Sunday, July 31, 2016

JOHN 10
John 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
https://vimeo.com/176847526  John 10
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/7-28-16-john-10.zip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb9dtcW7wDQ  John 10
ON VIDEO-
.Eastwood n Dylan
. Lake Hopatcong
.Homeless
.Donald D
.Greenwich Village
.I was hacked! [Maybe not]
.Alice oil bust- I got that one!
. ‘God helps those who help themselves’ in the bible?
. ‘Stop listening to him- he’s nuts’!
.What is the prescribed method for being a Pastor?
.Sovereignty and election
.Some ‘cannot’ believe
.The sign of Jonah- you gotta believe this one
.City run bike rentals?
.Remember Ocean drive debacle?
NEW STUFF-
Jesus shows us how his followers act- well- like sheep!
Yes- I know the critics like this- you know ‘you are sheople’ type thing.
Meaning mindless followers of a bunch of fairy tales.
Now- I could do volumes on how this is simply not true [all my stuff on apologetics- proofs of God from science- etc.]
But the atheist will never be convinced by these arguments.
Why?
Well- they are ‘sheople’.
Huh?
They hold to their unbelief- yes- even in the face of real proof- because they ‘mindlessly’ follow their desires.
Ok- Sheep follow the voice of the shepherd- they know how he speaks.
Jesus says his people know his voice- they can discern when God is speaking.
How many times in our lives have we heard someone say something- and maybe they had no idea why they said it.
Yet- you knew.
Because they might have been speaking ‘off the cuff’- and yet they gave you an answer to a question- that you might have been praying about.
So- you know it was God’s voice- him giving you guidance- though it came from another man [or woman].
Now- Jesus says he is the door of the sheep.
Back in the bible days- the sheep were put in a pen.
Sort of like fenced in [stones mostly] area- with one way in- and out.
Jesus says he is the door of the sheep- but he’s the Shephard too.
But even though there were walls- there was no door.
‘If there was not an actual door John- then how did the sheep stay in the pen’?
Good question.
At the end of the day- when the sheep bedded down.
The shepherd would actually lie in the opening.
No sheep could get out- without his knowing it.
And no predator [wolf] could get in either.
See?
Jesus is the door of the sheep.
He guards his own- and protects them.
He said all that came before him- they climbed up- they did not go the prescribed route [thru the door].
John- in the book of Revelation- says he 'saw a door- opened- in heaven’.
He saw Jesus.
The book of Hebrews says Jesus was the veil that was torn apart at the Cross.
He is the way- the gateway- to the Father.
Those who do not experience the Cross [the door- the prescribed method] but come in some other way- they are thieves and robbers.
They might be in the fold- and maybe they even mean well- but until you experience the Cross- your intentions will always be self- centered.
But if you go the way of the Cross- thru the door- then you will be leading by example.
You will have a servant’s heart. Hebrews 3:5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;[I talk about this on the next video ‘Samuel 12-13’].
And the sheep, they won’t actually be hearing you  [as a Pastor- or leader in Gods church].
But no- they will hear God thru you.
See?
The sheep only hear the voice of the Shephard- and God only speaks thru those who have come thru ‘the door’.

PAST POSTS- LINKS [verses below]
I quote Galatians 2 on the video- here’s my commentary-
Here’s my John teaching-
https://youtu.be/f8VpxlYM_kU  John 8- ‘who the Son sets free’
I mention Corinthians 15 on the video- here’s my study- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/
And I talk about church leadership- here are my 2 books on the subject-




VERSES-
John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
John 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
John 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
John 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
John 10:6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
John 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
John 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
John 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
John 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
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.
John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
John 10:19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.
John 10:20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
John 10:21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
John 10:22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
John 10:23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
John 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
John 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
John 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
John 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
John 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
John 10:39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
John 10:40 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.
John 10:41 And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true.
John 10:42 And many believed on him there.
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matt.
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.
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Galatians 2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
Galatians 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.


NEWS-

Of course it’s sad when anyone [even a cop] has domestic problems.
But if you read the article- the cops have a ‘special division’ that deals with other officers involved in a crime.
The problem with all of these cases- is often times crimes [like in this case- a woman calling cops because of domestic violence]. Are not treated the same way- of an officer is involved.
This is a systemic problem across the USA.
There have been many cases of cops [on- or off duty] involved in DWI”s- and the victims either dying- or injured.
Then- when the ops get to the scene- sometimes they do not investigate the crime- or cover it up [giving the officer time for his alcohol blood level to go down]
The public is simply unaware of how systemic the problem is- and when they see a case- where it is exposed- they think ‘oh- hats was one bad apple’.
NO!
It is systemic- civilian policing- across the nation- is no longer a viable way for our country to handle public security.
It’s that simple.
‘What’s’ the answer then’.
I’ve talked about some in the past- but the point is- this is a real problem.
Even in the case above- when you had others like them- where the responding officers covered up a murder- by another cop.
If it is later revealed- the department deals with it.
But later on- they continue to do the same thing.
No department should have a ‘special’ in house crew- that responds to crimes committed by other cops.
No- you should send the responding cops- just like you would respond to any crime.

facebook.com/john.chiarello.5 
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.#



Friday, July 29, 2016

[Edit all] SAMUEL 11 [Kings n Priests] Parking lot too.
1Samuel 11:3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee.
Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
[Spoken by angels?- I talk about it on the video]

ON VIDEOS-
[Parking lot]
.Crow- Andy- Lil’ Charlie
.Wisdom from a parking lot
.Our self-worth comes from God
.Learning to be content in every situation
[Samuel 11]
.Familiarity breeds contempt
.See the bow!
.ISIS martyrs priest in France
.Ok- we have the eye patches with us- Not!
.It was the anointing
.Hebrews says angels gave us the 10 commandments- how can this be?
.See the letter of Clement- for real!
.Apocrypha
.Prophets
NEW STUFF-
Saul was anointed king in the last chapter- yet some of his fellow countrymen doubted him ‘who does he think he is- he’s not qualified!’
The same was said of Jesus ‘he’s the son of a carpenter- we know his family for heaven’s sake’.
The enemy comes against Jabesh Gilead and the people strike a deal-
‘How bout we simply surrender to you right now’?
Not to noble.
Nahash- the enemy king responds-
‘Ok- but let me poke all your right eyes out- so you cowards can be seen as a disgrace to the world’.
What!
God’s people submitting to this!
Yet- God’s people respond-
‘well- give us 7 days- we will send messengers to our coasts- and if no one will help us- then you got a deal’.
Yes- God’s people were so defeated- they were even willing to lose their eyes- without a fight.
Now- the messengers go out to the other tribes- and Saul is coming out of the field- and all the people are crying.
‘what’s up- why is everyone weeping like kids’?
They tell Saul about the sad situation- and the bible says the Spirit of God came upon him- and he was enraged!
He sends word back to Jabesh and says ‘we will all unite and fight for you’.
How did Saul get everyone on the same page?
He cut up his Ox- and sent the pieces to the other tribes- and said ‘whoever does not come to fight- this will happen to you!’
Well actually not.
He says ‘this will happen to your Ox too’.
Ok- I guess he wasn’t as enraged as we might have thought.
Nevertheless the plan worked- and the people of God rally around their threatened brothers.
The men of Jabesh send word to the enemy king- but they don’t tell him ‘the deal is off- our brothers are gonna fight for us’.
No- they make it sound like they are willing to submit.
Nahash comes to town- thinking he won the argument.
But instead it was an ambush- Saul gathered 330 thousand men- he divided them into 3 companies- and they defeated the enemy easily.
At the end of the chapter the people realize Saul was indeed able to do the job- because God anointed him.
It wasn’t his own ability- but it was solely based on God’s choice.
Now- the victory was so overwhelming- and everyone likes to be on the side of a winner.
So the people remember that there were some who rejected Saul at the start- they said he was not up for the job.
So the people say ‘hey- remember those guys who said Saul was a wimp- bring them here- we will kill them right now’.
But Saul defends his detractors and says ‘no- today God wrought a great salvation among us- and we will not take vengeance against our own’.
Yes- he was able to do the right thing- at least at this point of the story.
Later on Saul will not be such a nice guy.
But this day- God vindicated his choice- he showed the people that’s his anointing [God’s] is not about how great the man is- any man.
But when God chooses a man- or a whole group of them [like us- the church] and he pours out his Spirit on them-
Then great things will happen- but they happen because God is great- not the man- or the ‘crowd’.
PAST POSTS- LINKS [verses below]
] The past few weeks I had a few friends ask me about the Dead Sea Scrolls- and a few other questions about the ‘lost books of the bible’ and some other common- and mistaken ideas [like the original sin being Eve had sex with the serpent].
So- I figured I would cover a little Jewish history- which would help in this study of Hebrews-
And also hit on a few of these subjects.
As we read Hebrews- it helps to also understand some of the history that we don’t have in our bibles [though the Catholic bibles do have some of it in the Apocrypha].
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]
JOHN 19 (radio # 602) The reality of redemption! I want to stress the fact that Jesus actually
[parts]
Now- we will read how John gets himself into some hot water. Not only is he preaching about The Lamb of God- he starts saying ‘Herod [the Roman ‘king’ figure that was over the Jewish people] you have take your brother Phillips wife- you can’t have her!’

Herod was the son of Herod the great- we read about ‘the great’ as being the king at the time of Jesus birth- he was the one who had all the babies killed because he heard that Christ was born and he wanted to wipe out the competition- this Messiah who would be ‘The King of the Jews’.

The funny thing was- Herod wasn’t a Jew. Yet he saw himself as the actual Messiah to the Jews- Rome gave Herod [the great] this figure head authority- and it literally went to his head. Now- Herod died soon after the slaughter of the kids- and his son would ‘reign in his place’.

This Herod would be the king at the time of Jesus earthly ministry. This is the king who John the Baptist was preaching against.

One time they came to Jesus- to kind of intimidate him- they said ‘you know- Herod knows about you- he will get you’.  Jesus- you know- we are supposed to respect authority- right? He says ‘go tell that fox- that today and tomorrow I do healings and great works- and on the 3rd day I will be perfected’.

Perfected means ‘come to maturity’. This was a reference to his death and resurrection on the ‘3rd day’.

So Johns out there preaching against what he sees as corruption in govt. and one day they finally had enough- Herod puts John in prison.

Now John’s sitting there in prison- right at the time of this great ministry of Jesus. I mean Jesus is healing people left and right- raising the dead. I mean John must have felt vindicated- right?

John’s sitting in jail- and day after day- in this prison- he starts to think ‘geez- I have been stuck here for a while now- I mean I was the forerunner- Jesus said that about me- I’m the voice of one- the guy who proclaimed the truth when no one else was willing to take the risk- what the hell am I doing here- sitting in prison!’

John must have thought he was getting a bad deal. He sends 2 of his disciples to ask Jesus ‘are you the one- or should we look for another?’

Was he having doubts? Come on- Jesus is raising the dead for heaven’s sake- John was basically saying to Jesus ‘are you the one? If so- why am I still in the damn jail!’

John was being sifted. Peter will be- Job was too. For some strange reason- this is how things work. The bread has to be broken before it can feed people.

Of course we know the rest of the story- Herod's daughter in law will do a dance for the king- and the wife will get the head of John the Baptist on a platter- she got tired of hearing him.

Soren Kierkegaard- the 19th century Christian/Philosopher is considered to be the Father of Existentialism. Existentialism is the philosophy that says you start with ‘existence’ that is you begin the journey with real life passion- real interaction in life. Your failures and your high points- all these real things we experience in life- these are the things that shape us- that make us real.

Soren lived in a day where the Danish state church was dead and formal- and he spoke out against the dead lukewarm orthodoxy of his day.

One time he would say when he got tired of all the religious formalism- the fake plastic face we all put on so other people can’t really see our struggles- he said he would go read the Old Testament- the stories of murder and adultery and covering up crimes- he said these were real stories- of failure and success- of sitting in jail and thinking you might get out- but instead you get your head taken off.

These are the real stories of some of the most hallowed saints of history- yes- human frailty runs right through it all- like some scarlet thread.

One time Jesus said to Peter ‘I have prayed for you’ that sounds great when it stands alone- but when you see it in the context of the whole verse- then you realize that you just might be in for something that you never expected would happen- you might be getting ready to go through a real existential moment- face to face with your own failures and humanity.

Peter will later write ‘beloved- when you go thru trials- don’t think it strange. Realize your brothers are also going through them’ and ‘it is not only our privilege to believe on the name of Jesus- but it is also our privilege to suffer with him’.

Yes Peter went on to get past the sifting- the memory of being the disciple who denied Jesus. I mean Peter was the only one who walked on water [ besides Jesus]- he raised the dead in the book of Acts-
[parts]
(1415) BENNY HINN VERSUS JOHN PIPER- Yesterday I was reading some Christian news on line, I was surprised to see that the famed author/pastor, John Piper, was stepping down from his pastorate to take an 8 month sabbatical. As I read the story there was no scandal, he just simply examined his soul and felt like he saw pride creeping in and thought it good to re focus. I also read the latest from Benny Hinn, the famous healing evangelist, his wife recently filed for divorce and his web statement said ‘I will keep going, and not slow down one bit’. I would note that Benny and his wife also have no sexual scandal to deal with, it must have been the pressure and all, it caught the family by surprise when Susanne filed for the divorce. Now, many view Benny as a false prophet and an outright huckster- I don’t. I have major problems with the entire character of ‘ministry’ that platforms the Holy Spirits gifts in such a public way that draws great attention to the gifted person, the New Testament warns against various gifted people becoming the center of attention in the community of believers. Paul rebuked the Corinthians for centering their spiritual lives around the persona of any man [this would even include prominent well meaning pastors, who often don’t see this dynamic in our day-many feel it’s scriptural to have the life of the community centered around the weekly speaking gift of an individual, there really is no mandate in scripture for this. It’s okay for gifted leaders to teach, prophesy, function in some spiritual gift, but the New Testament does not show us a pattern of local churches centered around the office of any individuals gifts. One of the common mistakes church historians make is we read some of the 1st, 2nd century writings of the church fathers [Clement of Rome, Iraneus, etc.] and we see how the able bishop rebuked the Corinthians for not submitting to the ecclesiastical office of Bishop, the letter portrays the Corinthian church as a bunch of rebels who are rising up against the authority of the Bishop and other leaders. It’s usually assumed that the Corinthian church was at it again, ‘there goes those darn troublemakers’ type of a thing. But it’s very possible that the Corinthian community was heeding the admonition from their founding apostle [Paul] and were actually resisting the idea of allowing any singular authority to take a position that was contrary to what Paul wrote to them in his epistles!]. The main point is you can have legitimate gifts being expressed thru a person [prophecy, healing, or even the pastor/teacher gift of speaking] but if these gifts are being used in a way that draws undo attention to the individual; then it is a violation of the character of New Testament ministry, although the gift itself might be legitimate. I was watching an ‘apostle’ out of Newark one day on Christian TV; they are a Pentecostal group that are heavy into spiritual warfare. The main leader was dressed in military type garb [corporal, cornel stripes and all] and they were doing the best they could. An interesting thing was they were doing a teaching on Paul’s words ‘the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty thru God to the pulling down of strongholds’ [Corinthians] and they actually taught it right! The apostle shared how many people mistake the meaning of the verse and apply it to strategic spiritual warfare prayer directed at territorial spirits and stuff like that. But the apostle explained how it was really speaking about apologetic type arguments that Christians make against the false ideas and strongholds of false doctrine. But then they went on to say that they arrived at this true understanding thru the apostolic gift of ‘revelation knowledge’ sort of like if it weren’t for the gift of the ‘apostle’ they would never have known this truth. I would venture to say that the majority of scholarly works that deal with this verse probably have it right; in the world of ‘intellectual Christianity’ [which is usually disdained by these independent type churches] most teachers knew this all along; we did not need the ‘gift of apostolic revelation knowledge’ to know this. Okay, the point being we have good people, who operate at times in true gifts, but also have a long way to go in growth and maturity. In the above example of Piper versus Hinn, I believe both of these men are good men, Piper comes from the baptist [reformed] tradition, Hinn from the charismatic wing. Maybe the Lord directed Benny to ‘keep on going, don’t slow down a bit’ and maybe Piper felt the Lord saying ‘slow down, take time off’ I just felt it striking that Piper was doing this because of what he sensed was the hidden sin of pride, no big scandal, just time to examine his soul. While Benny felt like ‘slowing down’ was not an option. These 2 examples give us a glimpse into the present day expression of church/ministry, and how we have all been affected by the times we live in.
[parts]
1837- DID THE HILLS CLAP HANDS?



I usually end the week with a ‘week in review [news]’ type thing- but being I posted 2 political things yesterday- let’s do something spiritual.

The other week I mentioned I just went thru a course [again] on early Christianity.

The teacher- a famous scholar of the day- came from a liberal background in scholarship.

I do like the man- though I come from a different view- I believe the bible is inspired by God- and is ‘the word of God’.

Now- that statement can be expanded on- and at times I have done that.

There are Fundamentalist positions on biblical inspiration that at times leave much to be desired.

The bible has various forms of literature within it.

Poetry- Apocalyptic [Revelation, Daniel] - Symbolic- etc.

So inspiration- or reading the bible ‘literally’ simply means when you read those portions- literally- you read them as you would any other form of literature in the same class.

Example.

In Psalms [poetry type category] you read that ‘all the hills clapped their hands and sang’.

Okay- did the writer ‘literally’ mean this?

No- he was using poetry to describe the majesty of God.

But some people do think these verses should be read ‘literally’ and that in some way nature ‘clapped hands’.

The same with the book of Revelation- when we read about the Dragon- or the number of the beast- we realize these are symbols- or riddles- that we need not take ‘literally’.

Will there be an actual number- or code- that some future govt. will stamp on people’s heads or hands?

Probably not.

Have there been teachers/preachers who have taught this kind of thing- who have said ‘we live in a day like never before- where you can actually mark someone in the head/hand thru computer chips’.

So you have people who refuse to get social security cards- or avoid using the computer marker at the grocery store.

But these ways of looking at the bible are too simplistic- and don’t fit the actual style of the writer.

Is this the only time in history when we have the ability to mark people on their bodies?

Of course not- we read in the bible itself that in the Old Testament they actually ‘branded’ slaves- had ways to bore a hole in a person’s ear to show he belonged to an owner.

But we never think of this- we simply accept what we hear and that’s that.

The other day I was talking to a very knowledgeable man in the bible- he has read it [like me] hundreds of times over the years.

One time I mentioned to him the debate [among scholars] over the days of creation we read about in Genesis chapter 1[and 2].

I gave him various ways people interpret the text.

I said ‘you know- Genesis one says God created the Sun on day 4- but he made light on day 1’.

Now- I mentioned this as someone who does take the bible ‘literally’ but who also leaves room that the earth is much older than 6 thousand years.

To my surprise- my friend never thought of this ‘problem’.

He asked ‘what day was the sun made?’

Now- I know he has read the text a lot- but it never dawned on him that the Genesis account has this ‘problem’.

How do we solve it?

Some say ‘God made another source of light for the first 3 days’.

Okay- I don’t go for that.

But I do ‘go for’ the possibility that God is not giving us a scientific account of the creation of the world- be he is giving us a way we can grasp it- being everyone who reads the text is not a scientist.

One interesting view is God was using the 6 day [7] ‘form’ to categorize the order of things.

Day 1- light. Day 3- luminaries [things that give light]

Day 2- sky, water.  Day 4- fish- fowl [things that fill the sky- water]

Day 3- land- vegetation.  Day 5- animals, humans [things that eat the stuff]

So it seems like the first ‘3 days’ correspond to the things created on the last ‘3days’.

Okay- is this the only way to see it?

No.

But it shows you that sometimes there is more to the story than meets the eye.

You say ‘John- I will just take it like it says- the bible says it- that settles it’.

Actually I’m fine with that- but the ‘super’ literal way does force the reader to come up with another source of light for the first 3 days- so that interpretation has its problems as well.

Point?

Just because we have symbol- poetry- prophecy- and various forms/styles of literature in the bible- this does not mean the bible is wrong- or ‘full of holes’.

No- it means when we come across these various styles we leave enough room to interpret them in the style they were written.

Okay- there’s obviously much that can be said on this subject- maybe I’ll do more over the next week or so.

Like how we got our bible- the development of the Canon [how we know which books are in- and which are not ‘in’].

There were other writings that the early church debated over.

Some of these other writings were considered out and out lies.

But not all- some of the other books were considered okay- but for various reasons they did not make it into the bible.

And a few that made it in were disputed- for various reasons.

The church did not have a ‘complete’ canon until the 4th century.

It is true that the early Christians had a basic unanimity on what was in and what was out.

But not until the 4th century was it decided for sure.

So maybe I’ll do a few posts on that.

I do come from the ‘conservative’ view on this- I do believe the bible is ‘the word of God’.

But that does not always mean you take every verse ‘literally’ in the sense that the ‘hills clapped their hands’- Got it?

[parts]
I mention the last chapter of judges on today’s video- here’s my complete Judges study- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/judges-ruth-video-links-included/
https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/1st-2nd-samuel/  [Old commentary I wrote years ago]


SAMUEL REVIEW
I’ve been commenting on the book of Samuel- brief overview.
Samuel is born at a time in Israel’s history where ‘the word of the Lord was rare- no open vision’.
God had stopped communicating to his people- because they were lukewarm- not serious about God.
God was looking for at least one passionate person- to cry out to him with all their heart.
He found that person in Hannah.
She was barren- could not get pregnant- and one day her desperate plea came to God.
‘Give me a child- and I’ll dedicate him to you’.
This might have ‘surprised’ God [I know- not really] because that type of desperation was missing from his people.
So- she has a son- Samuel- and she drops him off at the church one day [the tabernacle] and leaves him for good.
He’s raised under the leadership of Eli- and his 2 sons- who were priests.
These sons were using ‘their religion’ for personal benefit- they were wicked and sleeping around- and Eli knew this was going on- and didn’t stop it.
Yet- Eli has this woman [Hannah] who left her son- so he could ‘live for God’.
I’m sure Eli must have felt guilty ‘geez- this lady is living in the past- when people really did sell out to God’
And his own boys- were using religion as a scam.
One day [Samuel chapter 3] the young boy hears someone calling  him.
Samuel gets up and thinks it’s Eli- he goes to Eli ‘what do you want- I heard you call my name’.
Eli has no idea what Samuel is saying- and tells him to go to bed.
It happens 2 more times- and Eli realizes ‘Maybe God is calling the boy’.
He gives Samuel instructions to go lay down- and when he hears the voice again- to say ‘Speak God- I’m hear’.
Sure enough it does happen again- and God gives Samuel a message.
He tells Eli what God said- and the news was not good.
God will judge the wicked priests- Eli’s 2 sons- and God will clean house.
Ok- that’s it in brief.
I mention on the video how God revealed himself to Samuel thru his voice- and I have been teaching about the Logos recently.
God’s word comes first- then the ‘flesh’ the actual outworking of what he wants to do-
 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.
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.

Samuel is an important figure in the nation at this time- because he will be the one to anoint the first 2 kings that Israel has- Saul and David.
God was willing to start speaking to his people again- but there would be a cleansing  first.
The prophet Amos said ‘woe to you who ae looking for God’s day- asking ‘why is God not speaking anymore’.
Because there’s usually a reason his communication is cut off from his people- and that’s because his people are not hearing [hearing in the bible is not simply ‘hearing’ but it means you obey what is said] him anymore.
Yet- if we want to hear his prophets again- see his miracles- then that entails repentance on our part.
For many years Eli’s wicked sons were ‘doing ministry’ and the things they were getting  away with seemed a common practice.
All the people knew it was wrong- they despised ‘the church’ because bad stuff was going on.
Yet- that’s just the way things were.
But then God had a vessel for his voice- a prophet- dedicated by a passionate mother- who kept her vow.
Much like the Virgin Mary- when the angel appeared to her- she said ‘so be it’.
God needs willing people- then he too will speak again.
Yes- we too can hear his voice- and the word of the Lord won’t be ‘scarce’.





VERSES-
1Samuel 11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
1Samuel 11:2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
1Samuel 11:3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee.
1Samuel 11:4 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.
1Samuel 11:5 And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.
1Samuel 11:6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
1Samuel 11:7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
1Samuel 11:8 And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
1Samuel 11:9 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
1Samuel 11:10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.
1Samuel 11:11 And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
1Samuel 11:12 And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.
1Samuel 11:13 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel.
1Samuel 11:14 Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.
1Samuel 11:15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Phil. 4:11



NEWS-


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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

THE CHAPEL-
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecc. 4
ON VIDEO-
 .See the chapel
.Pops old area- our ‘candle stash’ Huh? [sorry- you’ll have to watch]
.The doctrine of the salvation of the righteous
.Walking around downtown Corpus
.Trinity
.A Samuel ‘teaser’
.Russia- Trump- it’s a grand conspiracy!
.Prepare a room for me too?
.Have YOU preached to the dead yet?
[more verses below- but I want you to focus on these first]
Behold, I shew you a mystery; Cor 15
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Peter
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.  Jn. 14:12


NEW STUFF-
On the video I talk about the verses from the Sunday Mass- and the verses that Pastor Bil [Church Unlimited] used as well.
In the Mass the priest spoke from the Story in Genesis [verses below] where 3 men [angels] appeared to Abraham before God judged Sodom.
The 3 men are a symbol of God [some refer to it as a Theophany- meaning it really was God]-
Trinity.
God reveals to Abraham that he will judge the city.
Abraham engages in a discussion
‘will you destroy it if there are 50 righteous’?
‘no’
‘How bout if there are 40’?
‘no’
The number goes down to 10- and God still says he will spare the whole city- even if there are 10 righteous.
Well- there were less than 10- and you know the rest of the story.
The scripture pastor Bil used was from Ecclesiastes [verses below]
It says a ‘3-flod cord’ is not easily broken.
And I speak about the ministry of the ‘3 fold cord’ as it relates to God the Father- Jesus- and the Holy Spirit.
In the bible we read that Jesus is continually making intercession for us- That God our father of course is always watching over us- and in Romans we read that the Spirit makes prayers for us- in ways we are not able to articulate [some see the Charismatic gift of tongues here].
So- we are not in this thing alone- we have the Trinity on our side.
We also have an ‘innumerable company of angels and the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ [Hebrews 12]
We are part of both a heavenly- and earthly community.
The saints that have ‘moved on’ are watching us from the stands- they are now in Heaven- and still cheering us on.
The saints on the earth [all of us who believe in Christ] are also being built together as a Holy habitation of God- we are the living stones of this spiritual community [Peter]
And when you see it from this perspective- then the words of the great apostle Paul ring out
‘If God be for us- who can be against us’.
Yeah- our victory in Christ is guaranteed ahead of time.
You might say ‘the fix is in- we win’.

PAST POSTS/ MY LINKS [verses below]
I cover Romans 10 on today’s video- here's my study- check out chapter 10- I discuss it more in depth https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/romans-updated-2015/


VERSES-
18 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto theLord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
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;  Col. 2:14
Philemon 1:7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
Philemon 1:22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.


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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.#