the rapture of the unbelievers, right? The angels go out and reap the unbelievers first. The, the weeds are bundled up and thrown into the fire, and then the, the fruitful wheat is gathered into the barns. Um, there is this delineation between the fruitless weeds and the fruitful wheat or the, the grain that has borne, you know, borne fruit. That is part of what the, the outward. Elements of this parable are, so we should talk about that more, of what is this trying to get at in terms of not just the difference between weeds and wheat and how that maps up to those who are in Christ versus those who are not in Christ, but also like what is this telling us about the, the end of the age eschatology. All of that's baked in here and we haven't even scratched the surface of that Jesse Schwamb: yet. Yeah, we, we, I, and we just can't, even on this episode, probably, you're right, we're gonna have to go to two so that, I guess it's like a teaser for the next one. I'm told they're with you. It's interesting. I've been thinking about that, that question a lot. And I do like what you're saying. You know, at the end here, it's almost as if Christ is saying at the time of harvest, things become more plain, more evident In the beginning. The chutes are gonna look really, really similar, and you're gonna go in and you're gonna think you're guessing properly or using your best judgment, and you're gonna get it wrong in the end when he sends out those who are harvesting. I liken this passage here in the explanation as you read to us starting in verse 36, how there's this comparison of heat and light. And so there is the heat and light of the fiery furnace into which, as you said, all of those who are the children of the enemy will be gathered up and burned. And then there's that contrast with in verse 43, then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. So there is like a reward that comes from the bearing of the fruit and that made evidence by a different type of heat and light. So I do struggle with this question because. It's easy to answer in some ways if we're defining the weeds in pirate or the tears in pirates as false professors typically. Let's say false professors of a nefarious kind, then it seems pretty plain that somebody, right, that the enemy has implanted certain people to stir up trouble with the intention to stir up trouble that is in fact their jam. Or they know that even if they're putting on heirs, that they're in fact play acting that the hypocrisy is purposeful and that it is part of like the missional efforts that they're doing to disrupt what God is doing in the world. So I might think of somebody like when we go, when we're looking in, um, Exodus, and we find that at least to some degree, all of Pharaoh's magicians can replicate everything that Moses is doing. Moses doing that by the power of God. But the magicians are so good and whatever means they're using, but they know, I presume they know they're not, they're not using Yahweh, they're not drawing their power or their influence from Yahweh. Tony Arsenal: Right? Jesse Schwamb: But it's so convincing to the people that Pharaoh is like, eh. Obviously I've seen that before because we just, we just did that here. Come back with your next trick until God flexes his mighty muscles in a really profound way, which cannot be replicated. And at some point there's a harvest that happens there. There's a separation between the two, those who are truly professing, the power that comes from God, the one true God, and those that are just replicating the cheap copy, the one that's just pure trickery and smoke and mirrors. So. That's an easy category. I'm with you. And I'm not saying that this is an invitation to bring the kind of judgment here that we've just spoken against. I'm not condoning this. What I do find interesting though is if the enemy is crafty, is it possible that they're always going to be forms of terror in the world that do feel that they have very strong conviction and belief about biblical things? Maybe there's, there's strong hobby horses or there are misguided directions here that pull us apart, that become distractions. Or maybe it's just even attitudes, uh, things that can be divisive, disruptive, derogatory that again, pull us away. For making the plain things, the main things and the main things, the plain things, which in some ways draws us back to like the whole purpose of you and I talking every week, which is we wanna get back to what the scripture teaches. We wanna follow the our Lord Jesus Christ very, very closely. I'm gonna clinging to the hymn of his rob as we walk through life so that we do not fall to those kind of false convictions. So I'm not, please hear me, loved ones. I'm not trying to call into question your faith as Tony just said. I am saying that there, this is kind of scary, just like we talked about. There are elements of the parables of the, of the soil that were equally scary. And so it's just in some ways to say, we gotta keep our heads not theological, swivel. We, we gotta be about the Lord's business, and we gotta be about understanding through prayer and study and communion with him, what it is that he wants to teach us in the purest way, knowing that the church itself and the world, of course, is never going to be entirely pure. At the same time, it is our responsibility to, as you already said, test for ourselves to understand what is that true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because some tears are going to be maybe easy to identify and with without, you know, throwing too much shade or. I was gonna say spilling the TI don't think that works here, but I'm not young anymore, so I'm trying to use or or put on blast. Yeah. I'm looking at you Mormons or Jehovah's witnesses. Like it's, it's easier there to be like, yeah, right, this is wrong. It is a false profession, but we've just gotta be careful even in our own hobby, horses not deviates into ground. I think that doesn't preclude us from being children of the light and children of the kingdom, but can still be disruptive or uh, you know, just distracting. But either way, yeah. I think what's scary to me about this is exactly what you said, Tony, is, is could it be that there are people that are very sincere about the Christian faith, but are sincerely wrong? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: And what does that mean for God's elected purpose? What does that mean for our understanding of how to interact in our churches in the world? Does that make sense? Tony Arsenal: It does. And I'm not sure whether you were trying to set up the, what might be the first genuine reformed brotherhood cliffhanger, but you did. Because we're on minute 54 of a 60 minute podcast, and, uh, there's no way we're gonna get into that and not go for another 60 minutes. So, Jesse, I, I'm, I'm glad that we are taking our time. Um, I know that sometimes it's easy when you put out a schedule or you put out a sort of projected content calendar to feel like you have to stick to it. But I wanna give these parables, the time they deserve and the effort and the, uh, the, uh, study and the discussion that they deserve. And I think the questions you're posing here at the end of this episode are really, really important. And they are questions that this parable forces us to ask. Right, right. It's not as though we're just using this as a launching pad. Um. If the workers can't tell the difference between the, the seed and the, or the, the weeds and the weeds, it's reasonable to think that the weeds themselves may not be able to tell the difference. Right? The sons of the evil one, um, are probably not in this parable, are probably not the people like in the back, like doing fake devil horns, right? And like, you know, like there's, there's probably more going on that we need to unpack and, and we'll do that next week. Jesse Schwamb: I love it. So we've got some good stuff coming then, because we've gotta, this is like, do you ever remember when you were in, uh, you know, doing your undergraduate postgraduate work, you'd get like a topic or an assignment or a paper and you'd be super stoked about it and you start reaching it, be like, okay, researching it. And you'd be like, all right, I've got some good topics here. And then you get into it, you're like, oh, but I'm gonna have to talk about this. And Oh, like before I could talk, I'm gonna have to explain this. Sometimes when we get into these, as you and I have been talking, that's what it feels li

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ヤマハ、音楽の熱量にフォーカスした第2の“オルソダイナミック”ヘッドホン「YH-4000」

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Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2025 0:17


「ヤマハ、音楽の熱量にフォーカスした第2の“オルソダイナミック”ヘッドホン「YH-4000」」 ヤマハは、独自の平面磁界ドライバー「オルソダイナミックドライバー」を搭載する開放型ヘッドホン「YH-4000」を、10月23日(木)に発売する。

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Mielenterveyden Tulevaisuus

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2025 42:32


Yhä useampi kamppailee unettomuuden, ahdistuksen ja stressin kaltaisten mielen haasteiden kanssa, saamatta helpotusta lääkkeistä, itsehoidosta tai terapiasta. Mitä jos ylivirittyneitä aivoja voisi opettaa rauhoittumaan ja palautumaan – täysin tiedostamatta, televisioruutua katsomalla?Jaksossa sukelletaan uuden aivotutkimuksen ja -teknologian mahdollisuuksiin psyykkisten ja neuroperäisten oireiden hoidon tukena. Vieraana on neurofeedbackin suomalaisena pioneerina tunnettu Marja Vihervaara, jonka tie on kulkenut lääkärin työstä omakohtaiseen uupumukseen ja edelleen syvempään ymmärrykseen läpi elämän oppivasta ihmismielestä.Keskustelussa avataan, miten aivojen palkitsemiseen perustuva neurofeedback toimii, ja milloin siitä voi olla apua. Samalla pysähdytään pohtimaan, miksi on tärkeää etsiä rohkeasti uusia keinoja perinteisen lääketieteen rinnalle mielenterveyden vahvistamiseksi.–Marja Vihervaara on psykiatri, psykoterapeutti ja toinen neurofeedback-hoitoihin erikoistuneen Nemoy Oy:n perustajista. Hän tukee nykyään ihmisiä henkisen valmennuksen keinoin, voimavaroja ja mielentaitoja vahvistaen. 

Mielen puolikkaat
Onko kahdeksan tunnin työpäivä aikansa elänyt, Mona Moisala?

Mielen puolikkaat

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2025 45:32


Yhä useamman on vaikea jaksaa nykyisessä työelämässä. Löytyykö ratkaisu lyhyemmästä työajasta?Mielen puolikkaiden uudessa jaksossa keskustellaan aivoasiantuntija Mona Moisalan kanssa työajasta ja aivoista. Moisalan kanssa puhutaan työelämän kuormittavuudesta, palautumisesta työpäivän aikana sekä siitä, millainen vaikutus neljän tunnin työpäivään siirtymisellä on ollut häneen itseensä.Mielen puolikkaat -podcastissa kaksi ihmistä pysähtyy puhumaan mielenterveydestä. Haastattelijana toimii MIELI ry:n asiantuntijapsykologi Julia Sangervo.Podcastia tuottaa MIELI Suomen Mielenterveys ry. Järjestön perustehtävänä on mielenterveyden edistäminen ja ongelmien ehkäisy.00:00 Miksi Mona Moisala on siirtynyt tekemään neljän tunnin työpäivää?07:32 Soveltuuko kahdeksan tunnin työpäivä tietotyöhön?23:20 Minkä työelämässä pitäisi muuttua, jotta ihmisetjaksaisivat paremmin?32:32 Voidaanko työelämässä huomioida paremmin työntekijän yksilölliset piirteet?38:16 Onko työaika paras tapa mitata työtä? Onko sille olemassa vaihtoehtoja?43:07 Mikä on aivoterveyden näkökulmasta tärkein työaikaan liittyvä muutos, joka tulisi tehdä?

Paredro / 070 Podcasts
Contra el olvido. Con Valter Hugo Mãe, Héctor Abad Faciolince y Juan Diego Mejia. Festival Utopía Colombia.

Paredro / 070 Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2025 67:40


Traemos otro de los eventos acontecidos durante el reciente Festival Utopía Colombia, con dos de las voces más importantes que estuvieron presentes.En esta sesión de Utopía, dos voces esenciales de la literatura iberoamericana —Valter Hugo Mãe yHéctor Abad Faciolince — se reúnen para conversar sobre la memoria íntima como gesto literario y político. Ambos autores han escrito libros profundamente marcados por la figura paterna, el amor filial y la violencia que irrumpe en lo cotidiano. Desde la ternura radical de Mãe hasta la elegía serena de Abad en El olvido que seremos, sus obras comparten una ética del recuerdo y de la belleza como forma de resistencia y de humanización. Moderada por Juan Diego Mejía, esta conversación propone una reflexión sobre la palabra como espacio de reparación y sobre el poderde la literatura para sostener lo que amamos, incluso cuando el mundo parece desmoronarse.#ValterHugoMãe#HéctorAbadFaciolince#ElOlvidoQueSeremos#MemoriaÍntima#LiteraturaYMemoria#ÉticaDelRecuerdo#LiteraturaComoResistencia#TernuraRadical#PalabraQueRepara#LiteraturaIberoamericana#FestivalUtopía#UtopíaColombia#ParedroPodcast#BellezaYDolor#LiteraturaDelAmor#PadresEHIjos#NarrarLaIntimidad#HumanizarConPalabras#JuanDiegoMejía#LibrosQueResisten

Yh-podden
#39 Samtal kring utbildarna på YH

Yh-podden

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2025 48:11


Under våren kommer vi träffa och samtala med olika intressenter kring Yrkeshögskolan. I detta sjätte samtal träffar vi Alvaro Foresti och pratar om utbildarna på YH och organisationen YH-utbildarnas Riksförbund (YHR).

Hora Veintipico
Hora Veintipico #584 | La vaga que no va arribar al Ventorro

Hora Veintipico

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 18:51


Tremenda huelga valenciana, ¿no? A saber dónde se ha metido Mazón. Quizás lo sabemos todos. Otro que va a esconderse es el Lover de Ayuso, que va a ser procesado pese a todos sus intentos de parecer un angelito. Ah, y hemos visitado la planta más periodista del mundo. Y Héctor ha vuelto a hablar de hamburguesas y de cierto periódico...

Hora Veintipico
Hora Veintipico #584 | La vaga que no va arribar al Ventorro

Hora Veintipico

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 18:51


Tremenda huelga valenciana, ¿no? A saber dónde se ha metido Mazón. Quizás lo sabemos todos. Otro que va a esconderse es el Lover de Ayuso, que va a ser procesado pese a todos sus intentos de parecer un angelito. Ah, y hemos visitado la planta más periodista del mundo. Y Héctor ha vuelto a hablar de hamburguesas y de cierto periódico...

Humor en la Cadena SER
Hora Veintipico #584 | La vaga que no va arribar al Ventorro

Humor en la Cadena SER

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 18:51


Tremenda huelga valenciana, ¿no? A saber dónde se ha metido Mazón. Quizás lo sabemos todos. Otro que va a esconderse es el Lover de Ayuso, que va a ser procesado pese a todos sus intentos de parecer un angelito. Ah, y hemos visitado la planta más periodista del mundo. Y Héctor ha vuelto a hablar de hamburguesas y de cierto periódico...

Humor en la Cadena SER
Hora Veintipico #584 | La vaga que no va arribar al Ventorro

Humor en la Cadena SER

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 18:51


Tremenda huelga valenciana, ¿no? A saber dónde se ha metido Mazón. Quizás lo sabemos todos. Otro que va a esconderse es el Lover de Ayuso, que va a ser procesado pese a todos sus intentos de parecer un angelito. Ah, y hemos visitado la planta más periodista del mundo. Y Héctor ha vuelto a hablar de hamburguesas y de cierto periódico...

Kodsnack
Kodsnack 642 - Små konsollappar i containrar, med Mattias Karlsson

Kodsnack

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 52:33


Fredrik snackar med Mattias Karlsson om .NET-världen. Hur är gemenskapen? Hur lär man sig hur man skriver bra kod? Och varför är Mattias inblandad i YH-utbildningar? Vilka verktyg är bra, och för vilka sammanhang? Visst är det fascinerande hur vissa saker kommer tillbaka om och om igen? Hur går utvecklingen av .NET? Vilka verktyg skulle Mattias välja idag för en ny webbapp? Eller för en mobil- eller skrivbordsapp? Sist men inte minst snackar vi lite om vikten av dokumentation och kommentarer. Gräv mer i saker, var inte rädd för att titta i okända filer och miljöer! Inspelat under Øredev 2024. Ett stort tack till Cloudnet som sponsrar vår VPS! Har du kommentarer, frågor eller tips? Vi är @kodsnack, @thieta, @krig, och @bjoreman på Mastodon, har en sida på Facebook och epostas på info@kodsnack.se om du vill skriva längre. Vi läser allt som skickas. Gillar du Kodsnack får du hemskt gärna recensera oss i iTunes! Du kan också stödja podden genom att ge oss en kaffe (eller två!) på Ko-fi, eller handla något i vår butik. Länkar Mattias Mattias blogg Øredev Swetugg Homebrew Azure function Alpine Nuget YH .NET aspire Jetbrains Rider C# devkit extension för Visual studio code Ultraedit Stöd oss på Ko-fi! Win forms Web forms Blazor ERP HTMX Code-behind Avalonia Uno Webassembly CGI-skript Telerik Syncfusion Maui Blazor hydrate Flutter Streamyard A/B-testning Launchdarkly Mattias presentation på Øredev 2024 - Devopsdocs: transforming tideousness into joy Titlar Fokus på talarna Någon som inte dricker kaffe Det är ändå samma runtime Beroenden som inte har hängt med Varningar är fel Grunda men breda Såhär ska man koda Kontextswitcha i konsollen Olika verktyg för olika saker Små konsollappar i containrar Bara en main-metod Minst tre filer Rena komponenter Den upplevda prestandan

Luonto-Suomi
Linnulaulujen aamu

Luonto-Suomi

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2025 91:43


Nyt on kevät ja ainakin yksi kevätaamu kannattaa valvoa lintujen konserttia kuunnellen. Keväisessä yössä valvoo perinteinen kolmikko, Ylen luonto-ohjelmista tutut Asko Hauta-aho ja Minna Pyykkö sekä lintuasiantuntija Jan Södersved Birdlifesta. Varhaisimmat linnut, rastaat ja punarinnat, ovat olleet äänessä jo pimeässä. Vähitellen aamukonserttiin on liittynyt mukaan yhä uusia laulajia. Yhä uudet nokat ovat avautuneet auringon nousun aikaan kertoakseen reviirien rajoista ja omasta kelpoisuudesta puolisoina – tai mistä linnut nyt sitten ikinä laulavatkaan. Ohjelman äänisuunnittelusta vastaa Petri Hårdh.

OkeiOllaRikki
75. PIA RENDIC - Pornon ja OnlyFansin pimeä puoli.

OkeiOllaRikki

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2025


Sosiaalinen media on osaltaan normalisoinut seksityötä ja luonut illuusion sen helppoudesta – altistaen erityisesti nuoria valinnoille, joiden psykologisia seurauksia he eivät vielä täysin ymmärrä. Yhä useampi nuori nainen houkutellaan myymään alastomuutensa muutaman euron kuukausihinnalla, usein ajattelematta, millaisia pitkäaikaisia vaikutuksia sillä voi olla itsetuntoon, seksuaalisuuteen tai ihmissuhteisiin. Jaksossa vieraana on teologian maisteri, väitöskirjatutkija, kasvatustieteen kandidaatti ja seksuaaliterapeutti Pia Rendic. Sukellamme syvälle pornon haittavaikutuksiin sekä OnlyFansin ja Pornhubin kaltaisten alustojen varjopuoliin – siihen, mitä tapahtuu kulissien takana ja millaisin mekanismein ihmiskauppa kytkeytyy osaksi seksiteollisuutta. Keskustelemme siitä, miten pornografia vaikuttaa parisuhteisiin, yksilön kykyyn kokea aitoa läheisyyttä sekä siihen, millaisia haitallisia uskomuksia ja normeja se ruokkii yhteiskunnallisella, järjestö- ja yksilötasolla. Pornografiaa puolustetaan usein sananvapauden, seksuaalisen vapautumisen tai tasa-arvon näkökulmasta, mutta todellisuudessa sen tuotanto ja vaikutukset voivat monien kohdalla olla kaikkea muuta kuin vapauttavia tai tasa-arvoa tukevia – ne voivat sisältää hyväksikäyttöä, alistamista ja pitkäaikaista henkistä vahinkoa. Jaksossa puhumme seksuaalisuudesta, itsemääräämisoikeudesta, vallasta – ja siitä, mitä kaikkea jää näkymättömiin, kun alastomuus muutetaan sisällöksi.

Kulttuuriykkönen
Sarjakuvan ja taiteen rajalla

Kulttuuriykkönen

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 52:34


Yhä useammalla sarjakuvantekijällä on kuvataiteilijan koulutus ja he luovat uraa myös taidemaalareina. Missä kulkee nykysarjakuvan ja taiteen raja? Studiossa sarjakuvantekijät ja taidemaalarit Katja Tukiainen, Juliana Hyrri sekä tuore sarjakuva-Finlandian voittaja Eeva Meltio. Toimittajana Harto Hänninen

Los Tres Amigos
Críticas en Caliente - LA CITA

Los Tres Amigos

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 5:52


¡Ya hemos vuelto de unas merecidas vacaciones! Y Héctor trae los deberes hechos ya que ha visto tres películas en cine durante este tiempo. La primera es #LaCita (#Drop), la nueva producción #Blumhouse en la que una mujer es acosada por teléfono mientras tiene lugar su cita a ciegas en un lujoso restaurante ubicado en el ático de un rascacielos. Dirige Christopher Landon, el responsable de "Feliz día de tu muerte" (y su secuela) y Freaky, entre otras. ¿Vale la pena esta cita? Ya sabéis, ¡Escuchad y opinad! También nos podéis encontrar aquí: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/52i1iqZ56ACal18GPkCxiW Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/los-tres-amigos/id1198252523 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3zK2XsnpHDGRujSTWHpL8Q Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0b56d4f-4537-47e0-a252-9dfe56b5a490/los-tres-amigos Grupo de Telegram: https://t.me/LosTresAmigos https://www.facebook.com/LosTresAmigosPodcast/ Instagram: lostresamigospodcast Bluesky: @los3amigospodcast.bsky.social X / Twitter: @tresamigospod Threads: lostresamigospodcast Letterbox: https://letterboxd.com/LosTresAmigos/ #ChristopherLandon #Thriller #Hitchcock #MeghannFahy #BrandonSklenar

Virtual Pause
Episode 142: Catching our Breath

Virtual Pause

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 27:07


March 24, 2025There aretimes I behave in ways I am not proud of and feel very incongruent to my soul. Thechaos of the world and the chaos into my head leaks into my thoughts andbehaviors. Coming back to stability may happen as an interior shift in us, oras an external shift in circumstances. The common theme is surrender, so we canopen up our lungs and our hearts for the breath of God, the breath of thespirit. YHWH There was a moment when Moses had the nerve toask God what his name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name hegave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.Over time we'vearbitrarily added an “a” andan “e” inthere to get YaHWeH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels. But scholars and Rabbi's have noted that theletters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. Whenpronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing. YH (inhale): WH (exhale). So a baby's first cry, his firstbreath, speaks the name of God. A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for merewords. Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breath is givingconstant acknowledgment to God. Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God'sname is no longer filing their lungs. So when I can't utter anything else, is mycry calling out His name?Being alive means I speak His name constantly.  So, is it heard the loudest when I'm the quietest?In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs. In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst. In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help uscalm down. When we're about to do something hard, we take a deepbreath to find our courage.  When I think about it, breathing is giving him praise. Even in the hardestmoments! This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought.God chose to give himself a name that we can'thelp but speak every moment we're alive. All of us, always, everywhere. Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the name of God on our lips.- Unknown Author 

Yh-podden
#33 YH-undersökningen 2025

Yh-podden

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 41:55


Vi har genomfört en enkätundersökning till anordnare med fokus på arbetsplanering och ekonomi. I det här avsnittet delar vi med oss av insikterna från detta försök som vi hoppas kan bli en årlig undersökning för att få svar på frågor som vi annars inte vet så mycket om. Allt för att hjälpa er anordnare att enklare och bättre kunna bedriva er YH-verksamhet!

Yh-podden
#32 Tilldelningen 2025

Yh-podden

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2025 50:10


Det årliga avsnittet där vi analyserar och diskuterar tilldelningen av ny starter inom YH från och med hösten 2025. Vilket utbildningsområdet, vilken region och vilken anordnare lyckades bäst? Dessutom spännande ny data kring sambandet mellan avsiktsförklaringar och beviljanden. Och mycket mycket mer! Vill du veta med om verktyget YTAN finns information här: https://www.qlok.se/omraden/yh/tjanster/ytan

Yh-podden
#31a YH-forum 2024 (del 1)

Yh-podden

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2025 45:26


Under YH-forum i december 2024 hade vi eftersnack med de som pratade på scenen samt intervjuade några av deltagarna i publiken under pauserna. I denna första del av två hör du eftersnacket med GD samt samtal kring undersökningen om medfinansiering, arbetet med NY och Erasmus+. Detta varvat med intervjuerna i minglet under pauserna. Dessa och även andra eftersnack som inte fick plats i de två podd-avsnitten finns på poddens Linkedin-sida: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/yh-podden/ YH-forum arrangeras varje år av Yrkeshögskoleförbundet. Mer om verksamheten och YH-forum kan du läsa på deras hemsida: https://yhf.se/

Yh-podden
#31b YH-forum 2024 (del 2)

Yh-podden

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2025 53:27


Under YH-forum i december 2024 hade vi eftersnack med de som pratade på scenen. I denna andra delen av två hör du eftersnacket med dels Kvalitetsgransning på MYH och dels Tillsyn på MYH. Dessa två eftersnack publicerades inte live under YH-forum men övriga eftersnack finns att se även med video på poddens Linkedin-sida: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/yh-podden/ YH-forum arrangeras varje år av Yrkeshögskoleförbundet. Mer om verksamheten och YH-forum kan du läsa på deras hemsida: https://yhf.se/

forum dessa yh yrkesh myh tillsyn
Metsäradio.
Eräoppaaksi vanhemmalla iällä

Metsäradio.

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2025 11:41


Yhä useampi hakeutuu eräoppaan opintoihin vanhemmalla iällä. Onko kyseessä uran vaihto, elämänmuutos vai vaan välivuosi? Syitä on yhtä monta, kuin on opiskelijaakin. Vantaalainen Kohtasen pariskunta oli pitkään pohtinut irtiottoa arjesta, mutta nopea päätös eräopaskouluun lähtemisestä yllätti ehkä heidät itsensäkin. Eräänä elokuisena päivänä lääkealalla tutkimuskoordinaattorina työskentelevä Kaisa ja metsätalousinsinöörinä kaupunkiympäristön virkistysmetsänhoidossa toimiva Retu pakkasivat auton ja ajoivat Muonioon. Nyt jo takaisin Etelä-Suomeen palanneen pariskunnan tapasi retkeilytoimittaja Joppe Ranta, joka ensi töikseen kysyi: mikä oli se tuntemus sillä hetkellä, kun auto pysähtyi Olostunturin juurelle ja edessä oli vuoden mittainen hyppy tuntemattomaan?

Time of Truth Ministries
The Breath of Life

Time of Truth Ministries

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2024 36:40


Mike McCoy 12-4-2024 When pronounced without vowels, the covenant name of God YHWH sounds like breathing, with "YH" representing inhalation and "WH" representing exhalation. Join us as Brother Mike explores this fascinating subject. Crossville First Free Will Baptist Church www.crossvillechurch.com

Territorio Rojo. Los abuelos del crimen organizado

En otoño de 2009, una joven empresaria de nombre Brenda Rangel, de entonces sólo 30 años, supo antes lo que miles de sus vecinos conocerían después, negados a aceptar su realidad: que el crimen organizado se había anidado en Querétaro, especialmente en la capital, donde el 9 de noviembre ocurrió la masacre de 10 personas en el Bar Cantaritos. Pero eso, ya lo sabemos ahora: que Querétaro no es la ciudad santuaria que presume estar a salvo de la violencia de los cárteles; que las matanzas que vemos en otros estados también ocurren en sus calles y comercios supuestamente blindados. Eso lo sabemos hoy, viendo los videos virales de ese infame ataque armado. Pero hace 15 años, Brenda Rangel lo supo de primera mano y desde entonces he gritado que Querétaro es otra narcoentidad. Gritos que llegaron a los oídos de un país sordo. Brenda Rangel es la primera mujer mexicana nominada para el Nobel Women's Iniciative de los Derechos Humanos. Una galardonada de Amnistía Internacional por su activismo por la paz. Pero en 2009 era sólo Brenda Rangel, la hermana de Héctor Rangel, con quien compartía el negocio de venta de ropa. Su familia solía viajar a Estados Unidos, comprar ropa de marcas que aún no llegaban a Querétaro y la vendían entre sus conocidos con éxito, tanto que se volvieron uno de los clanes comerciantes más conocidos de la capital. El 10 de noviembre de 2009, Brenda planeaba cobrar una deuda adquirida de un viejo cliente. 90 mil pesos. Algo usual en un negocio informal como el de ellos. Pero a punto de hacerlo, su hijo pequeño se sintió mal y su hermano Héctor tomó su lugar. La deuda se saldaría a cuantos kilómetros, pero el cliente hizo un extraño cambio de planes: pidió que la cita se moviera hasta Monclova, Coahuila, donde supuestamente tenía el dinero. Para compensar el viaje y la molestia, pagaría un extra. Así que el joven vendedor de ropa aceptó y se hizo acompañar de Milton e Irene, su amigo y trabajadora del hogar, para no viajar solo por carretera. Ya en Monclova, Héctor avisó a su familia que más situaciones raras pasaban: no había rastro del cliente deudor y en la carretera había sido detenido, sin razón, por policías municipales. Contaba eso desde un teléfono público porque su batería se había agotado, cuando los uniformados reaparecieron para acosarlo. La llamada terminó con la promesa de Héctor de comunicarse de nuevo una vez que supiera qué querían esos policías, pero no volvió a llamar. Al día siguiente, Brenda y su familia viajaron a Monclova para descifrar ese largo silencio. Buscaron en hospitales, Semefos, separos, hoteles y bares, esperando que la falta de comunicación fuera producto de una larga borrachera. En cambio, se toparon con que en aquellos años, un grupo criminal controlaba a los policías municipales y les obligaban a aplicar una macabra clave secreta llamada 92 Sierra. Una creación de Los Zetas. Esa clave activaba a los policías municipales de Coahuila cuando veían un vehículo foráneo con dos o más hombres a bordo. Entonces, estaban obligados a pararlos y llevarlos con el jefe criminal del municipio, quien decidía si los detenidos eran inocentes o rivales disfrazados de visitantes. Si sospechaba de lo segundo, eran desaparecidos y asesinados. Y Héctor viajaba en un coche con placas de Querétaro y con otro amigo varón. La receta del desastre. Quince días después del 10 de noviembre de 2009, Brenda acudió a cobrar la deuda de otro cliente, creyendo que necesitaría dinero para pagar un rescate que nunca llegó. Cuando llegó con ese conocido, rebasada de ansiedad, se desahogó y narró la tragedia familiar. Ella sólo buscaba alivio, hablar con alguien, un consejo, pero se topó con que ese hombre conocía al otro primer deudor que llevó a Héctor hasta Monclova. Así es como la joven Brenda descubrió que, desde hace tres lustros, una célula de Los Zetas operaba entre Coahuila y Querétaro. Que su negocio eran los secuestros, las desapariciones forzadas y la extorsión. Y que su hermano era una de sus víctimas. A diferencia de Los Zetas en Coahuila, Los Zetas en Querétaro tenían pinta de hombres y mujeres honorables. Apariencia inofensiva, un comportamiento falsamente decente. Aunque la gente de Querétaro intuía sus negocios sucios, los dejaron pasar porque sus buenos coches y sus buenas casas mejoraban la imagen de la ciudad. Así, Los Zetas queretanos se infiltraron en escuelas, iglesias, restaurantes y la vida cotidiana. Querétaro se acostumbró a ellos rezando el mantra de la ceguera: “Acá viven con sus familias, por eso no hay violencia”. Y les abrieron los brazos. Hasta que desapareció Héctor y luego Antonio, Selene, Francisco y Mariana. Hasta que Los Zetas fueron desplazados y su lugar ocupado por el Cártel Jalisco, el Santa Rosa de Lima, los Templarios, los Beltrán Leyva, el de Sinaloa. Entonces, los desaparecidos llegaron a 3 mil 272, los asesinatos repuntaron y  aparecieron las masacres con víctimas contadas en dos dígitos. Hace 15 años, el silencio de un vendedor de ropa llamado Héctor Rangel y los gritos de dolor de su hermana Brenda nos llamaban a ver que Querétaro era un nido del crimen organizado. Y no lo quisimos ver.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UBM Unleavened Bread Ministries
The Importance of Baptism - David Eells - UBBS 8.11.2024

UBM Unleavened Bread Ministries

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2024 129:13


The Importance of Baptism  (audio) David Eells (8/11/24)  There is a great disconnect in the church today concerning baptism and it is so important! If a person just looked at the Scriptures and read all the verses, you'd know this. When I first became born-again the first thing that the Lord began to impress us to look at was baptism. So we looked up every verse concerning baptism and printed them out. With them all written out on pages before us, we just knew, “Yep, we have to do it. There is no choice. We have to do this.” So we looked for a church to do it.  Well, a lot of Christians today don't read their Bible, so they just wouldn't know unless the preacher emphasized what the scripture emphasizes. We noticed in the Bible, that as soon as someone believed, the next emphasis was to be filled with the Spirit. Once in a while, being filled with the Spirit got ahead of the baptism, but baptism was right there always when someone first believed. And there's a reason for that. It's because it's important. Some churches do not even mention it, as though it's not important.   So, I thought we'd look at a few scriptures and study what the importance of baptism is. Remember, it's not just what they say about baptism, it's the emphasis they put on it and that should be our emphasis too. I mean, if it's that important to Jesus and the apostles, we don't care that others don't think it's important. It should be just as important to us as it was to Jesus and the apostles.  I'd like to start in Acts 22. Well, you remember how Paul was converted and then got himself in trouble with the religious folks and he was recounting to them about his conversion in Act 22:12-14 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, 13 came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And in that very hour I looked upon him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.  As important as Paul was to the Lord and to God's plan, he still needed to be baptized. 15 For thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. 16 And now why tarriest thou? (I.e., What are you waiting for?) arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. (Amen. Do you hear that? He is saying, What are you waiting for? Get baptized and wash away your sins. That sounds very important, doesn't it?)  So baptism has a key work in doing this. People argue about what is that work. But I think we can cover that a little bit today. So yes, baptism is important in washing away thy sins. It is an act of faith that God recognizes and it's our obedience to our Lord. You know, faith without works is dead. Some people say they have faith, but they don't have works. So, obedience is important in the Kingdom.   Well, it says in 1Pe 3:19-21 in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, (Speaking of Jesus.) 20 that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: 21 which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, (That sounds very important, doesn't it?) not the putting away of the filth of the flesh (In other words, it's not the water washing your skin, that makes you clean), but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ; It is through the resurrection gift of Jesus Christ given to us and it is given to us through baptism, as we'll see in Romans chapter 6. When we come up out of the water, we claim His resurrection life.   So you see, baptism is very important. You know, tell your children; tell your lost loved ones, “Yeah, believing in Jesus is important, and so is baptism.” It's a command from God and any command from God is important. Sad to say, but some people don't read their Bible to find out these things and the poor preachers don't know enough either.  Another great example is in Act 16:25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison-house were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened: and every one's bands were loosed. 27 And the jailor, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 And he called for lights and sprang in, and, trembling for fear, fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?   31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. 32 And they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, (And that's just how important it was. Most people today would make excuses; they would say, “Well, wait till the preacher preaches on baptism. Next month I think we're going to have a baptism…”, and so on. Well, they thought it was so important that in the middle of the night, they were going to go and baptize this person because you have to start your Christian walk with baptism as an act of faith. It's an act of faith that gives you the good confession that you make before Satan and before the world that now you don't live, Christ lives in you.) and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately. This shows how important baptism is. I've done the same thing in the middle of the night. When people believed, we started looking for a pool in the middle of the night. And it's just that important to God. Our emphasis needs to be God's emphasis in this regard. Jesus said in Mar.16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. Now it says in 1Co 10:1 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; Look at that, “all of them” It must have been important to do that right? God wants to show us through this type and shadow that it's also important to us. So what can we say? We're warned not to add to or take away from the words of the Book, or He'll take away our part in the tree of life. We're warned to obey, just as they did.  So it's important because it says in 1Co 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. (We are a many membered body of Christ.) 13 For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, (Baptized into the body! My goodness, that makes baptism very, very important. We're talking about one body, and we're supposed to be a member of it. Some people say this is “spirit baptism”. Folks, the overwhelming majority of Christianity out there have never been spirit baptized, so none of them would be in the body. No, this is talking about being baptized into Christ, which is what the baptism verses say. It never says that about spirit baptism.   Now we all need spirit baptism too, because as we just read, Moses and the children of Israel were baptized in the cloud and in the sea. And that represents our spirit baptism and water baptism. We're just saying what the Bible says. Now some people say, “Oh, David, you're preaching baptismal regeneration.” I don't care what you call it, I'm just saying what the Bible says. It doesn't matter what you call it. Regeneration is not something you do when you step over a line somewhere. Regeneration is something that's carried out in your life as you repent and believe.)  It goes on to say, 13 For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. Wow, sounds kind of important, doesn't it! Many people are missing God on this regard here. There's a lot of people I've run into that have been Christians for a long time and yet they haven't been baptized. And God's even brought it to their attention, but they just hardened their conscience against it because nobody else around them thought to be baptized. We're not following the people around us, folks. We're following the living Word of God. We dare not follow men. They have been so foolish over the years and they've forgotten baptism and you can see how very important it is! We need to tremble before the Lord.   It sounds pretty important in Mark 16:15-16, the Great Commission. Well, if He sent them out to do this, we have to go do the same thing. If we talked to somebody about salvation, baptism is supposed to be a part of it, every time; immediately as we just read. If a person gets saved and they don't want to get baptized, well, we'll find out what the Bible has to say about that.   Here's the good word in Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. Notice, He said two things here. “He that believeth and is baptized”, So it's not just believing, it's actions that go with that believing. Baptism is the New Testament sign of the Covenant. The sealing of the Covenant. Just as circumcision was the sealing of the Covenant in the Old Testament, according to the apostle Paul. And so, He said, preach the Good News to them. And then those that believe it and are baptized shall be saved.  Well, now I'm just going to say a few words about this before we go on. I know a lot of you out there may have been sprinkled and they call it baptism. But really, not anywhere in the scriptures is there sprinkling when dealing with baptism. There is a word, rhantizō, which means sprinkling, like sprinkling of the blood. However, the word baptism is the only one that's used for baptism, and we're told in Vines, it says it's a process of immersion, which means submersion and emergence. And submersion is going under and emergence is coming up. And it comes from the word baptō, which means to dip or plunge beneath, which is exactly true. Strong's, for instance, says that to make overwhelmed. In other words, he says, fully wet. And it's from the word baptō which means to cover completely with fluid, Strong's says.   So, it's a pretty strong emphasis on being plunged beneath, the waters. There is no such thing as “sprinkling” in baptism. And there's no such thing as sprinkling babies in the scriptures, because the Bible says, repent and believe and repent and be baptized. We'll look at that in just a minute. So babies don't repent and they haven't done much that they're held guilty for. Basically, if you've only been sprinkled, you need to get baptized. Who can baptize you? Well, our examples in scripture are men who baptize. Can women baptize? The scripture doesn't say.  It has to be done. I would say in most cases people say, “Well, go find a preacher.” Well, that's a possibility to go to a church to get somebody to baptize you, but most preachers don't believe it is necessary and may put you off until they have more people who want to be baptized. Baptism is very important concerning your faith. It's an act of faith.   People think it's just joining a church. Well, it's joining the Church. It's being baptized into the body of Christ. But it's not talking about joining a local assembly. And it's not just a thing of naught, you know, it actually has an effect upon you. I've seen people that couldn't overcome certain sins until they got baptized because they just weren't obeying; they weren't washing away their sins. I mean, it's an act of faith for you, that you believe your sins are washed away when you get baptized, and we will study this.  No, there's no such thing as infant baptism or sprinkling. Because obviously sprinkling is dead wrong and even the dead church used to teach that. And if I remember correctly, it was Constantine who ordained sprinkling as baptism because on his death bed he just wanted to be baptized. He thought if he was baptized just before he died he would be okay, which was totally false. So, he got sprinkled over and over until he died. Silly stuff that people want; they want some kind of magic to make sure they can get into the Kingdom of heaven. But without repentance and faith you just get wet when you get baptized. Notice this progression: Act 2:38  And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Just obey the scriptures and you will be safe. Trust in men and you will not. Now let's look at Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name (Now listen to this. You're not baptizing someone in a name, you're baptizing them into the name. You know, when you get married, you wives out there, you took on the name, right? And thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. When you take His name, you need have faith to live up to it.  God's given principles whereby you can do that if you believe the gospel. Baptizing them literally, it says into the name, so it's not talking about using a name over someone. It's talking about baptizing you into the name of someone. Who is that? Well, this is the only place in the Bible that uses this term, so you need to understand it in regards to the other places in the Bible where it says being baptized into the name of Jesus. Because some people think these are formulas. And then they pick and choose which formula they think is the right one. But that's phony, and it's wrong. There is no scripture that contends with other scriptures. It all fits together. So therefore we need to understand how “this and that” go together.   Well, it says you baptize them into the name, that is, …baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: Notice that if you understand your English here, there's only one name here. It's baptizing them into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and notice also that Father is not “a name” and Son is not “a name” either, and neither is Holy Spirit “a name”. Those aren't names. He's telling you to baptize them into the Name. So what is this name?  Let me read the next verse first in Mat. 28:20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Notice that we not only baptize, we tell them to obey everything Scripture says. But when they baptize into the name, what is the name? Some people nowadays are very confused about what the name is. I just want to point out to you one thing that's very important to you Judaizer out there. That is, you folks who want to go back and be Jews. Now the Lord was so fed up with the Jews that He wrote the New Testament in Greek, and we have absolute proof of that. The Old Testament Hebrew has a numeric pattern that won't let you add a letter or take a letter in the original Hebrew without ruining the Hebrew pattern in the text. And we've written about that, if you'd like to go and read it. This book is available on our website, The Numeric English New Testament. Here's a link: NGNT  And here's why God put His signature in all of the scriptures. So in the Old Testament He used the Hebrew and in the New Testament, He used the Greek. That's a fact, because the New Testament Hebrew texts that are out there don't have a numeric pattern in them. And I'm talking about not just the pattern here and there, like you can find in War and Peace, which have little bits and pieces of things that accidentally come up to have a little bit of a numeric pattern with just a few letters. I'm talking about every letter of every word being a part of a numeric pattern and that's in both the Old Testament Hebrew and the New Testament Greek. So when you talk about “name” in the New Testament, you're talking about the word, onoma and it means character, authority, and nature. In the Old Testament, it's the word Shem, it was the chosen lineage back after Noah, because he took the name. He was the name. So in the New Testament, when you're baptized into the Name, you're baptized into the nature, character and authority of Jesus. We'll see that even more as we go on. So, it's into the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit which is spoken here. These three agree it's only one name, Jesus.  Act 4:12  And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.    Also, I want to point this out to you that are caught up in the Judaizer thing. I'm going to read Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations (Gentiles) shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, (Notice that the name of the Lord is synonymous here with gathering unto Jerusalem, and the apostle Paul said that “you have come unto the Heavenly City, the New Jerusalem”, meaning those Christians then who were baptized and filled with the spirit, and believe what the Word of God said. This is talking about Gentiles coming to it. Now, so this is not the Old Testament Jerusalem, but the New Testament, born-again Heavenly Jerusalem that he said we had come to. And all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord. Now we know the name of the Lord in the New Testament. That is my own new name.) We'll talk more about that in just a minute.   So going on here, … shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. (Now, so this is a born-again experience because they were certainly stubborn!) Jer 3:18 In those days the house of Judah (You know, by the way, folks, I got to tell you that just as there were 12 tribes back then, there's 12 today. Many have received that revelation from the Word. And there is a Judah; Judah was first. Judah means praise, and Judah represents the spirit-filled people.) … the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers.   19 But I said, How I will put thee among the children (This is the true children of God here), and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me. Now, these Gentiles that came to the Jerusalem, he said, “you shall call me my Father.” And Jesus taught in the New Testament for us to call Him, My Father! All you need do is get out your concordance and look up the word. It'll be two pages. Father. Father. Father. Father.  This is the relationship the Lord wants us to have with Him in the New Testament. Not an Old Testament name that is not in the New Testament or covenant. The only thing you can see Jesus calling Him is, Father. Amen. He said it again in Jer 3:4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth? So forget all these Jewish names. You're not Jews, at least most of you aren't. And even if you were, you've got a New Covenant and the anointing is in the Greek. The New Testament Greek has the numeric pattern, which is God's signature. So, the name of the Lord; what is the name of the Lord? Jesus. Why does He say of the Father? Because it's the same nature, character and authority in the whole family; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the same name. You understand? We're not talking about a title, here. We're talking about the nature, character and authority that's passed on from generation to generation. Now in the natural you inherited a name from your parents and in the spiritual you inherited a name from your spiritual parent, so we have to pay attention to that. We inherited the blood of Jesus. He is called “Everlasting Father” in Isa 9:6. Neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit have blood. So if you want to see this, for instance, you look in Gen 3:22 And Jehovah, or Yahweh, as some people say, or other names they put in here. But the truth is, that was what was in the Tetragrammaton, which is YH, or VH if you hold to the Jewish, or WH if you hold to the English translation YHWH, and YHVH. Now how can you baptize somebody in the name of YHWH when you can't even pronounce it? Because that's not what it's telling you to do. It's telling you the name, the nature, character and authority. And Jehovah God, Yahweh Elohim, it is translated in this Bible. Yahweh or YHWH, Elohim; and did you know Elohim is plural, never singular?   And so He says, Behold, the man is become as one of us (So we're talking about why YHWH is plural here. Who is he talking about? “…has become as one of us.” The Lord and the Angels know, in fact all through Genesis, He uses this terminology. I'll just point this out to you. So YHWH or YHVH, if you prefer, that's plural. Yes, it is in Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, (Oh my goodness. Now you know He's talking about God, right?) after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish… so on and so forth. And we see in Genesis, by the way, we see that Jehovah God translated from YHWH, Elohim is used quite often. For instance, Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God (YHWH Elohim, so He's plural, the family name.) made earth and heaven.   And here's another example. Gen 2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground,… So there's the name. However, not in the New Testament, because now it was written in the New Testament as Greek, you understand? For instance, in the Greek it's something like, Iésous, and Spanish it's Jesús “hay-SOOS”. Some Jews use Yeshua, but that doesn't come from the Greek, it comes from the Hebrew. There's no numeric pattern in the Hebrew NT. It's in the Greek. Some people say, “Oh, you can't use ‘Jesus'.” Well, why not? I've been using the name of Jesus to cast out demons and see miracles for over 50 years now. And you know what? He works. He doesn't care if I use the name Jesus. So they're just trying to drag you back under the Law and into the Old Covenant, which the Bible says passed away in Christ. Now, not one jot or tittle will pass away until all is fulfilled, because the Law is the letter that has to be made spirit, and that's the fulfillment. The New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament. But God didn't make the Old Testament with you, He only made it with the Jews. Psa 147:19-20  He showeth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel.  20  He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye Jehovah. So the Lord turned away from their covenant and language. All but a remnant rebelled up unto the end. We know they even crucified the Christ, and they crucified the prophets and the apostles. So does that mean they can't be saved? Nope, we're supposed to be believing for a remnant of them to come into the New Covenant and of course, the Lord will do that. Oh, praise be to God!  So we understand that the Lord accepts these names in the New Testament, the transliteration of Iésous is Jesus into English, and He certainly answers to that. And if you go to Spanish and use Jesús, He will answer to that, and if any other translation He will answer that. Because it's not the word that you're speaking over someone. Notice you're not baptizing them in a bucket of Jesus. You are baptizing them into the Name and the Name is His nature, character and authority. Praise God!  So we see that we are also to do all in the name as it says in Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. It's not that you have to “say” the name to do it in the name. You do it in the nature, character and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the scripture says. Because the Lord Jesus Christ is a name. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not a name. They have a name, they have a nature, character and authority, and it's always the same. But it's not that you speak, “the Father, Son, Holy Spirit” over someone and there's something magical about that or a particular formula of doing it. It's that they're baptized into the Name.  Now Jesus is a name and everywhere else in the Bible it uses the name Jesus because you're baptized into His death, burial, and resurrection. That's what baptism is. So if you want to say the name of Jesus, that's fine. It's still not a formula to say over someone. I hope you understand that because we are ambassadors for Christ, as it says in 2 Co 5:20. It means we are sent forth to do and to speak with authority in His name. Do you have to “say” His name every time you do anything? No, but you have to be in His name. The scripture says you “do all in the name.” In the name means, in the nature, character and authority. That's what it means. It doesn't mean, “say” the name. Now, can you say the name of Jesus? Yes, I do it all the time because I want everybody to know who Jesus is. And it's His authority, it's His power! Praise be to God. But I'm an ambassador on behalf of Christ to this world from His Kingdom and I'm coming to the Kingdom of this world. And so everything that I do in His name has authority you see. I hope you understand that.   And I'll point out something else to you in Acts chapter 2. We see here that Peter is preaching the Gospel to these Jews, and they were convicted of their sin, so we read Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? 38 And Peter said unto them, (This is a very important answer here. Thousands were converted here you see) Repent ye, and be baptized (Babies can't do that. Now just understand babies don't need to be baptized. Those that need to repent need to be baptized.) …Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you (Did he say, “some of you”, or “if you want to?” No. Did he say, “you need to and another doesn't?” No, every one of you.) in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.   Maybe that's why some people don't get the Holy Spirit, because they're not even being obedient unto baptism. Well, that's clear. Notice, he said “every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” And can you say the name of Jesus Christ? Definitely you can, you know, because it is a name; Father, Son and Holy Spirit is not a name. There's just one name there, you understand one nature, one character and one authority. And we're baptized into Jesus Christ. So if you're going to say the name, you need to say the proper name here. It is the name. It's Jesus. It means “Jehovah is salvation,” or “YHWH is salvation.”  So who was in Jesus? The Father! The Father was in Jesus. In fact, let me just read to you, Joh 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, (Oh, praise the Lord! So, what did that mean? Was the Father's name, Jesus? That's kind of the oneness doctrine. Generally it's the oneness doctrine or Trinity doctrine and neither one of them are quite right. Because if you just read the scriptures, you don't have to make up formulas that don't quite fit anything, and neither one of them do, actually.) But notice, He said, I am come in my Father's name and you received me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. Now, what did He mean by this? He came in His Father's, nature, character and authority. Another person can come in their own nature, character and authority, and they will listen to them, but they won't listen to somebody who is an ambassador of Christ. That's what He was saying. 44 How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from the only God ye seek not?   Let's look at Act 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, (The Jewish were calling the apostles on the carpet. The Sanhedrin really didn't have any authority from God. They had failed and gone their own way.) they inquired, By what power, or in what name, (Not by what name, it's in what name. We have to do all in the name, in the nature, character, and authority of Jesus. You can say things using the name or “by the name” and nothing will happen. Have you ever noticed? But if you do something in the name, well then the authority of heaven is behind you because you're an ambassador for the Kingdom.) By what power, or in what name, have ye done this? 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders, (We have the same problem today.) 9 if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole; 10 be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ (In the name, not by the name) in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole.   11 He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, (And this is still happening today.) which was made the head of the corner. 12 And in none other is there salvation: (Can you “say” the name of Jesus and still not have salvation? Of course, and a lot of other things you won't have if the only thing you're doing is “saying in the name of Jesus,” you'll be without a lot. But you can't do anything in the name and not see results. You're in the nature character and authority of Jesus Christ.) for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein (not “whereby”) we must be saved. (That's what it says in the original, “wherein.” Salvation is in Him.” And to have salvation, you must abide in Him. If you don't abide in Him, you're cast forth as a branch and picked up and thrown into the fire.)  Another example is in Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ (There it is again. We're baptized into the body. Doesn't that make it very, very important? Absolutely. So why aren't people doing this? Well, because they don't mind just filling churches up with people that tithe, then they come and listen and they become “cookie cutter Christians.) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. (So when you're being baptized into the nature, character and authority of Jesus, you are putting on His acts. What you put on represents your actions, or works. Is the fruit of the Spirit those actions? Yes, of course it is. The fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of being in Christ. We are first in Christ by faith. You accept everything that Christ gave you, and your faith is accounted as righteousness. But while you walk in that faith, God's going to be manifesting it. And if you don't see any of it manifesting, guess what? It's not faith in what the scripture has to say. Because there's definitely always going to be fruit of faith in what the scripture has to say.)   28 There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man (man was added in there) in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise. Baptism is very, very important. You see that? Glory be to God! It's the truth.  Let's read another one. Let's go to Col 2:11 in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; (How were we circumcised? We as Gentiles don't' get circumcised as Paul said in Galatians chapter 5. If you trust in circumcision, you are separated from Christ. You're not, naturally speaking, but if you do it in order to be justified, you're separated from Christ. Circumcision has a different meaning in the New Testament.) 12 having been buried with him in baptism,… (We see here that circumcision in the New Testament is baptism. How do you fulfill Old Testament circumcision? “Having been buried with him in baptism.” Cutting off the flesh from sowing our seed has the same meaning as cutting off the flesh man in baptism.     He tells you very plainly in Galatians that seeking to be justified by the works of the Law, Christ won't profit you anything. In Gal 5:2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. (You're not to go back under the Law. You're supposed to be obeying what it points to.) 4 Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love.   And all the rest of the Law is the same way. It's all a type and shadow of something in the New Testament, and all you need to do is start reading the New Testament and you'll find out what it is. In this case, circumcision equates to baptism. Now, if you were in the Old Testament and you didn't get circumcised, you were cut off. Now, if you're in the New Testament, you don't have to get circumcised because you have a New Covenant, but there is also a baptism that equates to circumcision, which is the sign of the Covenant. Let me explain that to you. Let's go back and read Genesis 17 and we'll see the type and the shadow of what baptism was, and we'll see how important it is!   Gen 17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. (So, that's the sign of that Covenant. And what is the sign of the New Testament covenant? Baptism.) 11 And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner that is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.   So some people say, “Oh it's everlasting!” Well, yeah but except for one thing, it's being interpreted when you come into the New Testament. You're still keeping it, but you're keeping it because you're keeping the Spirit, not the letter. You're actually fulfilling it with baptism. If you get circumcised in the New Testament and you're not fulfilling it, you're going back to keeping the Law. But if you understand that it's being translated from letter understanding to spiritual understanding, you get the real understanding. The letter kills but the spirit gives life, according to what the apostle Paul said.  Every jot and tittle of the Old Testament must be fulfilled in the New. Now continuing 14 And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. So that was true about circumcision if you are under the Old Covenant. Now that you're under the New Covenant, this shows the importance of baptism! So let's look at Romans now. Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin. 9 Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circumcision, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say, To Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness. 10 How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision: (Because he was reckoned righteous by his faith before he got circumcised. Is it same truth for baptism? Yes. He was reckoned righteous, not righteous, but reckoned righteous.  We are also reckoned as righteous when we obey the commandments on baptism. Now, I want to also say this regarding, opportunity. See, some people say, “Oh, the thief on the cross, he wasn't baptized, so we don't have to be.” No, wait a minute, the thief on the cross had no opportunity to be baptized. The Bible says also, you need to pay attention to this. Speaking of baptism Paul said, We become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall also be of his resurrection. (Rom 6:5) Now the thief was united with him in the likeness of his death. So he fulfilled what baptism and Romans 6 says, because if he “died with Christ, we shall also be raised with him”. He died with Christ, so he fulfilled it in that way. So now, you are not like the thief on the cross. You have opportunity to obey this word. If you have faith without works, how can that faith save you? You say, “Do we have to do this? Do we have to do that?” If you're just trying to get your toe in the door, you've got nothing. You have not yet become a disciple of Jesus Christ. What do I have to do? You have to do everything He tells you. Because He bought you with a price. You are not your own. You have the privilege to do everything He and His apostles told you to do in this New Covenant.   And the proof as we read on here is in verse Rom 4:11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision: (So faith came and works came and those works of obedience sealed what he received by faith.) that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned unto them; (So when you believe, righteousness is reckoned unto you, but if you don't obey, you're not getting sealed. If you believe without obedience, that's faith without works. James said, Can that faith save him? No. Why do you become a disciple of Christ and don't do what He says? “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?” How can you call him Lord if you don't do what He says? It just can't be.   So their argument about the thief doesn't count for them because they have opportunity, and he didn't. Of course, if a person dies after becoming a believer, and they had no knowledge of a need for baptism and there was no opportunity, I believe their faith would be “accounted as righteousness”. But when you have opportunity, you need to do it. Notice that all through the Book of Acts, when they baptized people, they did it immediately. Why? Because it was important! It was an act of faith that washed away sin. Wow! You see, it's important!  So let's go on to look at the baptism chapter, Romans 6. It's so good, so full of power! Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (Well, there's a lot of people that believe that. A lot of dead religion out there that believes that. The “Once saved, always saved” love that. They don't understand what grace is, grace also brings obedience.) 2 God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? (That should be our attitude towards sin. We've been made free from sin. Why should we serve it anymore?) 3 Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (Yes, many people get baptized and they are ignorant. They don't even know what it's for. They just think it's a ceremony so they can join a church. It's a ceremony, all right. But it's one that acts by faith and causes you to enter the church. The church, not a local building.)   …we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (So therefore if you were baptized into Jesus, you're dead. You're dead to sin. How shall you any longer live therein, he says. Do you believe that you're dead to sin? Or do you believe you're always going to be a sinner, like most preachers say? They're like the spies with the bad report. By the way, if you listen to them you won't enter the promised land. It says this very plainly. You were baptized into his death, you're dead by faith when you get baptized, you're dead to sin. You don't have to serve it anymore.)  4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: (Now if you're not being buried, it's not baptism. If you're being splashed in the face, that's not baptism. It says buried and that's what baptism is. The only difference here is, he's using water instead of dirt. When a person dies they're buried in dirt. But we die when we are buried in water, representing the washing of the Word of God, which puts to death the fleshly life. Every day that you walk in the water of the Word, it washes you clean. The water of the Word is to put to death your old man. When you obey the word, the old man who wants his own way dies. This is a type of being buried in the Word of God. Being overwhelmed as we studied what Strong's says about baptism. When you're overwhelmed by the washing of the water with the word, it's washing you clean. If you're ignoring God's word, don't bother getting baptized. Don't waste God's time and yours. You're committing to the death of self when you go down into the waters of baptism and you reckon it to be done. We're told how to do this. 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. (Now why do we get baptized into death? So that we get resurrected to walk in newness of life. You can see here that it's not just a ceremony. Notice the condition.) 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, (baptism) we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; (Notice the condition to have His resurrection life is going down in baptism by faith. Well, have you noticed there's good promises that come with baptism? Why are you tarrying? What are you waiting for? Get baptized and claim Jesus' new life and you will have it. That's why I'm sharing this with you today. What's the benefit of baptism through faith? The benefit of entering into the body of Christ. The benefit of washing away thy sins. People will try to pick this apart but I am just saying what the Bible says here. If they emphasized this and thought it was so important that they would bring people down in the middle of the night and dunk them, then you ought to do the same thing. You ought to not go on in your Christian life and not be baptized. You're taking a chance, aren't you? Yes, and you have opportunity. You're not thief on the cross.)   Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, (So you see the purpose of baptism? That the body of sin is done away since the old man was crucified with Him. This is just awesome! Praise be to God!) …that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; (The purpose of baptism is so we are no longer in bondage to sin! What about the preachers out there that say you're always going to be in bondage to sin. Well, they're separating the people from the benefits of the Kingdom! They don't know what the Bible says, and they have no faith.) 7 for he that hath died is justified from sin. (When you go down and you come up, and you believe that your old man was crucified with Christ and buried, you're justified from sin, which means accounted righteous from sin. Is there an advantage here to baptism? I'd say so. Would you like to be justified or accounted righteous from sin?)  8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; 9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; (So that's part of eternal life. It's part of the obedience you do with your faith to receive eternal life.) death no more hath dominion over him. (So now think about this, baptism is an act of faith which is fulfilled the rest of your Christian life. It can be just getting wet if you are not holding to faith in the purposes we have looked at. See when the Lord tells you in His Word to do something, what He's telling you is for your own good that you may prosper in the fruit of His Kingdom. Rom 8:11-13  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.  12  So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh:  13  for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Your spiritual man must be obeying this word, and disobeying the flesh-man. The flesh says, “No, I don't want to do that.” And the Spirit-man says, “It doesn't matter; I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ and I will walk in His steps. I have the authority to do it because you are dead. Therefore, I can do this.”   I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It says who strengthens me in all things. When God gives you a command to “resist not him that is evil”, for instance, and “love your enemy”, for instance and so on, and you ignore it because you think nobody else does it? Or you ignore it because you don't want to do it? Then the water of the Word is not putting to death your old man. Don't waste God's time. Don't take His name in vain. Your baptism means nothing. Do people get baptized for nothing? Yes, they do because they're not planning on walking in it. In fact, quite often “they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies”, speaking the lies of the Pharisees and dead religion.)   So going on to Rom 6:10 For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Amen. When you went down in those waters, friend, you died. When you came up, that's Jesus, that's not you anymore! When you go down in the water, the “old you” died under those waters. It's the same thing with the Word of God. You read this Word in order to be a disciple of Jesus, which is a learner and a follower. And it puts to death your own life in the water of the Word. You have the ability to do it because you received this by an act of faith at baptism. You're “calling the things that be not as though they were.” Jesus said, “all things whatsoever you pray and ask for believe that you received them and you shall have them”. So what happened at baptism? You believe you received it, God gives you the power to walk it out. You're walking out your baptism as you read this Word daily.   It should be the most important thing in your life, to read this Word. Do you love Jesus? Well, it'll be proven if you do. If you love Him, He said you would keep His commandments. There's no salvation if you don't love Him. The Bible says if you don't love Him, the Father won't love you. There's no salvation if you don't love Him.  Verse says 11 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, (Which means, consider it done. This is faith. This is totally contrary to what's being taught in most churches. They're taking away your faith. They teach you to walk by sight, and that you're always going to be a sinner saved by grace. No, grace saves; it really saves so they're liars.) 11 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. (Oh, praise God! You're alive unto God. You are now alive in Jesus! Now you can follow Him. You're baptized and your old flesh is dead. But the flesh is going to say, “No I'm not.” And the devil's going to say, “No, you're not.” But you say by faith, “Yes, I am.” When the devil tempts you, you tell him, “You can't tempt me because the one you can tempt was the one who died back there in those waters of baptism”. Jesus did that against the devil. He used the Word. He slapped the devil right in the face every time he tried tempting Him, He said, “It is written.” He was using the water of the Word. You got to fight the good fight of faith here. You need to see the “new man” Who is Christ in you, in the mirror and you will be changed into His image from glory to glory. Amen.)   Rom 6:11 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. (What power will this faith give you?) 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof: (So how do you not let sin reign? You use verse 11, you are dead to sin and alive unto God. You use your faith in this verse and you can do verse 12. Now can you see why baptism is so important and it needs to be at the beginning of your Christian walk?) 13 neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; (Now you don't want to go and foolishly tempt yourself either. You don't want to hang around with drug users or sit and watch T.V. and all that garbage available these days in the Media.   Don't put yourself into a position so that you're presenting your members to sin.) but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (You say, God, here I am! I'm alive from the dead and Jesus lives in me. How do you do this? Don't put yourself in a position to be tempted. When you're tempted, the first thing you feel is the old man's power. Now, if you're not doing it on purpose, you might receive grace from God, but if you're purposely going because you desire these things, you're presenting your members as instruments of unrighteousness.   Be not deceived, evil companionships corrupt good morals. (1Co.15:33) That's why when there's a little leaven in the church, you cast it out because a little leaven, leavens the whole lump. You don't want to fellowship somebody that's going to feed your soul through the devil. Ministers, you are commanded in 1Co. 5 to cast them out. You have to obey the Word of God if you want a holy church!) 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace. (So, if you are truly under grace through faith sin has no power over you. Grace is not permission to sin; its power over sin.  See if you're under the Law, you're going to a place where you won't receive any help from God. Remember the Old Covenant was a type and a shadow of the new. The Law was the letter, and “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”. The spirit is given to those who receive grace through faith.)  So he goes on to say, Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid. (We know that sin no longer has power over us and we don't have to sin. That wasn't true under the Law, because the Law could not make perfect. That's why God saw need for a New Covenant based on better promises. You believe and reckon yourself to be dead to sin and that He will rise up in you and He will do the work. That's what grace is, it's the unmerited favor of God.) 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (You can obey the flesh if you want, you're free! You never were free before you came into faith. You can still go back and serve your flesh if you want to. Or you can obey Jesus Christ calling upon the Lord to give you grace and His help. He wants to help you. He wants you to overcome.)  Going on in verse 17 But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, (Notice: You're no longer a sinner.) ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; (So we need to be overcome by the truth that sets free! There's no power under the Law. Faith gives power. People always want to do something so that they can feel justified. But that's self-righteousness, and that's not going to work and the Lord won't permit it.) 18 and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness. (Do you believe it? Because you have to believe it before you can receive it. We no longer live in sin. We need to see it put on Jesus on the cross. Like the serpent on the pole in the wilderness. Everyone who got their eyes on the serpent on the pole were healed of the snake bite, which is sin. Now anything under the curse is the snake bite. But when we see the curse put on Jesus we can be free of it. It already happened back there at the cross.   You apply what you received at the cross at your baptism. If you haven't been baptized, you need this act of faith. There's something about humans that we're able to apply things when we do things. In other words, your faith becomes effectual when you act it out. Faith without works is dead. Now one of our works is baptism. Is that a work that saves you? It's a work of God. He saves you, His work saves you. By grace have you been saved through faith, and that's not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works; (that's your works), lest any man should boast, for in Christ Jesus, were we created for good works. (Eph 2:8-10) Oh, praise God!   Back to Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification. 20 For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness. (So when you were a servant of sin, you had no ability to be righteous.) 21 What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. (You know, if you're not ashamed, the end of those things is death; remember that.) 22 But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification,   (I will say it again, the reason you get baptized first is so you can look back at that and say, “It was done.” And every time you're tempted, you tell the devil it was done. Every time your flesh tempts you, you tell it, “It's done, you're dead. You have no authority over me anymore.”) and the end eternal life. (Notice and the end eternal life. So you're claiming eternal life by faith. How do you get manifestly eternal life? Well, he's telling you to walk in faith and because of that faith, God empowers you to walk in righteousness, and that is eternal life.) 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (It's freely given to you, accept it by faith, stand on the Word of God. Speak faith. Don't let the devil talk you out of it, and don't walk by sight.)  Let's read next 1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith, (Obviously you can't do verse 11 unless you do verse 12. Fight the good fight of the faith; these things are yours! They've been given to you in Jesus Christ. You were baptized into His nature, character and authority. Fight the good fight of the faith.   Faith is believing you've received something that you can't yet see. He says to Christians;) lay hold on the life eternal, (Notice that you manifestly lay hold of the life eternal by fighting the good fight of faith and laying hold on these attributes. You're laying hold on Jesus Christ.) whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. (Confess means “to speak the same as.” Speak what Jesus Christ says. He said, if you confess me before men, I will confess you before the Father. He says your old man is dead and the new man lives and you've been made free from sin.) 13 I charge thee in the sight of God, who giveth life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession; 14 that thou keep the commandment, without spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:   He says if you love Me you will keep My commandments. Now you understand that you can keep His commandments by faith. You can't keep them as long as you don't understand. You live in Christ and the old man has passed away. You're a new creature in Christ. Remember your baptism, the one that went down under the water was you and the One that came up out of that water was Jesus Christ. When you devour this Word, it overwhelms your old man and puts him to death. The Word is Jesus Christ. Ask Him to give you a hunger for His Word. So fight the good fight of the faith and lay hold on life eternal!   You're saved from the old man. You're saved from the devil, saved from the world, saved from the curse. That's what the Bible says. It doesn't say you're saved so you can continue on in your sins. We just read Romans 6, right? Oh, this is Good News! It's the Good News that makes you holy; it separates you from this wicked world. It delivers you from the power of Satan and the power of the flesh and the power of circumstances around you. Glory be to God! So lay hold on life eternal. Lay hold on the attributes of Jesus Christ! He set you free!   Okay, let's go to 2Pe 1:2 Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; (We looked at some knowledge today that empowers people to overcome sin.) 3 seeing that his divine power (Your baptism helps you to be able to apply this.) hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life (Life here is Zoē' It's God's life.) and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (When you read the Bible, it gives you knowledge of what is yours. God knows if you think it's valuable to read the Bible and get the knowledge that gives you the power of God, godliness, and holiness.)   4 whereby he hath granted unto us (You have to see that He's already given all this to you by faith.) his precious and exceeding great promises (These will give you faith. Are they precious to you? If they are then you're going to spend time with them because they're valuable and because you like to spend time with Jesus.); that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature (The divine nature is Jesus. Faith in your baptism just gave you His divine nature!), having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. (The apostate preachers do not offer escape from lusts.) 5 Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence in your faith, (I put the coma after faith here and not behind diligence because you really don't have any power to be diligent without faith.) supply virtue; and in your virtue knowledge; (I've shared before that each one of these attributes of Christ are inside the previous one, and it's inside of faith.)   6 and in your knowledge self-control; and in your self-control patience (If you have patience in your faith, you'll lack nothing James 1:4 says.  When the answer doesn't come immediately, you have to be patient in your faith. He wants your faith to grow so He's going to try you.); and in your patience godliness; 7 and in your godliness brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kindness love. (That's really the end result because God is love.) 8 For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Notice this, it starts with knowledge and it ends with knowledge too, because you accept the knowledge you walk by faith.   God gives you the gifts of what you read there, and it enables you to gain more knowledge. Why is that? Because we walk in the light as He is in the light. And thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. See it tells you where you're walking and where you should go. So if you will walk in the light that you have, God will put more light in front of you. The more knowledge you get, the more holiness you can have.)  9 For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins. (Remember, that old man is dead. He has no power anymore. You don't have those sins anymore. People forget that and they can't bear this fruit that we just talked about.) 10 Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: 11 for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  (Notice that you should be leaving the kingdom of this world and entering the eternal Kingdom of God where he rules.  Oh Hallelujah! Believe in your baptism, Saints! Glory to God! Thank you, Father! 

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour
The Fifth Day of Av: The Yahrzeit of Rabbenu HaAri

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2024


Today, the fifth day of Av, is the Yahrzeit of Rabbenu Ha'ari, Rabbi Yishak Luria (1534-1572, Tsfat). Last night in Tsfat, thousands of people came to his grave to pray and perform Tikunim. Therefore, it is appropriate today to study a teaching of the Ari. When one learns the Torah of the Sadikim on the day they passed away, the lips of that Sadik move in his grave. It is a Zechut to activate the Sadikim from the grave to extend their influence over those who study their teachings. Until the Ari, the teachings of the Kabbala were hidden from most of the world. He was the one who revealed these secrets of the Torah. The Gaon of Vilna said that at the end of time, these secrets will be revealed on an even broader scale. Today, Baruch Hashem, there is a greater awareness of these concepts. Today, we will study one subject that even regular people like ourselves can undertake. It is not only for Kabbalists. We will uncover one of the "Kavanot"(esoteric intents) taught by the Ari. Performing a Misva with these Kavanot adds new "flavor" to the Misva and prevents it from becoming a mechanical act, performed by rote. Even if a person can only achieve one out of ten Kavanot, he should not feel that it is "all or nothing." Every additional Kavana transforms the Misva exponentially. Furthermore, doing so opens the heavenly gates to bring down a Shefa (Heavenly abundance) for our Neshama. The Kavanot unlock hidden treasures, and we are the beneficiaries. In Sha'ar HaKavanot, the Ari discusses the mystical intents of immersing in the Mikveh on Ereb Shabbat. Going to the Mikveh on Ereb Shabbat is a very important and powerful practice. It may sound like a difficult undertaking, however, it is really quite fast and simple. Anyway, we tend to waste time on Friday. We should utilize a few minutes and go to the Mikveh. When a person immerses on Ereb Shabbat, the Kedusha of Shabbat can already be seen on his forehead. While a layman can't detect it, Sadikim like the Baba Sali, could see one thousand lights radiating from him. The Ari reveals the Kavana to be used before immersing, while immersing and after immersing. While standing in the water, before immersing, one should focus on the Divine Name "EHYH," which has the numerical equivalent of 151, the same as the word "Mikveh." This has the Segula to help a person control his anger, as the Hebrew word KaAS (anger) also has the numerical equivalent of 151, the same as Mikveh and the Divine Name. There is a deep connection between this specific Divine name and the Mikveh. The word "EHYH" literally means, "I will become." The Mikveh is the gateway for a person to become a new person by purifying himself of his past transgressions and leaving his old self behind. Also, the name "EHYH" is associated with a certain spiritual realm known as "Ima" (mother). Just as the mother cleans and diapers the soiled baby, while the father generally plays with the child after he is already clean, so too the purifying power of the Mikveh draws on this spiritual force of "Ima." The next step is to spiritually prepare the waters of the Mikveh for immersion. The Ari reveals that one should have Kavana to immerse in the "NaCHaL Elyon" (the supernal river), which refers to the heavenly Mikveh capable of purging the soul of its impurities. The details of the Kavana consist of focusing on the four configurations of the divine name YHVH and the three configurations of the divine name EHYH, in addition to the name YH, which represents the "secret of Shabbat." Through a sequence of combinations and permutations, these names form the numeric equivalent of the word "NaCHaL," (river) which is 88, and the word MaYiM (water), which is 90. This Kavana actually fills the earthly Mikveh with the Heavenly water of the Nachal Elyon. After that, one should have intention that all of this is "L'ChVOD Shabbat", in honor of Shabbat. Each part of this phrase has mystical significance and is connected to the divine names associated with the Mikveh. Upon emerging from the water, the Ari teaches not to dry oneself with a towel. The Mikveh water remaining on the body is "holy water of the Shabbat." Let the body absorb them, and the holiness of the water will remain with him. The Ben Ish Hai says that if this is too difficult, because of the cold or because it is uncomfortable, one may dry his body, but leave one area undried, preferably his arms, to absorb the water. When he leaves the Mikve, he should say the Pasuk "Im Tashiv M'shabbat Raglecha, Asot Hefsecha B'Yom Kadshi etc." It is not proper to recite the Pasuk while still in the dressing room in the presence of undressed men and without a head covering. Therefore, he should wait until he actually exits the Mikveh room. The proper time for using the Mikveh on Ereb Shabbat, according to the Ari, is from the fifth hour of the day, one hour before Hasot, after reading "Shnayim Mikra V'Echad Targum" (The weekly Torah portion twice, with one reading of the translation). Of course, if a person cannot go at this time, it is better to go earlier than not to go at all. One who practices the Kavanot for immersion on Ereb Shabbat experiences a qualitatively different level of immersion than everyone else. It's a different Shabbat.

Planet MicroCap Podcast | MicroCap Investing Strategies
Tilting the Odds in Your Favor with Yale Bock, Owner of Y H & C Investments

Planet MicroCap Podcast | MicroCap Investing Strategies

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2024 47:20


My guest on the show today is Yale Bock, Owner of Y H & C Investments. As a Las Vegas local, Yale is all about assessing his odds in any potential investment, and in our conversation we discuss how he tilts the odds in his favor. I've known Yale for a long time and consider him a great friend. He does a ton of management meetings, loves turning over every rock, and I wanted to learn more about how he discerns which companies truly have a competitive advantage or moat. For more information about Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, please visit: https://www.y-hc.com/ To attend our next investor conference, the Planet MicroCap Showcase: VANCOUVER in association with Small Cap Discoveries, taking place at the Fairmont Waterfront Vancouver on September 25-26, 2024, please register here: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/signup Planet MicroCap Podcast is on YouTube! All archived episodes and each new episode will be posted on the Planet MicroCap YouTube channel. I've provided the link in the description if you'd like to subscribe. You'll also get the chance to watch all our Video Interviews with management teams, educational panels from the conference, as well as expert commentary from some familiar guests on the podcast. Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1Q5Yfym Click here to rate and review the Planet MicroCap Podcast The Planet MicroCap Podcast is brought to you by SNN Incorporated, The Official MicroCap News Source, and the Planet MicroCap Review Magazine, the leading magazine in the MicroCap market. You can Follow the Planet MicroCap Podcast on Twitter @BobbyKKraft

Tám Sài Gòn
Review phim: MÙA HÈ ĐẸP NHẤT, VÙNG ĐẤT CÂM LẶNG: NGÀY MỘT, CHỜ NGƯỜI NƠI PHÁO HOA RỰC RỠ và HAI KHOẢNG TRỜI SONG SONG

Tám Sài Gòn

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2024 24:24


Review các phim ra rạp từ ngày 28/06/2024: MÙA HÈ ĐẸP NHẤT – T16 Đạo diễn:  Vũ Khắc Tuận Diễn viên:  Đỗ Khánh Vân, Trần Nghĩa, Công Dương, Minh Dự, Nguyễn Tụ Thể loại:  Tâm Lý Mùa hè năm ấy, chúng ta chẳng có gì trong tay ngoài tuổi trẻ, ước mơ, và…có nhau. Nhưng cũng chính mùa Hè ấy - mùa hè mang theo những điều mà ta chưa kịp hoàn thành… Bạn đã sẵn sàng gặp lại phiên bản của chính mình, trong những ngày Hè đẹp nhất của tuổi trẻ năm ấy và viết tiếp câu chuyện còn dở dang chưa? VÙNG ĐẤT CÂM LẶNG: NGÀY MỘT – T16 Đạo diễn:  Michael Sarnoski Diễn viên:  Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou Thể loại:  Kinh Dị Chứng kiến ngày mà cả thể giới bỗng im lặng CHỜ NGƯỜI NƠI PHÁO HOA RỰC RỠ - T16 Đạo diễn:  Đặng Y Hàm Diễn viên:  Lưu Tuấn Khiêm, Phạm Thiếu Huân Thể loại:  Tình cảm Nhà văn Hồng Kông Thiên Vũ một mình đến Đài Bắc để tìm kiếm Vịnh Cá Voi - địa danh bí ẩn mà theo một người bạn qua thư của anh chàng viết là có thể dẫn lối đến thiên đường. Trong chuyến đi, anh bất ngờ gặp A Tường - anh chàng địa phương tốt bụng và đem đến nhiều cảm xúc cho Thiên Vũ. Dù hẹn ước sẽ cùng nhau đi tìm Vịnh Cá Voi, nhưng A Tường lại đột nhiên biến mất kể từ Lễ hội pháo hoa Kenting. Nhận ra cuộc gặp gỡ trước đó giữa mình và A Tường chính là định mệnh, Thiên Vũ quyết tâm đi tìm A Tường và luôn mong ngày gặp lại chàng trai ấy. HAI KHOẢNG TRỜI SONG SONG – T13 Đạo diễn:  Sigrid Andrea Bernardo Diễn viên:  Metawin Opas-Iamkajorn, Janella Salvador Thể loại:  Tình cảm A man struggling with a painful past tries to move forward, only to discover that the woman in his present life has an uncanny connection to his past. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kim-thanh-duong/support

Luonto-Suomi
Linnunlaulujen aamu

Luonto-Suomi

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2024 50:27


Nyt on kevät ja ainakin yksi kevätaamu kannattaa valvoa lintujen konserttia kuunnellen. Keväisessä yössä valvoo perinteinen kolmikko, Ylen luonto-ohjelmista tutut Asko Hauta-aho ja Minna Pyykkö sekä lintuasiantuntija Jan Södersved Birdlifesta. Varhaisimmat linnut, rastaat ja punarinnat, ovat olleet äänessä jo pimeässä. Vähitellen aamukonserttiin on liittynyt mukaan yhä uusia laulajia. Yhä uudet nokat ovat avautuneet auringon nousun aikaan kertoakseen reviirien rajoista ja omasta kelpoisuudesta puolisoina – tai mistä linnut nyt sitten ikinä laulavatkaan. Ohjelman äänisuunnittelusta vastaa Tommi Slotte. Linnunlaulujen aamun viimeinen osuus on kuultavissa Minna Pyykön maailma -ohjelmassa.

Heja Framtiden
528. Heidi Rundt: Utbildning i framtidens ledarskap

Heja Framtiden

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2024 30:30


Vi pratar ofta om vilka kompetenser och färdigheter som kommer att vara relevanta - eller rentav nödvändiga - i framtiden. Men tänk om det framförallt handlar om att lära sig vara nyfiken, anpassningsbar och öppen för det oväntade? Den analysen landar i alla fall Heidi Rundt ofta i som vd för utbildningsorganismen Hyper Island. Med allt från enstaka kurser, till YH-utbildningar, masterprogram och ledarskapsmoduler har Hyper i dag en bred palett i flera delar av världen. Hur kan man framtidssäkra sig själv? // Programledare: Christian von Essen // Inspelat i Kitchen Studio på Roslagsgatan i Stockholm. // Läs mer på hejaframtiden.se och prenumerera på nyhetsbrevet!

WHMP Radio
Poetry & song with Rich & Marisa Michelson & Kinga Cserjési, coming to Bombyx

WHMP Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 17:22


4/16/24: John Pucci: Trump's trial. THE Mash-up: Y@H, Pride Chorus, Children's Choir & The Best Thing Ever. The monthly Comedy Quiz w/ Happier Valley Comedy. Mohawk Trail Regional School District. Poetry & song with Rich & Marisa Michelson & Kinga Cserjési, coming to Bombyx.

WHMP Radio
Mohawk Trail Regional School District Superintendent Sheryl Stanton on our rural schools

WHMP Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 27:09


4/16/24: John Pucci: Trump's trial. THE Mash-up: Y@H, Pride Chorus, Children's Choir & The Best Thing Ever. The monthly Comedy Quiz w/ Happier Valley Comedy. Mohawk Trail Regional School District. Poetry & song with Rich & Marisa Michelson & Kinga Cserjési, coming to Bombyx.

WHMP Radio
The monthly Comedy Quiz w/ Happier Valley Comedy

WHMP Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 14:02


4/16/24: John Pucci: Trump's trial. THE Mash-up: Y@H, Pride Chorus, Children's Choir & The Best Thing Ever. The monthly Comedy Quiz w/ Happier Valley Comedy. Mohawk Trail Regional School District. Poetry & song with Rich & Marisa Michelson & Kinga Cserjési, coming to Bombyx.

WHMP Radio
John Pucci: Trump's trial. THE Mash-up: Y@H, Pride Chorus, Children's Choir & The Best Thing Ever

WHMP Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 29:20


4/16/24: John Pucci: Trump's trial. THE Mash-up: Y@H, Pride Chorus, Children's Choir & The Best Thing Ever. The monthly Comedy Quiz w/ Happier Valley Comedy. Mohawk Trail Regional School District. Poetry & song with Rich & Marisa Michelson & Kinga Cserjési, coming to Bombyx.

Bít Tất
Wean Le: shhhhhhh - Bít Tất Nhạc #267

Bít Tất

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2024 24:09


Chào mừng Wean Le đến với Bít Tất Nhạc!!! Vừa qua, Wean cùng tlinh đã ra mắt ca khúc “shhhhhhh" vào đúng ngày sinh nhật của cả hai. Bài hát mang thông điệp tích cực về tình yêu, và được khán giả khen ngợi rất nhiều. “shhhhhhh" đối với Wean là bài hát đầy sự ngẫu hứng. Những giai điệu bài hát này đến với Wean rất bất ngờ khi ngồi chơi cùng với bạn. Và cơ duyên kết hợp với tlinh cũng duyên số không kém khi Wean chia sẻ giai điệu mới lên mạng xã hội, tlinh đã ngay lập tức có lời đề nghị hát chung. Nhưng lời mời tham gia Bít Tất Nhạc chắc chắn không thể đến từ sự ngẫu hứng (hihi) Đón xem và cùng Bít Tất Nhạc tận hưởng giai điệu hiện đại, lôi cuốn của “shhhhhhh".—Xem bản video trên Youtube nhé.--Nội dung này do Hội Y Học Dự Phòng Việt Nam cung cấp và được MSD tài trợ vì mục đích giáo dục.--Yêu thích tập podcast này, bạn có thể donate cho Bít Tất Nhạc tại:● Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vietcetera● Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/vietcetera

Panorama of Halacha
4.12 Mikeitz 5784

Panorama of Halacha

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2023 57:00


A weekly shiur by Dayan Levi Yitzchok Raskin, Rov of Anash in London, explores interesting Torah questions and halachic dilemmas. The following issues are discussed by Dayan Raskin in this week's episode: Dedicated in honour of the Yohrzeit (3 Teves) of Mrs Channoh Rayzel bas Aharon Dovid ע"ה and for Refua Sheleimoh to Mr Chaim Shmuel ben Channoh Rayzel שי', by Mr & Mrs P Rabin שיחיו 1) This past Shabbos (Mevorchin) we didn't have a minyan for Tehillim until the Chazan was into the 5th sefer of Tehillim. There was a Chiyuv who didn't want to lose the missed Kadeishim. So he said Kaddish after 4 chapters of Tehillim in immediate succession. Was that correct? [1] 2) Follow-on from last week's discussion: Should a bochur wear a Tallis when called to the Torah in a BaleBatim minyan? [2] 3) Is there a permitted method to drain liquid from a jar of olives on Shabbos? [3] 4) We're marrying of our daughter one evening during Chanukah. It's totally impractical to light Menorah at home in the evening. Should I [appoint someone to remind me and] light Menorah at home when we get home after the wedding is over, or should I light at the wedding hall? [4] 5) Three of the Morning Brochos are phrased: “that You did not make me…”. Why weren't they phrased in the positive: “that You made me…”? [5] 6) Revisiting last week's question: If I nosh the pulp left in the top part of the hand-squeezer, do I say the brocho Ho'etz on that and then Shehakol on the juice?[6] 7) The brocho for Coconut Milk: is it Shehakol or Borei Pri hoEitz? [7] 8) A Shliach is visiting a Jew in prison. The visitor is separated from the inmate by a glass wall. The visitor has permission to light a Menorah on his side of the screen. May the inmate say the brochos upon the lighting of the Menorah done by the visiting Shaliach?[8] 9) We are prohibited to articulate HaShem's name Y-H… .[9] Does this apply to non-Jews too? 10) Our Shul Shabbos-urn curiously drips a bit after shutting the faucet. The drops of hot water land in the sink where there is usually a presence of cold water. Is this a concern? [10] ________________________________________ [1] ראה אגרות קודש ח"י ע' דש; תהלים אוי"י ע' 223. דין קדיש שלא לצורך – בכנסת הגדולה סי' נה סק"ג. וא"ת באג"ק ח"ה ע' שיג מאשר אמירת קדיש אחר עלינו ושנית אחר ספירת העומר? וי"ל דלאחרי שהפסיקו בקדיש מותר לומר קדיש שנית אחר ספירת העומר. [2] ב'היום יום' י"ט כסלו נאמר שאין הש"ץ מתעטף בטלית למנחה וערבית. במנין של ישיבה, לא ילבש טלית ש"ץ שהוא בחור (אג"ק ח"ט ע' ריד). בחור במנין של בע"ב, ש"ץ או לעלות לתורה? (אג"ק חי"ט ע' רמט). למרות המנהג הנפוץ – שהבחורים מסרבים ללבוש טלית, הנה שמעתי שש"ב ה' שי' ראסקין עלה לתורה לבר-מצוה במנין של הרבי בשש"פ, ודודנו ר"ד ע"ה הורה לו ללבוש טלית. וכן אירע עם ר' ברוך שי' דוכמאן, שעלה לתורה לבר-מצוה במנין של הרבי ביוהכ"פ, שלבש טלית. [3] ראה שבת כהלכה ח"ב פי"ד סכ"ד. ושם בהערות ע' וע"א אוסר שפיכת נוזלים מהבקבוק כשיש זיתים בגובה הבקבוק. ורק כשהזיתים הם רק בתחתית הכלי, אז שפיכת המים שלמעלה הוי הסרת פסולת מפסולת. וע"ע דברינו בהלכתא רבתא לשבתא הע' 8 ובמילואים שם סי' יט. [4] ראה נטעי גבריאל – חנוכה פי"א ס"ה. [5] ראה ב"ח או"ח סי' מו. [6] בהערה בערך 'מיץ פירות' בשערי הברכה פכ"ג (349כב) מביא בזה מדין עיקר וטפל. וזה לכאורה לא שייך בנדו"ד. ושם מביא לכוין שלא לפטור, ואז יברך בלי פקפוק. [7] ראה קצות השלחן סי' נג הע' ח. [8] בן איש חי (דיני חנוכה בפ' וישב, דין ו) מתיר למשלח לברך. ולהעיר משיטת שו"ת משאת בנימין סי' סב – הובא בש"ת צמח צדק או"ח סי' לה – שברכת העולה היא על הקריאה של הש"ץ. אין להוכיח מברכת האשה על הדל"נ ע"י נכרי בביה"ש (שוע"ר סי' רסג ס" ), כי שם מברכת על הנאתה בראיית האור. התוקע שופר למי שאינו יודע לברך (שוע"ר סי' תקפ? ס"?) – הרי השומע הוא העושה המצוה, והתוקע מברך בעבורו. שיטת הפרי חדש (סי' תלב סס"א) שהבעל המצוה יכול לברך על מצוה הנעשית ע"י שלוחו. וראה בארוכה ס' שכל טוב יו"ד סי' רפט ס"ק כא. [9] קידושין עא א. אך י"ל ששם זה נגלה למשה ולא להאבות וכו'. כל שכן שאין לאוה"ע להשתמש בו. [10] קילוח הנפס אינו מבשל (חוות דעת סי' צא סק"ח).

Viherpesuohjelma
2.⁠ ⁠Vastuullisuus ja maineen mittaaminen

Viherpesuohjelma

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2023 33:16


Yhä useampi suomalainen yritys käyttää Luottamus&Maine-tutkimusta analysoidessaan mainettaan ja sen vaikutusta liiketoimintaan. Mitä tutkimus kertoo vastuullisuuden merkityksestä yrityksen maineelle asiakkaiden, työntekijöiden ja sijoittajien keskuudessa? Onko vastuullisuus hyvä investointi myös mainemielessä? Vieraana T-Median tutkimusjohtaja Riku Ruokolahti.

VISLA FM
Salaryman Radio - Psyche & YH 09.14.23 | VISLA FM

VISLA FM

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2023 115:00


Salaryman Radio - Psyche & YH 09.14.23 | VISLA FM by VISLA

The Infinite Skrillifiles: OWSLA Confidential
[The Manhattan Algorithm.]

The Infinite Skrillifiles: OWSLA Confidential

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2023 22:27


Thank god It's like a storm is passed I gotta keep it up I would never touch another man If I could front the cost All on my own No wonder ma and pa Gotta open up shops It's a long long long way up huh Took a long long long long walk in the park 2 boroughs I crossed Just to be remarkable Ok! I got Dillon Francis. That's a pigeon. Well, yeah—he's a pigeon. Wow! He's a pigeon! Yeah! Pigeons are fast! How'd you catch him? Well, he's a New York pigeon, so he's fat. Wow. We gotta change him back! Ah, we should keep him like that. I half heartedly agree. SHAWN EVANS has two strikes in a game where you don't need three. wtf does that mean. I don't know about this Sorry, boss Okay, you ready? Yh. Now you're supacree Ugh WTF. What for! A GIANT DISCO BALL I'm way in over my head now, I think If I fall all out of love Then that might be a bad thing For both of us, I think But I think too much And I should be drinking, But I just washed up on shore With the rest of us, huh I'm way in over my head Like waves over my head Or gravy on bread and potatoes —how I miss the others, but If I fall all out of love now That could be bad for the rest of us, All of us, aren't I Or was once Was once It's all by design The decider resigned at the diner— But maybe this time we can find her Dying to write She's still colorblind A reminder of all of the limelight She finds in the mind, She decided defined her Lil biiiitzzz. Alrigtt huh, so fuck Queens. I had to get out of Queens, you know? I tried every gym in queens and you know what? I hated it. Every fucking gym. It was gross. Not as gross as the Bronx— But it was Bronx-remnicent. So I'm like, alright, fuck this. I'm gonna save up and go back to MY gym. MY gym is in Manhattan. Yeah bud. *rubs fingers together* I love it. It's fucking clean. It smells good. It has everything— —Except the rotary torso machine. But that's okay! Fair trade. It's all good. That's MY gym. In Manhattan. Yeah. But I was stuck in Queens for so long, you know what— I hadn't even been to Manhattan. I forgot one thing about working out in Manhattan that I didn't have to worry about in Queens. White dudes everywhere. Yeah. Never in Queens. I totally forgot. In queens I'm like Man of Steel; I walk into a gym, all I see is family— Eyes up here, Daquan. What up, Matumbo. Nice Locs, Troy I go to the gym in Queens, I'm calm. I go to the gym in Queens, I see non potential mates. I am STONE. I walk into a gym in Manhattan? UGH. My body's like “What's that smell?” My uterus is like “LOOK OVER THERE.” I'm like “huh?!l” Nothing but hot white dudes every damn where— “Ugh, fuck this” So what I do, to combat this, is I just find the first hot girl I see— It's not hard. It's Manhattan. I'm an androgynous ape-like person— every actual female that exists is in some way somewhat more desirable than I am by far— —out in public, anyway. “The socially acceptable prototype” Meanwhile,! behind closed doors I can take anyone of these motherfuckers home— —their home—not to queens— Which also isn't my home— —or anyone's really— —but let's just say I've stayed there— —I've gone to the gym there— —what up JerOde —T-Jiggles. —I've kept my stuff in Queens. But the publicly—socially acceptable “girlfriend” archetype does not live in Queens. Nobody “lives in queens” No. So what I do is I direct all of my sexual anxiety, my lady blue balls—all my deep seated envy for not being that girl —at that girl, as a reminder that she exists and I'm not what they're looking for. And being honest, I know deep down in my lady blue balls that none of them are really what I'm looking for, either. No—and though almost all of them are perfect in every single way imaginable— Especially for my vagina. I know none of them are my man. Yeah. You know why? My MAN has a home gym, morherfuckers. Yeah. Got that bowflex . Got that peloton. All of it. And you know what? He's not even in it! NO! He's traveling the whole wide world right now— Looking for ME. —(I'm in Manhattan) MAAAAANhattan. Yeah. Dudes on the east coast are hot as fuck. Like next level attractive. Chiseled. Delicious. California has ridiculously remarkable women. California's the only actual place I've ever seen whole ass people look like a brand new actual Barbie doll out of the box. WHAT?! GO AWAY. I'm not getting NO DICK cause of YOU. But the dudes here? Yo! *slurps* You are wasting time! I'm not wasting time. I'm getting Trim. How trim are you trying to get? Ya! You look fine! Like Fran-Fine-Fine— What's that mean It's the 90's, I think. Or Jennifer Anniston. Like Jennifer Anniston! Yeah, on friends. Speak of the Devil. How does she DO that? I do everything. SATAN has merged with JENNIFER ANNISTON, as SUPACREE continues to keep accidentally summoning THE DEVIL without first understanding how— But the charges from THE SACRED STONES against the magical charge of her amulet has created a chronically gaping time home in which various entities (and the bampheramphs) are using to travel quickly in between timelines. {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -U.

The Infinite Skrillifiles: OWSLA Confidential
“I think I might be dying”

The Infinite Skrillifiles: OWSLA Confidential

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2023 28:35


Thank god It's like a storm is passed I gotta keep it up I would never touch another man If I could front the cost All on my own No wonder ma and pa Gotta open up shops It's a long long long way up huh Took a long long long long walk in the park 2 boroughs I crossed Just to be remarkable Ok! I got Dillon Francis. That's a pigeon. Well, yeah—he's a pigeon. Wow! He's a pigeon! Yeah! Pigeons are fast! How'd you catch him? Well, he's a New York pigeon, so he's fat. Wow. We gotta change him back! Ah, we should keep him like that. I half heartedly agree. SHAWN EVANS has two strikes in a game where you don't need three. wtf does that mean. I don't know about this Sorry, boss Okay, you ready? Yh. Now you're supacree Ugh WTF. What for! A GIANT DISCO BALL I'm way in over my head now, I think If I fall all out of love Then that might be a bad thing For both of us, I think But I think too much And I should be drinking, But I just washed up on shore With the rest of us, huh I'm way in over my head Like waves over my head Or gravy on bread and potatoes —how I miss the others, but If I fall all out of love now That could be bad for the rest of us, All of us, aren't I Or was once Was once It's all by design The decider resigned at the diner— But maybe this time we can find her Dying to write She's still colorblind A reminder of all of the limelight She finds in the mind, She decided defined her Lil biiiitzzz. Alrigtt huh, so fuck Queens. I had to get out of Queens, you know? I tried every gym in queens and you know what? I hated it. Every fucking gym. It was gross. Not as gross as the Bronx— But it was Bronx-remnicent. So I'm like, alright, fuck this. I'm gonna save up and go back to MY gym. MY gym is in Manhattan. Yeah bud. *rubs fingers together* I love it. It's fucking clean. It smells good. It has everything— —Except the rotary torso machine. But that's okay! Fair trade. It's all good. That's MY gym. In Manhattan. Yeah. But I was stuck in Queens for so long, you know what— I hadn't even been to Manhattan. I forgot one thing about working out in Manhattan that I didn't have to worry about in Queens. White dudes everywhere. Yeah. Never in Queens. I totally forgot. In queens I'm like Man of Steel; I walk into a gym, all I see is family— Eyes up here, Daquan. What up, Matumbo. Nice Locs, Troy I go to the gym in Queens, I'm calm. I go to the gym in Queens, I see non potential mates. I am STONE. I walk into a gym in Manhattan? UGH. My body's like “What's that smell?” My uterus is like “LOOK OVER THERE.” I'm like “huh?!l” Nothing but hot white dudes every damn where— “Ugh, fuck this” So what I do, to combat this, is I just find the first hot girl I see— It's not hard. It's Manhattan. I'm an androgynous ape-like person— every actual female that exists is in some way somewhat more desirable than I am by far— —out in public, anyway. “The socially acceptable prototype” Meanwhile,! behind closed doors I can take anyone of these motherfuckers home— —their home—not to queens— Which also isn't my home— —or anyone's really— —but let's just say I've stayed there— —I've gone to the gym there— —what up JerOde —T-Jiggles. —I've kept my stuff in Queens. But the publicly—socially acceptable “girlfriend” archetype does not live in Queens. Nobody “lives in queens” No. So what I do is I direct all of my sexual anxiety, my lady blue balls—all my deep seated envy for not being that girl —at that girl, as a reminder that she exists and I'm not what they're looking for. And being honest, I know deep down in my lady blue balls that none of them are really what I'm looking for, either. No—and though almost all of them are perfect in every single way imaginable— Especially for my vagina. I know none of them are my man. Yeah. You know why? My MAN has a home gym, morherfuckers. Yeah. Got that bowflex . Got that peloton. All of it. And you know what? He's not even in it! NO! He's traveling the whole wide world right now— Looking for ME. —(I'm in Manhattan) MAAAAANhattan. Yeah. Dudes on the east coast are hot as fuck. Like next level attractive. Chiseled. Delicious. California has ridiculously remarkable women. California's the only actual place I've ever seen whole ass people look like a brand new actual Barbie doll out of the box. WHAT?! GO AWAY. I'm not getting NO DICK cause of YOU. But the dudes here? Yo! *slurps* TINA FEY You are wasting time! SUPACREE I'm not wasting time. [working out] SUPACREE CONT'D I'm getting Trim. TINA FEY How trim are you trying to get? AMY POEHLER(*sp?)/fuck it Ya! You look fine! SUPACREE Like Fran-Fine-Fine— TINA What's that mean AMY It's the 90's, I think. SUPACREE Or Jennifer Anniston. TINA / AMY Like Jennifer Anniston!? SUPACREE Yeah, on Friends. AMY Speak of the Devil…. JENNIFER ANNISTON ENTERS, being super hot. TINA How does she DO that? JENNIFER ANISTON I do everything. SATAN has merged with JENNIFER ANNISTON, as SUPACREE continues to keep accidentally summoning THE DEVIL without first understanding how— But the charges from THE SACRED STONES against the magical charge of her amulet has created a chronically gaping time home in which various entities (and the bampheramphs) are using to travel quickly in between timelines. {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -U.

M. Fethullah Gülen
Tahammül Yâ Hû!... l Sorularla Hizmet Rehberi 10

M. Fethullah Gülen

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2023 10:20


Tahammül Yâ Hû!... l Sorularla Hizmet Rehberi 10 by Çınar Medya

Luonto-Suomi
Luonnon auttamisen ilta

Luonto-Suomi

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2023 106:53


Suomen luonto köyhtyy. Yhä useampi laji - valitettavasti - muuttuu uhanalaiseksi. Mutta mitä asialle voisi tehdä? Luonto-Suomen Luonnon auttamisen illassa keskitytään ratkaisuihin. Jos haluaisit auttaa, muttet tiedä mitä tehdä tai olet kenties jo auttanut luontoa ja haluat jakaa vinkkisi. Voit myös kertoa ohjelmassa havainnoistasi kotikulmiesi luonnon tilasta. Vastaamassa ovat parhaat asiantuntijat Suomen Luontopaneelista: Janne Kotiaho, Liisa Kulmala ja Aleksi Lehikoinen. Toimittajina ovat Markku Sipi ja Markus Turunen. Kuva: Asko Hauta-aho / Yle

Salvador Mingo -Conocimiento Experto-
313 - La Disciplina es el Destino - Lecturas Recomendadas Conocimiento Experto

Salvador Mingo -Conocimiento Experto-

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2023 46:09


¿Qué hay para mi dentro del libro de lecturas recomendadas del programa conocimiento experto La Disciplina es el Destino de Ryan Holiday? Descubre cómo la autodisciplina conduce a la grandeza. Adquiere el libro: https://amzn.to/3gCY1mO Forma Parte de Revolución 180: https://impactoexperto.com/diariorev180 Hazte de mi libro: https://amzn.to/3gCY1mO Mis programas: * Revolución 180: https://impactoexperto.com/diariorev180 * Libro Mentalidad con Proposito: https://amzn.to/2KmHMXa * Podcast Conocimiento Experto: https://open.spotify.com/show/65J8RTsruRXBxeQElVmU0b?si=9f444953f34246ab Mis redes: * Sígueme En Instagram en: https://www.instagram.com/salvadormingo/ * Sígueme en Facebook en: https://www.facebook.com/salvadormingooficial * Sígueme en Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/SalvadorMingoConocimientoExperto * Sígueme en Twitter en: https://twitter.com/s_mingo Hace mucho tiempo, antes de que pasara a la mitología como un gran héroe, Hércules viajaba por las colinas de Grecia cuando llegó a una encrucijada. En un camino, una impresionante diosa le atrajo, prometiéndole una vida de lujo: recibiría todo lo que su corazón deseara y no experimentaría ni un momento de miedo, dolor o infelicidad. En el otro camino, una segunda diosa le hizo una oferta mucho menos llamativa. También le prometió a Hércules recompensas, pero sólo las que él mismo se ganara. El viaje de este camino sería largo, requiriendo trabajo duro, perseverancia y sacrificio. Pero le convertiría en la persona que debía ser. Esta leyenda ilustra un dilema al que todos nos enfrentamos a diario: la elección entre el vicio y la virtud: el camino fácil, pero al fin y al cabo vacío, frente a la ruta dura pero satisfactoria. Según los antiguos estoicos, la virtud constaba de cuatro partes: valor, templanza, justicia y sabiduría. El emperador romano y filósofo estoico Marco Aurelio llamaba a estos componentes las "piedras de toque de la bondad". Todo lo bueno en la vida, creía, era el resultado de practicarlos. En este análisis de La disciplina es el destino, de Ryan Holiday, nos centraremos en la segunda de estas virtudes cardinales: la templanza o autodisciplina. Veremos formas prácticas de perfeccionar la templanza en tu vida cotidiana y cómo su dominio te abrirá la puerta a la plenitud y la paz mental. ¿Y Hércules? No hace falta decir que nuestro héroe eligió encontrar su destino en el camino de la virtud. Ahora, la elección es tuya. Edicion Septiembre 2022 Ryan Holiday es un estoico moderno, autor y propietario de una librería llamada The Painted Porch. Sus libros, entre los que se encuentran El obstáculo es el camino, El ego es el enemigo, El estoico diario y el best seller del New York Times La quietud es la clave, han vendido más de cinco millones de ejemplares y se han traducido a más de 40 idiomas. La disciplina es el destino es el segundo libro de la serie Virtudes Estoicas de Holiday. Enfoque Principios Estoicos Salvador Mingo Conocimiento Experto #estoicismo #desarrollopersonal #saludmental

Conocimiento Experto
313 - La Disciplina es el Destino - Lecturas Recomendadas Conocimiento Experto

Conocimiento Experto

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2023 46:10


¿Qué hay para mi dentro del libro de lecturas recomendadas del programa conocimiento experto La Disciplina es el Destino de Ryan Holiday? Descubre cómo la autodisciplina conduce a la grandeza. Adquiere el libro: https://amzn.to/3gCY1mO Forma Parte de Revolución 180: https://impactoexperto.com/diariorev180 Hazte de mi libro: https://amzn.to/3gCY1mO Mis programas: * Revolución 180: https://impactoexperto.com/diariorev180 * Libro Mentalidad con Proposito: https://amzn.to/2KmHMXa * Podcast Conocimiento Experto: https://open.spotify.com/show/65J8RTsruRXBxeQElVmU0b?si=9f444953f34246ab Mis redes: * Sígueme En Instagram en: https://www.instagram.com/salvadormingo/ * Sígueme en Facebook en: https://www.facebook.com/salvadormingooficial * Sígueme en Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/SalvadorMingoConocimientoExperto * Sígueme en Twitter en: https://twitter.com/s_mingo Hace mucho tiempo, antes de que pasara a la mitología como un gran héroe, Hércules viajaba por las colinas de Grecia cuando llegó a una encrucijada. En un camino, una impresionante diosa le atrajo, prometiéndole una vida de lujo: recibiría todo lo que su corazón deseara y no experimentaría ni un momento de miedo, dolor o infelicidad. En el otro camino, una segunda diosa le hizo una oferta mucho menos llamativa. También le prometió a Hércules recompensas, pero sólo las que él mismo se ganara. El viaje de este camino sería largo, requiriendo trabajo duro, perseverancia y sacrificio. Pero le convertiría en la persona que debía ser. Esta leyenda ilustra un dilema al que todos nos enfrentamos a diario: la elección entre el vicio y la virtud: el camino fácil, pero al fin y al cabo vacío, frente a la ruta dura pero satisfactoria. Según los antiguos estoicos, la virtud constaba de cuatro partes: valor, templanza, justicia y sabiduría. El emperador romano y filósofo estoico Marco Aurelio llamaba a estos componentes las "piedras de toque de la bondad". Todo lo bueno en la vida, creía, era el resultado de practicarlos. En este análisis de La disciplina es el destino, de Ryan Holiday, nos centraremos en la segunda de estas virtudes cardinales: la templanza o autodisciplina. Veremos formas prácticas de perfeccionar la templanza en tu vida cotidiana y cómo su dominio te abrirá la puerta a la plenitud y la paz mental. ¿Y Hércules? No hace falta decir que nuestro héroe eligió encontrar su destino en el camino de la virtud. Ahora, la elección es tuya. Edicion Septiembre 2022 Ryan Holiday es un estoico moderno, autor y propietario de una librería llamada The Painted Porch. Sus libros, entre los que se encuentran El obstáculo es el camino, El ego es el enemigo, El estoico diario y el best seller del New York Times La quietud es la clave, han vendido más de cinco millones de ejemplares y se han traducido a más de 40 idiomas. La disciplina es el destino es el segundo libro de la serie Virtudes Estoicas de Holiday. Enfoque Principios Estoicos Salvador Mingo Conocimiento Experto #estoicismo #desarrollopersonal #saludmental

The Q & A with Rabbi Breitowitz Podcast
Q&A- Biological Names, Secular Books & Transgender Negiah

The Q & A with Rabbi Breitowitz Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2022 98:54


Dedication opportunities are available for episodes and series at ohr.edu/donate/qa   Questions? Comments? podcasts@ohr.edu   Subscribe to the Rabbi Breitowitz Q&A Podcast at https://plnk.to/rbq&a   Submit questions for the Q&A with Rabbi Breitowitz https://forms.gle/VCZSK3wQJJ4fSd3Q7   Subscribe to our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/OhrSomayach/videos     00:00 What kind of changes in Halacha or otherwise will happen after Mashiach comes?   08:18 What's with saying G-d is of one name but He has more than that?   13:02 What is the proper kavod for wearing the begged of tzitzis outside your clothes?   17:16 What is special about Ashrei that we remove the letter nun, when we don't do that in other alphabetical supplications?   21:22 Is technology something that ideally we wouldn't have, but now that we do, we have to use it responsibly with rules and gedarim, or alternatively is it something we should embrace and prefer, while being aware and alert of potential consequences?   27:59 What is the source for a certain pasuk in sfarad mussaf?   32:35 Is it permissible to associate with friends who are not on the same Torah level as me? Should we try to be mekarev them?   37:14 What should our attitude be towards area of halacha that are seemingly less effective or suitable in a modern society compared with today's secular laws, specifically in regards to contracts and financial matters. Should our attitude be that we are not appreciating the halacha properly, or should we acknowledge it's not ideal and be extra hopeful for Mashiach to come so a Sanhedrin can make some updates.   42:36 Why is Rabbi Jonathan Sacks not so accepted in the frum world?   49:36 In uncensored Gemara Avoda Zara, it mentions that Jesus was not real, is this true?   53:20: What is a heavenly decree and when exactly are they made? How do we have the power to rip them up?   54:51 Is there a heter for a convert to use their biological father's name when called to the Torah?   56:37 How can someone tell when they are starting to burn out in their learning?   59:55 Would it be halachally mutar to buy clothes at a store in America and bring them back to Israel and sell them at a higher price to bachurim or otherwise?   1:01:03 Should we use our YH to try to be better in learning?    1:03:53 Gematria is incredible, but many seem to dismiss it as fluffy. Is there practical gain from knowing it?    1:06:03 What do we do with Gematrias of politicians or otherwise?   1:08:54 Are we allowed to calculate the messianic timeline?   1:12:50 What is Rebbe's view on reading secular books - theoretically, alternatively, one could be reading a Jewish book (even if not a Sefer); would it affect anything if there are yesodos in human psyche and/or Etzahs on life? Especially if the book has been held in a very high regard by society (a classic)? For example: Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky (a classic), or, in the other regard, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel (life-changing)?   1:20:26 Can I rely on a leniency just to be convenient or for pleasure?    1:21:12 Do halachos of shomer negia, yichud, etc. apply to transgender people?   1:25:40 When we read the amida we pray for the return of the Davidic dynasty, would it be possible to re-establish the kingdom without mashiach?   1:30:20 How do we understand the malchus of Shaul when he was from Binyamin?    1:32:08 Do we say amen to brachos said incorrectly?   1:33:07 Do we say brachos in order, even if I want to cover something less chashuv than others?   1:34:11 Is being clean-shaven an issur d'oraissa?   You can listen to this and many other Ohr Somayach programs by downloading our app, on Apple and Google Play, ohr.edu and all major podcast platforms. Visit us @ ohr.edu  PRODUCED BY: CEDAR MEDIA STUDIOS  

Your Highness Podcast
Episode 7.06: EdTech As a Tool of Empowerment

Your Highness Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2022 36:54


Diana and JR preview the new format of the show, and Martine Pierre of Cannalution joins Diana to talk about being a disrupter in the EdTech and cannabis sector. Martine Pierre's goal is to bring people together to learn about and solve the global issue of inequity in the cannabis industry."I think that innovation is going to be able to flourish when people have the opportunity to talk to one another from different markets," Pierre said.YH listeners can get 10% off non-sale items at Mitragaia.com using the code YHPOD. 

Your Highness Podcast
7.05: MMS-Will Read of Common SENSImilla

Your Highness Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2022 37:54


Our latest Media Member Spotlight (MMS) features Will Read of Common SENSImilla and CannaPlanners. Will talks about taking on big ideas, providing a fair and equitable workplace, and preparing for the new Vermont cannabis scene. YH listeners can get 10% non-sale items at Mitragaia.com by using the code  YHPOD. 

Your Highness Podcast
Episode 7.04: Why Transparency in Plant Medicine Matters

Your Highness Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 41:00


Derek Chase of Flora and Bast joins Diana to talk about product transparency, and give insight on how to avoid snake oil in an oversaturated market. YH listeners can get 10% using code YHPOD on Mitragaia.com

Your Highness Podcast
Episode 7.03: CannaCurious Fall Preview

Your Highness Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2022 76:38


We're doing something new by providing listeners with an audio preview of the Fall issue of CannaCurious magazine. A handful of contributors discuss their part of this gorgeous issue. YH listeners can get 10% using code YHPOD on Mitragaia.comTime Stamps:Fave Pot / Fave Not Pot - 1:50Diana - 10:10Diana and Tekisha - 20:43Maggie - 32:58Danielle - 47:54Allessandra - 1:09:37

Port City Plate Podcast
Jeff Roberts - Yellowhammer Coffee

Port City Plate Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2022 42:45


The Port City Plate Podcast presented by Bienville Bites Food Tour. Jeff Roberts is the founder of Yellowhammer Coffee. He joins us as the inaugural guest on the Port City Plate Podcast. We talk to Jeff about how he finds the most friendly people in Mobile to work at Yellowhammer, what distinguishes Yellowhammer Coffee from the big chains, what he's doing if he's not running YH, and we get Jeff's thoughts on the newest restaurant in Mobile, which he got an invite for the soft opening sneak-peak at!Thanks for listening to the Port City Plate Podcast. Find us online at portcityplate.com or share your best dish in Mobile in our Facebook group at Port City Plate. If you enjoy the Port City Plate Podcast, consider buying Chris a coffee. (Locally owned, of course!)Support the Show Share the best dish you've had in Mobile! Join the Port City Plate Facebook GroupAll episodes are presented by Bienville Bites Food Tour. Take a guided walking tour through Downtown Mobile while tasting your way through the best food and drink in town! Book a Bienville Bites Food TourBook a tour with our sister tour company in beautiful, Fairhope, Alabama! Book a Taste of Fairhope Food Tour

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour
The Fifth Day of Av: The Yahrzeit of Rabbenu HaAri

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2022 45:59


Today, the fifth day of Av, is the Yahrzeit of Rabbenu Ha'ari, Rabbi Yishak Luria (1534-1572, Tsfat). Last night in Tsfat, thousands of people came to his grave to pray and perform Tikunim. Therefore, it is appropriate today to study a teaching of the Ari. When one learns the Torah of the Sadikim on the day they passed away, the lips of that Sadik move in his grave. It is a Zechut to activate the Sadikim from the grave to extend their influence over those who study their teachings. Until the Ari, the teachings of the Kabbala were hidden from most of the world. He was the one who revealed these secrets of the Torah. The Gaon of Vilna said that at the end of time, these secrets will be revealed on an even broader scale. Today, Baruch Hashem, there is a greater awareness of these concepts.Today, we will study one subject that even regular people like ourselves can undertake. It is not only for Kabbalists. We will uncover one of the "Kavanot"(esoteric intents) taught by the Ari. Performing a Misva with these Kavanot adds new "flavor" to the Misva and prevents it from becoming a mechanical act, performed by rote. Even if a person can only achieve one out of ten Kavanot, he should not feel that it is "all or nothing." Every additional Kavana transforms the Misva exponentially. Furthermore, doing so opens the heavenly gates to bring down a Shefa (Heavenly abundance) for our Neshama. The Kavanot unlock hidden treasures, and we are the beneficiaries.In Sha'ar HaKavanot, the Ari discusses the mystical intents of immersing in the Mikveh on Ereb Shabbat. Going to the Mikveh on Ereb Shabbat is a very important and powerful practice. It may sound like a difficult undertaking, however, it is really quite fast and simple. Anyway, we tend to waste time on Friday. We should utilize a few minutes and go to the Mikveh.When a person immerses on Ereb Shabbat, the Kedusha of Shabbat can already be seen on his forehead. While a layman can't detect it, Sadikim like the Baba Sali, could see one thousand lights radiating from him.The Ari reveals the Kavana to be used before immersing, while immersing and after immersing. While standing in the water, before immersing, one should focus on the Divine Name "EHYH," which has the numerical equivalent of 151, the same as the word "Mikveh." This has the Segula to help a person control his anger, as the Hebrew word KaAS (anger) also has the numerical equivalent of 151, the same as Mikveh and the Divine Name.There is a deep connection between this specific Divine name and the Mikveh. The word "EHYH" literally means, "I will become." The Mikveh is the gateway for a person to become a new person by purifying himself of his past transgressions and leaving his old self behind. Also, the name "EHYH" is associated with a certain spiritual realm known as "Ima" (mother). Just as the mother cleans and diapers the soiled baby, while the father generally plays with the child after he is already clean, so too the purifying power of the Mikveh draws on this spiritual force of "Ima."The next step is to spiritually prepare the waters of the Mikveh for immersion. The Ari reveals that one should have Kavana to immerse in the "NaCHaL Elyon" (the supernal river), which refers to the heavenly Mikveh capable of purging the soul of its impurities. The details of the Kavana consist of focusing on the four configurations of the divine name YHVH and the three configurations of the divine name EHYH, in addition to the name YH, which represents the "secret of Shabbat." Through a sequence of combinations and permutations, these names form the numeric equivalent of the word "NaCHaL," (river) which is 88, and the word MaYiM (water), which is 90. This Kavana actually fills the earthly Mikveh with the Heavenly water of the Nachal Elyon. After that, one should have intention that all of this is "L'ChVOD Shabbat", in honor of Shabbat. Each part of this phrase has mystical significance and is connected to the divine names associated with the Mikveh. Upon emerging from the water, the Ari teaches not to dry oneself with a towel. The Mikveh water remaining on the body is "holy water of the Shabbat." Let the body absorb them, and the holiness of the water will remain with him. The Ben Ish Hai says that if this is too difficult, because of the cold or because it is uncomfortable, one may dry his body, but leave one area undried, preferably his arms, to absorb the water. When he leaves the Mikve, he should say the Pasuk "Im Tashiv M'shabbat Raglecha, Asot Hefsecha B'Yom Kadshi etc." It is not proper to recite the Pasuk while still in the dressing room in the presence of undressed men and without a head covering. Therefore, he should wait until he actually exits the Mikveh room.The proper time for using the Mikveh on Ereb Shabbat, according to the Ari, is from the fifth hour of the day, one hour before Hasot, after reading "Shnayim Mikra V'Echad Targum" (The weekly Torah portion twice, with one reading of the translation). Of course, if a person cannot go at this time, it is better to go earlier than not to go at all. One who practices the Kavanot for immersion on Ereb Shabbat experiences a qualitatively different level of immersion than everyone else. It's a different Shabbat.