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SUNDAY SERMON 12-24-17
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Sunday sermon https://youtu.be/L0nDDREYzJk https://vimeo.com/249165905 ON VIDEO- .Another gas station story .Einstein’s phone number .U2 .Logos .2 creations .Both accomplished by God’s WORD .2 trees in the garden .Law and Grace .Word made flesh .Get back to the garden .Theodicy .Adam and Jesus .The bride’s .Picture of redemption .The candle story [Church Unlimited] Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.OTHER VIDEOS- Bobby n Jimmy D https://youtu.be/3zqzZ85XAHg When the saints go marching in https://vimeo.com/249027342 Acts 12 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111185848 Galatians 4 http://dai.ly/x6ceo08 Plymouth Rock https://flic.kr/p/ES9TYY Acts 3 alamodome https://youtu.be/j0Pd7DI6TNU Just a Box https://vimeo.com/249200743 NEW- Today I talked about the 2 creations- how in Genesis we see God made all things ‘in the beginning’ - Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the things he has planned for us- were also ‘from the beginning’ - 66 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: Isaiah At this Christmas season we sing about the Word made flesh- John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations And it is thru this Word- Jesus- that God has also created a ‘new Creation’ - 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations In the garden man ate from the forbidden tree- Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil- And because of this sin- he no longer had access to the Tree of Life. Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. It would take the incarnate word to bring man back to the garden- back to the presence of God. We read a sort of strange verse in the writings of Paul- 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 1st Tim. 2 To some- it seems anti woman. But what Paul is telling us is when Adam ate- he knew what he was doing. He knowingly walked away for the presence of God- so he could be with his Bride. Eve already ate- and Adam saw the writing on the wall. He had a choice- and he chose to be with the bride. Jesus went to the Cross- knowing that he would be separated from the presence of God- he did this in obedience- Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Why? He did if for the Bride- us- Jesus hung on ‘the tree’ for us- Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations He delivered man from the law- the tree of the knowledge of good and evil- which could never redeem man. Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations And he brought us back to the garden- he allowed us to be new creations in him. Yes- the Word became flesh and dwelt among us- and it is thru this word that we have life today. PAST POSTS- [My past teachings that relate to today’s post- Sunday Sermon] https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-johns-gospel/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/28/kings-16/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ EPHESIANS- LINKS https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/13/ephesians-2/ GENESIS (1389) THIS IS A LARGE WORK I HAVE CALLED YOU INTO, DON’T BE OVERWHELMED BY IT- Jesus to his men, message version. The other day I read some stuff from a fairly conservative blog site [Christian post] and was surprised to see that one of the blogs they recommended had a scientist espouse a sort of theistic evolutionary view. He spoke about ‘human like beings’ who lived before man and had no souls and all, he also gave a version of Noah’s flood that said it was possible that meteors might have impacted the ocean and caused a regional flood. The man is smart and gave many fine examples and stuff, I just felt like he was off the mark. Over the years of looking at the various views among believers I have noticed that often times we can believe that biblical accounts happened, but we have a tendency to want to reduce them down to size. The God of deism has no problem with a God who is ‘hands off’- that is they view God from a perspective that says ‘yes, he started things at the beginning, but it took billions of years for things to form’. Sort of like God could have created the first living cell, but in no way could he have actually formed a complete man in one lump sum! In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean there is this huge ridge, a possible crevice that broke up during the shifting of the Tectonic Plates when the continents first separated. Some scientists believe this happened when the planet spread apart in the distant past. Now, it is perfectly plausible to theorize that if this event happened in a short time [like a year] instead of a long time over many thousands of years, that this breaking up of the floor of the ocean might very well have created an effect that caused the ocean floor to rise and much of the water in the Atlantic could have ‘spilled out’ and easily covered the entire planet in a short period of time [Gore thinks a little ice melting can do it!]. The biblical account of Noah’s flood tells us that it not only rained for 40 days and nights, but that the ‘fountains of the deep broke open’. The point being there are many plausible ideas on how the earth could have experienced a global flood, much like the account in Genesis gives us. But we have a tendency to want to break things down into small chunks, and then think these ‘small chunks’ are reasonable enough for enlightened man to accept. I am personally an ‘old earth’ adherent, I do not believe the earth is only 6 thousand years old, but at the same time we need to be open to the arguments that both sides of these issues make. To be honest, many of these endeavors are ‘large’ that is God has called the church to engage in all realms of society; science, philosophy, etc. - at times it seems like a huge task, something that can be overwhelming to the average student of the bible, take heart, there are many able believers in all these fields that are doing a superb job. Don’t let ‘science’ tell you that all the facts are on the side of the atheists, that’s just not true. (1174) Almost finished with Noll’s book [scandal of the evangelical mind] and thought it time to comment. The book was published in 1994 and I realize a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. Noll brings out great points; he shows a fundamental weakness in American evangelicalism because of the way the movement shaped a sort of anit intellectual way/thought pattern of viewing the world and society. He really takes the dispensational wing of the church to task, frankly, I was surprised how willingly he dismantled many of their belief systems. I agree with him on this issue, but was surprised that a very popular book would go this far [and still be nominated book of the year by Christianity today- back in 1994!]. I think an area of weakness in the book is Noll’s ‘over association’ of young earth creationism with the Seventh Day Adventist church, and his repeating of the charge that creationists [and fundamentalists in general] are practicing a form of ‘modern Manichaeism’. He basically links an ‘anti material spirit’ that was seen in the early Christian heretics [Gnosticism, Docetism and Manichaeism] and applies this to the views of creationists and their so called unwillingness to allow the facts from nature speak for themselves. I wrote the note ‘way too much’ a few times when reading the book. I think he’s basically mistaken on this, many early Christian thinkers did hold to a young earth view, and they were the same thinkers who rebuked these cults who rejected the natural world as evil. Overall the book is a worthwhile read, it exposes the weakness of the fundamental/evangelical movement to ‘think Christianly’ about the world and society around them. Too often believers think ‘thinking Christianly’ means introducing bible verses into the conversation, this is not what Noll is speaking about. He shows the fundamental error that arose during the modernist/fundamentalist debates of the 19th/20th centuries, and how this caused the church to accept modes of thinking and learning that were disconnected from the fathers of these movements. For instance, Jonathan Edwards, who is considered to be the greatest homegrown thinker of the American experience, he embraced an acceptance of the natural sciences as a way to learn more about the ways of God. True studies of the earth and universe and things in the world were accepted as a means of God communicating truth to his people thru the ‘book of nature’. Noll shows how the fundamentalist movement came to reject this willingness to look at the natural world and learn from it. Thus his overstated charge of Manichaeism, a group that saw the natural world as evil. A blind spot of Noll is his seeming belief that the majority of all Christians/scientists accepted as fact the old earth views of the Geologic table and the other sciences that arose at the time [like evolutionary theory]. He paints a picture that says ‘see, most believers were open to learning from science back then, but the fundamentalist movement and the rise of creationism side tracked the church’. This is simply not true. Many scientists and Christians did not accept the science of an old earth and the interpretation of the geologic table. Many fathers of the church accepted a young earth view [Noll's creationism] since the beginning of church history. Though Noll quotes saint Augustine in his defense of thinking critically, yet Augustine himself believed in a young earth. He actually believed God made everything in an instant and the 6 days of Genesis 1 were symbolic, that God used the ‘6 day framework’ to show us his creative acts. The point being, Augustine’s spiritualizing of the days of creation did not make him an old earth believer! So there were a few things like this that I take issue with, overall I think every evangelical/protestant believer would benefit from reading the book. Noll’s challenge to the evangelical church to ‘think Christianly in all areas of life’ is a needed rebuke to many in the church. Noll is correct in showing the weakness of the American protestant church and her basic disdain of intellectual learning, thinking that higher learning in and of itself is a bad thing. This has fostered a community of believers that has cut itself off from the basic institutions that effect society as a whole [the research universities being one example]. If Christians shy away from the natural sciences and the reality that even unbelievers have at times revealed to us true things thru these studies, then we are going down a road that will eventually cut our influence off from the broader society at large. (1149) Just started reading Luke, in chapter one we see the story of the birth’s of John and Jesus. We see the dual ways that God works. In John’s birth the angel appears to his parents and reveals that Elisabeth will get pregnant, though she and her husband are old. She has been unable to have children and they have prayed for kids. God does it thru a miraculous intervention and reveals it thru an angel. The same angel appears to Mary and tells her she will have Jesus, Mary asks ‘how can this be, I know not a man’. It’s almost if she was looking at the miraculous situation of her cousin and the fact that God allowed her to get pregnant, but yet there were natural means that God used. John’s parents did sleep together and God gave them the child; miraculous in that Elisabeth was beyond the age of kids, but also a natural explanation can be seen. So Mary must be thinking ‘now Gabriel, I do realize you are an angel and all, you have a pretty good prophetic track record when it comes to announcing births; but you must understand there is only so much God can do, if you don’t know yet, I’m still A VIRGIN!’ The fact is that both John and Jesus births were considered miraculous, the fact that a natural explanation could be attributed to the process with John, this did not mean that there had to be a natural explanation to all miraculous births! As we just came off a series of posts on creation and science, I want to overview a few things when it comes to the miraculous. First, the act of creation itself is a tremendous miracle that can never be fully explained by naturalistic means. Hebrews says ‘by faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God’ there are things that God does, that often can not be explained thru science. Though we try and make a noble effort to use the tool of science to argue for the reality of God, yet we don’t want to fall into the trap of Mary, who thought ‘how can this be?’ It ‘can be’ because God said it can be! God’s creative power causes things to be! There is a danger of skepticism creeping into the ranks when we try and affix a scientific explanation to all the aspects of creation, the fact is the actual act of God bringing things into existence by his spoken word is a mystery that can never be fully explained by science. We can try and understand things as much as possible, like the light from galaxies that are supposed to be 13 billion miles away, if the earth were only 6-10 thousand years old, then we wouldn’t be able to see the galaxies yet. The light wouldn’t have had enough time to travel to our telescopes! Okay, sounds good. But then the young earth creationists will explain that the light from all the super novas that occur [the deaths of stars that put off tremendous light] if the planet were billions of years old, we would be seeing the light from many more of these star deaths than we currently see. The light from these explosions would literally be bombarding the planet at a much higher rate than we now observe. So these are two good arguments made from both sides of the debate. But can we hold God down to these types of natural explanations? How can science fully measure the creative act of God? The appearance of all things from nothing can not be measured in the same way as all other things that currently exist. The divine act of creation was a one time event that can not be repeated. It does not fall under the scientific category of testability, it is in the category of observable past events. We know it occurred, we look at it, but we can’t repeat the process and test the event itself. Some say that at the initial creation God created the light ‘in transit’ he was not limited to the natural speed of light that would need 13 billion years to travel from the furthest galaxies to the planet, he made these things in a truly miraculous way! To be sure there are many other things like this that can be used to defend both sides of the issue, today’s point is in the situation with the miraculous births of John and Jesus, both were considered miracles, but one birth had a natural explanation to it [God used his power to enable the barren womb of Elisabeth to conceive thru natural means of conception] and the other didn’t [Mary was really a virgin, the only way you could explain the event itself was that it was a miracle from God- no natural explanation could suffice]. When it’s all said and done we do our best to understand and love God with our minds and intellect, but there are things that we cant always wrap our minds around, these are the ‘things we understand by faith’. (1148) THE TOWER OF BABEL- Today I finish the Genesis study that I started a few years ago. Sort of a milestone if you will. In chapter 11 we see the famous story of the Tower of Babel. Man united his efforts, learned how to build things contrary to God's initiative [brick and mortar versus stone] and gave his time and efforts willingly in order to make a name for himself [image building]. Over the years I have observed the church of God go thru various seasons, sometimes I cross paths with good men who are at different levels of the journey [like myself]. One of ‘the levels’ is the realization that ministers/pastors have often unconsciously built towers of Babel when they meant to build Gods church. Babel was an affront to what God wanted. Babel was an edifice that drew your attention to man and his ability to get things done, it shouted ‘look how much I have been able to accomplish, cant you see what I’ve done’! Contrary to mans building plan, God used stones that were honed and fashioned at the quarry before they were brought to the temple site. This represented the reality that though man is used in Gods building program, yet he is simply a stone carrier/placer. He doesn’t actually produce the building materials [brick and mortar]. The Lord stopped the tower of Babel by confusing the languages of men and scattering them throughout the land. The contrast to this chapter is Acts 2, where the Lord supernaturally allowed men of many different languages to once again come together and understand each other. Sort of like Gods divine imprimatur on the new building/tower that he was going to build [the church]. He would allow men once again to take part in this unified effort to build something. But it would be like the prophet said ‘not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord’ [stones versus brick]. On the journey most leaders will eventually see the common mistake that many Protestants have made in allowing the things we have built to bring honor and attention to who we are, what we have been able to do. This mindset of building is exactly what God rebuked at Babel, he did not want man to ‘build a tower unto heaven’ and believe in his own intellect and abilities. Jesus often challenged the mindset of the disciples on the nature of leadership, he built into them a new way of seeing leadership, it would not be a means to become the greatest, the most well known one among the group. It is common today for the leader/pastor of a congregation to unconsciously become the center of attention; this is a mistake that Christians have made by not seriously following the commands of Jesus about leadership in his kingdom. Most leaders will face a time where they will have to die to this addiction that is common among good men, men who mean well. When confronted with this challenge it is a conscious choice that leaders will make that is not easy, it truly will be a Cross to bear. But it’s better than God having to come down and personally stop the building program! (1147) Lets do a brief overview. Those of you reading these last 10 or so entries from the Genesis Study will see that I taught the chapters 12-50 a few years ago. I had no real reason to have left out the first 11 chapters; it just worked out that way. It gave me some time to look at both sides of the creation debate [young versus old earth]. First, I want to say that I still lean towards old earth myself, but do not consider myself a Progressive Creationist. These brothers view the creation days as long ages, the problem I have with that view is it has God intervening directly and creating life at many different intervals over millions of years. I don’t hold to that. But I do believe it’s possible to have an old earth and a literal reading of the days [I already explained it in these last few posts]. Most of all I want to stress that the bible is not clear when it comes to the age of the earth. The young earth brothers have made a very noble effort from verses that connect the beginning of creation with man [Mark 10:6] or other verses speaking about things from the start [Mark 13:19-20, Luke 11: 50-51]. Too much to do now, but it is a long argument for a young earth. The other word that comes up often is Phenomenological, this word is used to explain the language of scripture that is used when speaking to the common man. Like when the bible speaks of the Sun set and Sun rise, most of us realize that the Sun is not the object that is moving! So to technically argue something that we know is ‘not true’ would be silly. Mark Noll wrote about stuff like this in the popular book ‘Scandal of the Evangelical mind’. So, how much science do we accept? Do we use these arguments to open the door to Evolution and everything else that comes down the pike? Of course not! But we try and stay open to science while at the same time staying true to Gods word. For many years science and philosophy believed in an eternal earth and universe. It wasn’t until the tremendous breakthroughs of the 20th century that the Big bang Theory became accepted science. If you listened to Einstein’s theories at the beginning, they seemed utterly ludicrous! His ideas about time not being fixed, and the relationship between time and space were way out there. Many Christians did not accept his ideas. But there were many atheistic scientists who were more troubled, if Hubble and Einstein were right [they were] that would mean the universe had a starting point [the so called point of singularity] the atheists knew that this would sound the death bell for their belief in atheism. If there was a starting point to time and matter, then there was no way to get around it, you would need an initial starter [Aristotle and Aquinas would be right- prime mover, though they both believed in an eternal universe]. So today the majority view of cosmology is the Big Bang theory, some scientists still argue for the eternal universe, but most believe in the Big Bang. In essence this is an example where science has handed to the theologian one of the greatest weapons to argue for the existence of God. But just like the age of the earth debate, you have believers who challenge Big Bang cosmology. Some are smart and have good reasons to challenge it. When I say I believe in the Big Bang, I am not saying I hold to the various views of evolutionary processes that come along with the theory; things like the stars producing the matter that swirled out over millions/billions of years and formed planets. There are obviously parts of the Big bang theory that are questionable. So scientists try and come up with ideas to make the questions go away. A major problem to the Big bang theory is how can the universe have such a stable balance of temperature all over the place. If everything expanded [that’s really a better word to explain it than explosion] at such a rapid rate, you would not have the stable atmosphere that science shows us. So a professor at M.I.T., Alan Guth, came up with an idea called ‘inflation’ he guessed that at the initial point of singularity, everything first expanded to the size of a basketball and all the matter of the universe was stabilized at this point. Then the massive expansion took place and that’s why you have a steady balance when there shouldn’t be one. To say the least these ideas are very questionable, that’s why some scientists don’t accept the whole theory. But for the most part the accepted truth that all matter did have a beginning point is one of the strongest apologetic arguments that science could have ever given to the church. The point being we as believers need to look at both sides of these issues, the debate between young and old earth creationism has at times lost the Christian mandate to deal charitably with each other. I realize the views held are sincere, and many believe the integrity of Gods word is at stake. But we need to present our views and let the chips fall where they may. I will probably finish this short excursion into Genesis tomorrow, but those of you reading these entries from other parts of the blog besides the ‘Evolution/Cosmology’ section, I would suggest reading the stuff I have written in that section along with these last 10 posts. It will help give you a better idea of where I am coming from. (1146) SONS AFTER THE FLOOD- In Genesis 9 we read the account of Noah and his sons repopulating the planet. God promises Noah that he will never destroy the earth again [by way of water- what about fire? We’ll get to that in a minute] and we see the beginning of man eating animals for the first time, the institution of the death penalty and civil justice [Romans 13] and the famous promise of the rainbow ‘when ever it rains again you will see my bow in the clouds and know I will not flood the earth again’. Are there natural explanations to things that the bible ascribes to God? Yes. Does that mean the bible is a book of myths and fables that were fake and only meant to give us moral lessons? No [contrary to liberal theology]. The fact that we know every time there is a rainbow in the sky, that there is a natural explanation to it, this does not mean this story is fake. God obviously created a repeatable situation that never occurred before, and he told man it was for a sign. Just because science can ascribe a naturalistic explanation to a thing, this does not mean the thing has no supernatural elements to it. This is also where the theistic evolutionists/progressive creationists make parts of their case. Does the fact that God created something mean that there are no possible natural means for him to work by? They will show you that when David said God formed him in his mothers womb, that obviously ‘God formed’ David in a different way than Adam! When you look at ‘a test tube baby’ do you not see a creation of God? Yes, even though there are obvious natural explanations to the conception and birth [like the rainbow being explained by nature] yet the actual life itself is still a mystery that can only be attributed to God. Also God reassures man not to worry about a total future destruction of the planet, in the last verse of chapter 8 he says as long as the earth remains there will never be another worldwide ceasing of the created order [seedtime and harvest]. How do we square this with the Christian doctrine of ‘the end of the world’? Now, this can get complicated and take more time than I have right now, but lets try and take a quick ride. The famous New Testament verse on the future ‘destruction’ of the planet is found in 2nd Peter 3 [the same chapter that deals with the flood] Peter says the elements will melt with a fervent heat and we await a new heaven and earth. In the gospels Jesus also speaks about ‘the end of the world’ the word for world does not mean the planet, but the age. Just like when the bible says ‘satan is the god of this world’ it speaks of age, not earth. So a careful reading of the ‘end of the world’ verses show us that there will be a future time of cleansing ‘by fire’ that will usher in a new age/order. Preterists [those who believe the future judgment scenarios were speaking of a.d. 70 and the end of the old order of the law] take these verses to mean that God was ending ‘the old order/age of law and bringing in a new age of grace’ I see partial truth to this, but don’t fully accept that there is no future aspect to it. The futurists [dispensationalists] see a destruction of the world and sometimes allow this view to effect their responsibility to the planet and society at large ‘heck, why worry about the environment and future stuff, it’s all coming to an end soon’ type mentality. Some, not all, have this mindset. The Preterists think the Futurists have made a fatal mistake in misreading the verses that should say ‘age’ instead of ‘world’. There are very good points that the Preterists make, though I don’t fully embrace everything they have to say. Overall we see that God wanted to reassure man that he was not going to totally wipe the earth out again like he did in the past. Whether you see the future fire burning up the elements as some sort of nuclear thing [I don’t] or a reference to the glory of Jesus burning up the chaff at his return, the important thing to remember is God wanted man to know that the natural order of day and night would go on, and a new heaven and earth would continue to exist for all eternity. The mindset of ‘don’t give up on the mandate to have dominion and care for the planet’ was being instilled in Noah and his sons. I think it would do the evangelical church some good if we looked more seriously at some of these issues. (1145) THE FLOOD- Okay, this is a hot topic. First, the flood really happened! Some old earth creationists insist on a local version of it, others say it was worldwide [I’m in the world wide camp]. God tells Noah to embark on a very long building program. He certainly looks like a nut to those around him. Eventually the Ark is finished and Noah and his family get in, they bring 7 of every clean animal and 2 of every ‘unclean’ type. It rains [some say 40 days and nights, others think it rained longer] and the ‘fountains of the deep are opened up’ obviously a reference to some type of Tectonic action. After everything dies, the Ark rests and Noah and his family repopulate the planet. The young earth creationists have good arguments from this story [real event!] some of the old earth brothers tend to trivialize it. Ever since the science of geology gained ground [19th-20th centuries] many have argued for a very old earth based on the geologic table. They look at the different strata of the earth [levels] and say ‘see, these levels took millions of years to develop, you have dinosaurs buried in the lower levels, then other types of animals, birds and then man is rarely found fossilized’ these brothers see a sort of scientific record that backs up the progressive creation view. They say the creation days are ages, and the science shows us deep time. Are there any other explanations for the various fossil levels? Yes. The young earth brothers will make a very good argument that the cataclysmic effect of the flood caused the levels. They say the reason you find dinosaurs and other land animals at lower levels is a result of natural panic and survival during the flood. The slower, heavier animals would die first and get buried first. The birds lasted longer of course; they kept flying to high land until they too died off. Man was the smartest of the bunch, he managed to survive longest, and that’s why you don’t find as many fossils of man as you do other creatures [those who die late would not get covered in sediment and would simply rot!] This argument isn’t that bad, to be honest. There are of course many other things besides this, the point I want to make is if you rule out the biblical record of a world wide flood, then you are leaving out other interpretations of the data. Most young and old earth brothers agree on the actual record [i.e.; we do see things buried at different levels] they simply disagree on the interpretation of the data. Lets do a few practical things here, God had Noah prepare things ahead of time. He also spent some down time in a huge boat with a ‘lot of dung’ [ouch!] Often times on the journey we hit spots that don’t look [or smell] that great. People might even mock us ‘look at that idiot Noah, he’s even got his family believing in this stuff!’ but when it was all said and done he was vindicated. Those who tend to spiritualize the stories of Genesis usually see the first 11 chapters as a mix of symbol and history. The genealogies of chapters 4, 5 and 11 are sometimes seen as not exact [by the way, in the last entry I used Enoch as an example of the ascension, the Enoch who was taken up was the Enoch of chapter 5]. The reasons are various [like the other ancient near east genealogies used 10 generation lists, both chapter 5 and 11 are 10 generation lists]. Some do this in order to fit more time into the biblical record. Jesus, Peter and the writer of Hebrews all speak of Noah and his flood as a real historic event! There should be no reason for believers to doubt or spiritualize these stories away. But we also want to be open to the reality that other cultures had their own tellings of these stories, and that the recording of genealogies does not mean there is no room for an older earth [the genealogies are accurate, but they don’t start right at the beginning of time!]. And let’s finish in a practical way, are you going thru a season of feeling stuck in a big box with a lot of dung? Sometimes the word of the Lord to us is ‘just survive at this time, when the storms over things will look better again’. The Lord used Noah to have an influence on the entire civilization that would re-populate the planet! God will increase your influence if you simply find a way to survive the flood. (562) John:1[radio # 584] Jesus is called the Word of God, he comes into the earth as the incarnation, the ‘fleshed out’ fulfillment of Gods Word. John the Baptist is asked who he is. The Jewish leaders ask ‘are you that prophet?’ he says ‘no’. What prophet? The one Moses said would come ‘the Lord God will raise up a prophet unto you, like me. Whoever doesn’t listen to him will be destroyed’. We covered this in Deuteronomy. They ask him ‘are you Elijah’ he says ‘no’. John was the fulfillment of the Malachi prophecy that said before the Lord comes he will send Elijah the prophet. Jesus says this about John. Why did John deny it? I am not sure, but it might be because he really didn’t know. Sort of like the thorn in Paul’s side, God allowed things to happen to Paul so he would not get puffed up in pride and side track his mission. Maybe the Lord never let John see how truly effective he was. John does say ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’ John does see himself thru the prophet Isaiah. I like this. I have personally had many words from Isaiah that I felt the Lord had given me, John saw himself in this book too. John was ‘the voice’ just like Jesus is ‘the Word’ John is ‘the voice’. John was a voice before he was a man. God had predestined John to carry a message before he was born. He had this word in his DNA at birth. His body was simply a carrier, an ‘incarnation’ of the voice that he was to have. God has predestined all of us with a purpose before we were born. Our appearing on the planet is for the sole purpose of carrying out this destiny. You are not here to be happy, have a nice income, go to a nice church. You are here to fulfill Gods will, you can have the other things or not, that is irrelevant. You must first fulfill the mission! John testifies of Christ by the Spirit descending on Jesus. John says ‘I knew him not, but by the Spirit’ John knew Jesus, he was his cousin! But John was only going to recognize the gifts and callings on people. He would follow Paul's admonition ‘know no man after the flesh’. It is incumbent upon us to recognize the gifts in others and to operate accordingly. Don’t make alliances and pacts with people based on friendship and personal affiliations. It’s good to have friends and all, but the Kingdom is built upon recognizing and receiving those who have come with a mandate from God. John saw Jesus in this light. Scripture says ‘the world was made by him, he was in the world, yet they knew him not’ Jesus was creating a divine atmosphere of grace for people to access. They didn’t even know or recognize him, yet this didn’t side track him from his purpose. Understand that God has placed you in a geographical location with a pre planned destiny in mind. God has chosen you to be where you are and for this season. You will fulfill your calling whether people ‘know’ you or not. God requires us to see the gifts in each other, but many will not appreciate what you are doing, do it any way, you have come with a destiny to fulfill, so fulfill it! ROMANS 4-7 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/2-11-15-romans-4-7.zip Video https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/700-galatians.wav?_=1 This is an old radio show I made years ago- thought it fit well with what I’m teaching now- you’ll need to use Internet Explorer browser to hear it. The apostle Paul quotes a lot of Old Testament scriptures in this letter- I hope to cover some of them on the video- but as you read these chapters- it would be helpful to read Genesis 12- 13- 15-and 17- these are the main chapters Paul uses in the life of Abraham to show Abrahams faith- and how he was justified by faith- before he was circumcised [Gen 15]. He will describe the faith of Abraham by using the story of Abraham and Sarah having a son in their old age [Gen. 17] - and talk about how the heirs of the promise- that Abraham would be ‘heir of the world’ was made to ALL THE SEED- meaning not just to his Jewish brothers who would believe- but also to the Gentiles- who were never granted the ‘right of the covenant’ [circumcision]. Paul explains that Abraham was justified BEFORE he was circumcised- so- he is the father of all the kids- even the Gentile believers who were never circumcised- but had the faith of Abraham. Now- there’s’ a lot I am trying to cover in this Romans study- for those who watch the videos- you will see that I’m also covering the divisions within Christianity- primarily those that arose out of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. I quote the book of James- and show how James says ‘was not Abraham our father JUSTIFIED BY WORKS when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar’. It’s important to see- that these words JUSTIFIED BY WORKS- are indeed used in our New Testament- in the videos I’m explaining this- but the point I’m making is James uses the account of Abraham- in Genesis 22- and shows us that the progressive work of ‘Justification’ can- and is- applied to the act of Abrahams obedience- and when God saw Abraham DO A JUST THING [a work] James says ‘he was then justified’- the same word used in the initial act of our Justification- seen in Genesis 15- ok- this might be a bit much to take in now- but over time when we get a better grasp on this- I believe it will help to foster unity in the Body of Christ. James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. NOTE- As I do this study- I’m copying/pasting an old commentary I wrote years ago- I guess I should read the commentary first- after I penned the above- I read it- I basically covered the same thing- at least I’m consistent! ROMANS 4: 1-12 Now, Paul will use one of his most frequent arguments to prove that all men, both Jews and Gentiles, need to be justified by faith and not ‘by works’. The most famous singular figure that natural Israel looked to as the ‘identifier’ of them being a special people was ‘Father Abraham’. Paul does a masterful job at showing how Abraham was indeed justified by faith and not by works. The ‘work’ of circumcision came before the law. It would later become synonymous with law keeping [Ten Commandments] and Paul can certainly use it here as implying ‘the whole law’. But to be accurate this work of circumcision was a national identifying factor that Israel looked to as saying ‘we are better than you [Gentiles]’. Paul is showing Israel that God in fact ‘made Abraham righteous’ before he circumcised him! [Gen. 15] And the sign of this righteousness was circumcision. This meaning that Abrahams faith in Gods promise [a purely ‘passive’ act! This is very important to see. Later on as we deal with the famous ‘conversion texts’ we need to keep this in mind] justified him without respect to the law. God simply took Abraham outside and said ‘look at the stars, your children will be this abundant’ and Abraham simply believed this promise to be true. Much like the passive belief of Cornelius house at their conversion [Acts 10]. The simple belief in the promise of Jesus justifies the sinner! Now this fact of Abraham believing and being made righteous, before being circumcised, is proof [according to Paul] that Abraham is the father of ‘many nations’ not just natural Israel. All ethnic groups who HAVE THE SAME FAITH AS ABRAHAM are qualified to be ‘sons of Abraham/ heirs of God’. The fact that Abraham carried this justification along with him as he became circumcised, shows that all Jewish people as well can partake of this ‘righteousness by faith’ if they have the same faith as Abraham had. Jesus did say ‘Abraham rejoiced to see my day’[ John’s gospel]. In Gods promise to Abraham of a future dynasty of children, this included the promised Messiah. So indirectly Abraham’s belief in the promise of being the father of ‘many nations’ included belief in the coming Messiah. So according to Paul, all ethnic groups who have faith in Jesus are justified/made righteous. The very example Israel used to justify ‘ethnic/national pride’ [Father Abraham] was taught in a way that showed the truth of the gospel and how God is no respecter of persons.
(834)Romans 6:12-23 ‘Let not sin therefore rule in your mortal body’ if we have died with Jesus, we are ‘dead with him to sin’. If we are risen with Jesus ‘we are alive unto God thru him’ for this reason don’t sin! Paul makes sure his readers understand him, he in no way was teaching a sinful gospel. He encourages the believers to renew their minds to this truth. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace’ Paul clearly saw the dangers of legalism [living under strict ‘do this, don’t do this’ guidelines] he saw that the law actually quickens the fleshly nature and brings to the surface mans sin. Now, because we are under grace, does this mean we get to keep on sinning? ‘God forbid!’ Paul launches into the explanation of sin and bondage. Remember, sin was in the world before the law. Men were dying ever since Adam sinned. So for Paul, this means even though we are not under the restraints of law, yet the reality of sin, bondage and punishment still exist. Paul says ‘if you yield to sin and allow it to rule you, you will become its slave’. There will be a penalty and price to pay ‘the wages of sin is death’. But because you are identified with Jesus ‘sin shall not have dominion over you… you have been made free from sin’. Paul teaches the victorious Christian life. He does not deny the struggle [next chapter!] but he shows the reality of redemption. He obviously never taught the concept of ‘sin more, so grace can abound’. He understood the dangers of preaching ‘we are not under the law’ but he also understood the reality of ‘being under grace’ he figured it was worth the risk of being misunderstood if he could truly imbed the gospel into the believing community. VERSES- [Here are the verses that relate to today’s post- Sunday sermon 12-24-17] Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Romans 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Matthew 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before thefoundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 Peter 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 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? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Genesis 3:22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east ofthe garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree oflife. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Deuteronomy 20:19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Proverbs 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations King James Version (KJV) 1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html http://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ https://www.ustream.tv/channel/WPxcs6kMdjN 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John.
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KINGS 16
Kings 16 https://youtu.be/sPH-fvrad94 https://vimeo.com/248864066 ON VIDEO- .Review .Great courses .Higher criticism? .Why was revelation written in a lower form/style of Greek? .We see consistency in the DOCTIRNE of John’s writings- all of them .Social media- how is it affecting our children? [adults as well] .Jehu the prophet speaks .Joshua spoke too .Ahab- Jezebel and Elijah coming next .The discipline of writing/documenting in the history of the church .Septuagint .Renaissance .Gutenberg printing press .They preached the Word- Jesus Christ Other Videos- [Every night I upload/share videos on my various sites- I’ll try and just link those to upcoming posts from now on- that’s what you see here] Acts 11- http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111046772 Paintings of the atheist- https://flic.kr/p/Dec9ug The seed http://dai.ly/x6c85uk God of the living https://youtu.be/fC4aEuHMrMw Fathers day- https://vimeo.com/248814180 Matt- Jimmy- Steve https://flic.kr/p/21RPoXq Sunday sermon http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111115803 Apologetics- Philosophy- Prophets http://dai.ly/x6cbdav NEW- I made the video- Kings 16- ‘off the cuff’- in the middle of a busy week- but wanted to keep doing the Kings study. I’ll add my past teaching below and do a few points here. We see Jehu the prophet ‘pronounce’ certain things [judgment]- 1Kings 16:1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, 1Kings 16:2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; 1Kings 16:3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 1Kings 16:4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. And sure enough- these words come to pass- 1Kings 16:10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. 1Kings 16:11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. 1Kings 16:12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet. Even though wicked men carry them out- yet they happened by the word of the Lord. We also see the introduction of Ahab- and his famous wife Jezebel- in this chapter. Which means we will see Elijah the prophet over the next few weeks [or months?]- Which makes the next few chapters a bit more interesting. At the end of the chapter we see what might seem to be an obscure detail- A man decides to rebuild the famous city of Jericho- destroyed many years earlier under the rule of Joshua [you remember- the walls come tumbling down]. But during the conquest of the promised land- Joshua placed a curse on the man who would build it some day- Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. And sure enough- these many years later- the curse came to pass- 1Kings 16:34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. I also taught a little bit of history- and mentioned the writings of the apostle John- and his theme of the logos- the Word of God. Actually- in a way it fit with the Chapter- we see the events of history as being framed by the word of God. Jehu spoke the word of the Lord- and those words did indeed come to pass. Joshua spoke by the anointing of God- and his words came to pass years later. The Word of God- spoken by the people of God- carries great authority. God spoke his Word- he sent his Son as the incarnate Word- the Word made flesh. And it is thru this act- which we just happen to be celebrating at this season- that all men can find peace and hope. Yes- the words spoken by Jehu- and Joshua- did bring judgment. But the Word that God speaks today is life- hope- healing- yes- as many at this season say- peace on Earth and good will towards men. Because the redeemer has come- and his name is called- THE WORD OF GOD- 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. Rev. 19 PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that fits with today’s post- Kings 16] KINGS- https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-kings/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/29/kings-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/12/kings-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/27/kings-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/04/kings-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/25/kings-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/17/kings-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/05/kings-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/18/kings-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/01/kings-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/22/kings-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/15/kings-12-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/19/kings-13-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/09/kings-14/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/06/kings-15/ https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/25/sunday-sermon-20/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ I mentioned Oral tradition on today’s video- Kings 16- below are my past teachings where I brought it up- The Iliad and Odyssey [Homer] I want to cover some of the classics of Western Literature- when I do the philosophy and science stuff- the purpose is to show how God- and ‘religion’ are an inescapable thread that we see all thru out history- and in fact- the rise of what we call ‘intellectualism’ did indeed come from the Judaic/Christian tradition [for instance- the modern day university system did come from the Church]. Ok- lets start with what most believe to be the greatest work from antiquity- outside of the bible. These are 2 poems by Homer- the Iliad and Odyssey. These poems were written in the 8th century BCE- and cover the Trojan war- which most believe was a real war- that took place in the 12th-13th century BCE. In Homers works we read about this epic battle. The war starts with- once again- a ‘woman’ issue. Prince Paris of Troy steals Helen of Greece- from her husband King Menelaus [king of Sparta]. The Greeks- led by Achilles- lay siege to Troy. In Homers telling of the event- the Greeks are actually defending the honor of marriage- and are carrying out a just retribution against an unjust act. Sort of the same themes we read in scripture- when the sons of Jacob defended the honor of their sister Dinah- when she was treated unjustly by the pagan nation that took her- forcefully- to be the wife of a kings son. The brothers meted out justice- by tricking these pagans to get circumcised- then- while recovering ‘from surgery’- the sons went in and wiped out the city- to their fathers dismay! In the story- Achilles is a warrior- who displays extreme violence- and also the human traits of a man who acts out of selfish motives. At one point in the war- he removes himself from battle- because he feels his honor was betrayed. The only thing that brings him back is the killing of his close friend Patroclus- by Hector. Achilles leads the Greeks to victory- and reflects the struggle between living a long life- or dying young- yet dying for a just cause. One of the more famous quotes form Homer’s Poems- attributed to Achilles- is ‘I carry 2 sorts of destiny to the day of my death. Either, if I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans, my return home is gone, but my glory shall be everlasting; but if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers, the excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a long life- left for me, and my end in death will not come to me quickly.’ There has been some debate over the historicity of the war itself. Some scholars believe it was Myth [I’ll get to this in a moment]. That is- they believe the war itself was not true- but a sort of Oral Tradition- that encompasses the reality of the human condition- and that Homers Poems are simply mythological ways to reveal the true condition of man. Yet- much like the debate that took place in the 19th century German universities- over the ‘Myth’ of the bible- later on- the rise of what we now call Archaeology [because of the Industrial revolution- a new field arose- men started digging up the ground- for the primary purpose of extracting materials from the earth- and at this time we also discovered ‘lost worlds’- that is we could actually trace cities and lands that were once deemed fake]. So- as with Homers Troy- and bible lands- these archaeologists did indeed find Cities that matched the stories. In 1870 the German Archaeologist Schliemann discovered remains that seemed to find the city of Troy- the area is known today as modern day Turkey. This same thing happened with the bible- we did indeed find historical evidence that seemed to back up the historicity of the stories we find in the bible. As a matter of fact- a famous doubter of the bible embarked on a search- to prove the bible was ‘myth’ yet- after researching carefully the historical names and places we read about in the book of Acts- he came to believe that the book of Acts- written by both an historian and doctor [Luke] was the most historically accurate writing that came from the first century [Acts has lots of names of political figures- court proceedings- stuff like that- and when doing research like this- it is quite easy to debunk the historical reality of a fake work- but- when these names and places were researched- from actual historical records dating back to the first century- it was amazing how the pieces fit]. The Trojan War is found in many works of Greek literature- and art. But the most comprehensive account comes from Homer’s 2 poems. Now- in Homer’s poems there are obvious references to Mythology- Goddesses- Golden apples- the Greek gods intervening in the affairs of men. So yeah- we see that there are obvious mythological aspects to the work. Yet- the ancient Geeks did indeed believe the war itself was a real war that took place at around the 12th century BCE. Some believe that Homer never actually wrote the poems- but that he told the stories- like Oral Tradition- and they were later written down by others. Sort of like the classic- Paradise Lost- by John Milton. Milton was blind- and told the story to his daughters [oral tradition] and the actual work was penned by those who heard it. Jesus himself used this method- he never wrote a book- or letter in the New Testament- yet the gospels were compiled by his men after his death. We read about this when Luke [who I mentioned above] gives the reason for his documenting stuff in the book of Acts [read Acts chapter one]. Luke also wrote his gospel a few years after the death and resurrection of Christ. So- some believe the same thing happened with Homer- those who heard him tell the story multiple times- simply put it together later on. Most scholars believe that Homer did indeed write the poems- and that the famous Trojan War was a real historical event. See the rest here- https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-12-17-acts-1.zip Last year- when in North Bergen- my atheist friend Daniel said he watched a PBS show- and he said ‘even a priest said the bible was Myth’. I explained to Daniel that when the more liberal scholars use this term [like in the writings of Bultman] that they do not mean ‘fake’- like Greek Mythology. But they mean that some of the stories in the gospels might be a compilation of the many Oral teachings of Jesus- and they were put together as one story [some think the Sermon on the Mount was actually multiple teachings Jesus did- and they were compiled into one event]. Now- when I explained this to Daniel- he said ‘see- even you believe it was Myth’. I told Daniel that no- I do not hold to this theory [not 100%] but that I was simply telling him that even those who use the term Myth- when talking about Theology- they do not mean Myth- as in fake. So- I find it interesting that both the New testament- and Homers poems- got the same scrutiny. In these poems we do indeed see the condition of man- which Homer depicts as one of constant war- not peace. The letter of James in the New Testament says- James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it [parts] 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 Talked about Renaissance- below are past posts on it- [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. 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. www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com Note- 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. Thanks- John (1327) GALATIANS; INTRO- Okay, finally made it, been wanting to teach this letter for a while. Let me overview some church history that I feel would be helpful in understanding the book. During the 16th century Reformation you had an explosion take place within Christianity, though the official ‘schism’ dates back to the year 1054 between the western [Catholic] and eastern [Orthodox] expressions of the church, yet in reality it was the 16th century upheaval that really split the church. A few centuries before [14-15th century] you had rumblings within the church that had well taught Catholic men challenging many of the institutional concepts of the church; men like John Huss, Wycliffe and others. These men were extremely influential and had an effect on the church. Then in the 16th century you had Catholic writers who remained within the Catholic Church, but they too challenged the status quoi. Men like Erasmus of Rotterdam, these intellectuals would call for the idea of going back to the original sources of study [Greek New Testament and also other renaissance ideas] and this too would lead to the historic Reformation. But without a doubt Martin Luther [the Catholic monk out of Wittenberg, Germany] would be the firebrand of the movement. Martin was a well trained Augustinian monk who struggled with the guilt of sin for many years. Not normal guilt, but extreme. A fellow Catholic leader would encourage Luther to trust in the grace of God for his forgiveness. While reading the book of Romans [whose themes relate strongly to Galatians] he would come along the famous passage ‘the just shall live by faith’ and in Luther’s mind this was a total release from the bondage of trying to appease God thru all the religious works that he was going thru. In essence Luther discovered the historic gospel of grace thru the reading of Romans and was set free. Now Luther had no intention of leaving the Catholic Church, but as a very influential teacher/scholar out of the university city in Germany, he had lots of influence. The Catholic church at the time was worldwide and you had differing views of the church in various states. Many saw the state of the church in Rome as having given in to materialism and become too worldly. Rome was at the time trying to raise money for the restoring of the religious buildings at Rome and one of the priests going around selling indulgences was named Tetzel. The abuse of selling these ‘get out of purgatory early’ things was offensive to many Catholics, and Luther had ‘no small stir’ when Tetzel reached his area. These things would lead to the famous nailing of the 95 questions on the door of Catholic academia and would be the beginnings of the historic split. While it would take way too much time to go into all the theological differences between the Protestants and the Catholics, one of the main issues deals with how we as Christians view ‘being saved’. The historic Protestant position is called ‘justification by faith alone’ [Sola Fide] the Catholics counter with ‘the only time ‘faith alone’ is mentioned is in the book of James, where it says a man is not saved/justified by ‘faith alone’. Ouch! The main point I want to make is this letter deals with the early church’s belief that man is accepted with God based on the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Paul will challenge the ‘Judaisers’ [those who believed you needed to keep the law in order to be saved] and will argue that the law itself [Old Testament books] teaches that men are justified/accepted with God based on believing in the free gift of God thru Christ. Make no mistake about it, the New Testament clearly teaches this doctrine. Catholic and Protestant theologians BOTH agree that man is freely saved by the grace of God in Christ. But at the time of Luther’s day these glorious truths were lost in the morass of religious tradition and works. As we read thru this letter in the next few days, I want all of our readers to see the argument Paul is making from this basic theological view point. Is man saved by works [keeping Gods law] or grace? The bible teaches grace. Now I don’t have the time to also introduce the modern controversy between the ‘new view’ of Paul between Protestants [called new perspective]. There is an ongoing debate over whether or not the historic Reformation view of Paul is correct [men like N.T. Wright and John Piper are hashing it out] and I do think there are some merits to this discussion, but before we can delve into that aspect, we first need to see the historic question of works versus faith, and this letter is one of the best to deal with the issue. 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] And here’s some past teaching where I mentioned the Septuagint- Because our bibles were written in Greek [which shows you how strong the Greek influence effected the early church- our first New Testaments were written in Greek- though the Roman Empire was the world Empire of the day. But Alexander the Great- the famed Greek conqueror who came a few centuries before Christ- he instituted what we refer to as Helenization. A form of conquering where you let the people you conquer keep their culture- but you also use parts of your culture [in this case the Greek language] to permeate the vanquished. So- the Roman Empire of Jesus day [who at one time were under the rule of the Greek Empire] continued to write in Greek. It wasn’t until around a few centuries after the time of Christ that the first Latin bible was written [by Saint Jerome]. But even his bible [the Latin Vulgate] used the Greek Old Testament [called the Septuagint] instead of the Hebrew- for his Latin translation. Ok- the point being- the Greek world did indeed have a strong influence on the early church. And the church had to refute the belief that all matter was evil. The Christian doctrine of creation [developed under saint Augustine- the 4th-5th century bishop of Hippo- North Africa]. Was the teaching that matter was good- that God created the material realm- so it is not inherently evil. But- after the fall of man [Genesis 1-3] a curse did indeed come upon the earth [some times when the bible says ‘the world’ it is speaking of the earth- but other times it is speaking of the fallen order- the sinful realm of man. That’s why there is some confusion- till this day- among Christians. They might read verses like this- and think the bible is saying the earth itself- the planet- is wicked. Actually in those verses it is speaking about the fallen order of sinful men. See? ‘For all that is in THE WORLD- the lust of the flesh- the lust of the eyes and the pride of life- is not of the father- but is of the WORLD- and the WORLD is passing away’- this is one example from the epistle of John- here the World is not saying the planet- but the world of sinful man- a fallen ‘world’ order.] So- in conclusion [if I ever get there!] we- as believers- reject the belief that all matter is evil. No- man was created in the image of God- and God is the creator of all things- both visible [earth- man- etc] and invisible [mentioned in the above chapter]. The evil we see in the ‘world’ today is simply a result of mans sin- mans choice to live in rebellion against God. We can’t escape ‘this world of sin’ by simply denying ourselves [though that is one aspect of the Christian life]. But God sent his Son into the world to redeem man- Christ died for all men- and this is the Divine act of Salvation. When we as humans partake of this Salvation- we are then free- free to enjoy this life- that God gave us- and we don’t have to have the mindset of a Socrates- who saw this natural life as evil. The apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans; ‘Present your bodies as a living sacrifice- HOLY and acceptable to God’. See? Our bodies- the actual flesh we live in- can be Holy- sanctified- when submitted to the will of God. This is from my Romans teaching I did a few years ago- ROMANS 11-13 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/3-12-15-romans-11-13.zip [note- there’s much more on the video than the post] .ROMANS 11 .ROMANS 12 .ROMANS 13 [parts] St. Thomas and Augustine. I mean these are 2 of my favorite Catholic scholars. Augustine- the 4/5th century Bishop of North Africa- and Thomas- the great 13th century Doctor Angelicas [Angelic Doctor]. Yes- these are some big players in Theology and Philosophy. So why have the media reported that the pres used them in his war strategy? They are also famous for the development of the Just war Theory. Yeah- people for centuries have appealed to these great thinkers in their justification for war. But Obama- how does he find the time to read these guys? I mean- unless their names are on the golf balls [he just played his 100th round!] I don’t see him having time to read them. So why mention it? Because he fumbled the ball with our Catholic friends [who just began a 2 week prayer and fast against the repression of religious liberty- because of the presidents demands that they provide birth control thru their institutions]. And he needs to make amends- so lo and behold- he loves reading the Catholic scholars! If you put all this together- the ongoing scandals- not just one. The actual lies- the ones they have been caught in- on paper. I mean even a mainline reporter could not believe that the revealing of this was ‘no big deal’. And now- the fact that the pres came out the other day and addressed the nation ‘me and my Whitehouse have not released any CLASSIFIED information’. ‘It’s an insult to think this’. Then- one week later- on Friday- they sent a letter to congress- declassifying the drone war in Yemen. They were basically saying ‘yeah- we were behind the releasing of all the info- it’s just we ‘declassified it’ first’. He is going to say when he released the info- his office first ‘declassified it’. But when he addressed you- and me- he was outraged- he made it sound like he was not aware of the leaks. And 99 % of the public took it this way. Look- when you get caught doing this- over and over and over- I mean this is not a one time affair. Then it does make the public wonder about everything else. And when the public asks for answers- and you respond by playing the race card- then it’s time for some people to resign. [parts] AN UNJUST LAW https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/4-20-16-an-unjust-law-is-no-law-at-all.zip https://youtu.be/oQMmaWERTYk An unjust law is no law at all [parts] ACTS 17- Paul heads to Thessalonica and preaches 3 Sabbath days in the synagogue. Once again the unbelieving Jews follow him and stir up trouble. Paul heads to Berea and speaks the word. The Bereans are said to be more noble because they heard Paul out and then searched the scriptures to see if he were telling the truth. The message he preached is that Jesus is the Messiah that the Old Testament prophets spoke of. In 1st John, John says ‘whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God’ Paul was showing them that Jesus was the Christ. Again trouble arises and Paul sails off to Athens and sends for Timothy and Silas later on. Now, Paul spent 3 weeks at Thessalonica. No huge budget, no message on ‘how can we reach Thessalonica without lots of money’ [I have heard it taught that you cant even begin to think about planting a church unless you have $250,000 dollars!] Paul believed in the power of the gospel. It took 3 weeks of simply sharing the gospel to plant this church! He will write them a few letters and give them some instruction, but the simple truth is every believer has the ability to ‘plant churches’ [speaking the gospel to people groups and those people believing and becoming ‘the church’]. At Athens Paul is troubled by all the ‘superstition’ [religion]. He runs into the philosophers. It said the people there spent all their time in either telling or hearing some new thing. An ancient form of ‘the view’ [the television show where the ladies talk about nothing all day long!] So Paul disputes with them and uses their own altar to ‘the unknown God’ and declares Christ unto them. Recently a Catholic priest made headlines because he advocated for Christians to use the name Allah instead of God. He felt the name was referring to the same God. Does Paul’s use of the ‘unknown God altar’ fall into this category? No. When any religion names their god and defines him, then this god is a false god [unless your speaking of the true God]. So in this case Paul was simply saying ‘this altar to the God you don’t know, I will show you how to come to know him’. Now, why were these philosophers in Athens? A few centuries before Christ you had the rule of Alexander the great. The Old Testament prophet Daniel speaks in detail of his rule. Alexander ruled one of the greatest empires known to man. He established the greatest library of the ancient world. He made Greek the common language. This is why the New Testament was written in Greek. Though Rome was the ruling empire of Jesus day, the culture was still Greek to a degree. This is called ‘Hellenization’. The Greeks even translated the Old Testament into Greek before the days of Christ. This translation is called the Septuagint, which means 70. This comes from the supposed number of scholars who worked on the translation. This period just prior to Christ was the time of the great philosophers. Plato, Aristotle and others. These Philosophers laid down a foundation of sorts for morality and the cultures that would develop down the road. The church fathers disagreed somewhat to the degree of mixing Christian faith with the thought of the pre Christian philosophers. Origen thought these men were Christian to the degree that God used them to instill types of thought and belief in the immortality of the soul and other concepts as a precursor to Christ. Others thought they were competing worldviews for the religion of Christianity and should be rejected. Paul himself will write the Colossians and warn them of the philosophies of men. Many thinkers were affected by the ‘new age’ concepts that came from these groups. Augustine, the great 4th-5th century Bishop from North Africa was into Manichaeism prior to his conversion to Christianity. He eventually would sit under the sound teaching of Ambrose and leave his former ideas. These groups had strange beliefs and concepts that would sound like the scientology adherents of our day. Others were not as drastic but would still be seen as on the verge of Christian truth. Marcion was sort of in this class. The point is Paul will take advantage of the philosopher’s willingness to delve into all types of ideas, and use this as an open door to preach Christ. Some breakaway groups from the more Orthodox churches will claim that the Catholic churches belief in the immortality of the soul is not scriptural. These groups teach that the ancient church picked these beliefs up from the philosophers of the day [some of the seventh day brothers say this]. You also find some Protestant brothers challenge the authenticity of various bible translations based on the Septuagint translation from ancient Greece. The church father Jerome will use the Septuagint in his popular translation of the Latin Vulgate. Some Protestants see Jerome’s version as less than pure. This is also why the Catholic bibles have the Apocrypha in them [The books between Malachi and Matthew that the Protestant bibles don’t have]. When Jerome translated his vulgate, he brought these books over from the Septuagint version. Jerome did put an asterisk next to the apocryphal books, he noted they were included from the Septuagint, but were not seen as authoritative. Simply added for historical content]. So we see the tremendous influence that Greek culture and philosophy played in the early stages of the church. Paul knew their thought, but his gospel was founded on more than some new belief system. Paul claimed that Jesus had been raised from the dead! And below are past teachings where I talked about the Gutenberg printing press- also mentioned on today’s post- Kings 16- 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 .Gutenberg 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] ACTS 9- Paul gets permission from the high priest to go to Damascus and arrest the believers. On his way the Lord appears to him and Paul is told to go to Damascus and wait for instructions. He is blind for 3 days. God gives a vision to Ananias and tells him to go to Paul in Judas house, because he too had a vision of a man coming to him and laying hands on him. Ananias is afraid but does it at the Lords insistence. I want you to see the role of visions and divine guidance in this event. The purpose of the visions and supernatural events has nothing to do with the canon of scripture. Some teach that the only reason you had supernatural guidance in the early days was because the canon was not complete. But after its completion you no longer had these types of things. First, no where is this doctrine taught in scripture. Second, you did not have total agreement on ‘the canon’ [all the books that make up our bibles] until the 4th century! Now you did have a basic group of letters and writings that were accepted as authoritative, but there was not total agreement. Many early believers had the epistles of Barnabas and a few other letters that were accepted. Some did not include Revelation at all. Others questioned Hebrews and James. You also did not have a workable, readable ‘bible’ in actual book form until the 12th-13th century! That's right, the actual form of our modern books was not invented until that late date. Plus the availability of books on a mass scale did not appear until the Gutenberg printing press of the 16th century. Just in time for Luther’s Reformation! The first book printed on his press was the Gutenberg bible. So the point is, the idea that somehow right after the early Apostles died off you had all believers going to ‘their bibles for direction’ as opposed to having dreams or visions or other divine guidance, really isn’t a workable solution. In this chapter God needed to get orders to his people, he gave them visions! Now Paul immediately preaches Christ as the Son of God and Messiah. He stirs up the waters and they sneak him out of town and send him to Jerusalem. The church at Jerusalem are leery of him, Barnabas vouches for him and he is received. He starts preaching there and once again they want to kill him. He eventually is sent back to his area of Tarsus. Now Peter is still on the road preaching Christ. He heals a man at Lydda and many come to the Lord. A woman named Tabitha dies at Joppa, a town close to Lydda. They call for Peter to come and he does and raises her from the dead. What are we seeing here? An early church [community of believers] preaching the gospel and doing miracles and affecting large regions without lots of money. Without hardly any organization. Without setting up ‘local churches’ in the sense that each area has separate ‘places’ they see as ‘local churches’ with salaried pastors running the ‘churches’. You are seeing a radical movement of Christ followers who are sacrificially giving there lives away for the gospel. No prayer meetings on ‘how in the world are we going to reach the region for the Lord. We need tons of cash’! They believed the simple instructions Jesus gave to them on going into all the world and preaching the gospel. Sure there will be times where support is sent to help them make it to the next location. But the whole concept of needing tons of cash and to build huge ‘church buildings/organizations’ and to set up salaried ministers is not seen in this story. I do not think the development of these things over the centuries means ‘all the churches are deceived’ type of a thing. All ‘the churches’ [groups of believers who are presently identifying themselves this way] are great people of God. They are doing the works of Jesus and functioning to a degree in the paradigm that they were given [either thru their upbringing or training]. But today we are seeing a rethinking of the ‘wineskin’ [that which contains the new wine] on a mass scale. As we read this story in Acts I want to challenge your mindset. Don’t fit the story into your present understanding of ‘local church’. But let your understanding of ‘Local Church’ be formed thru scripture. This chapter said ‘the churches had rest and were edified and were walking in the fear of the Lord’. The ‘churches’ are defined as all the communities of believers living in these various locations! Let’s cover a little more doctrinal stuff- and if I get a chance I’ll do some practical stuff too. Okay- in the last post I covered some historical stuff about the bible- I mentioned how Catholics have 15 more books in their bibles than Protestants. Why did this happen- or how? Okay- this might get a little technical, but those of you who have been reading my posts this past month will remember that I covered some ‘Intertestamental’ history- which means the years between the last book of the Protestant bible [Malachi] and the first New Testament book- Matthew. These years are actually covered historically in the Apocrypha- during this time we also had a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. Remember how I spoke about Hellenization- which was the attempt by Alexander the Great to introduce one Greek language and culture into all the conquered territories. Well one of the things the Greeks did was had the Jewish bible [our Old Testament] translated from Hebrew into Greek. This version is called the Septuagint- which gets its name from the so called number of scholars who translated it- it means 70. Okay- this version was also popular in the early church- why? The early believers did read Greek- Greek was the common language of the first few centuries- when the church was born. [thus our New Testament is in Greek- originally] Now- the early Christians had sort of a common consensus on what made up ‘the bible’. They accepted the Old Testament books- because these books were recognized by the Jews as being Canonical [which means inspired by God]. But what about the N.T.? Like I said in the last post- the early church had a collection of writings that they used/understood to be ‘from God’. That is they had the acceptance- generally- from the Christian community. But they did not have ‘a bible’ like we have today- that is everyone walking around with a bible in book form [called codex in those days- an early book] they all did not own copies of the bible. Remember- publishing as we know it today- didn’t arrive on the scene until right around the turn of the 16th century with the Gutenberg printing press. So any copies of books- or any efforts to put a bible together- well it would make sense to maybe include some history books along with it. And this is also why some of the early letters seem to have ‘copied’ parts of other letters in them [Jude and 2nd Peter] not because they were plagiarized- but because books were not easily purchased- and it was acceptable- for standards of the day- to include some material from another writers pen [with his permission] in your own letter. Okay- now when the early believers decided it was time to actually say ‘these books are in- these are not’. They had general agreement on what was in- with a few exceptions. Some early believers had the Letter of Barnabus in their bibles- others did not have Revelation. Some believers haggled over 2nd Peter [because of what I mentioned above] and others wanted a few more books in. But the basic corpus of our N.T. was accepted by the church at large. Now- after a few centuries the church felt it important to put her stamp of approval on the books. And the early church had a council or 2 and finally agreed on what we have today. One of the early Popes asked a church father- named Jerome- to make a Latin translation of the bible. Jerome included the Old Testament and the N.T. - and he also included the 15 books of the Apocrypha. Why? Jerome’s bible- called the Vulgate- was translated from the early Greek Old Testament- the Septuagint. Now- the Septuagint is/was a good scholarly work- but the original Old Testament was in Hebrew- not Greek. The Septuagint did have the Apocrypha in it. And the inclusion of the Apocrypha was a utilitarian thing to do- if you could get these historical books in the bible- then good- you don’t have to have early believers trying to get hold of a separate history book that would fill in the blanks- remember- books were hard to come by. Okay- Catholics and Protestants have argued over whether these extra books should be in. Protestants [and some Catholics] argue that the Old Testament books are called ‘the Law and the Prophets’ these books are quoted hundreds of times in the N.T. - even by Jesus. Yet there are no quotes from the Apocrypha. This side argues that the Jewish people did not believe these books to be inspired- and that the N.T. itself does not put the same weight on these books as they do with the Old Testament. The Catholic scholars argue that there are a few allusions to the Apocrypha in the N.T. [there are a couple- can go either way in my view] and they do make the point that all the bibles did have these books in them right up until the Protestant Reformation [remember- the Latin Vulgate did have the Apocrypha- though Jerome did say in the notes that the Jewish people did not recognize them on an equal plain with the ‘Law and the Prophets’- the Old Testament]. Okay- then during the 16th century Protestant Reformation- at one point in the debates the Catholic scholars argued with Luther- and they did quote from the Apocrypha to prove some doctrinal points. Luther and the other Reformers challenged the canonicity of the books- and with the plethora of English versions of the bible being printed for the first time in centuries- the Protestants did not include these books in their versions. The Catholics stuck with the books. Okay- do debates like this mean we can’t agree on the actual message of Christ? No. There is really no problem in reading the Apocrypha- even if you’re a Protestant. We [Protestants] don’t accept them as ‘canon’ yet as readers of history- we should be able to read them. And even if our Catholic brothers and sisters do accept them- there are really no major doctrinal departures from the rest of the bible. To be honest- there are a few references that Protestants do have problems with- but overall they don’t undermine the main message of the N.T. And just a point of interest- the first 2 books [1st, 2nd Esdras] have been challenged- even by Catholic scholars- as not being part of the bible. Yet in 2nd Esdras we find a reference to Christ that does seem to be prophetic. It speaks of a king entering Jerusalem and he is standing in the middle of the people- handing out Palms. This depicts the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem- which is in the gospels [Palm Sunday]. So it is interesting that this reference might actually be prophetic in nature. Okay- got into the weeds somewhat- but wanted to show you guys that all Christians agree on the main points- and just because there are things we disagree on- yet the message of the Cross doesn’t change. Bishop Fulton Sheen used to say ‘we might not all be able to sit in the same pew- but we can all meet on our knees under the shadow of the foot of the Cross’ Amen. www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [1708] OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE Let’s cover some biblical history- that is the making of the bible itself. A few days ago I did a post on Jesus as the fulfillment of the promises of God made to natural Israel. The post showed how the early Jewish people saw Jesus as their Messiah- the promised one that they were always looking for. The earliest mention of the promise goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. God tells Eve that her child shall bruise the serpent’s head- and the serpent [actually the ‘seed’ or child] will bruise his heel. There have been works of art [statues/paintings] depicting this scene for centuries. It was fulfilled at the Cross. So we have the 4 gospel accounts- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John- and these accounts give us the history of Jesus- his miracles and teachings- and they show us the fulfillment of God’s promise- made centuries before- that he would send them their Messiah. Out of the 4 gospels- only one- John- has a different outline. The first 3- we call them Synoptic gospels. They follow the same basic structure- Johns stands alone. John’s gospel contains no teachings about the end times- like the others. John doesn’t mention the parables- or the Sermon on the Mount. John’s gospel focuses more on the last week of the life of Christ- while the others cover the 3 years of Jesus earthly ministry [none cover the early years of Jesus- except for the account of Jesus being left behind at the temple when he was 12 years old]. The whole bible [Old and New testaments] have 66 books- 39 Old- 27 new. Only 3 original apostles actually wrote parts of the N.T. Matthew, John and Peter. Out of these 3- John wrote the most. He has his gospel- the three epistles [1st,2nd and 3rd John] and the book of Revelation. The majority of the N.T. is made up of the collection of the apostle Paul’s letters. Paul is without a doubt the most influential person in the N.T.- besides Christ. We also have the historical account of the early church- called The Acts of the Apostles- written by the same Luke that wrote the gospel. Luke was a doctor- and an historian. Then you have what’s called the General epistles- the kind of stand alone letters- Peters 2 letters, Jude, a few more like that. And the New Testament closes with the apocalyptic book [prophecy] of Revelation- written by John [most think the apostle- some think another John- called ‘John of Patmos’] Okay- one of the major themes of the N.T. is what we hit on the other day- a teaching called Justification by Faith. This is the main thrust of Paul’s doctrinal epistles [Romans, Galatians] and becomes a point of contention in the early church. The teaching is simple- it means the N.T. is a covenant- made by God with man [and with Jesus] that says God will give eternal life to all those who accept the death and resurrection of Jesus. That Jesus died for the sins of man- and because you believe in this free gift- your are/will be saved. Now- the bible obviously says a lot more than this- but this doctrine becomes one of the main ones because this is the controversy that the apostle Paul dealt with for most of his ministry years. I mentioned this the other day in a previous post. Paul also has 3 epistles [letters] that are called The Pastoral epistles- these are 1st, 2nd Timothy and Titus. These are called Pastorals because these young men were protégés of Paul- he trained them up as local leaders who he could recommend to the early believers as trustworthy leaders- after he would leave a community. These men did not function like what we usually call Pastors in our day- that is sort of a speaker preaching every Sunday at the ‘Main church’ building- but they were spiritual overseers- they led the flock in a way that if problems arose- these men could be looked to as honest guides. Remember- in the 1st century- you did not have means of communication like we have today- so if Paul left a community [which is what the word church means in the bible- Greek- Ecclesia]. And if a problem rose up- like those who were coming in and saying the Gentiles had to become circumcised and keep the law- then the believers could look to the men Paul left his stamp of approval on. Paul would of course correspond with these early communities- thus the letters- but until the letters arrived- the ‘Timothy’s’ would do. Okay- the last book of the bible- Revelation- has gotten a lot of use- often too much- in the sense that we- especially lone wolf Protestant groups- have really done loops with the book. Overall- the theme is about Christ [Lamb of God] being the central focus of this new kingdom of Priests and Kings [us] and even though there will be tough times [lots of the images of tests and trials] yet at the end of the day- we are ‘married’ to this Lamb [Jesus is called the groom in scripture- and the church is called the bride. God restores in the last book of the bible- what was lost in the first book- relationship- pictured as marriage] and we all live in a new heaven and new earth- and the story ends well. Okay- just a few more points. The main message of the bible is that God made man [Genesis] he wanted man to be in communion [friendship] with him. Man sinned and this began the long process of God making promises to man [through/to the nation of Israel- and eventually it would extend to all men- thus the apostle Paul working with the Gentiles] that he would save man thru the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All people who simply accept this benefit- they will be children of God. The focus should not be on anti Christ- or when the end of the world will happen- or on any other of a host of teachings that the church likes to dwell on- but the focus is God loving man so much- that he sent his Son to die for man- and we can be saved thru him. Over the coming weeks I hope to do a little more on the development of the bible- why do protestants have 66 books- and Catholics have an extra 15? I’ll cover it fairly- giving the Catholic view as well as the Protestant one- and promise not to push only one view. But things like this are real questions that honest people have- and I want to help people get a better hold on the thing. Okay- try and read some of the N.T. these next few days- overview some of the letters I mentioned- maybe read John’s gospel- Romans. I would wait on Revelation for now- I hope to give some hints that will make it easier to understand- so after I cover that a little more- then that would be a good one to read too. And as you read Johns gospel- notice how many times the word Believe appears- being connected with those who believe have eternal life. That’s one of the strongest promises in the bible- and its Jesus doing the talking! So maybe memorize a few of them- like the famous John 3:16 verse- those types of verses last a lifetime- and longer. www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com VERSES- John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 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: 1Kings 16:1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, 1Kings 16:2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; 1Kings 16:3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 1Kings 16:4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. 1Kings 16:5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 1Kings 16:6 So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead. 1Kings 16:7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him. 1Kings 16:8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. 1Kings 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. 1Kings 16:10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. 1Kings 16:11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. 1Kings 16:12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet. 1Kings 16:13 For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. 1Kings 16:14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 1Kings 16:15 In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 1Kings 16:16 And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. 1Kings 16:17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 1Kings 16:18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died. 1Kings 16:19 For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. 1Kings 16:20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 1Kings 16:21 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. 1Kings 16:22 But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned. 1Kings 16:23 In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. 1Kings 16:24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. 1Kings 16:25 But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. 1Kings 16:26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. 1Kings 16:27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 1Kings 16:28 So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. 1Kings 16:29 And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. 1Kings 16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. 1Kings 16:31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. 1Kings 16:32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 1Kings 16:33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. 1Kings 16:34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. Joshua 6:2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. Joshua 6:3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. Joshua 6:4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. Joshua 6:5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. Joshua 6:6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD. Joshua 6:7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD. Joshua 6:8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. Joshua 6:9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. Joshua 6:10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. Joshua 6:Joshua 11: So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. Joshua 6:12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. Joshua 6:13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. Joshua 6:14 And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. Joshua 6:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. Joshua 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. Joshua 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. Joshua 6:18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. Joshua 6:19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. Joshua 6:20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. Joshua 6:22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. Joshua 6:23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. Joshua 6:24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. Joshua 6:25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. Joshua 6:27 So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country. 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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- Thanks- John. Sunday sermon 12-17-17
Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Sunday Sermon- 12-17-17- https://vimeo.com/248644094 https://youtu.be/Wv7j9rIXdf8 Below are simply me testing video links to new sites- I needed a place to link them- http://dai.ly/x6c3r2z Sunday sermon http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/110923705 https://flic.kr/p/21rXbC4 http://dai.ly/x6c4qc2 Ephesians 2 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/111007449 Mark 9 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/shares/C21w3f Dallas http://dai.ly/x6c6ur7 Galatians 3 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6c3sz0 http://dai.ly/x6c3sz0 Candle Stick [both above links should be the same- I’m testing] Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations ON VIDEO- [Went to Rock City church this Sunday and spoke on the verses that Pastor David preached on- Have a great Christmas day!] .Frankie and the cigarette .Tina’s Cross- the story .She came back from the dead .Gave me the Cross .And went back .Just Bee .Jesus at 12 .The scholars were amazed at his questions .They saw him again one day- when he flipped the tables of the money changers at the temple .Did they remember it was the same boy about 18 years earlier? .The Purse story- where did it come from? .NYC Port Authority .You cannot serve God and Money- Jesus Christ said this .The Corpus Christi Earthquake http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/12/16/rare-small-earthquake-reported-off-padre-island/958776001/ New- This day I attended Rock City Church- and spoke on some of the verses Pastor David taught on- I also shared some recent experiences that I wanted to talk about. The verse that came to my mind earlier in the day was from Isaiah Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations As we celebrate the birth of Christ during this season- I simply meditated on the price that Jesus paid- I thought of his miraculous birth- the signs surrounding his life- how his mother ‘pondered’ these strange events as he grew to adulthood- And then the 3 years of ministry that he embarked upon after his baptism by John. How he truly fulfilled the prophecies about him- even the ones that spoke of his rejection from others- 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. Some in his day even thought he was mentally unstable- 20Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21When his familyb heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3 And even his closets friends doubted him at times- 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? Then came the day he was born for- the day that had to be- in order for the promise to come to pass- This promise- Luke 2:14 [Full Chapter] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. This peace came at a price- a heavy one indeed- 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. The price for the peace- was paid for by the suffering of the Son- A real suffering- a real rejection from his father when he hung on the Cross for our sins- Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations His willing obedience to be bruised for us- pleased God- 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. At this season we rejoice in the good news that we can now have peace because Jesus was born- But it was in his obedience to a cruel death that accomplished the mission- Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. This great peace- came at a heavy cost indeed- he himself is that peace- Ephesians 2:14King James Version (KJV)14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Amen PAST POSTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/13/ephesians-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ John 12POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ AUGUST 13, 2016 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT JOHN 12- Psalm 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. https://youtu.be/iImxoD3cRfQ Update [Heb. 7] https://youtu.be/Kr88cCjY-Hc John 12 [Heb.6] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/8-11-16-john-12-heb-6.zip ONVIDEO [update- Heb. 7] .Clinton pay for play .Assange- Snowden- NSA .Feds report on Baltimore cops .Sandra Bland cops admitted they did not check on her- she hung herself. .They admitted they faked the police reports .They both got hired at another police dept. – no penalty at all .Samuel 15- and Hebrews 7 .Turkey- NATO. .The U.S. will soon pull out of Syria- Turkey believes we were behind the coup- why? .Correction on Trump statement .Taliban resurgence ON VIDEO [John 12- Heb. 6] .Process precedes promotion .New Testament in context .He didn’t care for the poor .Let’s kill him too! .Crucifixion is glory .How to fulfill your calling .Rain maker .It’s not a crack pipe NEW STUFF- [my links- verses below] In the last chapter Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Now he goes to have a meal with the family. The bible says Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus. I read a psalm the other day [81] and it reminded me of us being at ‘the table’ with Jesus Psalm 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. Now- as they sit and eat- Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus- it fills the house with the sweet smell. One of the disciples says ‘hey- what a waste- we could have sold it and used it for the poor’. Jesus rebukes him ‘you always have the poor with you- but I will not be here too much longer’. John 12:4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, John 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? John 12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Jesus said this to Judas- because he held the money ‘for the poor’ and was stealing it- for his own use. Yet- I find it interesting- Jesus did not expose him. He simply said it in a way that would let Judas know- that he knew. Jesus then enters into a great trial- he says things like ‘should I ask God to save me from this hour- no- this is the whole reason I am here’. He’s preparing for the Cross- and it will entail him being separated from God- in a way that he never experienced before. Jesus was always with the Father- from all eternity. For him to be forsaken of God for our sins- was an experience that he never knew before. 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. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2nd Cor. And that was the test- he was not afraid to die- but he would have the wrath of God come on him as he hung on the Cross. He would experience the price for the sins of the world. And yet- even though this was his Divine destiny- the struggle was there. Often times in our lives- we ask for God to use us- we want to fulfill our mission. But then the day of the Cross appears- the things that are often hard to carry. Jesus warned us to ‘hate our life’ in this world- to be ready to enter into to the true purpose of the Father- and at that point- to embrace the Cross. John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Because it will be thru that actual experience- that God’s purpose will come forth. He tells his men ‘walk while you have the light- because when darkness comes- no man can walk then’. God gives us ‘light’ he opens doors of opportunity thru out our journey- and it’s at those moments that you must embrace them. As I have been teaching on the book of Samuel- the big rebuke that Saul often gets is ‘you are not obeying God’s voice’. We read the same in the book of Hebrews ‘if you hear his voice this day- then you must believe’. Saul- like many of us- was willing to engage in religious ritual [I saved the sheep- because I thought we could use them for the religious ritual]. Yet God wants obedience- to listen to him when he speaks- more than us just doing ‘ministry’. So Jesus tells us- walk while you have that light- that Divine direction. John 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. John 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. Because if you miss the door- the ‘window of opportunity’ it might be a very long time- if ever- when you get another chance to ‘just do it’. At the end of the chapter Jesus says he spoke only the things that the Father showed to him. John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. John 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. He exemplified what he just taught. The importance of hearing God- and acting daily on that. In the Lord’s prayer- he taught us how to ask for daily bread. How the important thing is to act in obedience on a daily basis- when we hear his voice ‘today’ we must not harden our heart. We must not think ‘well- today God has told me to do this- or to avoid this’. But I will be doing ‘ministry’ tomorrow- and I think I will do ‘my thing’ today. No- that’s the trap. Saul thought he would save the sheep- and use them for an offering to God. But God told Saul to destroy- everything. The prophet Samuel rebuked him ‘to obey is better than sacrifice’. 1Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Jesus was telling us the same thing. MY LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/1st-2nd-samuel/ [Old commentary I wrote years ago] VIDEO/POST LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/24/every-cop-a-criminal/ [1-2 Samuel] https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/when-the-saints-go-marching-in-sam-3-john-2-4/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/29/just-a-box-samuel-4/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/03/would-you-be-isis/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/07/samuel-5-6/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/samuel-7-8/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/samuel-9/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/23/samuel-10/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/the-chapel/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/samuel-11-kings-n-priests/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/02/samuel-12-13/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/samuel-14/ https://youtu.be/iImxoD3cRfQ Samuel preview 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/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/john-6/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/john-7/ https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/8-10-15-john-14.zip https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/john-8/ https://youtu.be/f8VpxlYM_kU John 8- ‘who the Son sets free’ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/john-9/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/john-10/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/john-11-the-8th-sign/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/i-found-a-verse/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/christian-recovery-from-addiction-long-version/ VERSES- Psalm 81:1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Psalm 81:2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Psalm 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. Psalm 81:4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. Psalm 81:5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. 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. John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. John 12:2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. John 12:3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. John 12:4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, John 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? John 12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. John 12:7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. John 12:8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. John 12:9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. John 12:10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; John 12:11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. John 12:12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, John 12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. John 12:14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, John 12:15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. John 12:16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. John 12:17 The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. John 12:18 For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. John 12:19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. John 12:20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: John 12:21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. John 12:22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. John 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. John 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. John 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. John 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die. John 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? John 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. John 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. John 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: John 12:38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? John 12:39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. John 12:41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. John 12:42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: John 12:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. John 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. John 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. John 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. 1Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 1Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 1Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 1Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 1Corinthians 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 1Corinthians 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 1Corinthians 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 1Corinthians 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 1Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 1Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 1Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com facebook.com/john.chiarello.5 https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg (565) John 3[radio # 586]- Nicodemus comes secretly to Jesus, he is one of the few in leadership that is having doubts. The others with one voice reject Jesus, Nicodemus is wondering. Jesus rebukes him for being a ‘ruler’ of the Jews and not being able to comprehend the most basic stuff. I have found it disheartening over the years to talk with Pastors who heard someone teach that because Jesus had an expensive coat, that he must have been rich. Despite all the evidence in the New Testament how Jesus was the son of a carpenter and lived an average life. The tons of verses where Jesus is reproving rich people. The whole historical and biblical truth of Jesus being a man of humble means. The fact that he had an expensive coat can more than likely be explained by the custom of people doing extravagant acts of worship towards him. The woman and the expensive perfume poured on him. Things like this. Someone probably gave him the coat. But for Pastors, who are good men, to fall for this stuff was unbelievable. Sort of like Jesus telling Nicodemus ‘you are a leader and can’t discern the most basic stuff’! Jesus teaches the reality of the new birth. All people must be born of God thru belief in Jesus, or they will not be saved. We must stand strong for Jesus as the only way to God. John the Baptist will be told that all men are going to Jesus. John says ‘great, he must increase and I must decrease’ John understood that the role of leadership [prophets] was to point to the fame and persona of Jesus. Not to go down the common road of pointing people towards us. In modern ministry we draw people to our gifts and abilities. We structure modern churches around the gift of the Pastor. We allow leadership to become preeminent in our minds and thoughts. John knew better. We also see that the wrath of God abides on all who do not believe in Jesus. If you believe in Jesus you escape Gods wrath. It can’t touch you. Whether you are in heaven or earth, or like David said ‘in hell you are there’. That is you can’t escape Gods presence anywhere. So if you are in Christ, wrath can’t get you. If you are not in Christ, it continually abides on you. You do not escape wrath by leaving the planet during the tribulation. If an unbeliever was on a rocket ship right before the tribulation started, and wound up on the moon during the 7 years of wrath, he wouldn’t escape Gods wrath. You don’t escape judgment by being in the right geographical location, you escape it by being IN HIM! John also says a man can receive nothing unless it is given to him. Why be jealous if all of our gifts and abilities are free gifts? We act like we earned them! John says no man receives his testimony, then he says ‘to those who have received it’. What’s this mean? Paul told the Corinthians that we have received the Spirit of God so we might know the things that are freely given to us from God. God gives us his Spirit first, so we can receive his testimony. This goes back to the early centuries of the church and hits all the major doctrines on sovereignty. Augustine, Calvin, Luther [Yes Luther was a strong believer in predestination, it was no accident that he was an Augustinian monk!] Paul tells the Ephesians that were are dead in sins and completely incapable of receiving spiritual truth until God pours his Spirit into us and we become alive. Thank God that even though no man [in the natural] can receive his testimony, that God gives us his Spirit and births us so we can know the things that he has freely given to us in Christ! HEBREWS 4-6 [Just made the video- so today you get ‘real time’- P.S.- to my kids- the carnival looks good- maybe we will go today? Text me- dad.] CHAPTER 4: NEW NOTES BELOW- .SABBATH REST ‘Let us therefore fear [Jews in the first century, not Christians in the 21st century! At least in this context] lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest [now defined as the New Covenant rest. Paul is telling Israel God has left you a promise of rest in Messiah, where you will cease from your own works [law], beware Israel, our forefathers missed out on the promise because of unbelief, don’t do the same!] any of you should come short of it, for unto us was the gospel preached [1st century Israel] as well as unto them [Israel at the edge of entering the promised land had the gospel [good news] preached to them by Joshua and Caleb, they gave the ‘good report’ that the land was great and it was there for the taking, of course they didn’t believe and therefore couldn’t take it] but the word did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For WE WHICH HAVE BELEIVED [the remnant of Jews who were believing in the first century were entering into the rest of the New Covenant of grace, they left off trying to be made righteous by the law, they ceased from their own works] do enter into rest…for he spake in a certain place of the 7th day on this wise, and God did rest the 7th day from all his works, and again, if they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it still remains that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: again he limits a certain day in David [Psalms] today if you will HEAR HIS VOICE [as opposed to the voice of the law/Moses] harden not your hearts. For if Joshua [my king James says ‘Jesus’ this is because the translation is the same] had given them rest then he would not have spoken of another day, there remaineth therefore a rest TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD! [Jewish people ‘of God’ not gentile converts!]. Well, we covered a lot here. Paul takes the creation account, the verses that will later speak of a future rest for Gods people, and then a verse from Psalms where David prophesies that there still remains a future rest. He puts them all together to show Israel that God has ordained a future ‘7th day’ for his people to enter into. He uses the 7th day as a symbol of Gods ‘day of Grace and rest’. He then shows Israel that it really wasn’t speaking of the rest of the Promised Land after all, because eventually Israel did inherit it, but yet David still spoke of it in the future tense. So Paul concludes that the future rest of the 7th day that ‘Gods people’ [Jews] still must enter is the offer of grace to the 1st century Jew. Wow! This is why some theologians feel Paul was a little too loose with the scriptures. I think this stuff is great! Paul basically was using all of his understanding as a first century theologian [Pharisee] and was absolutely proving Christ to Israel in a way that none of the other Apostles could do. He was the only Pharisee out of all the Apostles, one born out of due time. This is obviously why Jesus chose him. It is so important to see the connections that Paul is making here. If Israel were following the timeline that Paul is giving, they will see that their own Old Testament scriptures testify that there was a future ‘place of rest’ that would be offered to them as a nation. And Paul also shows that in history, Israel had a pattern of not entering into ‘this rest’ because of unbelief. And then he says ‘but the rest that Joshua finally did give them [the promised land] wasn’t really the true rest after all, because David still spoke of it in a future tense’ then he says ‘see, there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God’. Seeing this in context clears up many wrong interpretations of these passages. You can still read Hebrews as a Christian and get wonderful principles, but you must see it in context to truly understand what its saying. ‘For he that hath entered into rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his’ amazing, Paul says just like God ceased from creative activity on the ‘7th day’ so likewise when we enter into the covenant of grace, we too will cease from the works of the law. This is so significant to the Jewish community whom Paul is addressing. He is showing them, in their language [Old Testament] the same things he writes to the gentiles in Galatians and Romans. He is using the story of Genesis to show the truth of grace. Out of all the Apostles, Paul is unique in his ability to see Jesus in all of these Old Testament stories. No one could have made a better apologetic for the Christian faith than Paul. ‘Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall into the same example of unbelief’ Now, I have heard it taught that this is telling Christians to ‘work for your rest’. This would be a complete contradiction to this entire letter. But if you see this in context, that the recipients of this letter are 1st century Jews who are already under the bondage of the law, then you read this as ‘those of you Jews who are always working to try and make yourselves righteous, you need to stop working for this, but instead let all your labors and struggles end up at the Cross’ in essence ‘labor [struggle] to see these things I am showing you, and if you do you will find rest’ in the New Covenant of grace! ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ This of course applies to all of us. Paul and other New Testament writers saw redemption in a way that naturally included everybody. It was only those who rejected it thru unbelief that were missing out. This is why you will see statements made like ‘Jesus is the savior of all men, specially of those that believe’ there was a real sense in the early church that Jesus really redeemed everybody. They were not preaching universal salvation in the sense that everybody will be saved. But the gospel was presented in a way that simply included everybody. So here Paul says ‘we have a high priest’ he is including Israel in the ‘we’. I also like to apply these verses to all of us. How many times do we feel intimidated to come before Gods throne? We feel unworthy and God seems unapproachable. Sort of like Saint John of the Cross who experienced the ‘dark night of the soul’ as well as Mother Theresa. There are times where believers feel separated from God’s real presence. It is during these times when God says ‘come boldly, I too have experienced weakness and separation thru the incarnation. I know what it is like. Come to me, I can see what you feel like, I can feel your feelings of weakness and inadequacy, come to me for help my child’. In the next chapter we will read this in depth. Jesus and all the high priests of the law were able to identify with man because they were at one time in mans shoes. This is one of the great realities of the incarnation. NEW NOTES- .SABBATH REST Remember context- in this chapter the writer is appealing to his Jewish brothers. And he reminds them of their own history- he says ‘just like our forefathers died in the wilderness- because they did not BELIEVE’- So beware- if you now reject this new offer of REST- it will be because of UNBELIEF. The writer is making an argument for Justification by Faith here. He spiritualizes the promise of the Promised Land- and the story of Creation and Sabbath Day. He says ‘ok- God RESTED himself on the 7th Day of Creation’. This REST [a type of rest found in Christ and the New Covenant- based on Faith/Grace- NOT WORKS -The law]. Was not the Rest promised to Israel when they entered the Promised Land. Why? Because King David says many years later- in Psalms 95- that a Rest is still in the future. What Rest? The 1st century offer of Grace- thru Faith- not works. See how important context is? So- when he says ‘there still remains a REST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD’- He is not talking to Christians- as this verse is often seen. No- in the letter of Hebrews- the People of God are the Jewish nation- who now must ‘labor- work- strive’ to believe the Promise of Messiah- and enter into rest. These verses only make sense in this context. Preachers often teach the verse ‘strive to enter into rest- people of God’. And apply that to Christians- who are already ‘in rest’. No- that’s the wrong setting for these verses. But- to the 1st century Jew- under the law- then it makes sense. They were at a transition stage- they were still under the law [works] and they had to beware- because this present promise of grace- just like the Old Testament Promise of entering into the Promised Land- is based on faith. So- when the writer says ‘if you strive- and hear this Gospel of Grace- you can enter into the Sabbath Day Rest’ [a symbol of the covenant of Grace]. And have Rest. See? NOTE- It’s not an ‘accident’ that the writer quotes from Psalms 95- written by Kind David. Jesus is identified as ‘The Son of David’ so it’s thru the Davidic line that the promise of Rest would ultimately be fulfilled. In a sense the writer is saying ‘The Joshua that lead our Fathers into the Promised Land was not the Real One- but the Joshua of the New Testament [Jesus and Joshua are the same word in the Hebrew/Greek English translation] has now come thru the Line of David- and he will lead us into the True Rest- if you Believe’ Psalm 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. Psalm 95:7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Psalm 95:8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: Psalm 95:9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Psalm 95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Psalm 95:11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. Genesis 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Hebrews 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. Hebrews 4:5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Hebrews 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Hebrews 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Hebrews 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Hebrews 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Hebrews 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. . CHAPTER 12: END NOTES- A HEAVENLY CITY. DON’T BE SAD, HE’S TREATING YOU LIKE A SON. NO REPENTANCE- OUTSIDE OF CHRIST THAT IS. CULTURE SHOCK IS HARD ON US ALL. ‘Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses [all the heroes of the last chapter!] let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us’ a few practical things. Paul compares the journey to a marathon, not a sprint! The patient runner who paces himself will receive a reward. The sprinter will look good at the start, but you never see him again! I have been blessed by so many gifted people over the years. Some who were on radio, or were doing some type of ministry for the Lord. The gifts and callings were truly on these people. A few years would go by and they were no where to be found. Where did they go? Some of them jumped on the latest ‘Christian movement’ [I am not against movements from God, I just feel we get enamored by them and give up on the main thing the Lord has called us to] some walked away from the Lord. I have come to realize that God will put certain things in you from the early days, things that he predestined for you to fulfill before you were born. These are the things that you should be faithful to. Don’t abandon the original calling, it’s still there! You can spend your whole life leaving one ‘track’ and ‘sprinting’ in another. But God wants you to stay on the original course and run it with patience. It might not seem as glamorous or exciting as the newest race in town, but at the end you will receive a reward. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him ENDURED the cross, despising the shame and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that ENDURED such contradiction of sinners…and ye have forgotten the exhortation that speaketh to you as children [remember what we said about this type of privileged language in Hebrews? It is speaking to Israel] my son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art REBUKED of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons’. Now, for many years I read this just like you. That God was telling Christians that he disciplines them. True enough. But in context what is Paul saying here? He spent 11 chapters ‘reproving’ Israel. He told them that all the sacrifices and wonderful holidays and family traditions are no more. That Messiah has fulfilled it and you can’t keep doing it. Now, how would you feel if some know it all preacher came along and totally dismantled your whole way of worship? And you knew in your heart he was right! You would take offence. You would feel like you just got ‘chastened’ up and down and all over. Your initial reaction would be ‘this is too much correction in one letter, I am tired of reading it!’ so Paul is telling Israel ‘Don’t take all this reproof the wrong way, Gods intent is to get you to move on with the program. He loves you guys; don’t forget that scripture [Old Testament] says ‘who God loves he chastens’ hey, God is just dealing with you as children who he loves’ get it? ‘We have had fathers of the flesh that corrected us…shall we not much rather be in subjection to the father of spirits and live?’ Paul is saying ‘you guys want to live [eternal life] then you need to submit to the correction the father is giving you’. ‘For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness’ Now, God does chasten believers for the purpose of holiness. Scripture says ‘those who have suffered in the flesh have ceased from sin, that they should no longer spend the rest of their days in the flesh pursuing the desires of the flesh, but the will of God’ ‘before I was afflicted I went astray, but after I kept thy word’ ‘thou in faithfulness hath afflicted me’ ‘though he were a son yet learned he obedience from the things he suffered’ ‘the captain of our salvation was made perfect thru suffering’ [the last 2 are in this letter, the others are some where in scripture, I just quoted them off the top of my head. As you can see I have some familiarity with this subject! Ouch] In context Paul is saying to Israel ‘you have tried to attain holiness thru legalistic means, by keeping the law [Romans 9-the last few verses] but until you submit to Gods chastening, and have faith in God, you will not truly have his ‘holiness’ [righteousness]. So God is disciplining them thru this letter so they will ‘believe and become righteous’ as opposed to staying in the old system of law. ‘Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous [old brother Paul, he sure knew how to understate things!] nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of RIGHTEOUSNESS to them that are exercised [or exorcised! Just kidding, but it can feel like this at times] thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down…and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame [broken] be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed’ David said ‘restore to me the joy of your salvation that the bones which YOU HAVE BROKEN may rejoice’ The danger of chastening [both for Christians and Israel] is that we get so broken that we never fully recover. Paul is telling Israel ‘I know it’s been hard on you guys to hear so much rebuke. Don’t walk away totally discouraged. There is a danger that you might respond to Gods correction the wrong way. Lift up your hands, shake off the depression, and let yourselves be healed. God wants to restore you!’ ‘Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for HE FOUND NO PLACE OF REPENTANCE though he sought it carefully with tears’. This is another reason why reading Hebrews in context is important. One of the themes of this letter is ‘if you miss out on it now, you can’t repent later!’[Chapter 6]. We know that Pauls other letters to the churches leave open future repentance for those who have sinned. In Paul’s letters to the Corinthians we see this being done. But in Hebrews the idea is ‘if you pass on the Cross, you can not find repentance thru any other means. There is no other place for repentance’. So this is the reason why Hebrews has this theme of ‘no future repentance’ thru out the letter. Paul is certainly not telling Israel that if they decide to repent and accept Christ at a future date, they can’t! But he is saying ‘if you pass over this sacrifice of Christ, all the other ‘sacrifices’ and means of repentance that are contained in the law will have no future effect, remember Esau!’ ‘For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched…but ye are come to Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem [the church]…and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Able’ Here Paul comes back to a ‘scarlet thread’ that runs thru out this letter. He says ‘hey, you think the first covenant was a fearful thing, watch out! If you disregard this covenant [Jesus blood] then you have gone against something that is much greater than the law’. Also the ‘blood of Able’ cried out from the ground for vengeance, the blood of Jesus cries out from heaven for mercy and forgiveness! It ‘speaks’ better things than that of Able! ‘See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth [Moses and the law] much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him which speaketh from heaven’ again Paul repeats themes he hit on earlier in this letter. He says ‘Moses spoke Gods Word [law] to you from an earthly mountain and place, you are come to a heavenly mountain [Sion-spiritual Jerusalem] and Jesus is speaking to you from heaven. This is much more strict than he who spoke from earth’. ‘Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom that can not be moved, let us HAVE GRACE, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire’ Though Paul doesn’t say it [I think he should have!] but this alludes to the ‘God’ of Moses day, who did not consume the burning bush, compared to the ‘God’ of today [new covenant] who will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire! This fits in with the theme of a harsher punishment for those who reject the covenant of grace as opposed to those who rejected the covenant of law. I know these themes are not popular, but this is clearly the way Paul is presenting them. I also am not saying the ‘God’ of the Old Testament is different from the ‘God’ of the new [this is the heresy of Marcion! I think that was his name. He was an early Christian heretic who comprised the first canon of scripture for a ‘new testament’ it included basically Paul’s letters, and he taught that The God of the new testament was different from the God in the old] but Paul is presenting the new covenant in a way that says ‘don’t neglect this new way of salvation, those who do will receive a harsher judgment than those who rejected the law’. END NOTES- A HEAVENLY CITY. DON’T BE SAD, HE’S TREATING YOU LIKE A SON. NO REPENTANCE- OUTSIDE OF CHRIST THAT IS. CULTURE SHOCK IS HARD ON US ALL. Once again we see the contrast between ‘he that spoke from earth’ [Moses- the law]- and he that ‘speaks from heaven’ [Jesus covenant is more strict- to those outside of it and reject it- because he has heavenly authority- Moses had earthly]. Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: The writer says ‘don’t be sad- God disciplines every son who he receives’- though this certainly applies to Christians- Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Hebrews 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Hebrews 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Remember this- though the message of grace and Jesus as the Messiah is wonderful- especially to us Gentile believers- Yet- it was indeed a cultural shock to the 1st century Jew- Why? Even though Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophets- yet in order for the Jewish person to accept this [Like the apostle Paul] He had to accept a real cultural change in the religion he practiced from his youth- He was being asked to stop the animal sacrifices- to ‘move on’ from the Law covenant- and to embrace Christ. Now- in reality- it would be the fulfillment of all that was contained in the law- but it’s often hard for anyone to ‘move on’ from former religious practices that are embedded in his culture. So- in context ‘Don’t be sad- God is disciplining you- showing you new stuff- and it’s tough for sure- but he does this with all the sons he receives’. We also see the promise of the heavenly city- As opposed to the earthly one. Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, Hebrews 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, The writer is speaking about the church- and how both Jew and Gentile are part of this spiritual community coming down from God out of heaven. And again we see the warning- of no repentance- for those who keep sinning. I stress that this is never taught to the Gentile churches- as a matter of fact the Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians- about a sinning brother- sleeping with his father’s wife [his step mom]. And In the 2nd letter- this brother repented- and Paul exhorted the church to receive him back into fellowship. But to the 1st century Jew- still not fully in the covenant- he says ‘Hebrews 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. In keeping with the theme of the letter- Jesus is now the only acceptable means of repentance- and if you reject him as the Messiah- and continue in sin- then yes- there is no repentance. Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; Ephesians 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Galatians 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. VERSES- These are the verses I either quoted or taught on Today’s video- Sunday Sermon 12-17-17. Ephesians 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Hebrews 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Hebrews 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Hebrews 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? Hebrews 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; Hebrews 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Isaiah 52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: Isaiah 52:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. 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. 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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- Thanks- John. CANDLE STICK-
Zechariah 4:2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Candle Stick https://vimeo.com/247806469 https://youtu.be/9V44LuQRfCg Update- 12-18-17 https://youtu.be/SvD0sNBbyJs Caller Times- release history of sexual harassment settlements from your own corporation https://youtu.be/PCpOiDiAIYU Day 2- Nick Jimenez- Tom Whitehurst Jr.- Caller Times refuse to come clean! https://youtu.be/0tjv4z79a_0 Update- editorial board felt the heat- and made a change- https://youtu.be/lsNcE3tByH8 Isaiah 31:4 For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. Matthew 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations ON VIDEO- .Mechanic stories .Did the motor work? [Datsun 280 zx] .Hanukkah .Maccabean revolt .The law [scroll] .The Cross .Justification by faith .Sign and wonders still .Tertullian .We have the Word of God .We have God too Correction- on the video I said I was not sure if the chapter I was talking about was Joshua [the high priest]- Actually it was Zerubbabel. You will see why I wasn’t sure if you watch the video- I added the verses below- John. Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Motorcycles and More- https://youtu.be/UMIN3W2r6l0 I made the teaching video [candle stick] before I finished the job- so on this video I show you the end result. NEW- I made this video [Candlestick]on the spur of the moment- I explain why on the video- I talked some from the book of Zechariah and Revelation. In the past posts section below- I just added some past teaching where I taught on the book of Zechariah in the past [I did a document search for the name Zerubbabel- and simply posted those below]- I have talked about most of these subjects in the past- and hopefully you will get something of value out of the past teaching added below. Over the years a lot has been taught on the 2 witnesses in the book of Revelation- and some times we can get lost in too many details- But the basic principle of God’s people going thru difficult times is a principle that we can all relate to. The work God has called you- and I to- will only be accomplished through the power of God. It is not by might- or our own strength- but by the Spirit of God working in the church that enables God's witnesses to speak boldly- to challenge unjust governments- to indeed speak ‘truth to power’. These are biblical principles that have been true all along- And still true today. PAST POSTS- [Below you find past teaching I did that relates in some way to today’s post- Candlestick] https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/13/ephesians-2/ REVIEW- 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. https://youtu.be/J4kX_8fQhYw Review https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-8-17-review.zip ON VIDEO- .Reviewed key verses .Claire’s gift .The stars .2nd coin .Nahum .Tapestry .Leadership principles .Divine pattern PAST POSTS I mentioned these on today’s video- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/01/hackensack-2nd-sam-24/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/28/jersey-city-ride-mark-1/ I also quoted from Hebrews- here’s my study- https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ And I started the Mark study- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/28/jersey-city-ride-mark-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/02/mark-2-north-bergen/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/04/mark-3-isaiah-61/ I also added the 2nd Samuel links together- 2ND SAMUEL [Links] https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/28/samuel-revelation-kingdoms/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/30/2nd-samuel-3-homeless-friends/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/07/2nd-samuel-6-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/04/matt-23-2nd-sam-13-15/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/12/2nd-samuel-16/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/16/2nd-sam-19-rick/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/21/2nd-samuel-21/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/27/jesus-n-tolstoy-2nd-sam-23/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/27/jesus-n-tolstoy-2nd-sam-23/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/01/hackensack-2nd-sam-24/ I mentioned Tertullian on the video- Candle Stick- below are some past posts where I talked about him- (835)ROMANS 7:1-4 Paul uses the analogy of a married woman ‘don’t you know that the law has dominion over a person as long as he is alive’? If a married woman leaves her husband and marries another man she is guilty of breaking the law of adultery. Now, if her husband dies, she is free to marry another man. The act that freed her from sin and guilt was death! Every thing else in the scenario stayed the same. She still married another, she still consummated the new marriage. But because her first husband died, she has no guilt. I always loved this analogy. For years I wondered why these themes in scripture are for the most part not ‘imbedded’ in the collective psyche of the people of God. We have spent so much time ‘proof texting’ the verses on success and wealth, that we have overlooked the really good stuff! Now Paul teaches that we have been made free from the law by the ‘death of our husband’ [Jesus] so we can ‘re-marry’. Who do we marry? Christ! He has not only died to free us from the law, he also rose from the dead to become our ‘husband’ [we are called the bride of Christ]. Paul connects the death and resurrection of Jesus in this analogy. Both are needed for the true gospel to be preached [1st Corinthians 15]. Notice how in this passage Paul emphasizes ‘the death of Christ’s body’. The New Testament doesn’t always make this distinction, but here it does. In the early centuries of Christianity you had various debates over the nature and ‘substance’ of God and Christ. The church hammered out various decrees and creeds that would become the Orthodoxy of the day. Many of these are what you would call the ‘Ecumenical councils’. These are the early councils [many centuries!] that both the eastern [Orthodox church] and western [Catholic] churches would all accept. Some feel that the early church fathers and Latin theologians [Tertullian, Augustine and others] had too much prior influence from philosophy and the ‘forensic’ thinking of their time. They had a tendency to describe things in highly technical ways. Ways that were prominent in the legal and philosophical thinking of the West. Some of the eastern thinkers [Origen] had more of a Greek ‘flavor’ to their theologizing [Alexandria, named after Alexander the great, was a city of philosophy many years prior to Christ. This city was at one time the center of thinking in the East. That’s why Paul would face the thinkers at Athens, they had a history in the east of Greek philosophy]. Well any way the result was highly technical debates over the nature of God and Christ. The historic church would finally decree that Christ had 2 natures, Human and Divine. And that at the Cross the ‘humanity of Jesus’ died, but his ‘Deity’ did not. I think Paul agreed by saying ‘we are free from the law by the death of Christ’s Body’ here Paul distinguishes between the physical death of Jesus and his Deity. Note- actually, Augustine would be in the same school as Origen. Alexandrian. (1235) 2ND CORINTHIANS 12- Before I get into a long history discussion with you guys, let’s hit a few verses. Paul says ‘when I was with you, did I gain a profit from you, take advantage of you?’ or ‘when I sent Titus, did he gain a profit from you?’ He then goes on and says the fathers lay up money for the kids, not the other way around. He says he has spent out of his own pocket for them, and he will continue to do so. He says he does all this so people won’t have the excuse ‘he’s just in it for the money’. Notice, Paul himself did not have the common mindset we see in ministry today. Often times financial appeals are made from Paul’s writings in Corinthians, these appeals often say ‘we are not asking for ourselves, but for you’ it is put in a way that says it would be wrong to not take money from people. That in some way not taking an offering would violate scripture. Paul flatly said he did not take money from them for personal use, nor would he. When the modern church uses Paul’s other sayings in this letter to appeal to giving, we need to share ‘the whole counsel of God’ not just a few verses that fit in with what we practice. Now, Paul speaks about being caught up into ‘heaven’ [Gods realm-Paradise] and hearing truths from God that were not lawful for men to speak. He states that God gave him truth that came from Divine revelation. If you skip a few pages over in your bible, you will hit Galatians. In the first chapter he says how after he was converted he did not confer with the other leaders at Jerusalem, but received teaching straight from God. Let’s discuss what revelation is, how we come to know things. The last few centuries of the first millennium of Christian history you had the ‘Holy Roman Empire’ which was a political/religious union of church and state. Under the emperor Charlemagne the territories of the empire were vast. Those who came after him did not have the same control over the regions that were vast. Eventually you had a form of rule arise that was called Feudalism; the sections of the empire that were too far to benefit directly from Rome would simply come under the authority of the local strongman [much like the present dilemma in Afghanistan, I think it’s time to get our boys out of that mess]. People would come under the authority of a ruler and he would lease out land to the citizens and they would benefit from his protection. The citizens were called Vassals and the land was called a Fief. At one point king John of England would do public penance in a disagreement he had with the Pope and all of England would become a Fief under the rule of the Pope. Now, this would eventually lead up to the development of the strong nation states, an independent identifying with your state/region as opposed to being under Rome and the papacy. This type of independence would allow for the 16th century reformation to happen under Luther. If it were not for Frederick the Wise, the regional authority in Germany where Luther lived, he would have never had the protection or freedom to launch his reformation. Luther also had the influence of being a scholar at Wittenberg. Around the 12th-13th centuries you had the first university pop up at the great cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The word university simply meant a co-operative effort from two or more people. It applied to many things besides learning. It was also during this time that the church began to develop a system of harmonizing Christian doctrine; she began to do systematic theology. The writings of the Greek philosophers [Aristotle] were rediscovered after centuries of them being hidden, and the great intellectual Saint Thomas Aquinas would wed Aristotle’s ideas with Christian truth. This became known as Scholasticism. Aquinas believed that men could arrive at a true knowledge of God from pure reason and logic. But man could not know all the truths about God and his nature without ‘special revelation’ [the bible and church tradition]. All Christians did not agree with Aquinas new approach to Christian truth, the very influential bishop Bernard would initially condemn Aquinas over this. Bernard said ‘the faith that believes unto righteousness, believes! It does not doubt’. The Scholastic school taught that the way you arrive at knowledge was thru the continuous questioning and doubting of things until you come to some basic conclusions. These issues would be debated for centuries, and even in the present hour many argue over the issue of Divine revelation versus natural logical reasoning. Tertullian, an early North Afrcian church father, said ‘I believe because it is preposterous, illogical’ he became famous for his saying ‘what does Jerusalem have to do with Athens’ meaning he did not believe that Greek philosophy should have any part with Christian truth. Origen, his contemporary, believed the other way. So the debate rages on. Why talk about this here? Some believers ‘believe’ in a type of knowledge called ‘revelation knowledge’ they mean something different than the historic use of the term. Historically ‘revelation’ meant that which God revealed to us THRU THE BIBLE, not something outside of the bible. For instance, the first canon of scripture put together was by a man called Marcion. His ‘bible’ contained the letters of Paul and parts of :Luke. He believed the revelation God gave Paul was for us today, not the Old Testament or the historical gospels. He was condemned by the church as a heretic. The point being some took Paul’s writings about receiving knowledge from God as an indicator that what God showed Paul was different than what the church got thru the other apostles. In point of fact the things that God revealed to Paul, or to you or me; all truth is consistent, it will not contradict any other part of Gods truth. Paul’s letters are consistent with the gospels, not in contradiction. When believers cling to an idea that their teachers are sharing ‘special revelation’ or a Rhema word that is somehow above the scrutiny of scripture, then they are in dangerous territory. Paul did appeal to his experience with God as a defense of his gospel, but he backed up everything he said with Old Testament scripture. God wasn’t ‘revealing’ things to Paul that were outside of the realm of true knowable ‘truth’. You could examine and test the things Paul was saying, he wasn’t saying ‘because God showed it to me, that’s why I’m correct’. So in today’s church world, we want all the things we learn and believe to be consistent with what the church has believed thru out the centuries. Sure there are always things that are going to be questioned and true reform entails this, but beware of teachers who come to you with ‘revelation knowledge’ or a ‘Rhema word’ that goes against the already revealed word of truth. [parts] (1427) THE LORD GAVE THE WORD; GREAT WAS THE COMPANY OF THOSE THAT PUBLISHED IT- Psalms 68:11 In the 14th century you had the Oxford scholar, John Wycliffe, challenge the church and publish an English bible that would be understood by the common man. His view of the true church was that all those who believed in Christ comprised the mystical Body of Christ thru out the ages; he held to the same view that many believers would later embrace. His works would eventually influence John Huss, the great Bohemian priest, and Huss too would preach a doctrine of the universal church which transcended institutional boundaries. In the 16th century William Tyndale would take up the charge to get the bible into the hands of the common man; he longed for the day that the simple plowman would know the scriptures as well as the trained clergy; Tyndale would die for the faith [as Huss] but would pray/prophesy that God would touch the heart of the king of England and make his word known. Henry the 8th would eventually place an English bible into every church building thru out his realm. The history of God getting his word into the hands of the common man is great, many divine interventions [or inventions!] came along just at the right time to aid in the efforts. Guttenberg would invent the printing press in the 15th century and Luther’s reformation would take off as his books and tracts would get published by the boat loads [as well as many other great teachers’ stuff- like Erasmus Greek New Testament bible]. The institutional church would resist the free flow of these writings, they feared that the people might teach wrong doctrine, or that the masses might interpret the bible in a wrong way. Were these fears groundless? Not really. Many did mess up in their reading of the bible, and others would start their own sects based on faulty interpretations. But for the most part God was in the business of getting his word out to as many people as possible. I have found over the years that believers have a sort of blind spot when it comes to the ‘sacred’ modes of transmitting the bible. For instance many well meaning men believe that the process of meeting in a building on Sunday, and the bible being preached to as many as you can get to come to the meeting; many feel that this expression [being only one of many] is the actual God ordained way of getting the bible taught to the people. Many who hold to this singular idea, to the point where they feel the doing of this is actually called ‘the local church’ will look down upon other means of getting the word out. The explosion of the internet has truly been the printing press of modern times. Many average believers now have the ability to reach the world from their computers; are their dangers with this process? Sure. Will some teach wrong stuff? As Sarah Palin would say ‘you betcha’. But all in all people should embrace the reality that we live in a day where once again the average saint has the ability to get the word out to the masses with little, or no cost. I don’t want people to get me wrong, going to ‘church’ to hear the sermon is fine [most of the times!] but the bible does not teach the concept that the meeting of believers in buildings on Sunday is actually called ‘the local church’. For sure this is an expression of ‘local church’ it is a way that many believers have come to practice their faith; but it would be wrong to exalt this view of church to the point where we hinder others who are getting the word out in many different ways. In the New Testament, the ‘local churches’ referred to communities of believers who lived in your city/region- the term does not refer exclusively to meeting in a lecture hall environment to hear a lecture! Psalms says God gave the word and great was the company of those that published it; lets rejoice in the fact that we live in a time where a great company of people can ‘publish it’. [parts] VERSES- 2 Samuel 23:5 Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Luke 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Matthew 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Zechariah 3:9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Heb. 13 Nahum 1:01 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. Nahum 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Nahum 1:4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Nahum 1:6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. Nahum 1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. Nahum 1:9 What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. Nahum 1:10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. Nahum 1:11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor. Nahum 1:12 Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. Nahum 1:13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. Nahum 1:14 And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile. Nahum 1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. NOW WORD [all verses and news links at end of post] Haggai 2:22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. Haggai 2:23 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts. NOTE- The reason I’m adding both Youtube and Wordpress [videos] is every time I upload to Youtube- someone changes the videos to private [Youtube is not doing it]. https://youtu.be/lRG9toMXqdo NOW WORD http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-zm Now Word .Prophets speak to both ‘church’ and community leaders .The sign of the ring .Storm clouds coming Haggai 1:8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. ROOFER- https://youtu.be/X-FvJE29tCk http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-zn Roofer .North Korea .Mother questions CCPD report over son’s death .County might ‘sue’ to defend 10 commandments monument [Huh?] . ‘This people honor me with their lips- but they do not keep them’ .No congressional action needed for N. Korea- Why? .In 1953 we signed an armistice- not a peace treaty Matthew 15:8 KINGS 4 [Zech.3-4] Zechariah 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? https://youtu.be/OLW-5PVlzV8 Kings 4 [Zech- 3-4] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/4-18-17-kings-4-zech3-4.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/4-18-17-kings-4-zech3-4/ ON VIDEO- [good view of Lexington and bay front] .Kansas coming .12 officers [12 apostles] .Priests united .Why minor prophets? .Change of raiment .Clean turban [priests hat] .Kingdom and church .Pattern of restoration .Bowl of oil- 2 olive trees .2 witnesses .Foundation and Head stone . ‘Grace- Grace’ .Passion of the Christ .Leadership stuff .You can believe- today NEW- [Past teaching- verses below] Today I spoke on Kings 4 and Zech 3-4. I’ll add my past teaching on Kings below and make a few comments on Zechariah. In chapters 3-4 we see a vision- Joshua the priest is standing before God and is dirty- satan is there to resist him- Zechariah 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. God rebukes satan and puts a clean turban [Priestly hat] on the priests head- and a change of raiment- Zechariah 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Zechariah 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. Zechariah 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. Zechariah 3:5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre [Turban] upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. God is preparing Joshua by cleansing him- so he can fulfill his priestly duty and the rebuilding of the temple can take place. Zerubbabel the governor is also called for this work. In chapter 4 Zechariah sees another vision- Zechariah 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. Zechariah 4:2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: Zechariah 4:3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. The vision is somewhat complicated- I mean you have a candlestick- a bowl -these 2 trees. Whats it all about? Then the angel tells Zechariah this is a word for Zerubbabel- Zechariah 4:4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Zechariah 4:5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Huh? All of that- for this? [overblog- see the rest here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/27/kings-4/ ] In essence God is telling him the entire work of the rebuilding of the temple- depends upon the Holy Spirit [The bowl contains the oil- for everything else- the function of the lamps- the oil for the olive trees- it’s a vision about the Spirit covering the entire work]. He is also told that he will face opposition [mountain] but before him it will become flat ground- Zechariah 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Zerubbabel’s hands have ‘laid the foundation and his hands will finish it’- Zechariah 4:9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. The work God called him to- will indeed get finished. The foundation- and the headstone [capstone] represent Jesus and his spiritual temple- the church- 1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Jesus is the foundation and he is also the head of the church- Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations We- as the people of God- are being built together into the fullness of Christ- 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. During the time Zechariah was seeing these visions- the peoples hands were weak. They came thru a judgment period- their city was taken captive- and the temple destroyed. And now God is raising up 2 men- along with the community- to rebuild. To some- it was a hopeless cause ‘the day of small things’- Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Yet they had to overcome the disillusionment of all that happened- and take hold of the promise that the glory of the latter house will exceed that of the former- Haggai 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations There were some of the older generation that remembered the temple- the way it was in the past. And when they saw the new work going up- they despised it- Ezra 3:9 Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. Ezra 3:10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. Ezra 3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: Yet in the end- it would be greater in God’s sight- it will be the restoring of something that was ‘dead’ gone- lost forever. A type of the Resurrection of Jesus- John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations At the end of chapter 4 the angel interprets the 2 olive trees- Zechariah 4:12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? Zechariah 4:13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Zechariah 4:14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth. We see these 2 ‘trees’ in revelation 11 as well- Revelation 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. Revelation 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. Joshua and Zerubbabel were 2 leaders- one a priest- the other a governor. They both had a job to do- a calling to fulfill. All the work that was yet to come- would be dependent on them accessing the bowl atop the candlestick. Meaning they would have to withdraw from the resources available to them by the Spirit of God. The Lord was on their side- the temple will be rebuilt. Sure- there were some who mocked what God was doing. But the builders were given a promise- Zechariah 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Yes- no mountain could stand in their way- Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations PAST POSTS [verses below]- Here are my past links/teaching that relate to today’s post- KINGS- https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-kings/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/29/kings-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/12/kings-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/24/homeless-friends/ https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/nehemiah-isaiah/ (1052) 1st KINGS 4- ‘And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness [generous] of heart…and his wisdom was greater than all the children of the east and Egypt…and all the people and the kings of the earth [gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising] came to hear the wisdom of Solomon’- In this chapter we read of the tremendous storehouse of goods and resources that God gave to Solomon. His wisdom was in many areas, not just ‘theology’! He was a true Renaissance man. Before the reformation and the ‘enlightenment’ you had the Renaissance period. For many years the wisdom and knowledge that prevailed in early Greco-Roman society was lost/hidden from the public. Through process of time and events [like the crusades] some of these hidden resources of knowledge were re-discovered and the world went thru a renewal period in wisdom and philosophy. It was thanks to the catholic churches preserving of these early works [Monks and monasteries] that would later lead to them being recovered. Now, even though these works were recovered, they weren’t readily available to the general public on a wide scale. You simply did not have the tools [internet/public libraries in abundance] to disseminate the information at large, but you did have men who became educated in these areas and they were the ‘renaissance men’. Sort of like walking libraries of wisdom, ‘Solomon’s’ if you will. Solomon wrote and studied on all sorts of subjects, he did not limit himself to one field only. Often times in the area of ‘full time preaching’ we send kids off to college [okay] and they get an education that only applies to one field [full time ministry]. I think it would be better if all the ‘preachers’ became well rounded in many practical areas of learning, getting skills in various areas [Paul-tent making] that would enable them to transition when reformation happens [like the current challenge on church practices and the full time pastoral office. Many sincere men are too dependant on their jobs as full time ministers to seriously reconsider the scriptural grounds for their office]. So Solomon was the type of brother who could converse with you in all types of fields. Many of the world’s greatest scientists/mathematicians were Christians, a common mistake is to think the scientific revolution was launched by anti religious men, this is simply not true. A careful study of history would show you that the majority of the great scientific minds were products of the church. It was common to major in theology and use that field of study as the foundation for all the other fields of learning. Jesus said of Solomon that kings and queens went out of their way to hear the wisdom of Solomon [the Warren Buffet of his day] but yet a greater than Solomon was here! [speaking of himself] [parts] THIS IS AN OLD POST I WROTE A WHILE AGO- IT DEALS WITH HANUKKAH. CANDLE- DON’T GO OUT! The chapter for the week is Luke 11. Jesus says ‘which of you- if a friend came to you on a journey and you had nothing to give him- would go to another friend and say ‘a friend of mine has come and I have no food for him- can you spare some stuff’- and this friend would give you something for your friend who came to you on his journey’. I always liked this story- Jesus relates it to our own life. He then goes on to say ‘so- if you ask God for the Holy Spirit- he too would give you what you ask’. Often times we ‘come to the table’ with what we think others need- that is we have preconceived ideas about what we want to share- talk about. But in reality- we- like the man in the story- have nothing to give others who come to us ‘on their journey’. We need to go ‘to our friend’ [God] - and say ‘we have nothing- in and of ourselves to give- can you give me some bread for these travelers’. Its interesting- Jesus does give us the Lords prayer in this chapter too- which says ‘give us this day our daily bread’. The other day one of my sister’s friends came over to help clean up the downstairs apt. where Laura lived. She’s a nice girl- I have met her before. \ She is also an Atheist. I have never had any problems with people of our faiths- or even atheists. I of course have studied/taught the Christian view for years- and am aware of the basic ‘arguments’ that defend the ‘belief in God’ view. But that was not my job this day- I was just helping her clean the apt. When I moved back to N.J. from Texas- I only took a few things with me- one of them was a small Menorah [Jewish candlestick] that I used as a desk item. As we were cleaning my sister’s room- we found 2 boxes of Hanukkah candles. Of course my sister was not Jewish- so it was a strange find. I told my sister’s friend ‘you know- I actually brought a little Menorah with me- I bet these fit it’. Sure enough- they did. I have already lit about 15 of them the past few days [If I remember- I’ll post a picture]. It was an opportunity to talk about the history of Hanukkah- so I did. Hanukkah is the Jewish celebration of the re-dedication of the 2nd Temple of the Jews [we read about the second temple and the rebuilding of the city and the temple in the Old Testament books of Nehemiah- Ezra]. In the 2nd century- B.C.- the Jews rose up against their oppressors [the Greek/Syrian empire] and fought against the wicked Seleucid ruler- Antiochus Epiphanies- who desecrated their temple by offering pigs blood upon the altar. There was a priest named Mattathias who had 5 sons- they launched a guerilla type fight against Antiochus- and took the temple back. After the death of the priest- his son Judah Maccabee [The Hammer] took over- he finished the fight with his brothers and after they rededicated the temple back to God- they Lit the Menorah- and according to Jewish tradition- the lamp [candlesticks were not like we think today- they were made out of pipes- and lamp oil flowed thru the pipes] only had enough oil for one day- but miraculously burned for 8 days. This story is found in the Talmud- a scared book for Jews. In the Christian bible [the Catholic version- called the book of Maccabee's] the story is a little different- but it does record this event. So- till this day the Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah with the lighting of the Menorah [they use 9 candles today- the original one had 7]. And it dates back to this event- called the Maccabean Revolt. In Luke 11- Jesus also speaks about the candle stick. He says when you light a candle you don’t put it where no one can see it- but you put it on a table so when people come into the room they can see. Jesus says the church is like this- we are a ‘city on a hill that cannot be hid’. The Apostle John says in the book of Revelation ‘I saw a man standing in the middle of 7 golden candles- he had 7 stars in his right hand’. The book goes on to interpret this image- it says this was a prophetic image of Jesus standing in the middle of the 7 churches that the letter was written to [these were the 7 churches of Asia Minor]. The 7 stars in Jesus right hand were ‘the angels of the 7 churches’. So the menorah plays a role in both Jewish and Christian art/writing. In the story I mentioned above- when people come to us ‘on their journey’- where they are at in life- we really don’t know what to say- what to give them. Because we too are on ‘our journey’ dealing with our own stuff too. Earlier this year I re-read the Bob Dylan book ‘Chronicles’. It was highly acclaimed- his first auto biography- and it was a really good book. Dylan gives a quote from his grandmother; ‘Remember- when you run across people in life- try to be nice- because we are all going thru stuff’ [my paraphrase]. Yeah- at times I can be mean- just like the rest. I really had no plans on ‘witnessing’ to my sisters friend this day. But the candles were a way to simply talk about the history of Hanukkah [this friend likes to study and learn- she is somewhat of an intellectual- which is good]. Jesus also says in this chapter ‘the light of the body is the eye- if you look at bad stuff- it will affect you’. He relates this to the candle imagery- what we see- hear- read- etc, - these things do indeed effect us- for good or ill. Yeah- the candle stick imagery is used a lot in the bible. According to the Talmud- God did a miracle- he let the Menorah burn for 8 days [that’s why the modern celebration is 8 days]. Yet- they only had one day of oil. Hey- that fits in with the story ‘A friend has come to us- we don’t have enough to give them- can you multiply the resources’. Sure- God sees we are trying- why not? NOTE- The past couple of weeks the Pope made his trip to Brazil- has made a few off the cuff remarks- and there has been talk in the media about this stuff. One of the remarks he made I did like a lot; “At times we loose people because we they don’t understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people”- “ Without the grammar of simplicity, the church loses the very conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep waters of his mystery”. I went to the Wal Mart eye doctor the other day. I am supposed to wear glasses- but have not had an eye exam in about 20 years. At work- at the fire house- I used to bring an old junky pair- that I fixed with super glue- because I can not read street signs without prescriptions. I new most of the city by heart [I drove fire trucks for Kingsville for 25 years- and was a firefighter]. Yet- when it came to reading the actual addresses- forget it. But- after I retired I would just ‘wing it’. Yeah- at times I would actually have to stop- right under a sign- to read it. But- driving in New Jersey [which I’m trying not to do- I want to just start using buses and stuff] is different. Even when walking New York city- sometimes I walk an extra block- and find out the corner is the wrong street. So- at Wal mart I got the exam and ordered 2 pairs of glasses. The Eye doc. asked me about my reading and all- how good can I read/see the page. I told him my reading has gone down some- and I can judge it well because I’m a big reader of books- for many years. He asked me about what I red and all. Somehow I got into the web site- and started talking about ministry and stuff. He was interested- and even asked me a few questions. He of course is an accomplished person- yet had questions about his former faith- and the church he now belongs to. He was raised Methodist- and married a fine Catholic lady- and is now Catholic. As my habit is- sometimes I get too deep into stuff- and I lose people [the Popes above quote]. But this time- ‘deep’ was good- he asked some good questions about the church- and I shared with him this web site. In this weeks bible chapter Jesus gave us the story about the people who come to us on 'their journey’. They too have all types of stuff they are dealing with. Some- like my eye doctor- might have simple questions [simple for someone who has studied this stuff for years- maybe tough for those who never put the time in- for instance I talked about the debate between the Methodists and the Calvinists- and how his former church was Arminian [ a term that comes from Jacob Arminius- a person who was once a believer in Predestination/Election- and came to doubt it- and became a defender of Free Will] and how they did not teach Predestination- John Wesley- the founder of the Methodist church disagreed with other great revivalist preachers- like Spurgeon- over this issue]. So- on my eye doctors ‘journey’ this was important to him- to learn some stuff about his former church- as well as his present one [I also talked about the Catholic church Fathers- and the early centuries of the church]. Yet to some of the other people I have met in the last few weeks- this is not ‘the bread’ they need [or would even understand]. What’s most important- at these junctures on the journey- is to ‘hear’ God- to listen to what the friend of yours might be dealing with- or even asking you a specific question. It’s hard to practice this- because most of the times we want to talk about a subject that we like. Stephen Covey said ‘seek first to understand- then to be understood’. Let’s end with a few verses I have read the past day or so. ‘Woe to those who obey the rules- but pass over the judgment and love of God’ “The Lord will perfect [accomplish] that which concerns you” “Strengthen O God- that which you have done for us” Let God establish the thing he started in you- don’t get too caught up in the process right now [rules versus the Love of God]- let God lead- be a good follower. Obey him in simple acts of service. The prophet Isaiah said God was done with the famous- the big shots- and he was using the humble- the poor- the down trodden to build his kingdom [read chapters 3-4]. God honors the contrite heart- the Meek ones who are to inherit the earth. He puts down those who are in pride. As the Pope so eloquently said- God fishes in this world- but he uses the language of simplicity to catch men. VERSES- [These verses are from all the videos on today’s post- Candle Stick] Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 2nd Peter 2 Isaiah 1:18 [Full Chapter] Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Revelation 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1Kings 4:1 So king Solomon was king over all Israel. 1Kings 4:2 And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, 1Kings 4:3 Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. 1Kings 4:4 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: 1Kings 4:5 And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: 1Kings 4:6 And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. 1Kings 4:7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 1Kings 4:8 And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: 1Kings 4:9 The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan: 1Kings 4:10 The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 1Kings 4:11 The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 1Kings 4:12 Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: 1Kings 4:13 The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars: 1Kings 4:14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: 1Kings 4:15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 1Kings 4:16 Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: 1Kings 4:17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: 1Kings 4:18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: 1Kings 4:19 Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land. 1Kings 4:20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. 1Kings 4:21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. 1Kings 4:22 And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, 1Kings 4:23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl. 1Kings 4:24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. 1Kings 4:25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 1Kings 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 1Kings 4:27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. 1Kings 4:28 Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. 1Kings 4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 1Kings 4:30 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 1Kings 4:31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 1Kings 4:32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 1Kings 4:33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 1Kings 4:34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. Zechariah 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. Zechariah 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Zechariah 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. Zechariah 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. Zechariah 3:5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. Zechariah 3:6 And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Zechariah 3:7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Zechariah 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. Zechariah 3:9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Zechariah 3:10 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. Zechariah 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. Zechariah 4:2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: Zechariah 4:3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. Zechariah 4:4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Zechariah 4:5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Zechariah 4:8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Zechariah 4:9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Zechariah 4:11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? Zechariah 4:12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? Zechariah 4:13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Zechariah 4:14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; Ecclesiastes 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: Ecclesiastes 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, Ecclesiastes 12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; Ecclesiastes 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Ecclesiastes 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. Ecclesiastes 12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. Ecclesiastes 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; Romans 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Romans 3:29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. Romans 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?Romans 4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Romans 4:9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. Romans 4:10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. Romans 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: Romans 4:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. Romans 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Romans 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Romans 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 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 man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Genesis 15:2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. Genesis 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 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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- Thanks- John. THE CALLER TIMES OF CORPUS CHRISTI- Questions for Dwayne Bivona- Tim Archuleta- Nick Jimenez- Allison Ehrlich- and Tome Whitehurst Jr.- did they illegally collude in their recent articles?- the public has a right to know!
Micah 6:9 The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Did the Caller Times collude in racist coverage of White Mayor? https://youtu.be/VStK1kdUJbY .Why did the Caller Times have 3 opinion pieces against the White mayor? .All 3 put blame at the White mayors feet if civilians are killed by cars because the mayor took down road blocks .Yet- the majority of the citizens of Corpus Christi want the barriers taken down .One opinion piece said the mayors decision will lead to babies being run over in baby strollers .Yet in the past the Caller Times defended the Mexican Judge- Manuel Banales- for his maiming of people in vehicular crimes .We call upon the caller times- and the following employees- Dwayne Bivona- Tim Archuleta- Nick Jimenez- Allison Ehrlich- Tom Whitehurst Jr. To immediately release their financial information- salaries- etc.- so the public can see if their are any political- or corruption connections that has led to their obvious racist coverage of the White mayor .The Caller Times has asked this same information from local Christian ministries before- .So we- the public- have a right to know the same .In their editorial page for Tuesday- December 19- 2017 they made defamatory statements against the White Mayor- even to the point of putting the blame on him if any children die because of his decision to open shoreline road .Did the caller times illegally collude with any anti Anglo organizations before publishing such biased opinion articles? .Why does the Caller Times defend a decision by one rogue employee to shut down a major road- and question the white mayor when he simply was doing his job in order to prevent one rogue employee from making a decision that would effect 360 thousand people? .They never did this when the Mexican mayor Nelda Martinez simply did her job? .We- the public- ask for the Caller Times to come clean- .We live in a day where all people- regardless of race or creed- should be treated fairly .The obvious bias of their coverage of a White Mayor calls into question their reporting .We- the public- simply ask these questions today- will the Caller times simply respond that they have no illegal connections to corruption within Corpus Christ? .And that these connections- if true- are not being used to bring down leaders in this community- .The question has now been put forth in an open public forum- we- the public- are waiting for a response Isaiah 41:2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Caller Times refuses to respond- https://youtu.be/vrocL_xFCj4 .Filmed outside of the Caller Times .My experience with car wrecks versus the Caller Times editorial board .Did race play a role in the defamatory articles about the White mayor? .They refuse to answer to the public they claim to serve Isaiah 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations See the road for yourself- Caller Times refuses to answer questions of corruption and possible criminal collusion https://youtu.be/UGrVidXNneQ .See the road in question .Caller Times refuses to take their own advice .Who’s the rogue employee? .We the public have a right to know! .As of this video- the Caller Times refuses to answer the questions posed to them today on public forums .Racism discussion .Will the Caller Times finally release their financial records- the same way they too have asked of the churches in this community for the past 35 years? .Why the double standard Caller Times? .What are you trying to hide? Jeremiah 6:27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Nick Jimenez and the Caller Times- were not living in the days of the 1968 lowrider anymore! https://youtu.be/Gr1gegEspUs .Tom Petty- the only good thing about his passing .The judge the caller times refuses to cover .We call for a criminal investigation of the rogue employee who possibly broke the law by illegally obstructing a right of way by not going thru proper channels .Welcome to the new day caller times Jeremiah 17:15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Will the Caller Times editorial board face obstruction of justice charges for their pressuring of the mayor to drop his investigation of possible criminal activity by a rogue city worker? https://youtu.be/bg5Fg7dpr4o LAST NOTE- I have done today what the local media does every day- I have asked them to answer the tough questions. These questions were posted thru out the day on many public forums. Before I ‘go to press’- I have given them one last opportunity to be open with the community they claim to serve- and simply give us- the public- some answers. But they have refused to do so- So I will post this in a few minutes- and let the chips fall where they may. It is indeed possible that they have committed the crime of obstruction of Justice in their pressuring of a city official to drop his investigation into possible criminal activity. And if so- then the courts must decide the just punishment. But to be honest- the other crimes the media have covered up for are the real damage to our community. The things I talked about thru out the day. Whats worse- a rogue city employee putting up a barrier- or a rogue judge with connections to the drug cartels out of Mexico? I’ll let you- the public- decide. NEWS- http://www.caller.com/story/opinion/2017/12/18/stop-old-shoreline-study-before-someone-gets-hurt/961224001/ http://www.caller.com/story/opinion/2017/12/18/keep-vehicles-off-old-closed-shoreline/961442001/ http://www.caller.com/story/opinion/2017/12/18/let-bayfront-progress-continue-keep-cars-off-old-shoreline/961651001/ Crime of obstructing road without proper legal authority [example- the mayor or council approval] https://criminaldefensefortcollins.com/highway-obstruction-yes-and-criminal-charge/ https://saputo.law/criminal-law/texas/obstructing-highway/ http://codes.findlaw.com/tx/penal-code/penal-sect-42-03.html I also searched for ‘is it a crime for the media to cover up an illegal act’- the links that popped up all dealt with false statements and things like that. The question I was looking for was- did the Caller Times and it’s editorial board possibly open themselves up to criminal charges by covering up the possible crimes of the person [rogue] who illegally blocked shoreline. It’s possible that they did- and will face criminal charges if they illegally colluded during their editorial board meetings. They openly said they wanted the person who may have committed this crime to receive an award. So yes- in my view- if they knowingly tried to pressure the mayor to drop his investigation into the rogue employee- it’s possible that the writers of the article will face criminal charges- in my view. The other law that might have been breached is the obstruction of justice charge- meaning if the editorial board- mentioned at the top of this post- knowingly engaged in trying to get the investigation into the rogue employee dropped- then yes- this might be obstruction of justice. Meaning- the caller times did not simply give their opinion- but they put public pressure on a government official to stop investigating possible criminal activity- the unlawful blocking of a roadway- so yes- in my view- the editorial board might have broken several laws in their recent press releases. 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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- Thanks- John. SUNDAY SERMON 12-10-17
2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Sunday sermon- https://youtu.be/qNVuuTMZch4 https://vimeo.com/247486075 Isaiah 28:6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Update https://youtu.be/DazUlC0XaCs ON VIDEO- .Verses from the Mass and Church Unlimited .Your warfare is finished .The fore runner is on the way .Einstein and time .Creation and the flood event .Mars [the planet] .Science and politics .One day with God .John the Baptist .Qumran community and the Essenes https://www.gotquestions.org/Essenes.html .John baptizes Jesus .Herod’s slaughter of the children .Kingdoms in conflict .Dead Sea Scrolls .Reliability of scripture NEW- I talked on the verses from the Sunday Mass and a few from Church Unlimited- I’ll add my past teachings below and try and simply share a point or 2 here- The reading from the Old Testament focused on the calling of John the Baptist- Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And in the reading from the gospel we see the fulfillment- Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. John came out of nowhere if you will- some scholars think John was part of the Qumran community- these were Jews who separated themselves and lived a solitary life- Whether John was an Essene I don’t know- But he was certainly a culture shock to the people he preached to- He was dressed like a wild prophet- wore camels skins and ate locusts and honey- Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; Yet- he was sent by God- and was spoken about some 600 years before he appeared on the scene- Even Malachi prophesied about him- Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. Jesus himself said this was speaking about John- Matthew 11:7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? Matthew 11:8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. Matthew 11:9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. Matthew 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Being we are in the chapter- he also said John fulfilled the Elijah prophecy as well- Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. Matthew 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias [Elijah] which was for to come. We find this prophecy in Malachi as well- Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. So John comes on the scene- challenges the authorities of his day- And has the great honor of baptizing Jesus himself- Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. Mark 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: Mark 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. I taught the whole gospel of Mark this past year and will add any past teaching that relates below- The passage from Peter talked about being ready for the coming of the Lord- the Day of God- 2Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 2Peter 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 2Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2Peter 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. I also applied the principle of time- and how God is not limited by time- as we are. Of course had to get into Einstein again- But the practical point I tried to make was when we have a day in the presence of God- Then simply having that communion with God- Can in a way accomplish a ‘years’ worth of trying to do something in the flesh- by our own ability- without that ‘day’ or time in the presence of God-\ Get it? 2Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Ok- talked about much more- but for this brief intro- I’ll end it here- God bless all- John Other links- [Other stuff I talked about on today’s video] https://www.space.com/17048-water-on-mars.html https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/evidence-for-a-flood-102813115/ https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/global/worldwide-flood-evidence/ PAST POSTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/10/sunday-sermon-18/ https://ccoutreach87.com/genesis/ https://ccoutreach87.com/mark-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ EPHESIANS- LINKS https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/13/ephesians-2/ MONDAY 2-27-17 Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. https://youtu.be/ZqN2KEmxBRk JERSEY CITY [Mark 1] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-27-17-jersey-city-ride-mark-1.zip ON VIDEO [Past links- verses below] .See Jersey City- Journal square- Kennedy Blvd. to 41st st. .CNN and Jesus? .John who? .Why no miracles before Jesus baptism? .Alone with God .Who said this ‘Prayer is strength for the weak’? .Another Mustang story NEW- Took a drive thru Jersey City and did the video from the car. In Mark 1 we read about the forerunner- John the Baptist. He baptized in water but said ‘a mightier one is coming- he will baptize you with the Spirit’. Sure enough- Jesus shows up and John baptizes him in the Jordan. As Jesus comes up out of the water we hear ‘this is my beloved Son- in whom I am well pleased’. The Father is testifying of the Son. Jesus is now anointed for the 3 year earthly ministry we read about in the gospels. He begins going to the synagogues and preaching- casting out demons. The people are shocked ‘he preaches with authority- not like the regular preachers we are used to’. Jesu beings gathering his team of men- and the crowds are being drawn. Yet- he seems to be avoiding the crowds. He heals a leper and tells the man not to spread the word about it. Yet the man ‘blazes’ the matter to everyone. The Spirit descending on Jesus like a ‘dove’ was right before his temptation of 40 days- in the wilderness- by satan. It was this test that prepared him for the work. We read in another gospel that he returned in the power of the Spirit after his temptation. The same Spirit that anointed Jesus also is now with us. The Spirit of God is in all who believe-and that same Spirit empowers us for the task. Jesus rose up early in the morning and went to a place where he could be alone with the Father. Even after the anointing of the Spirit- and the test- yet he taught us to have ‘alone time’ with God. Jesus told his men ‘Pray- the spirt indeed is willing- but the flesh is weak’. In this chapter we see the beginning of the ministry of Jesus- and his proclamation that the kingdom of God is near. He called the people to repentance- and to believe the good news of the kingdom. John [the Baptist] served his purpose well- he introduced the Lamb of God- and then fades from the scene. Yes- John showed us what it was all about. 26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. PAST LINKS- [My past teaching that relates to today’s post] https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ 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/ VERSES- [I quoted/talked from 3 accounts of the baptism of Jesus and the temptation of Jesus as recorded in the gospels- below are all 3 accounts- as well as the verses I quoted on the video] Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Mark 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; Mark 1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. Mark 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: Mark 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Mark 1:12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. Mark 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. Mark 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. Mark 1:18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. Mark 1:19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. Mark 1:20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. Mark 1:21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. Mark 1:22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. Mark 1:23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Mark 1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Mark 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. Mark 1:26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. Mark 1:28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. Mark 1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Mark 1:30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. Mark 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. Mark 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. Mark 1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door. Mark 1:34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Mark 1:36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. Mark 1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. Mark 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. Mark 1:39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. Mark 1:40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Mark 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. Mark 1:42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. Mark 1:43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; Mark 1:44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Mark 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter. ________________________________________ Matthew 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Matthew 3:4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, Matthew 3:6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: Matthew 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. Matthew 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. ________________________________________ Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Matthew 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. Matthew 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, Matthew 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Matthew 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; Matthew 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Matthew 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 4 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Luke Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 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 man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Deuteronomy 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 (1145) THE FLOOD- Okay, this is a hot topic. First, the flood really happened! Some old earth creationists insist on a local version of it, others say it was worldwide [I’m in the world wide camp]. God tells Noah to embark on a very long building program. He certainly looks like a nut to those around him. Eventually the Ark is finished and Noah and his family get in, they bring 7 of every clean animal and 2 of every ‘unclean’ type. It rains [some say 40 days and nights, others think it rained longer] and the ‘fountains of the deep are opened up’ obviously a reference to some type of Tectonic action. After everything dies, the Ark rests and Noah and his family repopulate the planet. The young earth creationists have good arguments from this story [real event!] some of the old earth brothers tend to trivialize it. Ever since the science of geology gained ground [19th-20th centuries] many have argued for a very old earth based on the geologic table. They look at the different strata of the earth [levels] and say ‘see, these levels took millions of years to develop, you have dinosaurs buried in the lower levels, then other types of animals, birds and then man is rarely found fossilized’ these brothers see a sort of scientific record that backs up the progressive creation view. They say the creation days are ages, and the science shows us deep time. Are there any other explanations for the various fossil levels? Yes. The young earth brothers will make a very good argument that the cataclysmic effect of the flood caused the levels. They say the reason you find dinosaurs and other land animals at lower levels is a result of natural panic and survival during the flood. The slower, heavier animals would die first and get buried first. The birds lasted longer of course; they kept flying to high land until they too died off. Man was the smartest of the bunch, he managed to survive longest, and that’s why you don’t find as many fossils of man as you do other creatures [those who die late would not get covered in sediment and would simply rot!] This argument isn’t that bad, to be honest. There are of course many other things besides this, the point I want to make is if you rule out the biblical record of a world wide flood, then you are leaving out other interpretations of the data. Most young and old earth brothers agree on the actual record [i.e.; we do see things buried at different levels] they simply disagree on the interpretation of the data. Lets do a few practical things here, God had Noah prepare things ahead of time. He also spent some down time in a huge boat with a ‘lot of dung’ [ouch!] Often times on the journey we hit spots that don’t look [or smell] that great. People might even mock us ‘look at that idiot Noah, he’s even got his family believing in this stuff!’ but when it was all said and done he was vindicated. Those who tend to spiritualize the stories of Genesis usually see the first 11 chapters as a mix of symbol and history. The genealogies of chapters 4, 5 and 11 are sometimes seen as not exact [by the way, in the last entry I used Enoch as an example of the ascension, the Enoch who was taken up was the Enoch of chapter 5]. The reasons are various [like the other ancient near east genealogies used 10 generation lists, both chapter 5 and 11 are 10 generation lists]. Some do this in order to fit more time into the biblical record. Jesus, Peter and the writer of Hebrews all speak of Noah and his flood as a real historic event! There should be no reason for believers to doubt or spiritualize these stories away. But we also want to be open to the reality that other cultures had their own tellings of these stories, and that the recording of genealogies does not mean there is no room for an older earth [the genealogies are accurate, but they don’t start right at the beginning of time!]. And let’s finish in a practical way, are you going thru a season of feeling stuck in a big box with a lot of dung? Sometimes the word of the Lord to us is ‘just survive at this time, when the storms over things will look better again’. The Lord used Noah to have an influence on the entire civilization that would re-populate the planet! God will increase your influence if you simply find a way to survive the flood. 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? [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] VERSES- [These are the verses I either quoted or taught on today’s post- Sunday Sermon- 12-10-17] Luke 13:32 [Full Chapter] And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Luke 2:41-52King James Version (KJV)41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. Matthew 2:18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations December 10, 2017 « December 9 | December 11 » Second Sunday of Advent Lectionary: 5Reading 1IS 40:1-5, 9-11 Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Go up on to a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care. Responsorial PsalmPS 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14 R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. Reading 22 PT 3:8-14 Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay," but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace. AlleluiaLK 3:4, 6 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: All flesh shall see the salvation of God. R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMK 1:1-8 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 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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- Thanks- John. EPHESIANS 2
Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Ephesians 2 https://youtu.be/nILDsbbHiok https://vimeo.com/246962445 Friends- https://youtu.be/yn-q0HwTPhM Andy- GPL- https://youtu.be/9NqGwEClF3g I made these videos yesterday and needed a post to tag them to- I felt this day was meant to hang out with some of the guys- to be honest- I was cold but it was meant to be. You only catch a small glimpse of the day- I have known these guys for many years. Many of the friends I have met the last few years are really new friends- not part of the community that have been around for years. When I spent about 4 hours with Andy and Art- we did talk about the old days- but to be honest- Art shared in a way I have never heard him open up before- you don’t catch this on video- but after knowing him for around 20 years- it was one of the first times we had some real honest discussion. The whole day was indeed ministry- honest evaluation of our lives- some of the guys told me they never thought they would wind up where they ‘wound up’. Many of the guys have skills- education- and are very talented- and they have had to deal with the reality of the choices they have made- they were telling me this during our talks- And how they took responsibility for being where they are. To be honest- they were the ones actually ‘doing ministry’ this day- I was just there as a friend. Zechariah 8:6 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. ON VIDEO- [Ephesian 2] .Phone school .The course .True spiritual warfare .Our time .The snow came- 12-8-17 .We are his work .Created for good works .Troy barks .Men reconciled to one another .Seated with him .Not a culture- But God’s promise .There is one God .Objective truth .My talk with a Muslim at the Kingsville Fire Department .Texas A and I [now A and M] university .God will bless all the children of Abraham NEW- The ultimate victory over satan- is seen in the first few verses- Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. God made us alive- we have been raised with Christ- and it is in this act of redemption that delivers us from the ‘course of this world’- the course that unbelievers walk- and give expression to the ‘prince of the air’- Satan deceives lost man- and when man walks in the flesh- this is the primary way satan manifests himself in the world- Later in this study we will look at spiritual warfare- but for now- we see it is thru the Resurrection that satan has been dealt a death blow. Now the ‘famous’ passage- Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Yes- we are indeed saved by faith- not by works- We were dead in sin- unable to save ourselves- but because of God’s choice- his mercy and love- he raised us up from the dead and we are now positionally seated with Christ in heavenly places. Yet- there are works that are involved here- works that God himself predestined for us- Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. That's the new course- we have left the old one and the Spirit of God himself lives in us- and these good works of the Spirit were the plan of God for us before time- ahead of time- pre-planned if you will- our purpose and destiny in God. The work of Christ not only reconciles us to God- but also to each other Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Yes- the law in the first century [10 commandments and the law and the prophets] also played a role in division between Jew and Gentile- The law is good- yet in the hands of the first century religious leadership- it devolved into a sort of barrier- We see this in the interaction of Jesus and the religious leaders in the gospels. It created a class of people- who looked down on ‘the other’- Yet now in Christ- he took this out of the way by nailing it to his Cross- Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And not only brought man back to God- But man back to a right relationship with his fellow man. We are now ONE NEW MAN and the middle wall of partition is broken down- and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; The separation is gone- And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And it is this redeemed community that God dwells- we are the people of God- The Church of God- a temple of people that God dwells in- It is no longer about natural land and temple- or holy sites in the middle east- No- it’s about us- you and me- all who have embraced the love that God has shown to us- Yes- we are that spiritual community representing God to our fellow man- And this reconciliation to each other thru Christ- has enabled a people to become the actual dwelling of the living God- Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; Ephesians 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. The answers to the problems we see in the world today will never be found in any political leader- in any human agenda- though well meaning- these do not have the ability to truly reconcile man with his neighbor. But God has accomplished this thru his Son- as we have been redeemed thru the Cross- We are now the Holy dwelling place where God dwells- This spiritual temple has no earthly boundaries- it is found all over the earth right now- Africans sing the praises of our God- Europeans are worshiping the king as I type- Asians are meeting as brothers in Christ at this moment- Some in Muslim lands are embracing this great God and fully comprehending Jesus as the Prophet sent from God- As the Son of God- Yes- all nations are being brought together because this was the plan of God from the start- And this is the only plan that will ever work. PAST POSTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/ http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-2015-video-links-included-romans.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-study.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/study-galatiansjohns-gospel.html https://ccoutreach87.com/justification-by-faith/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/islam/ VERSES- Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Ephesians 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: Ephesians 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; Ephesians 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. SUNDAY SERMON 12-3-17
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. Sunday Sermon- https://youtu.be/d9GVMQwf6sE https://vimeo.com/246592849 ON VIDEO- .Gas pump .Law and Grace .Sons of God .Advent .The ants .Great awakening .Eye has not seen .New science radio show .Ethics .Aliens? .Religion- Philosophy- Science .The floating globe [I show it at the end of the video] .Aristotle .Ex-nihilo Nihil-fit .Fabric of the cosmos .Einstein .Point of singularity .Quantum Leap .Necessary being .Historical- Documentary evidence 12-7-17 Local- World news https://youtu.be/ZsZTsoTtTYw https://vimeo.com/246307058 12-7-17 Word Press! https://youtu.be/l-h7SXlEdMs https://vimeo.com/246330201 12-7-17 Radio Machine https://youtu.be/e63VO5csNe0 https://vimeo.com/246354808 SNOW! https://youtu.be/XRcHOelhTh8 https://vimeo.com/246430613 Snow- 2 https://youtu.be/NwI0Oq8gcfs https://vimeo.com/246435178 NEW- I covered a lot on the video- Just a few points- Jesus called us to yoke up with him- meaning we receive the grace of the new covenant in his blood- We are no longer under the yoke of the law- or bondage- but have been joined with him in new life- This is the ‘easy yoke’- he himself is doing the work by his Spirit which resides in us. God has given to us the wisdom and knowledge to carry out the task he has called us to do- We speak [utterance] and do the works of the kingdom- because in actuality it is God doing it thru us. I also got into apologetics- mentioned a new science show that has come on one of the local talk radio stations. I’m grateful for the show- but talked about some of the contradictions the good men made. This is not the first time I have dealt with the issue- but it shows us the limitations of science- I tried not to do this critique in a critical [or negative] way- but attempted to give a balance to the limits of science. I gave a little example form a ‘floating globe’ that my daughter bought a few weeks ago- Science now teaches us that there was a time when ‘nothing was’ [Big Bang]- We did not always know this- that there was an actual starting point to time- matter- space and energy. But science [not religion] has now proven this.. We also know- thru science- that nothing comes from nothing. So- because we do indeed have something today- creation- by necessity there must have been a cause for this [necessary being]- This cause had to have been outside of the created order- he had to be non- matter- and he himself had to have no beginning point- This is a logical- scientific statement- because all things could not have come from no thing [nothing]. So thinkers- scientists- theologians- all of them have to answer the question of First Cause. The only logical conclusion is a being who himself has no beginning- this being by necessity has to have immense knowledge- wisdom- and creative ability. Christian thinkers have called this being God- Who according to Christian tradition does indeed posses all the attributes mentioned above. Some atheists have credited all things to some type of alien being- and they have also attributed these same attributes to their ‘alien’- Simply showing us that even the greatest scientific minds realize it is not possible for there to be anything today [world- universe- etc.] unless something started it- created it- did it. This is not a religious belief- This is the only logical explanation for why things exist today [Law of cause and effect]- Remember- nothing comes from nothing- ever. Ok- I talked about much more on the video- And will try and add my past teachings below- John PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s post- Sunday Sermon- 12-3-17] http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-of-bible-story-abrahams-kid.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/james-2015-video-links-included-james-1.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/john-complete-links-added.html https://ccoutreach87.com/qm/ https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/atheism-apologetics-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ [see link for chapter 11] https://ccoutreach87.com/mark-links/ [See link for chapter 13] http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/12/sunday-sermon.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/st-2-nd-corinthians-9421-st.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html MARK 13 Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ON VIDEOS- MARK 13- https://youtu.be/vYBGKqDp5aE https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/7-18-17-mark-13.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/7-18-17-mark-13/ FRIENDS- https://youtu.be/-NmAm67q4BU [Made the 2nd video the other day with some friends- figured I would post it now] .Olivet discourse [End times] .Herod’s temple .Ventriloquist .Demon possession .Signs of the end .A.D. 70- Titus .Qumran community listened .Dead sea scrolls .Anti- christ .Preterism .2nd coming .Rapture? .What generation? .Hal Lindsey- Harold Camping .Prophetic clock? .End of age [not world as you might think] .Man of sin .Reductionism .Salvation from what? .John Nelson Darby .Tacitus- Josephus .End times- according to Jesus FRIENDS- .Furman- Andy .George- Craig .Cassie .2 Bobby’s? NEW- Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple- which took place in AD 70 under the Roman General Titus [who later became an emperor]- Mark 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. In Mark’s Gospel the disciples ask ‘when will this be’- talking only about the destruction of the temple- Mark 13:4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? In Matthews gospel they ask 3 things- Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Luke follows along the line of mark- Luke 21:5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,Luke 21:6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.Luke 21:7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? John’s gospel has no end times passage- possibly because he wrote an entire bible book on the end times- Revelation. Jesus gives us the basic signs that most of us are familiar with. Wars- persecution- those who endure to the end will be saved. Jesus also speaks of his second coming- And he says this happens after the tribulation- Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. He sends forth his angels and they gather together his people- Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. On the video I tried to explain the various ways bible teachers have approached the end times teaching. Some view the fulfillment as having happened in the 1st century [Preterists]. The historic belief of Christians is there will be centuries of difficulty for the church. The gospel will go to all the nations- Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. There will be a great shaking of many things. After all these things- Jesus will come back again- bodily- and there will be a Resurrection of the dead- KJ21 And I have hope in God, which they themselves also hold, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. Acts 24:15 All will stand before God and give an account- Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. There will be a new heaven and earth- all will be made new- New International Version Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Rev. 21:1 There will be no more curse- Revelation 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: There will be many false prophets- men who claim to be Christ himself- we are to avoid them- Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:Mark 13:6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. The only one who knows when Jesus will come back is God the Father- Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. We are to avoid setting dates for the 2nd coming. There have been many wicked men in the history of humanity that have been types of the anti- christ. There will be more to come- John himself said he [the spirit of anti christ] was already in the world- in the 1st century- 1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Our eyes should be fixed on Jesus- we should not become fixated on the figure of the anti- Christ. We should live our lives as if Jesus could come back at any time. Mark 13:34 For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.Mark 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:Mark 13:36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.Mark 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. Because even if this event does not happen in our life time- we might die any day- and will also have to give an account to God- Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: On the video I also tried to show you the different views of ‘This generation’ - Mark 13:30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. In your life- you have about a generation- 40- 50 years- in which you will fulfill your destiny. You will go thru great struggles in life- there will be a time of trouble like never before- you will be hated by people- Mark 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Mark 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. But if you endure thru all this- then you too will have a role in publishing the good news in all nations- Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. You too will send out ‘angels’ [messengers] to all the ends of the earth- Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. You too will be able to show your self alive after your suffering by many infallible proofs- Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And even in your life- you will have the honor to complete the mission God has given you- and then shall the end [outcome] be- Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s post- MARK 13] http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/07/rock-city-c.html https://ccoutreach87.com/588-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/07/acts-16/ MARK- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/28/jersey-city-ride-mark-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/02/mark-2-north-bergen/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/04/mark-3-isaiah-61/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/27/mark-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/05/mark-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/16/mark-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/30/mark-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/14/mark-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/07/mark-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/22/mark-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/14/mark-12/ 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] I quoted from these too- on today’s video- https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel/ https://ccoutreach87.com/nehemiah-isaiah/ ACTS 5 – As the word spreads rapidly, all the surrounding towns bring the sick and vexed to lie in the streets. Even the possibility of Peters shadow passing over them for healing is hoped for. Notice the charismatic reality of this early church. I do realize the many reasoning’s that intelligent people use to explain the miracles as limited to the Apostolic period, but for the most part we see a supernatural church in Acts as well as thru out the epistles and well into the first few centuries of Christianity. The 20th century story of Pentecostalism and the awakenings just prior, seem to show the reality of a supernatural church existing alongside a theological one! There is much proof to the orthodoxy and giftings of the church all thru out scripture and church history. Peters shadow healed people, how can we explain this away? [p.s. Phillip, who is not an Apostle, will also perform miracles. Just thru this in for those who teach the Apostles were the only miracle workers!] Now, the immediate response of the high priest and religious leaders was ‘if we don’t do something about this, their movement will gain momentum’. They imprison Peter and the Apostles. An angel appears and frees them and tells them ‘go back to the temple and speak the words of this life’. When the authorities realize what has happened they once again warn them about using Jesus name in their ministry. They even say ‘do you intend to bring this mans blood upon us’. Basically Peter says ‘yes’. Peter has been ‘putting it in their face’ ever since Pentecost. He has blamed BOTH the nation of Israel and her leadership for the death of Christ. He does not worry about offending them! During this time some priests become believers. The majority of them do not. Why? What has happened is common among movements. When an initial movement starts up, there is always the question of ‘is it from God or not’? A few years back the church went thru a renewal movement. Some referred to it as ‘the Toronto blessing’ ‘the laughing revival’ and other names. You had those who were 100 % against it and those 100 % for it. Who was right? Well, to a degree both of them! The point is there were some things that were needing rebuke, but to throw it all out was wrong. The defenders appealed to Jonathan Edwards’s writings and how during the first great awakening he experienced many of the same manifestations as the Toronto movement. Edwards left quite a bit of room for God being present in the religious emotions of the people. The critics were offended that the revival guys were appealing to Edwards and they would appeal to other stuff Edwards wrote in concern over the religious affections. You also had the same manifestations a century later under the second great awakening. The revivals in Kentucky had laughter and ‘strange barking’ and other weird stuff. The point is you always have a response to a religious movement. Once the battle lines are drawn, it is very hard to switch sides. In this chapter we see Gamaliel, a very respected Pharisee, stand up for the Apostles and say ‘lets give them some room, others before them rose up and gained a following, they all passed on. If this work is of God you can’t stop it, if it’s of men it will fail’. There was some breaking thru to the religious mind that was taking place in the elite religious thinkers of the day. After all, Peter has been quoting Psalms and Joel in ways that were confounding the religious thinkers. Don’t forget, Peter is an uneducated fisherman. Jesus deposited some stuff in his men that was way beyond the basic understanding of the day. Some ‘thinkers’ and intellectuals were humble enough to listen, most were not! (1357) I WILL UNCOVER THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN HIDDEN SINCE THE WORLDS FIRST DAY- [Jesus]. Yesterday I read an article in the paper that talked about an amazing dinosaur find in China; they found around 15 thousand fossils in a cave area. The amazing thing was the fact that so many dinosaurs would have been in one place right when they died. I immediately saw this as proof that would back up the creationist cataclysmic view of a worldwide flood destroying all life on the planet. As I read thru the article they explained how much of ‘fossil science’ has been done thru finds in the U.S., but over the last few years China [and the eastern world in general] have undergone their own industrial revolution and this has led to the unearthing of new ground for the purpose of construction and these new projects are unearthing these fossils. Much like what took place in the 19th century when many archaeologists were discovering ‘hidden things’ that seemed to be buried ‘since the foundation of the world’. In the 19th century it was popular for the intellectuals in theology to embrace the ‘historical/critical’ method of bible learning. Many began to reject the early dating of the New Testament [early- a.d. 50-70] and began accepting a theory that said much of the New Testament was written in the 2nd century. These ideas were promoted by men like Rudolph Bultman and were made popular at the German university which he taught at [in Marburg]. So it became ‘intellectually fashionable’ to accept this new way of critiquing scripture. One problem- as the industrial revolution took off in the west archeology rose as a new science and we now had the ability to historically search for clues. A famous historian by the name of Sir Ramsey went on this exhibition to see whether or not the bible was accurate when it spoke about ‘so called’ first century things. Our bibles do have lots of names of political characters and certain historical events that can be measured for accuracy. Ramsey found to his dismay that all the evidence leaned towards the ‘less enlightened’ view of an early dating of the New Testament. This was a tough pill to swallow by the intellectuals who had already formed their opinions on the subject, but in due time most trustworthy scholars would come to accept [for the most part] the earlier dating. So now back to the dinosaurs, as the article went on they admitted that it’s possible that a Tsunami might have caused the dinosaurs to gather in one place before their deaths- A FLOOD! It’s funny because some in the modern scientific community have argued, very convincingly, that the Geologic table and the extinction of the dinosaurs can be attributed to a world wide flood. Others have vehemently opposed this idea [most evolutionists]. And now the new evidence seems to be backing up a flood theory, they simply don’t want to admit it. Like the intellectuals of Sir Ramsey’s day, the smart thing to do is to go where the evidence leads. The facts don’t lie; these are ‘facts’ that are being now uncovered, things hidden ‘since the world’s first day’. 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] Aristotle did not believe that something comes from nothing- a phrase that will come up a lot as we progress in this study is ‘ex nihilo nihil fit’- meaning Nothing comes from Nothing. He was also what we refer to as a Teleolologist- he believed that there was design and purpose in the created order of things. He saw design in the universe- world. Many today embrace an idea that there is no purpose or design- that the design we see in the material world is by accident- and furthermore some say all that we see- CAME FROM NOTHING. I can’t stress enough that this is simply not possible- I don’t say this from the Christian view point alone- but from a scientific one. Science deals with the observation and testing of things- we look into the material world and come to certain conclusions based on what we see- observe. One of the most fundamental observations that science SEES- is what I quoted above- NOTHING COMES FROM NOTHING. That is- every effect has a cause. This is important for our day- because many have capitulated to the view that all things CAME FROM CHANCE. Not only is this statement illogical [chance is simply a word- this statement ascribes Ontological status to a word- which is impossible]. But it is scientifically not true. Why? Because science shows us that things do not ‘pop into existence’ without a cause- from nothing. True science in no way contradicts belief in God- no- it backs it up. Aristotle- as well as most of the great thinkers we shall cover- came to the conclusion that there had to be some immaterial thing [being] that was the cause of all other things. Now- why did he argue for a PRIME MOVER? Because he believed that the universe was eternal- if there ever came a time when science showed us that the universe had a beginning point- then the argument would be over. The Theists [those that believe in God] would win. Sure enough- in the 20th century that’s exactly what happened. Today Physics teaches us that time- space- matter did indeed have a beginning point- what we refer to as the Big Bang Theory. If the early thinkers had this knowledge- then the argument for a Prime Mover would be moot- because instead we would have a Prime Starter- see? Aristotle is credited with writing the second greatest work on Ethics from the ancient period- called Ethics [the first one being Plato’s Republic]. He wrote on political theory- believed that Aristocracy [rule by the excellent] was the best form of government [sort of like Socrates Philosopher Kings]. Aristotle’s most famous student was Alexander the Great. During Alexander’s conquests- he took a huge team of scientists with him- they collected all types of specimens from these conquests- and Alexander brought them back to Athens and they were used at the Lyceum for further study. It has been said that this was the most expensive scientific enterprise up to the day of the modern space program. He taught that the intellectual virtues can be taught directly- but the moral ones HAD TO BE LIVED FIRST. The bible says ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom’. I agree. Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. Proverbs 3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. Unfinished study- will complete over time. JOHN LOCKE- JESUS- AND MONEY. https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-22-15-john-locke-political-theory-and-jesus.zip Today’s video [and post] is one of those ‘spur of the moment’ ones- I made the video/post yesterday- ‘off the cuff’- I’m at the ranch as I write- and have no WiFi out here- or I’d post it now- I also don’t have my on-line concordance- so I’ll try and remember exactly where some of the verses are and add them in [I do have my on-line bible saved to the drive!] This video/post is in keeping with some of the stuff I’ve been recently teaching. [parts] 1869- THE GOD PARTICLE [and Mayan flag day] Hope you ‘all’ had a good 4th of July. I actually flew the flag for the 2nd time in so many months. For years I never had a house flag- I hung them up daily at the fire dept for 25 years and it never dawned on me to get one. So when I woke up on Memorial Day and saw my neighbor’s flag flying high- yea- it made me feel like a commie. So I went and bought a flag. I asked my wife- ‘where did you put the flag’ ‘it’s in the closet’. I get the flag- it’s around 7 or so- and I walk back into the room ‘let’s go hang the flag’. My wife says ‘what do you mean- you need 2 people to hang it’? No. But I want you to stand next to me and recite the pledge. I thought it was funny- she didn’t seem to think so. Yeah- I’m one of those types that get the most use out of a purchase as possible. I’ll probably be flying it on that Mayan calendar day- I think it’s coming up pretty soon? So- as I debated about what we should discuss today- I picked up the paper [yesterday morning] and the front page headline read ‘JUSTICE DEPT SUES CITY’. I mentioned this the other day- about the fire dept not hiring enough women [they say]. I read about half of the article- I read the stats- we actually hired more women than other comparable cities. I really did not want to do another whole post on the thing- but it was sad to see that as a front page headline- I don’t think we have ever been sued by our own govt. before. [in the post the other day- I think I used the word threat- maybe not- but now I know they did sue]. I have written about our attorney general before- Eric Holder- this guy has politicized the justice dept to no end. I could give you example after example- even his past dealings are very shady- the Mark Rich pardon- a pardon he recommended when he worked in the Clinton days. By all accounts- Clinton pardoned a crook because he had connections- Holder used his influence to get the dirty deed done. Pure- 100% Chicago politics- corrupt to the core. Okay- instead- let’s do the other big news story- the so called God Particle. Yeah- I heard/read a bunch of stories on the so called breakthrough discovery. Now- I am not ‘anti science’. I am not a person who believes the earth is only 6 thousand years old- or that kids rode on the backs of dinosaurs. But- in the historic setting of apologetics- and the role that science has played in the debate- I must say there are lots of misconceptions floating around in the air. Okay- a brief history of the scientific method and how it came to be. The past year or so I covered lots of posts on philosophy and physics and world history in general. We covered how during the middle of the last millennium [500years ago] the world began a break thru in many areas- and we often refer to this as the modern era. Man- science- thought- all of the fields we see as part of the modern era- they began at around this point. Science/philosophy and religion all played a big role in the debate. One of the big boys was a man named David Hume- he was a thinker who questioned what we talked about the other day- the law of cause and effect. This law simply says that every effect has a cause. Hume challenged the popular idea that we can know causes. He said we think we can know the cause of something- but in reality we can’t be sure. The example Hume gave was the Pool table. He said we see a person hit the q ball- the ball hits another ball and it goes into the pocket. Hume said it might look like this a string of cause and effects- but we don’t know for sure. Maybe there are other reasons why the balls are reacting like this. Another famous example is the Rooster crowing- the guy couldn’t sleep in because the sun kept shinning in his window- so every morning right before the sun rose he heard the darn rooster crow. So he shot the rooster. Just because one act precedes another- this does not mean that is the cause. Okay- we got it Hume. But some began to doubt all possible knowledge- they said you can’t make any judgments at all- because we don’t know for sure what the real cause is. Okay- this led another great thinker- Kant- to challenge Hume [the famous quote from Kant was ‘he woke up out of his dogmatic slumber’] and Kant said even though we can’t be 100 % sure- yet for any possibility for science to function- we do need to be able to have some type of way we can settle on knowledge- science does need to be able to say ‘okay- we have looked at this long enough- we think this is what’s causing this’. Okay- this whole debate is called Epistemology- how we know stuff. Now- the God particle. As I listened to the various reports the last 2 days- I could tell right off the bat that there was some funny stuff going on. The actual statements form the scientists are saying ‘well- we haven’t ACTUALLY seen the particle [also called Higgs Boson] but- we have detected enough other particles- so we think the Boson is more than likely there too’ or ‘it’s like looking in the distance- and you think you see someone- but maybe you’re looking at his twin instead’. Okay- what kind of argument is this? This is what we call a Metaphysical argument. It’s an argument that is made- not because you actually detected the thing- but you have come to a conclusion based on the Scientific Method of Induction/Deduction. You looked at- observed- and tested various things- and you now say ‘well- it must be there- because look at all the other stuff’. [layman’s terms]. Okay- is there anything wrong with this. Not really. But- here’s the catch- many in the modern field of physics refute the argument for the existence of God because in the end it is a metaphysical one. That is- the materialist scientist [one who says we only deal in facts that we can actually see\detect] uses metaphysical arguments all the time- he just does not realize he is doing this. Remember the other day- I posted about the many contradictions good men make when mixing science with apologetics and the laws of argumentation [or logic]. They often do not realize they are contradicting themselves- or making out right nonsense statements- because they are scientists- not logicians. So what we have in the Higgs Boson case- in the Dark Matter- Dark energy case- in the entire Multi Verse theory [many universes]. In all these theories- which now make up the majority of modern physics- they are all the same type of argument that the materialist scientist says are not good arguments- at least when it comes to the argument for the existence of God. In a nutshell- if we agree to accept that a certain particle must exist- not because we have actually detected it- but because ‘well- it must be there- because if not- then how do we explain everything else’? If these arguments are being used in all of the above scenarios- and trust me- they are. Then we can’t exclude the Theist from the table- we can’t say ‘no- you silly Christian- you deal in things we DON’T SEE- we deal in things we do see.’ Actually- you don’t. All of the above theories are conclusions based on how the other things around them respond. The reason many think Dark Matter exists- is not because we have found it- we haven’t. But because in order for the standard model- well- to stand- then Dark Matter simply ‘must be’. Okay- this is the same type of argument the Theist [one who believes in God] uses. If you want to exclude the believer from the table- on the grounds that he appeals to a ‘non detectable’ being. Then we must ditch all of the above. And it seems- Higgs Boson too. NOTE- all scientists are not materialists- many are believers- and even many non believers are not materialists. If you are a pure materialist scientist- one who says we cannot accept any other non material arguments [things we don’t actually see/detect] then you also would not be able to accept any of the major theories of physics today- that is if you were consistent in your thinking. Also why did the researchers at CERN release this as some great new finding? The ‘discovery’ was made at the new 10 billion dollar Hadron Collider. This is the world’s largest Atom smasher. In order for the Europeans to justify the cost- they had to convince people that this was the best chance to actually discover this long elusive particle. Now- Europe is in a near depression- as most of you know. This underground ‘particle smashing tunnel’ [I think it’s right on the French Swiss border?] when first opened- had a bad day. It leaked oil into the tunnel and it was shut down- and had to be repaired at the cost of millions of dollars. Okay- all of these guys realize- if you do not justify the cost of this thing- in the midst of a European depression- then what are the odds that your gonna keep getting funded? I don’t know if this was the main reason they came out with the statement now- but for them to have come out- and kinda have fudged on it- makes me wonder. www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com Note- 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. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to ‘click’ the note App on my Facebook Profile- I have posted lots. THE 5TH ELEMENT. Ok- let’s talk philosophy today- the last post on this subject I traced what we normally refer to as the beginning of Greek philosophy- a man by the name of Thales- 6th century BCE. We said that Thales had an idea that water was the principle element- water seemed to have the ability to move [motion] by itself- so Walla- maybe water is the principle thing. He was what we refer to as a Monist. Monists believed that there was one principle element- responsible for all other things. Now- the pre Socratic philosophers debated about this- some said it was air- others earth- some said fire- as a matter of fact- some said all 4 of these elements were responsible for existence. Now- some sought a 5th element- some yet to be discovered thing that would explain it all. A man by the name of Anaximander described it as ‘the boundless’- something that has no origin- he said it was ‘both unborn- and immortal’ ahh- you can already see the attributes of God in this [boundless- what Theologians call omnipresent- God having no limits- he is everywhere [but not everything- get to that in a moment] and ‘unborn’ that is he himself has no beginning]. Ok- this 5th element [some called it Ether- or Aether- a sort of wave theory- that light travels along this ether- this idea lasted till the day of Einstein- who showed us that Ether does not exist [in this way] but that light itself is made up of particles- photons- this was one of the major breakthroughs of modern physics]. A few years ago the movie ‘the 5th Element’- Bruce Willis- hit on this theme- sort of like the ‘God particle’- that is they were in search for some type of being that was eternal – self existent. The term Quintessence [quint- 5] came to be defined as this 5th element- and today we use the word Quintessential to describe the pure essence of a thing- the perfect embodiment of something. Over time the Greek thinkers would arrive at the idea that yes indeed- there was one main thing- Monism- that could be the source of all other things. It is interesting to note that the Jewish prophets- and wisdom literature- which predates these guys- already started from the standpoint of Monotheism- one God. Now- Monism is not Monotheism. Monism is really a form of what we call Pantheism [in the study of religion]. Pantheism says that God is ‘everything’- some eastern religions hold to this concept. The Christian view is that God is separate from creation- that he is indeed the original source of creation- but not the creation itself. The Geek philosophers even described this 5th element as ‘The One’- see- they were getting close. In today’s debates- some espouse an idea that there was no beginning point- that the universe is either eternal [something Einstein disproved with the Big Bang theory] or that there is a sort of infinite regress- that there is no one starting point- but that there have been a never ending [or beginning] series of ‘big bangs’ that go on forever. This defies the laws of logic- and math. Math? Yeah- many of the great physicists were also great mathematicians [like Einstein- and Max Plank- who was first a mathematician]. If there was no beginning point- mathematically it doesn’t ‘work’. You would never be able to arrive at the present time- if there was no starting point to measure from [I know this might sound strange- but this is indeed a proof- that there had to be a starting point]. What these thinkers show us is that even thru the ancient field of Philosophy- you still arrive at some type of ‘thing’ that is responsible for all other things. Some Christians reject the Big Bang theory- but in my view it gave the Christian apologist the greatest tool to argue for the existence of God. For many centuries it was believed that the universe was eternal- and if that was true- then indeed you did not have to have an outside source that was responsible for it. But Einstein showed us that there was a beginning point- that the universe is in a continual expansion mode- and if it is getting ‘bigger’ by the second- then yes- it did have a starting point. Many today think that it ‘popped’ into existence on its own- this is both scientifically and logically impossible- it violates the law of Cause and Effect [every effect has to have a cause also ‘out of nothing- nothing comes’]. There was a famous Christian who abandoned the faith- Bertrand Russell- he said ‘if everything has to have a cause- then God must have one too- and if God needs a cause- then why not see the universe as the cause’. Tough Russell was a good man- he made a mistake here. The laws of logic do not say that everything has to have a cause- but every effect has to have one. In essence- somewhere along the line- going back to the beginning- there must be an initial cause- that has no beginning- Anaximander’s Boundless One. Ok- I won’t do too many of these posts in a row- because as you can see- this takes time- and you lose people along the way. But- over the next few weeks I’ll slip a post like this in- it helps when dealing with those who have sincere objections to the faith- and it also debunks some common misconceptions. https://youtu.be/NiQdGyM6mjk History of everything- 2 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-17-16-2-history-of-everything.zip MY LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/russia-u-s-world-events/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/atheism-apologetics/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/ ON VIDEO- .I hit the jackpot! .A.A. .Renaissance .Erasmus .Copernicus .Spontaneous Generation? .Darwin .Aquinas Locke .Kant .Latin Vulgate- Jerome Luther .Church fathers .Henry the 8th .Marx .Freud .Einstein .Law of cause and effect .Fossil record? .Scientific method ‘invented’ by the Catholic church- true [Jesuits] .The $200 dollar sign to AA .Recovery .You all have your own TV channel- for free .Social media- use it for good NEW- [past posts- versus below] On today’s video I fill in some blanks- As time progressed- and man advanced in knowledge- he also thought we would arrive at a time where advanced civilization would ‘through off’ the harmful effects of the church. Yet- they struggled with the idea of how a society could regulate itself [moral aw] without ‘God’s law’. So- some thinkers like Kant- Locke talked about ‘natural law’ which actually is one of the ‘proofs’ of God. Because where did man- on his own- have this innate understanding of morality? It’s not simply what they came up with- but it’s imbedded in his conscience [which is another proof of God- why do humans have this conscience? - or self-awareness- where did that come from? Why can’t we really create a computer with this characteristic? A.I.] This is the period of the Enlightenment- and the Philosophers on the rise. Men Like Freud [later] would do a grand experiment- saying ‘actually the cause for man’s problems- is this very thing- him trying to deal with the guilt of sin’ [which he denied] and said man should act out on his desires- which we refer to as the philosophy of Hedonism. He taught the idea of sexual revolution- and died as a victim of his own thinking. Eventually man came to the end of his new journey- without God in his thoughts- and wound up back at the beginning. God indeed was the creator- and his laws are the only possible way for society to regulate itself. Jesus Christ came to redeem man- from the very thing he could not do for himself. Through the death and resurrection of ‘the Logos’ we are now brought back into right relationship with God- and all the pieces of the puzzle come together [Overblog- see the rest here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ ] Not that hard- is it? RUSSIA- 2 days ago- Russia bombed- killed many of the troops we raised up in Syria. Our planes were flying overhead- to guarantee their protection. Russia has not been bluffing- they flew 2 planes- right next to ours- and bombed them. Defense secretary Carter was livid- because Russia [like I said recently] is ready to have a real- HOT WAR- with the U.S. Both on their border with the NTAO states- as well as over Syria. I’ll add the news link on this or the next post. It didn’t get a lot of play in the media- because it is what Russia said all along- they are not ONLY going to kill ISIS fighters- but all the rebel/terrorists on the ground. A great majority of those groups are backed by the U.S. Carter- in an interview makes it sound like ‘what are they up to- they are deceiving the world because they said they would only bomb ISIS’. THAT’S A LIE- Lavrov [the defense guy from Russia] said from day one- we will bomb them all- even the terrorists the U.S. is backing [news link at bottom [parts] Okay- I am skipping a bunch of stuff to jump into the thinkers who represent the most popular forms of atheism- Marx, Nietzsche and Freud. But first we need to take a look at Ludwig Feuerbach. L.F. [Ludwig Feuerbach] laid the groundwork for these other more famous rejecters of God and Christianity. During the enlightenment period it was rare for the critics of religion to hold an outright atheistic view- men like Hume and Voltaire- though true critics of the church- did not come out openly and deny the existence of God. It was also difficult [impossible?] to hold professorships in the universities if you were a doubter of God. Both Hume and Voltaire did not hold positions. F.S. was Hegelian in a way [he followed Hegel’s idea that ‘God’ comes to self consciousness thru the development of humanity] but F.S. was a Materialist- Hegel was an Idealist. Remember- idealism is the philosophical system that sees reality existing in forms/ideas first- then later comes the material thing. The great ancient philosophers- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were all Idealists. F.S. espoused the idea that reality starts with the material existence of man first- and thru religion man ‘projects’ the idea of God/spirit into society- and as man and [parts] NEW STUFF- 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 PAST POSTS I WROTE THAT RELATE- . TELOS [What’s your purpose?] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/7-3-15-telos-or-jack-nichols-n-the-3-dollar-tip.zip A telos (from the Greek τέλος for "end", "purpose", or "goal") is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term "teleology," roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology figures centrally in Aristotle's biology and in his theory of causes. It is central to nearly all philosophical theories of history, such as those of Hegel and Marx. One running debate in contemporary philosophy of biology is to what extent teleological language (as in the "purposes" of various organs or life-processes) is unavoidable, or is simply a shorthand for ideas that can ultimately be spelled out nonteleologically. Philosophy of action also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary: on Davidson's account, an action is just something an agent does with an intention--that is, looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action. In contrast to telos, techne is the rational method involved in producing an object or accomplishing a goal or objective; however, the two methods are not mutually exclusive in principle. Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,[1] and to enjoy him forever.[2] 1Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings, 1Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may [parts] VERSES- [These are the verses I either quoted or taught on today’s post- Sunday Sermon] Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Psalm 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Psalm 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Proverbs 30:25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem ofJesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Romans 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations December 3, 2017 « December 2 | December 4 » First Sunday of Advent Lectionary: 2Reading 1IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7 You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands. Responsorial PsalmPS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. Rouse your power, and come to save us. R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted the son of man whom you yourself made strong. R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. Reading 21 COR 1:3-9 Brothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. AlleluiaPS 85:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Show us Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation. R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMK 13:33-37 Jesus said to his disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'" 窗体顶端 窗体底端 MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ [Main site too] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. KINGS 15
1Kings 15:4 Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: Kings 15 https://youtu.be/RuWHi4CgLE8 https://vimeo.com/245905344 http://ccoutreach87.com/11-30-17-kings-15/ http://ccoutreach87.com/11-30-17-kings-15-2/ ON VIDEO- .Motorcycle story .Dollar store too .Review last few chapters .For David’s sake .Good sons- bad sons .Prophecy fulfilled .Good kings build .Strategies for kingdom builders .The decree .Scripture reading as worship .Develop the habit .Not just stories Trump- collusion story- https://youtu.be/rb9m5FrK5f4 https://vimeo.com/245789058 [Made this the other day- real windy- but at least you get a good view of North Beach] NEW- Why am I still teaching Kings? I explain on video. Just a few practical things here- We see the heirs to the thrones [both Israel and Judah] and how their sons after them often follow the footsteps of their dads- but not in every case. Usually those with short reigns- are leading the people down wrong paths- and those with longer rule- are attempting to do what is right. Asa- king of Judah- does right- has a 41 year reign- and he is a builder. Yet- in times of trouble- he takes the restored wealth- and hires the king of Syria to fight against Baasha- king of Israel- in order to stop Baasha from fighting him. Baasha was building Ramah- a city that was vital to the survival of Judah- and the king of Syria does his ‘hired’ job- breaks a covenant he had with the king of Israel and attacks him. Baasha- the Israelite king leaves off building of Ramah- and goes home to protect his own turf. Then Asa makes a decree- and he uses all the stones that were being built against him- and builds good out of them. The lesson is clear- what the enemy meant for evil- Asa turned it around- and built the kingdom [or 2 cities]- Just a note- down the road we will read a rebuke that God gave to Judah- because they trusted in the arm of the flesh in hiring the king of Syria- and did not trust wholly in the Lord. But the idea was good at least- in using the enemies rocks- and making something good out of it. I’ll add my past teaching on this chapter below- and simply end this note by encouraging you- what roadblocks have you had to deal with on your journey? Have they seemed unfair? Often times they do- But turn it around- wait on the Lord- maybe for a season you will have to put the building project off- because of a fierce battle. Fine- fight the battle- but don’t forget to get back to the task at hand. You are a builder of the kingdom of God. The rulers of this world did something- they crucified the Lord of glory- But if they knew what they were doing at the time- they would have never done it- 1 Corinthians 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. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations But they were simply carrying out the foreordained will of God. And in the end- it worked out well. Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations PAST POSTS- [Past teachings I did that relate] https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/03/sunday-sermon-17/ KINGS- https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel-links-updated-3-17/ [see 2nd Sam 11-12- talked about it on today’s post- Kings 15] https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-kings/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/29/kings-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/12/kings-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/27/kings-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/04/kings-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/25/kings-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/17/kings-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/05/kings-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/18/kings-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/01/kings-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/22/kings-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/15/kings-12-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/19/kings-13-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/09/kings-14/ (927)2ND SAMUEL 11- David sends Joab and his men out to war. He stays home and takes a walk on his roof and spots Bathsheba. He sends a servant to contact her and he sleeps with her. He finds out she’s pregnant and the gears in his mind start moving. He calls her noble husband, Uriah, from the front lines of battle and pretends he just called him to inquire about the battle. He sends him home, hoping he will sleep with his wife, and then David will be off the hook. Sure enough Uriah is so noble that he refuses to sleep in his house when his men are in the battle. So David gives it a second shot and gets the brother drunk. He sends him home again and Uriah refuses to sleep with Bathsheba. So David calls for Joab, the lead commander of his army, and says ‘put Uriah in the front lines and draw back and let him die’. Something interesting happens. Joab carries out the plan but also allows some of David’s other men to die. Then he sends a messenger to tell David ‘we were at the front lines, close to a wall, and some of our guys were killed’. Joab tells the messenger ‘if David gets mad and says “what were you thinking by getting close to the wall? This is a basic mistake that should have never been made!”’ Joab says if David asks this, then say ‘Uriah is dead too’. It’s possible that Joab stuck it to David here for making him partake in his personal problems. Military men do not like carrying out personal political vendettas. Either way the messenger goes and tells David and David feels he covered up his sin. Of course we will soon find out the cover up didn’t work. Bathsheba does move in with David and they make plans for the coming baby. A few things; David was a great man, he followed God as a man ‘after Gods own heart’. David was also human. Hebrews says ‘every high priest taken from among men must make sacrifice for his own sin as well as the peoples’. I don’t want to excuse sin, but I want you to see that all of us have ‘feet of clay’. Modern ministry has a system where we present the best image of leadership to people. We feel this is part of the role of leaders. The scriptures show you ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’. We just saw the ugly. (928)2ND SAMUEL 12- Nathan confronts David over his sin. He gives a parable about 2 men in a town, one owned lots of flocks and sheep, the other owned one precious lamb. The man with all the sheep had a visitor come to him in need. So instead of sacrificing his own sheep, he went and took the precious ‘only lamb’ from his neighbor. David is incensed over this injustice, he declares ‘This man will pay back what he did and also die for this sin’! Nathan says ‘you are the man’. David realizes he did this very thing with Bathsheba and Uriah. Notice how we have a tendency to be enraged over the sin and faults of others, but we make room for ourselves when we are guilty of the same things. Jesus confronted the religious hypocrisy of his day when he showed the Pharisees that they were guilty of lust and anger and jealousy, the same root causes of murder and adultery. They wanted strict judgment on others who were guilty of the same sins that they were guilty of. Also the fact that the man with one little lamb lost his favorite, this speaks of the great sacrifice of giving up the ‘only begotten Son of God’. Jesus sacrifice was great because the father gave his only Son. Now David receives the reproof from the prophet and Gods judgment is pronounced ‘the sword will never leave your house. From within your own family treachery shall arise. Your wives will be taken from you and publicly disgraced. The son from Bathsheba will die’. Very strict judgment indeed, yet the Lord says ‘nevertheless, I will spare your life’. This was something David did not leave room for in his earlier judgment on the sheep stealer! David mourns and fasts for the child’s life, but the child dies. David has another son with Bathsheba and his name is Solomon. One of the greatest/wisest kings Israel will ever have. A few things; in David’s earlier scenario he said the ‘sheep stealer’ should pay restitution. He wanted the man to right the wrong. In David’s case he killed the very man whom restitution should have been made to! In essence his sin was so severe that it actually cut off part of his future reconciliation. Unforgiveness towards others falls into this same category. God requires us to forgive those who have wronged us. We often do every thing else under the sun to get back on track, but we ‘eliminate’ the very person that stands in the way of total reconciliation! That person is often times the offender. Also at the end of the chapter David is told by Joab that he is on the verge of taking a city and David should come and finish the job so Joab won’t get the credit. David musters his forces and finishes the job. One of the hardest things to do in ministry/service is to regroup and move forward again. David had some very serious issues he had to deal with. The situation with Bathsheba was not going away. He couldn’t completely resolve this issue. But he still needed to function and carry out his responsibilities. Faithfulness means sticking it out even thru your own personal failures. Completing the task to the best of your ability. At one point they asked David ‘why were you grieving and fasting while the boy was still alive, and after he died you ate and functioned again’? David said ‘who knows, when the boy was alive there was a possibility that God would change his mind and let the boy live. After he died there was nothing else I could do’. Most of us would have been angry at God. David didn’t have all the answers, he knew Nathan was an accurate prophet. The things Nathan said were from the Lord. But David also was ‘from the Lord’. He too had a relationship with God. He depended on this relationship to guide him thru stuff. Maybe God would do something? David did not have all the answers. And when God didn’t do what he wanted, he didn’t take it personal. He moved forward the best he could. God showed tremendous mercy in allowing this sinful situation to produce a future king. Solomon was born from this turmoil and he was a great man of God. Look to the lord to bring forth wisdom from the failures in your life. The ‘first son’ might not have survived, but the second son just might be a prodigy. [parts] VERSES- [These are the verses I either quoted or taught on today’s post- Kings 15] Proverbs 13:19 The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1Kings 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. 1Kings 15:2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. and his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 1Kings 15:3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. 1Kings 15:4 Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: 1Kings 15:5 Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 1Kings 15:6 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 1Kings 15:7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 1Kings 15:8 And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. 1Kings 15:9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 1Kings 15:10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 1Kings 15:11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. 1Kings 15:12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 1Kings 15:13 And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. 1Kings 15:14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. 1Kings 15:15 And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels. 1Kings 15:16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 1Kings 15:17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 1Kings 15:18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 1Kings 15:19 There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 1Kings 15:20 So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 1Kings 15:21 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. 1Kings 15:22 Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. 1Kings 15:23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 1Kings 15:24 And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. 1Kings 15:25 And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. 1Kings 15:26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. 1Kings 15:27 And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. 1Kings 15:28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. 1Kings 15:29 And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite: 1Kings 15:30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. 1Kings 15:31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 1Kings 15:32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 1Kings 15:33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years. 1Kings 15:34 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ [Main site too] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. ACTS 27- Acts 27:22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.Acts 27:23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,Acts 27:24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Acts27- https://youtu.be/8zvjguKJlkg https://vimeo.com/241387083 http://ccoutreach87.com/10-31-17-acts-27/ http://ccoutreach87.com/10-31-17-acts-27-2/ ON VIDEO- .Shipwreck on the way to Rome .Launched from Sidon [modern day Lebanon] .Made it to the island of Crete .Paul says for them not to set sail again- because this time of the year the winds get bad .The commander rejects Paul’s advice .They sail and the ‘North east front ‘ gets them .Then the shipwreck- stuck at Malta- a known island just south of Sicily .Why all the history- geography here? .Luke is writing a 1st century history of the events surrounding Jesus and his early followers .How the movement spread- where they went- and all of this history is indeed true .Lot’s of the historical evidence in Act’s does confirm the bible- that’s in not just a bunch of made up fables .Yes- the critics challenge the faith- and have tried to discredit Christianity .But the faith of the church is not founded on fairy tales- but historical truth .And even the ship wrecks and the islands they landed on in the 1st century- show the bible to be true after all PAST POSTS- 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/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/20/acts-20/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/04/acts-21/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/20/acts-22-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/04/redo-acts-23-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/08/acts-24-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/14/acts-25-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/29/acts-26-2/ ACTS 27- Paul heads to Rome! He sets sail under guard and has a few harrowing experiences. He warns the ships captain not to sail at one stop, the time of severe weather is at hand. They refuse to listen, they set sail and wind up almost dying. Paul gives them a classic ‘I told you so!’ and says ‘don’t worry, an angel from God appeared to me and told me your lives will be spared’ [poor Paul, when is he going to see that these prophetic experiences are ruining his ministry!] they all swim to shore after the ship gets stuck off shore. At one point while still stuck in the water Paul tells them ‘you guys have not eaten in 14 days, have some food’ he breaks bread, thanks God and invites them to eat. I really see this as a type of ‘Lords supper’ thing. I have showed you guys in the past that the early church practiced a type of ‘common meal’. They seemed to take Jesus words in John 6 [Paul in Corinthians too] to teach that ‘as oft as you do this’ [do what? As oft as you get together and eat a meal from this time forth, you will remember that your actual spiritual life is pictured by you eating and drinking for physical life. I am your daily bread of life. You live because I live!]The early believers seemed to take it in this ‘buffet style’ way. So Paul seems to be holding some type of ‘invitation Lords meal’ and saying come and dine! At the end of this chapter Paul’s life is spared by the favor he had with the centurion Julius. God gave him protection to complete the mission. Paul has been witnessing of Jesus to all these [overblog- see here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/06/acts-27/ ]gentile [Roman] authorities and he will take it to Rome. Ultimately it will take 3 centuries before the whole kingdom [Roman Empire] will bow the knee, but Paul was the firebrand who set the match. VERSES- Acts 27:1 And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band.Acts 27:2 And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. Acts 27:3 And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. Acts 27:4 And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. Acts 27:5 And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. Acts 27:6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. Acts 27:7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone; Acts 27:8 And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea. Acts 27:9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, Acts 27:10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Acts 27:11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. Acts 27:12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west. Acts 27:13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. Acts 27:14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. Acts 27:15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. Acts 27:16 And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Acts 27:17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. Acts 27:18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; Acts 27:19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. Acts 27:20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. Acts 27:21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. Acts 27:22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. Acts 27:23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Acts 27:24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Acts 27:25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Acts 27:26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. Acts 27:27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; Acts 27:28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. Acts 27:29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. Acts 27:30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Acts 27:31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Acts 27:32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. Acts 27:33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Acts 27:34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. Acts 27:35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Acts 27:36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. Acts 27:37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. Acts 27:38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. Acts 27:39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. Acts 27:40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. Acts 27:41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. Acts 27:42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. Acts 27:43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: Acts 27:44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land. MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. TEXAS CHURCH MASSACRE Texas Church shooting- https://youtu.be/x6KeylSyEj4 http://ccoutreach87.com/11-6-17-texas-church-shooting/ .Covered some news .Seth Rich and the DNC .Donna thought it was murder too! .Clinton- Trump- Sanders .Caller Times .Rick Perry .Lights would help .Uranium One .Deep state- everywhere? .Why is the nation angry? .They have a right to be- of course .But why? .Murder is a violation of moral/natural law .Many who are mad say ‘you cannot legislate morality’ .Yet when the moral law is broken- they themselves admit that we need to ‘legislate morality’ .See? NEW- [Past posts- News links below] I have been slowing down on the news posts- but today I figured I would do a brief recap of the past few weeks. Some of it is ‘silly stuff’- meaning the general bias of the media- and how they waste the public's time. The Rick Perry story being one of them. But the tragic massacre of the innocents in Texas was a real news story. I simply tried to talk about why killing is wrong- From the standpoint of natural law. I have taught these things in the past- and as of now I’m not sure how much more I will do today. The country is polarized- on many things. Yet- both the left and right share in their outrage over the senseless killing of the people in a small church right here just 2 hours North of where I live. Both sides of the aisle have different solutions to the problem- Yet they are mad- for the same basic reason- whether they realize it or not. And yes- that reason itself is rooted in the foundation of what is right- and what is wrong. It goes all the way back to the law of God- natural law theory. It is wrong to kill- to take Innocent life. That indeed is a moral law- that comes from God. Some thinkers deny this [thus the debate]- But our shared national outrage is indeed a moral one- Whether you admit it- or not. PAST POSTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/western-intellectual-tradition/ https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/classics-of-western-literature/ https://ccoutreach87.com/atheism-apologetics-links-added/ JOHN LOCKE- Locke taught that each man has individual rights- and he empowers government- an elected designated body- to have rule- Yet- that government exists solely for the benefit of the people- and when/if that government ‘forgets’ this- the people have a right/duty to revolt. Locke’s ideas were formed at a time when his own government experienced a sort of revolution [1600’s- England]. The people revolted against monarchy- and replaced it with a sort of Democratic Parliament- Referred to as the bloodless revolution or the glorious revolution. The king [or today- queen] would still play a role- like a figurehead- but the power was in the people- willingly given over to a Parliament. The political ideas of Locke influenced our founding fathers- and our Declaration of Independence and Constitution are in parts almost word for word taken from the writings of Locke. Locke believed in natural law- that morality was indeed a universal reality [some scholars/thinkers will say that Locke does not fully embrace the Christian concept of natural/moral law]. He taught that knowledge comes from man’s experience- the things he interacts with thru the 5 senses. That man is not born with innate ideas [like the early Greek thinkers said] but his mind is a Tabula Rasa- or blank slate at birth. This is an Empirical understanding of knowledge. [overblog- see here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/07/texas-shooting/ ] Locke also believed in the concept of the separation of church and state- this idea was not unique to our founding fathers- no- they got it right out of the writings of Locke [his parents were Puritans- and they obviously influenced their son]. Locke’s political views were- Individualistic- Egalitarian- Contractual [social compact]- These ideas differed from the early Greek thinkers [especially Aristotle] who held to a naturalistic view- meaning that nature itself ‘intended’ for certain individuals to have rule over others [the smarter should have rule over the ‘less smart’- and of course Aristotle saw himself in the more nobler crowd!] Locke also believed in religious toleration- a view held by most in the Western world today. He saw the Right to private property- as a natural right. He believed that denial of the existence of God would lead to anarchy in the long run. He believed that the cosmological argument for the existence of God was valid [called teleology]. DIOGENES- I think I mentioned him on today’s video [I am writing this before I review the video and add the bullet points]. In the study of philosophy- he is not known for deep thought- or new ideas. He lived in the 5th century B.C. - died in the 4th in the biblical city of Corinth. Diogenes believed in ‘living with less’- he was known to have slept in a ceramic pot- he lived and ate on the streets- and was basically like many of my homeless friends. Yet- he felt in doing this he was a sort of ‘prophetic’ sign to the world around him. He is believed to be the first to refer to himself as a ‘cosmopolitan’- meaning a man of the world- and not identifying with any one city. He was born at Sinope- [Modern day Turkey] traveled to Athens- the main center of wisdom/philosophy. Attended the lectures of Plato- and interrupted them He disputed Plato’s interpretation of his teacher- Socrates. And had a memorable encounter with Alexander the Great. The story goes [there are a few versions of it- maybe more along the line of myth] that Alexander wanted to meet with Diogenes- and he heard he was in town [Corinth] so Alexander went to meet him. Upon arriving at the spot- he greeted Alexander and told him he would fulfill any request that the Cynic asked. Diogenes replied ‘Move over- you’re standing in my sun light’. It is said that as Alexander left- and made the statement ‘If I were not Alexander- I would be Diogenes’. How true- well we will never know for sure. He did live at a time- and in a place- where the famous philosophers would come from. He believed rejecting wealth- and the comforts of life- were a statement against the society of his day. He purposefully challenged the ‘normal’ way of life- by being different- and at times- vulgar. It is said that he carried a cup- for drinking. And he saw a young boy one day- drinking from the brook with his hands. He then threw away the cup- realizing that ‘the god’s’ had given to men the basic things to survive- and he really did not need all the material things of life. Like I said at the top - he is not known for his great thinking ability- but he was respected by the stoics- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com facebook.com/john.chiarello.5 ccoutreach87.wordpress.com Note- 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. Thanks- John..# [parts] Okay- just a little politics- then some bible stuff. Last night I watched the Repub debate- nothing real impressive- everyone played their angle. I also saw a few minutes of Maddow [MSNBC]. Okay- I have mentioned Maddow before- I mentioned that she is a lesbian- openly so. Fine [I don’t approve of the thing- but that’s her business] I want to simply give you an example of inconsistent thinking that people often engage in- and they don’t know it. A few days ago a report slipped out- some insider leaked the fact that Obama [and his re election team] have made the decision to smear Perry. Now- I know both sides do it- but this was a leak and Obama and his team were mad about the leak. Then- like clockwork- MSNBC began a week of smearing Perry- I mean it was ‘funny’ to see the sycophants- I mean they were like Pavlov’s dogs ‘jump- drool’ the whole 9 yards. First- they did a critique of the ‘Houston prayer and fasting’ thing- Perry announced a prayer day- had a bunch of preachers [who I actually disagree with theologically] at the event- and Maddow [Rachel Maddow- host of a news show] did an ‘in depth’ critique of all the ‘crazies’ that Perry was aligned with. She misrepresented the whole group of preachers- even though I do not hold to many of their views- she said they were part of the evangelical movements ‘theocratic’ wing. Theocracy is the belief that religion should actually be a govt./state function- many in the Islamic world hold to this view. Okay- the actual name for Christians who believe this is Reconstructionism- these Christians do hold to this view- they are a very small minority- and the group Perry was hanging with- they are in no way Reconstructionists. Second- Maddow critiqued ‘religion’ as she has in the past- and said her only problem with people like Perry- is they want to impose their values on others. If Rachel were a smart apologist [one who argues this point- but is smart] she would realize that all persons- especially her- do argue- all the time- from a natural law perspective. That is they- even though they deny it- are making the point- all the time- that their particular view of morality- whether it be gay marriage- or anti polygamy- or any other host of moral ideals- they all argue for the ‘legislation of morality’ legislation [the passing of law] is by definition the legislation of morality. Now- if that law is simply ‘can't drive 70 in a 60 MPH zone’ this is the legislation of morality. The moral principle is ‘don’t drive this speed- it might kill you- and me’ and then we pass a law that legislates that moral belief. Pretty simple. Okay- what Maddow is mad about- is the legislation of morality that effects her particular lifestyle. Now- she might say ‘well- we believe that consenting adults should be free to do what they want in the bedroom’ okay- got ya. Would you agree to 2 adults- lets say a brother and sister- who have no ability to have kids- should we let them marry? Most would rightfully say no- the point is- you are now defining what’s ‘right or wrong’ and it’s not simply a matter of what 2 adults want- it’s truly a matter of ‘right or wrong’. I could go on- ad infinitum- with these examples- the point is Maddow- like Perry- like the left- the right- they all have some sense of ethics- where they derive that ideal from- well that’s another point- but they have their own ‘morality’ and they do in fact want to impose it- all the time- on other people. So let’s at least be honest about the thing. Okay she finished her show last night with an image- she said that the true insiders- who know Perry- they will ALL tell you that they are concerned about Perry- they actually feel his is ‘dumb’. She explained that these insiders- they all knew Bush was really smart [wow- never heard you say that before] yet they all think Perry is actually mentally challenged [I kid you not- she went down this road] and that these Repub insiders- they actually fear for the country- that a dangerous loose cannon like this might take the reins. Okay- Maddow- who I’m sure would not appreciate us giving images of the things she does- or how ‘smart’ she is- she left us with the mental image that Perry is actually mentally challenged. The same image of Palin, Bachman, ETC. What’s wrong with this picture? Even though she claims ‘the insiders all said Bush was a genius’ yet her network- they ran with the story that Bush was actually dyslexic- yeah- I remember. Look- I’ll admit I’m no saint here- yeah I too have made jokes about Bush’s brain. Sure- I would say ‘hey- you critics of Bush- who said- look at the man- after the planes hit the towers- Bush sat- dumbfounded for around 7 minutes- sitting in that classroom- just looking confused’ Okay- I’ll admit I would quip ‘you guys are misreading it- he wasn’t confused about the response- he was sitting in a 3rd grade class- he was struggling with the curriculum’. Okay- I fess up. But Maddow left us with that ugly picture- the seed of thinking ‘geez- I never knew others viewed Perry that way’ and even I couldn’t shake the mental image- now thinking that he might really be what she said. They slandered him just as bad as the right has slandered their guys- they should just report the policies and leave this type of character assassination at home. Okay- I didn’t’ really do any bible stuff- but I covered a little on the moral law and ethics- which fits in with theology. So for now I’ll leave it at that. Don’t forget- to all my friends who read these posts- pray for one another. I just finished a prayer time and prayed for a bunch of my friends [and those in other nations] who are connected with us in some way- many are going through tough times- and it helps if others are also praying for each other. Pray for everyone on these sites- others who you see when going thru the site- you see a name- or a post that might indicate a friend is in trouble- then try and pray for them that day- stuff like this helps. And of course pray for Texas- we need it bad- I just found out that our governor is actually an ignoramus- I mean not just of low intellect- but so challenged that all the insiders fear for the safety of the free world if he gets elected. The source?- The same people who said ‘we believe that Obama is possibly the smartest person to ever hold the office of the president- he more than likely has the highest I.Q. than any other office holder in the history of the nation’. The other reporter asked ‘do you know what the number is’ the first guy said ‘no- but I know its very high- higher than any other president’. This was an actual on air discourse between 2 reporters during the inauguration celebration of president Obama. Yeah- these are just the type of folk I need telling me about Perry’s I.Q.- yeah- they sure know their stuff. www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [parts] APOLOGETICS- PHILOSOPHY- PROPHETS 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears- Luke https://youtu.be/-obZ4-MoPYE Apologetics- Philosophy- Prophets https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-8-17-apologetics-philosophy-prophets.zip ON VIDEO- .Nietzsche’s madman .Kant- Camus- Sartre .I have less dollars now! .Fairview cemetery .’I will never rot in the grave’- huh? .U.N. vote .Israel and Palestine- another view .Pluralism or exclusivism? .Moral, Natural law theory .Logos .Redemption of the cosmos too .Russian hacking- enough already! .We hack too [and much worse] .Cause and effect .Aristotle .Nihilism .Teleology .Love your neighbor as yourself .Yes- The Muslim- Jew- Hindu - etc.- Jesus commands it PAST TEACHING I DID THAT RELATES- [verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/atheism-apologetics-links-added/ 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/islam/ https://ccoutreach87.com/western-intellectual-tradition/ [parts] NEWS LINKS- http://www.caller.com/story/opinion/editorials/2017/11/03/rick-perry-speaking-up-girl-africa/827392001/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/energy-sec-perry-says-fossil-fuels-can-prevent-sexual-assault https://www.infowars.com/donna-brazile-says-she-feared-for-her-life-after-seth-rich-was-killed/ http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/06/us/texas-church-shooting/index.html http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/05/mass-shooting-reported-at-texas-sutherland-springs-church.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting/index.html http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-arrests/future-saudi-king-tightens-grip-on-power-with-arrests-including-prince-alwaleed-idUSKBN1D506P http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5053013/Devin-Kelley-outcast-preached-atheism.html http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/gunman-volunteered-one-night-at-church-in-kingsville/489520404 http://www.kristv.com/story/36768156/26-killed-in-church-attack-in-texas-worst-mass-shooting MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. KINGS 14 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 blind as the Lord's servant? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Kings 14- https://youtu.be/Vd56L16USJA https://vimeo.com/241868238 http://ccoutreach87.com/11-3-17-kings-14/ http://ccoutreach87.com/11-3-17-kings-14-2/ ON VIDEO- [Filmed by the Oso bay] .The bible page I saw on the ground [yes- they use them for rolling papers] .Homeless stuff .The Hermit documentary- Canada- he jumped off the train and lived his whole life by Gully lake .Jeroboam tells his wife to put on a disguise and go talk to the prophet .The prophet does indeed have a message for her .But it’s not ‘good’ .The blind prophet- he ‘sees’ pretty well .The comment on my Youtube video- was he a cop? .How did I respond? .God uses King David as the standard .Rehoboam’s legacy was bad too .Practical application for leadership in the church .Ministry gifts [5-fold] .Be honest- but at times we forget it .2 stories from days gone by- Kleberg county jail bible study and my days as a youth pastor for a fundamental baptist church .I had a new kid in my class- he had a Pentecostal back ground .He asked me ‘John- I don’t feel the same way when I was first baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues’ .How did I answer him? NEW- I’ll add my past teaching below on this chapter- Just a few notes- This chapter covers the end of the reigns of king Jeroboam and Rehoboam- Both of them did wrong- and both of their legacies are indeed tainted. Jeroboam reigned 22 years over the northern tribes- Rehoboam reigned 17 years over the southern [Judah] In the beginning of the video you see a card I found on the ground- it speaks of new beginnings, I hung it on a tree right before I started making the video. Here’s a verse that would fit with the card- Ezekiel 43:27 Verse聽Concepts 'When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,' declares the Lord GOD." I guess it fits in some way with the message- The history of these kings was God removing them- and giving the kingdom to new men- Yet many of these new men ruined their chances to lead the people in right paths. Then they too die- and their sons take over the helm. This is the story of the kings in the Old Testament- Lots of their kids did bad things too- but down the road we we also see a few shining lights. People who rose to power- and realized they had a great responsibility under God- and took their roles seriously. These future kings marked new beginnings for the people under them. The ultimate fulfillment of a righteous future king will come to pass thru the reign of Jesus Christ- the King of kings and Lord of Lords. He puts and end to all the things of the past- and he institutes a new beginning- for everyone who will submit to his reign. We see this in the promises of old things passing away- and new things coming to pass- A motif we find all thru out scripture- 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Is. 43 Thank God for new beginnings. PAST POSTS- Past teaching I did that would relate to this post- [overblog- see here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/09/kings-14/ ] https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/588-2/ [I added this because it deals with the example of being honest about teaching the bible- I used an example like this on the video. This teaching about the 2nd coming and the rapture seemed to be pretty plain to me- that the bible speaks of them as the same event- yet over the years I saw how some might simply teach a view that seems popular at the time. So this is just one example of being true to what the bible actually says- even when it is not popular] KINGS- https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-kings/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/29/kings-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/12/kings-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/27/kings-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/04/kings-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/25/kings-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/17/kings-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/05/kings-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/18/kings-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/01/kings-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/22/kings-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/09/15/kings-12-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/10/19/kings-13-2/ (1064) 1st KINGS 14- Jeroboam’s son gets sick, he tells his wife ‘disguise yourself and go to the prophet Ahijah, he will tell you what will happen to the boy’. She goes and the Lord reveals the identity of the wife to Ahijah, he is old and blind. As soon as she gets to the house he gives her a strong rebuke, tells her the child will die and that her husband was wicked. Sure enough she takes the message back to Jeroboam and these things come to pass. Why did Jeroboam disguise his wife? Ahijah was the original prophet who told Jeroboam that he would be king, Jeroboam knew that he was doing wrong by instituting idolatrous practices into the nation; so why did he do it? Basically he trusted in the arm of the flesh to maintain what God gave him. He did it so he wouldn’t lose the kingdom. He obviously avoided the prophet for as long as he could, he thought he would send his wife incognito and who would know? The Lord knew. God has ways of getting information to you [and me!] whether we want to hear it or not. Also Ahijah was a prophet, another name for prophet is ‘Seer’ [some feel seers are totally different gifts/offices, for the sake of this basic teaching they are closely related] but yet he couldn’t ‘see’ for himself. I find it interesting that many of Gods greatest gifted people can’t seem to find help for themselves. There is a prophecy about Jesus that says ‘physician, heal thyself’, Paul had a thorn in the flesh that wouldn’t go away! Many people that are used by God to pray for healing and get results, they themselves struggle with sickness. Ahijah had a word; not only about Jeroboams son [a localized situation] but also a national word ‘Israel will be shaken like a reed in the water’ the Lord used the local situation to speak to the broader community. The people would ‘be shaken’ because they permitted idolatry into their lives. Understand, we see the idolatry of Israel as blatant [actual idols and stuff] but they really thought that the forms of idolatry that they were practicing were pleasing to God! I often find that well intentioned believers have a difficult time ‘seeing’ idolatry [covetousness, greed]. The American church has incorporated ‘success/abundance’ so deeply into the minds of the saints that we view our worship of God thru this skewed lens. ‘If God wants me to have an abundant life, then what’s wrong with me centering my church life around being successful, confessing and thinking about abundance/money all day long’? Well, what’s wrong with it is Jesus told the church that he didn’t want us ‘thinking’ about these things all the time, he said the ‘gentiles [unbelievers] are always thinking about the stuff, it shall not be so with you’. So it takes time for Christians to see these things, Jeroboam instituted a form of idolatry into Gods nation, the people sincerely went along for the ride. God said they were going to be shaken ‘like a reed in the water’. VERSES- [These are the verses I either quoted or taught on today’s post- KINGS 14] 1Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 1Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 1Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 1Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Ps. 24 Isaiah 50:7 For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 3The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. 4I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 5Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. 6For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. Ps. 75:6 1Kings 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 1Kings 14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. 1Kings 14:3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. 1Kings 14:4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. 1Kings 14:5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. 1Kings 14:6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. 1Kings 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, 1Kings 14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; 1Kings 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: 1Kings 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. 1Kings 14:11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. 1Kings 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 1Kings 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 1Kings 14:14 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. 1Kings 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 1Kings 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. 1Kings 14:17 And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; 1Kings 14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. 1Kings 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 1Kings 14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. 1Kings 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. 1Kings 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. 1Kings 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. 1Kings 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 1Kings 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: 1Kings 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 1Kings 14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. 1Kings 14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. 1Kings 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 1Kings 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 1Kings 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead. 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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- Thanks- John. SUNDAY SERMON 11-5-17 Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Sunday sermon- https://youtu.be/dOKudRzK0Xc https://vimeo.com/242361602 http://ccoutreach87.com/11-5-17-sunday-sermon/ http://ccoutreach87.com/11-5-17-sunday-sermon-2/ ON VIDEO- [Mass- Church Unlimited verses] .The Oso bridge and the water bottle .My dog Troy [Bear too] .Stairway to heaven [the song] .Message to the priests .Honor God .Servant leadership .Paul’s example .What right did he give up? .Why are they called synoptic gospels? [Matt.- Mark- Luke] .Moses seat .Ministry is not like rising the corporate ladder .What does the word Christ mean? .Anointed one [anointing] .5- fold ministry .How should leadership operate in the church? .What is the model Jesus gave us? .What exactly is the local church? .The community of believers .The sacrament of penance .Accountability .The question from my daughter .Are there evil people in the world? .Original sin .Killing can never eradicate evil .There are times for self defense- and the stopping of genocide- when humans engage in war .But to see the killing of other humans- as the answer- will never work in the long run .I do not teach pluralism .Yet we are all created in the image of God NEW- I taught on the verses from this Sundays Mass [copied below] as well as the verses from Church Unlimited. Once again- I went too long [about 50 minutes]. In short- the scriptures spoke about leadership in the kingdom- the reading from the Old Testament was a strong rebuke- Malachi 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. Malachi 2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. The priests were abusing their calling as leaders- they were not honoring God- they were corrupting the priesthood- Malachi 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. Malachi 2:8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Malachi 2:9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. And God indeed judged them for this- [facebook- overblog see here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/12/sunday-sermon-14/ ] I also mentioned- at the end of the video- the distinction between being children of God- thru Christ- as well as the commonality of all men [even those who are not Christian] because we have a common creator- Which just happened to be one of the verses from the Mass- Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? Leadership was the main theme from the verses- We read another from the Mass- 1Thessalonians 2:6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. 1Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 1Thessalonians 2:8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. Paul showed true concern for the people- he was not among them as one who would benefit from them- He even worked [tent maker] while he was with them- so he would not be a financial burden on the young church- 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. And the passage from the gospel was the same basic rebuke from Malachi- Matthew 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,Matthew 23:2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: Matthew 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. Matthew 23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. Matthew 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, Matthew 23:6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, Matthew 23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. Ministry to the religious leaders of Jesus day was a position- attaining a place of honor among men- yet- they did not honor God in this- Jesus used their example of self glory- and contrasted it with true kingdom leadership- Matthew 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. Matthew 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Matthew 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. Matthew 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. He gave the fledgling leaders of the church direct instructions on how we should view leadership in the kingdom- It is a function of Christ as being the head- and his anointing present in all of us. So even though we have earthly leaders- yet- these gifted ones are not to Lord it over God’s heritage- But lead the flock as a servant- 5 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. 1st Peter 5 I talked about the nature of the church- and how leadership functions from a biblical view- I have taught lots of this before and will try and add my past teaching below. One more thing- right at the end of the video my daughter had a question- ‘Does evil exist in the world- are there actually evil people’? Now- you will have to watch the video to get the full explanation. But I talked about the present problems in the world- And tried to show how evil actually lives in all of us- to a degree [original sin]. But I of course condemned radical Islam- and terrorism. Right after I turned off the video- I checked the news. As of right now- we just had another tragic shooting in Texas. Right outside of San Antonio- http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/05/mass-shooting-reported-at-texas-sutherland-springs-church.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting/index.html Someone opened fire in a church- right around the time I was making the video. And the first reports are about 20 people gunned down. As I write these notes [around 3:30 pm- 11-5-17] I do not know all the details. But I found it ironic that this was the top news story- And it happened as I was speaking- about this very thing. UPDATE 11-6- 17- [the next day]- I’ll leave the original comments above- because they fit- while I made the video I talked about having a balance. In a way- I was saying that it’s easy for the western world to say ‘evil exists’ meaning radical Islam- yet- I also noted that we often do not see evil in ‘all of us’. I did a defense of peaceful Muslims- while also rejecting hatred and violence from all sides of the political/religious spectrum. Then when I saw the news of the shooting- thinking it might be linked to radical Islam- I felt defensive. Realizing people get offended when you try and teach a balanced view- As of now- the shooter has been identified as an anti christian- atheist. He had a grudge against his in laws- and as of now that seems to be one of the reasons he targeted the church- they attended that church- though they were not there on the day of the shooting. Yes- like I said on the video- violence comes from all walks of life- and should be rejected by all. The small town where the shooting took place is an area I drive past a lot when going from Corpus Christi to San Antonio. It’s a very small town community- and was devastated by this senseless killing. All atheists should not be defined by the acts of one. All Muslims should not be defined by the acts of some. All Christians should not be defined by the acts of other Christians- if violent and bigoted. At the end of the day- I think my comments on today’s video were right. John NOTE- I have since made a later post on the shooting- here it is- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/07/texas-shooting/ PAST POSTS- [Verses below] Here’s a book I wrote years ago- it’s about the nature of church and ministry- [The book is below the links- being the links just copied [by accident] the ones I was going to add are- James- Islam- John]
further talks on church and ministry [BOOK] ‘FURTHER TALKS ON CHURCH AND MINISTRY’TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE HOLY SITES AND HOLY PLACES. CHAPTER TWO AUTHORITY IN THE KINGDOM, WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? CHAPTER THREE KINGDOM BUILDING OR LEGACY BUILDING? CHAPTER FOURWHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE UNDER THE LOCAL CHURCH? CHAPTER FIVEBUILDING THE CHURCH AROUND THE PERSONA OF CHRIST, NOT MEN! CHAPTER SIX ORDINATION AND THE BIBLICAL MODEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY. CHAPTER SEVEN EXAMPLES FROM PASTORS AND BELIEVERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. CHAPTER EIGHT ARE CHURCH BUILDINGS EVIL? [OR THE GUY WHO WANTED TO CAST DEMONS OUT OF ME!] CHAPTER NINEWHAT IN THE WORLD IS ‘THE LOCAL CHURCH’? CHAPTER TENTHE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION IN THE MODERN CHURCH. CHAPTER ELEVENGODS PEOPLE ARE NOT SIMPLY ASSETS TO AN ORGANIZATION. CHAPTER TWELVE WHAT MODEL OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT DO I ESPOUSE? CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE CAT CHAPTER. [I DID THIS FOR MY KIDS!] CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION Welcome back! I hope those of you who are reading this booklet have read our other 2 books first. Though it’s not necessary in order to understand this book, I prefer to think of these little booklets as an on going conversation with our friends in the kingdom. Those of you who are familiar with our ministry know that we view ‘ministry’ and ‘church’ in an unconventional way. I see church as the people of God who are gathered together by Christ in various and unique ways. I see the people that we associate with and minister to as a legitimate expression of church. Therefore those of you who have been in conversation with us through our various areas of ministry [radio,outreach,etc.]are a unique and vital expression of Christ’s body. Our goal is to simply relate to you in such a way that the end result would be for you to be built up in Christ and to find fulfillment in him. In this book I hope to share a lot of personal thoughts that the lord has communicated to me over a period of time. I feel that if I can simply communicate to you the biblical idea of church/ministry and how we all fit into this picture, that I will have in some small way accomplished the goal of writing this third little ‘letter’ to the ‘churches’ that the lord has called us to speak into. CHAPTER 1HOLY SITES AND HOLY PLACES I recently have been studying and speaking on the issue of church and ministry as seen in the New Testament, as opposed to the way we as 21st century believers view it. In this ongoing conversation [primarily through radio] I have been talking about our tendency as believers to fall into a pattern of seeing ourselves as spectators/funders of the work of professionals. We settle into roles that relegate us into a nonfunctioning position of hearers of truth. We generally believe that if we attend the church meeting on Sunday and give financially to the church that somehow this has fulfilled our Christian obligation and that we are free to do as we please with our time and resources the other six days of the week. In this conversation there are those who feel this whole ritual of Sunday church is wrong and should be totally abolished, but there are others who are not quite that extreme but still see a need for a radical rethinking of this whole process. I consider myself to be in the more moderate class. I personally don’t find anything inherently wrong with ‘going to church on Sunday’ but the general theme of New Testament Christianity is against the idea of believers simply being hearers of the word only. Because of our limited understanding of the word ‘church’ [ecclesia] in the New Testament we usually do not view ourselves as Christians in a proper way. One of the main themes in the New Testament is the idea of the church as community. That God intended for there to be a body of people who would actually be the place where God would dwell. He really lives inside the people who believe in Christ. Because of this the old idea of God manifesting himself only at a certain location [like the temple] is done away in Christ. If you remember the conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan woman [John 4] she asked Jesus about the legitimacy of the religious locations of her day. She wanted him to speak to the issue of which physical location is the proper one in which people should go to worship. Jesus reply was there is going to be a change in the whole system of so-called ‘holy sites’. He tells her that the true worshipers of God will be accessing him in spirit and truth. He is looking forward to the reality of the body of Christ being a living temple of people who will be able to be in Gods presence all the time regardless of there physical location. While most Christians believe this truth, in practice we often deny it. We look to the religious activities that surround our church day as some how being a more spiritual site or day of worship. We gear up for religious meeting and then experience ‘coming down’ from the religious high point of our week. Now this is where I take a more moderate view than some of my brothers. I too enjoy the day of worship and fellowship that takes place on Sunday; I just wish that we could break the mindset that sees the doing of this as the primary role for Christians. I wish we could see that God is really with us on a daily basis as we interact as believers with each other. There are many times in our focus of going to church on Sunday that we unconsciously transfer the mindset of the Samaritan woman into the present day. We tend to view both the place and the day of church as taking place at a set location at a certain day. Jesus specifically told her that the day was coming that true worship would take place at a temple in a set location, but that temple would be the corporate people of God and that place would be wherever 2 or more are gathered together in his name! CHAPTER 2AUTHORITY IN THE KINGDOM, WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? Not only are we hindered in our thinking by seeing church as something we go to on a special day, but the whole idea of ministry being some kind of a corporation that exists as a 501 c3 entity. Over the years of ministry I have personally come to rethink this whole issue. I’ve come to view ministry primarily as the kingdom works that God produces through his people when they are in right relationship with him. If you think about it this goes right to the heart of the issue of church being a living society of people. A functioning nation of Christ followers. When Jesus commissioned his followers to go out into the world and be witnesses for him, he told them to do kingdom works and to say to the people that the kingdom of God has come near to them. The actual presence of Christ in his people carrying out his works is true ministry. Later in the book of acts the Spirit falls on a bunch of people and they go forth both speaking and doing things in the name of Jesus. Ministry is primarily a function of God working through his people while bypassing all the technical loopholes of religion. There are certain basic standards that Christians who want to serve God should live by, but the whole idea of ministry being this 501c3 entity that exists as a separate thing is really unscriptural. Jesus not only challenged the idea of holy-sites being a special place, but also the idea of God’s authority/legitimacy existing in certain religious offices or institutions of his day. The religious class challenged the authority of Jesus. They were saying you have no right to function as the Son of God. Who gave you this authority? Jesus answered in an interesting way. He asked them who gave John the Baptist the authority to do the things he did. Was it from heaven or of men? Well the Pharisee’s didn’t answer. But Jesus showed us that there where 2 types of authority, or ways of being legitimate in what you do. One way is that God directly gives you the right to function as a kingdom person, or you derive your authority from other people. You somehow seek legitimacy by going through the procedures of men. One of the main truths of the New Testament is the incarnation. God becoming man in the person of Christ. The very fact that Jesus was sent by his father, and being God incarnate in planet earth was all the legitimacy that anyone would ever need to do ‘ministry’. Any attempt from the religious mind to try and denigrate his character, or de-legitimize his right to function was directly challenged by the fact that he was sent by God. The works themselves were proof that he was legitimate! Now when we in the church seek to become legitimate, or to derive authority to do ministry through all sorts of natural procedures, we are in essence saying ‘we get our authority through man’. Its o.k. to become a 501c3 organization if it’s simply a matter of necessity [you need it to accomplish mission] but if it becomes a means whereby we feel ‘more legitimate’then we’ve simply jumped thru a hoop that will become a hindrance down the road. The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost was more than an event by which the church would enjoy charismatic gifts. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God would come upon certain individuals at certain times to give them authority to function in their offices [kings and prophets]. The fact that the Spirit came upon them was proof of their legitimacy to function in that office. The day of Pentecost was a ‘pouring out’ of the anointing on a whole body of people as opposed to a particular office. God was fulfilling the words of Jesus when he said ‘all authority is given to me go ye therefore’. Jesus was ‘legitimizing’ a whole society of people to go forth and do his works. No special class or office, but the whole body would now have this priestly/kingly anointing. If anyone would question their authority, or right to do what they were going to do, they would respond by saying we derive our authority through Jesus. They understood that their ordination came by the very fact that Christ poured out his Spirit upon them. Any challenge to who gave them the right to function was seen as a direct challenge to Christ’s authority. In the Old Testament when you challenged an emissary of the king you were directly challenging the king, so likewise when we question the legitimacy of fellow believers because they don’t seem to fit the ‘normal’ way of doing things, we’re unconsciously saying ‘who gave you this authority’. Now I am not saying that every Christian has the right to do anything he feels like doing, but there is a difference between seeking the legitimacy of man and simply doing the works of Jesus! CHAPTER 3 KINGDOM BUILDING OR LEGACY BUILDING? I just finished doing a teaching on the radio on the book of Exodus. We covered the story of the children of Israel as they progressed in time from a few people into a whole nation of people. If you remember your bible well, you can follow the original desire for God to have a family of people who would inhabit earth and live in fellowship with him. As man sinned and rebelled against God he became separated from God, but the desire to build and make a name for himself still existed within man. The story of the tower of Babel speaks of this. Men tried to come together as a corporate group, and even were willing to have unity [as opposed to ‘doing their own thing’] but it was for the purpose of building to the glory of man. It was ‘legacy building’. A desire that’s in all men to ‘leave a name for myself’. In the corporate world of business you find this mindset existing in a very strong way. In 21st century American society we call it ‘keeping up with the joneses’. There is a popular commercial on TV at this time that shows an average Joe living high on the hog in order to keep up a certain image in the community. It shows ‘Joe’ as possessing a lot of things in order to live up to the image of the people around him. At the end of the commercial the question is asked ‘how does Joe manage to live like this?’. The answer is ‘he’s in debt up to his eyeballs’. This little commercial captures in a nutshell the attitude of trying to create an image of ourselves so others would think more highly of us, or so we can feel vindicated in the sight of our critics. Now many times in modern ministry and ‘church’ building we give in to this desire without even realizing it. We build facilities or large organizations in order to prove to those around us that we can really do this thing [tower building mentality]. We seem to loose sight of the great reality that Gods ‘institution’ or ‘organization’ which he uses to carry out his will is the church. It is a family of people [a holy nation, temple, city, body] that God freely dwells in, in order to advance his ‘cause’ throughout the earth. When we unconsciously develop systems of ministry that we feel are the ‘church’, that is if we follow certain patterns and models of ministry and then begin to build these entities with the belief that these models are actually ‘the church’ then what we’ve done is transferred Gods true desire to build his kingdom [a rule in the earth that would give glory to his image] and replaced it unconsciously with a natural desire to build something that gives testimony to our image [i.e.: ‘look what I’ve done, look at the big legacy I will leave when I’m gone’]. Jesus warned the disciples that this desire to have authority and be ‘in charge’ of people would not be acceptable in true kingdom building. He was showing us that this desire for success was nothing different than what already exists in lost society. Many men sacrifice a lot in order to build institutions or businesses. People regularly sacrifice their time and resources in order to get their business going. Often times they even work in unity with many other people [staff, employees] to accomplish their goal. Now I’m not saying this is wrong in and of itself, there are many good businesses and institutions that have started this way. But when we transfer this mindset into the church we can confuse the energy and excitement that naturally comes with any true adventure and begin building ‘at all costs’. We can loose sight of the ‘entity’ that God is building and get caught up in the natural desire to ‘image’ build and become sidetracked. In extreme cases this actually leads to abusive church situations where the leader[s] are so focused on building the ministry that they begin to unconsciously manipulate people in order to fulfill the vision. This is why it’s so important to see that the church exists as a community of people in the earth whom God lives in and interacts with in various ways in order to build his image in the earth. God wants the knowledge of the glory of ‘the lord’ to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The ‘tower’ that all men will see is the ‘Cross’. God will draw all men to the image of his Son as opposed to some great edifice of man. Gods Spirit wars against the natural desire in man to ‘legacy’ build to his own image. We as believers need to reevaluate the motivations behind our outward enthusiasm to ‘press ahead’ at all costs. When we examine ourselves and make adjustments in our thinking I believe God will allow us to participate in great works for his name. CHAPTER 4 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE UNDER THE LOCAL CHURCH? Over the years of seeing the freedom that we have in Christ, especially as it pertains to functioning in church and ministry, I have met other believers who have seen and grown in the same understanding that the lord has given us. I believe this to be a natural process of the body of Christ coming to maturity. When the head [Jesus] is communicating with the body [the church] you often find different members seeing and functioning in the same truths, though they have never personally met each other. Some of these experiences are lessons for the whole church. Many times in trying to express truth there is a natural tendency for fellow believers to respond in a unified way in defense of a wrong [or misguided] way of seeing things. I remember sharing with a missionary family how the New Testament teaches a greater freedom for the functioning of missionaries/apostles than what we put on them today. I showed how Paul simply operated under the spirits guidance and practiced giving and receiving in a voluntary way with all the believers he was spending time with. I showed how even though Paul was an apostle sent out of the church at Antioch [acts 13] that this didn’t mean he was under some type of 501c3 entity at Antioch that he was sending his tithes to in order to be in obedience to the ‘New Testament pattern.’ If you read the story in acts all the apostles and believers functioned as citizens of a heavenly city and saw themselves all equally as part of this new community of Christ followers. The idea that Paul [or any other New Testament minister] had some type of structural relationship with his ‘home church’ in the sense that he was sending tithes back to his ‘home church’ on a regular basis is simply reading 21st century American patterns into the story that doesn’t exist. You would think that the missionary family would have rejoiced to have seen this truth, as it would have given them freedom in moving forward in new ways in the kingdom. But contrary they were offended in a sense because they truly felt the role of tithing to a specific group of Christians who meet in a building in there area was a New Testament pattern that must be adhered to. While its ok to give to groups of Christians in this way, but to see this as a pattern that if violated would bring the curse in Malachi upon a person is ridiculous. These are ways that we confuse the spiritual temple of believers with the entity/501c3 structures that exist in ministry today. While the obtaining of the 501c3 status, or the purchasing of a building for believers to meet in is not inherently wrong [remember, if its needed for mission it’s o.k.] but to then view that as ‘local church’ which the missionary needs to tithe to in order to be in obedience to the ‘local church’ is confusing the spiritual entity of Christ’s body with the physical entity of American ministry. When we view ‘ministry’ as a separate organization, we sacrifice the freedom to directly build into people. I was driving through town one day with a friend and as we passed by a certain business I mentioned that I needed to go in at a later time to purchase some equipment. My friend asked why I needed it and I explained I felt the Lord wanted me to buy it for a friend in order to help him in ministry. He questioned why I would spend money on someone who had no type of relationship with us, like a ‘part of our church/ministry’. I explained how believers should be willing to spend time and money for the benefit of others regardless of whether or not they are ‘part of our organization’ [by the way we have no ‘organization’ that someone ‘joins’]. I should mention that the person I wanted to spend the money on was one of our original friends/converts that we worked with in the early days of ministry. So the benefit would be purely spiritual, that is I would receive a reward from God in the sense that one of ‘our disciples’ would benefit directly from this purchase. Paul told the Corinthians that he would gladly spend and be spent for them. He said the fathers spend for the children, not the children for the fathers. He was showing the attitude of building people up for their sole benefit, not simply building staff or employees but giving yourself away solely for the benefit of ‘spiritual children’. Many times people will unconsciously do the things I advocate, without realizing it! Recently there have been many examples of God working supernaturally in the area of finances. Many people who disagree with my teaching on grace giving have actually been blessed by doing it the way I teach it! People have been giving testimonies of how God would move on them to freely give [apart from the tithe concept] and how after they obeyed his voice to MEET THE NEED OF ANOTHER PERSON, versus ‘paying the tithe’ that the Lord would move supernaturally on their behalf by another person [not institution] being moved to give to them in return. I have been teaching this for years! How when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for ‘corban’ giving that he told them their mindset of dedicating money to the temple [institution] caused them to neglect giving directly to people [their parents]. So the recent breakthrough in giving that people are experiencing is what I have been saying all along. God wants us to give spontaneously to directly meet the needs of people! I realize this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t also give regularly, but the point is sometimes we reject what a persons saying [like me!] without realizing that what their saying is right! I should note something here; over the years I have consistently taught and believed in the concept of giving as God leads. There have been many times where the Lord would move on me to meet the needs of people. Just a few days ago one of my homeless friends asked me if I was still buying tents for people, I said sure. There was really no second thought or feeling of ‘I already gave the required amount this week, and this is going out of the way’. I simply felt it to be in keeping with the New Testament to give to someone in need. A few weeks back I ran into one of the original homeless friends that I met many years ago. The first thing he remembered and couldn’t stop talking about was how when I first met him I was giving away clothes in the winter to him and a bunch of other people. Theses simple acts of charity are in keeping with the teaching of Jesus on giving. The New Testament says ‘give to him that asks of thee’ ‘if you have the ability to help your brother and don’t how dwelleth the love of God in you’ ‘if someone comes to your door in need and you don’t help, it profits nothing’ ‘let him who is not working get a job so he MAY HAVE TO GIVE TO HIM THAT NEEDETH’. All these verses [which I just paraphrased off the top of my head, you’ll have to look them up for yourself] speak clearly to the issue of God wanting us to give to meet the needs of others spontaneously and freely. No sense of ‘I already tithed this week to the church’. This legalistic mindset actually works against the spirit of New Testament giving. I am not saying Christians shouldn’t give regularly for the functioning of Christian ministry, I put aside money on a bi-weekly basis in order to fund Christian works. It is because of my priority of doing this that enables me to meet the needs of people when they come up. I believe Christians should regularly give to the work of the kingdom, I also believe that many people would experience breakthrough in their giving if they truly practiced the New Testament doctrine of grace giving. All the communities of the New Testament [churches] gave this way. There simply was no tithing concept taught to the gentile believers. The scripture says the Corinthians gathered on the 1st day of the week and gave Paul an offering to BRING BACK TO THE POOR SAINTS AT JERUSALEM. Do you see this ‘THE POOR SAINTS’. They were giving to meet the needs of people here. We use these verses to tell Christians if you put in the required amount on Sunday then you’ve met your obligation. We distort scripture to fit into our way of seeing things. I believe its O.K. to put money in the offerings on Sunday, many times the work of ‘building based’ churches is good. Supporting missionaries, planting churches and many other good things. It’s just that we shouldn’t use this as an excuse to by pass all the other instructions in the New Testament to freely give to others in need! I want to note something here, this is a good example of how are ‘seeing’ church as the Sunday meeting as opposed to the corporate group affects us. The issue of ‘how much should I put into the basket on Sunday’ was a NON ISSUE in the New Testament. There were times where all the believers in a community [the church] gave in a corporate way[ Acts 6, 1 Cor. 16] but there was no ‘Sunday church offering’ that all the ‘New Testament’ churches gave into. Why? Because the New Testament churches are all the believers in any given community. The focus wasn’t ‘going to church on Sunday’ that is our ‘thoughts’ or ways of seeing things [it’s O.K. to go to church on Sunday] but the focus was a community of people living and sharing on a daily basis. So when Paul writes these churches, or when Jesus tells us to give to him in need, they are addressing people directly. It’s not like the focus was on an institution. This is why ‘how much should we give, or should Christians tithe?’ is not seen in the New Testament like we see this question today. The bible speaks of ‘churches’ as communities of people; we speak about them in terms of ‘the church I go to on Sunday’. This basic misunderstanding of church causes us to hold onto a less than ideal view of Christian giving. CHAPTER 5 BUILDING THE CHURCH AROUND THE PERSONA OF CHRIST, NOT MEN! In the early days of ministry I remember listening to some tapes on apostles and how they build Gods church. Later I came to see ‘church planting’ as apostles [or evangelists, or just Christians] going to areas and simply preaching Christ to groups of people. After the people believed there was a natural development of family and community that took place as Christ’s Spirit develops the body of Christ. So the New Testament churches are simply bodies of believers in these location’s who came to know Christ. God’s authority and the works of his kingdom are simply a natural expression of Christ’s Spirit through his body. As time progressed in church history people later developed all sorts of offices and institutions that they incorporated into the church. Eventually people began viewing the institution or 501c3 entity as a separate thing called ‘church’. With this mindset people began seeing apostles and ministers and people who plant these entities as ‘CHURCH PLANTERS’. Church planting then began to be looked at as C.E.O.’s who are starting corporate entities with all sorts of projects to do. The entity itself became the focal point of all ministry and authority in any given community. The actual people [the real church] simply became servants to the entity’. The 501c3 itself became the thing that we saw as having the actual conferred authority of God upon it. The people who did not conform to the ‘system’ in many different generations of Christians were seen as being rebellious or not coming under the authority of the church [system separate from the people] though many of these people were truly Gods corporate community [church] they were looked at as in opposition to the church because the understanding of church evolved [or devolved] from the original meaning. We then put expectations on church leaders to build big facilities and to try and fill them up. I want to make a note here; I am not against the modern phenomena of mega churches. If they are growing as a natural outgrowth of healthy evangelism it is a good thing. Where we often miss it is when we begin seeing the goal as having the big thing and then pressuring the flock because they’re not helping us obtain the big thing. Well the original tapes I listened to from the brother who was teaching on apostles eventually visited Corpus Christi and he spoke on his vision to build a 7 thousand seat auditorium and having 100,000 dollar faith and then a million dollar faith and having faith to build it and that people will want to hear him speak [the money stuff was spoken at a different time, but this is the context]. While this minister meant well he simply was not speaking New Testament language. True apostolic church planting is the natural outgrowth that takes place in communities of people when they come to know Christ. When we as leaders begin seeing the entity [501c3] as the goal, and the people as the tools, or fellow helpers and financial supporters of the entity, we’re then relegating the body of Christ to simple servants of the system. Sort of like the children of Israel in Egypt. They were multiple [big numbers] but they were under constricting styles of leadership that caused them to build the cities of man [Pithom, Raamses]. God raised up prophetic leadership [Moses] to bring them out of bondage so they themselves would become a self functioning society on their own, without being subservient to another system. The unhealthy focus of ‘church’ that centers around the high-powered personas of men is in direct violation of the spirit of the New Testament. Church today too often has become a community of people whose ‘common bond’ is found in the personality of the pastor. All healthy groups of people in society will have stages of growth where they go through the process of leadership bringing them from dependence to independence and finally to interdependence [the stage where I don’t need you to survive or find my identity through you, but I need you as a coequal member in order for us both to function in a healthy way]. The New Testament ecclesias were groups of believers whose leadership [elders] functioned as mature guides and facilitators of this corporate experience. This leadership style is far removed from the present mindset of church leadership, which patterns itself after the predominant personality of one individual. While its O.K. at certain stages of group development to have periods of time where one person is the main influence in an individuals life [like a mentor/big brother], but if this relationship between mentor [pastor/leader] never grows to a stage where the ones being mentored do not eventually develop to the point where they are no longer dependent on the mentor, then you have the danger of the leader and his personality becoming the central figure that the disciple organizes his life around. We unconsciously repeat this cycle in the church without realizing it. The simple truth of the churches of the New Testament having no central office where a person [no matter how well meaning he is] is the primary figure of the community should cause us to rethink our present mindset of church and ministry. It is inherently dangerous for any group of people to hear and see and be centered around the giftings of one person [the exception being Christ]. The gifts of the Spirit that freely operate through all of Gods children are powerful. God designed a safety mechanism in the church [body] to prevent the power of these giftings from causing people to become to oriented around one individual. The method God chose was ‘body ministry’. That is Gods pattern of all the people of God corporately sharing and giving to each other would prevent the unhealthy focus on one persons personality. Any group of people, no matter how well intentioned they are, put themselves in an unhealthy position when they violate this principle. We often confuse the New Testament doctrine of leadership and replace it with the charismatic individual. We don’t realize that we are violating the intent of scripture when we do this! All biblical leadership should bring people to a point where ‘He must increase and I must decrease’. Leaders need to be the ones who take the bold initiative to ‘wean’ people off of our personalities. Children in a natural home environment will go through stages in their relationship with their parents that hopefully bring them to a point of independence. Though they are your children when there 12,25,or 55 yet the way you relate to them will be different as they mature. The mistake we make in present models of church leadership is we think it’s healthy to relate to the people the same way throughout their entire lives. If you hear me preach or function in some prophetic gift week after week for 30 years, and my primary relationship with you is this way, then its only natural for you to develop an unhealthy view of me. It’s inherent in the gift of the Spirit to cause people to be drawn to the persona of Christ, when we violate the principle of body ministry [that is where all the people give and receive from each other] we unconsciously set up an unnatural environment where people are eventually drawn to the wrong persona [the person who they see functioning in the gift all their lives]. Many well-meaning pastors do not realize what a basic violation of scripture this is. Our goal should be bringing people to a point in their lives where they need us less and less as they develop a greater trust in God. I know that it’s difficult to embrace these truths, even if they are true! I myself had a hard time seeing the reality of the present day mindset of ‘pastor/minister’ as a basic violation of the intention of God for the church [body] to be an environment where people are centered around the persona [identity] of Christ. Many times well-meaning pastors become the central personality of the group in an unintentional way. Out of a sincere desire to ‘protect’ the flock they unintentionally become the central attraction of the local community. They feel that if there were too much freedom the people could go off track. This possibility does exist, but the primary method of preventing people from going off track is to allow them to develop into mature saints who need not be dependent upon us. The example of the parent/child relationship. It would be ‘safer’ to allow the child to never leave the home and for you to always be the child’s main source of comfort and identity, but it would not be right! So likewise in the church leadership needs to re-examine our proper roles and responsibilities. If we have embraced roles of ‘pastor’ that truly violate this most basic principle, then it is incumbent upon leadership to recognize this and to make the proper course corrections as God would direct. I really want to emphasize the truth that the church is a community of people whose environment tends to the exalting of the personality of Christ at the expense of the personality of the individual leader. God intended the Church to be a place where gifted individuals WOULD NOT come to the forefront in the minds of the group, but would recognize the fundamental nature of servant leadership and willingly take the position of humility. [John 13, 1Cor. 12:22-25] We don’t seem to understand that the way modern Christians relate to leadership in the present day is in many ways a violation of the spirit of the New Testament. Today it is common in any city to have many churches who all have their own pastors with believers attending the church of their choice. While all of these people [both the pastors and believers] are for the most part well intentioned, they unconsciously develop a mindset that Paul rebuked in the Corinthian church. The church at Corinth [all the believers living in the city!] got to a point where they began identifying themselves by the people they followed. Some said they followed Paul, while others were following Apollos. The actual seeing of the individual leader, and identifying around him was rebuked by Paul. Now I know that we don’t realize this, but for us today to have many thousands of believers in many cities actually saying ‘he is my pastor’, to the point where all the believers have one main personality that they look to and identify with is not the intent of leadership in the New Testament. The biblical model of believers in any location is to have a plural group of elders that are viewed as trusted community leaders; this is more in keeping with the intent of the New Testament. If you later were to visit these New Testament communities and found them saying ‘he is my elder, or I go to elder so and so’s church’ this would be seen as division resulting from having too high of a view of Christian leadership. I know it’s difficult to realize we have done these things, and I’m not advocating getting rid of all the good men who serve as pastors today, but if we begin to see the basic violation of scripture in our present models of leadership this will allow us to take a more humble approach and hopefully facilitate a greater spirit of unity in the Church. What I want you to see is how we in the church have a view of ‘local church’ that causes us to have a misplaced loyalty that is inherent in Christ’s brotherhood. Because we view ourselves as ‘members’ of so and so’s church, as opposed to truly being one body in Christ, this breeds a spirit of disloyalty to our fellow brothers in Christ. We tend to hold to the view that if your not a part of ‘my local church’ [meaning the individual meeting I attend] that somehow I am truly not responsible to you. While in reality I really am supposed to have the same care and concern for you as my brother in Christ, regardless of whether or not you attend my ‘church’ [group I meet with]. In the New Testament there are references to the ‘church in your house’ and things of this nature. Where we usually ‘miss it’ is when we think that somehow these statements violate the concept of our oneness in Christ. When the bible speaks like this, it is not saying that all the believers in one location have separate ‘churches’ that they belong to. It is simply saying ‘that part of Christ’s body that meets in your house’. It would be wrong to view statements like this and then develop an ecclesiology that ‘sees’ a hundred different independent ‘churches’ [entities] in your city. While there very well might be a hundred different groups of believers in your city, you should be committed to these believers just as much as the people you meet with every Sunday. While God recognizes different groups of believers in each city, He also lays down guidelines for our mutual care and concern that we are all to have for one another. Our dividing over ‘who’s church I attend’ creates a false mindset of a lack of loyalty to our brothers because ‘they don’t go to my church’. I just read a verse in Isaiah [55: 8] ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord’. I want you to see that when we view things from our own perspective [our thoughts] we often violate Gods ways [his thoughts]. Many times when dealing with issues that would personally affect an individual’s present mindset, or the lifestyle that he’s living [like when I deal with the subject of tithing, or the lack of the full-time paid minister in the New Testament story]. People will often reject the truth of scripture [Gods thoughts] simply on the grounds that they are already practicing ‘church’ in a certain way [their thoughts] and have no desire to ‘give up’ their present practice of doing things. Many times it’s simply a matter of personal survival. ‘If you are right John, then it will affect me too much, and I am not willing to ‘die to the way I see things [my thoughts] because it will entail too much pain [I think they used to call this ‘bearing our cross’]’. So while I don’t want to personally condemn any brother for his views on church and ministry, I want us all to see how we are subject to preferring our own views to Gods [even me!]. It’s a natural tendency of the sinful nature to presume ‘our thoughts’ [our way of seeing things] are ‘Gods thoughts’. It’s when we take this presumption to the extreme that we get into trouble. We get to the point of seeing others who don’t hold to ‘our thoughts’ as violating scripture [Gods thoughts] and then we unconsciously fall into the category of the Pharisees where we condemn those who don’t ‘see things our way’. CHAPTER 6 ORDINATION AND THE BIBLICAL MODEL OF ACCOUNTABILTY. In the 1st century Jesus showed up in the midst of a religious system that had a voice of its own and refused to acknowledge anyone who did not submit to its authority. This system [religious Judaism] not only resisted Christ and the disciples, but would later resist the freedom and growth of the New Testament churches established by the apostle Paul. The leaders of this system actually said that they feared loosing the influence they had in society if the young church continued to experience success. They were already showing signs of the kingdoms of men resisting the kingdom of God. The Pharisees had their position that religion gave them and they were unwilling to give it up, even if it meant their rejection of messiah. The Pharisees used the law and religious protocol as a means to de-legitimize those who would not jump through the hoops of their day. Many of our modern concepts of church and ministry unconciously produce the same results. The very idea of ordination in the new testament was simply the public recognition [through the laying on of hands] of those leaders [elders] in the Christian community [not some non profit entity] who were deemed grounded in the person of Christ and could be looked up to as spiritual guides in a voluntary society of believers. Over the years ordination has evolved into a ritual of licensing and certification from a religious institution in order to be legitimate to function in church circles. So the simple concept of all believers having the ordination of God [John 15] has now developed into a system of approval that one must have in order to function in the church [as a full time minister]. Now while I personally have no problem with ordained ministry, we must see that what we call ordination today is a more developed concept than was originally intended in the New Testament. It can become wrong when we begin to limit the function of all believers as ordained priests under God and use the modern concept of ordination to de-legitimize those who don’t have it. The 1st century Pharisee saw Jesus ministry as a direct violation of their understanding of legitimate ministry. They were using law and religious regulation to exclude people from feeling accepted in Gods society. Jesus way of doing ministry not only violated the current standards of the day, but also opened up a whole new realm of people who would be able to function in Gods kingdom. All who would simply accept him and become a follower were now given legitimacy to spread God’s kingdom despite their unwillingness to submit to the system of their day. This is what offended the religious mind of the 1st century Pharisee. They spent years jumping through the hoops of religious protocol in order to function as religious leaders, Jesus comes on the scene and bypasses all their procedures and vests authority to do kingdom works to the common people. There was a spirit present in both the mind and religion of the 1st century Pharisee. They had an intellectual knowledge of scripture that focused on particular aspects of scripture while never being able to comprehend the ‘body of truth’. Their religious position in society gave them a greater degree of responsibility to be able to understand that Christ himself was the goal and result of all religious learning. In essence they were guilty of possessing a special position in society and because of there unwillingness to loose the ‘honor’ that came from this position they committed the worst type of offense that leaders could commit. They actually rejected the person of Christ in order for there own personas to continue to be at the forefront. If you remember when Paul speaks of antichrist [I am not saying here that present Christian leaders are antichrist!] Paul says that ‘he sits in the temple of God showing HIMSELF to be God’ 2 Thes.2: 4]. There is an aspect of ‘anti-christ’ that rejects the development of the person of Christ in the Church [body] in order for mans persona to remain at the forefront. He sits [antichrist-not wanting Christ to be seen!] in the place of God taking the glory [adulation/honor] to his persona that belongs to Christ. I want you to see that no matter how well we know scripture, we really know nothing until the actual person of Christ is at the forefront [Jesus being Lord]. When man persists in his pride to continue to hold on to a position of attention in the Christian community that rightfully belongs to Christ, he unknowingly is violating one of the most fundamental truths of the church. What I want you to see, without getting too much into the whole subject of antichrist, is that he wants the place that rightfully belongs to Christ. In the Christian community Christ’s rightful place is the center of our attention. True worship is Him actually being the focus and center of attention. The unhealthy attention that we often see given to people’s personalities is a subtle way the enemy uses from keeping Christ’s image and person from being the center of community. Recently there was a Christian brother who fell in a very public way. It was a situation where he admitted to certain sins [adultery] and it was very public. While I wont use his name, he was a very influential leader in charismatic circles. He held the title of ‘arch-bishop’ [I don’t understand why we do this stuff!] Well as usual when word got out about his fall, people began to expound on why this happened. Some explained that they thought it was because he wasn’t ‘accountable enough’ [he was archbishop to more than 200 churches!] We never seem to think that if we allow individuals to be exalted above measure, that this itself is a violation of the principle of New Testament leadership. Jesus said whoever exalts himself will be humbled. Many times in Christian circles we don’t realize that we are doing this! We often blame the fall on ‘lack of accountability’. True accountability is submitting to each other in love. It is not some unnatural structure that we create. I have heard it taught in the way that if some outside person is our ‘covering’ and they call us once a month and yell at us, that some how this is being humble and being accountable. You can’t be accountable without true friendship and relationship. We often jump to the conclusion that when one of our brothers fall that it’s a result of a lack of accountability, when it just might be that we allowed them to be lifted up to a place where the Lord had to humble them. [I don’t want to judge this man, I didn’t even realize I was going to share this but during my prayer time early this morning I continued to pray for him and some other brothers who have fallen, and then I felt the Lord permitted me to share this!] When we allow leaders to attain honorific titles in violation of scripture we are unknowingly placing them in a position where Christ must humble them. Let me mention here the interesting phenomena of Christians [charismatic and others] seeing the ‘need’ for believers to revert back to ecclesiastical structures. During the Jesus movement of the 70’s, as well as the charismatic movement, there were well intentioned brothers who felt like the freedom of ‘simply following Christ’ and the working of the Spirit were not enough to keep the movements from going off track. They sensed the need to have ‘structure’ for the new believers. Jack Sparks, a brother who felt this way, eventually reverted all the way back to Greek orthodoxy and is an orthodox priest today in California. Others like Bob Mumford and Ern Baxter became involved in the discipleship/shepherding movement which placed an overemphasis on the concept of covering and being in submission to authority. These men were well intentioned, but it is my feeling that there is a degree of arrogance and elitism that causes people to believe that somehow through establishing ‘structure’ that they can safeguard the new Christians who where coming to Christ at this time. The whole phenomena of reverting back to previous church communities is nothing new. You had the ‘oxford movement’ after the reformation where many Anglican scholars became Catholics after studying the church fathers and other early sources and felt that the earliest Christian witness was Catholic. You had cardinal Newman later on also becoming catholic, or a Frances Schaffer jr. leaving evangelicalism in order to become eastern orthodox. In all these scenarios these are good men who are finding refuge in ‘structure’. While I consider all of these faiths to be Christian, I believe the error of this type of thinking is we seem to believe if we add structure to new believers this will keep them from going off track. The ‘structure’ of the New Testament churches was nothing like this. Their safeguard was in keeping Jesus pre-eminent in their lives and living together in Christian love and brotherhood. When a Paul or other Christian leader saw them getting off track [Galatians/Corinthians] the answer was not more structure, but simply refuting the error and re-presenting Christ. It was ultimately being able to trust God to finish the work that He started in them. CHAPTER 7 EXAMPLES FROM PASTORS AND BELIEVERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. I recently did a study on the whole phenomena of the house church movement. Many of the stories I encountered while doing research went along theses lines. You would find various groups of believers who felt disenfranchised with their roles in modern church systems; they felt like they were professional spectators. The whole concept of church became to them a place where you go to hear lectures. The only one who finds fulfillment in expressing themselves are the professional clergy [and a few rebellious prophets who could muster up the nerve to stand up and speak!] but the overall sense was these people were simply filling roles of listening to preaching week after week without ever truly functioning. Many of these people left their churches to form house/cell type churches. There were also many traditional pastors who saw this same restricting style of contemporary church and also left the whole concept of professional pastor and simply became a bi-vocational leader in a voluntary based movement of believers. Some of the movements I studied were tremendous in their ability to rapidly spread throughout regions without the drag of salaries, buildings and all the other usual things associated with full time ministry. I find these movements to be exciting and biblical. The whole idea of average believers advancing the kingdom of God without all the trappings of modern religion is truly getting back to the heart of New Testament Christianity. Many of their stories shared a common theme of being seen as rebellious or not willing to submit to authority because of their willingness to break out of restricting mindsets in order to advance the kingdom. Many of the pastors who also left traditional church roles found freedom in not having to raise huge amounts of money for salaries and buildings, they testified of a freedom that came with their not having to sermonize on tithing and other money raising efforts. There was a real sense of effectiveness in the reality of the ‘church’ being vibrant groups of believers who can rapidly expand across a region without having to stop and build structures and set in order clergy and all the other trappings associated with modern day church. While I personally don’t advocate one form above another to the degree that some house church enthusiasts do [it can be just as bad to focus on the ‘house’ in house church as in the building in modern church] but I do see in this movement a return to the simple reality of Christ moving and expanding through his people [true church growth]. As you read the New Testament you never get the feeling that Jesus or the apostles were going to areas to start some type of meeting that they would get people to attend. They were being sent out to spread the great message of Gods kingdom. All the sermons in the book of acts focus on Jesus and his great work for us. After people in these various regions came to the reality of Christ they were then considered to be the church. The actual reality of Jesus living in them through his Spirit is the entity that God recognizes as legitimate to carry out his works. There was no magical element of organizing under a particular form that would then become the ‘church’. They were church by virtue of the fact that Christ dwelt in their hearts by faith. As these communities spread throughout the earth they would have more mature leaders in their midst who gave guidance and direction to the flock in a voluntary way, but the concept of one professional minister who was hired to perform religious functions for the community was absent from these New Testament ecclesias. The whole mindset of ‘church-planting’ was simply the natural outgrowth of people coming to know Christ. There wasn’t a separate calling to start churches apart from the great commission to go and tell all people about this great gospel of Christ. Apostles had a special gifting to help build these communities, but in no way is this separate from the calling to preach the gospel. It is simply the proclaiming of Christ to communities of people that holds the power of ‘church planting’. And the thing that we’re planting is Christ in the hearts of people. I think if we can get back to seeing things on these terms there will be less of a pressure to go and make something happen, and more of a balance on Christ in us, the hope of glory! CHAPTER 8 ARE CHURCH BUILDINGS EVIL? [OR THE GUY WHO WANTED TO CAST DEMONS OUT OF ME!] Many years ago before I really understood the truths of ecclesia and the communal aspect of the church, I was introduced to the belief that the ‘church building’ itself was wrong. I don’t personally adhere to this belief, but let me share the story. While ministering as a new believer in Christ and learning ‘the ropes’ of ministry, I remember driving past a brother who was a street minister from Mexico. It was unusual in the way he was conducting his street meetings. He would get permission to use an empty lot and then set up actual church pews in the lot without walls or any type of cover over it [even if it rained!]. Well one day on my daily rounds of visiting people and witnessing for Jesus [because this is what ministers are supposed to do, right?] I stopped by this brother’s lot and figured I would bless him with some lunch and listen to him preach [I felt sorry for the brother because no one else was attending his meetings]. After he spoke I had a chance to fellowship with him. After hearing his thoughts I realized it was on purpose for him to have no walls or cover over the pews [these were actual church pews that were out there in the open!]. He shared with me the verse in Hebrews [13:10] where it says that those who worship at the sanctuary have no right to partake of the altar of Christ [the cross]. He saw this as meaning that all Christians who meet in buildings [the sanctuary] were lost! Well, even as a young believer in the lord I was smart enough to know that this verse had nothing to do with ‘church buildings’. I showed the brother that in context the verse simply meant that those Jews [remember who the book of Hebrews was written to] who were not willing to leave the old covenant system [the sanctuary] could not move on with the new covenant truth of Christ and his cross. The sanctuary represented the whole concept of law and Judaism. This verse had nothing to do about the inherent nature of church buildings! Buildings themselves are neutral ground; it’s the style of one person functioning [the pastor] at the expense of the rest of the body that I see as less than ideal. Well after seeing the obvious error of the way this brother was reading this verse, I began to ‘expound unto him the way of God more perfectly’. When he finally understood what I was saying [you could tell by the look in his eyes that he saw the truth] instead of repenting of his distorted view, he became irate and began to cast demons out of me [hey, I didn’t think there were any in me!]. The reason I share this example is because there are those in the house church movement, while not as extreme, seem to view the church building itself as an evil thing. My personal view is the church building can become a hindrance when we view it as part of a system that makes up ‘church’. We seem to see the whole concept of the church building and the pastor as the weekly speaker and all the other things associated around this structure [like tithing to the storehouse] as ‘the system’ that God instituted to carry out his work in the earth. Remember Gods inherent authority resides in no human system or mode of religious worship. His authority resides in the church, the actual people of God in any given community on earth. So if there are believers carrying out Gods purpose, whether they have the whole system that we deem ‘local church’ or not, is irrelevant. Remember what we said about Jesus and the 1st century religious mind? They were finding fault with Jesus and his disciples because they were not following the religious protocol of the day. When we embrace certain mindsets that see ‘local church’ as the limited system of Sunday worship and all the other usual things associated with it, what we’re unconsciously doing is vesting authority in a style, or form of religious worship while by-passing the true legitimacy of Gods people. Its not to say that Gods people who function in the whole system of Sunday church are illegitimate [that would be making the same mistake as the brother who wanted to cast the demons out of me!] but this shows us how we unconsciously make the same mistake as the 1st century Pharisee by seeing as illegitimate those who don’t follow certain protocols. It was a common thing during the 90’s to speak about the ‘changing of the wineskin’ in order to receive the new wine [the new move of God]. Many of theses thoughts were helpful in causing us to re-think the way we ‘do’ church. I also remember a common theme being ‘God wants to pour out his Spirit, but the wineskins are not ready’ in some of these examples the ministers actually meant that we don’t have big enough buildings to put all these new converts so God is ‘withholding the new wine until the new buildings go up’. At this point you should begin seeing how once again this is confusing the reality of Christian community with ‘the church building’. I find it interesting that the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost was not delayed because of the lack of facilities to put all the new converts in. Also the great missionary journeys of Paul were not delayed ‘until the new wineskins were in place’. This shows us how we’ve come to view the people of God as being dependent on the present system. Could it be that God withholds His Spirit because the ‘new wineskin’ could refer more to believers seeing themselves as the actual church that God wants to fill? If we are not rightly discerning Christ’s community as a self-sustaining society of people then the church really isn’t able to contain the new wine. If we are so limited in our thinking to view the new wineskin as larger facilities, as opposed to a rethinking of what it means to truly be Christ’s body, then maybe the holdup has more to do with a change in the way we view ‘church’ then it has to do with bigger church buildings! CHAPTER 9 WHAT IN THE WORLD IS ‘THE LOCAL CHURCH’? Growing up as a catholic boy [though not a good one] I remember when I came to know the lord I started reading through the bible and found how the bible contradicted many of the religious beliefs I held to as a boy [this is not to say Catholics are not Christian]. Later while attending a good Baptist church I naively believed that good Baptists must have it right because they do read the bible! Well now I see that none of us have everything right [including me!] but some of us are closer to truth than others. One of the traditions I saw with my Baptist friends was their whole concept of ‘local church’. They seemed to see it as the actual process of ‘going to church on Sunday’ and all the things associated with that particular form of worship. Many of them found fault with the Catholic Church and her traditions, but could not see how their own limited view of ‘local church’ was just as religious as some of the Catholic teachings that they so often criticized. Till this day I still cant see how so many of my brothers in Christ view a particular form of modern church service as ‘the local church’. Some brothers view it to a degree where they really do harm to the rest of the body of Christ. When any system of church or worship is embraced to the degree of seeing others who don’t embrace it as lost or in rebellion, then we unconsciously are saying that all others are illegitimate. While the practice of Sunday church and the other expressions of it are o.k. with me [to a degree], I still couldn’t see how bible believing Christians could view this form as ‘the’ legitimate form of church that Jesus established 2000 years ago. The ‘church’ in the New Testament are all the communities of believers in any area where they reside. She is not some limited form of worship or specific social group that someone joins. How arrogant would it be for me to teach that the meetings or expressions of my own ministry were ‘the’ local church, and then tell people if they do not put 10% of their money into this expression that they would be under a curse! This really is wrong at the heart of it. Its o.k. for Christians to associate in this Sunday church way, but its not o.k. to view this form as ‘the local church’ to the exclusion of all the other varied forms of ‘church’ that exist in a living organism [the real ecclesia]. I recall reading an article from one of the leaders of ‘youth with a mission’ [ywam] this is a great organization. This leader is seeing many of the truths I’m expressing in this book. He went on to explain how in the early years of ywam that they would lead many college students to Christ, and these students would naturally form on campus Christian associations/bible groups that would flourish naturally as any living organism should. But they would then tell their students that in order to not be in rebellion they needed to be ‘part of a local church’ [not realizing that they already were ‘part of the local church’ by virtue of the fact that Christ was dwelling in them and having expression through them as they met together]. Well the brother explained how they would then send them into ‘the local churches’ [which really meant lecture hall/church building environments in order to hear sermons]. And how these young groups of students would stagnate by being told to be under this type of authority. So what they viewed as being in submission to authority and being ‘under a local church covering’ was really a violation of the true expression of church that already existed in the on campus meetings. The brother also shared how they felt constrained to send the students to ‘the churches’ in order to appease the egos of the men who led the churches. This little example shows us how the mindset of viewing one form of religious expression as ‘the local church’ can actually hinder ‘the local church!’ One night I attended a fellowship group where a bunch of Christians ‘unofficially’ met together to eat and share and just have a good time [much like the early atmosphere of the Lords supper/love feast]. During this time of fellowship everyone just shared, sang and enjoyed themselves in a very relaxed atmosphere. The place we were at is a beautiful environment out in the country that is dedicated to the body of Christ. This place is not considered ‘a local church’, though every aspect of our meeting fit the criteria of ‘local church’ to the tee. On our way back to Corpus Christi the friend I was with had recently read some of our books and sincerely asked me about my views on the ‘local church’. This brother is a mature older prophet in the Corpus Christi area with a proven track record of faithfulness to the Lord. He couldn’t understand why I saw very little distinction between the ‘local church’ and para-church ministries. Well as we were driving back into town it was late in the evening and all the lights of C.C. could be seen, it was a great view of the city. I explained to my friend how what we just experienced at the ‘para-church’ ministry was a real expression of ecclesia and Christian unity. Two or more were gathered together and Christ was present. As we drove back into town I explained that today [it was Sunday] many various groups of believers met in many different locations and that this was also an expression of the Body of Christ. And as we looked over the city I told him that my understanding of all the various ‘churches’ that met together in all the different locations were in Gods eyes one church. That the New Testament doesn’t show them to be 100 different separate entities that we call ‘local church’, but that all the believers who gathered in this day were ‘local church’ [ecclesia] even the ones who met at the Christian camp [actually the style of meeting at the camp was more in keeping with the 1stcentury model]. God sees his church as one entity, not as many different entities all with their own separate identities. There are many church buildings going up in our city [nothing wrong about this], while driving to work not to long ago I noticed how one of the churches is building within a few hundred feet of another church. They are both good churches, but God simply doesn’t see these brothers as separate entities. It would be like the kids living in your home, they might be in different rooms right next to each other, but they don’t ‘operate’ as unique entities apart from the other siblings [at least I hope not!]. I was fellowshipping with a friend and sharing with him some of the thoughts in this book. During our discussion he was struggling with the concept of ‘the church’ being a free society of Christ followers [a brotherhood] as opposed to the normal way we see church today [the whole concept of Sunday church as the ‘church’ we go to]. While trying to explain myself [or should I say ‘defend’] I noticed that there was a picture of the last supper on the wall. I then used it as an illustration of ‘local church’. I showed him how this ‘supper’ was one aspect of Jesus sharing of his life with the disciples. Jesus lived and walked daily with his disciples for three years and is now going to leave them for their benefit [even though they don’t see it yet!]. During this final meal he rightfully is the center of their attention. He has already taught them the principle of calling no man on earth ‘father’ or ‘master’ or ‘rabbi’, because they are all brothers and their master/rabbi is Christ himself. So the atmosphere of them all being equal at this supper with him being the focal point is an intentional lesson for them. He then does the unthinkable, he gets up from the table and puts on a servants garb [towel] and begins to wash their feet! He tells them he is giving them an example of what it will mean to be a leader in the church. He shatters the gentile idea of leadership [being at the top] and once again shows them that the last will be first is a real mindset that is to be lived out in Christian community. True ‘local church’ is the common sharing of the life of Christ [the Eucharist is a picture of this] in Christian community where we all are equals [this means all, do you see how there was purposely no man or office that was predominant here, apart from Christ] and where leadership is identified by a servant’s heart! CHAPTER 10 THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION IN THE MODERN CHURCH Over the years while working with brothers who were addicts or ex-cons we would spend a lot of time just fellowshipping and spending time together as friends. Jesus was actually accused of being a friend of sinners. This accusation seemed to imply that it was all right to view people as a thing to be ministered to, but to actually befriend sinners was a violation of the religious world of separation between sinner and saint. The religious mind views people as a resource pool to accomplish ministry goals. People are viewed as being expendable. I have often seen the example used where if people are in the way of accomplishing religious goals then you must avoid them. While the principle of not allowing critics to stop us from accomplishing God given goals is important, yet we must put in perspective that the actual city/building that God desires to build is the community of people herself. Many times while working with these friends of mine we would run into or have experiences where other pastors would interact with them in efforts to ‘get them into their church’. Some would visit one church or another and then later tell me how the one pastor would be offended that they went to the other ‘church’. They seemed to be able to see right through the church games that these men were playing. The goal of these well meaning pastors was to get people to go ‘to their church’ which in many of these scenarios simply meant attending a building to listen to someone preach. If the many ‘churches’ are simply competitive lecture halls from which men find personal fulfillment by having people come and listen, then in these scenarios the struggle or guilt that we put on people to make them come is an actual violation of the true church, which after all is made up of all these various believers in our communities. I am not saying that in all of these types of situations that there are never legitimate expressions of church, but the actual spirit of this type of thing goes on a lot in the average city. The people can fall into mindsets of where their simply being viewed as tools to accomplish religious goals. In the New Testament the mindset of ministry and ‘church planting’ had nothing close to this sort of attitude. The New Testament Churches were simply communities of people who gathered around the reality of Jesus. In these communities church was a daily way of life, it was not focused around meetings at all. This is why I take issue with the strong house church emphasis that actually sees a pattern of ‘house church’ as the only legitimate expression of church. This is the same mistake as the building centered approach. They are both focusing on the wrong thing, where the people meet. The focus in the New Testament is not on where or even how they meet, but the emphasis is on the reality of all the believers in any given location as being the corporate expression of Christ in all types of situations. The fact that Christ lives in all of us is the great mystery. It’s really insignificant in my thinking on exactly how we meet. Now I know that some styles are better than others. For instance a meeting where all the believers function by sharing and caring for one another is much more edifying, but the daily reality of Christ manifesting through us as we interact in community is the true church. This obviously includes our meetings, but like I said earlier the New Testament thrust was preaching the gospel to people. It wasn’t on setting up meetings at all. The meetings were a simple outgrowth of true church life. When we loose the reality of this we digress into this competitive approach that causes pastors to compete with one another in a childish way. Paul told the Corinthians that their sectarian attitude to gather around the personas of men was a sign of their immaturity. I can’t believe how immature we are in our thinking. I was having a discussion with a mature leader in the church and when I shared some of these truths he actually said ‘my pastor knows how to spot wolves who try to come in and harm us’ [or something to that effect] the feeling I got was he was feeling threatened. Now this was a mature believer in his 50s[I’m 43 as I write this book]. The reason I say this is because it seemed so unnatural for a mature saint to even use the term ‘my pastor’. In the body of Christ there are many different gifts, some are apostles others prophets, some evangelists, but out of all these gifted ones it would be highly unscriptural to refer to any of these in this way. Just try it, do you feel comfortable saying ‘my prophet’ or ‘my apostle’ then why do we think ‘my pastor’ is not indicative of our immature thinking. I am not advocating the doing away of this term [pastor] but this language should cause us to rethink our immature ways of seeing church. Church is not an endless series of religious meetings whereby people ‘attend’ in order to listen to bible words being spoken. The practical instruction and teaching that are operating in any healthy group of people will allow there to be room for the functioning of all the people in the group. This codependence that we’ve developed with the emphasis on one persons persona is in direct violation of the function and flow of New Testament thought. The phenomena of one person being the primary voice and expression in the group [ecclesia] are an immature result of not rightly discerning Christ’s body. When people are together at social functions there is usually at least one person who has had a few drinks. You can identify that person by the way he acts. He wants to dominate the conversation, if you try and talk back he’ll cut you off because he derives enjoyment when the conversation centers around himself. He actually feels good about being the predominant voice in the group, to the exclusion of every other voice! I don’t know if we realize it or not, but in many modern church scenarios this is what the world sees. They frankly don’t want to ‘go to church’ because it has become an environment where one person is doing all the talking, and a lot of times it’s about him! People are tired of this. Our conversation [more than one person speaking] should revolve around the person of Christ as opposed to the persona of any one person. Grasping the biblical truth of leaders choosing between effective ministry or ministry for the honor of men is a hard pill to swallow if you are involved with the ‘honor of men’ mode at the present time [if you are now reading this and it describes you!]. What I want us all to see is that it takes true courage to walk in truth in every generation of believers from the 1st. century until today. There were many well-meaning Christians during the time of the reformation who were serving God as priests in the Catholic church. Many felt it to be a disruption to go on in the new truths of the reformation [justification by faith] and simply remained faithful to God in the majority position of their day. These priests were still Christians [for the most part] and many of them sincerely followed Christ to the best of their ability without embracing the new truths that God was bringing forth in their day. I mention this because there are many well-meaning brothers in Christ who see the things in this book as truth, but choose to stay in the majority system of contemporary church and will continue to be used by God to a degree. The real question for us is do we want to be a part of ‘modern reformation’ or just be faithful to the system [after all our brothers have been doing it this way for years!]. CHAPTER 11 GOD’S PEOPLE ARE NOT SIMPLY ASSETS TO AN ORGANIZATION! Getting back to the story of the children of Israel in the book of exodus. If you remember the story God took his society of people, who were many [big numbers] and he brought them through stages to lead them into a place where they would become a self-sustaining entity on their own [with God as their king!]. They were living in Egypt and being ruled over by taskmasters. The bondage they were under was an expectation to produce a certain amount of building materials in order for the cities of man to be built. The cities represented the images and personas of men. In the process of God delivering them from this bondage of image building he raises up Moses [a type of Christ]. Moses God given prophetic authority begins to confront mans authority [pharaoh] and begins a process of freeing the people from this mindset of being ruled over in order to produce things so the images of men would be glorified [ouch!]. As Moses confronts mans authority, he at the same time leads the people on a journey. The journey is exciting and life changing, but it also has many risks and pitfalls. The children of Israel’s response determined how long this journey would take. The more they complained about this new walk and all of the difficulties involved with it, the longer it would take before they could enter a place of rest and true self rule [under God]. During this season of testing and trial in the wilderness they actually longed to go back into a system of being ruled over because the old system provided a sense of stability and structure that they were comfortable with, despite the fact that they were slaves in it! In process of time they [their children] eventually do enter into the promised land of self-rule. They obtain their own national identity [the nation of Israel] apart from simply existing under another’s identity [Egypt] and God begins leading them with the assistance of prophets and judges and elders [a type of plural leadership flowing freely in society]. During process of time they reach a stage where they see how all the other nations are ruled [watch out!] and decide that they too want a king [man] to rule over them. Wow, after all that God brought them through to deliver them from mans control you would think they wouldn’t have done this! Well God actually says that by doing this they are rejecting his leadership for the leadership of men. He even warns them that this type of ‘mans rule’ will take of their best men and use them for the self-advancement of his dynasty. God says this king will even demand the tithes of the people in order to fund his kingdom [wow]. I guess when God says that the things that happened to Israel were for a sign for us so we don’t make the same mistakes; he really means it [1st cor.10]! Many times in our present understanding of church we view people as assets to our ‘organization.’ ‘Wow if I could just get that talented person as a staff member in our church’. This way of viewing people as things that can help our organizations grow is the ‘Saul’ mindset ‘he will take of your best men’ mentality. People have intrinsic value, they are valuable in Gods eyes because of the simple fact that Christ died for them and has purchased them with his blood. People are not objects or tools to be looked upon as assets to an organization. If you were to adopt a child [a very noble task] hopefully you would do it because you loved the child and wanted to be with them. If this child later found out that you did this in order to gain some type of benefit [like a tax deduction or something of this nature] your child would be devastated. So when we view Gods children [the true church] as objects that will help advance our ‘churches’ [organizations] we devalue them. I am not saying here that all present models of leadership in the church are ‘mans rule’, but a large degree of it is. There is so much image building that goes on in the church that it’s not even funny. Much of the collecting of tithes is simply a process where one leader is in competition with the other in order to ‘out build’ him, and a lot of times the people begin to simply be weekly attendees of our meetings who we deliver messages to and then hope to bring in a huge offering so the image of ‘our church’ can gain a degree of respect in the community. Like I said before, there is nothing inherently wrong with ‘big churches’ or ministries, but we must be careful that as we build we are not doing it at the expense of Gods true heritage [the people of God!]. If we can grasp the concept of Gods people actually being the vehicle that God uses to express His image and purpose in the earth, then we will stop viewing them as being simply a resource pool to accomplish ministry goals. My own prayer time has evolved as I began to see these truths. I used to spend a lot of time praying for the success of ‘my ministry’ but as I’ve come to see these truths I focused my prayer time more on the actual purposes of God to be made manifest through all the people we relate to. I began praying for God to accomplish and activate his purposes directly through his people. I began viewing ministry as not so much ‘something I am building for God’ but as the expression of his Son being developed and manifested through the people I relate to. If the people you influence over your life are truly impacted by the person of Christ, then in essence you have had a successful ministry. Many of these approaches to ministry will obviously not have the same amount of outward ministry things to look to [like buildings] therefore the concept of not building for the honor of men must be fully grasped by those who take on this style of ministry. This way of seeing and doing ministry also allows you to be free from having to raise large amounts of money in order to accomplish ministry goals. God truly can and will use any believer to expand his kingdom in the earth as you begin to see ministry this way. Jesus simple way of sending the disciples out and telling them not to worry about purse or scrip [money. I like the way the message bible puts it ‘don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this, you are the equipment. No special appeals for funds, keep it simple’ Mark 6] shows us the simplicity of all believers being able to carry out ministry by virtue of the fact that Christ is in us. This is what I tried to stress earlier, that as you begin to view ministry as a simple function of Christ revealing and manifesting himself through his people, then this is something we all can do all the time. No big process of raising money [no special appeals for funds] but simply being a Christian in society and interacting with God and fellow believers in all types of situations makes the presence of Christ manifest [where 2 or more are gathered there am I in the midst]. It is common today to view ministry as a function of professionals and the need for them to raise money for projects causes there to exist in the Christian community a mindset where good Christians are always appealing for funds in order to accomplish some project. This actually projects the image that ministry is some type of a separate function apart from us. This really violates the whole concept of ministry being a natural outgrowth of believers being in right relationship with God [John 15]. CHAPTER 12 WHAT MODEL OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT DO I ESPOUSE? Over the years when dealing with these types of issues I have found it difficult to break through the ‘normal’ way and pattern of thinking that most Christians have. For instance some times people will ask me the question ‘what type of church government do you believe in’? Most Times in their minds they’re really asking me ‘what type of order, or pattern of Sunday church do you espouse’. While I also understand that they are including the concept of government that applies to the broader association of the various denominations, to me they are still ‘seeing’ church government as a particular order imposed by the ‘separate entity’ of their denomination. Let me try to make this a little clearer [hopefully]. If I were to explain to someone the reality of natural human life, I would go through the process of showing how life starts between a healthy relationship of 2 people coming together by Gods design [I hope I don’t have to get to detailed here!]. As children are born they will go through various stages of development and life. They will encounter many different situations as they proceed along this thing called life. One of the many things that most children will have [though sad to say, not all] is a home environment. This home environment is just one of the many things that make up their lives. In this home/house they will at different times and in different settings be taught all types of things, both by example and through actual instruction [I thought I told you to clean up your room! 2 days ago!]. In this home environment you might have a special day where you all come together in the family room for devotional time [this day varies with my younger girls but I try to do this on a weekly basis]. While this devotional time is important, it is only one small aspect of their entire lives. If you were to refer to this one day of teaching as ‘the life/the church’ I would correct your thinking and say this small area of Christian activity, though important, is only one aspect of their lives. Life itself is the actual organic reality of them being human beings who were birthed and grew up as real human beings. The sum total of all their experiences have shaped them, but they themselves, by virtue of the fact that they were born and actually [really] exist as human beings, is life. Life does not describe the home/house environment only. Or just one specific way in which we do our devotion time. It consists of the fact that they are truly alive! So getting back to the question of ‘what type of church govt. do I believe in’ I often answer ‘none’, to the surprise of the person asking the question. I then go on to explain that I view ‘church’ as the actual living/organic entity of Gods people. God’s people are Gods people by virtue of the fact that they were born into his family; they are children of God, really! They are ‘church’ because of this fact. They will experience many good [and sometimes bad] things along the way. Most of them will find a ‘home/house’ environment to go to in order to associate with other believers [what we often describe as church] during these times of fellowship there will be certain days in which instruction is given [normally Sunday]. And they will experience many other types of situations throughout their Christian experience. So when someone asks me what type of church govt. do I believe in, I usually see the question to mean ‘what type, or style of Sunday church meeting do you espouse’. I try to make an effort to explain that I believe in the ‘actual church govt.’ that is I believe that all the people of God, all the time make up the church everywhere they are [remember Jesus answer to the Samaritan woman]. As God is daily communicating and interacting with his people by his Spirit this is an actual real existence that we share both with our creator and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This type of ‘church govt.’ is what I espouse. The ‘ordaining’ of elders in the New Testament was simply the recognition of more mature/grounded spiritual leaders who the early Christian communities could look to for guidance and direction [or correction] as they experience and live out ‘church life’. We have such a legalistic mind that as Christians we have changed church govt. to describe a certain form, or way of doing religious meeting while it originally referred to God ‘governing’ His people through the ‘govt.’ of Jesus being at the right hand of glory! CHAPTER 13 THE CAT CHAPTER [I DID THIS FOR MY KIDS!] Whenever I have this type of discussion I usually receive different responses from well meaning Christians in defense of the old way of seeing church. Some feel it is total rebellion to even dare question the system [my pastor knows how to spot wolves mentality, which usually means me!] sometimes people try to devalue this message by saying ‘oh, that brothers one of those theologian types’ which I assure you I’m not! [never been to bible school, never been ordained [by men]]. Some feel that this way of seeing ‘church’ is impractical. I believe that seeing all of Gods people as the actual entity in earth that God has ordained to advance his kingdom is the most practical thing you can do. I personally have been active and involved as a believer in all sorts of practical charitable outreach. I do this by virtue of the fact that I’ve been ordained by God to go into all the world and make disciples. Whether you realize it or not, so are you! All the ‘ministry’ stuff I do is not some higher calling that I have in which others need to recognize and support in order for them to get some type of reward simply because they support me [by the way we do not accept financial support]. This mindset creates a false barrier that causes Christians to see ministry as something separate from themselves, that somehow relieves them from their own personal responsibility to spread the kingdom. We sort of give the attitude that if the ‘average Christian’ simply supports the pro’s that he’s fulfilled his obligation. I often tell people that I am no different than them. God requires all believers to reach out and touch society around them in real practical ways. No one is to simply be a book writer, or radio speaker or any other ‘thing’ we see as ministry. But we are all responsible to reach out in real practical ways, touching the lost world around us. Our real message as Christians is that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. The message that the world needs to hear from us is that God is not mad at them, or trying to make them conform to some church standard. But God has already embraced and accepted them through Jesus Christ. Our message is one of total reconciliation and forgiveness. We all bare a responsibility to give our lives away for the sake of others. This whole book is to emphasize the reality and responsibility we all share in the great commission. The great truth of God ‘legitimizing’ all of us bares with it a great responsibility to touch the world. Jesus said to whom much is given much will be required. This book hopefully opened your eyes to some degree to how much has been given to you. Much is now required. All the ‘ministry’ things that I personally do, working with homeless people, ex-cons [or present ones!], doing radio, personal outreach/evangelism, all of these areas are a natural function of trying to hear God and respond. I’m not saying I do everything right, I’m sure I don’t [really sure!] but I try to view ministry as simply hearing and doing the works of Jesus. If the verse in Mark says to ‘make no special appeals for funds, travel light because you are the equipment’ then my first reaction to God calling me to do something in ministry is to simply act. This is a forgotten doctrine of the old traditional church; I think they used to call it ‘obedience’. So my response to God should be ‘Lets go’. Now I realize practically there are many contemporary building based churches that are hearing and responding to God, and that many of these pastors are obviously not going to personally fund everything they do. But I’m trying to show how we often respond to God’s call on us by perceiving that ‘God wants me to start a ministry’, once again falling into the trap of seeing ministry as some type of entity [usually a 501c3] that God wants us to start. God isn’t telling the ‘entity’ to do it, He’s telling you! [Or me] do you see this? So all the ministry stuff I do is without a board, no 501c3, and no separate entity at all. Just do it! [I should make a note here, in the early days I did incorporate and had a name, Corpus Christi outreach ministries, but this now is simply the name of our radio program. It’s more humble to leave it like this then to tell everyone ‘you’re listening today to John Chiarello’]. Now the principle of team work is important, after all this book is about the Church, Gods corporate people, but what I want you to see is you are free to do kingdom works without starting some ‘thing’. I have also sensed at times that when I share this simple approach I take concerning ministry, that it will offend others who have gone the more traditional route. Sort of like a feeling of ‘how dare you think that you can just do these things on your own, who is your covering!’. This attitude is what I was trying to express earlier when I shared how the mindset of the 1st century Pharisee was offended at both Jesus and his disciples simply doing kingdom works because they were sent by God. There seems to be a lack of understanding of the true nature of our sonship in Christ. While God doesn’t want Christians to be rebellious or out of order, we often use this type of language in order to challenge true believers who are walking in the will of God. If you think about it all of the commands in the New Testament are given to believers in order for us to actively participate in kingdom works. Jesus says when he returns that all nations will be judged on whether they fed him when he was hungry, or visited him when he was in prison [actual things that Christians should do]. He gives instructions on when we invite people for a meal to invite the down and out because they cant repay us [no political lobbying here!] but how many times have we actually done these things? We seem to read the new testament and confer the responsibility of these things on ‘the church’ as in if she were some type of separate institution that if we just give money to that we will be relieved of our responsibility to act! Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for this type of thinking. Jesus also taught that there would be people who at the judgment would be rejected because they never knew him, these people primarily focused on ministry as being ‘performance’ [have we not prophesied in your name type mentality]. This shows us that true ministry are the works done as a response of the compassion of Christ being expressed through us. Ministry is primarily not a function of religious performance. In American Christianity we often view ministry as a time were someone will be performing in an audience type atmosphere. Either a great sermon or fantastic singer, while there are times where these types of gifts edify, we often view ministry in these ways not realizing that for the most part this is simply ‘performance’. [I don’t want to sound mean here, but I really don’t know how else I could say this!] A few weeks ago I took a trip to the New York City area, before I left I gave specific instructions to my kids to not bring home any more cats! I told them that they all ready had enough pets and I didn’t want them to have any more. My daughters have been involved with a lot of pet rescues where they find strays and get them fixed and get all their shots and find them homes. The only problem is some times the home they find is mine! To be honest they have done pretty well. I also now have two dogs living with us [it’s a long story]. So when I arrived back from my trip I was greeted by the whole family and I noticed there was a strange looking kitten, I wasn’t really sure if it was new or one that I just didn’t remember. Well as the puppy is playing with the kitten my daughter says ‘oh, daddy did you see the new kitten, she belongs to the puppy’ in essence they were telling me that they really didn’t get any new pets, but that one of the pets got a new pet! This is what you would call living up to the letter of the law while violating the spirit of the law. This is what we do in our understanding of church and ministry. The whole intent is to build and edify people. They are the valuable object to God. In our efforts to ‘build ministry’ we often devalue them [most of the times unconsciously]. As we re-examine our ideas and concepts of church it is my goal to lead us to a place where people are valued again, even if it’s at the expense of the institution! Let me end this chapter with one more ‘cat’ story. One day one of our cats was killed by a car. My kids were upset so I violated the rule of not bringing any more cats home and went to the local shelter and adopted this real cute kitten. Well being I was the first voice that this kitten would hear [from my family] she became closer to me than normal. After a few more bad experiences with cats getting out my kids took 3 new stray kittens [recently rescued] and put them all in their room for months. The litter box, food and everything they needed was in this little isolated closed environment [watch out], well they stuck my little kitten in there too! After a few months I told my kids that this isn’t right. I haven’t seen my kitten for so long, she used to play with me and really liked me a lot, being I was the first voice she’d grown accustomed to. Well my kids warned me that she isn’t like that anymore, she’s been with the little scared strays in the room for so long that she’s picked up the scared attitude and is afraid of people. Well I couldn’t believe that she would have forgotten my voice, I know its been a long time since she’s heard it, but after all I am her ‘daddy’ and she was a special kitten to me. Well I finally broke this little secluded environment that they were living in and went into the room. Sure enough all the cats were scared of this type of forced intimacy. I was just to close! They all had this scared look and ran under the bed. I couldn’t believe that even my little kitten was so affected by the natural fear that these strays had, that she too thought it necessary to hide from the face of her father. Well after a few seconds my little cat came running out from under the bed and into my arms, as if to say ‘yes I remember you, your that first person that rescued me that day a long time ago, Its been so long since I saw you that I had forgotten your voice. I have been living with these unwanted strays for so long that I was afraid to approach you anymore’ well I think this is what happens to Gods kids sometimes. They start out at ‘the day of rescue [salvation]’ with the joy of hearing His voice, but after living our lives out in unnatural environments [closed rooms] for so long we forget what it was like to truly hear his voice and to commune with him. Often times there needs to be an intrusion into our closed environments before we can recognize the voice of our father once again. [NOTE; when I told my girls I was going to put a story about our cats in the book, they said ‘wow, our cats are going to be famous’ we just cant seem to get away from this desire to legacy build!] CONCLUSION Leadership is primarily the function of helping people ‘get out of their rooms’. It is the process of leading people away from feeling content and satisfied in our little rooms of fellowship and doctrine, which cause us to feel superior to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The end result of this little book shouldn’t be ‘now that I see these things I have found a ‘new’ room to dwell in [the room of the doctrine of ecclesiology/house church] but the result should be seeing ourselves as free in Christ and being built up as co-equal members of Christ’s body, Paul said knowledge puffeth up but charity buildeth up [edifieth]. As we all come out of our peculiar rooms of various doctrines [some of which are true!] we don’t advocate the belief that doctrine is not important but want to bring people to a place where we find our identity in the person of Christ as opposed to the doctrines of men. I would like to end this little booklet in an unconventional way. I want to simply share some thoughts from my own personal mission statement. Also I want to speak directly to all of our friends who either listen to us on radio or who I relate to in some way in the kingdom. Over the years of sharing these truths I would often have people who have heard us or read one of our books and after seeing certain truths would express their concern about their church, or so and so’s church. I without fail have always defended the church or pastor. The reason is I feel that the truths in these books are not to be used to personally come against a particular church or pastor. I do believe we all need to examine our motives and readjust our thinking when it comes to why we do the things we do ‘for God’. Its possible to be involved in church building and without realizing it, to be building monuments that will burn up in the day of judgment. All true church building consists of unselfishly depositing into other people for their growth and benefit. Ministry is not a ‘career choice’ as if someone were choosing between auto mechanic/fire-fighter/pastor. Ministry is a gift that God deposits in all his people for the mutual edification of the whole body. What we fail to see in many present forms of church is how we are simply empowering a few individuals at the expense of the people in the pews. I have seen many well-meaning men go into ministry and immediately feel a sense of fulfillment because they are flowing and speaking and giving out of themselves to others. The writing of this book as well as the radio programs I do give a sense of fulfillment in that we are all created to give ourselves away. But in many current situations the main speaker is finding fulfillment at the expense of the rest of the body. God designed the church to be a place where all of Gods people would find fulfillment in giving themselves away. The unnatural act of submission that we often teach is not true biblical submission. We often tell people if they are not satisfied with their passive role as listeners that they are in rebellion. While in reality true rebellion is not developing into the mature functioning person that God wants all of us to be. My purpose is not to give Christians excuses to ‘not go to church’. The mindset of ‘I can worship God on the golf course’ mentality. But to cause us to radically rethink what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. The Pharisees of Jesus day were involved in all types of religious activities, but Jesus said their main motivation was to simply attain a certain status amongst their fellow peers. He said that’s what they were in it for and that they already received their reward [the honor of men]. Why do we want to build big ministries? Is it truly for the glory of God or are we unconciously enjoying the natural success that comes with the adventure of any big project? I’m not against big projects in and of themselves, but we must examine our motives for doing the things we do. True New Testament Church planting is simply depositing Jesus image into the people we relate to over our lifetime. What legacy did Paul leave behind? Was it some huge earthly institution? We find him at the end of his life living in a rented house, receiving visitors and declaring the kingdom of God [Acts 28; 30-31] he left behind a legacy of gentile communities who believed in Christ! Here are some of my own personal thoughts from my mission statement. 1 spend time making quality friends, all ministry takes place in this type of atmosphere. 2 true leadership is relating directly to groups of people in cities, not starting some type of organization. 3 the apostle Paul had relationship with believers in different locals, but he didn’t own them. 4 don’t try to produce only one type or way of church, but allow Gods natural process to work in various ways. 5 relating to areas/groups of people regularly is building the body. Either a church building, home or any regular place of contact can be the format for building the house of God. 6 planting churches in the New Testament sense was not the concept of setting up regular meetings in which Paul would preach to them week after week as a pastor, but planting churches was an apostle going to a location and making believers of the gospel of grace, and then trusting the Spirit in them to continue his work. Paul did speak of recognizing and ordaining elders in these cities, but it wasn’t a weekly church concept. 7 in the book of acts the focus wasn’t on setting up meetings, but sharing Christ with groups of people and relating to them as a family of children of whom you will always have relationship with, but allow them to mature and grow up on their own and eventually become independent. 8 the focus isn’t meetings but ecclesia. That is the actual people you disciple. when Jesus sent them out 2 by 2 it wasn’t to start home groups, but to bring the kingdom to regions. Don’t sacrifice the freedom of touching people directly. Jesus and those he sends simply speak, do, share and communicate with people. His great commission to go and make disciples and baptize. Direct authority to do kingdom without having to start or set up a movement. The movement itself is ‘Jesus family’ [ecclesia]. You will meet with people, but the focus is the people not the act of meeting. Learn to relate to people without having an agenda. Simply be free to love people. 9 look at Jesus and the 12. Later in acts, even Paul when going to a region, he holds meetings for a limited time [though the longest was around 2 years] preaches Christ, has a give and take with the community and then leaves. No ‘starting’ of anything, but a revolution in the hearts and minds of people. Later when re-visiting these communities, these are the ‘churches’ of the New Testament. We must see and operate in this simple way. This simple way is New Testament church planting. 10 his yoke is easy and burden light. Go into all the world and preach the gospel. Don’t loose the simplicity of doing Gods will. He requires nothing more than to go and touch and share and love. The people you touch are the ecclesia. 11 in these friendships the main truth will be Jesus and his grace, these friends will be encouraged to continue in Jesus and his grace. Prayer, bible study, fellowship and their journey with God. Be available to baptize and communicate with them, but allow God to grow the seed. 12 you never get the sense/feeling from Jesus or Paul that they were going somewhere to recruit people to their ministry. The sense was bringing this great message and kingdom to people! The people continued in the apostles doctrine and fellowship with each other and later Paul would come back to see how they were doing, not to start some type of ministry, but true long term friendships in the kingdom. 13 the freedom isnt ‘house church’ or ‘temple worship’ but the kingdom being amongst us now! Obeying Jesus command to love! This command is free from all forms and structures of ministry, and allows us to daily love in action, always sharing in word and deed Jesus. A willingness to baptize those who believe and share and love and relate on a friendship basis. Jesus style. I would like to note here that at the present time [2000’s] there are many worldwide Christian movements that are actually doing many of the things that I mentioned in this book. There are many ‘ex-pastors’ who have left their former roles as the central figure of the people they were pastoring and have continued to serve the body of Christ in a bi-vocational way [not getting paid to pastor!]. While I am not advocating this for every pastor who might read this book, I share this to emphasize that these thoughts are presently being practiced on a large scale worldwide [I do a lot of research!]. When people are confronted with new truth there is a tendency to discredit the messenger, so I wanted you to see that there are many thousands of believers who are walking this path right now. There are also many brothers who have seen these things before I did and I appreciate the role they played in helping me to see new truth. In many cases the believers who have left there former churches to live in simple community have been ostracized and looked upon as backslidden rebels. This has created in some a resentment in those who are technically correct in their seeing the church as the community, but many wont hear their voices because of the barrier of resentment that they pick up from them. So you have some who remain in the old way of seeing church and justify it by the fact that some who moved on have a bad attitude. We are all responsible before God to respond to truth when confronted with it, regardless of how much we resent the messenger! I personally believe that after reading this little book that your level of responsibility has gone up. You must ask God how He personally wants you to respond to the truths presented to you. A few weeks ago I had a dream that I felt was prophetic, over the years I have had many interesting dreams and visions. I have never shared any of them in book form, but have spoken about them through our radio program. I dreamt that I was going to a Christian university, when arriving at the university there were many scholarly people dressed in suits and ties. There were many classes going on and discussions taking place about theological subjects. As I continued on my tour of the university there was a classroom where all the professors were gathered in a circle examining something. As I got closer I saw in the middle of these scholars there was what looked like an Indian warrior, he was crouched and just sitting there as something to be examined. He was severely scarred, not just normal scares but sort of a grotesque mutilation. He was there as something to be examined [I thought of the verse in Isaiah where it says he was marred more than any man, that he was wounded to beyond the point of recognition]. Later when I woke up I felt part of this dream spoke to the danger of us as Christians being able to learn and study truth, while never fully embracing the mystery in Christ. We have a tendency to build people up with all sorts of doctrines and never arriving at the point of fully grasping Him. My goal is after reading this book that your focus will not be ‘now I am going to go do the things in this book’, but that you would be able to see Him to a greater degree. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Let me close with this, the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that he was given authority by God to build them up and not to tear them down. He actually regretted being so hard on them in his 1st letter, but later said he was glad he made them sorry for a season because it would later bear good results. While I’m not comparing myself to the apostle, I do see a similar situation in some of the teaching we do. Its seems to upset people initially but after a while it will produce good fruit. My intent in examining our whole idea of church and ministry is not to give people ammunition to fight against their church, but rather to cause us all to embrace a more biblical concept of church and ministry. I personally do not advocate the total deconstructing of all present day church practices. I personally believe there is room for both building based churches [the church building] and the house church movement. My appeal is for us to look at all these issues and come to our own conclusions on how to embrace these truths at our own pace. I thank the lord that he has been patient with me as I walk this journey and I want to give you all the same room and grace he has extended to me. May God bless you guys until the next book! Here’s the chapter in Acts that I spoke about on today’s post- Sunday Sermon- 11-5-17- 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. Here’s a link- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/20/acts-20/ https://ccoutreach87.com/mark-links/ Here’s my past teaching from Mark 12 that relates to the Matt. 23 reading- Mark 12POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ JULY 14, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT MARK 12 Mark 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. https://youtu.be/VJBAPuroAUY Mark 12 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/7-6-17-mark-12.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/7-6-17-mark-12/ ON VIDEO- .Sandia .Storehouse wisdom .Kingdom to the gentiles [church] .Vineyard- wisdom- tower .Song of the vineyard .Apostles .Leadership .7 dead brothers .Married in heaven? .We are the bride- he is the groom .Burning bush- I AM .Great commandment .Beware of the religious leaders .Jesus has a question too .The common people liked it NEW- Jesus teaches the parable of the vineyard [or tenants]- it comes from the song of Isaiah chapter 5. The parable speaks about the Jewish people- and their rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah. A landowner plants a vineyard- puts a hedge around it- places a wine-press in it- and sets up a tower. He then leases it out to tenants. The Lord of the vineyard leaves- and over time he sends his men back to collect the fruit. The people who have leased the land refuse to give the fruit. They beat and stone those who are sent. And finally the landowner sends his son- and they kill him. The meaning is clear- God sent his prophets to speak to his people [Israel] they rejected them over time- and finally kill the Son. Remember- Jesus is teaching this- before he is crucified. He predicts his own death in the parable. Yet- at the end- he quotes Psalm 118- Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: Mark 12:11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? He predicts his Resurrection as well. The Son who was rejected and killed- becomes the head of the corner. In this chapter Jesus will also quote Psalm 110- Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psalm 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. He questions the religious leaders- He asks them Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? Yes- Jesus did indeed come from the line of David- but as the eternal logos- he was before David- John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The chapter ends with 2 stories- about widows. It’s important that we see them both. Jesus rebukes the religious teachers for taking advantage of widows- for financial gain Mark 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the market places, Mark 12:39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Mark 12:40 Which devour widows’ houses, Then he commends the poor widow for giving into the offering- Mark 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. Mark 12:43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: Mark 12:44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Over the years there have been many examples of religious leaders taking advantage of the poor- many have enriched themselves by abusing their office as teachers of the bible. Jesus strongly condemns those who do this. Yet- he commends the poor widow for giving to God. The rich were giving out of an abundance- it seems as if they actually learned the principle of abundance in their giving to God. Yet- he sees the woman giving out of her poverty- understand- she is still poor at the time she is commended. Yet the others were rich- and giving. Many in today’s church would look at the rich- who had an abundance- and say they prospered because they were giving- and had a lot. And some would condemn the poor widow- because she obviously must be doing something wrong- because she gives- and is yet poor. But Jesus did not see it that way. The woman gave sacrificially because of her love for God. The rich gave- yet they did it out of their wealth. Jesus honors the poor widow- not because she learned some secret of giving to get a harvest- because she had no harvest. But she loved God- she gave for the work of God- as she understood it. Her giving was not based on the return she would get- because as of now- she has not received a return [poor widow]. Yet in the eyes of Jesus- she indeed gave more. There are a few other things in this chapter that I taught on the video. The challenge of the Sadducees- who do not believe in the resurrection. And Jesus rebuke- Mark 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? I have taught this before- and will try and find those past posts and add them below. Jesus also gives us the great commandment in this chapter- Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. When the common people saw Jesus put the religious leaders to silence- the bible says they loved it- Mark 12:37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. The downtrodden of society were rejected by the religious leaders of the day. Their outward religion caused them to neglect true justice- true love of fellow man. The same things that the song of Isaiah- which Jesus used in the parable- were being rebuked for- Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. The fruit the land owner wanted- was not simply religious works- It was what the other man in this chapter saw- Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. The animal sacrifices and outward religion were the things that Jesus rebuked them for. Those who seemed to use religion in order to have an abundant wealthy life- were not seen in a good light by Jesus. The tenants wanted an inheritance and their lust for the wealth of the vineyard [financial harvest] caused them to reject the actual Son of God himself- Mark 12:6 Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. Mark 12:7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our’s. Yes- many in the modern church have tried to seize on some material inheritance and given out of an abundance and implemented many of the principles of the bible in order to prosper. But in doing this- they have had to reject many of the plain things Jesus taught- New International Version “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matt. 6:24 Yes- in a way- they have killed the Son- and seized the wealth. But Jesus saw the widow- the poor widow- the woman who seemed to have never gotten a hold of the wealth building principles of those who gave out of their abundance. Yes Jesus saw her- And in the wisdom of God- She gave more than all the others combined- And thus the chapter ends. PAST POSTS- http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/john-complete-links-added.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-2015-video-links-included-romans.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/2015-video-linksincluded-hebrews-1-3.html https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/ https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ MARK- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/28/jersey-city-ride-mark-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/02/mark-2-north-bergen/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/04/mark-3-isaiah-61/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/27/mark-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/05/mark-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/16/mark-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/30/mark-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/14/mark-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/07/mark-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/22/mark-11/ I mentioned Bultmann and the Herodians on today’s video- below are some past teachings I did on them- During the time of Jesus you had a divided people. In 1st century Palestine the Jewish people split into 4 basic sects. 2 of them are pretty well known- the Pharisees and Sadducees- they are mentioned often in scripture. The other 2 are less well known- the Zealots and the Essenes. The Zealots are named in the bible- but only in passing. We have no references to the Essenes. The Pharisees were sticklers for the Torah [Jewish bible] and the Sadducees centered their life around the Temple- they were more of a political/religious type group. They stuck to the Torah alone. That is they only received the actual first 5 books of the Old Testament- which is the Torah [also the term is used to speak of the entire Old Testament] and that’s why the Sadducees rejected miracles and angels and stuff. Most of those stories are found in the other O.T. books. The Zealots were a group of people who hated compromise- they were actually a 1st century ‘terrorist’ group- who carried out assassinations. Not on Rome- but on their own people! The zealots hated those who compromised with Rome- and if they felt a leader was too chummy- they killed him. The Essenes were a separatist group who lived in ‘the hills’ [Qumran community] they simply gave up completely on any political solutions for the day- and went and lived in the hills. These are the ones responsible for hiding the Dead Sea scrolls [old bible books found in the last century] in a cave. It’s interesting to note that Jesus had both a Zealot on his team [Simon- not Peter who also went by that name] and Matthew- a Tax collector. Tax collectors were considered the biggest sell outs of all- they actually worked for Rome and scammed their own people- it must have been hard for Jesus to lead this group [the 12 disciples] who came from such opposite ends of the political spectrum. Yet Jesus did lead them- he was even offered earthly rule a few times [once from satan- and once from the people who heard him] he rejected it both times. His kingdom was not ‘of this world’. In the New Testament book of Philippians- the bible says that though Jesus was in the form of God [deity] yet he became a man and humbled himself to the death of the Cross- a shameful way to die. We have one letter written in the N.T. by a ‘family’ member of Jesus- that’s the epistle of James. Protestants believe that Mary had other kids after Jesus was born- our Catholic friends teach that she remained a Virgin her whole life. My purpose right now is not to get into that. James was considered the ‘half brother’ of Jesus [Mary was the mom of both boys- Joseph was the dad of James- Jesus’ father was God]. Okay- James was slow to believe in his brother- but over time as Jesus was declaring himself to be the Messiah- I’m sure James had to wonder- you know- think back ‘gee- come to think of it- I can’t’ remember a time where my brother got in trouble’. Wait- now I remember- yeah- that time when Jesus was 12- we all went to Jerusalem for the big feast- and Jesus stayed behind while we started the trip home. Yeah- we went 3 days before we realized he was gone. Boy was mom mad that day. So we went all the way back to get him- and when we found him- he was sitting in the temple- asking these questions- I mean questions that only theologians knew- Jesus was still a kid. Mom said to him ‘son- why did you stay behind- we were worried’! Yeah- she was mad- if there was ever a time my brother came close to getting in trouble- this was it. But Jesus said ‘why were you worried- didn’t you know I would be doing my Fathers business’ yeah- he sure seemed different- but the Messiah- come on. So as the ministry years of Jesus role by- there are all these reports of miracles and healings- blind people seeing- dead people coming back from the grave. Yeah- James has got to be wondering now- but no- he could not accept that his own brother was the promised Son of God- no- too much. Then the day came- that terrible day where mom had to watch Jesus die on that rugged Cross- on Golgotha- man the hill looked like a skull. Yeah- it was a strange site- I mean the sky got dark- an earthquake shook the place- and even the Roman soldier who witnessed my brother die said ‘surely this was the son of God’. Wow- too much- my bother has carried this thing too far- even in his death he won’t let this obsession go. Then James hears some disturbing reports- his friends are saying that Jesus has come back- that he pulled it off- the greatest miracle ever- the one Houdini himself couldn’t do. But are the reports true? I mean if anyone could tell if this guy walking around is really Jesus- James would know. We don’t read of the account- but all we know is James became a believer- a believer that his brother was indeed the Messiah- the Son of God. I guess it went something like this- Jesus sitting there with his men- James shows up and sees his brother- the perfect one- not a spot on his record. Maybe Jesus looked up- maybe he said ‘brother- do you now see’ and yeah- he saw. James would go on to be one of the leaders/Pastors of the church at Jerusalem- we read about him in Acts chapter 15. Most scholars believe this was the same James who penned the short letter we find in the N.T. that bears his name. One thing James hits on a lot in his letter- is he defends the poor- the downtrodden- and he rips into the rich- the elite of the day. He warns us not to be biased- not to use ‘uneven scales’ when dealing with people. James hit on social justice issues- he picked them up from his brother. We need to be concerned about the world- if a raped woman is forced to marry her rapist- then we ought not say ‘she was pardoned’. When we critique one person for past failures- then we must do that to all. But at the end of the day- Jesus never took the earthly crown- he did not see the solution to be a political one- he brought Simon and Matthew together on the same team- and he showed them what it means to lay your life down for others- to live without the praise of men- the earthly standard of success- he chose another way- and he left that path for us. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [1622] ARE THE JAPANESE DISPROVING FREUD? One of the narratives coming from the Japan disaster is the response of the Japanese people. In contrast to our Katrina tragedy the Japanese are very self reliant. Jack Cafferty [CNN] read an email from some elderly lady who contrasted the 2 responses. She called the Louisiana residents who looted, killed, complained and wined- she said ‘those scumbags’ [ouch!] What are we seeing in the Japanese people? The media are referring to them as Stoic’s- the philosophy [ancient Greek- one of only 2 philosophies mentioned by name in the bible- Acts chapter 17 mentions the Stoic’s and Epicureanism] that said the secret to life is living on an even plane. Don’t get too ‘up’ or too down- just ride the wave of life as moderately as you can. The other side of the coin is Hedonism- the philosophy of men like Freud- who taught that the problem with man is that he is taught to restrain himself [by religion] and that this restraint is itself a product of neurosis. Freud was a strange fellow, the father of modern Psychoanalysis; his ideas were actually quite weird. As a Jew [non practicing] he embraced the higher criticism of his day [a way of interpreting the bible as not being actually true- just good stories] and he sought to come up with an explanation for mans religious bent. So he came up with the idea of the Oedipal Complex- a strange view of man that said the real problems of man are they have this view of love and hate for the father figure- and the ‘real’ story of Moses and the children of Israel was the Jews killed Moses in the wilderness [hatred for the father figure] they then felt guilty about it- and out of this guilt they would eventually develop a ‘religion of the Son’ [Christianity] and Walla- that’s the real story. You would be surprised how many people hear silly stuff like this in life [or college!] and they never give it a second thought. Like Pope Benedict says in ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ [1st book of a trilogy on the life of Christ] he mentions the theories of the critics [men like Bultmann] and he then responds ‘and how do you know this’? Bultmann [one of the famous liberal theologians of the day] would come up with ideas like this- and he would just espouse them. The funny thing about these critics was they were trying to challenge the historical accuracy of the bible- are the gospels true- stuff like that. And in their challenge they would ‘make up’ their own stuff [Oedipal complex] and simply expect everyone to believe it. So Freud taught that we need to free man from this neurosis of religion- this thing in society that says ‘restrain yourself’ and if we teach man to do and be all that he feels like doing- then we will have healed him of this destructive religious belief that developed out of a secret love/hate relationship of father. Wow. I can think of no greater philosophy to not live your life by than that. How did the Freudian experiment turn out? It was/is a disaster- I’m not just saying this as a Christian who rejects Freud’s atheism- but many of his ideas have also been roundly rejected by the psychologists of the modern day. Freud actually taught that when you counsel a person [yes- he was the originator of the idea of the patient lying on the couch while the counselor listens] that the patient is ‘transmitting’ psychic energy from himself to the doctor- and that’s what makes him better. Freud wrote Moses and Monotheism [his fictional account of the origins of Judaism/Christianity] Totem and Taboo- the fictional idea of the primitive religion of man- and Civilization and it’s Discontents, his explanation of the conflict between mans psychic life and the demands of society. The basic view of Freud [Hedonism] is a failed system that does not work in the real world. To live your life based on the philosophy of ‘if it feels good- do it’ does not work in any area of life- for the long term. In food, shopping, family life, marriage, sexual expression- the basic principle of self restraint and discipline [the Japanese response] is in great contrast to the ‘unrestrained’ view of life [as seen in some of the Katrina response- many of the looters and rioters were raised with a welfare mentality- they were dependant on the state/govt. to do things for them. When things went bad- they blamed the govt. for it]. In the end of the day- the society that practices self discipline- that teaches their children to be self reliant- those are the ones who have the most successful lives. Those who practice Hedonism blame stuff on everyone else. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com VERSES- New International Version As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. John 8:40 10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Heb. 13 KJ21 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (which being interpreted is, “God with us”). Matt. 1:23 Proverbs 21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. Heb. 6 Mark 12:1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. Mark 12:2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. Mark 12:3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. Mark 12:4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. Mark 12:5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Mark 12:6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. Mark 12:7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our’s. Mark 12:8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. Mark 12:9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: Mark 12:11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Mark 12:12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way. Mark 12:13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. Mark 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Mark 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. Mark 12:16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. Mark 12:17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. Mark 12:18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Mark 12:19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Mark 12:20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. Mark 12:21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise. Mark 12:22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. Mark 12:23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. Mark 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? Mark 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Mark 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Mark 12:37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. Mark 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, Mark 12:39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Mark 12:40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. Mark 12:41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. Mark 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. Mark 12:43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: Mark 12:44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Isaiah 5:1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: Isaiah 5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. Isaiah 5:3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. Isaiah 5:4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? Isaiah 5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: Isaiah 5:6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg VERSES- Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Mark 12:37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. Mark 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, Mark 12:39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Mark 12:40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. Mark 12:41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. Mark 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. Mark 12:43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: Mark 12:44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. 1 Corinthians 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Ephesians 4:11-13King James Version (KJV)11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. Here’s my teaching on the chapter- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/john-8/ https://youtu.be/f8VpxlYM_kU I mentioned on the vidoe that I accidentally read the wrong verses from the Mass- these are the ‘wrong ones’- 2Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 2Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 2Thessalonians 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 2Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 2Thessalonians 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 1 John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and thelife: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 151Reading 1MAL 1:14B-2:2B, 8-10 A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. You have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts. I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, violating the covenant of our fathers? Responsorial PsalmPS 131:1, 2, 3 R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace. O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace. Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace. O Israel, hope in the LORD, both now and forever. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace. Reading 21 THES 2:7B-9, 13 Brothers and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe. AlleluiaMT 23:9B, 10B R. Alleluia, alleluia. You have but one Father in heaven and one master, the Christ. R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMT 23:1-12 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." 窗体顶端 窗体底端 MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. TUESDAY- …2"For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. 3"Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4"Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms.… Is. 60 ON VIDEO- News- [World and local] https://youtu.be/CHwRkZeMQ8w http://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-news/ .In defense of Facebook- Google- etc. .Manafort raid .F.B.I. .James Clapper and the NSA .Hillary Clinton- wheres’ the special prosecutor? .James Comey ‘the matter’- Huh? .Local homeless deaths and the real time unsolved murders- right now in Corpus Christi .Why is the local media and DA Mark Gonzalez focusing so much on the 40 year old clod case? .Federal Marshals here .P.B.S. and N.P.R. .Very sad indeed .The Asia tour .The NPR reporter made reservations at a North Korean restaurant- in China! .I guess Trumps lying? .The Biker shootout in Waco Student from Turkey- https://youtu.be/ApZEkaUftGA http://ccoutreach87.com/11-13-17-student-from-turkey/ As I was sitting with some homeless friends- a car pulled up. It was a college student from Turkey. He asked the guys if he could take some pictures- he was doing some project on homelessness. I thought it surely was a first [from a person from Turkey] so I turned the camera on- and got a video- of the person who wanted to take pics of us. He thought I too was homeless- but I filled him in- hope you enjoy. Acts 28- https://youtu.be/JNtaYP1cqEs https://vimeo.com/242807620 http://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-acts-28-concl/ http://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-acts-28-concl-2/ I made this teaching video today [11-14-17]- and finished the Acts study. I usually don’t post these the same day that I make them- but being I did a roll out today [all vid’s- text- same day] I decided to post the video ahead of time. In the coming week I’ll still post the regular teaching for this chapter. Note- as most of you know- I review the videos before I post them- Just to cover my tracks! I never make threats- or say things that might incriminate me- but I am posting this video before I review it. I’m worried- because when I talk about local issues- cops- The DA- stuff like that- I’m might slip and say something wrong- but to be honest- I have not checked this video yet. I just hope the authorities don’t review it- before I get a chance- not saying that I slipped and said something wrong- but you never know? Enjoy reviewing it brothers- and do me a favor- if you think I need to edit it- Just let one of my homeless friends know- they will get the message to me. God bless you all- and once again- I thank you for watching this video- and helping me with the ministry- John Wonderful Media- https://youtu.be/VtfKtv7phtU http://ccoutreach87.com/11-14-17-wonderfull-media/ .Roy Moore- step down- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/us/politics/roy-moore-alabama-senate.html .Kevin Spacey .Bush 41- http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/politics/george-hw-bush-groping-allegation/index.html .The Clintons https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2017/11/14/cnns-jake-tapper-the-media-treated-bill-clintons-accusers-badly-n2409451 https://www.mediaite.com/online/chris-hayes-dems-are-overdue-for-a-real-reckoning-on-bill-clinton-allegations/ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/opinion/juanita-broaddrick-bill-clinton.html .Fed vehicle on my way home .Corpus Media .Questionable homeless deaths in Flour Bluff- were they homicides? .Clear and present danger PAST POSTS- [ More news links at bottom of this post] Being I talked about Turkey today- below are just some of my past posts where the word popped up [that’s why yo see these sections on the posts]- Though unplanned- yet you might also find some profitable teaching in these sections- https://youtu.be/7dfLhO2HBf8 anti- Christ [2nd, 3rd John] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/10-23-16-anti-christ-2nd-3rd-jn.zip ON VIDEO [past posts below] .See my Hillary drawing [sorry] .Who is anti-christ? .Some thought Hitler .Apostles relate to the bride .Soteriology .Was John a theological liberal? Mosul .Iraq- Libya .ISIS .Sunni- Shia division .Execution- or human shields- or just murder? .Abortion .Docetism refuted [parts] OBADIAH- Obadiah 1:7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; that they eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. https://youtu.be/LaG8b0etYK8 Obadiah ON VIDEO- .Peace treaty? .Leaked emails .How to skew the polls .Do I like to lynch Black people? .The 1 dollar cheese story .Homeless stuff .Iran- Yemen- Libya- Syria .The shores of Tripoli .ISIS .Turkey .Britannia ruled the seas- and lost [overblog- see here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/15/tuesday-5/ ] .Mosul NEW- In this small book- 1 chapter- we read of the judgment of God upon Edom. They were a people that felt like they were unstoppable. The alliances they made were their downfall. As I read the book the other night- it made me think about our present situation. Let’s see if I can hit some high points. [parts] NEWS- [Mosul- 3 Americans shot and killed yesterday in Jordan- Wiki leaks reveals real corruption] I mentioned the last few weeks about our actions in Mosul Iraq. The U.S. is backing up the overthrow of this city- for political purposes. I mentioned how the Iraqi troops we are backing are Shia [Muslim division] and some of the population of Mosul are Sunni. Should we be backing up a ‘genocide’- meaning one group [Iraqi Shia] wanting to eliminate another [Sunni]. I saw a report on PBS news- the interviewer brought up the fact that the tanks that are now rolling into Mosul are flying Shia flags. Meaning- they are not there to ‘liberate’ people- but to murder Sunni. I saw another report where the U.S. backed Iraqi troops shot bullets ‘blind’ into a hiding place. The report on U.S. news did not say if women and children were hiding in there- and if they were murdered by U.S. backed troops. The military man that was confronted with the question ‘why are U.S. backed tanks flying Shia flags’- he avoided the question- and used ‘spin’. As of now- its possible women and children have been murdered- with the backup of U.S. power. That’s wrong. 3 of our men were shot and killed in Jordan yesterday- Last year a Jordanian captain shot 2 Americans. In yesterday’s incident the Jordanians claim the U.S. men did not stop at the gate- so they killed them. Yet- there are resentments that our men are there. The U.S. says it is investigating- because we don’t want it to ‘strain relations’. Meaning- yes- it’s possible they murdered our men- but- it’s more important to not have such a bad headline right before the election- because it might make Hillary and her record on foreign policy look bad. So- maybe they simply murdered our men- but- we have more important political things. Our nation is obviously divvied on the election- and it’s shocking to actually see the corruption in our government that was exposed the last few weeks by WIKI leaks. It shows a level of collusion within politics that covers up for those who have connections. The FBI agent who tipped off the Clinton people about an investigation into the emails- broke the law when he did this. The government’s official response was ‘when he tipped Clinton off- he was using his own personal email- so that’s ok’. People have gone to prison for stuff like this- but it is showing you a level of corruption inside our government. This is not simply a ‘Trump- Clinton’ thing- it is a national corruption scandal. [parts] (1143) THE FALL- God puts man in the garden, he gives him only one restriction ‘don’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil’ sure enough, he does! The serpent [satan] tempts Eve in 3 areas, the tree is good for food [lust of the flesh] good to look at [eyes] and can make you wise [pride]. In 1st John 2 we see these three areas mentioned as the common categories of all other temptation. These were the same areas the devil used on Jesus in Matthew 4. The temptation to Eve essentially said ‘look at this God of yours! He wont give you the freedom to do anything you want, he is withholding such a good tree from you’ sounds like the philosopher Freud, he taught that the problem with man was Gods restrictions. That if man would cast off the limits that religion imposed upon them, then all would be well. But what man did not know was that these basic limits were for his own good. When man would choose to walk out from under Gods limits, he would suffer for it. In this chapter [Gen. 3] we also see the great prophecy of the child of the woman eventually crushing the serpents head [called the Protoevangelium- Latin] a prophecy about Christ’s future victory at the Cross. God also covers man with animal’s skins, a type of the future sacrifice of Christ on behalf of man. Man tried to cover up with leaves, God said it wont do, so he sacrificed the life of an animal and used the skins as a covering. The wages of sin is death, the price was paid. In Romans chapter 5 Paul will show us that death and sin passed upon all mankind from Adams sinful act, but thru the obedience of one man [Jesus dying on the Cross] righteousness comes to those who believe. This is the basic Christian doctrine of original sin. Some refer to this as the federal head theory of redemption. I believe it’s vital for Christians to have a grasp of this doctrine. In the 19th/20th centuries you had liberal theologians deny the doctrine of Jesus dying on behalf of man. Along with this they also denied that original sin existed. Most believers realized that this denial was heresy and avoided it, but some are playing with the idea again. The bible clearly teaches the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the behalf of man [Isaiah 53] and it is a foundational doctrine for all true believers. To some it seemed unfair to charge God with the doctrine of original sin, and along with it the doctrine of Penal substitution [Christ being punished for us] these are core Christian truths, if people want to deny them, that’s their choice. But to be a Christian in the biblical sense of the word, these truths are necessary, they are part of the foundation of all true Christian churches. VERSES- Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Genesis 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Genesis 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Genesis 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 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. Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Genesis 15:2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. Genesis 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. Acts 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Acts 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Acts 2:28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Acts 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. Acts 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Acts 2:35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. Hebrews 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: Hebrews 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Hebrews 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Hebrews 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Hebrews 11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Hebrews 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ http://johnchiarello.thoughts.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ 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- Thanks- John.# APOLOGETICS- PHILOSOPHY- PROPHETS 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears- Luke https://youtu.be/-obZ4-MoPYE Apologetics- Philosophy- Prophets https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-8-17-apologetics-philosophy-prophets.zip ON VIDEO- .Nietzsche’s madman .Kant- Camus- Sartre .I have less dollars now! .Fairview cemetery .’I will never rot in the grave’- huh? .U.N. vote .Israel and Palestine- another view .Pluralism or exclusivism? .Moral, Natural law theory .Logos .Redemption of the cosmos too .Russian hacking- enough already! .We hack too [and much worse] .Cause and effect .Aristotle .Nihilism .Teleology .Love your neighbor as yourself .Yes- The Muslim- Jew- Hindu - etc.- Jesus commands it PAST TEACHING I DID THAT RELATES- [verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/atheism-apologetics-links-added/ 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/islam/ https://ccoutreach87.com/western-intellectual-tradition/ ARISTOTLE Born in Northern Greece- in 384 BC. The most famous student of Plato- attended Plato’s Academy for around 20 years. His main disagreement with Plato was on his theory of Forms. Plato believed that the ‘idea’ world contained the forms of all things we see in the physical realm. Aristotle taught that substance itself was the main thing- that the forms of what we see in the natural realm come from matter itself. He spoke about Potentiality and Actuality- that is the material things have in ‘seed’ form the final product. The acorn has the Potential of becoming a tree- the fetus has the Potential of becoming a man- etc. The form is already embedded in the thing itself- it does not exist in the ‘idea’ world of Plato. Aristotle loved and admired his teacher- yet Plato had somewhat of a disdain for his most famous student. Plato passed over Aristotle to head up the Academy- twice. As things go- Aristotle went and started his own school- called the Lyceum. Aristotle did not just teach Philosophy- but Biology- Logic- Ethics- Rhetoric. Some refer to him as the first real scientist. His development of the laws of Logic- Cause and Effect- play a key role in the Scientific Method till this day. Aristotle taught that the main way we gain knowledge is thru sense perception and experiment. As we study the natural order of things themselves- we gain understanding from them. What we refer to as the Empirical method- knowledge gained thru the observation and experimentation of things. He referred to God as the Final Cause- not the First Cause. Why? He believed in God [some debate this- Aristotle himself called him God in his work on Metaphysics] and called him the Prime Mover. As I said before- a big thing with the early thinkers was the origin of Motion- who started the ball rolling- so to speak. Aristotle credited the source of all motion to an ‘un- moved Mover’. He gave the attributes of God to his Mover- said he had no beginning- was not material- an eternal and imperishable substance. So- why the Final Cause? He said God attracts all things to himself- so in his mind- motion started by attraction- not by a ‘push’ so to speak. This is interesting indeed- in modern physics we see that the universe is undergoing a continual expansion- heading somewhere- of course we believe this somewhere is God himself- the source of all things. Isaac Newton agreed with Aristotle on this point- he referred to it in his 3rd law of Physics. The medieval Muslim thinkers called him ‘The First Teacher’- and Kant [who we will get to later in this study] credits him with the bulk of what we know today as the Laws of Logic. Aristotle taught that the main activity of God was thought. The bible says that thru Wisdom and Understanding God made things [‘Wisdom builds the house- Understanding establishes it- and thru Knowledge it’s rooms are filled with all pleasant and precious riches- Wisdom is profitable to direct- the words of the wise are like nails fastened by the masters of assemblies- as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation’- various bible verses found in Proverbs- Ecclesiastes and Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth] - in a way Aristotle was right. One of his key contributions was the Syllogism- you start with a Logical argument- you engage in Deductive reasoning- and come to a Conclusion. A famous example would be ‘All men are mortal- Plato is a man- Plato is mortal’. Aristotle did not believe that something comes from nothing- a phrase that will come up a lot as we progress in this study is ‘ex nihilo nihil fit’- meaning Nothing comes from Nothing. He was also what we refer to as a Teleolologist- he believed that there was design and purpose in the created order of things. He saw design in the universe- world. Many today embrace an idea that there is no purpose or design- that the design we see in the material world is by accident- and furthermore some say all that we see- CAME FROM NOTHING. I can’t stress enough that this is simply not possible- I don’t say this from the Christian view point alone- but from a scientific one. Science deals with the observation and testing of things- we look into the material world and come to certain conclusions based on what we see- observe. One of the most fundamental observations that science SEES- is what I quoted above- NOTHING COMES FROM NOTHING. That is- every effect has a cause. This is important for our day- because many have capitulated to the view that all things CAME FROM CHANCE. Not only is this statement illogical [chance is simply a word- this statement ascribes Ontological status to a word- which is impossible]. But it is scientifically not true. Why? Because science shows us that things do not ‘pop into existence’ without a cause- from nothing. True science in no way contradicts belief in God- no- it backs it up. Aristotle- as well as most of the great thinkers we shall cover- came to the conclusion that there had to be some immaterial thing [being] that was the cause of all other things. Now- why did he argue for a PRIME MOVER? Because he believed that the universe was eternal- if there ever came a time when science showed us that the universe had a beginning point- then the argument would be over. The Theists [those that believe in God] would win. Sure enough- in the 20th century that’s exactly what happened. Today Physics teaches us that time- space- matter did indeed have a beginning point- what we refer to as the Big Bang Theory. If the early thinkers had this knowledge- then the argument for a Prime Mover would be moot- because instead we would have a Prime Starter- see? Aristotle is credited with writing the second greatest work on Ethics from the ancient period- called Ethics [the first one being Plato’s Republic]. He wrote on political theory- believed that Aristocracy [rule by the excellent] was the best form of government [sort of like Socrates Philosopher Kings]. Aristotle’s most famous student was Alexander the Great. During Alexander’s conquests- he took a huge team of scientists with him- they collected all types of specimens from these conquests- and Alexander brought them back to Athens and they were used at the Lyceum for further study. It has been said that this was the most expensive scientific enterprise up to the day of the modern space program. He taught that the intellectual virtues can be taught directly- but the moral ones HAD TO BE LIVED FIRST. The bible says ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom’. I agree. Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. Proverbs 3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. Unfinished study- will complete over time. JOHN LOCKE- JESUS- AND MONEY. https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-22-15-john-locke-political-theory-and-jesus.zip Today’s video [and post] is one of those ‘spur of the moment’ ones- I made the video/post yesterday- ‘off the cuff’- I’m at the ranch as I write- and have no WiFi out here- or I’d post it now- I also don’t have my on-line concordance- so I’ll try and remember exactly where some of the verses are and add them in [I do have my on-line bible saved to the drive!] This video/post is in keeping with some of the stuff I’ve been recently teaching. As Christians- we often look for the things we are supposed to do. Which is fine- but what I have learned in my experience of doing ministry for many years- is many Pastors/ministers- learn a certain pattern/form- early on- And as well-meaning as these men are- they often unconsciously do not realize they are violating scripture in their efforts to do the right thing. When people feel God has called them ‘to preach’ [ called into ministry] most of the times they are taught that this means ‘starting a local church’. In the American mindset- this means starting a nonprofit 501 c3- either renting or building some type of structure to meet in- And then teaching a form of giving- usually called ‘the tithe’ [meaning 10 percent]- And then saying ‘the local church is this place/501c3- the storehouse- and you will be cursed if you do not tithe to the storehouse’. And without realizing it- in the more extreme cases- actually teaching people that they will fall under the curse of God- if they do not put 10% of their income into the ‘local church’. This verse from Malachi is often used- Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And this basic idea of ‘church government’ is then propagated thru out the land. I’ve discussed this recently- and for these short videos- I just want to note that the New Testament churches we read about in the bible- are talking about communities of believers living [parts] ATHEISM- APOLOGETICS [links added- long version] https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/history-of-everything-1/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/history-of-everything-2/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/ 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] JOHN LOCKE- Locke taught that each man has individual rights- and he empowers government- an elected designated body- to have rule- Yet- that government exists solely for the benefit of the people- and when/if that government ‘forgets’ this- the people have a right/duty to revolt. Locke’s ideas were formed at a time when his own government experienced a sort of revolution [1600’s- England]. The people revolted against monarchy- and replaced it with a sort of Democratic Parliament- Referred to as the bloodless revolution or the glorious revolution. The king [or today- queen] would still play a role- like a figurehead- but the power was in the people- willingly given over to a Parliament. The political ideas of Locke influenced our founding fathers- and our Declaration of Independence and Constitution are in parts almost word for word taken from the writings of Locke. Locke believed in natural law- that morality was indeed a universal reality [some scholars/thinkers will say that Locke does not fully embrace the Christian concept of natural/moral law]. He taught that knowledge comes from man’s experience- the things he interacts with thru the 5 senses. That man is not born with innate ideas [like the early Greek thinkers said] but his mind is a Tabula Rasa- or blank slate at birth. This is an Empirical understanding of knowledge. Locke also believed in the concept of the separation of church and state- this idea was not unique to our founding fathers- no- they got it right out of the writings of Locke [his parents were Puritans- and they obviously influenced their son]. Locke’s political views were- Individualistic- Egalitarian- Contractual [social compact]- These ideas differed from the early Greek thinkers [especially Aristotle] who held to a naturalistic view- meaning that nature itself ‘intended’ for certain individuals to have rule over others [the smarter should have rule over the ‘less smart’- and of course Aristotle saw himself in the more nobler crowd!] Locke also believed in religious toleration- a view held by most in the Western world today. He saw the Right to private property- as a natural right. He believed that denial of the existence of God would lead to anarchy in the long run. He believed that the cosmological argument for the existence of God was valid [called teleology]. DIOGENES- I think I mentioned him on today’s video [I am writing this before I review the video and add the bullet points]. In the study of philosophy- he is not known for deep thought- or new ideas. He lived in the 5th century B.C. - died in the 4th in the biblical city of Corinth. Diogenes believed in ‘living with less’- he was known to have slept in a ceramic pot- he lived and ate on the streets- and was basically like many of my homeless friends. Yet- he felt in doing this he was a sort of ‘prophetic’ sign to the world around him. He is believed to be the first to refer to himself as a ‘cosmopolitan’- meaning a man of the world- and not identifying with any one city. He was born at Sinope- [Modern day Turkey] traveled to Athens- the main center of wisdom/philosophy. Attended the lectures of Plato- and interrupted them He disputed Plato’s interpretation of his teacher- Socrates. And had a memorable encounter with Alexander the Great. The story goes [there are a few versions of it- maybe more along the line of myth] that Alexander wanted to meet with Diogenes- and he heard he was in town [Corinth] so Alexander went to meet him. Upon arriving at the spot- he greeted Alexander and told him he would fulfill any request that the Cynic asked. Diogenes replied ‘Move over- you’re standing in my sun light’. It is said that as Alexander left- and made the statement ‘If I were not Alexander- I would be Diogenes’. How true- well we will never know for sure. He did live at a time- and in a place- where the famous philosophers would come from. He believed rejecting wealth- and the comforts of life- were a statement against the society of his day. He purposefully challenged the ‘normal’ way of life- by being different- and at times- vulgar. It is said that he carried a cup- for drinking. And he saw a young boy one day- drinking from the brook with his hands. He then threw away the cup- realizing that ‘the god’s’ had given to men the basic things to survive- and he really did not need all the material things of life. Like I said at the top - he is not known for his great thinking ability- but he was respected by the stoics- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com facebook.com/john.chiarello.5 ccoutreach87.wordpress.com Note- 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. Thanks- John..# I read a piece form the N.Y. Times- they went into Libya and investigated the reports of the deaths of many civilians caused by NATO and the U.S. during the ‘no fly zone’ debacle. They found evidence of many civilians that were killed. They presented the report to the new leaders of Libya- they could care less. In Benghazi- the main city in the eastern half of Libya- they were openly flying the Al-Qaida flag. We just spent 10 years and many lives fighting in Afghanistan. Why? Because they gave territory to Al-Qaida- they gave them a place to work out of. We fought the Taliban for 10 years over this. Yet in a few months NATO and the U.S. gave Al-Qaida their own capitol to fly their flag- I mean the terrorists must be thinking ‘if we knew these guys were this stupid- we would have never bombed the towers’. In Tripoli- the real capitol of Libya- the various militia groups [terrorists] are all claiming they are the security/armed forces of Libya. I heard a doctor- on N.P.R. - not a right wing radio show- he said in his hospital these various militias are all trying to take charge- they walk around with guns- sometimes walk into a room and shoot a patient who they think is not on their side- and the doctors say they have no security at all. Under Gadhaffi things ran well- like a normal society- now their country is a terrorist haven- run by these guys. I could go on and say the same for Egypt- and tell the stories of how the military have been killing protestors in the street. All these things are being done under people that the West [we- NATO- France] have enabled by removing their former leaders. And France this week passed a law making it a crime to deny the genocide that took place in Turkey in the early part of the last century. Yes- the Ottoman Turks did slaughter many Armenians- Christians- at the time. And getting Turkey to officially admit this has been a problem for years. But France passing a law to make it a crime to deny it- while they just finished committing ‘crimes against humanity’ themselves- by killing all the Libyan civilians- it’s just too much. Okay- let’s start a brief overview of some church history. Over the next few weeks I want to hit on the 16th century Protestant reformation and try and cover some of the key figures of the movement. Martin Luther- the German reformer who had the most influence in the movement was born and raised in Germany. As a boy his parents were peasant farmers and eventually his dad became a miner and became a very successful businessman- he would go on and eventually own 6 foundries. He sent his son to law school- and young Luther excelled. At the age of 21 he accomplished more than many of his peers. One day on his way home from the university a thunderstorm broke out and Luther was almost struck by a bolt of lightning. In fear he cried out to Saint Ann [the mother of Mary] and said ‘Saint Ann- if you save me I will become a monk’ [Ann was the patron Saint for miners- thus Luther was familiar with her]. He was spared and off to the monastery he went. Luther eventually became an ordained priest and even though his dad initially was upset that his son became a priest- yet he was proud of his boy later on. Luther would eventually make a Pilgrimage to Rome- on foot [a few month walk from Germany to Rome!] and what he saw devastated him. Rome- and the Vatican- were in bad shape. Many of the priests lived in open sin- and the city that he saw as his headquarters for the faith- well it was a mess. Luther made the famous penitent walk/crawl up the stairs of the Lateran church [this church was the most famous church before the construction of St. Peters. The actual stairs of the church are the same stairs that Christ walked up during his trial under Pontius Pilate. Yes- you hear many ‘stories’ while studying church history- things like the relics or left over pieces of the Cross- well these stories are usually fake. But the stairs of the Lateran church are indeed the same stairs that Christ walked on- the early ‘church’ builders dismantled the stairs at Pilate’s court in Jerusalem and installed them at this church building in Rome]. When Luther got to the top of the stairs- it is reported that he questioned the faith- he had a crisis of faith and thought that maybe the whole thing was a sham. Okay- as we do a few more posts over the coming weeks- I want you guys to see that the main players of the Reformation were sincere Catholic men who had many questions about what they saw as corrupt in their own church. These men did not want to start a breakaway church- they simply wanted to reform the church they loved. Keep in mind that Luther excelled during his legal studies- he had a keen legal mind- this will be important later on when we see the debates he has with Rome over the doctrine of Justification by faith- the letters of the apostle Paul [Romans- Galatians] use lots of legal language- and his early education will help him in these debates. Okay- that’s it for today. Maybe do a Google search on Luther and familiarize yourself a little with the history. The ‘readings’ for this week are 2nd Samuel 6-7 and Psalms 89. See what they have in common. www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com Note- 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. Thanks- John (594) . Let me cover some church history. I have had someone argue with me about the history of Islam. Not a Muslim, but a Christian who was saying ‘why do you say Islam started in the 7th century, it started around the 11th’. My answer was ‘Muhammad lived in the 7th century’. Not to hard to see this. So I thought I should cover some history. During the time of the rise of Islam, the Christian church was already dividing from east and west. After Constantine [4th century Roman emperor] consolidated the Roman Empire in the 4th century he set up the capital city of the eastern empire, Constantinople [named after him]. As time progressed the western church would take on the form of Roman Catholicism, the eastern [Constantinople area. Modern day Turkey-Istanbul] would be known as ‘Orthodox’. Though the official split of eastern and western [Catholic-Rome!] churches occurred in 1054 AD, yet the division started years before. The official split is called ‘the great schism’ of the 11th century; it would not be until 500 years later that the church would have her ‘reformation’. The official reason for this split was over a rather silly thing. For centuries the Catholic church had an expression that said ‘the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father’ than they included ‘he proceeds from the father and the Son’. Well the eastern brothers didn’t like Rome telling them what to believe and used this as the official reason to ‘have the schism’. To be honest the divisions were coming for years. After the Roman Empire consolidated under Constantine, he tried to strengthen the eastern territories of his empire and for centuries you had the struggle for which region would be the most influential. At first you had 5 major areas that were divided under 5 main Bishops. As time went on the argument would be ‘which bishop has the most say so’ and it was really a power struggle. Finally Rome said ‘the bishop of Rome is the FIRST AMONG EQUALS [a term that many in the Protestant strain of the discipling movement would later embrace] he holds Peters seat’ and this is really where the divisions started. Eventually Muhammad would rise and Islam would take control of the eastern capital. This later became the reason for the crusades. The Catholic church wanted to regain the territories that she lost in the east. The eastern churches are very much Catholic in many ways. They also hold to a view of Christianity that sees man being ‘joined’ with God and becoming pleasing to God thru Christ’s grace uniting with us and making us like him. A perfectly scriptural view, but a different emphasis from the strong intellectual power that you read about from the western fathers of the church. The Catholic church is noted for her social action in ways that the eastern church is not. So both of these communions have good things to bring to the table. The Orthodox [eastern] churches would not be affected by the major social and political upheavals that took place in the west. The Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment had major impacts on western Christianity, while not affecting the eastern church in the same way. During the 13th- 15th centuries you would have ‘pre reformers’ rise up in the western church. John Wycliffe, the great Catholic Priest who was at the center of learning in France would become known for his translating the scriptures into the common language. Then you have John Huss and John Knox [3 Johns, scripture says 3 fold cords are not easily broken!] who would have their own influence in western Christianity. At this time you had whole movements of believers who would be seen as neither ‘western or eastern’ but restorationist [the restoring of the early practices and beliefs of the church] Peter Waldo would be the Father of the Waldensians and in the 12th century you would have the Albigenses in the south of France. These groups would be looked upon as ‘cults’ [though the term was not used yet] by the traditional church. So you can see how the church has been growing and reforming ever since the first century. Even though we see many divisions that exist till this day, there are strides being made for unity. The eastern and western church are very close to‘re uniting’ once again. While I do not personally hold to the doctrine of the Pope being the occupier of Peter’s seat, I also see him as a Christian man who is striving for unity in Christ’s church. Some believe the whole attempt for outward unity is futile. The more ardent Protestants see it as ‘the one world church of the anti christ’ I reject that language out of hand. Well I hope you got something out of this short overview of world history [real short!]. [parts] NEWS- http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Arrest-made-in-cold-case-murder-of-Alice-cop-43-12353722.php http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/30/judge-removed-from-case-3-bikers-in-waco-shootings-trial.html http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/lawmaker-news/349916-its-time-to-appoint-a-special-prosecutor-in-clinton-email https://pjmedia.com/trending/2017/08/25/report-fbi-raid-paul-manaforts-home-heavy-handed-designed-intimidate/ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/24/fbis-manafort-raid-included-dozen-agents-designed-to-intimidate-source-says.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/24/fbis-manafort-raid-included-dozen-agents-designed-to-intimidate-source-says.html It's time to appoint a special prosecutor in Clinton email investigationBY JAMES GAGLIANO, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 09/09/17 11:00 AM EDT 1,044 4,388 © Greg Nash The competing partisan echo chambers eerily strike the same chords. From the left: The investigation into the death of four Americans in Benghazi back in 2012 was a Sienfeldian investigation into nothing. In fact, the right was simply serving us all up a big nothing burger. And from the right: The investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia is nothing more than a partisan witch-hunt. The left hasn’t accepted the results of a lawfully held election; ergo, the appointment of a special prosecutor. Yes, the partisan bickering and finger-pointing can be so insufferably exhausting. The promises of “swamp-draining” — Nancy Pelosi during her 2006 ascendancy to House Speaker and more recently, Donald Trump’s signature stump speech line — really just signals more of the same. So, I make the following demand with a bit of advised caution. History inside the Beltway has a habit of repeating itself. But with all due haste, a special prosecutor needs to be appointed to the “closed” Hillary Rodham email investigation. I can hear the cacophony of howling now — Here we go again, yet another undeserved attack on the Clintons. Or, maybe this — Republicans just can’t leave it alone. She was exonerated by no less an authority than the former FBI Director! But in recent days, following the revelation that then FBI Director James B. Comey had already drafted an “exoneration speech” some two months before his infamous July 5 public statement, there has been a steadily building hue and cry from many corners that a special prosecutor needs to look into the case. Comey’s decision, it appears, had been formed prior to FBI agents having had an opportunity to interview Clinton and a number of her top aides. On the heels of the inexplicable and unprecedented granting of head-scratching conditions to the Clinton team, came Comey’s decision not to charge, well before key witnesses were interviewed. Why? Also, why were certain devices laden with evidence allowed to be destroyed? And why were strict limiting parameters emplaced on the review period of the computer hard drives? As a retired FBI agent with some two and half decades of investigative experience, I struggle to comprehend why these types of allowances were conceded to a person under investigation. Former assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy posited in National Review, the decision not to prosecute was determined long before, back when President Obama essentially dismissed the notion that Clinton’s actions had endangered national security. As McCarthy opines, Obama was providing cover for Clinton because Obama, himself, had communicated with her on the unauthorized email account. Comey, it has been theorized, was taking his cue from the chief executive. Or, as President Trump tweeted out on Sept. 1. Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was ov3r and so much more. A rigged system So, was it rigged? Well, we don’t know. So, let’s look at what we do know. And then, if the pieces don’t add up or lend to a reasonable suspicion that skullduggery was afoot, let’s have that special prosecutor appointed forthwith. We know that Clinton was exonerated by a legal calculus of trial sufficiency meticulously laid out by Director Comey. He intuited that Clinton had no intent to place national security in jeopardy via her shoddy handling of classified information, therefore, no crime. Legal scholars continue to debate this misapplication of the statute. But there is no debate over the fact that even Comey was aware of and concerned by the overt politicization of the Obama Justice Department. When James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8, he shockingly allowed that then Attorney General Loretta Lynch had instructed him not to refer to the Clinton email investigation as just that — an investigation — and instead commanded him to refer to it as a matter. The fact that Lynch’s directive in wording neatly aligned with the Clinton campaign’s own downplaying of the seriousness of the crime was lost on no one outside a partisan echo chamber. So, let’s reiterate what we know. We know that President Obama put his finger on the scale which ultimately led to the issuance of “marching orders” to his FBI Director. We know that Attorney General Lynch attempted to help cast the Democratic presidential candidate in a better light by the deft manipulation of semantics. And we know that Comey testified back in September 2016 that he made the ill-fated decision to go forward with the FBI position not to prosecute Clinton after her interview by the investigative team. This, however, proved not to be the case, as we learned this past week, when it was disclosed that Comey had drafted a statement that cleared Clinton some two months before the investigation had reached its conclusion. As any investigator or prosecutor worth their salt could tell you: We don’t reach conclusions until all the facts are in and have been fairly weighed and considered. The disgraceful unabated leaks sympathetic to the anti-Trump collective continue to hobble the current White House’s ability to get anything accomplished. And while they serve to burnish the former administration’s questionable decision-making and partisan calculus in the Clinton email investigation, this is the point where a moral imperative meets an overwhelming amount of evidence. It is also where an abundance of smoke makes necessary the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the probable fire. And though a decision to do just that will be assuredly maligned as a partisan effort, I feel the American people deserve to know why a politician was presumably treated differently than you or I would. And if we deem the Russian collusion investigation appropriate and necessary, should we not also appeal to the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor in the email matter as well? This isn’t a case of whataboutism. It’s a clear-cut case about doing what’s right. James A. Gagliano is a CNN law enforcement analyst and retired FBI supervisory special agent. He also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at St. John's University and is a leadership consultant at the Thayer Leader Development Group (TLDG) at his alma mater, the United States Military Academy at West Point. Follow him on Twitter @JamesAGagliano. The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill. VERSES- I did teach from Isaiah 6 on the above video- ACTS 28- here’s the chapter- Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Isaiah 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. Isaiah 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah 6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: Isaiah 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Isaiah 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, Isaiah 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. Isaiah 6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. TEACHING WITH FRIENDS- ONGOING CRISIS IN CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS The teaching post is below- as well as the roll out videos I made today- Instead of making one more video right now [which I’m tempted to do]- How bout this- Chief Markle- I just saw that the CCPD officer was not indicted in the killing of a BLACK MAN- by the name of Dewboy Lister- http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/ccpd-officer-not-indicted-for-fatal-shooting-of-dewboy-lister/492476442 The family of this man is still demanding answers Chief- RELEASE THE DASH CAM VIDEO- You asked us to wait- we waited- RELEASE THE DASH CAM VIDEO- To the DA Mark Gonzalez- how is it possible that the key witness is missing in the tragic killing of Naomi Villarreal- http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/10/23/trial-postponed-lance-taylor-accused-domestic-violence-related-slaying/791076001/ Is this entire case now in jeopardy? The woman was murdered and burned in a barrel for heavens sake- how did the local authorities not have this man held for the trial? Or at least kept tabs on? What about the drive by shooting last night- http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/more-than-40-rounds-fired-in-shooting-that-injured-woman-child/492178938 WE HAVE A CRISIS IN CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS- As anyone with eyes can see. Below is the post- Thursday- I made these videos below as a ‘roll- out’ and needed to add them to a post- so here they are- Update- Theodicy- https://youtu.be/FzV90n8VRZE http://ccoutreach87.com/11-15-17-update-theodicy/ The flood- https://youtu.be/0z9lCDzEtCc http://ccoutreach87.com/11-16-17-the-flood/ Corpus unjustly sues drug companies- https://youtu.be/cw7ez-d_OsU https://ccoutreach87.com/11-16-17-corpus-unjustly-sues-drug-companies/ Corpus Christi rated least likely city in the USA for opioid prescription abuse- yet one of the few that is suing for that very thing- https://youtu.be/K5hMRkJm4DY http://ccoutreach87.com/11-16-17-corpus-least-likely-cirty-in-usa-to-get-opiod-prescription-yet-sues/ San Antonio- https://youtu.be/LMdRq9Nhvdk http://ccoutreach87.com/11-16-17-san-antonio-they-do-much-more-for-substance-abuse/ Corpus Christi record on substance recovery abysmal- https://youtu.be/Sg2k65YITuc http://ccoutreach87.com/11-16-17-corpus-christi-record-on-substance-abuse-recovery-worst-in-the-usa/ Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: Teaching with friends- https://youtu.be/e_ZBxB3V3-Y https://vimeo.com/242743791 http://ccoutreach87.com/11-8-17-teaching-with-friends/ http://ccoutreach87.com/11-8-17-teaching-with-friends-2/ ON VIDEO- .Claire- George- Albert .Roger- Junior- Henry .Roger tells his story .Cold front? .Spare change .75 dollar question .Rogers idea for the old courthouse .Soup lady [overblog- see here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/17/crisis-in-corpus-christi-texas-3/ ] Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations NEW- This was an unplanned- special request video- Yes- as I have been slowing down on the videos- I have had a few friends ask me ‘are you ready to do a video’? So today- I honored the request- Actually- it’s an honor for me to hear my friends share their experiences with God. I did teach some on Isaiah 66 and will add that chapter below. I guess the theme would be ‘new beginnings’ The night before I read Isaiah 66- and the prophet says- Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. I found it interesting that God said ‘ALL THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN’ When we think we are the ones doing the building [in a sense we are- that is God is using us to build the kingdom] God reminds us that ‘all those things have been’. He had the blueprint for our life- before we were even born- Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: And in time- we fulfill the mission. But it’s easy to lose focus- get sidetracked- get overloaded with the mission. Then God reminds us ‘I have already done the work- it has already been accomplished- it HAS BEEN’. Later on down the chapter we read Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. Yes- God changes our perspective even though we might feel stuck in a place- yet- the heavens above- and the ground below- can be ‘new’- When we are walking in the will of God- all things do indeed seem new- even at this present time. Claire shared a dream she had a while back- I actually taught on it at the time- here’s the link https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/11/22/eastern-star-dream/ [I added the entire text below] I found it ‘funny’ that those same verses- just happened to be in this same chapter- Isaiah 66:7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Isaiah 66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Isaiah 66:9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. I won’t teach the whole thing again- but the dream had to do with giving birth- At the time I told Claire that we- even men- ‘give birth’- That is- God births things thru us- but first come the birth pains. Roger- who shares the most on the video- also told me about some experiences he had when he was in the local county jail- a dream- and how the next day he was released- before his time was up. If I got into the whole thing- it would take too much time right now- But I did explain some stuff to him after I turned off the video- and it was significant. This day seemed like a New Jersey type of a day- it reminded me of the times when I’m on the street with my friends up north. It was cold [for Corpus] it was rainy- and I even spotted a vehicle with a New Jersey license plate in the parking lot of a local store. As we were sitting in jack and the box- someone [who I didn't know] came up- Claire said ‘this is John- he makes videos’. The guy said ‘yeah I know- I have seen them on facebook’. The same thing happened a few years ago- when I was in some restaurant in New Jersey. So I guess this day- and the post- were meant to be. You know- maybe God had it planned- before it even happened? Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to this post- Teaching with friends] https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ This is the entire post I talked about on today’s post- Teaching with friends- Eastern star [dream]POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ NOVEMBER 22, 2016 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT EASTERN STAR [prophetic dream] Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. Is. 41:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: Acts https://youtu.be/u0mY1tr0hLo Eastern star https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/11-18-16-eastern-star-prophetic-dream.zip ON VIDEO- .Dream .Signs .Apologetics NEW- [past posts- verses below] I debated about sharing this- but decided I would. Last night [on the day I’m writing this] I read Matthew 2- and I ask God to ‘speak to me’ a personal word of direction when I read. Now- the scripture has an ‘actual’ historical meaning when you read it- and at the same time God can ‘speak ’in a devotional- Rhema word as well. As I read the chapter- the verses that ‘stuck out’ were how the wise men from the east saw the star. Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. And when the star ‘stopped’ over Jesus- they rejoiced. Matthew 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. Matthew 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Ok- I have been commenting on Revelation- and stars mean various things- in revelation they are messengers- human as well as angelic. Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. So- I focused in a devotional way- and ‘took it’ as God saying we would have influence in the East- where some people who follow our teaching are from [they saw the star- messenger- in the East]. No big thing. After I was finished reading- I turned the volume up on the radio [I lower it when I’m reading] and sure enough right at that moment there were the lyrics from this chapter I just read being sung on the station [some Christian song]. Hmm? Stars- messengers- signs from above. The next morning I got ready to go out- As I went to the car- there at the bottom of the door was a little flag- that said ‘star’ and it was covered with stars. I picked it up and put it in the car- have no idea where it came from- never saw it before. Then I went to the park to see my homeless friends. One of them- had a dream about me- last night. I’ve known her for a while- and this is the first time she ever ‘dreamed’ me. She was disturbed a little- but told me in the dream I was sitting at the park- my hair was longer- and lots of people were gathered around- like Woodstock. She said there was this light shining down from above- and it followed me wherever I went. In the dream I was singing- humming this hymn- but she did not remember the words. Then we went to a trailer [in the dream]- and this is what disturbed her- there was a dog that gave birth to 8 puppies. In the dream she told me there was something wrong- that it was a male dog- giving birth- and that’s not supposed to happen. Yet I told her [in the dream] that it was ok- I explained to her [in person- at the park- not in the dream] That there are verses- some significant to me- about ‘men’ giving birth. Jesus told his men when we go thru trials- its like ‘birth pains’- he compared it to giving birth- 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And the prophet Isaiah says ‘more are the children of the desolate- then the married wife’ Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Another verse that I have had on my wall for a long time is- And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. Micah Years ago it spoke to me about having influence among leaders- shepherds- ‘principle’ men. 8 to be specific. In the dream- after the male dog labored- he gave birth to 8 pups. The only thing she did not remember from the dream- were the words to the song I was singing. As I shared with her the chapter I read- and how I felt it was significant- and told her the song I heard on the radio with the same words from the bible I just read. Sure enough- those were the words she heard me singing in her dream I made the above video on the same day the events occurred- because I thought I might forget some details. And I might have. Overall I felt it was significant enough to share- So I did. NOTE- Write after I wrote the above- this was the verse from the chapter I read that evening- Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Thought it fit. PAST POSTS [verses below] 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/ VERSES- Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. Matthew 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Matthew 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. Matthew 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. Matthew 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. Matthew 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Matthew 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Matthew 2:14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: Matthew 2:15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Matthew 2:17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, Matthew 2:18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. Matthew 2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Matthew 2:20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. Matthew 2:21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. Matthew 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: Matthew 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Is. 54:1 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Heb. 13:2 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. Lk. 21:11 http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 john chiarelloFollow On https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ http://johnchiarello.thoughts.com/ 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. I deal with issues at times that it would be beneficial for some of you to download and save the file from the Word Press link. This creates a permanent record. The on-line videos are only good if sites are not hacked- which has happened in the past. Thanks- John.# Share this: VERSES- Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. Isaiah 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. Isaiah 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. Isaiah 66:6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies. Isaiah 66:7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Isaiah 66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Isaiah 66:9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Isaiah 66:10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: Isaiah 66:11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. Isaiah 66:12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. Isaiah 66:13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. Isaiah 66:15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. Isaiah 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. Isaiah 66:17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD. Isaiah 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. Isaiah 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. Isaiah 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. Isaiah 66:21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. Isaiah 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. Isaiah 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations MY SITES www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/ https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello 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 [Wordpress- Vimeo] 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- Thanks- John. SUNDAY SERMON 11-12-17 Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Sunday sermon- https://youtu.be/2zCSe0Sicmw https://vimeo.com/243455143 http://ccoutreach87.com/11-12-17-sunday-sermon/ http://ccoutreach87.com/11-12-17-sunday-sermon-2/ 1Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Dewboy Lister speaks- https://youtu.be/iO-HnGoMV0g http://ccoutreach87.com/11-18-17-dewboy-lister-speaks/ [I made this video as an update- and needed a place to link it- His name was Lonnie- You’ll have to watch the video to get this] Genesis 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations ON VIDEO- [Sunday sermon] .I just read that! .The real wisdom of Solomon .Gnostic writings- why they are not scripture .Solomon’s temple [and porches] .White magic? .Stick to the real source- Holy Scripture .Have oil [storehouse] with the lamp .Use social media to impart wisdom .Not just to advertise your ‘church’ meeting .New Testament canon .Luke the historian .Order .Review of Luke 1 .The angel names the Sons .Jesus and John .Mary’s magnificat .The Virgin Birth Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. NEW- I did it a little different this week- instead of teaching from the verses from the Sunday churches- I talked from Luke 1 and tried to give some practical stuff. We live in a day where we have tools to communicate- like no other generation- We have access to the ‘world wide web’- yes- though the term sounds outdated- but in reality- we all have the ability to get the message out- world wide. Churches- preachers- even the average Joe on the street- has their own video recording studio [camera phones]- Free platforms to upload [YouTube- etc.] And free blogs to put all of these messages on- Yet- how do we use these tools for the most part? Many churches simply advertise their church meetings- which is fine. Many individuals use these tools to play games- or talk about the latest gossip [or news- which I also do]. All of this is ok in a way- but these tools also have the ability to actually communicate things of value. And often times we simply let this opportunity fall by the way side. If the apostle Paul- who wrote actual hand written letters- and had them sent to various churches- If all he did was write something like ‘I will be speaking at Corinth next Sunday- all are invited to attend'. Then what impact would his use of the tool of writing have had? If we opened the bible today- and simply read that- we would have no lasting ability to actually learn from the things he wrote. In Luke chapter one- we read the same- Luke 1:1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,Luke 1:2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; Luke 1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, Luke 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. Luke wrote- used the tools of communication- to actually instruct those who would read his gospel- for 2 thousand years now and counting. His task was to set in order- lay the message out plainly- then write it- and hopefully it would have a real impact on the hearers. Here’s one of the verses I quoted- Proverbs 21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up. We see the storehouse principle here- meaning their is a thing of value- and it is stored up- it is kept in a dwelling- and will be released in it’s proper time. [Facebook- overblog- see here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/19/sunday-sermon-15/ ] Jesus rebuked the foolish virgins [they were virgins- meaning set apart]- yet- they had no reserve- 25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. They all had lamps- tools that had the capability of shining a light- of reaching others with this light- Yet their tools- their lamps were of no lasting use- simply because they had no resource- no oil- they made no preparation ahead of time- so that the lamps could serve an effective purpose. I see our generation like the virgins who had no storehouse of oil. Many of us are simply living for the moment- the great ‘lamps’ of the day are going out- because no preparation has been made- no long term view of what others can learn from us down the road- Because many of the tools are being used to simply promote some church meeting- or to engage in things that have no long term value- Another verse- 3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. If we have the ability to build the structure [wisdom] and for it to be long lasting [established] what good is it- if the house has no knowledge in it? It took a lot of wisdom for men to develop the tools of our day- the things I spoke about above- They have made platforms available to us- in a way like we have never had before- But what are we filling the chambers with? Is there any long lasting knowledge that we are communicating to others? In the chapter I actually spoke on this Sunday we read how the father of John the baptist had order to the things he was doing- Luke 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the ORDER of his course, Luke 1:9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. He was not sitting around waiting for a miracle- for some break thru moment- that would change everything. No- he was committed to the task at hand- and it was in this committed life- that the miracle did come- Luke 1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Luke 1:12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. Luke 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. Luke 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. It was his perseverance- his dedication- that led him and his wife to the miraculous child- A child who the prophet Malachi spoke of- Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. And a prophet who Jesus himself testified of- Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Yet- this son- this prophet- was born to a man and his wife in their old age- while they were still serving God after many years- These were people with ‘oil in their lamps’ if you will. I would simply encourage all of you- whoever you are reading this write now- You too have all the tools I have mentioned in this post- or at least have access to get them. Most of the preachers who have church web sites- you already have the tools to use them in an effective way- But it does take a degree of discipline- a desire that you develop over time- a desire to learn and give your time to using these tools in a more effective manner- Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. Yes- it takes separating yourself from the fast food mentality of our day- From the entertainment mentality that simply uses the lamp- the gift- the resource- for some quick fix of an Instgram post [or whatever other social platform]. It takes a desire to see the long lasting effect of putting time and effort into the things you communicate. To put the time in- is a requirement that the bible speaks of- 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Luke- and Paul- and all the other writers of the New Testament were writing at a time when it was not an easy thing to do. The letters were being hand delivered to various cities- Often times there were illiterate people in the congregations- and the hand written and delivered letters had to be read by one person out loud for the others to hear.. And yet- we still have these valuable letters today- We still have the writing of Luke- which I read and taught from this very day. Because the early church saw the value of setting these things in order for us. They had a desire to communicate the message- and went thru much difficulty in doing so. They were communicating from a storehouse- they had oil in their lamps- and had a reserve as well- They would be shocked to see the advancement of our day- the ability to speak on such a world wide scale- And then to see how many of us have wasted this great opportunity- Many of us have let the lamp simply burn out. PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates in some way to this post- Sunday sermon- 11-12-17] https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/17/crisis-in-corpus-christi-texas-3/ (565) John 3[radio # 586]- Nicodemus comes secretly to Jesus, he is one of the few in leadership that is having doubts. The others with one voice reject Jesus, Nicodemus is wondering. Jesus rebukes him for being a ‘ruler’ of the Jews and not being able to comprehend the most basic stuff. I have found it disheartening over the years to talk with Pastors who heard someone teach that because Jesus had an expensive coat, that he must have been rich. Despite all the evidence in the New Testament how Jesus was the son of a carpenter and lived an average life. The tons of verses where Jesus is reproving rich people. The whole historical and biblical truth of Jesus being a man of humble means. The fact that he had an expensive coat can more than likely be explained by the custom of people doing extravagant acts of worship towards him. The woman and the expensive perfume poured on him. Things like this. Someone probably gave him the coat. But for Pastors, who are good men, to fall for this stuff was unbelievable. Sort of like Jesus telling Nicodemus ‘you are a leader and can’t discern the most basic stuff’! Jesus teaches the reality of the new birth. All people must be born of God thru belief in Jesus, or they will not be saved. We must stand strong for Jesus as the only way to God. John the Baptist will be told that all men are going to Jesus. John says ‘great, he must increase and I must decrease’ John understood that the role of leadership [prophets] was to point to the fame and persona of Jesus. Not to go down the common road of pointing people towards us. In modern ministry we draw people to our gifts and abilities. We structure modern churches around the gift of the Pastor. We allow leadership to become preeminent in our minds and thoughts. John knew better. We also see that the wrath of God abides on all who do not believe in Jesus. If you believe in Jesus you escape Gods wrath. It can’t touch you. Whether you are in heaven or earth, or like David said ‘in hell you are there’. That is you can’t escape Gods presence anywhere. So if you are in Christ, wrath can’t get you. If you are not in Christ, it continually abides on you. You do not escape wrath by leaving the planet during the tribulation. If an unbeliever was on a rocket ship right before the tribulation started, and wound up on the moon during the 7 years of wrath, he wouldn’t escape Gods wrath. You don’t escape judgment by being in the right geographical location, you escape it by being IN HIM! John also says a man can receive nothing unless it is given to him. Why be jealous if all of our gifts and abilities are free gifts? We act like we earned them! John says no man receives his testimony, then he says ‘to those who have received it’. What’s this mean? Paul told the Corinthians that we have received the Spirit of God so we might know the things that are freely given to us from God. God gives us his Spirit first, so we can receive his testimony. This goes back to the early centuries of the church and hits all the major doctrines on sovereignty. Augustine, Calvin, Luther [Yes Luther was a strong believer in predestination, it was no accident that he was an Augustinian monk!] Paul tells the Ephesians that were are dead in sins and completely incapable of receiving spiritual truth until God pours his Spirit into us and we become alive. Thank God that even though no man [in the natural] can receive his testimony, that God gives us his Spirit and births us so we can know the things that he has freely given to us in Christ! (1232) 2ND CORINTHIANS 9- Paul encourages the church to be generous ‘give much, and you will be blessed much’. The principle is clear. The other day I wrote on the verse ‘he hath distributed and given to the poor, his good works will endure’ [my paraphrase] let me give you what the message bible says- ‘he throws caution to the wind, giving to the needy with reckless abandon’. Yesterday my friend John David came by. He’s the friend I wrote about a few weeks ago, one of the local homeless guys. John is doing well; he made it thru the local drug rehab and is attending the aa/na meetings. John is really excited about the lord, even though he is an older brother [57] he really wants to do things for God. I gave him a few old copies of some of my original books I wrote years ago, and I gave him all the cash I had [around 15 dollars from my wallet]. He didn’t ask for it, I just felt ‘what the heck, if I don’t give it I’ll just spend it’. Later my wife asked me if I could take my daughter to get her I.D. at the driver’s license place. You need cash, it’s around 16 dollars. I thought ‘geez, maybe I’m too reckless in giving to my buddies’ and then I read this verse this morning. Paul exhorts these believers to give themselves and their goods away for the gospel. He challenges us to live with ‘reckless abandon’ knowing that our lives are like a vapor that appear for a little while and then vanish away [James]. If you give yourself away, God will increase ‘your seed’ and multiply the results 100 times, but you must lay down your life first. Jesus said unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abideth alone. But if it dies it will bring forth much fruit. He was speaking of his impending death, how he saw it as a necessary event for the purposes of God. Paul also says in his letter ‘if Jesus died for everyone, then we are all dead. He then that lives should now live for God.’ We are not here to please ourselves, to derive some type of fulfillment through our Christian experience. That is to ‘seek to save our lives’ we are here to lay them down for a greater cause, Jesus showed us how this must be done. Jersey City ride [Mark 1]POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ FEBRUARY 28, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT MONDAY 2-27-17 Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. https://youtu.be/ZqN2KEmxBRk JERSEY CITY [Mark 1] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-27-17-jersey-city-ride-mark-1.zip ON VIDEO [Past links- verses below] .See Jersey City- Journal square- Kennedy Blvd. to 41st st. .CNN and Jesus? .John who? .Why no miracles before Jesus baptism? .Alone with God .Who said this ‘Prayer is strength for the weak’? .Another Mustang story NEW- Took a drive thru Jersey City and did the video from the car. In Mark 1 we read about the forerunner- John the Baptist. He baptized in water but said ‘a mightier one is coming- he will baptize you with the Spirit’. Sure enough- Jesus shows up and John baptizes him in the Jordan. As Jesus comes up out of the water we hear ‘this is my beloved Son- in whom I am well pleased’. The Father is testifying of the Son. Jesus is now anointed for the 3 year earthly ministry we read about in the gospels. He begins going to the synagogues and preaching- casting out demons. The people are shocked ‘he preaches with authority- not like the regular preachers we are used to’. Jesu beings gathering his team of men- and the crowds are being drawn. Yet- he seems to be avoiding the crowds. He heals a leper and tells the man not to spread the word about it. Yet the man ‘blazes’ the matter to everyone. The Spirit descending on Jesus like a ‘dove’ was right before his temptation of 40 days- in the wilderness- by satan. It was this test that prepared him for the work. We read in another gospel that he returned in the power of the Spirit after his temptation. The same Spirit that anointed Jesus also is now with us. The Spirit of God is in all who believe-and that same Spirit empowers us for the task. Jesus rose up early in the morning and went to a place where he could be alone with the Father. Even after the anointing of the Spirit- and the test- yet he taught us to have ‘alone time’ with God. Jesus told his men ‘Pray- the spirt indeed is willing- but the flesh is weak’. In this chapter we see the beginning of the ministry of Jesus- and his proclamation that the kingdom of God is near. He called the people to repentance- and to believe the good news of the kingdom. John [the Baptist] served his purpose well- he introduced the Lamb of God- and then fades from the scene. Yes- John showed us what it was all about. 26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. PAST LINKS- [My past teaching that relates to today’s post] https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ 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/ VERSES- [I quoted/talked from 3 accounts of the baptism of Jesus and the temptation of Jesus as recorded in the gospels- below are all 3 accounts- as well as the verses I quoted on the video] Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Mark 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. Mark 1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; Mark 1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. Mark 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: Mark 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Mark 1:12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. Mark 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. Mark 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. Mark 1:18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. Mark 1:19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. Mark 1:20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. Mark 1:21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. Mark 1:22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. Mark 1:23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Mark 1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Mark 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. Mark 1:26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. Mark 1:28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. Mark 1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Mark 1:30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. Mark 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. Mark 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. Mark 1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door. Mark 1:34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Mark 1:36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. Mark 1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. Mark 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. Mark 1:39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. Mark 1:40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Mark 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. Mark 1:42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. Mark 1:43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; Mark 1:44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Mark 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter. ________________________________________ Matthew 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Matthew 3:4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Matthew 3:5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, Matthew 3:6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: Matthew 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Matthew 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. Matthew 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. ________________________________________ Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Matthew 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. Matthew 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, Matthew 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Matthew 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; Matthew 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Matthew 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 4 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Luke Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 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 man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Deuteronomy 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 john chiarelloFollow On https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ http://johnchiarello.thoughts.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ 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- Thanks- John.# Share this: (562) John:1[radio # 584] Jesus is called the Word of God, he comes into the earth as the incarnation, the ‘fleshed out’ fulfillment of Gods Word. John the Baptist is asked who he is. The Jewish leaders ask ‘are you that prophet?’ he says ‘no’. What prophet? The one Moses said would come ‘the Lord God will raise up a prophet unto you, like me. Whoever doesn’t listen to him will be destroyed’. We covered this in Deuteronomy. They ask him ‘are you Elijah’ he says ‘no’. John was the fulfillment of the Malachi prophecy that said before the Lord comes he will send Elijah the prophet. Jesus says this about John. Why did John deny it? I am not sure, but it might be because he really didn’t know. Sort of like the thorn in Paul’s side, God allowed things to happen to Paul so he would not get puffed up in pride and side track his mission. Maybe the Lord never let John see how truly effective he was. John does say ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness’ John does see himself thru the prophet Isaiah. I like this. I have personally had many words from Isaiah that I felt the Lord had given me, John saw himself in this book too. John was ‘the voice’ just like Jesus is ‘the Word’ John is ‘the voice’. John was a voice before he was a man. God had predestined John to carry a message before he was born. He had this word in his DNA at birth. His body was simply a carrier, an ‘incarnation’ of the voice that he was to have. God has predestined all of us with a purpose before we were born. Our appearing on the planet is for the sole purpose of carrying out this destiny. You are not here to be happy, have a nice income, go to a nice church. You are here to fulfill Gods will, you can have the other things or not, that is irrelevant. You must first fulfill the mission! John testifies of Christ by the Spirit descending on Jesus. John says ‘I knew him not, but by the Spirit’ John knew Jesus, he was his cousin! But John was only going to recognize the gifts and callings on people. He would follow Paul’s admonition ‘know no man after the flesh’. It is incumbent upon us to recognize the gifts in others and to operate accordingly. Don’t make alliances and pacts with people based on friendship and personal affiliations. It’s good to have friends and all, but the Kingdom is built upon recognizing and receiving those who have come with a mandate from God. John saw Jesus in this light. Scripture says ‘the world was made by him, he was in the world, yet they knew him not’ Jesus was creating a divine atmosphere of grace for people to access. They didn’t even know or recognize him, yet this didn’t side track him from his purpose. Understand that God has placed you in a geographical location with a pre planned destiny in mind. God has chosen you to be where you are and for this season. You will fulfill your calling whether people ‘know’ you or not. God requires us to see the gifts in each other, but many will not appreciate what you are doing, do it any way, you have come with a destiny to fulfill, so fulfill it! (563) John 2[radio # 585]- Jesus does his first miracle, changes water into wine. They say ‘most people put the good wine out first, but you have saved the best for last’. This is a type of the new covenant of his blood [wine], Jesus will introduce a better covenant thru his blood. Many will not accept this new way because they have been ‘drinking’ old wine for so long, they are not willing to change. We often see this in Christian circles, people who have functioned in a limited way for years, God might bring to them new ways of seeing things, they will often reject the new wine on the basis of being comfortable with the old way, we don’t want to shake the apple cart. God wants us to shake it! Jesus finds the money changers in the temple and drives them out with a whip, turns the tables over and gets mad. He didn’t take the ecumenical approach! There are times for radical transition, I feel we are at that place now as the people of God. The gospel is not about us increasing our portfolio, it’s about laying our goals down for the kingdom. These money changers lost their influence in the ‘temple’ after Jesus got thru with them, I think it was prophetic. Jesus says ‘destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up’ those hearing this mistake his Body [temple] with the building [temple in Jerusalem]. Evangelicals [some of them] make the same mistake today. They are looking to the natural events in natural Jerusalem, they should be looking at the real temple! [Both Jesus and the Body of Christ]. Jesus goes to the Passover, the people hail him and Jesus says he will not commit himself to them, because he knew what was in man. What was in man? These same people will be asking for his death not long from now. Jesus did not seek commitment from men, contrary to the way we see ministry today. Modern ministry seeks to increase man’s commitment to them ‘pledge so much money, join this or that’ Jesus knew he had a destiny, he would fulfill it without the help of man! Note- Last Sunday I spoke about the word- CHRIST- And I hope to speak on the meaning of the name JESUS on the video for this Sunday [I haven’t made it yet]- I thought it would be good to simply copy a section [not my writing below] that teaches them both- Here’s a link to the meaning of John’s name- https://www.behindthename.com/name/john I. JESUS 430 Jesus means in Hebrew: "God saves." At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the name Jesus as his proper name, which expresses both his identity and his mission.18 Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, "will save his people from their sins".19 in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on behalf of men. 431 In the history of salvation God was not content to deliver Israel "out of the house of bondage"20 by bringing them out of Egypt. He also saves them from their sin. Because sin is always an offence against God, only he can forgive it.21 For this reason Israel, becoming more and more aware of the universality of sin, will no longer be able to seek salvation except by invoking the name of the Redeemer God.22 432 The name "Jesus" signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and hence forth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation,23 so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."24 433 The name of the Savior God was invoked only once in the year by the high priest in atonement for the sins of Israel, after he had sprinkled the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies with the sacrificial blood. The mercy seat was the place of God's presence.25 When St. paul speaks of Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in Christ's humanity "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself."26 434 Jesus' Resurrection glorifies the name of the Savior God, for from that time on it is the name of Jesus that fully manifests the supreme power of the "name which is above every name".27 The evil spirits fear his name; in his name his disciples perform miracles, for the Father grants all they ask in this name.28 435 The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer. All liturgical prayers conclude with the words "through our Lord Jesus Christ". The Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words "blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." The Eastern prayer of the heart, the Jesus prayer, says: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Many Christians, such as St. Joan of Arc, have died with the one word "Jesus" on their lips. II. CHRIST 436 The word "Christ" comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means "anointed". It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that "Christ" signifies. In effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare instances, for prophets.29 This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively. 30 It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest, and also as prophet.31 Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet and king. 437 To the shepherds, the angel announced the birth of Jesus as the Messiah promised to Israel: "To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."32 From the beginning he was "the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world", conceived as "holy" in Mary's virginal womb.33 God called Joseph to "take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", so that Jesus, "who is called Christ", should be born of Joseph's spouseinto the messianic lineage of David.34 438 Jesus' messianic consecration reveals his divine mission, "for the name 'Christ' implies 'he who anointed', 'he who was anointed' and 'the very anointing with which he was anointed'. The one who anointed is the Father, the one who was anointed is the Son, and he was anointed with the Spirit who is the anointing.'"35 His eternal messianic consecration was revealed during the time of his earthly life at the moment of his baptism by John, when "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power", "that he might be revealed to Israel"36 as its Messiah. His works and words will manifest him as "the Holy One of God".37 439 Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel.38 Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political.39 440 Jesus accepted peter's profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by announcing the imminent passion of the Son of Man.40 He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man "who came down from heaven", and in his redemptive mission as the suffering Servant: "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his lifeas a ransom for many."41 Hence the true meaning of his kingship is revealed only when he is raised high on the cross.42 Only after his Resurrection will peter be able to proclaim Jesus' messianic kingship to the people of God: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."43 III. THE ONLY SON OF GOD 441 In the Old Testament, "son of God" is a title given to the angels, the Chosen people, the children of Israel, and their kings.44 It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah-King is called "son of God", it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus "son of God", as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this.45 442 Such is not the case for Simon peter when he confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God", for Jesus responds solemnly: "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."46 Similarly paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, "When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles..."47"And in the synagogues immediately [paul] proclaimed Jesus, saying, 'He is the Son of God.'"48 From the beginning this acknowledgment of Christ's divine sonship will be the center of the apostolic faith, first professed by peter as the Church's foundation.49 443 Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To his accusers' question before the Sanhedrin, "Are you the Son of God, then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am."50 Well before this, Jesus referred to himself as "the Son" who knows the Father, as distinct from the "servants" God had earlier sent to his people; he is superior even to the angels.51 He distinguished his sonship from that of his disciples by never saying "our Father", except to command them: "You, then, pray like this: 'Our Father'", and he emphasized this distinction, saying "my Father and your Father".52 444 The Gospels report that at two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his "beloved Son".53 Jesus calls himself the "only Son of God", and by this title affirms his eternal pre-existence.54 He asks for faith in "the name of the only Son of God".55 In the centurion's exclamation before the crucified Christ, "Truly this man was the Son of God",56 that Christian confession is already heard. Only in the paschal mystery can the believer give the title "Son of God" its full meaning. 445 After his Resurrection, Jesus' divine sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead".57 The apostles can confess: "We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."58 [parts] 2ND SAMUEL 6- David attempts to retrieve the Ark and bring it to the new capital city of Jerusalem. On the way back one of the brothers tries to steady the ark as it was about to fall. They were carrying it on a ‘new cart’ with oxen pulling it. This was not the way the law prescribed carrying it! This was the formula that the Philistines used earlier. So David’s man touches the Ark and is killed. They leave it at another brother’s house for three months and the brother is blessed, David goes and retrieves it. This chapter doesn’t say what changed, but obviously David went back to the law and used the prescribed manner this time around. As he enters Jerusalem with it there is this joyous picture of everyone leaping and dancing and praising the Lord. Sort of like the triumphal entry of Jesus [Gods ‘fleshly’ ark, who had all the fullness of God dwelling in his physical body!] to Jerusalem when the people shouted ‘Hosanna’. David places the ark in a tent/tabernacle that he personally made for it. I wrote earlier how this was an open tent that had no barriers between the ark and Gods people, a contrast between Moses tabernacle where God and the people were separated [law versus grace type thing]. David’s wife mocks him because he took off his royal robes and wore an ephod [priestly garment] and danced and humbled himself before the Lord. David says ‘I will even be more lowly than this’. His wife is barren for the rest of her life as a judgment for mocking David. What ever happened to the ark? Well let me give you some history. The ‘story’ [tradition] says that when the queen of Ethiopia visits Solomon to see his wealth, that eventually he ‘marries’ her and they have kids. The queen goes back to Ethiopia and supposedly takes the ark from Solomon as a gift. The Ethiopian orthodox church claims to have it in the main ‘church’ in Ethiopia. Because of this history all the Ethiopian churches have replicas of the ark in their buildings as well. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of rich tradition. They are technically not considered ‘Catholic’ [western] or ‘Orthodox’ [eastern]. They are part of the church who are sometimes referred to as Oriental. This referring to the historic churches [not necessarily Oriental in geography] who never accepted the traditional churches belief in certain expressions of the Trinity and the relationship between Jesus and God. They stuck with the Arian view of Jesus deity and are not considered ‘orthodox’ in this area. As the centuries developed and various barbarians who were raiding the empire were converted, they also believed in a Christianity that would be more aligned with this type of belief. Now, I know Christians do not consider this to be correct doctrine, but I am simply sharing the history with you. I am not siding with their belief! We really have no idea where the ark is today, to be honest it doesn’t matter. We ‘see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the purpose of dying, and he was raised again for us’! [Hebrews]. We have the real McCoy! [parts] A few years back I did an on-line teaching about the other books that never made it into the bible. Many years ago I bought some of these- and when you study church history and theology- well- these are an aspect of that type of teaching. So I commented on them- gave the reasons why we don’t have them in our bibles. But I also said that when I read some of them- I have found some are actually quite good. One of my favorites is called the Epistle of Barnabus. But there are others as well. Some in the early church actually had a couple of these that were included in some of the early bibles- others were never given a 2nd thought. By the way- in this field of study- I come down of the conservative side. That is I don’t hold to the ideas of men like Bart Ehrman- the more liberal scholars. They seem to give more credence to the books that never made it into the canon- and cast too much doubt on the bible we have today. Anyway- the few that I do lile- when I re-read them as the years go by- there have been times when God did speak to me. Here’s one. As my prayer time developed into this inclusion of dead folk [above]. I felt much more awareness of my friends who have died- as being amongst us during prayer. Now- I don’t ‘pray to them’ but I have a greater sense of praying ‘with them’. I mention their kids and all- because these guys- some- were actually friends of mine- who came to my church meetings I started years ago. So- I painted a spot on my wall- it was dedicated to this group. I simply wrote a few things- stuff that reminded me that these were those who have gone on- and are yet ‘here’. Sort of like my ‘friends in prison’ type of thing. Prison represents those who have died- and we are not so sure where they are- to be honest. I’ll explain it in a moment. So- right after I painted this little altar area- I read in one of the ‘lost books of the bible’ [I think it was in the Revelation of St. Peter?]. It said ‘have you preached to the spirits in prison yet’. Meaning- have you included those who have died yet- have you yet ‘learned this’ son? That was the type of sense I got. As I read the verse- I simply said ‘yes’. Now- I do know the source is from one of the early books that is not in the bible. But this reference- even if it is a copy- or a fake- does come from our bibles as well. It’s in the letter of Peter [I think 1st Peter 3?] And it’s one those texts that scholars haggle over. But Peter is speaking about some who died before the days of the world wide flood [Genesis 6]. And he refers to these dead people hearing the gospel- by Christ himself- after he died and rose again. And they are called ‘the spirits in prison’. So- that’s the same thing I felt/understood as I began seeing those who have gone on- well- they are still with us in a way. Yeah- in a few minutes I will post little Niko’s picture up on my wall. I’ll look at it as time goes by- as I see all my friends- both living and dead- and I will read his words. ‘Today I have to go- don’t worry’. Yes- Jesus said out of the mouths of babies thou hast perfected praise. You think? [parts] MARK 13 Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ON VIDEOS- MARK 13- https://youtu.be/vYBGKqDp5aE https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/7-18-17-mark-13.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/7-18-17-mark-13/ FRIENDS- https://youtu.be/-NmAm67q4BU [Made the 2nd video the other day with some friends- figured I would post it now] .Olivet discourse [End times] .Herod’s temple .Ventriloquist .Demon possession .Signs of the end .A.D. 70- Titus .Qumran community listened .Dead sea scrolls .Anti- christ .Preterism .2nd coming .Rapture? .What generation? .Hal Lindsey- Harold Camping .Prophetic clock? .End of age [not world as you might think] .Man of sin .Reductionism .Salvation from what? .John Nelson Darby .Tacitus- Josephus .End times- according to Jesus FRIENDS- .Furman- Andy .George- Craig .Cassie .2 Bobby’s? NEW- Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple- which took place in AD 70 under the Roman General Titus [who later became an emperor]- Mark 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. In Mark’s Gospel the disciples ask ‘when will this be’- talking only about the destruction of the temple- Mark 13:4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? In Matthews gospel they ask 3 things- Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Luke follows along the line of mark- Luke 21:5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,Luke 21:6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.Luke 21:7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? John’s gospel has no end times passage- possibly because he wrote an entire bible book on the end times- Revelation. Jesus gives us the basic signs that most of us are familiar with. Wars- persecution- those who endure to the end will be saved. Jesus also speaks of his second coming- And he says this happens after the tribulation- Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. He sends forth his angels and they gather together his people- Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part |