|
|
Hit counter takes time to load- It's not zero
|
|
SUNDAY SERMON
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; [Post below] Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 LINKS TO ALL MY SITES AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST Links to my sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/ [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- as well as all my sites linked at the bottom of each post-Thanks] Follow us on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks Subscribe to our Youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ Friend us on VK [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://vk.com/id533663718 Friend us on OK [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 Follow us on Tumblr http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Linkedin [Our largest group] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ Follow us on Medium https://medium.com/@johnchiarello Friend us on Plurk [Japan] https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public Contact/Friend us on MeWe https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello Follow us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Follow us on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach Follow us on Mix https://mix.com/jchiarello Follow us on Flipboard https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy Follow us on Steemit https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach Follow us on https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 View on Trello https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com View on Voat https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions Connect on Minds https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Gab https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 View on Ello https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 Connect on Parler https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 Connect on Snac [Korea] https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 Connect on Publish-ox https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Watch our videos here- [Most viewed] https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [Most viewed- OK] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album [Ukraine] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Archive- Text posts only- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/archiv.html Some of my studies- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/reformation_12.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-ofphilosophy-thales-andthe-pre.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-links-1-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/colossians-links-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/corinthians-links-4-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/ephesians-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html [Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post] NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam. I post 8 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I realize that is a lot for some sites, yet this is the system I felt the Lord led me into. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. Thank You- John. [TODAY’S POST BEGINS HERE] Sunday sermon videos- https://youtu.be/TMDxjB1MU-w https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/8-20-17-sunday-sermon.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/8-20-17-sunday-sermon-2/ https://www.dropbox.com/s/qxzintm25eoj2nu/8-20-17%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhyM8cJlbL5_8nrS6 ON VIDEO- [Teaching below] .Mass verses- Church Unlimited too .Catholics and Evangelicals .Immigrants welcome .Racial prejudice challenged by Jesus .Puppies eat the crumbs! .Boundaries shattered .Not pluralism- but acceptance .Are we exclusive? .You are too .The sun- and the Son .Objective truth .Philosophy .Gentiles- don’t get proud .We were immigrants once as well [outside of the covenant] .Ellis Island .Revolutionary war .Britannia ruled the seas- yet we won! .Native Americans were here first .The principle of storehouse- seeds .Thales and the eclipse .Scientific revolution .Copernicus- Kepler- .Ptolemy and cosmology [no- we didn’t think the earth was flat- not most of us] .Alexander the great .Absolute truth TEACHING- I taught on the verses from The Sunday Mass- and made some comments from Church Unlimited and New Christian Harvest [feeding ministry in the Bluff]. I’ll add my past links below and just Make a few comments- In Isaiah 56 we see the prophet telling God’s people that it was always his intent for the kingdom of God to embrace all people groups- Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. God even had statues in the Old Testament that allowed for this. Then we read of the account where a woman from Canaan [Matt. 15] came to Jesus with a request- Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. The Jewish [religious] people of Jesus day were quick to cut off people who were not part of the commonwealth of Israel. Judaism- at the time of Christ- became elitist. Yet Jesus answers the woman's request because she showed faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah- the son of David- Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. In Romans 11 [by the way- these were the 3 main passages that were read in this Sunday’s mass- and I want my friends to see that these bible verses are not simply read by the priest with no rhyme or reason- they all have a purpose]. Ok- In Romans 11 we see this dynamic come to a head. Yes- God had given Israel great promises- the law and the prophets were sent to the people of Israel. Jesus Himself recognized this In his response to the woman- Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Yet- the Jews for the most part rejected Jesus as the Messiah- But this was the purpose of God- so the gospel would go to the Gentiles [non- Jews]- Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Now that we have become recipients of these blessings- we should not use this as an advantage against the ‘alien’ - meaning those who seem to be outside of the benefits that we are now partaking of. Paul teaches in Romans 11 that all this has happened in the greater plan of God- Romans 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Romans 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! We have now become beneficiaries of the blessings- so those who find themselves where we were- can receive mercy too. It’s an interesting dynamic for sure. In our day- those who live in this great country of the United States- have benefited tremendously because our forefathers- who were strangers- made it to this land [Unless you are a Native American- Indian]. But over time- some in this blessed land- have used the plight of the alien- stranger- in a way that says ‘Yes- we migrated here too at one time- we were indeed immigrants- but now we want to protect the blessings we have- and in order to do this- we want to keep others out’. Now- I’m not purely speaking politics here- this is actually the dynamic we see in the readings above. Yes- The Jewish people were blessed- with many things. At the time of Christ- there was an anti immigrant mindset- but more along the Lines of a religious understanding. When Jesus welcomed the outcast- healed the daughter of the woman who was not a ‘rightful heir’ - he challenged mindsets- and yes- in doing so- he offended many- Some were offended to the point that they wanted nothing to do with Jesus- 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. So the blessing went to others- to us- to the gentiles. But wait- the apostle warns us- don’t make the same mistake- the mistake the religious leaders made at the time of Christ- Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: They rejected the Messiah- and it was thru that rejection- that the gospel came to us- Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. But those of us who now believe- and received the blessings- we have to be careful that we do not use our privileged position- as heirs of the blessing- And turn others away. Yes that's the warning Paul gave in Romans 11. Ok- I talked about more on the video- and like I said- I’ll post that below. But I think if we- especially as Christians- Catholics- Protestants- all of us. I think if we can apply the truths we have seen in the gospel this day. Then we will do well. PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to this post- Sunday Sermon- verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/16/mark-7/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/ John 3 https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/the-well-john-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/western-intellectual-tradition/ https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel-links-updated-3-17/ https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ THALES AND THE PRE-SOCRATICS Ok- let me do a little teaching- maybe finish it tonight. Christianity is not simply ‘made up stories’ from some bible. No- the history of Western Thought- Philosophy- ideas- all of the various World Views are imbedded with God- our concepts of God- and ask the ultimate question ‘where did all this come from- and why are we here’. We usually trace the beginning of Ancient Philosophy to the 6th century BCE. A thinker by the name of Thales sought to find ways to describe natural phenomena without the use of Greek Mythology. Even though Philosophy deals with Metaphysics [things beyond the natural- physical realm- Physics] yet Thales wanted to find explanations for existence- without leaning on Myth. He is considered a ‘Pre Socratic’ thinker [before Socrates] and espoused an idea that water was the key source of all things. These guys were looking for a singular thing to explain stuff. Sometimes referred to as a unified theory- the same thing that Einstein was seeking to find some 2 Millennia later. So- Thales surmised that water was the key thing. There are various ideas of why he came to this conclusion- but one reason might have been the idea of motion. Many Geek thinkers were looking for the source of motion- where did it come from? And to the natural eye- if you observe the ocean- rivers- etc. - there does seem to be no cause for the moving of water- so to these guys it seemed like water itself was the source- motion came from water. Now- there were other religions who taught a sort of idea along these lines. Some pagan religions said that the ‘god’s’ moved upon the water- and life came that way. If you read the Christian account of creation in Genesis- you will notice that God did move upon the waters- and the account in Genesis does indeed say that he brought forth life from the water. Thales came from for Miletus- in Asia Minor. He was famous for the prediction of a Solar Eclipse that occurred on May 28th- 585 BCE. The earliest account of this is found in the writings of Herodotus. Thales is considered one of the 7 sages of the time. Christianity was born at a time where Greek thought/ideas were a big part of society. We do find the early apostles using the language/ideas of the Greek philosophers when describing the reality of Christ. The apostle John refers to Christ as THE LOGOS- The word Logos- is a Greek word for ‘word’. Jesus is called ‘the word of God’. Now- the Greek thinkers were in fact seeking for the Logos- they used this term to describe the ultimate answer to all tings. They were on a search for some Divine principle that could explain things. So- the writers of the New Testament were in a way saying ‘look- we have found the Logos- the thing that you guys are looking for- it is Christ- the Divine Logos’. We also see the apostle Paul debating with the Greek thinkers in the city of Athens [the seat of Geek philosophy- the city/state where Socrates was forced to drink cyanide]. In Acts chapter 17 he is preaching to these guys on Mar’s Hill- he says ‘In him we live AND MOVE and have our being’. Now- today as we read this- we don’t get the full import of what he was doing. But- to the Greek mind- the source of motion was a big thing. Paul was a smart guy- and he was saying ‘in him we move’ showing that yes- the ‘source of motion’ [Thales water] is not found in the natural world [Physics] but the source comes from the Metaphysical world [God]. He also says ‘when I was walking thru your town- I saw one of your altars- to the unknown god’. At the time many believed in a Pantheon of gods- and to cover their bases- they had an altar for any god they might have missed- smart thinking! So Paul says ‘him I declare unto you’. Notice how Paul was able to debate- converse with them- and at the end actually use their own ideas- to present the gospel. In this chapter- Acts 17- we read of the only 2 groups of philosophers mentioned in the bible. The Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicureans were an early form of what we call Hedonism today- the idea that pleasure is the principle purpose of man. The Stoics believed in ‘stoicism’ that man should have no emotional response to pain or pleasure- that’s why we call people today ‘Stoics’- when they seem to not be moved by anything. Ok- that’s it for now- might make some comments tonight- but I’m getting ready to fly out soon- and trying to wind down before I leave. If I don’t write tonight- I’ll talk again when in North Bergen- God bless you all. 1Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 1Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 1Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 1Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 1Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 1Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 1Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 1Corinthians 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 1Corinthians 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 1Corinthians 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 1Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 1Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1Corinthians 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 1Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 1Corinthians 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1Corinthians 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 1Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 1Corinthians 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth. See? Paul the apostle had the intellectual capacity to engage with the best of them- but he knew that the core issue- was sin. That is those who reject Christianity on the basis of ‘it’s a religion of foolishness’- in reality- even if you win the intellectual argument- yet for the most part people will still not believe. In the end it is always a matter of true repentance- being honest with ourselves- and others. So- Paul didn’t rely on the ‘wisdom of men’ but the power of the Cross. When needed- he would ‘use it’ [men’s wisdom- Acts 17- Mars Hill] but he closed his argument by declaring Christ. [parts] HISTORY OF EVERYTHING- IN 1 HOUR And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. ... 2nd Thes. 2:10-13 https://youtu.be/uwDi82SICXo History of everything in 1 hour [part 1] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-16-16-history-of-everything.zip ON VIDEO- .Did my ‘prophecy’ come true? Watch and see .They said a rocket hit the plane .What did Patience say? .Update on detention center .Bishop Mulvey .I was right about Devon Anderson- planned parenthood- the judge said she broke the law .Where did the animals come from? .Is the story true? Mesopotamia .Palestine .Aristotle .They were looking for the ‘LOGOS’ .Ptolemy .Copernicus .Cosmology .Scientific/Industrial revolution .Sir Ramsey and documentary evidence .Luke/Acts as historical evidence .Phenomenological language .Aquinas- Anselm and Augustine .Richard Dawkins alien creator .Einstein and the big bang .C.S. Lewis .Everything is proof of God MY LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/ [parts] Alexander sought to implement the ideals of his teacher- he wanted to unify the known world under one people/culture- a belief that Aristotle held- a sort of ‘unified theory’ [Einstein] that would seek to bring all learning/knowledge together under one supreme [Divine] principle. Alexander’s experiment was called Hellenization- which was the Greek worlds attempt to impose Greek culture/language on all their conquered enemies- and at the same time allow them to hold on to the their own culture too. Alexander did amazingly well at this experiment- at the young age of around 24 he had accomplished most of his mission. The cities were a sort of composite of Greek culture mixed in with their own culture- this is where we get the modern term Cosmopolitan. Alexander died young and his kingdom was divided between 4 generals- one of them- Ptolemy- would himself make it into the history books because of his keen intellect. The system of cosmology developed under him would last [and work!] until some 17-18 hundred years later when it was overthrown by the Copernican revolution during the time of Copernicus and Galileo. Alexander’s generals would do their best to carry on the system of Hellenization- and other nation’s generals would keep the system going even after Greece fell. One of them- Octavian [Roman general] makes it into the history books by another famous name- Julius Caesar. Alexander established a great library in the Egyptian city of Alexandria [named after him] and many of the great writings were preserved during this time. The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance. Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah. Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day came from this movement. Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers- living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek language. Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek Lexicon sitting right in front of me]. It would take a few centuries before a Latin version appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin Vulgate]. Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to the Reformation [16th century] and other movements in church history. The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times. Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered. They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule. Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community. This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century. A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls. The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes- Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along. [parts] In the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10th-14th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16th-18th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin. What I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements people began questioning stuff. Was it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far. Some thinkers went back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17th century Rationalists. Rationalism- as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the church. Math became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic world. As the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was calculated to be there- was.] These calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways. There are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book was not written in math- but words. Yes- even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes. Now- what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality. This form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of us understand the term. There was a strong resistance to the 17th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism. The main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18th century Empiricist. This philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke]. Locke developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind. Locke was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not. He lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high. Okay- I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it. As Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas. Go slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought. Most Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth [Unicorns?] Biblical truth is based on real historic events- 1st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain. Christians base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system. [parts] (1045) Okay, I am up early and just finished prayer time. I kind of heard [spiritually speaking!] the lord speaking to me about a few various subjects, things I haven’t recently studied. I also ‘heard’ the verse ‘there are 12 hours in the day, if a man walks when it is light out, he does not stumble. Walk while you have the light, for a dark time is coming when no one will be able to walk’[Jesus- John’s gospel]. These last few weeks have been pretty bad for me, my work injury has been bad. I really am not sleeping at night because of the severe back pain. I only missed one early prayer time because of it. Not because I am some super hero, but if I don’t ‘walk when it’s light’ [or dark! 3-5 am] then I miss the daily opportunity of real prayer. I realized that to miss a daily prayer/study/teaching time is detrimental to my own health. To get up early and start is difficult, I make a few attempts at standing before I make it to the yard for prayer. I always walk while praying, but after the hour or so prayer walk, I can function okay for a while. I realized that my day starts at around 3:30 am, and it usually ends around 3-4 pm- 12 hours! Jesus gave us a 12 hour work day, we complain about 8! Actually the Jewish day was a 12 hour day, that’s why he said it. Now, let’s talk a little on apologetics. I recently read a few statements from various church traditions that seemed ‘apologetic’ and defensive. The historic church still ‘smarts’ over the whole Galileo affair. Let me defend the historic church a little. A few hundred years before Christ the great philosopher Aristotle developed a cosmology [stars and stuff] that wasn’t that bad. It is a common error to believe that we all believed the world was flat before the 16th century, only a few people believed the flat earth theory, most accepted Aristotle’s [and later Ptolemy] view. Aristotle’s concept was improved a few centuries later by Ptolemy. Ptolemy developed a system that had the sun and planets and stars all orbiting around the earth on a system of ‘Crystalline spheres’ sort of like the earth was the center of an onion and the stars/planets were stuck on these outer layers and they appeared in certain places at certain times. Now, Ptolemy did not differentiate between stars and planets. He simply saw the planets as stars that were ‘irregular’ in their patterns. These ‘irregular stars’ were called ‘wanderers’ that’s where we get the current term for meteorology. Well anyway this system was obviously flawed, but it worked well for almost 2 thousand years. So during the 15-16th century when Copernicus came up with a more accurate system [our present understanding of the solar system- one where we orbit the sun and not visa versa] he was initially rejected on good grounds. What! Do you mean to tell me you believe in the old idea? Of course not, but the first system Copernicus floated was actually wrong! Many people don’t know this. When the church and science looked at the initial theory they found it to be lacking in certain areas. Copernicus had the planets orbiting the sun in a circular orbit, they orbit more on an Ellipsis like pattern. Also Kepler had to make other adjustments to the system to get it to work [complicated stuff like the retrograde motion of mars]. So the church had some ground to stand on when they rejected Copernicus/Galileo. Of course we later accepted the truths of science and do not see science and reason as ‘anti’ Christian. But it is this embarrassing history that puts us on the defense at times, that’s why some notable Christians have embraced evolution as a tool that God used to create man. These Christians are over compensating [in my view] for the bad history on stuff like this. I reject evolution based on scientific grounds, not biblical. If God wanted to use evolution as a tool to create man, he most certainly had that option. But science does not show that ‘tool’ to be true. Those who reject all the evidence of Intelligent Design are standing with the Bishops of Galileo’s day, who when invited to just look into the telescope and ‘see for yourself’ rejected the invitation. [parts] Quantum Mechanics- It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honourof kings is to search out a matter. Prvb. https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/2-18-16-quantum-mechanics.zip https://youtu.be/XKfs4SIQ1FA QM ON VIDEO- [past posts- verses below] .Quantum Leap .Quanta a mystery? .Bowling balls need a bowler .You see it- you did it! .What’s the big mystery? .Light both wave and particle .Observer created reality .Interpretation of data .Newton .Copernicus .Kepler .Atoms- Electrons- Nucleus- all ok .Quanta .Pilot Wave .science- or magic? . Double slit test .Wonderful- Wonderful Copenhagen? .Chance or determinism- that’s the question .Maybe my duplicate will go to heaven! NEW STUFF- QUANTUM LEAP Ok- I want to make this as simple as possible- don’t be afraid of the title. I have actually taught some of this over the years- because in the field of Physics [the study of stuff] this particular area has been used by thinkers [wrongfully] who refute God [atheists]. So- the past week or so I’ve been commenting about a documentary I’ve been watching on PBS [Fabric of the cosmos] and have also been going thru an old Physics course I bought years ago. It just so happened [yes- I did not plan it] that they both deal with Quantum Mechanics [the study of very small particles]. As I listened to the good men- I noticed lots of contradictions- and over exaggerations [maybe they are just excited about their field?] Now- if I were to guess- I think part of the excitement- is based on some of their ‘world views’. Meaning- in the whole debate about God- and science- many have tried to argue that the physical universe is ‘not designed’. The Christian thinker [and the early philosophers] did argue that you find design in the Cosmos. So- when Quantum physics as a separate field arose in the early 20th century- it seemed to be an area where those who ‘want’ no design [or predeterminism] could finally say ‘see- we now have proof that the universe is ruled BY CHANCE’. The Physicists I’ve been hearing the last few weeks have made this statement more than once. I have taught that this actual statement- is nonsensical. Because- chance is simply a word that describes the odds of something. It is not ‘a thing’ that can cause [or rule] something. Ok- what they really mean to say is something like this ‘we have found that random acts- probability- is a factor in what’s happening’. Now- that’s ok- if they say it that way [even though I do not agree with all that they are saying- this would be the proper way to say it]. So- what’s the big thing that the quantum guys are saying? It’s really not that hard- or such a ‘great mystery’ [which many are saying]. It comes down to the way Atoms work at the sub atomic level. Atoms have Electrons inside them- that ‘orbit’ around the center [nucleus]. In these ‘orbits’ [circles] the electrons seem to pass from one circle- to another- without actually traveling thru the space. They kind of ‘jump’ from one line- to the other. This is called the Quantum Leap. So- some have said this is proof that ‘something comes from nothing’ [see- that’s the worldview working]. Actually- it is not proof that something comes from nothing- and the scientists who were saying this at first- have stopped saying it. Because- they were shown to be wrong. The other thing that these guys have been saying is ‘we now see that the fundamental WORKING OF THE UNIVERSE- IS BY CHANCE’. This is simply not true. In the beginning of the 20th century a scientist by the name of Niels Bohr debated with Einstein about this very thing. Bohr said these particles were actually reacting- working- based on the observation of the scientists looking at them. Yes- he said the fact that they were being observed- made them act a certain way. Einstein did not believe this at all- he responded ‘I prefer to think the moon is there- whether I look at it or not’. But- over time- some in the field of quantum Mechanics have said Einstein has been proven wrong- and Bohr right. But Einstein never said that Quantum mechanics was not true- he just said over time- we will understand more about the field. Because that’s the job of the scientist- to keep looking for causes behind events [see- if you ‘stop’ looking for a cause- and say ‘it’s chance’- it would be the same thing that some have accused the Christian thinker of- that when the Christian says ‘see- we have no further explanation- so God did it’. Now- I do believe ‘God did it’- but- in science- you continue to look- as much as possible- for the chain of events. And this is what Einstein was saying]. There were experiments done [Double split- etc.] that showed that these particles did not respond in the normal way. That is- individually. But- over time- you could predict the way they acted- as a group. The example used was like a casino- even though the casino owner cannot say who will win in his casino- yet- because of the odds- the probability- over time he could be assured that the house will make more- then the people gambling. Ok- this is fine- this is not some type of mystery that overthrows ‘all that we ever knew about the universe’ [which some of the men are saying]. Also- in the documentary I watched- carefully- they said it has since been proven that Bohr was right- and Einstein wrong- in the area of the observation of the particles being affected- simply because they were being looked at. But- the documentary did not show how- they did go on to explain the concept of entanglement- and ‘spooky action’ but I was waiting for them to show me how Bohr was proven right about the idea that when a particle is looked at- it then reacts a certain way. [In the field of Quantum Mechanics there is no equation that actually shows HOW this works. QM has many formulas that do indeed work- that’s why we have electronics- cell phones- computers- etc. - the laws themselves do indeed work. But there are no equations that show Einstein wrong and Bohr right- in the particular area of ‘observation created reality’.] They never showed that. In short- the Atom has electrons in it- that orbit around the center. These particles seem to jump from one orbit- to another [The Quantum leap] without traveling thru the space. In my mind- the Atom is a finely tuned ‘machine’ that exists everywhere. The fact that these machines exist- and work- is part of the Grand design. The reality of the Quantum Leap does not ‘overthrow all that we ever knew about the universe’. It is a unique part of the created order. In short- that’s it. And the fact that they exist- and function- like everything else- is proof of design in itself. Because we cannot predict how each and every particle will act- but we can predict how they will act as a group- is not proof that anything happens ‘BY CHANCE’. If you want to call it ‘a law of probable’s’ that’s fine. But as a whole- or group- they do work in an orderly fashion. Now- there’s a lot more to Quantum Mechanics- but in a nutshell- that’s was the big debate. QUANTA A MYSTERY! - One of the physicists talking about Quanta- a minimum amount of energy that an electron puts out that can no longer be subdivided- said ‘this is amazing- nothing else is like that- for example- if you eat food- there is no minimum amount you must eat- why this is so is an absolute mystery!’. Now- is he correct? Is this so amazing? The actual subject itself- the study of atoms [and everything else] is in categories- we define things by saying- well- it is A THING [meaning- they have limits- big and small]. By definition- yes- there are barriers-categories-limits to things. Now- it’s a bit deeper than this- he is referring to insights Niels Bohr had in the study of Quantum mechanics. But this is really no ‘mystery that changes everything we thought we knew’- not in the way the scientist talked about it. BOWLING BALLS NEED A BOWLER Now- I don’t want to be ‘picky’- but I found it interesting that in order for the host of the documentary to give an example of how these particles were reacting- he gave an example of a man throwing them- like bowling balls [the example was fine] down an alley. He was doing this to show the probability of them acting a certain way- over time. The point is- even in his example- he has someone ‘throwing them’- which would be the ‘cause’ for the effect. Now- I know this was a simple example- for the viewer to understand better. But it is natural- even in a simple example- to have an actual cause- for an effect. And what he was trying to show in the example- was that there was no ‘cause’. YOU SEE IT- YOU DID IT Some argue that Quantum mechanics ‘proves’ that there are effects without a cause. Which is an ideology that atheists try to use to say ‘there is no God’. They appeal to the seemingly ‘causeless’ reaction of the electrons/particles that have no ‘movement or location’ until they are observed. Actually- they do not see that they are contradicting themselves when they say this. Why? They are telling you [and me] there IS A CAUSE. They are saying the cause is OBSERVATION by humans. Now- if the Copenhagen interpretation holds true [it is being challenged by other interpretations- pilot wave-Hidden variables- consistent history] it would confirm the bible. How? The bible teaches us that man is unique- he has ‘dominion’ over the created order [Genesis- Romans- etc.] Meaning- man- has a special ‘rule’ or authority over creation in a way that all creation ‘submits’ to his caretaking. So- if Bohr is correct- that particles at the most fundamental level of reality- act- move- ‘locate’ themselves- only when man is observing them- then- this would be consistent with the biblical world view. Bohr’s view is better defined as ‘observer created reality’. WHATS THE BIG MYSTERY? In short- in the Copenhagen interpretation- it seems as if Electrons/ sub atomic particles are doing what they do- simply because they are being observed. As I studied what other physicists are saying about this interpretation I found out that many of them believe this whole thing is way overblown. I came to this conclusion BEFORE I READ THEIR DOUBTS TOO. Like I said above- if it is true- then fine. It proves GOD. If we keep looking- maybe there will be a scientific answer to the problem. The other scientists said stuff like ‘the reason these other guys are talking like it is such a mystery- it overthrows our whole view of the way we thought the world worked…’ They said it was kind of a ‘rite of passage’. Like they picked up this ‘mysterious’ way of speaking- because it simply gets you into the ‘in crowd’. I’ll be honest- that’s what it looked like to me. If one little unsolved part of the puzzle [why the particle seems to be affected by the observer] is not solved yet- fine. This in no way would overturn all the science that has been done since the days of Aristotle- to Ptolemy- up to Copernicus- down the line thru Newton- and then to Einstein. It simply is not as big as they are making it out to be. Christianity Today magazine ran an article a few years back- saying ‘will Quantum Mechanics be the big challenge to God’. Guess they were simply trying to be trendy- Maybe they should read my Blog? LIGHT- WAVE AND PARTICLE In the documentary- fabric of the cosmos- one of the scientists said part of the ‘mystery’ was that waves are not particles- and particles are not waves. He used the example of an ocean wave [light wave] and rock [light particle]. This insight of Einstein at the beginning of the 20th century was indeed true. The famous test- double slit- that seems to have confounded these men- to the point of using language like ‘this mystery will overturn all that we ever knew about the…’ The test showed that light has BOTH the characteristics of wave and particle- not that hard to see. This simple reality seems to back up the Pilot Wave interpretation of QM’s- Waves [both light- and ocean] are made up of particles. And yes ‘a particle is not a wave- and a wave is not a particle’. But waves are made up of particles- and as simple as this sounds- that seems to be a part of the answer to the so called ‘puzzle’. PAST POSTS [verses below] In the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10th-14th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16th-18th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin. What I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements people began questioning stuff. Was it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far. Some thinkers went back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17th century Rationalists. Rationalism- as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the church. Math became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic world. As the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was calculated to be there- was.] These calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways. There are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book was not written in math- but words. Yes- even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes. Now- what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality. This form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of us understand the term. There was a strong resistance to the 17th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism. The main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18th century Empiricist. This philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke]. Locke developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind. Locke was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not. He lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high. Okay- I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it. As Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas. Go slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought. Most Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth [Unicorns?] Biblical truth is based on real historic events- 1st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain. Christians base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system. VERSES- [These are the verses I talked about on the video- Other videos below] Isaiah 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Isaiah 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Isaiah 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. Isaiah 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Isaiah 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. Isaiah 56:8 The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. Matthew 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Matthew 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Matthew 15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. Matthew 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.Romans 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying, Romans 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. Romans 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Romans 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Romans 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. Romans 11:9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Romans 11:10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Romans 11:12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: Romans 11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. Romans 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? Romans 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: Romans 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Romans 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Romans 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. Romans 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: Romans 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. Romans 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Romans 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Romans 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. Romans 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Romans 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Romans 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. Genesis 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. Here are the verses from the Sunday Mass- USCCB » Bible » Daily Readings « August 19 | August 21 » Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 118Reading 1IS 56:1, 6-7 Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants-- all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Responsorial PsalmPS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you! May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R. O God, let all the nations praise you! Reading 2ROM 11:13-15, 29-32 Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. AlleluiaCF. MT 4:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the kingdom and cured every disease among the people. R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMT 15:21-28 At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus' disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour. Other Videos- [These are the videos I post nightly- Links to all my sites below] 2-13-19 Update- some teaching at the end https://youtu.be/HcsFP_Qphs8 https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205341372332007/ 8-19-18 Sunday sermon https://youtu.be/LXU49c_kUxk 5-6-18 Sunday sermon https://youtu.be/ABxS8VSkr2E The Cross [1] https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDvvCNelXjp2WdOu Jon Locke and Jesus https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AAVBBVSygarsfTOEvPyhhz-GQv2C8XER/view?usp=sharing The Word endures https://dai.ly/x71t9zh Philosophy and God https://mega.nz/#!jHBDyCaC!N-83jfI1eN6qqo21rSApc-UGDKlinmpQU1fE1eAwBk8 Ephesians 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcterll6r8stc28/12-9-17%20Ephesians%202.mp4?dl=0 Hebrews 5 with homeless friends https://flic.kr/p/2eLgTYD 2-11-19 Furman and the bird https://youtu.be/4xcF-rPgjN4 2-12-19 Public Safety warning https://youtu.be/C9OelIe8-04 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilEZWHo8UCywegxq https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mbnYPCjn_IAd6MQ_W52GwF5gWPz5fkZF/view?usp=sharing 11-5-17 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDrp8iA1KiuUl_1S Hebrews 10-13 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sbN84KmD1ria6h-iqtpTb3-V5GYFvM1s/view?usp=sharing Teaching Samuel with friends https://www.instagram.com/tv/BtyI-KknUVB/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet St. Patrick’s cathedral-[NYC] https://bit.tube/play?hash=Qmdt2uhyYHqXXeDVHzWAzvu1Rtb9WCXr69FALUx3xWaKFL&channel=160276 God of the living https://flic.kr/p/2eERPiL 10-21-18 Sunday sermon- tree of Life https://dai.ly/x71t9zg 2-13-19 Criminal corruption- Corpus Christi Texas https://youtu.be/pmLYzZaDnqQ https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilJZmW4y-LzEtdoe https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205339629928448/ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h3aS133s1nKQI-eEBm1jGEvY5LQpe14I/view?usp=sharing 1-14-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMeMlCArzzEG7ZgL0 Hebrews 7-9 https://drive.google.com/file/d/19pXxmPw7J3PlBlWkxkyWgziR5nEsO6mg/view?usp=sharing Found a verse https://flic.kr/p/2dkLrKk 6-17-18 Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x717yb8 11-4-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDhxIxWdzx-wW5mv Hebrews 4-6 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z7LmpMCMwv8d-rAWvIEPFMpLbacVz9wN/view?usp=sharing Bus ride New York City https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmVFJkXZYygCjAHaFin4uak8mR8hdnGzww8nywDQYqDKtq&channel=160276 Homeless friends https://vimeo.com/293345050 Henry https://www.instagram.com/tv/Btvcm-MnJBt/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet Kings 7 https://dai.ly/x71k2wr 6-3-18 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/K91fCx https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205333831263485/ Homeless friends https://youtu.be/qTRDGi2D05g 9-9-18 Sunday sermon https://youtu.be/piX5uY7_sZw 1-14-16 Mercy https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0kImMPCe3gwmN_s Pops https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VGZ_kk0nYf3LDzyTt5dRBBC0OhfqDV-i/view?usp=sharing Off the cuff teaching https://dai.ly/x71t9zf 8-6-17 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2eGAKLx Kingdom come https://www.bitchute.com/video/tABRVY7euUyx/ David Martin https://www.instagram.com/tv/BtqhYUVnpmY/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet Jonah 3-4 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDWsJfRw9boMAKkX Back in NYC https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmdE48FbAQFcBUUcGXCLgkFdSQC4hG7rtbde4JM8RWCKQP&channel=160276 Hebrews 1-3 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wFu3tFfFjwQIPNAPjt6dfnuZHIKsKvfM/view?usp=sharing Ephesians 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/uve5l1dh546zxcp/11-21-17%20Ephesians-%20Intro-%20chapter%201.mp4?dl=0 Colossians 2 https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZTDgC7ZPoQNl5hYP5m4DkKVdOHuajF4C22V Jerome https://ln.sync.com/dl/cc8cc4690/fbcjw43f-2a9tx8cm-fdqa2ykb-6s59knuk 7-8-18 Sunday sermon https://mega.nz/#!Kbx1BSCb!pP5br5jYAGgkb693twch944NyEzQsFWeaiqDSq7sbII Sunday sermon 2-10-19 https://youtu.be/LDgpyxEj1cE https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205331016033106/ John 16 https://youtu.be/nm8PjUZ1nrk Kings 15 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhDfLrbdhsVBNCJZl Romans 14-16 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BHNBgaRAw8k9mo7woUdUs_JUnSSd8TB9/view?usp=sharing 10-14-18 Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x71w6sf 8-5-18 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2444uHT Jersey city ride https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmchMNkaMSPN9nfE4GpBxgZLy5td1GFLwWPsWTJV4CN7KV&channel=160276 Kings 7 https://d.tube/v/ccoutreach/kp64l86b 1-21-18 Sunday sermon https://www.bitchute.com/video/TdkpqOTRA2Gr/ Video made 2-10-19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDgpyxEj1cE&t=72s https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205331016033106/ https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMilM8RN-NWYOeUqeR Apologetics https://youtu.be/u4Q3SWZpm1o Video- No nukes https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10202048387689449/ 3-8-20 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjQ_wT2-FfRxvVAPZ Colossians 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/u3urlhqn0uohehn/4-26-18%20Colossians%204.mp4?dl=0 Who the Son sets free https://youtu.be/f8VpxlYM_kU Spiritual Rock https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhHfonsWslTrmE8-c Homeless friends https://youtu.be/17SQyS5T-Ec Kingdom come https://www.dropbox.com/s/gl1q4sxdlon5qm5/1-22-16%20Kingdom%20come.mp4?dl=0 10-8-17 Sunday sermon https://ok.ru/video/1630087088695 Teaching https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjHO6R5VzDOF0R6Ys Colossians 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5uniom6iw4j1tm/4-12-18%20Colossians%203.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/00VtI2rPO44 Sanctify them https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhHIt1tZ8vaMO7I66 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/VvjOuF0SmmA Galatians 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/840brei12jiowq2/12-20-16%20Galatians%201.mp4?dl=0 10-1-17 Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x7o1at3 Acts 5 https://flic.kr/p/2jh5HBn Mark 13 https://youtu.be/vYBGKqDp5aE Ephesians 5 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgQ5JYk6RK_I5RvkH Homeless friends https://youtu.be/8mRb_TeEKGQ Holy Savior https://www.dropbox.com/s/c1emdyiyggq4y6g/12-20-15%20Holy%20Savior.mp4?dl=0 10-1-17 Sunday sermon https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10207280137519925/ Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjC5ezXeqVlv37Fv6 Colossians 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/0pd5q1g903rsdtw/3-29-18%20Colossians%202.mp4?dl=0 10-7-18 Sunday sermon https://ok.ru/video/1630086695479 The testimony of God https://youtu.be/vt9yvzys1iU Bethlehem christians https://dai.ly/x7ny2j6 Romans 4-7 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhHHlJSQt11n5jvfE The Idol https://flic.kr/p/2jgoSaL A pardon believed https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjHEa7_xZ3smw4_nL Colossians 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/lx4vvkmsayx1qwt/3-15-18%20Colossians%201.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/raEw9i3cDBw Snake on a pole https://www.dropbox.com/s/dz9kl5etmtjx25f/12-20-14%20Snake%20on%20a%20pole.mp4?dl=0 Plymouth Rock https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg2p-Ll8OTYtWqBPI Homeless friends https://youtu.be/yYGbQg0Mbn4 Whats real? https://www.dropbox.com/s/cv034kbs4qwd42c/12-19-15%20What%27s%20real.mp4?dl=0 The Divine conspiracy https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjHC5c1saBqq3Xav9 2 Witnesses https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10203582951612588/ Samuel 21 https://ok.ru/video/1627844315703 Galatians 3 https://flic.kr/p/MNVBKU Boys of Sudan https://youtu.be/dUtHo_JZCkg 1-7-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg2fQbOSDgFJmxmgX Homeless friends https://youtu.be/3vtoZekvb8Y Micah https://www.dropbox.com/s/cjqqd8xf0kz244a/12-16-16%20Micah%204-6.mp4?dl=0 Colossians 1 https://flic.kr/p/2jfuwvP Teaching https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjG38vudQlnroeG-g Ephesians 6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/xecoai78k9ljdbx/2-15-18%20Ephesians%206.mp4?dl=0 Acts 25 https://dai.ly/x7ny2j5 Solo Jesus https://youtu.be/ySLWj3_Oa10 The Seed https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMcE6961pCHM63GqU Homeless friend https://youtu.be/TESR_9bOkZw Recovery https://www.dropbox.com/s/26nzbqz4by4lbse/12-16-15%20What%20is%20recovery.mp4?dl=0 Ephesians 5 https://www.dropbox.com/s/1zau14j5ba1728k/2-1-18%20Ephesians%205.mp4?dl=0 11-24-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjFRR9F1ncTZrDe7- The Prayer of the obedient https://www.bitchute.com/video/gOFIwNq6By1r/ Acts 1 https://ok.ru/video/1627843922487 Don’t seek glory from men https://youtu.be/TPMjIj71CHc The paintings https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg2UQzQyhVLnAg6pp Homeless friends https://youtu.be/mk5FBt2dAR8 Kings 1 https://flic.kr/p/2jedq3N Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjC0cN9K6Iu6tQDWe Ephesians 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/lph733qd6gpbz0w/1-18-18%20Ephesians%204.mp4?dl=0 5-6-18 Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x7nrav3 Grace https://www.dropbox.com/s/bfg7b8mu5ipa0te/12-16-15%20Grace.mp4?dl=0 Samuel 9 https://youtu.be/9mnLPQgFBKE 11-26-17 Sunday sermon https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10204705415473483/ Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjCwWB6nblFKNcc-F Ephesians 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/iv9uxkj7s25q1sb/1-2-18%20Ephesians%203.mp4?dl=0 1-29-17 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgQpOhuFuCkqsZOgo Homeless friends https://youtu.be/KHoa30RjmBo Dallas https://www.dropbox.com/s/0zhmk8q16lpwj9l/1-2-16%20Dallas.mp4?dl=0 Take- eat- this is my Body https://ok.ru/video/1627843332663 It is finished https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg1_6ulPeVEYNLbAy Homeless friends https://youtu.be/2lawi5xxn_0 The ants https://www.dropbox.com/s/eaty37jb0k4wk0o/12-15-15%20The%20ants.mp4?dl=0 Story of scripture https://flic.kr/p/2jdg8TU 11-17-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjFOer4IMdGhn-zxc Ephesians 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcterll6r8stc28/12-9-17%20Ephesians%202.mp4?dl=0 11-18-18 Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x72lstv 7-25-20 Hurricane Landfall on this day https://youtu.be/nJ10Iu3whH8 https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10207490566340514/ John 8 https://youtu.be/De32SnqrMBc Samuel 31 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhGz1rx19kgsTmSLL Homeless friends https://youtu.be/MO_4CIYRJfI Rev. 15 https://www.dropbox.com/s/h69fgy0dizpqdia/12-13-16%20Matt.%2011-%20Rev.%2015.mp4?dl=0 11-3-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjE2X0-DUqPwM4brX Romans 11-13 https://flic.kr/p/2jcJ6Ji Ephesians 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/uve5l1dh546zxcp/11-21-17%20Ephesians-%20Intro-%20chapter%201.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://dai.ly/x7nmx1d https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/07/28/acts-6-8/ MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks] Web sites- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello https://johnchiarello.webs.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France] https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ Social Media sites- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://vk.com/id533663718 [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ [Our largest group] https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 [Korea] https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Link sharing sites- https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Mix- [Link at the top of this post or from my main blog] https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach https://buffer.com/app/profile/5b1be0280852690407c54007/analytics/posts https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching] Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge] Streaming sites- Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/ Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ [Most viewed] https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [IGTV] [Ukraine-Most viewed] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccoutreach87 https://vimeo.com/user85764413 https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-catalog-2020/ [Youtube catalog- 2020] Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Cloud sites- https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0G_aInmCi8XUC-C https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZ1sXP7ZardKGRUxFByiFYi667jeup7MD1Sy https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt [my page] Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is ccoutreach87@gmail.com - contact me first- thank you- John
0 Comments
ACTS 9
4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 6 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts. Zech. 8 [Post below] Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 LINKS TO ALL MY SITES AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST Links to my sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/ [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- as well as all my sites linked at the bottom of each post-Thanks] Follow us on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks Subscribe to our Youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ Friend us on VK [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://vk.com/id533663718 Friend us on OK [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 Follow us on Tumblr http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Linkedin [Our largest group] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ Follow us on Medium https://medium.com/@johnchiarello Friend us on Plurk [Japan] https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public Contact/Friend us on MeWe https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello Follow us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Follow us on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach Follow us on Mix https://mix.com/jchiarello Follow us on Flipboard https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy Follow us on Steemit https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach Follow us on https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 View on Trello https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com View on Voat https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions Connect on Minds https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Gab https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 View on Ello https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 Connect on Parler https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 Connect on Snac [Korea] https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 Connect on Publish-ox https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Watch our videos here- [Most viewed] https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [Most viewed- OK] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album [Ukraine] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Archive- Text posts only- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/archiv.html Some of my studies- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/reformation_12.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-ofphilosophy-thales-andthe-pre.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-links-1-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/colossians-links-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/corinthians-links-4-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/ephesians-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html [Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post] NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam. I post 8 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I realize that is a lot for some sites, yet this is the system I felt the Lord led me into. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. Thank You- John. [TODAY’S POST BEGINS HERE] Acts 9 videos- https://youtu.be/VBw6tOxifc4 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/4-13-17-acts-9-zech-1.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/4-13-17-acts-9-zech-1/ https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMggy_7kgfAhfJNo3Q https://www.dropbox.com/s/5n76twng58egzpe/4-13-17%20Acts%209%20%5BZech.%201%5D.mp4?dl=0 https://mega.nz/file/2XpAhK7Y#qoqVn0BODsM209JE0BERCcY9Ae7d-Wlz4_i7WBc28h8 ON VIDEO- .Carnival .Paul’s conversion .Prophecy .Spirit of poverty? .Where do the gifts function? .And why? .Let’s kill Paul now! .Solomon’s porch .Peter heals .And raises the dead .Tabitha .Resurrection .Kingsville Record . ‘Child says he saw the Lord’ TEACHING- Today I spoke on Acts 9- and at the end Zechariah chapter 1. I’ll just copy my commentary on Acts 9 below and make a few brief notes on Zechariah. I was reading about the 4 horns Zechariah saw in a vision- and he also saw 4 carpenters- Zechariah 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. Zechariah 1:20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. The 4 horns- not horns you blow- but animal horns- represent kingdoms- earthly dominions that oppress the people of God. The 4 carpenters were ‘builders’ of the kingdom- sent from God. In the vision- these carpenters terrify the horns- Zechariah 1:21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray [Terrify] them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. In the letter to the Ephesians we read about the ‘5-fold’ ministry- Ephesians 4:11 [Full Chapter] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Some see a 4-fold ministry- connecting the Pastor/Teacher as one office. In short- the ministers of the Lord- they not only build up the people of God- Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; But they also have a prophetic aspect- that speaks truth to power. In the Acts study- we actually see this play out. If you go back and watch/read the posts on Act’s- you will see how the Apostles and believers were not only preaching Jesus- but they were telling those who crucified him ‘you are guilty of his murder’! It seems strange for us in this day to see why they were doing this. But the unjust death of Christ- thru the manipulation of the ‘horn’ of Rome by the Jews- was indeed an oppression carried out thru corrupt government. And the early apostles were playing their ‘carpenter’ role as part of the 4- fold ministry. I also noticed a dynamic I ‘accidentally’ spoke about a few weeks ago [Permanent Record post- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/26/i-did-this-one-for-your-benefit/ ] I said there will be a day when we are dead- meaning both the messenger- and the one he is sent to give the message to- We will all be dead someday- yet the words themselves will go on forever. Sure enough that’s what God told the prophet- Zechariah 1:5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? Zechariah 1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us. The Word of the Lord endures forever. We still have the words of Peter- and Paul- and all the others who spoke the word of the Lord- who spoke truth to power. Yet-Peter and Paul are not on the earth anymore- nor are the corrupt ‘horns’ they spoke to. But the Words remain. Yeah- just like Zechariah was told. PAST POSTS [These are parts of my past teaching that relate- verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/moabdominions/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ ACTS LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/ VERSES- [These are the verses I talked about on the video- Acts 9- Links to all my sites below] 1 Corinthians 9:1 Am I am not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Gal. 1 Acts 14:14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, Zechariah 1:2 The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 1:4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD. Zechariah 1:5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? Zechariah 1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us. Zechariah 1:7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, Zechariah 1:8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. Zechariah 1:9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. Zechariah 1:10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. Zechariah 1:11 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. Zechariah 1:12 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? Zechariah 1:13 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. Zechariah 1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. Zechariah 1:15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Zechariah 1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Zechariah 1:17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Zechariah 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. Zechariah 1:19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Zechariah 1:20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. Zechariah 1:21 Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks] Web sites- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello https://johnchiarello.webs.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France] https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ Social Media sites- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://vk.com/id533663718 [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ [Our largest group] https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 [Korea] https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Link sharing sites- https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Mix- [Link at the top of this post or from my main blog] https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach https://buffer.com/app/profile/5b1be0280852690407c54007/analytics/posts https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching] Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge] Streaming sites- Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/ Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ [Most viewed] https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [IGTV] [Ukraine-Most viewed] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccoutreach87 https://vimeo.com/user85764413 https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-catalog-2020/ [Youtube catalog- 2020] Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Cloud sites- https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0G_aInmCi8XUC-C https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZ1sXP7ZardKGRUxFByiFYi667jeup7MD1Sy https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt [my page] Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is ccoutreach87@gmail.com - contact me first- thank you- John ACTS 8
Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [Post below] Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 LINKS TO ALL MY SITES AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST Links to my sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/ [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- as well as all my sites linked at the bottom of each post-Thanks] Follow us on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks Subscribe to our Youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ Friend us on VK [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://vk.com/id533663718 Friend us on OK [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 Follow us on Tumblr http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Linkedin [Our largest group] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ Follow us on Medium https://medium.com/@johnchiarello Friend us on Plurk [Japan] https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public Contact/Friend us on MeWe https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello Follow us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Follow us on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach Follow us on Mix https://mix.com/jchiarello Follow us on Flipboard https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy Follow us on Steemit https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach Follow us on https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 View on Trello https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com View on Voat https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions Connect on Minds https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Gab https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 View on Ello https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 Connect on Parler https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 Connect on Snac [Korea] https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 Connect on Publish-ox https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Watch our videos here- [Most viewed] https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [Most viewed- OK] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album [Ukraine] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Archive- Text posts only- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/archiv.html Some of my studies- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/reformation_12.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-ofphilosophy-thales-andthe-pre.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-links-1-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/colossians-links-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/corinthians-links-4-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/ephesians-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html [Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post] NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam. I post 8 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I realize that is a lot for some sites, yet this is the system I felt the Lord led me into. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. Thank You- John. [TODAY’S POST BEGINS HERE] Acts 8 videos- https://youtu.be/LNUN77mE05M https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/4-6-17-acts-8.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/4-6-17-acts-8/ https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhXDgNo3cXz4IMyY1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/xy9494l994yhdiu/4-6-17%20Acts%208.mp4?dl=0 https://mega.nz/file/jeh2Sa6B#2QmbVjyU4Tza7AZqvFipDpIiWV7fkU3f18QaQjWvctE ON VIDEO- .Local- federal court .What was the persecution? .Saul makes arrests .Philip works miracles .Showdown with a witch .Simony [And Simony] .Santeria .Occult arts .Don’t put God in a box .1 God- 3 Persons .Spellbound .Did Simon levitate? .Did peter end the flight? .Magic? .Transported by the Spirit .Brother Roloff roloff.org/ PAST TEACHINGS- [Below are links to my past teachings that relate to today’s post, ACTS 8- all verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/city-of-man/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ (739) ACTS 8- After the death of Stephen the church scatters thru out the region. We see Phillip being used and directed by God. An angel will speak to him, he will be supernaturally translated from one place to another. We see the simple reality of all believers having Gods legitimacy to function. This is important to see! Later on we see the first gentile church at Antioch being told ‘separate me Paul and Barnabus unto the work which I have called them to’[Acts 13]. Some will develop unbiblical restrictions from this verse. The strong ‘local church’ view [the view that sees local church thru the 501c3 Sunday building mindset!] will later teach ‘see, you can’t function on your own. If you are not under a ‘local church covering’ you are an independent rebel out of Gods authority’. Here we see the simple reality of God sending and communicating to Phillip on the basis of him being a child of God. In Acts 13 the Spirit communicated his purpose to an entire group, in this chapter he communicates to an individual. The legitimacy comes from the reality of God being the one who is giving the directions! Now, we see Phillip at Samaria preaching the Kingdom and doing miracles. The sorcerer Simon gets converted. The church at Jerusalem sends Peter and John to see what’s happening and they lay hands on the Samaritan believers and they ‘receive the Holy Ghost’. This is also described as the Holy Spirit falling on them. This chapter is used as a proof text for pro Pentecostal theology and anti! The Pentecostals say ‘see, believers don’t have the Holy Spirit until a separate Baptism takes place’. The anti Charismatics say ‘this is an anomaly. God did this because he didn’t want to have a competing church in Samaria that did not have the approval of the Jerusalem church’. I will agree and disagree with both of these propositions [yes, at the same time!] Paul will teach in his epistles that it is impossible to believe without having the Spirit. He will also teach a doctrine of being filled with the Spirit. The arguments over the terms used can be confusing. The fact is we see both the experiences of believers [who have the Spirit] still experiencing greater empowerments down the road. And we see believers ‘getting it all at once’ [Acts 10]. Theologically, you can’t be born again without having the Spirit. But you can call ‘the Spirit falling on you in a fresh way’ ‘getting the Spirit’. The different expressions people use do confuse the matter. The hard and fast Charismatics will not agree with me. And the old time Calvinists might disagree with me. I believe both sides have things to add to the debate. I want all of us to be open and daily expecting God to renew us with the Spirit on a daily basis. I know one thing for sure, Paul taught we can water and plant all day. But if the Spirit doesn’t do his work we will never see any real increase! Simon the sorcerer sees that thru the laying on of hands the Spirit is given. He asks ‘Hey, I will pay you money for the gift of being able to lay hands on people and have them receive the Spirit’. Peter responds ‘you wicked sinner! How dare you think you can purchase Gods gift with money! You and your filthy money will perish together! You better pray that God forgives you for this’. Simon says ‘can you pray for me’? He didn’t want to get struck down that instant! Peter will later teach in his letters ‘take oversight of Gods flock, not for filthy lucre. But of a ready mind’. James will write in his letter ‘woe to the rich, their day is coming’. John writes in 1st John ‘love not the world neither the things in the world’. Paul will pen ‘The love of money is the root of all evil. Some went coveting after it and have left the faith’. Where in the world did all these first century Apostles get this idea from? Was it the devil tricking them out of the truth of wealth? Were they under the spell of church tradition? Lets see, Jesus said ‘the rich man dies and goes to hell. The poor man to Abrahams bosom’ ‘it’s harder for a rich man to go to heaven than for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle’ ‘the rich man went away very sad because he had much riches’ [after Jesus said go sell all you have and give to the poor] ‘you can not serve God and mammon’ ‘the deceitfulness of riches choke Gods word’ ‘thou fool! This night thy soul shall be required of thee’ [to the rich man who was planning on building more storage for his stuff!] The simple fact is the early church had imbedded in their minds a non materialistic gospel. The modern church seems to read scripture thru the lens of the prosperity promises that you do find thru out scripture. The prosperity promises are true and should be understood, but we need to also see the reality of what I just showed you. The church will eventfully coin the phrase ‘Simony’. It will refer to those who use money to gain influence and official positions in the church. Simons name does becomes famous, but not in the way he wanted! [parts] I mentioned Gnosticism on today’s post- below are my past teachings on it- PLATO Plato was born in 427 BC- he was the most famous student of Socrates. He is best known for his theory of Ideas/Forms. He believed that the material world was an imperfect copy of the Idea world. That is he believed that Ideas exist apart from the construct of the human mind- that they were the perfect forms of the things we see in the material realm. He could also be referred to as a Realist- because he believed these Ideas actually existed [for real]. Where did he get this from? As we study Philosophy- each one that comes down the line has been influenced in some way by those that preceded them. There was a famous thinker- Pythagoras [his followers were the Pythagoreans] who taught a concept called the Transmigration of the Soul [a sort of Reincarnation]. They believed that the soul of man went thru various stages- and existed independently of the body. In Greek thought the soul is immortal- it exists before the body. In Christian teaching the Soul [mind- Spirit] comes into existence when God creates man [the bible says ‘and man BECAME a living soul’- referring to the creation of Adam]. The Greeks saw the soul as preexisting before the natural life. In the mind of Plato- the body was a receptacle- in this life we recollect the knowledge that comes from the Idea world. He ascribed Ontological status to ideas themselves. In Philosophy there are 2 basic ways knowledge comes [we study this in Epistemology- an offshoot of Philosophy- which deals with how we know things]. A Priori knowledge is knowledge obtained independent of experience. A Posteriori is knowledge obtained thru the senses- what we call Empirical evidence. In Plato’s schema he believed that the knowledge that comes to us from the Formal world [ideas- forms] was A Priori knowledge- that the human mind recalls- and in the present material world- knowledge comes to us from the perfect idea world. The Greeks believed that all matter was flawed- that the Body was an imperfect vessel- and after death we are released into the perfect world- and free from the material realm. Christian Tradition does not hold to this view. The Church teaches that the created world is good- not evil. Among Christians there is some confusion about this- because the older versions of the bible [King James] seem to teach that matter [world, flesh] is evil. Why? Paul the apostle talks about no good thing being in The Flesh- he talks about the Carnal mind- the apostle John says ‘all that is in the World- the lust of the flesh- the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world’. There are many references like this in the bible- but they are speaking about the sinful nature of man [the flesh] and not about the human body itself [For instance Paul says in Romans ‘present your BODIES as living sacrifices unto God- Holy and acceptable’ in Corinthians ‘your BODY is the temple of the Holy Spirit’- there are many references in scripture that speak of the Body as Holy. When the bible says ‘satan is the god of this world’ it is not speaking of the earth- which God created- and calls GOOD- but it is speaking of the ‘world’ system- an age of wickedness. So- at times Christians have confused this- and have held a sort of Dualistic view of matter- that is not the biblical view- but a Gnostic view- that all matter is evil. Plato saw the unseen world of Ideas as the perfect- pure world. He taught that in this life we obtain the knowledge of the pure- by reason of recollection- that these pure ideas come to us ‘are recalled’ in this life. He is famous for founding the first Philosophical school- it was called The Academy- named after a man by the name of Academus. The land was donated for the school- it was previously used as an Olive Grove- and in honor of the donation- Plato named the school after the donor. This is why we use the phrase ‘The Groves of Academia’ today. Plato was actually a nick name- he wrestled in Athens- in a sort of precursor to what would later become the Olympic games- and he was broad shouldered- that’s where his name comes from- Plato means broad shouldered. So- to sum up- Plato believed that Forms [ideas] were eternal, the cause of all that is. He believed we are born with innate ideas- these are not learned thru sense experience- but exist independently of the mind- and in this bodily life we retrieve [the body is a receptacle] these ideas. Does the bible teach anything along these lines? Not exactly. Christians believe that God himself is infinite- without beginning or end. That wisdom- ideas- ‘forms’ of things do indeed exist- prior to our own life. But these ideas are not without a Mind- God is Spirit- and he is everywhere [Omnipresent] he knows all tings [Omniscient] – so- in a way- there are indeed ideas- forms- but they come from the ultimate Mind of God. A good example would be the building of the Tabernacle- and later the Temple- under Moses and King David [his son Solomon actually built it]. God told Moses ‘see that you build it after the Pattern shown to thee in the mount’. In the book of Hebrews we read that the earthly Tabernacle [Temple] was simply an image- a symbol- of heavenly realities. That God himself had the ‘form’ in his mind- indeed- like Plato taught- the heavenly form is perfect- the earthly expression imperfect. But these patterns- forms- ideas- are from the Mind of God- they are not Innate in the soul of man- nor does the soul of man exist before his birth. In the past few months I have had several Christian friends tell me that they feel like they existed before this life- a type of reincarnation. I explained to them that in the Christian faith we do not hold to this view. But- the bible does tell us that God had a purpose for us- Predetermined- before the ‘foundation of the world’. Meaning that yes- in the Mind of God- in a way- we did exist- but we did not have actual being [called Ontological status in the field of Philosophy] until we were created by God. God’s purpose for us was already in the Mind of God before our birth. The bible says that Christ is made unto us wisdom- we are not Receptacles in the sense that Plato taught. But yes- in time God reveals to us this Hidden Wisdom- about his love and purpose for us. And in this life we act out- we fulfil this eternal purpose. Man [or woman] can never find true happiness- true meaning- until they tap into this purpose. We were created by the hand of God- to bring glory and honor to him- and we in this life can ever find true fulfilment- until we make it back to God. [parts] CHRISTIAN- MUSLIM DIALOGUE Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. https://youtu.be/-x4Bz60irJo Christian- Muslim dialogue https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-15-17-christian-muslim-dialogue.zip https://youtu.be/0i-V7qr7Kbg Corpus Christi- Questions [I posted the video yesterday- but wanted to tag it to a post- Because I talked about current world issues as well, things that I feel are relevant right now] ON VIDEO .Muslim encounter at Kingsville Fire Dept. .What makes Christianity unique? .Muslims shared some of the same concerns as many Protestants .Iconoclast controversy .Expressions of the Trinity .The development of the office of Bishop- 5 main cities .The ‘pre’ renaissance that took place within Islam .Aquinas responds to Islamic apologists [13the century] .Ad Fontes .Florence Italy- the Medici’s .Gnosticism .I bought him a Persian bible .Erasmus- Luther .Protestant Reformation .My Muslim friend [at Timons] .Who gave Bobby a ride? .Wycliffe- Huss- Coverdale .Guttenberg came just in time .Catholic church warned ‘you will have too many splits’. .They indeed were correct .I quote from the Quran at the end PAST TEACHING [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s video- verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/islam/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ JOHN 6 John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. https://youtu.be/–3fJK_dqiU John 6 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/7-3-16-john-6.zip GALATIANS [Links] https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/26/galatians-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/30/2nd-samuel-3-homeless-friends/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/02/galatians-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/10/galatians-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/12/the-seed/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/16/galatians-4/ ON VIDEO- .See the quads .it was a test . ‘We don’t have enough money for the ministry Jesus’? .What did Jesus do- multiply the money- or the bread? .Don’t leave the crumbs behind .Nungesser’s bowling alley .The acid trip .Manna a sign .A little Greek stuff .Zwingli .Lake Geneva .Renaissance .Florence- Italy .Medici family .Aquinas Aristotle .Greek lexicon .Proof texting a no no .Hocus Pocus? .Fundamentalism .Aldous Huxley MY LINKS [verses below] https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/ MY LINKS ON JOHN https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/amos-5/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/15/jesus-christ/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/father-abraham/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/ John 3 https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/the-well-john-4/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/john-5/ [parts] The renaissance was the 13-14th century revival of culture and learning that was lost for centuries- It began in Florence Italy. The catch phrase for it was ‘Ad Fontes’ meaning ‘back to the sources’- both in philosophy- as well as in Christian learning. This began a revival of studying the Greek New testament again from its original language. The Catholic Humanist- Desiderius Erasmus [15-16th century] – re introduced the New Testament in the Greek version [He was referred to as a Dutch renaissance Humanist- as well as a Catholic Priest and scholar] Now- Erasmus was a critic of the Church- like Luther- but chose a ‘middle road’- he did not join the breakaway Protestant Reformers- but chose to stay within the fold of Rome- while speaking out against the abuses he saw. But his first Greek translation of the New Testament did indeed set a spark- because it allowed the Priests to see the bible in its original language. And Luther was actually teaching this book of Romans to his students in Germany when the Reformation began. Today the Catholic Church [as you can see in the official Catechism that I have been posting] does indeed teach the bible as God’s Word. The divisions between Protestants and Catholics are many- but they did agree that the bible was the Word of God. Some Protestants do not know this- they think the church holds Tradition higher than the bible. No- the church does believe that God speaks both thru tradition- and scripture. They see the tradition of the church as simply another means by which God uses the church [Magisterium] to explain scripture- but the Catholic Church does not elevate tradition over the bible. And indeed- it was a catholic scholar- Erasmus- who introduced the first Geek version of the New Testament. NOTE- Erasmus disagreed with Luther on the doctrine of Predestination- which I covered in the last video. Luther was for it- Erasmus was what we would call ‘Free Will’. In his writings- which were very influential- he wrote in Greek and Latin- the language of the elites. He did this on purpose- for his target was the influential leaders of the Church. He rejected offers of money- because he did not want to align himself with any particular movement- so he could be an independent writer with no strings attached. He had many criticisms of the Catholic Church- and was very influential for the later reforms- those we see at the Council of Trent [Though the church criticized him- they said he ‘Laid the egg that hatched the Reformation’]. He taught that the church/priests/popes should be the servants of the people- He rejected the idea that the Priests/leaders made up the ‘whole of the church’- but he believed all believers made up the true church. Erasmus was a firebrand in his own way- rejecting the language that Luther and some of the reformers used [they were vulgar at times]- Luther respected the works of Erasmus- he thanked Erasmus for debating with him on the nature of Justification by Faith- He disagreed in the end- but said this debate was at the heart of the gospel- and was glad that Erasmus was willing to engage. RENAISSANCE ARTISTS- The famous renaissance artists- DaVinci- Michelangelo- Raphael- used their artwork as a form of knowledge- the images taught things- they were not just paintings. DaVinci’s most famous work was his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican. It took him 4 years to complete. The renaissance period- from about the 13/14th century to the 17th- [though there was a sort of Renaissance that took place- yes- in the Islamic world before the European Renaissance] was marked by what we term Humanism. Today we associate this term with ‘secular Humanism’ which often has a bad connotation- especially among Christians. But it meant something different back then. It was a new focus on breaking the limits off of man- and for man to excel in knowledge and skill- and to see man as having value. There was somewhat of a break away from the church in a sense- in that the church and its teachings were not the only source of wisdom for man. But- Jesus himself taught that ‘the Sabbath was made for man- not man for the Sabbath’- so- the Humanist spirit- elevating the value of man- does have a Christian basis in my view. Leonardo daVinci [15/16th century] was what we refer to as a true Renaissance man- meaning his knowledge was in many fields- not just art. He actually considered himself a sculptor first- then an artist- though he is most famous for his Fresco mentioned above. Here’s my study on The Reformation- https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ And my past teaching on the Western intellectual tradition- https://ccoutreach87.com/western-intellectual-tradition/ VERSES- Isaiah 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blindas the LORD’s servant? Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 2 Corinthians 5:7 [Full Chapter] (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it [parts] GW BRIDGE- https://youtu.be/70CVdZxFIMg GW bridge ON VIDEO- .Foundation stones .Why Bishops? .Gnostics and Docetism .Dads boat .GOV Christie and hot dogs .Restore the paths .Isaiah and John .Memories of a kid- train tunnel .Robert Moses to blame? .Mayor LaGuardia .The argument for Rome .Church fathers .Mystics .Suicide signs .Apostolic succession .What church is the ‘true church’? .Most amazing intellectual discourse ever? Only if you don’t hear [have to watch to get it- sorry] .Bedrock .I am homeless- can you spare a 5? VERSES- Galatians 2:1 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. Galatians 2:2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. [parts] Here’s some stuff I wrote before on Simon- Simony- [parts] SIMONY AND CHEAP TRICK- ON VIDEO- .A.P. article review .Simony .Peter/Simon- showdown PAST POSTS- Simony (pron. [ˈsaɪ.mə.ni] or [ˈsɪ.mə.ni]) is the act of selling church offices and roles. The practice is named after Simon Magus,[1] who is described in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9–24 as having offered two disciples of Jesus, Peter and John, payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would place his hands. The term also extends to other forms of trafficking for money in “spiritual things”.[2][3] Simony was also one of the important issues during the Investiture Controversy. Wikipedia . [1770] TREASURY OF MERIT Let’s pick up where we left off 2 posts back. We were talking about Martin Luther and the events that led up to the Protestant Reformation. In order to understand the key act that caused the protest- we will have to teach some Catholic history/doctrine. In the 16th century Pope Julius began the effort to build St. Peters basilica in Rome. He got as far as laying the foundation and died. Pope Leo the 10th would pick up after him. The church needed to raise money for the project- and the German prince- Albert- would play a major role. It should be noted that both Catholic and Protestant scholars agree that the Popes of the day were pretty corrupt. They came from what we call the Medici line of Popes. If you remember last month I wrote a post on the Renaissance- I talked about the Medici family and how they played a major role in supporting the Renaissance that took place in the 13th century in Florence Italy that would spread to the region. Well this very influential family also played a big role in who would get top positions in the church. At the time of Luther and prince Albert- if you had the right connections and the money- you could literally buy a position in the church. Albert already held 2 Bishop seats- and there was an opening for an Archbishops seat in Mainz [Germany] and he wanted that one too. [overblog- see the rest here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/24/galatians-5/ ] It should be noted that official Canon law [church law] said you could only hold one seat at a time- Albert was bidding on his 3rd one! And he was too young for all of them. So even the Pope and the officials held little respect for what the church actually taught at the time. So Albert opens up negotiations with Leo- and the bidding starts AT 12,000 Duckets [money] Albert counters with 7,000- and they agree on 10,000. How did they justify the numbers? 12- The number of Apostles. 7- The 7 deadly sins. 10- The 10 commandments. Yes- the church was pretty corrupt at the time. So Albert works out a plan with Leo- he will borrow the money from the German banks- and pay the banks off by the Pope giving Albert the right to sell Indulgences. What’s an Indulgence? Okay- this is where it gets tricky. The ancient church taught a system called The Treasury of Merit. This was a sort of spiritual bank account that ‘stored up’ the good deeds of others over the years. You had the good deeds of Jesus at the top- but you also had Mary and Joseph- the 12 Apostles- and other various saints thru out time. The way the ‘bank’ worked was you could tap into the account by getting a Papal indulgence- a sort of I.O.U. that had the Popes guarantee that it would get so much time out of Purgatory for a loved one. The actual sacrament that accesses the account is called Penance [confession]. When a penitent does penance- he confesses his sin to the priest- and he is absolved by the authority of the church that the priest has. The priest usually tells the person ‘say so many Hail Mary’s- Our Father’s’ and that’s a form of penance. One of the other things the church practiced was called Alms Deeds. This term is found in the bible and it means giving your money to the poor- it is a noble act that Jesus himself taught. In theory- part of the sacrament of penance was tied into Alms Deeds- you can access the account thru the practice of giving to the poor- which also meant giving to the church that helps the poor- and in the hands of the Medici line of Popes- meant outright giving money to the Pope. So now you see how the abuse worked its way into the pockets of the faithful. Albert now had the permission from Leo to sell these indulgences in Germany- and he would pick a certain corrupt priest to sell them in a place called Saxony- the region where Luther operated out of. It should be noted that the Catholic Church never taught the crass act of ‘buying your way out of Purgatory’. The practice of including giving money as a part of the sacrament of penance was tied into the biblical principle of giving to the poor- a good thing. But Tetzel and others abused the official meaning of the indulgence- and did make it sound like you could by your way out of Purgatory [in theory- a loved one might be in Purgatory for so many years- and through the indulgence you are actually getting time off for them- because the good deeds of others are now applied to the account]. The money Albert would raise- half would go to Rome for the building of St. peters- and half would go to pay off the banks in Germany- it was a sad system- and a sad time for the church as a whole. It would be wrong to judge the entire church at the time as being corrupt- you did have many sincere Priests and Catholic men and women who saw the abuses and did not take part in them. But there was corruption at the top- and this would eventually lead to the breakup of the church- and the launching of what we now call the Protestant Movement. As a side note- it should be said that many Catholics and Protestants are not aware of the whole treasury of merit system- and the church never officially changed her position on the doctrine. There were 3 Church councils since the time [Trent- 1500’s, Vatican 1- 1800’s and Vatican 2- 1962-65]. The Treasury of Merit never came up for change. Obviously Protestants don’t believe in Purgatory- and it’s not my purpose in these posts to change Catholics into Protestants or vice versa- but to give all sides a clear view of the issues that divided us- and to try and be honest- and respectful during the process. Does the bible teach anything like a Treasury of Merit? Well actually it does. The bible teaches that the righteousness of Christ is the treasury that people can access- by faith- and become righteous in the sight if God. The idea- applied to Christ- is good. But in the hands of the Medici Popes- and the ambitious prince of Germany- it would lead to disaster. [parts] The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance. Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah. Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] [parts] VERSES- [These are the verses I talked about on the video- Acts 8- Links to all my sites below] 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any manhave not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. Acts 8:2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. Acts 8:3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Acts 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. Acts 8:6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Acts 8:7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. Acts 8:8 And there was great joy in that city. Acts 8:9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: Acts 8:10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. Acts 8:11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Acts 8:15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: Acts 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Acts 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. Acts 8:18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Acts 8:19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. Acts 8:20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Acts 8:21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. Acts 8:23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Acts 8:24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the LORD for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. Acts 8:25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. Acts 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Acts 8:28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Acts 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? Acts 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. Acts 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: Acts 8:33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. Acts 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. Acts 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Acts 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Isaiah 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks] Web sites- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello https://johnchiarello.webs.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France] https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ Social Media sites- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://vk.com/id533663718 [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ [Our largest group] https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 [Korea] https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Link sharing sites- https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Mix- [Link at the top of this post or from my main blog] https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach https://buffer.com/app/profile/5b1be0280852690407c54007/analytics/posts https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching] Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge] Streaming sites- Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/ Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ [Most viewed] https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [IGTV] [Ukraine-Most viewed] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccoutreach87 https://vimeo.com/user85764413 https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-catalog-2020/ [Youtube catalog- 2020] Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Cloud sites- https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0G_aInmCi8XUC-C https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZ1sXP7ZardKGRUxFByiFYi667jeup7MD1Sy https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt [my page] Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is ccoutreach87@gmail.com - contact me first- thank you- John Sunday sermon [2nd Cor. 2]
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. 2nd Cor. 2:17 NIV [Post below] Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 LINKS TO ALL MY SITES AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST Links to my sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/ [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- as well as all my sites linked at the bottom of each post-Thanks] Follow us on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks Subscribe to our Youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ Friend us on VK [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://vk.com/id533663718 Friend us on OK [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 Follow us on Tumblr http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Linkedin [Our largest group] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ Follow us on Medium https://medium.com/@johnchiarello Friend us on Plurk [Japan] https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public Contact/Friend us on MeWe https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello Follow us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Follow us on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach Follow us on Mix https://mix.com/jchiarello Follow us on Flipboard https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy Follow us on Steemit https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach Follow us on https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 View on Trello https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com View on Voat https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions Connect on Minds https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Gab https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 View on Ello https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 Connect on Parler https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 Watch our videos here- [Most viewed] https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [Most viewed- OK] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album [Ukraine] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Archive- Text posts only- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/archiv.html Some of my studies- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/reformation_12.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-ofphilosophy-thales-andthe-pre.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-links-1-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/colossians-links-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/corinthians-links-4-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/ephesians-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html [Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post] NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam. I post 8 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I realize that is a lot for some sites, yet this is the system I felt the Lord led me into. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. Thank You- John. [TODAY’S POST BEGINS HERE] Acts 20:33 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Acts 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Sunday sermon videos- https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjkuCrOSzemslXeRA https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10207459733649716/ https://youtu.be/eHWBq2OINJg ON VIDEO .Main theme- forgiveness .Lonnie from New York City- the rest of the story .Who was the sinning brother Paul was speaking about? .What does he say about him now? .How were some corrupting the Word of God? .Did Paul only reject financial support from the church at Corinth? .Who were the other 2 churches he did this with? [As recorded in the New Testament] .Why was he doing this? .When he teaches on support for leaders- why does he use a seemingly obscure verse- and not the more clear passages on the Levitical priesthood and the tithe? .Socrates and the Sophists- how does this fit with today’s teaching? .History of the Peloponnesian wars- Athens and Sparta Peloponnesian War - Wikipedia .Many consider Athens the 1st democracy .What were some of the names of their warships? .Athens held about 4,000 legal proceedings a year .Socrates felt that the Athenians who could be ‘judge for a day’ as well as the jury- needed to be more educated- lest they make wrong decisions and convict the innocent .Not only would the innocent be wrongly convicted- but he felt the jurors would do more damage to their own ‘souls’ in the process .What are some of lessons we could learn from the present Covid 19 crisis? .We all have paradigms that effect us- the way we ‘see’ things .Another homeless friends story .Advice for my friends struggling with addiction 1Thessalonians 2:9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. . What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 Cor. 9:18 PAST POSTS [These are links and parts of my past teachings that relate in some way to today’s post- verses below] This is a Link to some of what I talked about on the video- Athenian democracy - Wikipedia https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/corinthians-links-4-2019/ https://ccoutreach87.com/christian-recovery-from-addiction-long-version/ Though I did not teach on Recovery on the video- I asked my friends to read my teaching on Christian Recovery- so I added the link above. https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/philosophy-links-5-2019/ https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-links-1-2019/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links-2020/ https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/ 2nd CORINTHIANS 2- Paul instructs the church to forgive the brother who was excommunicated earlier on [1st Corinthians] he tells them just as they were zealous to carry out the previous judgment, so now they should be willing to forgive. He says it’s possible for people to be overcome with too much sorrow. The other day I wrote a post on Obama’s green jobs czar, I felt [and still feel!] that he needed to resign, he resigned 2 days after I wrote the post. I have also seen some conservatives say good things about the man [Van Jones] that in essence he has also done some good things. But they feared that he will be tagged as this nut case who signed the 911 ‘truthers’ petition [well, he really should not have signed the thing]. The point was it’s possible to over do an attack on an individual like this, to not stop until all the czars fall type of a thing. Paul reminds us that there are times of being hard with people, but the purpose for it is too bring them to their senses. Here Paul warns against being unforgiving. He also says that when he shared Gods word with them he did not do it like others; he said they were ‘peddling/corrupting’ Gods word. This carries with it the idea that certain people/ministers were preaching for profit. Paul is not saying ‘too much profit’ he is simply saying those who were sharing the word and taking money in return. We already know that Paul’s mode of operation was to support himself when with the churches [see Acts 20] and at times he even paid the way for his fellow workers. Paul carried out the greatest apostolic ministry known to man [apart from Christ] and he did it free of charge at his own expense. Paul tells them that when he wrote to them he did it thru much affliction and difficulty. He previously spoke about God opening up great opportunities for him, but along with the gift came a great price. Let me share a little personal stuff with you guys. My wife went to the E.R. the other day with some serious problems; she has been admitted into the hospital. We do not have health care insurance. When I retired I couldn’t afford to keep it. I managed to get my kids insurance, but me and my wife are on our own. Out of the 2 of us I have a few more serious health problems than she does. Some have been self inflicted [past mistakes] others just happened. The way I ‘self-treat’ is I go on line and do ‘home cures’- this my friends is not good. Some have helped, others I am not sure of. But this past year I had some things that needed to be checked [like bleeding from places where you shouldn’t be] and frankly, I haven’t done it. But I needed my wife to stay healthy, so this has been pretty awful for me. At the same time we had some serious problems with one of our daughters, and we were/are in a real bind over this. During this whole time I started this new bible study [2nd Corinthians] and whenever I start a study I just do a chapter a day and it doesn’t take long at all to finish. But I wonder how many I’ll be able to do over the course of my life. I would like to do the whole bible, but I realize that it’s thru ‘much affliction and suffering’ that I have written to many of you. Paul said he had the ‘sentence of death within himself’ so he would learn not to trust in himself, but in God who raises the dead. As we read thru these letters, see the real problems and difficulties they were facing; hear Paul when he says ‘I am not peddling Gods word’ he was not taking offerings or collecting money for his own well being. He collected only for the poor saints at Jerusalem. Watch the give and take, the beliefs of the early church. We need an overhaul in our thinking and acting, ‘ministry/preaching/church’ all need to be re looked at, we need to teach/train the upcoming ‘crop’ of pastors in a new way. Don’t see these things as jobs, or opportunities for self advancement, see these things as opportunities to lay your life down for others, to cling to the death experiences and not run from them. Paul said we are the sweet fragrance of Christ to the nations; in both them who are dieing and those who are being saved. God reveals his knowledge thru us to all people groups, we die daily so this fragrance can go forth. )1ST CORINTHIANS 5:1-7 Okay, now we get into some tough stuff. Paul tells them that he has heard about a situation where one of the brothers is sleeping with his step-mom [fathers wife, though probably not his mother]. And the rebuke is they are not repenting over it, but instead are kind of proud of the whole thing! Paul says to ‘deliver him to satan for the destruction of the flesh so the spirit may be saved’. Now I already showed you the way I view this verse. I tried to follow the other times where Paul speaks this way in this letter and when using this type of language I see him speaking of physical death [chapter 11- sleep-death as judgment to a believer who sins]. I often ‘day dream’ how bout you? I’m not sure if it’s the lord at times trying to tell me stuff. One of my noble fantasies is I can picture myself as the sole Christian preacher who has survived some nuclear holocaust and I am responsible to train the survivors. In this scenario [I am kinda ad libbing here, I don’t day dream this much!] I have both Catholic and Protestant believers. Although I am tempted to raise this new generation of people as Protestants, I instead teach the Catholics true Catholic doctrine [though I don’t fully agree with it all] and I teach the Protestants their stuff. Now, I think this little day dream in some way speaks to what I need to do at times on this blog. I need to honestly tell both sides! In this verse ‘commit to satan for the destruction of the flesh’ some do see it a little differently. You can read ‘flesh’ as meaning ‘fleshly nature’. Paul does use the word this way at times. You can’t really make the distinction by going to the Greek. Instead you have to simply look at the context. So this view would be saying ‘deliver this believer to the enemy, don’t allow him to remain ‘in the camp’ and continue to receive the benefits of the believing community. As you ostracize him he will feel the effect of not being with you, he will come to his senses and leave his sin’ [which in this scenario is ‘his fleshly nature’] so the ‘destruction of the flesh’ in this interpretation would fit in well with Arminians. Now, do I believe it this way? No, but I sure feel noble, sort of like the Protestant preacher in my ‘day dream’. [p.s. if you tell anybody about this day dream, I will deny it!] (953)Yesterday I managed to catch a few TV shows that were good. National geographic did a special called ‘the first Christians’. It was excellent. They covered more historic truth in one hour than you would get from years of sermons. They basically taught the New Testament word for ‘church’ [Ecclesia] and showed how because the early Christians did not believe the ‘church’ was a building, that therefore they spread rapidly without lots of money. They then covered the historic development of the ‘church building’ and the effect this had on them. They also got into the ‘end times’ scenarios that are played out over and over again by today’s prophecy teachers. They interviewed true theologians who put Johns Revelation in historical context. Just an excellent job overall. I also caught the show ‘Journey Home’ on E.W.T.N. [the Catholic channel]. I do like the show, it often gives good historical stuff. Last night they were a little ‘too Catholic’ [I know, what should I expect]. They had a good brother on who left ‘non-denominational Christianity’ and became Catholic. Now, most of these brothers are very intelligent believers who make this choice out of sincerity. They usually study the early church fathers and realize the ‘Catholic tone’ of these early believers. I simply felt the brother who spoke last night was a little too critical of his former church experience [Willow Creek]. I then caught Scott Hahn [an excellent Catholic scholar and apologist], he always has stuff that interests me. He brought up an argument I have heard before on how the early church saw the ‘real presence of Christ’ as being in the Eucharist. Others have made this argument before from the Catholic perspective of Jesus being with us, as opposed to the detractors arguments that he misled the early followers to think that he would soon return and set up a literal earthly kingdom. I have heard and do understand this reasoning. In essence it defends Jesus and his followers by saying ‘Jesus didn’t let down the early church by not returning and ‘being with them’ he was with them all along thru the Eucharist’ good intentions. I would prefer to argue the same point thru the fulfilling of the Fathers promise and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus says in John’s gospel ‘I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you’ it is understood by most theologians [Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant] that Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit. Jesus actually refers to the Spirit as ‘One just like unto myself’. The new testament very Cleary speaks of the Holy Spirit as Gods presence tabernacling among us in a real way. So in my thinking I would prefer to argue the real presence of Christ as being among the early believers as fulfilled thru the Comforter. Overall it was a good night of viewing some good teachers. I also couldn’t help but notice how I have been skipping over the ‘more popular’ preaching shows of the day. I did click on one of the prophecy guys, he was defending ‘the rapture’ and I couldn’t help but notice the difference between the good theological discussions from the earlier shows, and the ‘silliness’ of what this brother was teaching. I don’t want to demean you if you hold to the rapture theory, it was just such an obvious ‘step down’ from the level of theologian to the level of popular prophecy preaching. In our current study of Corinthians we just went thru the verse ‘though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you have only one father’ [Paul referring to himself]. I couldn’t help but get this sense of the modern seen. You could flip thru all the religious broadcasting of our day and get every possible conceivable viewpoint on some subject, ten thousand of them! But there is a consistent voice of truth and wisdom that comes to us from both scripture and church history/tradition. I think we would be better off sticking with ‘the father[s]’. (954)NOW IT’S A PARALLEL/BUBBLE UNIVERSE! I watched the first TV special I ever saw on the multi-verse theory. I think it’s the first one of its kind by the history channel. It was very eye opening. It seems as if its defenders have been told ‘your initial argument is nonsensical’ and they have made some adjustments. As you read down thru the Evolution section you will see that one of the arguments against a multi-verse is that it is a ‘non physical’ argument. It is metaphysical. This meaning that you could never truly prove the existence of another universe thru the science of Physics. Why? Because the original definition of ‘the universe’ was every thing that exists in the time/space continuum. If by definition, all that can be seen or detected is ‘part of our universe’ then how in the world can you detect something outside of it? [they have some ideas on this, but its pure speculation as of right now] Once you detect it, it, by definition is in our universe! Well the brothers now realize that they fell into this obvious contradiction, so they seem to be moving the goal posts a little. In the special I just saw, they now seem to be saying that our universe is simply one ‘bubble of universes’ that’s floating around in space [before, space and the universe were synonymous!] so they seem to be simply shrinking down the definition of universe and making it mean ‘our closed existing time space continuum, which is simply one of many’ Ahh, you guys are cheating with his one! But hey, how many viewers realized this? That’s the problem with these theories, they come up with them for the purpose of having another explanation for existence, but they then get into more trouble trying to keep their theory alive. Remember, the reason this theory started in the first place was to come up with some type of explanation, apart from God, to explain the fine tuning of the Cosmos [read my sections on fine tuning under Evolution]. The unbelievable fine measurements that have been found to be exactly right to support life have no other real explanation apart from a creator. The multi-verse theory simply says ‘well, if you have millions and billions of unseen universes [pure speculation!] then the odds on one of them getting it right just went up’. So this theory was originally floated for this reason. Now, even if this theory were ever proved [according to the new definition of the universe!] it would simply mean that instead of trying to figure out how ‘our universe got here’ [the original question] now we have to figure out how they all got here! It really proves nothing. But I thought it interesting to see how these giants of Academia now realize that they were violating the basic laws of logic by espousing the theory in its original form! [In essence, all these so called floating, bubble like universes would have originally fallen under the heading of ‘the universe’. You wouldn’t have seen them as a bunch of separate universes. But they had to change the definition in order to keep their argument in the boundaries of logic and common sense]. They also borrowed from Einstein’s theory on worm holes. But Einstein surmised that worm holes might be these tunnels in space/time that one could travel thru and exit at another dimension, a different location of the universe. He did not use this idea as traveling from one ‘bubble universe’ into another, like the proponents of the multi-verse were doing. The show then got too silly to even give it a speck of serious thought. They then theorized that there are possible duplicates of us, and duplicates of other sports teams and presidents and all types of stuff. They thought it possible for the Giants to have won the super bowl in one universe, though losing it in ours [and you call this science!] they even said that this theory has moral implications. How did they come up with this? One of them explained that you could be ‘good’ in one universe, but if you realize that this holy altar image of yourself is doing good somewhere else, then this might effect your choice of being righteous in ‘this universe’ WOW! As we continue our study thru the book of Corinthians, keep in mind Paul’s teaching on the foolishness of men’s wisdom, I think we just saw a good example of it. There is this stature that we give in our modern day to any ‘Tom, Dick or Harry’ that comes down the pike with any nonsensical idea. We see them as a special class, the Academics can’t be wrong! After all it sounds intellectual. A few centuries before Christ you had the great philosopher ‘Philo- Betto’ [O wait, that was Clint Eastwood’s character in ‘every which way but lose!’] I mean Plato. Truly Plato and Aristotle and Socrates have had tremendous influence on Western thought. You would be hard pressed to find other later philosophers who have had the same influence [maybe Immanuel Kant]. Plato built this great school of learning in ancient Greece. He bought the land from a man by the name of ‘Academe’. Eventually we would call this pursuit of knowledge ‘the Academic world’ or Academia. Hey, don’t be intimidated by these guys. (955)1st CORINTHIANS 5:6-8 Okay, lets get back to Corinthians. ‘Your glorying is not good, get rid of the old leaven. Don’t you know that a little yeast can affect the whole lump? Get rid of it, you are all unleavened, Christ is our new Passover Lamb who has been sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’ [my own paraphrasing]. A few things. I want you to see something here, over the years I have read and studied lots of great theologians. It is common for these brothers to go back to the reality of the early church fathers belief in the ‘Real Presence’ of Christ in the Eucharist [Lords supper]. It is also becoming less common [in theological circles!] to defend the symbolic view of the Lords Supper. I believe Paul is presenting the idea of all believers spiritually sitting at the ‘table of life’ on a daily basis and receiving from Christ’s new life in a spiritual/symbolic way. He clearly says ‘let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’ [clearly symbolic!] Peter writes of the new sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. Jesus speaks in an interesting way about this in John chapter 6. The Jews ask him ‘show us a sign, Moses gave us bread to eat from heaven. If you’re from God then prove it like Moses’. I find it interesting that in the key chapter of Jesus being the bread that comes down from heaven, the conversation turns to Moses. The beginning of the chapter does say the Passover feast was getting close, but the imagery is Moses and Manna. Moses represented the Old system of law and works, John’s gospel tells us that ‘the law came from Moses, but grace and truth from Jesus’. Jesus contrasts himself with Moses. He says ‘I am the real bread that has come down from heaven, if men eat my flesh and drink my blood they will live’. Now we must understand the tremendous offence this statement caused. The Jewish people had Levitical laws [commands in their law] that forbid the drinking of any type of blood, never mind the blood of a person! But yet Jesus would speak this way to them. In the conversation the hearers acknowledge the difficulty of the saying, Jesus will say ‘the flesh profits nothing, it is the Spirit that gives you life. The words I am speaking to you are Spirit and life’. At the last supper [which was the symbolic end of the Passover and the beginning of a new celebratory meal centered on the final sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God] Jesus seems to be saying ‘from now on, as long as you do this, you are showing my death until I come again’ [we get this from Paul later on in Corinthians]. As you put all of this imagery together, you get the sense of the New Covenant being one of an ongoing continual New Covenant meal from which all believers daily eat from and ‘keep the feast with the new leaven of truth and sincerity, not the old leaven of sin and wickedness’. You clearly see a symbolic element in this language. Now, I do not discount the importance of the actual ordinance of the Lords Table. I recently defended the Catholic idea to an ex Catholic who is now Protestant. They said ‘how can people believe something so silly’ I had to say that many serious intellectual believers accept the Real Presence doctrine by faith in the literal reading of Jesus words. Luther himself believed it, he made no bones about it when he slammed his fist on the table in his dispute with Zwingli and said ‘this IS MY BODY!’ [I think he slammed his fist, he might have carved it in the table?] Standing for the literal interpretation of the sacrament. John Wesley, the founder of the great Methodist movement, wrote many hymns speaking of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. So make no mistake about it, many good believers hold to the literal belief. I just wanted you to see that it is also in keeping with the scripture to see the entire Christian walk as one huge ongoing ‘feast’ that is kept with spiritual sacrifices and symbolic language. Jesus is the bead that came down from heaven, those who would stay with ‘Moses bread’ [law] would die, those who would eat from this new table would live forever. (957)1ST CORINTHIANS 5:9-13 Now Paul clarifies what he meant when he said ‘don’t associate with those who sin sexually’. He wants to be clear that his instructions on ‘not being with sinners’ is not misunderstood. After all we are called salt and light, Jesus himself was accused of spending too much time with the lost. So Paul says ‘what I meant was don’t keep ongoing fellowship with a brother who is practicing unrepentant sin’. He also says ‘if you thought I meant all sinners in general, then heck you wouldn’t be able to live in society this way’. Some believers have taken a stand on ‘separation from the world’ in such a way that they have no unbelieving friends. Others seem to view the unbeliever as the enemy. Sort of like we are in this culture war and the enemy is YOU! I can’t even watch the O’Reilly factor [Fox news] too long, he says he’s fighting this culture war and then in the ads for upcoming shows he shows the raciest pictures on any news show. What’s up with that? I feel we need to make the distinction between separating from a sinning brother [for his own good] and having friendships with unbelievers. People you can influence down the road. Paul also says if we judge our own [by shunning them for their own good] that this is a type of ‘present chastening’ that believers do experience. But those who are ‘outside the camp’ [unbelievers] are left to be judged by God. We see this same theme in chapter 11 ‘when we are judged we are disciplined by the Lord so we will not be condemned with the world’ [at the final judgment]. I believe that this idea is one of the best arguments for eternal security [once saved, always saved. Though I don’t like this language, you get the hint]. The concept of believers being presently dealt with for sin, even to the possible point of physical death, seems to indicate that they will not face a future judgment like the lost [eternal damnation]. When we recently did one of our Old Testament studies, I overlooked a verse that said to King David ‘I will raise up one of your sons [Solomon/Jesus- dual Messianic prophecy] and he will build this new temple/people. The way I will deal with the people under this new covenant is, if they commit sins, I will chasten them, but I will not utterly take my mercy from them’ [my paraphrasing- it is said to the actual son, Solomon/Jesus, but in the New Covenant revelation of the church actually being part of the Body of Christ, this is how you could apply it]. You can also read this idea in a few other places. I think Jeremiah uses it ‘I will give them a new heart and I will put my Spirit in them’ and he also speaks about not being totally rejected if they commit sin under this new covenant. So the point is, if there is a mechanism under this new covenant whereby sin is dealt with in the present time, and if this is compared to the other choice which is ‘judgment at a later time’. This would seem to indicate a type of ‘in house discipline’ that says ‘if you openly sin now, God will judge you now. He does this for your own good, so you won’t face the judgment of the unbeliever at the end’. So the fact that some were sinning, even pretty badly! Did not mean that they were expelled completely from the benefits of the covenant. As a matter of fact, temporal excommunication itself was one of the benefits! I don’t want to be too dogmatic on this, I just want you to see a repeated theme in scripture that says God will deal with his kids in the here and now [no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous- Hebrews] but this in itself is a blessing that is designed to ‘produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby’ Hebrews. [parts] ACTS 20 Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. https://youtu.be/vc4qntHZqXo Acts 20 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/8-15-17-acts-20.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/8-15-17-acts-20/ http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/17-shih-tzu-puppies-rescued-from-puppy-mill-in-ben-bolt-texas/465425096 http://www.kztv10.com/story/36170167/17-dogs-rescued-from-ben-bolt-home On the videos I have talked about my daughters starting their own pet rescue- on the local news they showed them doing a rescue- you can see my daughter Debbie on this news clip. ON VIDEO- .Troy [my puppy] almost electrocuted [Not on this video- but the story] .Paul preaches long .Boy fell asleep and fell out the window .Paul goes downstairs and raises him from the dead [yes- all true] .This is the only other recorded resurrection by one of the apostles in Act’s .The other was Peter raising Tabitha Acts 9:40 .Why was there an interest in some of the Gnostic writings? .Paul’s message to the elders .Communion meal celebrated .Paul also supported himself at Corinth and Thessalonica [1st Thes. 2:9- Acts 18:3] .Paul’s trials- .His purpose- finish the job .Warns against false teachers .The Cross and grace are a universal message .Avoid personality cult .Better to give than get- Jesus PAST POSTS [verses below] ACTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/07/acts-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/16/acts-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/22/acts-12/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/01/acts-13/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/14/acts-14/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/03/acts-15/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/07/acts-16/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/27/acts-17/ http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/08/acts-18-acts-1828-for-he-mightily.html https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/ My other past teachings that relate to today’s post- ACTS 20 https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ (739)ACTS 20- Paul travels with some brothers on the journey. This mode of visiting different regions and bringing brothers with him is exciting! They are truly seeing the Kingdom of God becoming established in the earth. Scripture says ‘they broke bread on the first day of the week’ we read later in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that when they met on the ‘first day of the week’ he asked them to take up a collection before he arrived [so he could take the money and meet the needs of the poor saints at Jerusalem]. Do we see here some type of Sunday Sabbath, that is the ‘church day to pay tithes’ so you don’t get cursed? Of course not. You are seeing the simple practical outworking of a people who are becoming the people of God. It’s fine to meet on a Sunday and to ‘break bread’. Hey, the group needs to know when to meet for the meal! But don’t develop liturgical/sacramental ideas out of this. You say ‘hooray for John [me], he is really giving it to those Catholics’ well, don’t say hooray yet. Now he calls for the Elders at Ephesus to come to Miletus so he can give them some instructions and a farewell. This address from Paul is one of the best in the New Testament. He covers the basics for leadership and church growth. Now, he tells them ‘all the time I was with you guys I was upright. I taught you publicly and from house to house. I showed you repentance toward God and faith towards Jesus Christ. I worked and did not covet your money. I did this to prove I was not there to gain financially from you. To give you an example as Elders yourselves, so you would not see the responsibility of oversight thru a covetous mindset. Beware! After I leave you there will be an attempt by the enemy to undo the work of the Cross. Some men, even from your own group will rise up and speak twisted doctrines. They will try to become preeminent in the group, drawing away disciples after themselves. Don’t become sidetracked and become followers of men! Guard the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Feed them Gods good word’. Paul lays down strong guidelines here. He actually teaches the elders that he worked when he was among them to leave this example of leaders not seeing ministry as a means to get gain. In one of his future letters [Timothy or Thessalonians?] he actually says this ‘working’ that he did was a tradition for them to keep. He said this in context of those who refused to work. Very strong indeed. Peter also will teach the Elders to take oversight of Gods flock ‘not for money, but out of a pure motive’. In the wars that rage over ‘simple church’ versus the modern 501c3 model, both sides have shot at each other wrongfully at times. There are very intelligent brothers who will take this chapter and teach that the modern Pastor has fallen into the trap of ‘making disciples after themselves’. They see the development of the role of Pastor as becoming the fulfillment of this. Now, I do see some merit to this, but I see most pastors [all the ones I know and have known personally over the years] as Elders who are striving to help Gods People. I see a real need for all leadership to see that ministry is not a fulltime clergy type office that has developed over the centuries! Paul is simply addressing the Elders [more mature ones- in the gospel, not necessarily old!] and showing them that their purpose is to help the people of God grow in grace and make it to a place of self sufficiency in Christ. Paul is pretty much laying down the gauntlet that leadership is not some ticket of ‘now that I am in ministry, my income comes from the God ordained tithe’. This is never taught as a means of support for New testament ministers. These ideas have developed out of the Old Testament idea of the tithe supporting the Levitical Priests. In the New Covenant all are Priests and we don’t practice this type of thing. But Paul does teach that it’s good to support materially [financially] those who are feeding you spiritual food. He does teach ‘don’t muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn’ [he called us ox’s!] seriously, he lays down the biblical guideline of supporting those who minister the word. But it is important to see he was not establishing some type of clergy system, the fact that he was working while with these Ephesians and actually used this as an example for OTHER ELDERS as well as the believers shows you this. All in all the main point Paul is getting across is he wants the basic truth of the gospel to prevail and he does not want top heavy leadership to come in and draw away disciples after them. That is for strong gifted leaders to become the main focus of these Ephesian believers. So this chapter is important because we see Paul address these elders that he has been ‘ordaining’ in the churches [groups of believers]. We see the basic character and function of these men. We see the warning that cults will arise. In Paul’s day groups did come forth from the basic Christian communities [Gnostics and Docetists] that had a basic understanding of certain Christian things, but would deny the reality of Jesus. Paul bids them Farwell as they all embrace on the shoreline. The Elders were heartbroken over Paul’s words that he will probably see them no more. He wanted to keep the upcoming feast at Jerusalem and eventually preach at Rome. He was on this obsession to carry this gospel to the seat of the empire, even if it means his life. [My past teaching on Gnosticism- which I mentioned on the post] PLATO Plato was born in 427 BC- he was the most famous student of Socrates. He is best known for his theory of Ideas/Forms. He believed that the material world was an imperfect copy of the Idea world. That is he believed that Ideas exist apart from the construct of the human mind- that they were the perfect forms of the things we see in the material realm. He could also be referred to as a Realist- because he believed these Ideas actually existed [for real]. Where did he get this from? As we study Philosophy- each one that comes down the line has been influenced in some way by those that preceded them. There was a famous thinker- Pythagoras [his followers were the Pythagoreans] who taught a concept called the Transmigration of the Soul [a sort of Reincarnation]. They believed that the soul of man went thru various stages- and existed independently of the body. In Greek thought the soul is immortal- it exists before the body. In Christian teaching the Soul [mind- Spirit] comes into existence when God creates man [the bible says ‘and man BECAME a living soul’- referring to the creation of Adam]. The Greeks saw the soul as preexisting before the natural life. In the mind of Plato- the body was a receptacle- in this life we recollect the knowledge that comes from the Idea world. He ascribed Ontological status to ideas themselves. In Philosophy there are 2 basic ways knowledge comes [we study this in Epistemology- an offshoot of Philosophy- which deals with how we know things]. A Priori knowledge is knowledge obtained independent of experience. A Posteriori is knowledge obtained thru the senses- what we call Empirical evidence. In Plato’s schema he believed that the knowledge that comes to us from the Formal world [ideas- forms] was A Priori knowledge- that the human mind recalls- and in the present material world- knowledge comes to us from the perfect idea world. The Greeks believed that all matter was flawed- that the Body was an imperfect vessel- and after death we are released into the perfect world- and free from the material realm. Christian Tradition does not hold to this view. The Church teaches that the created world is good- not evil. Among Christians there is some confusion about this- because the older versions of the bible [King James] seem to teach that matter [world, flesh] is evil. Why? Paul the apostle talks about no good thing being in The Flesh- he talks about the Carnal mind- the apostle John says ‘all that is in the World- the lust of the flesh- the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world’. There are many references like this in the bible- but they are speaking about the sinful nature of man [the flesh] and not about the human body itself [For instance Paul says in Romans ‘present your BODIES as living sacrifices unto God- Holy and acceptable’ in Corinthians ‘your BODY is the temple of the Holy Spirit’- there are many references in scripture that speak of the Body as Holy. When the bible says ‘satan is the god of this world’ it is not speaking of the earth- which God created- and calls GOOD- but it is speaking of the ‘world’ system- an age of wickedness. So- at times Christians have confused this- and have held a sort of Dualistic view of matter- that is not the biblical view- but a Gnostic view- that all matter is evil. Plato saw the unseen world of Ideas as the perfect- pure world. He taught that in this life we obtain the knowledge of the pure- by reason of recollection- that these pure ideas come to us ‘are recalled’ in this life. He is famous for founding the first Philosophical school- it was called The Academy- named after a man by the name of Academus. The land was donated for the school- it was previously used as an Olive Grove- and in honor of the donation- Plato named the school after the donor. This is why we use the phrase ‘The Groves of Academia’ today. Plato was actually a nick name- he wrestled in Athens- in a sort of precursor to what would later become the Olympic games- and he was broad shouldered- that’s where his name comes from- Plato means broad shouldered. So- to sum up- Plato believed that Forms [ideas] were eternal, the cause of all that is. He believed we are born with innate ideas- these are not learned thru sense experience- but exist independently of the mind- and in this bodily life we retrieve [the body is a receptacle] these ideas. Does the bible teach anything along these lines? Not exactly. Christians believe that God himself is infinite- without beginning or end. That wisdom- ideas- ‘forms’ of things do indeed exist- prior to our own life. But these ideas are not without a Mind- God is Spirit- and he is everywhere [Omnipresent] he knows all tings [Omniscient] – so- in a way- there are indeed ideas- forms- but they come from the ultimate Mind of God. A good example would be the building of the Tabernacle- and later the Temple- under Moses and King David [his son Solomon actually built it]. God told Moses ‘see that you build it after the Pattern shown to thee in the mount’. In the book of Hebrews we read that the earthly Tabernacle [Temple] was simply an image- a symbol- of heavenly realities. That God himself had the ‘form’ in his mind- indeed- like Plato taught- the heavenly form is perfect- the earthly expression imperfect. But these patterns- forms- ideas- are from the Mind of God- they are not Innate in the soul of man- nor does the soul of man exist before his birth. In the past few months I have had several Christian friends tell me that they feel like they existed before this life- a type of reincarnation. I explained to them that in the Christian faith we do not hold to this view. But- the bible does tell us that God had a purpose for us- Predetermined- before the ‘foundation of the world’. Meaning that yes- in the Mind of God- in a way- we did exist- but we did not have actual being [called Ontological status in the field of Philosophy] until we were created by God. God’s purpose for us was already in the Mind of God before our birth. The bible says that Christ is made unto us wisdom- we are not Receptacles in the sense that Plato taught. But yes- in time God reveals to us this Hidden Wisdom- about his love and purpose for us. And in this life we act out- we fulfil this eternal purpose. Man [or woman] can never find true happiness- true meaning- until they tap into this purpose. We were created by the hand of God- to bring glory and honor to him- and we in this life can ever find true fulfilment- until we make it back to God. [parts] (1204) There was this man stuck on a deserted island, he was there for 30 years. Finally one day he saw a ship pass by and he started a fire to signal it. When they came to his rescue they saw that he had made 3 huts. They asked him what they were for; the first one was his house, the second was his church. What about the third one? Oh, that’s the church I used to go to [you have to be a Pastor/ex-Pastor to get his one]. I am about 1/3rd thru with the book ‘why we love the church’ [Deyoung, Kluck]. While it’s too soon to review it, let me make a few comments. First, I really like these guys a lot, I read their first book [why we’re not emergent] and will stick with their journey for now. They write from an informed historical perspective. Unashamedly Calvinist [like myself] but yet cool enough to challenge the other cool guys [emergent cool]. I don’t know if they did a chapter on ‘ecclesiology’ [their view of local church] but it would be helpful if they did/do one. They do a great job defending the historic gospel, they defend the ‘church’ and all of the great things the old traditional ‘churches’ have done over the years. They rightfully take the emergent crowd to the woodshed on their willingness to reject certain historic claims of Christianity. But I think they do not really see the legitimate challenge to the church as community versus the people who ‘go to the church on Sunday’. I think their voices are important to hear, and everyone who is reading the organic church stuff should read these guys, but I am not sure they fully see the biblical idea/concept of church as community in the New Testament. In their noble efforts to refute those who have gone too far in other areas, they might be missing the truth of the Ecclesia as defined in scripture. Okay, enough said. Jesus is eating the Passover with the disciples, he tells them he will not eat/drink with them again until the Kingdom of God comes. Was he speaking of a future restoration of nationalistic Israel and his eating the restored Passover/Communion meal at that time? I don’t think so. After Jesus rose from the dead it was important for the ‘witnesses’ [disciples] to have seen testimony that Jesus rose bodily from the grave. He tells Thomas ‘thrust your hand into my side’ he eats with them on a few occasions. He was showing them he was really alive. John’s gospel is the only one [I think] that mentions the blood and water coming from Jesus side after being pierced on the Cross. In John’s letters he speaks of the blood and water as a testimony. John also says that they were testifying of the Son, who they saw and whose hands have handled. John was combating the soon to rise Gnostic/Docetist heresies that would doubt the physical resurrection of Christ. They would say he was ‘a phantom’ [spirit]. So, why did Jesus emphasize his eating with them ‘when the Kingdom came’ [after his death and resurrection]? I think he was giving them a sign/truth that he was physically coming back. They still did not fully grasp what he was going to do, there would be some who would doubt that he really died and rose [see 1st Corinthians 15]. He was telling them that he was really going to die and really come back from the dead. The whole Christian faith stands or falls on this single reality, Paul said ‘if Christ be not risen then we are of all men most miserable’. Jesus said ‘don’t worry guys, when I come back we will eat again’. [parts] Ok- the ruling empire at the time of Christ was Rome- just prior to the appearance of Jesus- the Roman Emperor- Caesar Augustus- consolidated the Roman Empire under his rule- Rome was ruled by a senate- some famous names from history were in it- Cicero being one. Caesar Augustus was the nephew of Julius Caesar- his real name was Octavian [Octavius]. After the death of Julius Caesar- there were some power struggles that took place- between some other famous people. Marc Antony being one of them [Cleopatra too- he was in love with the girl for sure]. Now- we read about Augustus in the New Testament- and we read in the book of Revelation about the Mark of the Beast- and that those who don’t worship- give homage to the Beast- they will be killed. So- Many Christians would be killed because they would refuse to give homage to Caesar Augustus [meaning son of the Divine]. ‘Wow- how did he get a name like that’ [there was more than one Caesar by the way- as well as more than one Herod- who did play a part in these power struggles- it can get confusing- even to me]. When Octavian defeated Marc Antony at Actium [32 BC]. Herod [The Great] had a problem- he had previously sided with Antony and found himself on the losing side. Yet he was smart- did some ‘brown nosing’ as we say-and patched things up. Herod had 3 sons- who would eventually take positions of authority in the Roman government at the time of Christ. Herod Antipas was over the region that we read about in the New Testament where Jesus did most of his ministry- Galilee. Ok- Octavian claimed deity because of a heavenly sign associated with his rise to power- and this is how he became called ‘Caesar Augustus’. He sort of saw himself as a ‘re-incarnate’- of his great uncle Julius Caesar. ‘John- what in the heck does this have to do with the Dead Sea Scrolls’. Ok- good question. The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times. Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered. They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule. Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community. This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century. A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls. The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes- Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along. I did read up this week- and basically had it right. The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D. These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books. The only book missing was Esther. So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars. But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant. There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ]. These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible. Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group]. Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees. And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees. Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars]. NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement]. Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out]. Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her. Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life- And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women- And if true- it would not demean her in any way- That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure. So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’. Ok- Plot? No- just being careful. So there are other misguided beliefs like this- that sincere people have- and over time I hope to get to them. I’ll do one more in keeping with this post. I mentioned above that Caesar Augustus did indeed take the title of ‘son of God’. And some critics of the Church say ‘see- there were all types of religions that had Sons of God’. I watched one show a few years back- and it stated that these religions had ’12 disciples- a leader named Lord and Savior- and he healed and claimed to be God’s Son- and rose from the dead’. Ok- that show was ‘fibbing’ to put it lightly- they went too far [historically speaking] in trying to diminish the Christians claim of Christ by doing this. Now- is there some truth to this at all? Yes- like I just mentioned above- Octavian did indeed claim deity- a ‘son of god’. So- how do we explain this? In the book of Galatians the bible says ‘in the FULLNESS of times God sent forth his Son’. Jesus came at a set time in history- in fulfilment of the Jewish Prophets- to be who he was- and to do what he did. Now- this is not special pleading here- but I find it a masterpiece that God’s Son came at a time when the Roman Empire had one sitting on the throne- who too claimed deity. Yet Jesus was in a region of the lower class- his men were not highly educated- and his followers were people under oppression. Augustus lived in the wealthy and influential capital of ‘the world’- he had all you could ever ask for- he was worshiped as a god. Yet in 3 short centuries- one of the heirs of the empire- Constantine- would have an experience – not with a former Caesar- but with a vison of a Cross- He would convert to Christianity- and declare Christianity to be the religion of the realm. [parts] https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel/ https://ccoutreach87.com/nehemiah-isaiah/ VERSES- Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root [parts] VERSES- [These are the verses I taught- or quoted from on today’s post- ACTS 20] 2 Timothy 3:16 [Full Chapter] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 21:24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. Acts 18:1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; Acts 18:2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. Acts 18:3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. 1Thessalonians 2:9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Acts 20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. Acts 20:2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, Acts 20:3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. Acts 20:4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. Acts 20:5 These going before tarried for us at Troas. Acts 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. Acts 20:8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Acts 20:10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. Acts 20:11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. Acts 20:12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. Acts 20:13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. Acts 20:14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. Acts 20:15 And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus. Acts 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. Acts 20:17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. Acts 20:18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Acts 20:19 Serving the LORD with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: Acts 20:20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Acts 20:23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Acts 20:26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. Acts 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Acts 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Acts 20:33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Acts 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:36 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. Acts 20:37 And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Acts 20:38 Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship. Acts 20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. Acts 20:2 And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, Acts 20:3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. Acts 20:4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. Acts 20:5 These going before tarried for us at Troas. Acts 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. Acts 20:8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Acts 20:10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. Acts 20:11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. Acts 20:12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. Acts 20:13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. Acts 20:14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. Acts 20:15 And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus. Acts 20:16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. Acts 20:17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. Acts 20:18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Acts 20:19 Serving the LORD with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: Acts 20:20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Acts 20:23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Acts 20:26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. Acts 20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Acts 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Acts 20:33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Acts 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:36 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. Acts 20:37 And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Acts 20:38 Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship. [Parts] MODERNISM- okay- need to take a break from politics [current!] and news! Let’s do some history/philosophy. Modernism [modernity] refers to the time period between the mid 17th century to the mid 20th century [loosely]. During the scientific revolution, coming off the heels of the Reformation- there were many challenges to past ways of thinking about religion, knowledge, politics and existence in general. Many new thinkers felt the old forms of thought were outdated- and as man advances he needs to ground his existence in rationality as opposed to religion [Descartes’]. Not all thinkers rejected religion- John Locke and Immanuel Kant tried to show that religion could be rational- not all religion had to be ‘blind faith’. Others rejected that idea [David Hume] and said if you wanted society to be rational- you had to reject religion as a foundation for thought. Modern atheists- like Sam Harris- would say the same thing. In Harris’ 2004 book- The End of Faith- he teaches that all true religion is radical in nature- that those who believe you can be moderate in religion are wrong- that the religious texts themselves [Koran- Bible] call for radicalism and violence and therefore the only hope for peace in the world is to eliminate religion. Basically I think Harris should stick to atheism and not delve too deep into Christian philosophy. The Christian ‘religion/ethic’, while possessing scriptures [Old testament] that certainty do advocate violence- yet the central historical event in Christianity is the event of the Cross and the person of Christ- whose message said ‘Moses said- but I say’. Christianity contains within her texts the mandate to reject the old forms of violence and to embrace a new way of love- so Harris missed the boat on this one. But you have had thinkers [past and present] who have said ‘we need to eradicate the world of all traces of religion in order for man to reach his highest good’. The thinker Nietzsche would pronounce ‘God is dead’ in his 1882 book called The Gay Science [I’ll leave it alone]. Both Marx and Freud would join him in their rejection of God in the last half of the 19th century. So many felt the rise of modernism- along with the descent of religion was mans ultimate goal- as man advances he would mature from this ‘psychological’ weakness and accept a world without God. Than in the 20th century you had some major events that questioned whether or not modern man could survive without true religious morality. We had the world wars and the most violent century in our history as ‘moderns’. The election of Jimmy Carter- the first self professed ‘Born Again’ Christian to become president- and the Iranian revolution in 1979- the rise of an Islamic state based on radical interpretations of Islam. These events challenged the ‘hope ‘of those who felt like religion was waning and mans rationality was winning the day. So that’s why you had the rise of the new atheists who began a campaign to revive the ‘death of God’ movement and to advocate for what they felt was necessary for man to advance along the modern path. Today we are actually living in what’s called ‘the Postmodern Era’ but for the purpose of this short note we don’t want to go down that road at this time. Has man advanced- ‘modernized’ to the point where he does not need ‘God’ anymore? Can man simply build a Utopian society without God? All those who advocated for a society without God- ultimately failed in coming up with a rational basis for law and order- for who has the right to ‘make the rules’ in this new society- in essence those who tried the Freudian way could never come up with a system of govt. and law without having to borrow from the Christian world view- man cannot simply govern himself based on some atheistic principle of ‘reason’ apart from God [who decides whose reason is right?]. The atheist’s charge that all religion at its core is radical and dangerous- without reason- has been proven false. True religion can very much be reasonable- that is being rational and religious can go hand in hand- all religious adherents do not have to be ‘Fundamentalists’ as Harris claims- and the Modern experiment has not shown us that mans ultimate destiny is to rise above religious belief and attain some type of society without God and faith- that experiment has been tried- and found wanting. [Parts] REALISTS-NOMINALISTS- Let me do a little more on the development of philosophy and how Christians played a major role in new ways of thinking and ‘knowing’ [epistemology]. I mentioned Rene Descartes the other day- Descartes challenged the Christina thinkers of his day to approach apologetics [arguments for God’s existence] from rational grounds; instead of saying ‘God exists because the bible/tradition teach it’ he showed we can argue from the ground of reason. Descartes was a ‘realist’ that is a thinker who believed in Universal principles- the ancient philosophers [Aristotle, Plato- etc.] taught that there were universal ideas that existed- the example was if you think of a Horse- or a Chair- that in the mind of people we all have this concept of what these things are- but the reality of the universal idea of horse/chair exist outside of us- they are not only thoughts in our minds. The Nominalists rejected this idea- they taught that we interact with our 5 senses with things in the world- and thru this interaction our minds passively receive this knowledge and we come up with ideas- not because these ideas are universal ideas that already exist- but because our minds have ‘discovered’ them thru the senses. These thinkers were also called Empiricists. Men like David Hume would take this approach. Then in the 18th century you had the German philosopher Immanuel Kant challenge the skepticism of the Empiricists and he would become one of the most influential thinkers for our time. You would be hard pressed to find another philosopher who has had more influence on western thought than Kant. Kant too believed that man could not prove God absolutely thru natural means- but he did teach that it was rational/reasonable for man to believe in the existence of God- though he said you can’t totally prove him thru natural means. This was a different approach from the pure Empiricists- they taught that God/religion were irrational. Kant put a twist on Empiricism- he said that man does interact with the world thru his 5 senses, but instead of ideas/knowledge being a product of the mind of man passively receiving this knowledge- mans mind categorizes these interactions and it is thru this function of mans mind that we have knowledge. He carried the idea a little further than Hume. In the end of the day Immanuel Kant believed that not only is it rational to believe in God- but it is necessary. For society to ever function properly man needed to believe that his soul was immortal, that an eternal being existed that would someday judge man [or reward him] for his actions in this life. Though Kant did not accept the Realists view that we could prove God by rational means- yet he did believe in the necessity of man to believe in God. It has been said that Kant kicked God out the front door- but snuck him in thru the back. Okay- know some of this gets dry at times, but I think it is important for Christians to have some idea of the development of thought and philosophy thru the ages- many atheistic philosophers have argued against the existence of God- but many Christian thinkers have made just as strong [if not stronger] arguments on the other side- we need to know both sides. [Parts] MY RADIO LINKS- http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7R Kant, Hume, Sartre http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-6E Apologetics- Kant, Hume http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-62 Apologetics http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-6F DaVinci code http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7Q Something from nothing- Quantum Leap http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7O Multiverse MY VIDEOS https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-18-15-nietzsches-twilight-of-the-idols.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-28-15-jean-paul-sartre.zip [Parts] Sartre is one of the most famous 20th century philosophers- also described as the father of existentialism. I say ‘also’ because when we covered Kierkegaard- I said the same of him. How can this be? Well- Kierkegaard was a Christian- Sartre an atheist. So you can divide existentialism between ‘Christian existentialists- and atheistic’. Ok- it would be a lot to try and cover all of his ideas- but what I want to do is sort of contrast the thinkers who trended away from God with those who continued to believe in a creator- while at the same time engage in the intellectual world [many I could name- Descartes- Kant- etc.]. Though Sartre- like Camus- was indeed an intelligent man- when they tried to develop philosophies- ways to explain man- his purpose- what ‘it’s’ all about. They have difficulty giving any real purpose or meaning to man. Why? Because if you believe [and teach] that man is really some sort of a cosmic accident- with no creator who made him- then how do you teach ‘that man’ that he has a purpose? This would apply to all the great thinkers- who rejected God. In the end- if you were born without a preceding purpose [which Christians teach is to glorify God] and when you die- there is no after life- then it’s common sense to see your life ‘without purpose’. Sartre’s most famous work ‘being and nothingness’ says it all in the title. Some of his most famous ideas are ‘no essence before existence’. Now- Christians usually criticize him for this [which I just did in a way]. But he sort of tried to apply this idea- and say ‘because we are not predetermined- then we are indeed responsible for our actions- we are ‘left alone- without excuse’. When you study Philosophy- along with Theology [the study of God]. A big thing that is debated is predestination. Many misunderstand the historic reformation doctrine of Predestination –and they see it as a form of fatalism- meaning ‘whatever will be- was meant to be’. You can do a whole debate on this subject- in studying theology alone. Yet it also ‘bleeds’ into philosophy- because many thinkers were trying to figure out the problems of man- and some thought the doctrine of original sin taught a form of fatalism. Actually- it does not. But that’s why you see these ideas pop up – that we can act without our past having power over us. So- in a sense- though Sartre was an atheist- this was an attempt [I think] to try and give man the ‘freedom’ to act on his own will. But without belief in God- there really is no grounding authority to values- ethics. Where would they come from? [that’s a long debate- but if in effect ethics- right and wrong- were simply some sort of value system that was majority rule- then when the majority gets it wrong- slavery- abortion- etc.- then these values do not really ‘mean’ anything]. From the Christian view [they do debate between predestination by the way] Values- worth- purpose- do indeed ‘precede’ existence. God had a purpose for us before we were born- and values are the revealed ‘rules’ that God gave to man. The Nihilistic thinkers [those who admit that there really is no purpose] in the end have a hard time teaching their ideas- and at the same time instilling self-worth in people. Camus summed it up when he said-“There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide” (MS, 3).Oct 27, 2011 Sartre [like Kierkegaard] wrote plays- poetry- etc. One of Sartre’s dramas was called ‘NO EXIT’ He depicted Hell as a place where people are forever ‘observing’ one another- with no way out [obviously he did not really believe in Hell]. But why would he see it this way? Sartre had a unique insight [though an atheist- he was indeed smart]. One of the things that Sartre believed- was subjectivity- he taught that if man were to be truly Free- he could not be an Object [lots has been said in the last few years on objectifying people- seeing them as objects degrades them]. So in Sartre’s mind- belief in God objectifies people. How? If there is an ‘all seeing’ creator who is always looking/seeing into people’s lives [and intents- hearts] then they are not truly free. All the thinkers who rejected God- did not do so for the same reasons. Freud- and those who taught Hedonism- said it was the moral constraints on man [from God and the church] that was the problem. So in Freud’s mind- we should deny God- and man should live out all of his most base desires. It was a failed idea for sure- but that was the Hedonists view. Sartre did not espouse unrestrained passion- actually even though he was an atheist- he believed that men should live with some type of ethic. So his rejection of God was based on the idea that God is always ‘watching you’ and a man cannot truly be free- if someone is always watching him. It was an interesting idea [and yes- God is always watching- but from the Christian view he is not watching as some type of cosmic voyeur- but as a Father watches over his children. Or- as the bible says ‘as a mother hen watches over her chicks’. So Sartre was right about God always seeing us- but he disagreed with the Christian view of omniscience [all knowing God] and said this ‘constant watching’ makes us an object- and to Sartre- the basic attribute of human character is subjectivity- if he is not a subject- with no previous ‘essence’ [remember- his other famous idea was ‘existence precedes essence’] he is not truly free. So to Sartre- man and reality are simply things- and we develop life from this materialistic view. He rejected universals- there is not a universal category of ‘mankind’ but simply individual people. Another famous atheist thinker was Camus [‘there is only one really serious question left- suicide’]. Even though some of the atheistic thinkers ‘meant well’ yet- in the end- as Kant said- if there is no God- then society cannot function without the basic understanding that we are all accountable- and will someday give an account. In Kant’s view- he rejected the classical idea that you could ‘prove God’ from reason and nature. But some said he ‘let God in the back door’. Because for Kant- if you reject God outright- then society cannot function. For instance- if there is some type of injustice- maybe framed for murder and you sit in jail your whole life- never being vindicated. For Kant- the person can survive- because he knows- in the end- the truth will come out [if there is a God]. And not only will it come out- but those who wronged the man will give an account. So Kant saw the need for there not only to be an ‘all seeing God/judge’. But that Judge had to also have all power- so he could carry out justice in the end. But for Sartre- and Camus- and the other atheists- they grappled with the problem of where moral laws come from [or if there is even such a thing]. How can we really define ethics if there is no real meaning to our existence? If ‘nothing matters’ [no essence before existence] then in the end- WE don’t matter. And you come to the same conclusion as Camus. The question of suicide has been pondered for centuries- it has made it into the plays of Shakespeare [below] Many are familiar with this famous line- but read it carefully- it’s Hamlet’s struggle- whether it’s nobler to ‘go thru stuff’ or- end it. That’s why I think the Camus’ and Sartres of the world don’t help- in the end. To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: ’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause—there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th’oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of dispriz’d love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th’unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovere’d country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action. Hamlet [Parts] SAVE THY PEOPLE AND BLESS THINE INHERITANCE. FEED THEM ALSO AND LIFT THEM UP FOREVER- Psalms 28:9 I guess I will hit a few scattered Psalms, these last few weeks I have been reading the Psalms and trying to add a verse to memory every day or so. Sort of praying/meditating on them like the famous ‘Jesus prayer’. The Jesus prayer is an ancient simple prayer that says ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner’ but you actually say it all day long until it becomes part of your psyche. So these single Psalms can be used in this way. Okay, God wants to feed his people and bless them, Jesus told Peter ‘if you love me, feed my sheep’. In the 20th century you had the famous existentialist/atheist philosophers like John Paul Sartre and Albert Camou, these guys sought for purpose and meaning thru philosophy but wound up as nihilists [no hope] because of their rejection of God. Sartre would say ‘man is a useless passion’, Camou would say the only question left for philosophy to answer was the viability of suicide. The famous atheist Antony [Anthony] Flew, who has now become a believer in God [Theist], used to use a parable about a garden to challenge belief in God. He said man and his religious quest is like men who are journeying thru a forest and all of a sudden they come upon a garden; it is manicured and detailed in every way, it ‘appears’ to be a product of a designer. But then flew said as the men look around for the gardener they can’t see him, they then espouse all types of ideas about the master gardener. They come to various conclusions; he must be all knowing, very talented, transcendent- they develop views about this gardener/God that in Flews mind were just as silly as saying you might as well have no gardener at all! Flew thought if believers came to all these ideas about God, what’s the difference whether you believe in a God or not? The obvious answer is ‘then where in the world did the garden come from’. The challenges to Christianity, Theism, Deism try and convince people that there really is no purpose to your existence, you are a ‘useless passion’ you came from nowhere and are heading nowhere. Initially, this philosophy sounded liberating to those who embraced it. Sort of like telling the kids that schools out and you have no more teachers to listen to. But when you embrace this form of meaninglessness, you can not then try and instill purpose and meaning into people. Sartre and Camou rejected the foundational basis for man to have meaning in life, they tried to tell man ‘look, here is the purposeful garden, but it came from nowhere’. After many years of Anthony Flews insistence that there was no gardener, the evidence that caused him to change his mind was the evidence of design. He kept telling himself ‘there is no gardener’ and realized he was trying to convince himself of a lie, he knew he was logically wrong. He has since joined the ranks of those who now seek to know more about the master gardener. [Parts] I should note that Plato [one of the 3 titans that arose after Heraclitus- from the city/state of Athens] disagreed with Heraclitus on all things being in a state of constant change. When [if?] we get to Socrates- Plato and Aristotle- I’ll try and cover the ways they advanced- built upon- the thought of the pre Socratic thinkers. As a side note- the most famous student of Aristotle- who was the most famous student of Plato- who was the most famous student of Socrates- was Alexander the Great. This goes to show you how great an influence Greek philosophy had on the ancient world. A few nuggets from Heraclitus- ‘all things come to pass in accordance with this Logos’ ‘follow the common’ ‘not having their own judgment’. Recently I covered Acts chapter 2- and we see some of these ideas in the early Christian movement. The first Christians did ‘follow the common’ they sold their goods- and had ‘all things common’ [communal lifestyle]. The apostle Paul teaches the early church to all ‘speak the same thing- that there be no divisions among you’. And the New Testament also says the scripture should not be given to Private Interpretation- meaning- ‘not having your own personal judgment’. All in all- we do indeed see a sort of pre Christian thought in the pre Socratic thinkers- they did indeed speak of the Divine- God- though there understanding of him was not the same as the Christian church. In a sense- Heraclitus idea that in life- the only ‘constant’ is the fact that there is no constant- that life itself is made up of an ongoing journey- we live day by day- not ever knowing what ‘the next day will bring forth’- Jesus. Yeah- the man had some good points- the later Stoics would consider Heraclitus as the father of their movement. And in the study of Philosophy- the Stoics- who had a good run from a few years before the Common Era- were overtaken in the 4th century [as the main influential philosophy of the time] by some new and lasting philosophy- started by a man named Jesus Christ- who his followers claimed rose from the dead. Yeah- this New Way was called Christianity- and this philosophy has endured now for over 2 thousand years. SOCRATES Socrates was born around 469-470 BCE. He is famous for introducing a way of learning that engaged the students in a dialogue- the question would be put on the table- and thru rigorous debate- you would come to an understanding thru the process of questioning. This is referred to as the Socratic Method. Socrates came on the scene during the famous Spartan wars. The other day I watched the movie 300- which depicts the battle between the city state of Athens against the city/state of Sparta. As you know- the Athenians suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Spartans. The Spartans were outmanned by the Athenians- but their motto was ‘come back with your shields- or on them’. They were a true warrior nation- trained to fight from their youth- and this defeat sent the people of Athens into a time of disillusionment. They questioned the power of their gods- and a sort of malaise fell over Athens after the defeat. This was when Socrates entered the fray- when the people had many questions about life. He was called the Gadfly of Athens- a title that would also be given to the 19th century Danish father of existentialism- Soren Kierkegaard. They were called Gadfly’s- because they were like flies that would pester you- and elicit a response. The leadership of Athens saw Socrates as one that was stirring up the youth of his day- and creating discontent among the populace. He rejected the many god’s of the day- but did have a belief in a single deity- he- like the Christians 4 centuries later- would be accused of atheism- because of his rejection of multiple god’s. He was sentenced to death in 399 BCE- and his form of execution was drinking Hemlock. His most famous student- Plato- spoke with him before his death. Many were surprised at how willingly Socrates faced his demise- and this willingness had a great impact on those who witnessed it. Socrates never wrote anything- but most of what we do know about him comes from the writing of others- most notably from Plato’s Dialogues. Plato wrote down what Socrates taught- In his writings we see Socrates engaging in this method with various people- thus the name of Plato’s works- Dialogues. There is a debate about how much of what was written about him was actually true- Plato did add his own ideas into these debates- and the controversy about this is so strong that we actually have a name for it- the ‘Socratic Problem’. During the time of the disillusionment of the Athenians- there were a group of philosophers known as the Sophists. The word comes from Sophia- meaning wisdom. Philosophy itself means The Love of Wisdom. In our day the words Sophomore- Sophistry and Sophisticated are derived from this root word. The Sophists were the original Pragmatists. Pragmatism is a form of belief that says ‘do what works- regardless of the ethical implications’. We will get to Pragmatism at the end of this whole series on Philosophy. But for now- we see the division between what Socrates taught- and the Sophists. Socrates did indeed teach a form of Ethics- which contrasted with the Sophists. He said that the pursuit of virtue was better than the pursuit of wealth- much like the words of Jesus ‘what does it profit a man if he gain the world- and lose his soul’. His most famous saying is ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’. He emphasized the importance of mind over body- which inspired Plato’s philosophy of dividing reality into 2 separate realms- the world of senses and the world of ideas. Socrates actually challenged the Democratic process- he believed it better for the wise men- the Philosopher Kings- to run the show. Athens did have a form of Democracy at the time- and because of the rise of the Sophists- and the itinerant teachers- you had sort of an election process- much like in our day- where those who would attain office were those who spoke the best- and made the best public argument. We elect judges and stuff in our day- and even presidents- not because they are the most capable- but because they ran the best campaign. So- in a way I agree with Socrates- at times I think we need a better process of electing those to higher office- then the one we have now. It’s important to note that even though we started this study with Thales- and in the study of Western philosophy it’s commonly understood to have started with Thales. Yet- Socrates seems to be the Father of philosophy in many ways. He probably has had the most influence in the field philosophy- and the 2 great philosophers that we’ll get to next come right out from the heels of Socrates [Plato and Aristotle]. Why is this important to note? As we progress in this study- and get closer to the 19th/20th century philosophers- we will see a trend- away from the idea that there are actually any ethical values- moral virtues- or ‘right or wrong’. These philosophers dabbled with the idea that values themselves are the cause of man’s problems [Freud]. So- keep in mind- one of the main streams of thought in the early stages of philosophy was that values were indeed the main thing- Socrates challenged the Sophists of his day- he said that moral virtue was very important- that to live life with the values of courage- honesty- self-denial- these were the things that made men good- noble. The bible says ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ ‘those that seek the Lord understand all things’. Christian tradition would agree with Socrates in many ways- Jesus showed us that the virtue of service to others- to love your fellow man- to honor God- that these were indeed the heart of the matter. Socrates feared the loss of virtue in society- that if we simply lived for the present time- with no higher values [a form of hedonism] then the foundations of society will erode. He also believed that it was good to question things- not to simply believe a thing for the sake of believing. Over time- thru debate and the discourse of other people- he believed you would get to the truth. The bible says ‘in the multitude of counselors there is safety’. Yeah- as people have a conversation- as they dialogue- often times they themselves come up with the answer to the question. The apostle Paul penned the letter to young Timothy- he said ‘preach the word- in doing this you will save yourself- and those that hear you’. Yeah- when you engage- and even try and teach others- this will have an effect on you too- the actual act of engaging- of teaching- often brings more insight to the one doing the communicating- then the ones who hear. Yeah- I like Socrates- he believed in what he taught- he drank the Hemlock- knowing full well that his life would pass- but he had belief- faith- that after death man would pass over into another realm- a much better one. No- he was not ‘Christian’ in the traditional sense of the word- but he was about as close as you could get- for his time. [Parts] https://youtu.be/AkXKKU13uBs https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10204956220023440/ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1InDyfixhiLyx8uoWBmzZdtGws9nJCqPP/view?usp=sharing ON VIDEO- .Good shepherd .Liturgy .Sheep door .Media? .Top news? .Dallas shooting .Soren Kierkegaard .R.C. Sproul .Alexander the Great .The 2 ‘Gadflies’ .Socrates and Kierkegaard .Philosophy .Apologetics .Greek city state of Athens .Sparta .Pantheon .Objective truth .Relativism .My encounter with the Berkeley professor [Parts] (966)1ST CORINTHIANS 9:1-14 Paul defends his apostleship and gives a strong defense for the New Testament doctrine of financially supporting Christian leaders. Now, I never want to be one of those types of teachers who skews or bypasses scriptures that seem to contradict previous teachings. It’s common for good men to do this, all leaders need to avoid doing it. Recently I added my comments to a debate that raged in the blogasphere. You had Frank Viola put out the book ‘Pagan Christianity’ [good book, I read and do recommend it] and another good theologian, Ben Witherington, gave a good critique [I also recommend Bens site, you can find both Frank and Ben’s sites on my blog roll]. Part of the debate hinged on the financial support of elders/ministers. I must admit I fell on Ben’s side in this argument, though I probably would agree with Frank around 90 % of the time on all the other stuff. Ben argued for the biblical mandate to support elders, frank seems to teach the support of apostles [itinerant workers] is okay, but does not leave room for the support of elders who live in the community. Now, you really need to read all I have written under the ‘what in the world is the church’ section of this blog to get my full view on all of this stuff, but this section of Corinthians makes this stuff pretty clear. Paul says ‘I have the right not to work and only live off of the offerings of the people’. So Paul defends this practice, but he also says ‘I choose not to use it’. He also uses two interesting examples from ‘the law’ [Old Testament] to defend the financial support of leaders. ‘The Ox who is treading out the corn shouldn’t be muzzled’ and ‘the priests who serve at the altar get to eat the meat from the sacrifices’. What is the most obvious example that he does not use? The tithe! I would say this is one of the best proofs for the tithe not being a normative practice of the early church. But Paul does use the other examples to say its right to financially support those who labor among you. But Paul has also given examples to elders [read my Acts 20 commentary] to show them that they are not in this for the money! Paul will actually defend the practice of working and not taking money from the believers. So we see a wide range of freedom in this area. I feel the biblical example is it is fine to financially support Christian leadership who are dedicating their lives to teaching and ministering the word. It is also fine to not use these ‘rights’ as a Christian leader. But nowhere are we taught a type of Levitical tithe system for the support of Christian leaders. Why? Paul’s main message was one of grace and coming out from the requirements of the law. To have used the tithe as an example to give financially would have been counterproductive to his whole message. Eventually believers would come to view ‘the church’ and ‘the priest/pastor’ as the single head of ‘the church building’ who would be supported like a Levite who served as a priest under the old covenant [bring all the tithes into the storehouse type concept]. This legalistic view of ‘the church’ is prevalent today in much of Christendom, both Catholics and Protestants seem to cling to this limited view of the church. The modern house church movement is giving the old view quite a run for its money! But let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water. Paul said its okay to financially support Christian leadership among you, just don’t see it as a tithe that is supporting some type of Christian New Testament Levitical priest! (969)1ST CORINTHIANS 9:15-27 I have a letter sitting here from some northern radio station. I guess these guys hear us some how? It’s a great offer to be on 140 stations for next to nothing [$140.00 a month]. I have had radio stations write us before. I choose to stay small so I can be consistent in not taking offerings. I am sure if I took offerings I could easily expand like this, but I think I need to set the example for others. This fits in with the following. Now Paul will say ‘I would rather die than take money from you’ [and you guys think I’m an over reactor!] and also ‘I don’t take money from you because I want to make the gospel free of charge’. Remember, this is in the same chapter where he says it’s okay to support leaders financially. But yet he also makes these strong statements. Does Paul contradict himself? Some have tried to harmonize these statements by either saying Paul wasn’t really teaching the financial support of elders, or by saying Paul only restricted taking money from the Corinthians. Both of these are not true [Read my Acts 20 study]. Paul was hard on whatever group he was addressing. If he is speaking directly to the local saints, he says ‘you should make sacrifice and support those who labor among you’ but to the elders/leaders he says ‘I worked with my own hands while among you [elders!] to give you an example not to expect the people to support you’ [Acts 20]. He appeals to both sides to lay down their rights and give themselves away freely! He also says he adapts to every type of situation, he ‘becomes all things to all men, that he might save them’. He also brings his body under discipline so that after preaching to others, he himself will not be ‘cast away’. In my Proverbs reading I just came across ‘he that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls’. God wants you to succeed and accomplish things, the enemy wants to sidetrack you. Allow God to have the upper hand, let the fruit of ‘self control’ [one of the fruits of the Spirit] abide in you. Now remember, Paul says ‘they do it to obtain a corruptible crown’ [material, temporary stuff. Money included] but we do it [discipline ourselves] for an ‘incorruptible crown’. The scripture is filled with examples that contrast money [material rewards] with true spiritual riches. In these examples the scripture teaches us to expend our time and efforts in building a spiritual heritage as opposed to a financial one. Yet some will even use this scripture ‘running the race’ and apply it to stuff! Ahh, when we do stuff like this we are ‘reading/quoting scripture’ without truly knowing it. Jesus told the religious leaders ‘you search the scriptures because by doing this you think you have eternal life, but you will not come to me that you might have life’. It’s possible to spend your whole life searching scripture [for what you want] and still miss the chief cornerstone! [the main point] (970) CORINTHIANS ‘woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel’ ‘they which preach the gospel should live by the gospel’. Let me do a quick review before we jump into chapter 10. Over the years of re-learning the style and function of the New Testament church, it took time to read these scriptures without superimposing my preconceived ideas upon the text. For instance, you could easily read these verses and simply fit them into the ‘church building’ [as the church!] mindset. I know of, and have partaken of, the excitement that preachers experience when they ‘preach the gospel’. It’s a fulfilling thing. But the problem is much of the present day church follows a program where one main person becomes the attraction of the community. We live and hear and vicariously learn thru the growth experiences of a single individual. Now, we don’t realize that this is not the main intent of meeting together as a community. God originally intended for his people to share as a community of grace. There are specific warnings in the New Testament to avoid the Christian community’s penchant to identify around an individuals giftings [we actually just covered some of these in this study]. But when we simply read ‘they which preach the gospel should live of it’ we think this is justifying the present day context. It really simply meant that those in the community with the ability to read and teach should be taken care of while they are giving themselves for the benefit of others. The first century believer’s could not all read, the majority probably were illiterate. This created a need for those who were literate to actually read Paul’s letters out loud in the assembly. These sincere men were not modern day full time Pastors! This is why it’s important to read the scripture with historical context in mind. When I meet with the brothers, or travel to another town. I usually simply ask the guys ‘what’s the Lord been saying, do you have a word to share’? And sure enough, by the time our fellowship is over most everyone feels edified because they gave of themselves for others. One of my homeless friends is an excellent teacher. Believe me, he knows more scripture than many Pastors. He excels in this environment. There is really no need for one person [like myself!] to dominate the conversation, or to think that my calling entails me being the primary voice of the community. Sometimes when I find myself at some Christian function, I can tell that when people find out that you speak on the radio, that they kinda want you to preach. I always [yes always!] avoid it. Not because it would be wrong to teach, but the modern church has made such a profession out of it, that the average saint never really expresses himself on a regular basis. God never intended the church to be a place where people learn and grow and experience most of their Christian lives thru the experiences and gifts of one person. I just wanted to challenge you today with these few verses. When you just read them did you see them thru the old mindset? Don’t feel bad about it, just allow the Lord to ‘re-wire’ your brain as we continue to teach thru the New Testament. We find stuff like this all the way thru. [Parts] ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE DUMMIES? Still in Luke 18, the disciples forbid the young children from coming to Jesus; Jesus rebukes the disciples and tells them that the Kingdom of God is made up of little children. There is a theme in the New Testament that goes like this ‘become childlike in your faith and trust in me, but be mature in your thinking and understanding’. Often times these two things are confused. Why? In the letter to the Corinthians Paul will rebuke the wisdom of the world, he states that when he was among them he did not use men’s wisdom to convince them of the message of the Cross. Paul also encourages believers to be ‘child like’ as well. Many confuse Paul’s teaching with an idea that says Christians should not be engaged in the development of the mind. Paul was not rebuking all wisdom and forms of knowledge, but a specific kind of wisdom. In Acts 17 we read of Paul at Athens, the Greek intellectual city of his day [Alexandria was the philosophical center in Egypt]. As Paul disputes with the philosophers of his day he actually quotes their own poets/philosophers in his sermon, he does not quote from the Old Testament, but uses the sources that they are familiar with. Right after Athens Paul goes to Corinth, the cites are very close geographically. There was a form of philosophy at Corinth that was very popular, you had the Sophists and the professional speakers [Rhetoric] operating out of Corinth. The Sophists were the philosophers that came right before Socrates in the Greek cultural world, around 6 centuries or so before Christ. Their form of philosophy was what you would describe as the first Relativists [or post modern thinkers who appeal to subjective knowledge as opposed to objective] they taught that philosophy and arguing were simply things you do ‘just for the heck of it’. Sort of like a hobby of simply disputing things while never being able to arrive at truth, something Paul will rebuke in the New Testament by saying some people were ‘always learning and never being able to come to the knowledge of the truth’ Paul himself tells the Corinthians ‘where is the disputer of this world’. So the Sophists were famous for this type of thing. Now the great philosopher Socrates disagreed with the Sophists, Socrates taught that thru the practice of thorough debate and the art of constantly asking questions, that you could arrive at truth [seek and ye shall find type of a system]. He believed real knowledge could be found thru seeking after it. Socrates stirred the waters too much, he was put to death by being made to drink the famous hemlock, the city where this happened was Athens. So Paul more than likely is disputing the system of thought that said you could not arrive at objective truth. It’s no secret that his letter to the Corinthians has one of the strongest statements of factual [objective] belief found in the New Testament. The great chapter 15 reads like an early creed to the church ‘Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures…’ It’s very probable that this chapter was used as a sort of creed in the early Pauline churches. So, what exactly was Paul saying [and Jesus] when they taught us to be like children, to reject the wisdom of the world for the wisdom of Christ? Simply that our approach to God and the things of God should be done in a humble manner, being childlike and open to God all throughout our lives. Paul was not teaching us that the following ages of great Christian thinkers was wrong; men like Anselm, Aquinas, C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. It is perfectly acceptable for the believer to become well versed in the field of philosophy, to argue the Christian worldview from a biblical perspective. While it is true that no church was founded by Paul after his Athens visit, and some feel he abandoned his use of ‘worldly wisdom’ at Corinth because of this failure, but I think Paul continued to appeal to the intellectual world thru his great wisdom [God given] thru out his life [read Galatians and Romans!]. Ultimately it is the wisdom of the Cross that saves people, a wisdom that Paul said he communicated not in the words of mans intellect, but in the direct ability of the Spirit to speak. Sometimes that ability came thru a sermon that quoted the philosophers of old [Athens] sometimes thru the simple sharing of the message of Christ. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature with God and man, he knew the ideas of his day, so did Paul. Do you? [Parts] VERSES [These are the verses I either quoted or taught from on today’s post- Other videos below] 2Corinthians 2:1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. 2Corinthians 2:2 For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? 2Corinthians 2:3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. 2Corinthians 2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. 2Corinthians 2:5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. 2Corinthians 2:6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. 2Corinthians 2:7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. 2Corinthians 2:8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. 2Corinthians 2:9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. 2Corinthians 2:10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 2Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2Corinthians 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, 2Corinthians 2:13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia. 2Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 2Corinthians 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 2Corinthians 2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 2Corinthians 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. 1Corinthians 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. 1Corinthians 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 1Corinthians 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 1Corinthians 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 1Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 1Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1Corinthians 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 1Corinthians 5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 1Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 1Corinthians 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 1Corinthians 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. Acts 20:33 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Acts 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 1Thessalonians 2:9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. 2nd Cor. 2:17- NIV What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 Cor. 9:18 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Deut. 29:4 For it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? 1Cor. 9:9 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor. 2:11 OTHER VIDESO [These are the videos I post nightly to my sites- Links to all my sites below] Teaching https://youtu.be/7pIl22CU0bg Kings 18 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg2Dw-6pNcxetlYJR Homeless friends https://youtu.be/J0El3z9hjbM 12-30-18 Sunday sermon- 2 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMil1muwvXJPNC3BNn Galatians 6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/8p7q3cc47gtv6gb/1-31-17%20Galatians%206%20%5BConc.%5D.mp4?dl=0 On whom the tower fell https://www.dropbox.com/s/w8u4f96vvdy8z9n/12-13-15%20On%20whom%20the%20tower%20fell.mp4?dl=0 Acts 24 https://ok.ru/video/1624171743799 Samuel 27-28 https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10203566307436494/ Kings 9 https://youtu.be/giHrjSJEfBs Acts 3 [Alamodome] https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgQYRpvtXNu0C9B0z Homeless friends https://youtu.be/2i1ZjzM8UEw City of refuge https://www.dropbox.com/s/51ssopmv0cy6hwr/12-1-15%20City%20of%20Refuge.mp4?dl=0 Mark 2 https://flic.kr/p/2jc7uAt 12-30-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMikDBK_ojwYY4GOqs Galatians 5 https://www.dropbox.com/s/43vihaof8iq287c/1-17-17%20Galatians%205.mp4?dl=0 John 16 https://dai.ly/x7nmx1e Trust God https://youtu.be/2nUu0lu-nCA Eat the bread https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhG0mIyt1SRcoNI4i Homeless friends https://youtu.be/rAEwn0VCxGQ 12-10-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/tf1saous3236lox/12-10-17%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0 Thor goes down https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10203711674670584/ 12-30-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMikDBK_ojwYY4GOqs Candle stick https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpy6qu1fj1tjmfq/12-11-17%20Candle%20Stick.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://ok.ru/video/1624171285047 The word is right there https://youtu.be/d36qnvg5Vjc God of the living https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg1zxrDtyzR2xzUQh Homeless friends https://youtu.be/wDbwvNMhzFc Acts 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/zm5q6jqo3msp6ff/1-19-17%20Acts%202.mp4?dl=0 Rams horn https://flic.kr/p/2jb9tUK 10-20-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjEtV3idhCmH2DS7C Galatians 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/mg7o8084eja3f6n/1-10-17%20Galatians%204.mp4?dl=0 The flood https://dai.ly/x7nks2i Samuel 7-8 https://youtu.be/IY2fcI8-Ovo Isaiah 11 https://www.dropbox.com/s/awy7mnpnwrajpxc/12-4-16%20Isaiah%2011-%20Matt.%203.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friend https://youtu.be/NMEg-K6_Cg0 Nightingale https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg1RfJZV3JKGmLI_5 11-25-18 Sunday sermon https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10205049315390766/ Homeless vet. https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjAqgq6At5szWSide Galatians 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/evk7t0ex9oc3rpw/1-3-17%20Galatians%203.mp4?dl=0 Acts 27 https://ok.ru/video/1624170957367 King David https://youtu.be/IEgTBk4KFEk Samuel 29-30 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhGX3_b5WXScuQPaq Homeless friend https://youtu.be/wLtiypnj3oo Ephesians 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/lph733qd6gpbz0w/1-18-18%20Ephesians%204.mp4?dl=0 3-11-18 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2jazpLk Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjAfvntVtPFZuQ5mh Galatians 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/51oq3yxf26meyi3/12-27-16%20Galatians%202.mp4?dl=0 Hebrews 13 https://dai.ly/x7nks2j Acts 4 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/07/21/acts-4-text/ https://snacpia.com/v2/home/follow https://snacpia.com/v2/profile/daily/51155 https://snacpia.com/v2/profile https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 https://www.publish0x.com/home# https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks] Web sites- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello https://johnchiarello.webs.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France] https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ Social Media sites- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://vk.com/id533663718 [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ [Our largest group] https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 Link sharing sites- https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Mix- [Link at the top of this post or from my main blog] https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach https://buffer.com/app/profile/5b1be0280852690407c54007/analytics/posts https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching] Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge] Streaming sites- Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/ Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ [Most viewed] https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [IGTV] [Ukraine-Most viewed] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccoutreach87 https://vimeo.com/user85764413 https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-catalog-2020/ [Youtube catalog- 2020] Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Cloud sites- https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0G_aInmCi8XUC-C https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZ1sXP7ZardKGRUxFByiFYi667jeup7MD1Sy https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt [my page] Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is ccoutreach87@gmail.com - contact me first- thank you- John ACTS 7
[Post below] Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 LINKS TO ALL MY SITES AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST Links to my sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/ [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- as well as all my sites linked at the bottom of each post-Thanks] Follow us on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks Subscribe to our Youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ Friend us on VK [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://vk.com/id533663718 Friend us on OK [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 Follow us on Tumblr http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Linkedin [Our largest group] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ Follow us on Medium https://medium.com/@johnchiarello Friend us on Plurk [Japan] https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public Contact/Friend us on MeWe https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello Follow us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Follow us on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach Follow us on Mix https://mix.com/jchiarello Follow us on Flipboard https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy Follow us on Steemit https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach Follow us on https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 View on Trello https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com View on Voat https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions Connect on Minds https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Gab https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 View on Ello https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 Connect on Parler https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 Connect on Snac [Korea] https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 Connect on Publish-ox https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Watch our videos here- [Most viewed] https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [Most viewed- OK] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album [Ukraine] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Archive- Text posts only- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/archiv.html Some of my studies- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/reformation_12.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-ofphilosophy-thales-andthe-pre.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-links-1-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/colossians-links-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/corinthians-links-4-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/ephesians-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html [Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post] NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam. I post 8 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I realize that is a lot for some sites, yet this is the system I felt the Lord led me into. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. Thank You- John. [TODAY’S POST BEGINS HERE] Acts 7:6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. Acts 7:7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. Acts 7 videos- https://youtu.be/r4cPQHcshCI https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/3-30-17-acts-7.zip https://mega.nz/file/2PIEGSZY#1MEKMh9q4MVIZ-_Rcg4lVpHqqK-H3qaJ0pZ2b1XcY04 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhTrNgN6TSqHwPL-A ON VIDEO .Local and Federal court .Temple served as ‘county court’ also [1st Century Rome] .Abraham homeless? .Abrahamic covenant- People and land .Joseph’s story .Moses fled .Bush burns .Stephen quotes Oral Tradition [which words of Jesus did he remember?] .Saul saw the whole thing PAST TEACHING [These are parts of my past teachings that relate in some way to today’s post ‘Acts 7’- Verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/genesis/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/another-day-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/30/keepers-of-the-law/ (739) ACTS 7- At the end of chapter 6 we saw the accusation against Stephen ‘he teaches the temple will be torn down and that Jesus will change the laws and customs of Moses’. There are a few key chapters In Acts, this is one of them! Up until this point we have seen Peters message of the Messiah thru the lens of repentance and baptism. You will notice Peter is very strong on ‘you guys need to repent and show it’. Strong word indeed! Peter also introduced the scripture ‘the Lord your God will raise up a prophet like unto me [Moses speaking of Christ] whoever doesn’t listen to him will be destroyed’. But Stephen is the first one to teach publicly the passing away of the law and the temple and the new ‘house of God’ to be the people. It’s the beginnings of Pauline theology. Now I have read how this chapter was questioned and doubted as to why Stephen was teaching this. Some theologians thought the chapter was questionable as canon because of it’s seeming to be so out of context. These are the times where I do agree with the ‘seminary as being a cemetery’! This chapter is absolutely brilliant! I don’t want you to miss the main point. Stephen traces the history of Israel and uses the verse from Moses ‘the Lord will raise up a PROPHET LIKE ME’. Stephen explains that when Moses first showed up on the scene to deliver his people, that the people said ‘man, who do you think you are! Who made you the boss’? Then Stephen says ‘yet this Moses, who the people refused. He was actually the ruler and deliverer that they refused’. Stephen is showing them that the prophets actually prophesied of the first century reality of Israel rejecting Jesus because Moses said they would! Don’t miss this point. This is the main point of Stephens message. He is telling the religious leaders ‘you simply fulfilled prophecy by rejecting the Messiah’. He even compares the miracles and great works that were done by Moses to the great miracles Jesus did. Stephen ends the chapter by also tracing Jewish history to David’s son Solomon and how the future temple that he would build was simply a shadow of the New Testament house of God. He quotes David in Psalms ‘God will not dwell in temples made with hands’. Now, this has nothing to do with ‘church buildings’. This has everything to do with Stephen’s insight into the theological truths contained in Jesus teachings about the destruction of the temple. In today’s ‘church world’ we have a very unbalanced view of temple rebuilding and the significance of the passages in Matthew that prophesy of its destruction. In Stephen’s mind the future destruction [that is future from his time. A.D. 70!] showed the passing away of the old law and its entire system of worship. The first century Apostles and teachers saw the eschatological portions of scripture from a redemptive lens. Peter earlier said ‘repent and be baptized… so your sins will be blotted out at the return of the Lord’ ‘whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things’. He couched individual salvation in with Gods ‘full world’ purpose of redemption [Romans]. They saw it from a wider angle than just ‘me and Jesus’. Now Stephen is doing the same. The whole Apostolic tradition concerning the destruction of the temple showed the purpose of God in ending the old concept of law and ‘limited kingship’ [from Jerusalem’s throne] and how God raised up his Son and placed him at his right hand and made him Lord and Christ. The passing away of the temple and Stephens preaching on ‘the customs being changed’ was right on! When I taught Hebrews I tried to bring this out. I realize that some teachers say Paul didn’t write Hebrews. I attribute it to him simply because no one else had the revelation he had in these areas. But I wouldn’t argue with saying Stephen might have penned it [depending on the dates!] Now we end the chapter with Stephens’s famous martyrdom and him saying ‘lay not this sin to their charge’. Saul [Paul] is a witness to this killing, he will become the greatest advocate for grace versus law that the church will ever know. NOTE- I forgot to mention that Stephen even compares the mass killing of babies at the time of Moses with the mass killing done under Herod during Jesus time. He shows how Moses and Jesus were alike in many ways. VERSES- [These are the verses I talked about on the video- Links to all my sites below] Acts 7:1 Then said the high priest, Are these things so? Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, Acts 7:3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Acts 7:4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. Acts 7:5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. Acts 7:6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. Acts 7:7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. Acts 7:8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. Acts 7:9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, Acts 7:10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Acts 7:11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. Acts 7:12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. Acts 7:13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. Acts 7:14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. Acts 7:15 So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, Acts 7:16 And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. Acts 7:17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, Acts 7:18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. Acts 7:19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. Acts 7:20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months: Acts 7:21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. Acts 7:23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. Acts 7:24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: Acts 7:25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. Acts 7:26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? Acts 7:27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Acts 7:28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? Acts 7:29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. Acts 7:30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. Acts 7:31 When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the LORD came unto him, Acts 7:32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Acts 7:33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. Acts 7:34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. Acts 7:35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. Acts 7:36 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. Acts 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: Acts 7:39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Acts 7:40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. Acts 7:41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Acts 7:42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Acts 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. Acts 7:44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen. Acts 7:45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; Acts 7:46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. Acts 7:47 But Solomon built him an house. Acts 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Acts 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Acts 7:50 Hath not my hand made all these things? Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Acts 7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. Acts 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, Acts 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Acts 7:57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, Acts 7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Acts 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks] Web sites- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello https://johnchiarello.webs.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France] https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ Social Media sites- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://vk.com/id533663718 [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ [Our largest group] https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 [Korea] https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Link sharing sites- https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Mix- [Link at the top of this post or from my main blog] https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach https://buffer.com/app/profile/5b1be0280852690407c54007/analytics/posts https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching] Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge] Streaming sites- Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/ Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ [Most viewed] https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [IGTV] [Ukraine-Most viewed] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccoutreach87 https://vimeo.com/user85764413 https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-catalog-2020/ [Youtube catalog- 2020] Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Cloud sites- https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0G_aInmCi8XUC-C https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZ1sXP7ZardKGRUxFByiFYi667jeup7MD1Sy https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt [my page] Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is ccoutreach87@gmail.com - contact me first- thank you- John ACTS 6
[Post below] Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 LINKS TO ALL MY SITES AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST Links to my sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/ [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- as well as all my sites linked at the bottom of each post-Thanks] Follow us on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks Subscribe to our Youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ Friend us on VK [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://vk.com/id533663718 Friend us on OK [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 Follow us on Tumblr http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Linkedin [Our largest group] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ Follow us on Medium https://medium.com/@johnchiarello Friend us on Plurk [Japan] https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public Contact/Friend us on MeWe https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello Follow us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Follow us on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach Follow us on Mix https://mix.com/jchiarello Follow us on Flipboard https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy Follow us on Steemit https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach Follow us on https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 View on Trello https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com View on Voat https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions Connect on Minds https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Connect on Gab https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 View on Ello https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 Connect on Parler https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 Connect on Snac [Korea] https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 Connect on Publish-ox https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Watch our videos here- [Most viewed] https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [Most viewed- OK] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album [Ukraine] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] Cloud links- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Archive- Text posts only- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/archiv.html Some of my studies- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/reformation_12.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-ofphilosophy-thales-andthe-pre.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-links-1-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/colossians-links-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/corinthians-links-4-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/ephesians-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html [Links to all my sites at the bottom of this post] NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello and I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I do share my past posts from my other sites- but it is not spam. I post 8 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I realize that is a lot for some sites, yet this is the system I felt the Lord led me into. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. Thank You- John. [TODAY’S POST BEGINS HERE] Acts 6 videos- https://www.dropbox.com/s/lsm14d1ok9x13jj/3-23-17%20Acts%206.mp4?dl=0https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhTOaZxX6l0xRHXKJ https://mega.nz/file/3fZkkC5a#YcZhIMSARAuHYYK90tnxxA_oU6DoN5C4anxAIwXf4TA https://youtu.be/Vqgm3E4k95A https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-23-17-acts-6.zip Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Acts 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. ON VIDEO- .Cookie parable . ‘Wandering aimlessly’- who said this? . ‘Another world’- ‘Not in the Bluff’- mouth of 2 witnesses .Flour Bluff Park .Prayer altars .Church as community .Feeding the poor .Greek speaking Jews .Alexander the Great .Why Greek and not Latin? .First Deacons .Timon[s] .Hahn PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s post- ‘Acts 6’- Verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ (739) ACTS 6- There arises the first controversy in the Jerusalem church. The fact that they were doing this daily massive food distribution led to an area of prejudice. The ‘Grecians’ [Greek speaking Jews] were being neglected. They were seen as a little lower on the scale of racial purity. They were speaking a language less pure than the Hebrew tongue. So the Apostles heard of the problem and said ‘pick out 7 men of good report, who have favor and wisdom and put them in charge of ‘this business’. In essence these were the first Deacons. The business was simply speaking of the duty of serving the food. Up until now the Apostles were involved with the distribution. But they said ‘we will devote ourselves to prayer and the Word’. This chapter is important, many well meaning church communions trace their practices of church government to this time. Are Deacons positions who ‘do the business of the 501 c 3’? Not really. Well, not at all! Are there ‘Pastors’ here in the modern idea of the office of a person who is over the flock and is the weekly speaker whom the people see every ‘Sunday’. No. Are these practices all wicked and from the devil? Of course not! But it does help to see what is actually going on. This early community saw the need for the leaders to devote time to the word and prayer. Fulltime ministry? Really more of a community adjustment allowing those with greater insight to propagate the gospel. Paul will later show us this doesn’t mean each separate community had ‘full time ministers’ who were forbidden to work secular jobs. He will continue to make tents thru out his life. But he will also teach that it is all right to meet the material needs of those who are ministering spiritual food. We also see the Apostles lay their hands on these first deacons. Is this some type of official ordination [recognition, licensing] from a seminary? Of course not. Is it wicked to attend seminary and have an ordination? Of course not. The principle of the ‘school of the prophets’ in Elijah’s day shows the possibility of God working thru these universities. It’s just we need to be careful we are not reading ideas into the story that are not faithful to the text. My reading of this chapter shows an organic community of people who were ‘the church’. They did have leadership and sought God for direction and weren’t imprisoned by any specific form of ‘church’. The main ingredient was a group of people sharing the life of Christ and living this life out as a community. All church communions have a tendency to read there own story into ‘Gods story’. That is we find isolated verses of scripture and say ‘see, this is why our church government does it this way’. It’s OK to a degree, but then when you see ‘our church government’ as the only true church government, that’s where problems arise. I think we should avoid looking for prescriptive patterns of ‘church government’ from the book of Acts. We should read the story as a community of people who are experiencing God and learning to walk out this experience as the Body of Christ. The great mystery is that God is ‘no longer dwelling in Temples made with hands’ but in a vibrant Body of people! [p.s. Stephen will quote this prophetic scripture in the next chapter as he does one of the most masterful jobs of an Old Testament survey to be found in the New Testament]. [parts] [parts] Alexander sought to implement the ideals of his teacher- he wanted to unify the known world under one people/culture- a belief that Aristotle held- a sort of ‘unified theory’ [Einstein] that would seek to bring all learning/knowledge together under one supreme [Divine] principle. Alexander’s experiment was called Hellenization- which was the Greek worlds attempt to impose Greek culture/language on all their conquered enemies- and at the same time allow them to hold on to the their own culture too. Alexander did amazingly well at this experiment- at the young age of around 24 he had accomplished most of his mission. The cities were a sort of composite of Greek culture mixed in with their own culture- this is where we get the modern term Cosmopolitan. Alexander died young and his kingdom was divided between 4 generals- one of them- Ptolemy- would himself make it into the history books because of his keen intellect. The system of cosmology developed under him would last [and work!] until some 17-18 hundred years later when it was overthrown by the Copernican revolution during the time of Copernicus and Galileo. Alexander’s generals would do their best to carry on the system of Hellenization- and other nation’s generals would keep the system going even after Greece fell. One of them- Octavian [Roman general] makes it into the history books by another famous name- Julius Caesar. Alexander established a great library in the Egyptian city of Alexandria [named after him] and many of the great writings were preserved during this time. The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance. Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah. Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day came from this movement. Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers- living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek language. Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek Lexicon sitting right in front of me]. It would take a few centuries before a Latin version appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin Vulgate]. Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to the Reformation [16th century] and other movements in church history. The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times. Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered. They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule. Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community. This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century. A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls. The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes- Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along. [parts] VERSES- [Links to all my sites below] Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Acts 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Acts 6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Acts 6:6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. Acts 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Acts 6:9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. Acts 6:10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Acts 6:11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. Acts 6:12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, Acts 6:13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: Acts 6:14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. Acts 6:15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Matthew 26:61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Mark 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy thistemple, and in three days I will raise it up. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks] Web sites- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello https://johnchiarello.webs.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France] https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ Social Media sites- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://vk.com/id533663718 [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ [Our largest group] https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ https://ok.ru/profile/589985645111 [Ukraine- Our 2nd largest in Europe] http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://mewe.com/i/johnchiarello https://steemit.com/@ccoutreach https://mastodon.social/@ccoutreach87 https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87 https://parler.com/profile/Ccoutreach87 https://snacpia.com/link/profile/51155 [Korea] https://www.publish0x.com/@ccoutreach87 Link sharing sites- https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ Mix- [Link at the top of this post or from my main blog] https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach https://buffer.com/app/profile/5b1be0280852690407c54007/analytics/posts https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy https://voat.co/u/ccoutreach87/submissions http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching] Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge] Streaming sites- Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/ Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India] https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jsS961GkXUSn/ [Most viewed] https://vk.com/videos533663718 [Russia] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos?lst=1779330793%3A1779330793%3A1546906912 [My Facebook videos] https://www.instagram.com/john.chiarello/channel/ [IGTV] [Ukraine-Most viewed] https://ok.ru/video/c2081847?st.cmd=video&st.m=ALBUM&st.aid=c2081847&st.ft=album https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccoutreach87 https://vimeo.com/user85764413 https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-catalog-2020/ [Youtube catalog- 2020] Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Cloud sites- https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0G_aInmCi8XUC-C https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=kZ1sXP7ZardKGRUxFByiFYi667jeup7MD1Sy https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt [my page] Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is ccoutreach87@gmail.com - contact me first- thank you- John |
Archives
March 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed
