Riot Podcast

Are LDS Mormons Christians? is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. The Church of the Latter-day Saints (LDS) is the fourth largest church in the USA and the fastest growing. The Saints, or Mormons as they are referred to by church outsiders, assert that they are Christian as they believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible. The question of whether Mormonism is Christian is very relevant to American society at present. According to a standard dictionary definition of Christians “as believers and followers of Christ”, Mormons are Christians. Further, because the majority show universal Christian values such as generosity and forgiveness, the observance of regular worship, and avoidance of “bad” deeds, Mormons seem to act as “Christians”. However, these observances answer the question of whether Mormons are Christians and not necessarily whether Mormonism and thus the doctrine and beliefs of the LDS Church, are Christian. Jan Shipps, a Methodist and noted scholar of Mormonism, is often asked whether she believes Mormons are Christians and responds with questions whether the question is analytical, analogical, historiographical, or theological and religious. Today we will do a brief overview of the LDS faith from a theological viewpoint and share differences between Mormons and the mainstream Christian church. Mormons profess to be Christians and say they believe in the Word of God, however, we have found many of their beliefs that contradict mainstream Christianity. Mormons say they are Christians, but we have found they reject foundational truths from God’s Word, let’s unpack a few. But before we do that let’s do a quick overview of the LDS faith. Joseph Smith, who referred to himself as “The Prophet,” founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the mid-1800s. He believed to have seen a vision of God the Father and God the Son, in which they denounced modern Christianity and appointed Smith to reveal and restore “true” Christianity (Articles of Faith, p. 182–185). Three years later, Smith said that the angel Moroni told him about some golden plates on which the Book of Mormon was written. many believed Smith, and a new “religion” was born. Today, the members of the Mormon Church number in the millions. The Book of Mormon is purported to be a new revelation, one that Mormons say is part of the new covenant to Israel and “another witness” to the truth of the Bible (History of the Church 4:461, 8th Article of Faith). Aside from the many theological conflicts with the Bible and historical and archeological facts, the writing of the Book of Mormon was shrouded in mystery and we believe offered false claims. For example, Joseph Smith and his associates asserted that Professor Charles Anthon of Columbia University verified the Egyptian characters on the golden plates. However, this same professor wrote a rebuttal letter soon after, saying that he never did any such thing and had, in fact, found the characters to be a hoax. In addition, many verses in the Mormon scriptures have been changed over the years, as the church leaders attempt to cover up something embarrassing in their past and to defend themselves against criticism). These facts alone are enough to cast much doubt on the veracity of the Book of Mormon. One of the many areas in which Mormons fall short of saving faith is their belief that God is merely an exalted man who earned his position by good works. Mormons also believe that Jesus was a god, but not God Himself. The belief that God is married is unique to Mormonism. This belief is integral to the Mormon belief in eternal marriage as necessary for exaltation in the afterlife. Mormons argue that beliefs such as celestial heaven are what make the Mormon religion superior because it is “doctrinal consolation” about the afterlife. Those who follow the Mormon faith also believe that they can attain heaven through works. With respect to scripture, Mormons differ from traditional Christian groups in that they accept extra books in their canon. In addition to the King James Version of the Bible, they add the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of the revelations given to the Priesthood, namely those given to Joseph Smith. The Pearl of Great Price contains a variety of materials with the most notable inclusions being “The First Vision,” which describes in detail the miracle that is the foundation of Mormonism, and the “Articles of Faith,” which outline the beliefs of Mormonism. Although most statements in the Articles would be acceptable to all traditional Christians, the inclusion of statements such as “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God” are uniquely Mormon. Many traditional Christians view this “as far as it is translated correctly” as bl

Questions about Heaven Answered is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In the Christian tradition, heaven and paradise have been conflated as an answer to the question “where do I go when I die?” The idea of the dead being in heaven or enjoying paradise often bring enormous comfort to the bereaved and hope to those suffering or dying. Heaven is a real place described in the Bible. The word “heaven” is found 276 times in the New Testament alone. The words for heaven or heavens in both Hebrew (shamayim) and Greek (ouranos) can also be translated as the sky. It is not something that exists eternally but rather part of creation. The first line of the Bible states that heaven is created along with the creation of the earth (Genesis 1). It is primarily God’s dwelling place in the biblical tradition: a parallel realm where everything operates according to God’s will. Many people have questions about heaven and today we’re going to answer a few. What is heaven like? Scripture refers to three heavens. The apostle Paul was “caught up to the third heaven,” but he was prohibited from revealing what he experienced there (2 Corinthians 12:1-9). The first is most frequently referred to in the Old Testament as the “sky” or the “firmament.” This is the heaven that contains clouds, the area that birds fly through. The second heaven is interstellar/outer space, which is the abode of the stars, planets, and other celestial objects (Genesis 1:14-18). Heaven is a place of “no more.” There will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4). There will be no more separation because death will be conquered (Revelation 20:6). The best thing about heaven is the presence of our Lord and Savior (1 John 3:2). We will be face to face with the Lamb of God who loved us and sacrificed Himself so that we can enjoy His presence in heaven for eternity. Will there be marriage in heaven? The Bible tells us, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). Evidently, there will be no such thing as marriage in heaven. This does not mean that a husband and wife will no longer know each other in heaven. This also does not mean that a husband and wife could not still have a close relationship in heaven. What it does seem to indicate, though, is that a husband and wife will no longer be married in heaven. Will we be able to see and know our friends and family members in heaven? Many people say that the first thing they want to do when they arrive in heaven sees all their friends and loved ones who have passed on before them. In eternity, there will be plenty of time to see, know, and spend time with our friends and family members. However, that will not be our primary focus in heaven. We will be far more occupied with worshiping God and enjoying the wonders of heaven. Our reunions with loved ones are more likely to be filled with recounting the grace and glory of God in our lives, His wondrous love, and His mighty works. We will rejoice all the more because we can praise and worship the Lord in the company of other believers, especially those we loved on earth. Can People in heaven look down and see us? Some see in Hebrews 12:1 the idea that people in heaven might be able to look down and see us: “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses” The “witnesses” are the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11, and the fact that we are “surrounded” by them leads some commentators to understand those heroes (and possibly other people) are looking down on us from heaven. What will we look like in heaven? In the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, Paul talks about the resurrection and the resurrected body. In verses 35 and following, he states that our heavenly bodies will be different from our natural bodies, with some stark contrasts. Whereas our earthly bodies are characterized by mortality (being susceptible to death), our resurrected bodies will be characterized by immortality (not susceptible to death). Likewise, while our earthly bodies are susceptible to decay (corruption), they will become incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:53). Also, where our natural bodies are prone to weakness, our resurrected bodies will be characterized by strength (verse 43). Will it be possible to sin in heaven? The Bible describes heaven or the eternal state in great detail in Revelation chapters 21–22. Nowhere in those chapters is the possibility of sin mentioned. In fact, we have the promise that, in the eternal state, we will never experience death, sorrow, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4) —the absence of those things is proof positive that sin is also absent since those things are the product of sin (see Romans 6:23) Do we receive mansions in heaven? The night before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples that He would be leaving them and that they could not go with Him (John 13:33). Pete

Hope for the Broken John 8:1-11 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In John 7, we talked about how Jesus went directly into the lion’s den when He went to Jerusalem and was confronted by the people. He told them over and over again that He was sent by the Father to save the world. In vs 16, He said “My teaching isn’t mine, but is from the one who sent me. If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.” No matter how dangerous the situation was, we learned that Jesus always pointed people back to the Father. In our reading today of John 7:53-8:1-11, the story will continue, but before we read these verses let’s give them some context to it. Our reading today will be about the woman that was taken in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus. Read John 7:53-8:1-11 Once again we see Jesus in conflict with the Jewish religious leaders, but this time, they set a trap, hoping to get enough evidence to arrest Him and get Him out of the way. However, as we just read, their plot failed. What we witness in these verses is a contrast between Jesus’s graciousness and the wickedness of the people. The Feast of Tabernacles had ended, but Jesus took advantage of the opportunity to minister to the pilgrims in the temple. During the feast, word had quickly spread that Jesus was not only attending, but also openly teaching in the temple. The scribes and Pharisees most likely knew where He would be and took advantage of this situation to get Him. Was this a scheme, would they really have caught a couple in the act of adultery? The law states in Lev 20:10 that both guilty parties be stoned. The Jewish leaders of course were trying to pin Jesus into a corner with a dilemma. If He said yes, then the woman must be stoned. Then what would happen to His reputation as the friend of publicans and sinners? The common people would no doubt abandon Him and would never accept His gracious message of forgiveness. But, if He said No, then the woman should not be stoned. Then He was openly breaking the law and was subject to arrest. On more than one occasion, the religious leaders tried to create division between Jesus against Moses and now they seemed to have the perfect challenge. Instead of passing judgment on the woman, Jesus passed judgment on the Judges! No doubt He was indignant at the way they treated the woman. He was also concerned that such hypocrites should condemn another person and not judge themselves. We do not know what He wrote on the dirt floor, but we do know it was the finger of God writing it. It was required by Jewish law that the accusers cast the first stones Duet 17:7. Jesus was not asking that sinless men judge the woman, for He was the only sinless person present. If our judges today had to be perfect, judicial benches would be empty. He was referring to the particular sin of the woman, a sin that can be committed in the heart as well as with the body. Convicted by their own consciences, the accusers quietly left the scene, and Jesus was left alone with the woman. He forgave her and warned her to sin no more. We must not misinterpret this event to mean that Jesus was easy on sin or that He contradicted the law. In order for Jesus to forgive this woman meant that He had to one day die for her sins. Forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law so that no one could justly accuse Him of opposing its teachings or weakening its power. By applying the law to the woman and not to themselves, the Jewish leaders were violating both the letter and the spirit of the law, and they thought they were defending Moses. The law was given to reveal sin (Romans 3:20) and we must be condemned by the law before we can be cleansed by God’s grace. Law and grace do not compete with each other, they complement each other. Nobody was ever saved by keeping the law, but nobody was ever saved by grace who was not first indicted by the law. There must be conviction before there can be conversion. Is Christ’s gracious forgiveness an excuse to sin? Jesus made it clear to the women to go and sin no more. We would hope that an experience of gracious forgiveness would motivate a person to live a holy and obedient life to the glory of God.

How Prejudices Makes us Blind to the Truth: John 7:25-52 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In episode 81 we unpacked John 7:1-24 and why the world hated Jesus. The scene showed us that everyone was going up to Israel to celebrate the feast of the tabernacle or also known as “the feast of the booths”. Before they left to attend the festival, Jesus’ own family members mocked Him and His followers. We learned that Jesus attended the festival in the middle of the feast because that was God’s perfect will. We also unpacked about the Jewish People and the religious leaders saying Jesus had a demon. Jesus was different, He did miracles and people did not understand Him. Jesus said, “He did not come to seek His own glory, but that of His father who sent Him.” He told the crowd that everything He is sharing with them is truth and there is no falsehood in Him. Today we will unpack John 7:25-52. The story picks back up with the residents of Israel questioning Jesus, some are beginning to ask, “Could He be the Christ?” Read John 7:25-31 We see here that the residents of Jerusalem are entering the conversations. They knew full well the rulers wanted to kill Jesus and they were amazed that He was teaching openly and getting away with it. In verse 26, they say perhaps the rulers had been convinced He was the Messiah. But why are the Leaders not worshiping Him and why are they not leading others to worship Him? Their question in vs 25 suggested a negative answer and showed their prejudices: They said, No, the rulers do not believe that He is the Christ, do they? They were able to defend their conclusion with logic: 1. Nobody knows where Christ comes from 2. We know where Jesus of Nazareth came from. 3. So then Jesus cannot be the Messiah. Once again the people could not see the truth because they were blinded by what they thought were dependable facts. In vs 28, we see Jesus raising His voice by proclaiming. Jesus is probably speaking in a tone revealing irony. He shared with them that they really do not know Him, because they do not know the Father. This was a serious accusation for Jesus to make against them. The Jews prided themselves in knowing the true God. His statement is also claiming that He was God. He was not simply born into this world like any other human. He was sent to earth by the Father. This means that He existed before He was born on the earth. You can’t claim to be God in a religious system and not be threatened with arrest. Read John 7:32-36 This is certainly a crisis hour in Jesus’ ministry, and the Jewish leaders tried to arrest Him. But His hour has not come. Jesus still had more work to do. Many people, up until this point, have put their faith in Jesus. He had a following, many believed because of His miracles, but eventually, over time we see them openly professing their faith in Christ. It wasn’t time for His arrest and there was nothing they could do about it. In vs 36, Jesus said ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘where I am you cannot come and the religious leaders did not understand that. Within 6 months from this time, Jesus will go back to the father. He was warning them that they only have a little longer to hear the truth, to believe in Him, and be saved. Had these men been willing to do God’s will, they would have known the truth. Read John 7:37-39 and unpack the end of the feast and people being thirsty. The last day of the feast would be the seventh day, a very special day on which the priests would march seven times around the altar, chanting Psalms 118:25 (Save us, we pray o lord, o lord we pray give us success.) This is the last time they draw the water and pour it out on the altar. No doubt just as they were pouring out the water, which was symbolic of the water Moses drew from the rock, Jesus stood there shouting His great invitation to thirsty sinners. Jesus was referring to the experience of Israel recorded in Exodus 17:1-7. That water was but a picture of the Spirit of God. Believers would not only drink the living water, but they would become channels of living water to bless a thirsty world. While there are no specific prophetic Scriptures that indicate rivers of water flowing from the believer, there are a number of verses that parallel this thought. Isa 12:3 With joy you[a] will draw water from the wells of salvation. Isa 32:2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. At the feast, the Jews were reenacting a tradition that could never satisfy the heart. Jesus offered them living water and eternal satisfaction. The result of this declaration and invitation resulted in the people being divided. Read John 7:40-52 In Vs-40-44, they want to know “Is He a good man or a deceiver, Is He the Christ, Is He the promised prophet?” If they had only examined the evidence, they would have discovere

Sex, Suicide, and Politics is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Today we are going to answer some of our listener’s questions about the hard teachings of the Bible. Our main subjects will deal with Sex, Suicide, and Politics.. Without further ado, let’s ask our first question. Subject Sex. 1. Same-sex Love? Romans:1 is a text that speaks about sexual “lust,” not sexual “love.”“love” regarding couples (families). 2. Is oral sex a sin? Actually, the Bible doesn’t specifically address the issue of oral sex. It does differentiate between marriage, heterosexuality, male and female homosexuality, bestiality, and incest, but it really doesn’t get into the specific acts that take place within those relationships. 3. Is Polygamy ok? The Bible doesn’t seem to shame Old Testament patriarchs for having multiple wives. In fact, in Chronicles, it actually seems to have been a blessing for a king to have many wives, probably because it multiplied his descendants. 4. How is a Christian deal with a spouse who has no interest in sex? This is a very complex question with several different possible things to address, thus, we may only make general comments. As most are aware, a husband and wife should not “defraud” one another except by mutual consent. However, your question is not whether this is wrong but rather what should one do about it. One must not jump to conclusions about why this is taking place. Having no interest in sex may be the result of several things happening in a person’s life. There may be emotional struggles with past abuse. There may be a present issue with a relationship with God. There may be a medical impairment that is causing a lack of desire. Subject: Violence, Suicide, and death 5. Can you tell me where in the Bible it says that suicide is a sin and you won’t go to heaven? Actually, the Bible does not teach that people who commit suicide necessarily go to hell. At various times, some people have argued that suicide sends you to hell because you don’t have the opportunity to repent of it. However, failure to repent of a particular sin before you die will not send you to hell. 6. What is the biblical view of capital punishment? The Old Testament seems to allow it for murderers. I don’t seem to find as much in the New Testament except that Romans 13:4 talks of the sword, which is commonly associated with death as an instrument of execution. 7. With everything that is happening in the world, it makes me ask if the world will end soon and even as possible as today. The short answer is: “We don’t know, we can tell you tomorrow.” Though many signs of Christ’s coming may be seen through the redemptive history, Matthew 24:6 states: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” 8. If God loves everyone, why does he destroy evil societies? If he doesn’t love the ones he destroys, what is the line between being loved and not being loved? Does he love those who have been condemned to hell? Is there any sense in which God loves Satan as part of his creation? The Bible indicates that there are various senses in which God loves everyone. He has one type of love for all humanity, another type of love for his covenant people, and another kind of love for the elect. Associated with his love for all humanity is a general love for his creation. But it is important to recognize that this is not all that the Bible says about God’s emotions toward these different groups. Opinion/Thought Answers 9. Politics and Pastors, should they or should they not mix? I’ve noticed pastors that lean one way or another. And in that way, they pull like-minded parishioners in and drive away disagreeing parishioners. Or they’re silent in their political standing, which does keep the peace, sort of speak. 10. In the early years of Jesus, why weren’t they recorded? His childhood, teens, and even his young adulthood. The years Jesus was trying to get his wagon license. That type of stuff. 11. Why are certain books “Bible” worthy or canon, while some are not? What’s wrong with the Book of Enoch or the Testament of Solomon, for example?

Living In A World That Hates Jesus is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Today we will unpack “The Feast of Tabernacles in John 7”. The feast was away the Jews looked back on Israel’s journey through the wilderness and looked forward to the promised kingdom of the Messiah. The Jews lived in booths made of branches to remind them of God’s providential care of the nation for nearly forty years. Tabernacles were festive times for the people, the temple area was illuminated by large candlesticks, that reminded the people of the guiding pillar of fire. Each day the priests would carry water from the pool of Siloam and pour it out from a golden vessel, reminding the Jews of the miraculous provision of water from the rock. The feast was a jubilant time of the year for the people, but it was a difficult time for Jesus, for it marked the beginning of the open persecution of Him and His ministry. Ever since He had healed the paralytic on the Sabbath day, Jesus had been targeted by the Jewish leaders who wanted to kill him. In our reading today we will see Jesus remained in Galilee, where it would be safer for Him, but He did not remain there. He eventually attended the feast. Read John 7:1-10 This is the “before the Feast” disbelief. Mary bore other children, with Joseph as their natural Father, so Jesus would have been their half-brother. It seems incredible that His brothers could have lived with Him all those years and not realized his uniqueness about Him. I’m sure Jesus’ brothers knew about John 6:66 “when many of His disciples deserted Him.” Because of that, they were mocking him when they said “Leave here and go to Judea that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” Basically, they were saying that if you want to have a following you need to take advantage of this opportunity and do something spectacular. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” The world hated Jesus because their minds were blinded by unbelief. This unbelief was prophesied in Psalm 69:8 I have become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien until my mother’s children. Let’s read vs 11-24 and talk about what happened when Jesus finally appeared at the festival. Read John 7:11-24 There are three different groups of people here; the first, of course, is the Jewish Leaders who did temple ministry. The second was the Jewish people, the crowd that came to Jerusalem from outside of the city to worship, and lastly, the crowd of Jews that lived in the city. G. Campbell Morgan said, “When men are wholly, completely consecrated to the will of God and want to do that above everything else, then they find out that Christs teaching is divine, that it is the teaching of God Himself.” Jesus responded to the crowd by using the Law of Moses to refute the enemy’s argument. He knew that they would not give in, why? Because their standard of judgement was not honest. They evaluated things on the basis of superficial examination of the facts. They judged on the basis of how they felt and not what it actually was. So He ended his rebuttal with “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.”

Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood John 6:22-71 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In today’s show, we will be covering John Chapter 6 verses:22-71. We will be picking up where we left off in the discussion that came from Jesus’ miracle of the feeding of the 5k. In grace, Jesus fed the hungry people, but in Truth, meaning He gave them the Word of God. They wanted physical food, but they did not want the Truth. In the end, as we will see today, most of those disciples abandoned Jesus and refused to walk with him. We will see that Jesus lost His crowd with just one sermon. We will call this sermon “the bread of life”. It is actually a dialogue between Christ and the people, especially the religious leaders. The sermon starts outside but eventually ends up in the synagogue, as we will see in vs 59. In verses 22-40 we see the people seeking the Truth, in verses 41-51 the people begin to complain, in verses 52-59 they start to fight and quarrel, and lastly in verses 60-71 they began to walk away from Jesus. Read John 6 verses 22-40 In our last show of John, we ended the show with Jesus walking on the sea in a storm, and in today’s reading; it starts out the very next day, after the storm. The disciples must have been impressed that so many people stayed through the storm in order to seek after Jesus further. But Jesus was not impressed, He knows the human heart. He knew that the people originally followed Him because of His miracles, but now their motive was to get fed. Read verses 41-51 and unpack this further. Jesus, of course, was the legal son of Joseph, but not his natural son, for He was born of a virgin. The leaders identified Jesus with Nazareth, in Galilee, and not from Bethlehem in Judea, and they thought that Joseph was His natural father. Read verses 52-59 and unpack what He means. Jesus comes out and says that you must eat of His flesh to be saved. He knew that the Jews were against eating human flesh or any kind of blood. What we see here, is another example in Johns gospel, of the people misunderstanding a spiritual truth by treating it literally. All Jesus was saying is that, just as you take food and drink within your body and it becomes a part of you, so you must receive Me within your innermost being so that I can give you life. Read verses 60-71 and unpack their rejection of this teaching. The Jewish leaders both misunderstood Jesus’ words and rejected them. They were offended by what He taught. This was too much for them and the result is that many of Jesus’s own disciples turned their back on Him and went back to their old life. A true follower of God will never abandon Jesus. When He asked His twelve if they planned on leaving Him as well, Peter responded and said “Where else could we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter got the message. He knew that Jesus was speaking about the word and not about literal flesh and blood.

Difference Between Catholics and Protestants is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. There are several important differences between Catholics and Protestants. While there have been many attempts in recent years to find common ground between the two groups, the fact is that the differences remain, and they are just as important today as they were at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. One of the first major differences between Catholicism and Protestantism is the issue of the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the source of God’s special revelation to mankind and it teaches us all that is necessary for our salvation from sin. Protestants view the Bible as the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. This belief is commonly referred to as “sola scriptura” and is one of the “five solas” (sola is Latin for “alone”) that came out of the Protestant Reformation as summaries of some of the differences between Catholics and Protestants. The 5 Solas that the Protestants believe are; Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone Sola gratia – Grace alone Sola fide (fee de) – Faith alone Solus Christus – Christ alone Soli Deo gloria – Glory to God alone The doctrine of justification by faith alone is what triggered the reformation. Catholics reject the doctrine of sola scriptura and do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They believe that both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition are equally binding upon the Christian. Many Roman Catholics doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc., have little or no basis in Scripture but are based solely on Roman Catholic traditions. Essentially, the Roman Catholic Church’s denial of sola scriptura and its insistence that both the Bible and tradition are equal in authority undermine the sufficiency, authority, and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many, if not all, of the differences between Catholics and Protestants. Another disagreement between Catholicism and Protestantism is over the office and authority of the Pope. According to Catholicism the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ” (a vicar is a substitute) and represents Jesus as the head of the Church. As such, the Pope has the ability to speak ex cathedra (with authority on matters of faith and practice), making his teachings infallible and binding upon all Christians. On the other hand, Protestants believe that no human being is infallible and that Christ alone is the Head of the Church. Catholics rely on apostolic succession as a way of trying to establish the Pope’s authority. Protestants believe that the church’s authority comes not from apostolic succession but from the Word of God. Spiritual power and authority do not rest in the hands of a mere man but in the very Word of God. While Catholicism teaches that only the Catholic Church can properly interpret the Bible, Protestants believe that the Bible teaches God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell all born-again believers, enabling all believers to understand the message of the Bible. A third major difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is how one is saved. Another of the five solas of the Reformation is sola fide (“faith alone”), which affirms the biblical doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith, alone because of Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8–10). However, Catholics teach that the Christian must rely on faith plus “meritorious works” in order to be saved. Essential to the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation are the Seven Sacraments, which are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. Protestants believe that, on the basis of faith in Christ alone, believers are justified by God, as all their sins are paid for by Christ on the cross and His righteousness is imputed to them. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that Christ’s righteousness is imparted to the believer by “grace through faith,” but in itself is not sufficient to justify the believer. The believer must supplement the righteousness of Christ imparted to him with meritorious works. Catholics and Protestants also disagree on what it means to be justified before God. To the Catholic, justification involves being made righteous and holy. He believes that faith in Christ is only the beginning of salvation and that the individual must build upon that with good works because God’s grace of eternal salvation must be merited. This view of justification contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture in passages such as Romans 4:1–12, Titus 3:3–7, and many others. Protestants distinguish between the one-time act of justification (when we are declared righteous by God based on our faith in Christ’s atonement on the cross) and the process of sanctification (the development of righteousness that continues throughout

How Does A Disciple Trust Jesus John 6:1-21 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In our last show, we finished John 5. We talked about the paralytic at the Bethesda pools and also how Jesus’ persecution from the Jewish leaders had begun. This week we will be unpacking John chapter 6 verses 1-21 and spend most of our time in vs 1-14 where Jesus feeds the 5000. To give this chapter context we must understand that John’s gospel is selective. He does not record events in the life of Jesus that do not help him fulfill his purpose. Between the healing of the paralytic in John 5 and what we will cover today in the feeding of the 5000, you have many events taking place. Some are mentioned in Luke 6 to Luke 9 and Mark 3 to Mark 6. During this period Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount and gave parables of the Kingdom. In our reading today of the miracle feeding of the 5000 we must assume that this miracle was a huge event for all 4 gospels to record. Read John 6:1-14 A great multitude had been following Jesus for several days, listening to His teachings and also witnessing His miracles. Jesus had tried to get away to rest, but the needs of the crowd pressed upon Him. Because of His compassion, he ministered to the multitude in three different ways. We will cover 2 of those ways in today’s show. The first way he ministered to them is in the most obvious way, he fed them. The problem Jesus had to overcome was how was he going to meet their needs with such a vast crowd? His disciples proposed to him 4 different solutions. The first was to have Jesus send them away. But Jesus knew that the hungry people would faint on the way if someone would not feed them and it was evening. The second solution proposed to him came from Philip in response to Jesus’ test question. Vs 5 Raise enough money to buy food for the people. Philip counted the cost and decided they would need the equivalent of 200 days’ wages. And even that would not provide enough bread to satisfy everyone. The third solution came from Andrew, but he was not sure how the problem would be solved. He found a little boy who had a small lunch which contained 2 little fish and 5 barley cakes. Notice once again Andrew bringing someone to Jesus. The fourth solution came from Jesus himself. And it was the truest solution. He took the little boy’s lunch, blessed it, broke it, handed it out to his disciples and they fed the whole crowd. It is significant to notice that John mentioned the fact that Jesus gave thanks twice. Vs 11 and vs 23. Mathew, Mark, and Luke all state that Jesus looked up to heaven and gave thanks. By that very act, He reminded the hungry people that God is the source of all good and needful gifts. Read John 6:15-21 and uncover the second way Jesus ministered to the people, which was by Him leaving the multitude. Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat because He knew they were in danger. The crowd was now aroused and there was a movement to make Him King. Did Jesus know that the storm was coming? Of course, he did. Then why did He deliberately send His friends into danger? Sometimes we are caught in a storm because we have disobeyed the Lord. Jonah is a good example of this, but sometimes the storm comes because we have obeyed the Lord. Jesus was never impressed by the great crowds. He knew that their motives were not pure and that most of them followed Him in order to watch His miracles of healing. We must never be deceived by wanting to be popular. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to: Subscribe to our Newsletter for your FREE T-shirt Today! Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our Youtube Channel The RIOT PODCAST is a listener-supported podcast: Donate Now

Do You Want To Be Healed? John 5:1-18 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Today in our reading of John 5 we start out with the first verse saying an “After This” statement. Whenever we see this statement at the beginning of a verse in the bible, it makes us want to ask out loud, After what? Then we read the previous chapter to give ourselves context to what we will be reading next, just in case we missed something. We will see that the last verse in chapter 4 says, “This was Jesus’ second miracle in Cana”. The first one was when he turned water into wine and then the second one was the healing of the Noblemen’s son. Both miracles were somewhat private in nature. The miracle that Jesus performs in John 5 is not a private event, but a public one, and it was performed on the Sabbath day that incites the religious leaders. We also notice that he left Cana and is now in the City of Jerusalem, for what we would assume is to celebrate a festival. This chapter starts the beginning of the persecutions that Jesus will face for the rest of His ministry. John 5:1-15 is the story of Jesus healing the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda. Did you know that at the St Annes Church of Jerusalem they have a deep excavation there which they claim is the Pool of Bethesda? There are probably listeners today listening to us that have probably been there to see it. The Hebrew name “Bethesda” has been spelled in various ways and has been given different meanings. Some say it means house of mercy, or house of grace but others say it means place of the two outpourings. With that said Archeologists believe that there is enough evidence to suggest this place is real and served the community in ancient times. Read John 5:1-15 The pool is situated near the northeast corner of the Old City, close to the sheep gate that we read about in Neh 3:1. Perhaps John saw some spiritual significance to this location, for he had already told his readers that Jesus was the Lamb of God in 1:29 We believe the main reason Jesus went to this pool was to heal a man and use the miracle as the basis for a message to the people. He had a plan all along and the miracle illustrated what He will say later in Vs 24 “if they hear His word and believe in Him they will have everlasting life.” Vs 3 and 4 in the ESV version that we just read have removed much of what is in other Manuscripts. In NKJV it reads in vs 3 “In these lay, a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, [b]paralyzed, [c]waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.” THE ESV “removed waiting for the moving of the water.” And all of vs 4 “For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.” Modern translators claim that the verse isn’t in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts and that it was a later scribal addition. Thus, they say that they are not removing anything from the Bible. Rather, others added these words in. They were not part of what John originally wrote. The question is, “why would anybody especially a sick man remain in one place for so many years if nothing special was occurring there?” I mean Vs 7 makes no sense without the added scribal add on, when it says “The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another step down before me.” I think it’s wisest for us to accept the fact that something extraordinary kept all those people with disabilities at the pool, hoping for a cure. John described these people as invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. Jesus referencing in vs 14 that it was sin that caused this upon their life. But this is one of the main reasons why he came to earth to right the wrongs, to restore hope. We see this as a prophecy being fulfilled from Isa 35:3-6 says Strengthen the [a]weak hands, And make firm the [b]feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. Had the religious leaders known their own scripture they would have recognized their redeemer, but they were spiritually blind. Another keen insight, Jesus did not heal all of them, he only healed one man. In John 17:6 Jesus said to the Father “I have [c]manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. In another ob

What Kind Of Faith Do We Have? John 4:39-54 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In our last show in the book of John Chapter 4, we unpacked the Samaritan women at the well. We showcased how Jesus was not prejudiced against any person and that He had extreme patience towards everyone. What we began to see and will finish up today, is that Jesus ministers to a variety of people. In the last show, He ministered to the sinful Samaritan women and to his disciples. In this episode, through John 4:39-54 He will minister to the Samaritan people, to a nobleman and his household. The common theme in this Chapter is that each of these people had faith in Jesus. We see John, the writer of this book, fulfilling the purpose of his gospel by showing the readers how various kinds of classes of people came to believe in Jesus as God. To give today’s show context we will start our reading in chapter 4 verse 27 and then unpack verses 39 through 54 further. Read John 4:27-38 As we stated in the last show Jesus’ disciples were shocked that He was talking to a woman let alone a hated Samaritan woman. And as usual, they didn’t understand him when He told them about the food He had that they did not know nor understand. They took it as physical food when in actuality he was talking about the spiritual food, Jesus’ food was to do the will of the Father. Then in vs 36-38, He gives an amazing illustration of reaping and sowing those that are lost and are spiritually blind. It’s interesting that the word “Labored” in vs 38 means “wearied”. Jesus used that word to demonstrate to His disciples that Sowing, Cultivating, and harvesting are difficult tasks, not only in the physical realm but also in the spiritual realm. There is no place in God’s kingdom for lazy people. The work is difficult and because of it, the laborers are few. Now that we have context let’s unpack John 4:39-42. In these verses, we will see Jesus going into Samaria to labor more by sharing God’s truth with hurting people. We will see that many of the Samaritans first believed by the testimony of the Samaritan women, but then many more believed in Jesus himself. Read John 4:39-42 The Samaritans were so excited by what they were witnessing that they begged Jesus to stay with them for 2 days. We see that during that short time His word produced fruit. Because they were Samaritans and stubborn people like the Jews, you would have thought that they would have rejected Jesus, but the opposite was true. In vs 42, they declared Him the savior of the world. They were converted in only 2 days and they already had a missionary vision. In fact, their vision was wider than that of His apostles. (His disciples didn’t understand that until after his resurrection) Let’s continue on in our reading as we will see Jesus go back to Cana where He did his first miracle. It’s here that we will come to meet a nobleman. Read John 4:43-54 The region of Galilee was known as “Galilee of the Gentiles”. This is where Jesus did most of His ministry. He knew that in His own country there was hostility towards him. So He focused his attention on the gentile region. He was a Jew and was born in Bethlehem, but He became more known as the prophet from Galilee. So why did Jesus return to Cana? Perhaps He wanted to see those he encountered at the wedding feast? We know that one of His disciples, Nathanael, aka Bartholomew, came from Cana, so perhaps there was a personal reason for His return. Before Jesus even got to Cana, He was met in Capernaum which is about 20 miles away by a nobleman. The man had heard about Jesus and His ability to perform miracles. He wanted Jesus to heal his dying son. Was this nobleman a Jew or a Gentile? We do not know, nor do we know his position in government. We do know that he was powerful and oversaw others and more than anything else, we do know he was at his wit’s end. He was desperate and in need of the Savior’s help. In John 4:48 Jesus responded to this nobleman by saying “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” This was not a rebuke towards this nobleman, rather it was Jesus lamenting the spiritual condition of the people. He would always say seeing is believing. The nobleman believed that Jesus could heal his son, but he made two mistakes in his thinking: one that Jesus had to go to Capernaum to save his child, and second if the boy is already dead it was too late for Jesus to do anything. The nobleman was in a crisis, he was about to lose his son and he had no other recourse but Jesus. Many people come to Jesus with their crises, and He did not turn them away. The nobleman’s faith went from crisis faith to confident faith, and then moved to confirmed Faith and finally contagious faith.

Prejudice and Patience, John 4:1-30 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In the next 2 podcasts, we will cover John 4. In this chapter, we will see Jesus minister to a number of people, the sinful Samaritan woman, His own disciples, the many Samaritans who trusted in Him, and finally a nobleman and his household. What did all these people have in common? It was their faith in Jesus. What we will see in this chapter is John fulfilling the purpose of his gospel by showing his readers how various kinds of classes of people came to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. This week we will meet the woman at the well, we will discover how her faith began, how it grew, and what it did for her and others around her. We pick up where we left off in our last podcast; the Pharisees were trying to incite competition between Jesus and John the Baptist. So we pick up this week with Jesus leaving the scene and heading north towards Galilee. As we read our passage, keep in mind, he could have taken one of three possible routes; along the coast, across the Jordan then up through Perea, or straight through Samaria. He chose straight through Samaria and then went up. Let’s read and uncover why. Read John 4:1-30 The orthodox Jews avoided Samaria because there was a long-standing, deep-seated hatred between them and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were a mixed race, part Jew and part Gentile that grew out of the Assyrian captivity of the ten northern tribes in 727 BC. The Samaritans were rejected by the Jews because they could not prove their genealogy. The Samaritans needed to established their own temple and religious services on Mount Gerizim. Vs 6 says “Jesus arrived around noon and was weary from His journey.” This was an unusual time for a woman to come to get water; usually, it was in the morning when it was cooler. We see that Jesus deliberately sent his disciples away and waited at the well for her arrival. He knew He was to be about His Father’s business. Let’s unpack Jesus’ interview with this woman, as we go through this, notice how her knowledge of Him increases until she acknowledges that He is the Christ. There are 4 stages to her experience with Jesus. In Vs 7-10 we see her first experience, she immediately sees Jesus as a Jew In that day it was not proper for any man, especially a rabbi, to speak in public to a strange woman. It was especially Taboo for a Jew to touch any vessel that was common to Samaritans. But Jesus set that all aside so He could reach her soul. Let’s read vs 11-15 in her second experience she recognizes that Jesus is greater than Jacob Jesus was speaking about spiritual water, but she interpreted His words as literal water. Again we see how easily people can confuse the material and the spiritual aspects. In Vs 16-24 her third experience takes her to believe that Jesus is a prophet. Notice that at first, she did not want to admit her sin, she wanted to talk about her religion; we tend to deflect from repentance and do the same thing as she did. Finally, in vs 25-30, her experience opens her eyes to see Jesus as Christ the savior of the world. In spite of her ignorance, there was one truth this woman did know. The Messiah was coming and would reveal the secrets of hearts. We don’t know when or how she learned these truths we just know she did. In response, Jesus said, “I that speak to you, I am!” He spoke the holy name of God to her.

Leadership and Contentment: John 3:19-36 is the topic that will be discussing today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast This week we are finishing up John chapter 3 by unpacking verses 19-36. In these verses, we will talk about “Light and Darkness”, how John the Baptist handles disputes, why Jesus is the bridegroom and lastly why Jesus as the “witness of the Father” is important. Vs 19-21 Light and Darkness Light and Darkness is one of the major images John uses in his gospel. We first talked about it in John 1. John answers the question why sinners will not come into the light, it’s because they love darkness! Until John the Baptist was arrested by Herod and put into prison, his ministry overlapped with Jesus’ ministry. In our reading of John 3:22-30 we will see that John did not want anyone to follow him, he reminds people that his ministry is to “point people to the Lamb of God.” But we will also see a division amongst his followers; they get caught up in comparing John’s ministry with Jesus’ ministry. Let’s read and unpack these verses Verses John 3:22-30 Verse 25 says “Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification.” It appears that some of John’s disciples started the argument. It began as doctrinal grounds, the matter of purifying and then it moved on to personal grounds. Who is the Jew? Could it be Nicodemus, we can’t say for sure but it is in context with Him. Purification was important to the Jews, under the OT law they needed to keep themselves ceremonially clean. Without realizing it John’s disciples were putting him into a situation of competing against Jesus. In 3:26 they said all men come to him. How did John the Baptist handle the controversy? He first stated a conviction: He said in vs 27 All ministry and blessing come from God, so that there can be no competition. Paul said this as well in 1 Cor 3:1-9 where he said our gifts and opportunities come from God and He alone must get all the glory. The next thing John did was paint a beautiful illustration. 3:29 He compared Jesus to the bridegroom and himself only to the best man. In essence he was saying once the bridegroom and bride had been brought together, the best man’s work is completed. We never want to upstage the bridegroom; the church is Jesus’ bride. John was content in His ministry, he understood his role. The image of the bridegroom would have been significant to the Jewish people. For Jehovah had a marriage covenant with the nation. We find that in Isa 54:5, Jer 2:2, Ezek 16:8, etc. We also find that God has said His people have been unfaithful to their vows and He has temporarily put her away. John is saying that this is the beginning of a new covenant, his church, the Bridegroom and one day will come back for them. The last verse in 3:30 where John says he must decrease and Jesus must increase, concludes the significance of this word “must” that is used 3 different times in this section. 3:7 the must of the sinner, in 3:14 the must of the Savior and here is 3:30 the must of the servant. The last part of our reading today will be vs 31-36. Here we will see the emphasis on the word witness,(testimony). Keep in mind as we read this that the Greek word translated “witness or testimony” is used 47 times in his gospel. So why would we heed the witness of Christ, lets read and find out. Veres John 3:31-36 Vs 31 tells us that we must heed Christs’ witness because he is from heaven and above all. He was God and He came from heaven, he was above all Gods. No earthly messenger or profit came from above only Jesus, We can trust it and rely on his witness. Vs 32-33 says that He testifies what the father has said first hand, what He says is truth because He has been with the father, we can rely on his witness) In vs 34-35 we see again God gave Jesus the word, He gave him his spirit and he gave him all things. To reject the sons witness would be to rebel against the highest authority in the universe. In vs 36 take notice that this is the only place in any of John’s epistles or his gospel that he uses the word wrath. In revelations he uses it 5 times but not in any of his writings. This verse parallels John 3:18 and makes it clear that there can be no neutrality when it comes to the witness of Jesus. Either we trust Him or we reject Him.

Why We Need To Be Born Twice? John 3:1-18 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Not only was Benjamin Franklin a great statesman and inventor, but he was also a great correspondent and received letters from famous people from all over the world. One day, he received what could well have been the most important letter ever to come across his desk. It was from the well-known British preacher named George Whitefield. He said, “I find that you grow more and more famous in the learned world. As you have made such progress in investigating the mysteries of electricity, I now humbly urge you to give diligent heed to the mystery of the new birth. It is a most important and interesting study and, when mastered, will richly repay you for your pains.” George Whitefield did not want Benjamin Franklin to do all that work and lose his soul. He understood that like all of us, Benjamin Franklin needed to be born again, with new birth. We will discuss this key topic today in our reading of John 3:1-18. In it we will see Jesus as the role of a teacher; He will be teaching a Pharisee named Nicodemus about understanding things of the Spirit. In chapter 2 we talked about Jesus doing many miracles at Passover and we believe this is when Nicodemus most likely became interested in Jesus and His ministry. We will also read today the most famous bible verse ever in John 3:16. We will put context to this verse and Lord is willing to do justice by it. Read John 3:1-7 Birth – Jesus began with that which is familiar, birth being a universal experience, we can all relate to it. In verse 3 the word again also means from above. Though all human beings have experienced natural birth on earth, if they expect to go to heaven, they must experience a supernatural spiritual birth from above. Being a patient teacher, Jesus picked up on Nicodemus’ words and further explained the new birth. To be born of water is to be born physically (enter the second time into his mother’s womb) but to be born again means to be born of the Spirit. Just as there are two parents for physical birth, so there are two parents for spiritual birth. The spirit of God as we see here John 3:5 and the word of God James 1:18. The spirit of God takes the word of God and when the sinner believes imparts the life of God. Another thing to observe here is human birth involves pain and so does the birth from above. Jesus said in Luke 9:23 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Jesus suffered until death on the cross so that we might become members of His family. A child inherits the nature of the parents, and so does the child of God. We become partakes of the divine nature. Our nature determines appetite, which explains why the Christian has an appetite for the things of God 1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Birth involves a future, and we are born again to a living hope? A newborn baby cannot be arrested because he or she has no past! When you are born again into God’s family, your sins are forgiven and forgotten, and your future is bright with a living hope. The key thing to notice in our next verses is Jesus brings up the wind. It must have been blowing at the time and Jesus used it as an illustration. Read John 3:8-13 The word wind in both Hebrew and Greek can also be translated as spirit. One of the symbols of the spirit of God in the bible is the wind or breath. Everyone who is born of the Spirit is like the wind. You cannot fully explain or predict either the wind or the child of God. Like the human birth, it is a mystery, any new birth is exciting and different. Jesus said I have used earthly illustrations and you cannot understand. If I began to share the deep spiritual truths with you, you still would not believe. Read John 3:14-18 The story that Jesus uses here is in Numbers 21:4-9 and we are sure Nicodemus knew this passage well. It is a story of sin, for the nation rebelled against God and they had to be punished. God sent fiery serpents that bit the people so that many died. It is also a story of Grace, for Moses interceded for the people, and God provided a remedy. He told Moses to make a brass serpent and lift it up on a pole for all to see. Any stricken person who looked at the serpent would immediately be healed. Lastly, it is also a story of Faith, when the people looked by faith, they were saved. We have a serpent problem sin, and many will go to hell because of it, but if they look to Jesus they can be saved.

What Is Your Heart Saying? John 2:13-25 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Last we talked about Jesus turning water into wine and how He is still performing miracles every day. We talked about how to see those miracles and what they look like. If you haven’t heard the show, go back and listen, to a great show on miracles, episode 67. Today, we begin our reading with Jesus, His family, His mom, and brothers, leaving Capernaum to go to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Each Jewish man was required by law to attend three annual feasts at the Holy City, the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. We will discuss those along with Jesus overthrowing tables in the Temple and towards the end of our reading, we will see that Jesus has the knowledge of what’s in every man’s heart. But before we get into our text let’s talk about these Feasts: * PASSOVER – The Passover Feast commemorates Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. * PENTECOST – Pentecost is the Greek name for the Festival of Weeks, a prominent feast in the Jewish calendar that celebrated God giving them the 10 Commandments 50 days after the Exodus from Egypt. * TABERNACLE – The Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot (booths) (or Feast of Booths) is a week-long fall festival commemorating the 40-year journey of the Israelites in the wilderness. * DAY OF ATONEMENT – The Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur is the highest holy day of the Jewish calendar. READ JOHN 2:13-17 We see Jesus revealing His zeal for God by cleansing the temple. The priest had established a lucrative business of exchanging foreign money for Jewish currency and also selling the animals needed for the sacrifices. Don’t let money get in the way of sharing God’s truth with others. A fascinating quote from John here, He said that when the disciples saw Jesus’ courageous zeal it made them think of: Psalms 69:9 Psalm 69:4 Psalm 69:8 Psalm 69:21 Psalm 69:22 When Jesus cleansed the temple, He was declaring war on the hypocritical religious leaders and it ultimately led to His death. His zeal for God’s house did eat him up. READ JOHN 2:18-22 It was logical for the religious leaders to ask Jesus to show them a sign of His authority? After all, they were the guardians of the Jewish Faith and they had a right to test any new prophet who appeared. Paul said in 1 Cor 1:22 “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:” Jesus used the image of the temple to convey this truth. Destroy this temple my body and in three days I will raise it up. Being spiritually blind they did not see the spiritual truth and interpreted this in a physical way. READ JOHN 2:23-25 It is safe to assume by this verse that while in Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus was performing many miracles that are not given in detail here. It must have been these signs that attracted Nicodemus in John 3:2 Because of the miracles, many people professed to believe in Him, but Jesus did not accept their profession of faith. Why? The words believed in John 2:23 and commit in John 2:24 are the same Greek word. These people believed in Jesus, but He did not believe in them! They were unsaved believers. It was one thing to respond to a miracle but quite something else to commit oneself to Jesus and continue in His word. It is important to see that Jesus tied His miracles to the truth of His message. He knew the human heart is attracted to the sensational. The 5 thousand who he fed wanted to make Him king until he preached the bread of life sermon and they left him in droves. In grace, Jesus fed the hungry, in truth He taught the word. People want physical food but not spiritual truths. John 4:8 says Except you see signs and wonders and yet you still do not believe. There are many who want His works but few who want His word. Seeing is believing is not the Christian approach. The bible says we first must BELIEVE then we will see. Miracles and signs of wonder we experience in our lives can only lead us to the Word but we have to lay down our lives to receive it. God knows our hearts, he knows the truth about us.

Looking For A Miracle? John 2:1-12 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Today we will begin our study in John chapter 2 and cover versus 1-12. But before we do that let’s recap what we learned in chapter 1. In Episode 63 titled “Light over Darkness,” we learned that Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh and the light to the darkness of the world. In Episodes 64 and 65, We learned that Jesus is both the Lamb of God and Jacob’s Ladder. It’s only by His sacrifice can Jesus save us from eternal damnation while giving us access to heaven. John Chapter 1 covered the first 4 days of Jesus’ ministry and today we will cover the 7th and final day of this new creation week. To set up today’s reading we know that Jesus has now called 6 of His disciples. To witness a miracle was something new for them and today they will see Jesus’ very first one when he turned water into wine. Let’s give our reading today a little more context. * Jewish Tradition required that virgins be married on a Wed, while widows were married on a Thursday. * Being the 7th day of John’s special week, Jesus would expect to rest, just as God rested on the seventh day. * But sin had interrupted God’s sabbath rest and it was necessary for both the Father and Son to work. * We will see more as we unpack the book of John that Jesus deliberately performed miracles on the sabbath day multiple times. Today is the first. Read John 2:1-12 We see Jesus represented in 3 different roles, in vs 1-2 He is “as the Guest”, in vs 3-5 He is “as the Son of Mary” and in vs 6-12 He is “as the Host”. Let us unpack each of them. Jesus as the Guest: We see here Jesus as the opposite of John the Baptist. Jesus is social and open to invitations while John the Baptist was weird and stayed in the desert away from everybody. The key thing to observe is Jesus had normal experiences in life and sanctified them by His presence. We would be wise to invite Jesus to our weddings and events! Jesus as the Son of Mary: Since the Jewish wedding feast lasted a week, it was necessary for the groom to have adequate provisions. For one thing, it would be embarrassing to run out of either food or wine. We would guess that the bride and groom were not rich and were on a limited budget so a miracle was needed to help. But why did Mary approach Jesus about the problem? Did she actually expect Him to do something special to meet the need? Another thing to observe from this reading is Mary did not tell Jesus what to do, she simply reported the problem. Jesus asked here “Why are you getting me involved in this matter?” It seems as if Jesus is making it clear to His mother that He was no longer under her supervision and that from now on He would only be doing what His Father wanted him to do. When John introduces us to the “hour”, where Jesus said my hour has not yet come. We must understand that Jesus lived by a heavenly timetable. Marked out for him by the Father. We see this in John 7:30 “So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” Also in John 8:20, 12:23, 17:1, and so on. As we continue to study John we will observe how this concept of “the hour” is developed. The last thing we want to observe is vs 5 is that Mary’s words to the servants revealed that she was willing to let her Son do whatever He pleased and that she trusted Him to do what was right. It would be wise for us to obey and do whatever Jesus tells us to do. It is worth noting that it was Jesus, not Mary, who took command and solved the problem and that Mary simply pointed to Jesus and not herself. Jesus as the Host: Jesus’ miracle was not a spectacular event that everybody witnessed. Only Mary, his disciples, and the servants knew what happened. This miracle did something for His disciples, it revealed His glory. This event made their foundation and belief in Him stronger. This was the beginning of many more miracles to happen over the course of Jesus’ ministry. If we invite Jesus to our events and social activities we will see His hand at work and we will begin to build up our faith in Him. Jesus did not preach a sermon after this miracle but oftentimes He does. Like the feeding of the 5,000 then the bread of life sermon. What if the Lord did preach a sermon after He turned water into wine, what might have He said? He likely would have told the people that the world’s joy always runs out and cannot be regained but the joy He gives is always new and ever satisfying. In scripture, wine is a symbol of joy. Another sermon that He might have given maybe sound something like this. The world offers the best at first and then, once you are hooked, things start to get worse. But Jesus continues to offer that which is best until we one day enjoy the finest blessings in the eternal kingdom. Jesus’ miracle presents a practical lesson in service for God. The water turned into w

Secrets To Staying Married When Things Are Difficult is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Getting married is a lot like starting a new career, or anything else that has a major change in our life. It’s relatively easy, to begin with, but it is almost a guarantee to be a challenge to stay with it for the long term if it’s neglected. And the worst catastrophe would be that you stop trying. In today’s show, we want to share with you some of the most important applications that can lead to a successful Marriage. This show is for both the married and unmarried alike. We will give practical tools that if practiced will help your current marriage or future marriage move forward in the right direction. We believe that these key points we are going to share will help your relationship move forward in a positive direction. THINGS WE CAN DO IN OUR MARRIAGE: 1. ADMIT YOU ARE POWERLESS OVER YOUR SPOUSE The first step to helping your marriage when things are hard is admitting you cannot manage your spouse or marital struggles on your own. This means you must come to the point where you recognize the ineffectiveness of your attempts to change your and your spouse’s faults and character defects. 2. PRAY FOR YOUR SPOUSE Begin to pray every day for your spouse. Believe in God for a miracle in your marriage. Psalm 77:14 says, “You are the God who performs miracles.” The Bible makes it clear that God wants people to stay married. We need to expect God to supernaturally intervene in our circumstances. Unbelief and fear paralyze us and cause us to believe our problems are too big for God. We need to believe that God can still move mountains. Jesus said, “According to your faith will it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29). James 5:16 teaches us that “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results” Do you want to exert great power upon your spouse’s heart and mind? If so, then pray for your spouse. Keep asking God to work in your spouse and to touch your spouse’s heart, to soften the hardness, and to break Satan’s blinding power in his or her life and also in your own life to open your eyes to those same things. Pray, and “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Never give up! Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see immediate results. Remember, God works according to His timing and not ours and in His ways and not ours. You must simply do your part and leave the rest to Him. 3. ADJUST YOUR EXPECTATIONS Most marriages encounter problems and conflicts sooner or later. Some marital problems and conflicts can be anticipated and avoided. Others cannot be foreseen and must be dealt with and resolved as they come. This takes the effort of both partners. Marital problems are complex and there are no easy answers or quick solutions for most of them. If they have been occurring over a long period of time, the relationship may be at a point of crisis. A marriage in crisis is very painful to go through, but that does not mean the relationship should be ended. Relationship struggles often reveal that there are some things we have not understood about our partner and vice versa. These things often reflect a stockpile of unmet needs or hurts that have occurred. They may even indicate areas of neglect, misunderstanding, and differences. In unhappy relationships, the root cause of unhappiness is a lack of unconditional love and acceptance. Controlling, demanding and unrealistic expectations are just symptoms of that cause. When we STOP seeing marriage as an obligation for our partner to fill our expectations and instead see it as an OPPORTUNITY to learn to truly accept our spouse for who he or she is, we take a major step in seeing our marriages become happy and fulfilling. Does acceptance mean that you consider the other person to be perfect? Of course not. It does not mean that you think their personality is without flaws or that everything they do is perfectly okay with you. It does not mean that you don’t want them to be better. Nobody is perfect, and people will always have qualities we don’t like, characteristics we find annoying, and behavior that we wish they’d stop. Acceptance is not the same as agreement. Acceptance means that you recognize their essential worth as Christ sees them, and consider them to be deserving of your esteem, and your love, despite their imperfections. Needless to say, certain things are unacceptable. There are non-negotiable standards. Physical abuse is one of them. Repeated infidelity, alcoholism, and drug addiction are also to be unacceptable. Accepting behavior that crosses the line does not promote a healthy relationship, nor is it a mark of wisdom. 4. RESIST THE ENEMY The source of all marital problems can be traced back to the Garden of Eden with creation’s first married couple. Satan seeks to mess with our minds, cause us to doubt God’s power, and distract us from following Christ. This is Satan’s disguise. He seek

Lamb of God is Jacob’s Ladder John 1:29-51 (Part 2) is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. As we learned two podcasts ago, John records in his first chapter of John, the 7 names and titles Jesus identifies with as the Eternal God. We first studied in verses 1-3 that Jesus is the “Word of God”, in vs 14 that He is “God in the flesh”, in verses 4-13 we learned “He is the Light of the world” and in verses 15-28 that He is “the Son of God”. In our reading today of John 1:29 through 51, we will see Jesus as “the Lamb of God” in vs 29-34, “The Messiah” in vs 35-42, the “King of Israel” vs 43-49, and lastly “the Son of Man” in vs 50-51. Let’s look deeper into the calling of Philip and Nathaniel as well as seeing Jesus as the King of Israel. Read verses 43-51 The true heart of a follower of Christ is that we tell our friends about Jesus. The illustration painted here of Philip and Nathanial is how it’s done. We simply get them to Jesus and then Jesus takes over from there. Let’s break down these verses a little further. In John 21:2 we see that at least 7 of the Lord’s disciples were fishermen, including Nathaniel. We see here that Nathaniel started out as a doubter; he did not believe that anything worthwhile could come out of Nazareth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but He grew up in Nazareth, which meant He was to be looked down on and rejected. Jesus has humble beginnings and He humbled himself completely and lived in a no-name place. People can’t grasp why or how Jesus can help, they doubt) Nazareth was an uncelebrated, forgotten town, off the beaten path, even for Galilee. Nazareth’s reputation was poor enough, but outside Israel, the town wasn’t even known. This is why each of the Gospel writers had to explain what Nazareth was — a town in Galilee — when they first mentioned it (Matthew 2:23; Mark 1:9; Luke 1:26). Some students believe that Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same people. John never mentions Bartholomew in his gospel. But the other three writers name Bartholomew and not Nathanael. Philip is linked with Bartholomew in the list of names in Math 10:3, Mark 3:18, and Luke 6:14 so it is possible that the two men were paired off and served together. It was not unusual on that day for one man to have different names. When Nathaniel came to Jesus, he discovered that Jesus already knew all about him! In verse 47 he said he was an Israelite in whom there was no deceit. Jesus was referencing Jacob, a man who used deceit to trick his brother, his father, and his father-in-law. God later changed his name to Israel. The reference to Jacobs ladder in 1:51 confirms this. In verse 48, Nathaniel asked him, “how do you know me?” Then Jesus answered him and said he saw him under the fig tree. (I am thinking what Nathaniel was thinking under the fig tree must have prepared him to receive the call of Jesus) Maybe verse 49 where he says King of Israel was what he was meditating on. When Nathaniel said “King of Israel” he was using the title similar to the “Messiah, anointed one.” Let’s finish this section of scripture by reading verses 50-51. We will see Jesus giving him the title of “Son of man”; this was one of our Lord’s favorite titles to give himself. In fact, it is used 83 times in the gospels. The title speaks of both the deity and the humanity of Jesus. In Daniel 7:13 we see the term “Son of man” used in a definite messianic setting and Jesus is using the title here in the same way. As the Son of Man, Jesus is the living link between heaven and earth. This explains why Jesus is using Jacob’s latter reference in Gen 28 here in verse 51. Jesus said in John 14:6 “no one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no mistake that John is saying that Jesus is the messiah that was on earth in the flesh come to save the world from their sin.

Lamb of God is Jacob’s Ladder John 1:29-51 (Part 1) is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. As we learned two podcasts ago, John records in his first chapter of John, the 7 names and titles Jesus identifies with as the Eternal God. We first studied in verses 1-3 that Jesus is the “Word of God”, in vs 14 that He is “God in the flesh”, in verses 4-13 we learned “He is the Light of the world” and in verses 15-28 that He is “the Son of God”. In our reading today of John 1:29 through 51, we will see Jesus as “the Lamb of God” in vs 29-34, “The Messiah” in vs 35-42, the “King of Israel” vs 43-49, and lastly “the Son of Man” in vs 50-51. Read John 1:29-34 and break down Jesus as the Lamb of God. In one sense, what we see in the bible, the message of the old testament is “Where is the Lamb”? Gen 22:7 & 8 says “And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” And in the New Testament, it can be summed, Behold the Lamb of God! John 1:35-36 “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The lambs that Israel sacrificed could not take away their sin once and for all, but God’s lamb, not only took away their sins but also the sins of the whole world. John the Baptist understood that baptism for Jesus was in reference to the death, burial, and resurrection that He would endure on the cross as the sacrificial lamb. He most likely knew Isaiah 53:7 that says He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers are silent, so he opened not his mouth. John now turns his attention to Jesus’ first disciples. We see in verses 35-42 John, the writer of this gospel, as one of His first disciples along with Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. Read verses 35-42 In verse 38 Jesus asks them, What do you seek? Here Jesus is forcing them to define their purposes and goals. Were they looking for a revolutionary leader to overthrow Rome? They did not answer him, but Jesus knew their heart and asked them to join Him with a come and see. What does come and see mean to us? Verse 41 says we have found the Messiah. The word “Messiah” in Hebrew means, “the anointed” and the Greek word means “the Christ”. To the Jews, they understood this statement to be “the Son of God”. Kings were called “God’s anointed” in 1 Sam 26:11, so when the Jews spoke about their Messiah, they were thinking of the king who would come to deliver them and establish the kingdom. Verse 43 says Jesus gave Simon a new name Cephas, which in Aramaic means “the Rock”. It took a great deal for Jesus to transform weak Simon into a Rock, but He did it. This is a great encouragement to all who trust in Christ. It is worth noting that both Andrew and John trusted Christ through the faithful preaching of John the Baptist. Peter and James came to Christ because of the personal work of their brothers. Later on, we will see Jesus personally invites Philip to follow him, but Philip invited Nathaniel. The Bottom line is that we must invite others to follow Jesus.

Why The Nativity? is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. As the moonlit the treetops and the evening breeze cooled her skin, Mary rested quietly, renewing her strength. She gazed in wonder at the tiny, living gift in her arms. Any child, of course, is a miracle from heaven—a firstborn in particular. Even so, Mary understood that the child she held was set apart from any other child ever born. Yet the question was, Why? Today, we want to share excerpts from Dr. Jeremiah’s Book “Why the Nativity” and explore the birth of Christ and some of those why questions Mary may have had way back when. The words of angels are not likely to be forgotten. They are memorized, cherished, inscribed upon the heart, and shared only with the most intimate friends. Mary and Joseph each had their visit from an angel, and each held their piece of the puzzle. Mary had been told who the baby was, while Joseph had been told what he would do. As the child increased in wisdom and in stature, can we doubt that his parents shared the angels’ words over and over? You are the Son of God. You will save your people from their sins. It’s not surprising that in Luke 2:49 Jesus spoke of his mission. His very first recorded words were to tell his parents they should have expected him to be involved in his Father’s business. Luke tells us that his parents didn’t understand his words. What was his Father’s business? Who was this young boy with a twelve-year-old body and ageless wisdom? We can imagine the whispered conversations between Mary and Joseph late at night. Why did Jesus come to earth? And when the time arrived—as inevitably it must—where would he go? What would he do? Would the world finally understand the incredible secret held only between heaven and one small family? When the day of fulfillment came, some three decades after his birth, Jesus had been given many years to wrestle with the identity told to Mary and the mission told to Joseph. We can imagine that he spoke often with those two. He discoursed with the local teachers. He pored over the words of the prophets until they were part of his very being. I am the one Isaiah described so long ago (see Isaiah 53). There must have been moments when he mourned the loss of the simple life, the common life—the life of marriage and children and grandchildren—that he knew he must not choose. But his heart was true. When he knew the time was right, he journeyed deep into the wilderness alone, denying himself food and water. There, in solitude, identity and mission came together for him. There Jesus himself confronted the temptations of the devil, and he mastered them. WHY DID JESUS COME AS A BABY? MARY MAY HAVE ASKED We find that Jesus was constantly answering that great question—why had he come? On thirteen occasions in the short Gospel records, he used the phrase, “I have come.” I have come to call . . . sinners. (Matthew 9:13) I have come . . . in my Father’s name. (John 5:43) I have come . . . to do the will of God. (John 6:38) I come from him, and he sent me to you. (John 7:29) I have come as a light to shine in this dark world. (John 12:46) Perhaps his most moving purpose statement came on the day when he encountered a strange little man named Zacchaeus. The latter was a man of wealth and distinction. Yet when Jesus passed through town, the little man ran ahead of the crowd and climbed into the branches of a tree. His lack of dignity was appalling, but people tended to avert their eyes from Zacchaeus anyway. After all, he had made his fortune by tapping into the corruption of Roman taxation. Conventional wisdom said that a noble teacher of godly truth should ignore such a public parasite. But imagine—Jesus called the little man by name, then suggested the two should share a meal at the tax collector’s home. In the eyes of the crowd, it was a serious misstep for Jesus, and they made their opinions known. Jesus said, “I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost” (see Luke 19:10) To seek and to save the lost. There is music and majesty in that statement. One focus: the lost. Two actions: seek and save. The ambassador’s urgent business, then, is a rescue mission. ANOTHER MARY QUESTION COULD HAVE BEEN, “WHY DID HE BECOME A MAN?” To seek and to save. We think of pictures of sailors clinging to the wreckage of a ship. Helicopters hover in the night sky, shining their beacons on the sea in search of the living who must be saved. We think of a collapsed mine, where workers are trapped far beneath the earth. Their oxygen runs low, and the men crouch in darkness, wondering if they dare hope for salvation. We think of a little girl at the bottom of a well, or even the favorite word picture of a single stray sheep trapped on a perilous outcropping. One animal in a flock of hundreds, and who would miss it? The shepherd would. He will leave the many to find the one, at any cost. The coast guard will find those three o

How To Live With Purpose Like Jesus is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. In Luke 1:35, Mary understood that the child she held was set apart from any other child that had been born. She knew what the angel had told her and what was confirmed in her heart was true. “Here at my breast is the Son of God.” Those were the very words, the very designation, the angel had given: Son of God. The primary reason Jesus came to earth was to perform a rescue mission. Jesus not only came to rescue us from our sins so that we can have eternal life, but He also came to help establish a firm foundation for how we are supposed to live with purpose in our daily lives. Today, we are going to discuss 5 key focal points Jesus put all of His attention on while living on this earth. 1. Jesus focused on Equipping and Discipling Believers From the beginning, Jesus told the disciples that He would make them into something different: “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Their occupation of catching fish changed into a mission of fishing for people. Each step along the way, Jesus taught them to share with others, connect people to God, and minister to those who were in need. 2. Jesus focused on Assisting the Poor Jesus cared deeply about the poor and the downtrodden, demonstrating his compassion in tangible ways: in Matthew 25 when Jesus describes the actions of those welcomed into his Father’s kingdom: He said “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40). 3. Jesus focused on healing to the sick As with look at the healings of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the four gospels, we also discover that Jesus used a number of different ways to heal the infirmed. The first way we see is Jesus spoke a word and they were healed: Jesus told him, “You may go. Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” Right away the man could see, and he went down the road with Jesus (Mark 10:52 CEV). The second thing we find is Jesus touched people to heal them: He took her by the hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and served Jesus a meal Matthew 8:15. Another thing that happened with Jesus is that people touched Jesus’ garment and were healed: And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed Matthew 14:35-36. 4. Jesus focused on reaching the next generation In the first century, children had little to no rights. Often seen as a nuisance, they were tolerated but not welcome. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus spoke out against those who pushed children to the sidelines while drawing them near to Himself. In Mark 10:13-14, It says And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God.” In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus actually took a child in his arms, commissioning others to welcome children in a similar way. In Mark 9:35-37, He sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said, “Whoever receives such a child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” 5. Jesus focused on Planting and Building Churches Virtually all the great evangelistic challenges of the New Testament are basically calls to plant churches, not simply to share the faith. The ‘Great Commission (Matt.28: 18-20) is not just a call to ‘make disciples but to ‘baptize’. In Acts and elsewhere, it is clear that baptism means incorporation into a worshipping community with accountability and boundaries (cf. Acts 2:41-47). The only way to be truly sure you are increasing the number of Christians in a town is to increase the number of churches.

Professional Bowler Shannon O’Keefe; Overcoming Spiritual Adversity is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Oswald Chambers once said, “Spiritual maturity is going from being thin-skinned and hard-hearted to thick-skinned and tendered-hearted.” Oswald is basically saying we either are getting angry quickly and becoming bitter or were letting things go and becoming loving. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. The question we want to tackle today is: How do we become tender-hearted? In the words of the song in Frozen we “let it go, let it go!!”. We are able to become tender-hearted when we learn to surrender our will and let it go to allow God’s will to take over during times of Adversity. True success is never achieved without overcoming adversity, whether it is physically, mentally, or spiritually. If we achieve success with only our physical and mental beings and not our spiritual ones, then we can never become tender-hearted. It’s only by achieving success spiritually that we can become tender-hearted and achieve the greatest success of all. The bi-product of our spiritual success is that we can now overcome our physical and mental adversity with joy. When adversity comes, we are forced to face problems and pressures that are too big for us to resolve. It’s often in this manner that God gets our attention. Adversity reminds us that God is present and we are accountable to Him for our every thought, word, and action. God’s Word reveals that the fear of the Lord is the key to life, wisdom, and lasting achievement. The pain of adversity helps us recognize the deception of sin. Our hatred of evil will increase when we realize how sin keeps us from living in a way that honors God and how it damages the lives of those we love. Learning to let go and let God in our greatest battles of life allows us to become content and thrive in our moments.

Attitude of Gratitude & Listener’s Questions Answered are the topics that will be discussing today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast Tony Evans- “God says to give thanks in everything. That doesn’t mean you need to give thanks FOR everything. You don’t need to give thanks FOR that bad day. Or FOR that bad relationship. Or being passed over at work. Financial hardship. Whatever it is – you are not to give thanks FOR the difficulties, but rather IN the difficulties. That is a very important distinction, and one I think we often miss. Giving thanks IN everything shows a heart of faith that God is bigger than the difficulties and that He can use them, if you approach Him with the right heart and spirit, for your good and His glory.” Being thankful for Him working through our life difficulties allows us to walk in freedom and thankfulness to him. Knowing that we are not going through our struggles alone, because He is with us, growing us and bringing purpose to the pain. Jesus sets us free from the pain and gives us rest, and knowing that allows us to be thankful for the process. But before we talk more on Thanksgiving lets be thankful that we have listeners that have some hard questions that we can try and answer. First Question From Neena: “According to Rick Warren, we were all born for a purpose, exactly the way we were supposed to be born- what about those children who were born severely deformed and/or handicapped or missing a part of their brain and that sort of thing -is that really the way God wanted them to be born? I know God can take a bad thing make some good come out of it, but was that really his plan with them to be born like that? Or would you say it’s just because we live in a fallen world things have become corrupted, even our genetics. • Truth of the matter is we are all broken and disabled in some way. • Sin brought with it sickness, imperfection, and disease Romans 5:12) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned • One reason God allows people to be disabled or handicapped is that such conditions are the natural result of mankind’s rebellion against God. This is not to say that every disability is the direct result of personal sin but, generally speaking, the existence of handicaps and disabilities can be traced back to the existence of sin. • Another basic reason that God allows some people to be disabled or handicapped is that God will glorify Himself through it. • Another reason why God allows disabilities or handicaps is that we must learn to trust in Him rather than in ourselves. • Another reason why God allows some to be disabled or handicapped is that, in His overarching plan, He has chosen the weak things of this world for a special purpose: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. That same question applies to gay people who from the very beginning even when they were little children had those tendencies and as they grew, were NEVER attracted to the opposite sex… were they really supposed to be born that way – it was the plan??” Second question from Lino Jesus wasn’t accepted by his own people as Messiah. Why if they rejected him, do they no longer sacrifice animals like in the Old Testament, today, for the forgiveness of their sins? • Because there was no longer a Temple, the only place allowed by halakha for sacrifices. Temple at Jerusalem, was destroyed in 70 AD The foundation of a religion based on centralized worship and sacrifice in the Temple had been obliterated. • The rules for sacrifices in Judaism are very ancient, and set forth primarily in the book of Leviticus. The first seven chapters, in fact, are almost an instruction manual for how to do each of the sacrifices. • So today the Jews have made Prayer replaced sacrifice, and the local synagogue replaced the centralized Temple. • We believe as Christians that the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ permanently abolished animal sacrifice, primarily based on the teaching in the Epistle to the Hebrews that Jesus was the “Lamb of God” to whom all ancient sacrifices pointed. • Traditional Muslims do still offer sacrifice. The Feast of Sacrifice (Idu-l-adha) comes two months and ten days after the end of Ramadan. The ritual sacrifice is usually a sheep or goat, although a cow or camel is possible. The meat is eaten at the feast. There are a number of complex rules about the procedure. The celebration is in honor of Abraham, spiritual father of Muslims (and Jews and Christians, by the way) who was willing to submit (islam) to God’s will and was ready to sacrifice his son. There was a recent time that I had a coworker who I didn’t get along with. For reasons I never learned nor will learn, because I don’t work there anymore, she was always a very mean and unpleasant coworker, and someo

Why What We Say Is Important is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. The power of speech is a gift from God and it must be used the way God ordains. In the book of James chapter 3, the tongue is compared to a bridle and rudder, a fire and a poisonous animal, and to a fruitful tree and a fountain. These three pairs of pictures teach us that the tongue has the power to direct, the power to destroy, and the power to delight. The tongue is but a little member of our bodies, but it can accomplish great things for good or for evil. In our reading today Paul is going to point out three important ministries of speech we as Christians all have. Colossians 4:2-6 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. THE FIRST MAIN AREA OF SPEECH WE SEE IS WE MUST BE ALWAYS PRAYING Prayer and worship are perhaps the highest uses of the gift of speech. Paul was not ashamed to ask his friends to pray for him. Even though he was an apostle, he needed prayer support for himself and his ministry. In these few words, Paul described 4 characteristics of a satisfying prayer life. Prayer is Faithful Prayer is Watchful Prayer should be Thankful Prayer should be Purposeful Warren Wiersbe: “It has been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man’s will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done on earth. Prayer is not telling God what to do or what to give. Prayer is asking God for that which He wants to do and give, according to His will. Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, it is laying hold of His willingness. THE NEXT AREA OF SPEECH IS WE CAN PROCLAIM GODS WORD Colossians 3b-4 that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Paul did not ask for the prison doors to be opened, but that doors of ministry might be opened. The proclamation of the gospel is empowered by prayer. The spirit of God uses the Word of God as we come to the throne of grace and ask God for His blessing. We must never separate the Word of God from prayer because God has joined them together. THE LAST AREA OF SPEECH IS WE CAN BE WITNESSING TO THE LOST Colossians 4: 5-6 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. When Paul says to walk in wisdom towards outsiders he is talking about people not of the faith. Jesus spoke with Grace on his lips, Luke 4:22 says “And all wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.” Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and is justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Natural Discipleship, Multiplication Made Easy is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast Steve Harris said “There is a great need for Christian ministry resources that will equip followers of Christ to share their faith and make disciples in a natural, relational, conversational and personal way. The most effective kind of evangelism and discipleship is personal.” It says in Proverbs 20:5 The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. The best way to draw out a person’s heart is by asking good questions. There is a great need for Christian ministry resources that are not just presentations, but guided conversations, allowing the participant to share their values and life experiences as the discussions unfold. There is a need to find an approach that facilitates the opportunity to share your story, my story, and His story. We need to have a way to share face to face over a cup of coffee, at a restaurant during lunch hour, or a zoom call. And today, we get to talk about one of those ways with Natural Discipleship. There are 9 steps in using Natural Discipleship. Let’s discuss what discipling someone looks like. Step 1: Spiritual Preparation Step 2: Investing in Relationships Step 3: Praying for my friends Step 4: Initiating Spiritual Conversation Step 5: Sharing my story Step 6: Sharing his story Step 7: Deeper Study of the gospel Step 8: Initial Studies for new believers Step 9: Inductive Bible Study Method Mathew 4:19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” * Follow is Relational * Make is transformational * Fisher is missional A disciple is someone who is following Christ, who is being changed by Christ and who is committed to the mission of Christ. Great Commission in context: Mathew 28:16-20 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age Lose your life for Jesus: Luke 9:23-24And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Love one another: John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Receive Power and be witness everywhere: Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Discipleship ​​Made Simple * Grow Spiritually * Share Your Faith * Coach Others If you are interested in being disciplined or want to start the process of discipling others please DM us or reach out to us in the comments below.

What Does a Healthy Family Look Like Col 3 18-21 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast I think it’s safe to say that there is something wrong in many homes today. There are many statistics out there but in America, there are more broken homes today than ever before. Single-parent families are on the increase. Over half of all mothers are now forced to work and not be able to spend as much time with their kids as needed. The average American child from 6 to 16 watches about 30 to 40 hours of TV/Videos each week and is greatly influenced by what they see. The first institution God founded on earth was the home in Gen 2:18-25. The saying goes “As the home goes, so goes the society and the nation”. Centuries ago Confucius said, “The strength of a nation is derived from the integrity of its homes”. One of the greatest things we can do as individuals is to help build godly Christian homes. Today in our Reading we will see Paul address the various members of the family as well as point out the factors that make for a strong and Godly home. Colossians 3:18-21 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. 20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged. ● THE First way we can help build healthy homes is for Husbands to lead their family spiritually and wives do what is necessary to help them lead and balance them out. 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. Paul did not address the wives first because they were the neediest. The gospel radically changed the position of women in the Roman World. It gave them new freedom and stature that some of them were unable to handle, and for this reason, Paul admonished them. Scripture references: Eph 5:22-33, 1 Peter 3:1 The word submission. This word is not referencing slavery or subjugation. The word comes from the military vocabulary and simply means to arrange under rank. It only means they have different ranks. 1 Cor 14:40 “But be sure that everything is done properly and in order” God is a God of order. If he did not have a chain of command in society, we would have chaos. This does not mean man is better than woman, it only means that the man has the responsibility of headship and leadership in the home. Headship is not a dictatorship; It is supposed to be a loving leadership. All leadership should be submitted first to the Lord. True spiritual submission is the secret of growth and fulfillment in a couple’s life. There should be no selfish independence in marriage. No separate bank accounts. Verse 19 it says “for the Husbands to love His wife”. That word there is agape love. That is the sacrificing serving love that Christ shares with the church. Eph 5:18 Husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the church. Eph 4:15 speak truth in love, Eph 4:26 let not the sun go down upon your wrath. ● Next way to have a healthy family is for Parents and children to function properly 20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged Not just parents but their elders as well. Children do not create problems, they reveal them. Parents that cannot discipline themselves cannot discipline their children. Mothers and Fathers must be under authority in order for children to be as well. If Mom and Dad complain about govt, police, other people and have a rebellious heart, how do they expect their kids to act. Parents need to listen to their kids and hear what they might be going through. Show them compassion. Discouraged children are fair prey for Satan and the world. When a child does not get enough encouragement at home, he will seek it elsewhere. Never compare your children with each other.

Should Christians watch Horror Movies? is the discussion that will be having today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. The question asked by many Christians at Halloween time is should they participate in Halloween activities? Many Christians have understood the origins of Halloween hence it creates this great debate. Many followers of Christ have tried to help in this debate by creating Harvest events and other alternative activities during this time of the year. Although we would love to join in this debate we feel in today’s show that we are going to shift our attention more so to all the horror movies that come out during this time of year. The questions we want to answer are, “Is it okay for Christians to watch horror movies? Are horror movies just harmless entertainment? Could we be unknowingly supporting the dark influence of Satan every time we watch scary films?” We feel Christians should not engage in doing so. We’re going to bring up 7 arguments in why we feel this way. 1. The First Argument is that we feel Horror movies glorify Satan It seems that today’s horror movies are becoming more scary, violent, and gruesome than ever. You will most likely see in each horror movie a significant amount of carnage, mayhem, scream, and bloodshed. The question we ask is; “Does watching a movie like that glorify God?” The fact is it only glorifies all things that belong to Satan – violence, death, fear, and suffering. The truth of the matter is all horror movies share the same theme: they all dwell on the dark side. 1 Cor 20-21 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 2. Watching horror movies gives Satan a foothold We read in Ephesians 4:26-27: “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. The truth is as we watch horror movies, yes, we are entertaining the thoughts and ideas of Satan, and it gives him a foothold in our life. Satan is crafty. He will take advantage of the smallest weakness that we have. If we are negligent of the small sins in our lives, we will eventually reap bigger and deadlier consequences in the future. 3. Watching horror movies supports the work of Satan. Could something as “simple” as watching horror movies support the work of Satan? John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Here is another thought; The ticket you bought and the money you gave will go to the producers of horror movies. In turn, the money we gave them will only enable them to further create other films that do not just glorify Satan, but also destroy our God-given mind. 4. Watching horror movies fill our mind with negative and ungodly images We read in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS” Are horror movies true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise? If we are to be honest, the answer is a resounding NO! The truth is, 90 percent of the things that enter our minds through our eyes will be retained, and they will be in our brain for an extended period of time. If we are to fill our minds with the mind of God, then horror movies should never be there in the first place! We need to remember what King David wrote in Psalms 101:3-4.“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I WILL KNOW NOTHING OF EVIL.” 5. Horror movies often feature sexual immorality In addition to diabolical and satanic scenes we find in horror movies, we also see nudity and sexual immorality. That’s how most movie producers attract viewers. Sex sells, and it definitely makes their films more attractive to people. As Christians, we are called to abstain from sexual immorality. In Ephesians 5:3: “But among you there must NOT be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” We are not just to walk away from sexual temptations, but we are commanded to FLEE! If you want to stay away from movies that may trigger your struggle with sexual temptations, then it would seem prudent to we avoid scary films. 6. We are a light of the world Matthew 5:14-16 “YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are

Random Ramblings You Need to Hear is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast In today’s episode of Random Ramblings you need to hear, Bob, Barry, and Pete will be getting personal and answering some personal questions. During today’s lighthearted conversation there’s a lot of laughs and great insight. Enjoy! * Movies you have seen at least 10 times and why? * Top 3 books you recommend and why? * What book in the bible speaks to you most and why? * What Bible verse do you use most in your life? * Best restaurant you ate at. * Biggest ministry blunder. * Who most influenced your life? * Biggest crush as a kid, not your wife. * Greatest life lesson. * If you were to give one piece of advice what would you say to someone

Motivations to Living Your Best Life Now is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast In today’s reading, we see Paul completing his exhortation to the Christian to live a Holy Life. He uses the illustration again of garments to put off and to put on. In episode 46 “How to Break Free from your Past” we covered what Paul told his readers to put off, he called them the grave clothes of sin, the old life. In today’s reading Paul is sharing with his readers what to put on in order to have a new life in Christ. Today we will unpack 4 motives to be encouraged by that will help us walk in the promise of new life. Read Colossians 3:12-17 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. First Motivation Paul gives us, is the grace we have in Christ. Vs 12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Without being chosen by God first we would never have been given the opportunity to be forgiven by God. Paul is telling the Colossae church they were chosen and forgiven and that is God’s unmerited Grace. You were given this opportunity because God loves you and it has nothing to do with your efforts. Paul is saying because of what Christ did we should be motivated to live a holy, compassionate, kind life. Let’s break down “God chose them”. The word chosen by God means the elect, to be set apart. This same meaning was given to the Israelites In Deut 7:7-8 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Next motivation Paul gives us is we’re motivated by the Peace we have in Christ 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. In this verse, Paul turned from Character to conduct. How can a Christian know when he is doing God’s will? One answer we know from this verse is he will have the peace of God in his heart. When a believer loses his inner peace, he knows that he has in some way disobeyed God’s perfect will for them. Next thing that should motivate us is God’s word that magnifies Jesus VS 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Last motivation Paul gives us is the Name of Jesus Vs 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. In modern society, we pay little attention to names. But the ancient world held a man’s name to be of utmost importance. Often during Old Testament days, God changed a person’s name because of some important experience or some new development in their life. As Christians, we bear the name of Christ. The word Christian is found only 3 times in the entire New Testament. The name was given originally as a term of contempt, but gradually it became a name of honor. The name of Christ then means identification. We belong to Jesus

Pete and Bob Testimonies is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast Life is a delightful journey that is intended to be embraced to the fullest every day. However, that doesn’t mean you always wake up ready to seize the day, and sometimes need a reminder that life is a gift. The stories God composed for us take us down various paths. No matter where you are on the journey, there is a plan and a purpose for what you have experienced. Surrender everything to God means accepting that the battle has been won not on your terms, and you are willingly giving your life over to the authority of the winning side. It means taking a humble position and embracing what is over how you would have it. If you feel yourself fighting for control or feel overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, it’s a sign you need to let go. Repent and turn away from doing things your way and lean on God. Proverbs 16:18 says that Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 29:23 says that Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.

How to Break Free from your Past Colossians 3:1-11 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast In Colossians, we’ve learned that if we get Christ right we get everything else right. Jesus is supreme over His creation, His church, and now we see in chapters 3 and 4 that He is supreme over the Christian. There are practical implications that should be evident if one surrenders to the supremacy of Jesus. As such, we move from principle to practice, from the indicative to the imperative, from the “is” to the “ought.” It does little good if we can declare and defend the truth but fail to demonstrate it in our lives. Let’s pray that we’re not like those described in: “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him.” Read Colossians 3:1-11 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:[b] sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.[c] 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self[d] with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,[e] free; but Christ is all, and in all. Can a butterfly go back into a cocoon after it comes out as a caterpillar? When you become a believer, you’re like that butterfly — you come out of your cocoon. It may take you some time to fly spiritually, but once you become a new creation in Christ, you are what you are. You are a new creation. Let’s unpack the text and learn how to break free from our past. First way we can learn to break free from our Past if we LOOK UP– Vs 1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Jesus put it this way in: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If our focus is on things that will ultimately rust, tarnish, break down, or burn up, our energy and emotions will be misplaced. If we seek out Christ and allow Him to become our ultimate treasure, our hearts will follow. The second way to break free from our past is vs 2 to “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.” This literally translates, “Keep on thinking, as a matter of habit, on things above, not on things on the earth. Our outlook determines our outcome. Keeping our minds and hearts in the right place will often determine where we end up. Next way we can be free from our Past is we need to LOOKOUT. Look out for what? Vs 5-9 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:[b] sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.[c] 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self[d] with its practices God’s wrath is balanced within His holiness by mercy, compassion, and love. He is repulsed by sin and yet is committed to us in love. Jesus will give you grace but He also tells the truth about your sin because He is the perfect embodiment of both grace and truth. Just as He told the woman caught in adultery to “go now and leave your life of sin,” so too, He calls us to look out and stop what we’re doing so that we can follow Him completely. Last thing we see here to help us break free from our Past is that Paul teaches us to look in and look around. Vs 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Spiritual Life Warning Signs Col 2:16-23 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast From flashing road signs to Beware of dog signs, warnings are a part of our life. We teach our kids to heed warnings and we too adults must be reminded of them. Sometimes warnings are a matter of life or death. Today we’re going to talk about the Spiritual Life Warning Signs we have. Moses warned the Israelites to beware of forgetting the Lord once they got settled into the promised land. Jesus often times use the word beware Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Today we are going to unpack Colossians 2:16-23, in these verses Paul gives us 3 warnings for us to heed if we are to enjoy the fullness in Christ. First warning we see in vs 16-17 Don’t let anyone pass judgment on you. 16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. The false teachers in Colossae were claiming a deeper spiritual life for all who would practice the Law. Outwardly their practices seemed to be spiritual, but in actual fact, these practices accomplished nothing spiritually. Mathew 26:41 The flesh is weak when it comes to doing spiritual things. By getting caught up into being condemned by other people we lose site of Gods grace for our lives. Our spiritual life cannot thrive if we let other people’s legalism control us. Paul in verse 17 uses the word shadows. What he is saying is the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming Heb 10:1. Why go back into the shadows when we have the reality in Jesus. Don’t let people condemn you, just seek Jesus and Him crucified. The reasons why [legalism] is so devastating are: 1. It ignores or underestimates the role of inner attitude and motivation. 2. It focuses upon self-effort rather than on divine enablement. 3. It encourages pride rather than humble dependence upon God. 4. It tends to “use” the Scriptures to reinforce our own preconceived ideas and preferences. 5. It tends to conceive of our acceptance with God as performance-oriented. 6. It arouses the flesh and incites us to sin, rather than the avoidance of sin. 7. It tends to impose one’s personal convictions on others, and to condemn them if they fail to live up to our rules. The next warning Paul gives them is don’t let man cheat you of your reward 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions,[a] puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. The word “disqualify” means to declare unworthy of a prize. It’s an athletic term. The umpire disqualifies the contestant because he has not obeyed the rules. Sin separates us from the father but it does not disqualify us of our salvation. 1 Cor 3:8 says we are promised a reward by our faithfulness. The false teachers in Colossae had visions and made contact with angels. In bypassing the word of God and spirit of God, they were opening themselves up for all kinds of demonic activity. The false teachers were making themselves bigger than they really were. They had all the right connections and knew the right people. They were in the know and you better listen to them. 2 Cor 11:13-15 says that Satan knows how to give counterfeit experiences to people. Any other teaching that does not have Jesus as the main focal point should not be listened to. How do you know if what you are reading or listening to is of God or not? Does it humble you, does it bring to mind the awe of God? Does it fill your heart with love? If a pastor, business leader, or anybody else that has a so-called status is pushing you to pursue success in any way that does not elevate Jesus, Heed the warning and do not listen to them. If not they are robbing you of your rewards. The next warning Paul wants us to Heed is he does not want anybody to enslave us. 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. “E-sedik” or “as cet ic” means Suggestion of severe self-discipline and abstaining from all forms of indulgence. Where is the freedom if there is only a system of rules? How do we know if you’re enslaved with something? The people who practice asceticism have a reputation for spirituality but the product doe

3 Ways to Pray for People Spiritually is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast The prayers of Paul’s prisoner letters are very unique. For one he prayed for others and not for himself. Most if not all of his requests in his prayers centered on spiritual blessings, not on material or physical matters. Of course were not saying it’s wrong to pray for such needs but we are saying spiritual needs are vastly more important. Today’s show we want to focus on 3 requests Paul made for the church of Colossians. We want to highlight the importance of seeing problems that may arise in others and how to pray for them according to Paul’s example we find in Colossians 1:9-12. Paul is addressing false teachers in Colossians. He is recognizing that it is an attack of Satan to deceive the believers there. He realizes that the false teachers are using the same language as he would use to try and persuade them to believe what they are teaching. So Paul took these matters to prayer. 1. First thing Paul Prayed for was Spiritual Intelligence • Paul is letting the Colossian church know that in his prayer they do not need a new spiritual experience; you only need to grow in the experience you already have. • Every believer needs to know the will of God. The Greek word Paul uses here for knowledge carries the meaning of full knowledge. In essence, he is saying, we will always be learning about His full will for our lives. • In Acts 22:14 it says that God wants us to know His Will and in Eph 5:17 he wants us to understand his will. In John 15:13-15 He says we are his friends and we can know what he is doing and why he is doing it. • We understand the will of God by the word of God. • Spiritual intelligence is the beginning of a successful, fruitful Christian life. • Great men of God such as Charles Spurgeon, G Campbell Morgan and Harry Ironside never had the privilege of formal Bible training. But they were devoted students of the Word of God through hours of study, meditation and prayer. 2. Paul Prayed for was Practical Obedience Colossians 1:10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; What we see here is Paul praying that the believers would have not just head knowledge but true spiritual wisdom that affects their daily life. In essence Spiritual and practical intelligence must go together, same with Knowledge and obedience they must go together. Two key words that Paul uses here, “walk and work”. The sequence is important, first wisdom, then walk, then work. I cannot work for God unless I am walking with Him, but I cannot walk with Him if I am ignorant of His will. How: • Acts 6:4 Spend time daily in word and prayer: • Eph 4:1 We should walk worthy of our calling: • Phil 1:27 We walk worthy of the Gospel: • 1 Thess 2:12 we walk worthy of God: In short we should walk to please God • 1 Thess 4:1 What does this mean? Phil 2: 12-13 says “It is not we who work for God; it is God who works in us and through us to produce the fruit of His grace.” Christian Service is the result of Christian devotion. The work that we do is the outflow of the life that we live. It is by abiding in Christ that we can produce fruit. 3. Paul prayed for Moral Excellence Colossians 1:11-12 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks[a] to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Paul is saying we do not achieve moral excellence because of anything we have done but what He is doing through us. Knowledge, conduct, service and our moral character all happen when we position our lives in God’s presence. The Greek word Paul uses for power is “Dunamis” which is where we get our word Dynamite. Which means His inherent power; He gives to us because of Jesus. Spiritual Growth and maturity can come only as we yield to Gods power as we allow him to work in us. Next word is patience: That word means endurance when circumstances are difficult. Patience is an important characteristic of the maturing Christian life. If we do not learn patience, we are not likely to learn anything else. Patience is not complacency, Patience is endurance in action. Last significant word we see here is endurance or longsuffering: The word means self-restraint. Patience and long suffering go together if we are growing spiritually.

We Crown Him Lord of All Col 1:13-18 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Join us as we journey through the book of Colossians. The False teachers in Colossae, like the false teachers of our own day, would not deny the importance of Jesus Christ. They would simply dethrone Him, giving Him prominence but not preeminence. In their philosophy, Jesus Christ was but one of many ways to get to God. As we unpack today’s reading it was this claim that Paul strongly refuted. What we will hear today contains a more concentrated doctrine about Jesus than any other paragraph in the Bible. Paul writes this by using three unanswerable arguments that only God can prove. Let’s read Colossians 1:13-18 and unpack these 3 arguments. Read- Colossians 1:13-18 Unanswerable Argument 1 Christ IS The Savior vs 13-14 Man’s greatest problem is sin, a problem that can never be solved by a philosopher or a religious teacher. Sinners need a Savior period. These two verses give us 4 saving actions of Christ on our behalf 1. He delivered us, that word means he rescued us from danger. (He delivered us from the authority of Satan and the powers of darkness) 2. He transferred us. This word means we were deported from one country to another Jesus moved us into His kingdom of light and made us victors over Satan’s kingdom of darkness) 3. He Redeemed us- This word means to release a prisoner by the payment of ransom It was by Jesus Death and Resurrection that met the requirement of God’s holy law. Satan accuses us because he knows we are guilty of breaking God’s law. 4. He has Forgiven us- This word means to send away or to cancel a debt. Christ has not only set us free and transferred us to a new kingdom, but he has canceled every debt so that we cannot be enslaved again. Unanswerable Argument 2 Christ is the Creator Vs 15-17 The false teachers were very confused about creation. They taught that matter was evil. Including the human body. They also taught that Jesus did not have a real body, since this would have put him in contact with evil matter. The results of these false teachings were tragic and Paul in these verses explains the fourfold relationship of Jesus to creation. 1. He existed before creation The term Firstborn does not refer to time, but to place or status. Jesus was not the first being created, since He himself is the creator of all things. Firstborn simply means of first importance or first rank. Heb 1:3 says that Jesus was the express image of his person. John 14:9 says He that has seen me has seen the father, John 1:18 In His essence, God is invisible, but Jesus has revealed him to us. Since No mere creature can perfectly reveal God, Jesus must be God. 2. He created all things 16a For by Since Christ created all things, He Himself is uncreated. The word “for by” could be translated Because. Because in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth. John 1:3 All things were made by Him. This includes heaven and earth, visible and invisible. All things are under his command. 3. 16b All things exist for Him Everything exists in Him, for Him, and through Him. Jesus is the sphere in which they exist, the agent through which they came into being, and the One for whom they were made. Quote: Warren Wiersbe said- The Greek philosophers had taught that everything needed a primary cause, and instrumental cause and a final cause. The primary cause is the plan, the instrumental cause the power, and the final cause the purpose. When it comes to creation, Jesus is the primary Cause (He planned it) the instrumental cause (He produced it) and the final Cause (He did it for His own pleasure) 4. vs 17 He holds all things together- In Him all things hold together. Jesus is before all things, so He can hold all things together. This is another affirmation that Jesus is God. Only God exists before all things and only God can make all of creation work together. Unanswerable Argument 3 vs 18 Christ is the Head of the Church Each Christian is a member of this spiritual body, and Jesus is the head, In the Greek the word head used here means source or origin as well as leader, ruler. Jesus is the source of the Church, it’s His body and He is the Leader. Paul in verse 18 Called him “the beginning” As the head of the Church Jesus supplies the church with its life through the Spirit. He gives man gifts and then places the gifted people in His church that they might serve Him where they are needed. No believer or Pope is the head of His church.

Spiritual Journey with Jesus is what we will be talking about in today’s RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast We are going to unpack Colossians 1:3-8, but before we do that lets get a little background of the book of Colossians. Paul did not plant the Church of Colossae, Epaphras did. It’s an extension work of Paul from his time in Ephesus, Paul wrote this book along with Ephesians around the same time from prison in Rome. It’s a small port city in Turkey about 100 miles inlet from Ephesus. Who is Paul writing to? A small community of Gentile Saints who seem to be drifting in their understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ. In this letter, Paul is addressing this drift by focusing on 2 key essential understandings of who Christ is. First is the person of Jesus of Christ, which includes His character and nature, and second the work of Jesus, which is all about redeeming those who are captive to sin by dying on the cross and paying the price for our freedom. What is the purpose of Paul writing this letter? To confront the heresy threatening the peace and purity of the Church. There was a combination of Eastern philosophy and Jewish Legalism, with elements of Gnosticism creeping in. Gnostics were supposedly people in the know with an understanding of deep things of God. The problem is they did not teach about the deity of Christ and that He alone is enough. Let’s Read our first few verses of Colossians 1:3-8 and unpack them. Vs 3-8 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.[a] He is a faithful minister of Christ on your[b] behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. ESV Point 1: Statement in Vs 3-4 we see Paul as the great Encourager to other believers. He is grateful for what God is doing in the lives of others. As 1 Cor 12:12-13 says We are all members of one body. In verse 5b we see Paul start to unpack the stages of a person’s spiritual Journey Point 2: Vs 5-6 they heard the gospel Who was the messenger Epaphras? Key phrases Paul uses: Word of Truth, Message of God’s grace, The whole world Focus on Jesus and His preeminence and the importance of sharing God’s truth. We don’t want to be more of a prosecuting attorney than a Christian witness, less attack on beating people up, more talk on the goodness of God and the gospel. Point 3: Vs 7 The were Discipled- Statement: Epaphras did not simply lead them to Christ and abandoned them. He taught them the Word and sought to establish their Faith. Point 4: Vs8- They became faithful in Christ- Paul said and has made known to us by your love in the Spirit. When The word of God is planted in the heart, it will produce fruit. Paul said in vs 6 All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit. Why are people not bearing fruit? John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”

COVID Survivor’s Miracle Story and difference between backslider and lukewarm Christian are the topics we will be discussing on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast today. We are joined with our special guest Mauricio Sarria who shares his story how the Lord revealed himself to him while fighting Covid and miraculously healed him. What happens when we try to have one foot in the Kingdom and one foot in the world? What happens when we try to live for God and, at the same time, try to please people or even try to please our own flesh? People always ask how do I know if I am a lukewarm Christian? Sometimes a person is a new believer and is still trying to learn the ways of God but others have known about Jesus for a long time. We say known about Jesus for a long time because if a person is living with one foot in the world and one foot with God, are they truly saved? The bible says in Revelation 3:16 that straddling the fence is not acceptable. “So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth” Are they truly saved? We’re talking about someone that has a lifestyle of one foot in and one foot out of the world. How do you know if you are living as a Luke Warm Christian? Some Characteristics to look for: 1. They mostly come to God when they have a problem. They do not Thank Him often or see Him at work in their life. 2. Their Christianity is “What can God do for me? How can He make my life better? If he doesn’t do what they ask for, they get mad at God and ask why. 3. They try to twist Scripture to justify their sin. 4. They think they are Christians because they do good deeds and go to church. But they live in sin 6 days a week and are holy only on Sunday. 5. They compromise with the world because it’s the most popular choice. Even though on the outside they say all the right Christian things, the inside says otherwise. 6. They fear hell so they want to be a Christian to save them from it but don’t obey God’s word. 7. They lack repentance. They are not truly sorry for their sins nor do they really want to change. They say they’re sorry but are still not willing to let God change them on the inside. 8. They think they’re saved because they compare themselves to others around them. They look at other church members who do worse than they do and think they’re better. 9. They never or rarely share their faith and if they did it was to make them feel like they are pleasing God to get something from him. 10. They lack intimacy with God and do not know His voice. The bible does not come alive for them. 11. They are not willing to make sacrifices unless it best fits their agenda or plans. They have their minds made up. Are Lukewarm Christians Saved? Matthew 7:13-14 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it. Shortly after that Jesus warns again, Mathew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Francis Chan said, “Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens- they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them- they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live- they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis- their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Francis Chan Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. To sum it up in a simple sentence: lukewarm faith is faith that doesn’t affect the way you live. Lukewarm Christians don’t really want to be saved from their sins; they want to be saved from the consequences of their sins.” How to overcome being a Luke Warm Christian: 6 easy steps 1. Pray, Acknowledge your need for Jesus. Repent of your sin and cry out to him. Worship him in song. 2. Value the wisdom and counsel of the Lord. Spend quiet time in God’s presence after you read his word. 3. Delight in sound biblical teaching. Listen daily to podcasts and other teachers of the word. 4. Prioritize choices that protect and honor your relationship with Jesus. 5. Position yourself away from sin; make better choices with the Holy Spirit’s help. Create new habits. 6. Choose Jesus over and over again. Every day you have to start over again. Model righteousness. Model love. Encourage both. Choose ahead of time before you start your day to see the world the way Jesus does. Our Special guest describes his walk with Christ pre-COVID and then how the Lord grabbed his attention while in

Do I need to attend Church in person or can I just watch online only? Listen as we discuss the great question on theRIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast today. Many people have asked if it’s ok just to watch church online each week and not attend church in person. Would God be ok with that? Due to Covid 19 and everything happening in the world today watching online is becoming more of the norm. The danger we see in all of this is the disconnection from each other that can lead us down a slippery slope. In today’s show, we want to talk about this disconnect, the importance of the Christian Family, and how the church plays a vital role in all of this. To help us answer this question we must first identify the purpose of the Church Family. Let’s Read Colossians 3:12-17 According to these verses we do not exist as Christian families as separate entities and on our own, but we exist as Christian families within the context of God’s family, and it is within the framework of the family of God that we discover the support and the encouragement that we desperately need in the raising of our children. To watch online only will alienate us from the oversight of the Church Family We are God’s Chosen ones, called in one body, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another. The Christian family folds itself into the church family and that it is the church family which makes sense of the family What does it mean as a parent, that you have decided you will place yourself and your family within the context of a church family? The church is not a building to which we return, where we visit, but it’s a family to which we belong. To only watch online separates us from our church family and the covering that it brings. Instead of asking, “How can I fit the church into my family agenda?” the question is actually reversed: “How, then, can I fold my family life to fit into the purposes and practices of the church?” The concept of the Kingdom of God makes sense in the Church. Sinclair Ferguson Said “My family needs the church family for its own growth and health. No single-family possesses all the resources it needs to be a truly and fully Christian family. We need support, friendship, example, wise counsel, and much else from the church family.” Listen to this: “Two Christian parents are not in themselves adequate to rear one child for Christ—they were never meant to be. So the resources of our own family—no matter how wonderful—are scarcely adequate. We—and perhaps especially our children—need the church, and in that context [they and] we will be blessed beyond … expectation.” The Church Family helps us grow spiritually through fellowship, watching online erases that. Colossians 3:15 NK JV 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Why Men and Women struggle with sexual sin is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast. Everywhere we look we see the word “ SEX”. Sexual immorality is not only blatant; it is subtle too. Magazine articles, books, TV shows, movies, and video games are enticing us. Even provocative dressing in the church can distract even the most consecrated minds. Lust, sex, and porn – these are topics that are typically only associated with men. When speaking about sexual sin, we immediately assume most males struggle throughout their lives (estimated 75% of men in the church). But what if I told you that 2 out of 4 women in the church struggle with sexual temptation and or addiction? In fact, 90% of women responded in a survey to having sexual temptations as frequently as every day? Today our hope is to help people answer 2 main questions. “Why am I consistently falling to sexual temptation? What is going wrong?” We will cover 5 key areas that will help people overcome sexual temptation. To do this we need to get to the root and find out what is the cause. 1. A lack of Prayer life will cause you to fall to sexual temptation. 1 Cor 7:5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 2. You have not learned how to crucify your flesh in prayer nor lean on the Holy Spirit for help. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:5-6) 3. A lack of sex with your spouse can cause sexual temptation. 1 Cor 7:2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. . . . Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. . . . To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” 4. Tolerating and not fleeing sexual temptation will cause you to fall. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18) 5. Minimize in your mind the seriousness of Sexual sin by doing this you also minimize the blessing of self-control. “He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.” (Proverbs 6:32) Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) DON’T GIVE UP, IF YOU FALL, KEEP GETTING BACK UP “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13 Pornography is an addiction, if you are caught in this addiction and/or need further information please visit: Porn Epidemic Portfolio

The Power of Holiness is what RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast will be discussing on today’s show. What is Holiness? I think A.W Tozer said it best in his book “The Knowledge of the Holy”. He said, “Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy. That is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.” The Power of Holiness subject is so vast and our efforts alone won’t do it justice. To simplify this we are going to deal with two things about the holiness of God. We first want to look at the nature of God’s holiness-what He is. And then we are going to look at our need for personal holiness in our lives because of it. The nature of Gods holiness: What is Webster’s dictionary meaning of Holy- That which is Holy or Other, that which is extraordinarily different than anything else. Refers to God’s transcendence, He is higher and more superior than anything else. His goodness and His power is humanly Incomprehensible. John Wesley stated, “Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God.” In Exodus 15:11, it says in the Song of Moses: “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness.” No one is like the Lord in holiness, in being separate, He is totally separate. 1 Samuel 2:2 Hannah said, “No one is holy like the LORD, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” In Psalms 96:9 says “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!” There is power in Gods holiness, in his presence we tremble. Psalms 104: 1 “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty” God’s holiness is very great Exodus 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” He is so Holy we can’t wear shoes in his presence. So wherever the Spirit of God is, that place is separated from anything normal, it is changed, it is Holy. So when we come into Gods presence or walk in His Spirit we are now Holy. 1 Peter 1: 13-16 says “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” What do we have to do to become Holy? God’s holiness exposes our sin problem. Most people run when they come face to face with God’s Holiness. The bible says in Hebrews 12:29 “He is a consuming Fire”. I think Isaiah 6 gives us an inside look at how he does that. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “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 my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Rev 4: 8-11 gives us a commentary of this scene- We are impure; our bodies are completely filled with sin. In God’s light, we too should be humbled to our knees and in awe of God. We are unworthy The Stone touching Isaiah’s lips made his whole body Pure. What was once unclean became clean. When we surrender our lives over to Jesus, He touches us and makes us clean and Holy. After we have been touched by God and made Holy we now must be different. Accept God’s Grace and live out your life in concert with God’s desires. Everything he touches is transformed to be different 1 Peter 2 say But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have