Video: “Because they lead my people astray saying peace. When there is no peace. And because when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with white wash. Therefore, tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents and I will send hailstones hurtling down and violent winds will burst forth. When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, where is the whitewash you covered it with?” Ezekiel 13:10-16.
Timothy: Welcome to the Consider Podcast and we’re going to continue to talk on and press on with the first word out of Jesus’s mouth when he began the ministry and God’s timing and that word is “repent”.
Intro: Welcome to the Consider Podcast where we turn our minds to consider wisdom, madness and folly. Join the host Timothy and Jacob on a quest to have God enlighten the mind according to verse 25 of Ecclesiastes chapter 7. So, I turned my mind to understand. To investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. Ecclesiastes 7:25. The Consider Podcast examining today’s events and Paulorrow’s realities at www.consider.info.
Timothy: We always start with the pop quiz for Jacob. So, no use breaking tradition. So, Jacob here’s your pop quiz for this particular one and fortunately this is not a yes or no. You probably actually going to have to think on this one. Are you ready?
Jacob: Okay, I’m ready.
Timothy: But I know you got a cold you got a cold and everything. So, I have a, let’s see I have too good advantage, I guess. Alright, what are the two reasons, two main reasons people go to hell? The vast world and all through time, even if you just run the numbers just in scripture of those who are saved, even as you look around you. It’s when we say most it’s a lot of people. It’s like an understatement. What are the two primary reasons that all these people are going to hell for?
Jacob: Well, the first one I’m going to throw out is that they have hard hearts. So, people either have hard hearts or now I’m grasping for number two. But if you could say they didn’t repent but that is a hard heart because you refuse to repent so if you’re not going to repent you have a hard heart and I don’t know. Second reason they would go to hell. Well, I don’t know. They despise the truth. I don’t know what.
Timothy: I like your answer because it’s kind of typical. I mean we’re having fun with each other, but we always throw, I remember the kind of the joke in the church was is we post questions people would go, well, God, sin, Holy Spirit and they’re rebellious and like yeah okay whatever that covers everything but it’s not specific. The number one reason most people all through time go to hell is they will not admit they’re guilty. You look at society, you look at you’re going shopping and you’re talking with somebody and you point something out and you’re trying to work out an exchange or whatever and people just won’t admit they’re guilty. We see it especially noted within the legal system.
Prosecutors never admit they’re guilty. Judges never admit that they’re guilty. The police of course are never guilty on anything and then that’s just one segment and it but the reason we bring up the legal side. Because it’s kind of the top tier of what presses down from the rest of society. It kind of converges on that point. But the number one reason people just go to hell and this doesn’t matter whether you’re a bureaucrat or a mother or father or just the most lowly thing you can think of in terms of occupation or whatever is it’s very very simple. Number one is they will not admit they are guilty.
Jacob: What’s Number two.
Timothy: Number two is they just want what they want.
Jacob: Oh, see yeah and I was because some people will go, let’s say you confront them with some sins and let’s just, oh well, maybe they’re besetting sins like they love money. But they just won’t give it up and they’ll say, oh, I love money like that’s what I want. That’s what I’m after and I’m going to go get it and so I guess, are you saying that everything comes down to one or the other? You’re either they won’t refuse their guilty or they’re admit they’re guilty meaning oh I love money and that’s what I’m going after and then they said they refuse.
Timothy: Correct. Push comes to shove. Those are, I couldn’t think of any others. Feel free to come back later and go, hey, I thought of a third one. But those are the two, we don’t have time. We could go to Genesis and that’s the botPaul line.
Jacob: Sure yeah.
Timothy: Adam and Eve wouldn’t admit they’re guilty and then they just wanted what they wanted. They’re as God they want to feed their lust. The reason why you don’t find number two within the legal system is because they don’t have to. They have the power to shut you down. They have the power to control the argument. The arrogance just gets unleashed and so there’s no dialogue. But as you go down through society, there might be some people that you’re dialoguing with, you get into a discussion and they kind of see your point, yeah, it’s wrong or it’s whatever.
Jacob: Yeah.
Timothy: But the more you talk and the more you reason with them and the more you point out how it is sinful what they’re doing they’re never going to get there because what’s underlying that because very few people actually go, well, I just want what I want. I mean I have bumped into those people. I actually have respect for them. As I’ve discussed with many people, the ones I respect are, yeah that it’s wrong, it’s sinful but that’s what I want. There’s no pretense to the whole game much rather have that kind of thing. The most infuriating of course are those in the legal system, because they don’t even dialogue because they don’t have to. They’re just snakes that won’t be charmed, so everybody just gets whacked out and all the humble get crushed in the land.
Jacob: The legal system people, there’s so many laws on the books that deep down somewhere. There’s some law that, well I wouldn’t say it even like logically justifies them, but I feel like, you know what? I mean they always point and say, well, since I supposedly have this power that’s given to me by the law. I’m innocent, I can’t be touched, I didn’t do anything wrong. Even if they blatantly violated a different law. Like they’re always within the law.
Timothy: And I’m guilty here, because I opened up this can of worms by bringing in a little stuff. It’s a little yes, you’re correct that’s why I played or had you play the whitewash at the beginning, because it’s all whitewash.
Jacob: Correct.
Timothy: And whether in the world or that you see it in the church, I mean I could hammer on the church that in fact that’s what we’re looking at they’re just whitewashing everybody’s sin. It’s easy, it looks good, it reflects the light back. You could say, yeah, I’m just totally fine, covers over blemishes but that whole worse things just going to crumble. So, you’re correct but we we’re going to have to avoid that rabbit hole.
Jacob: Sure.
Timothy: We’ll get, I hope in the Lord believe me. It’s burning in my heart. I long to get there. I’ve got so much information there. Alright. So, we love our clamor of worship. You don’t hear within the church or from the church or even those who claim to be Christians an attitude that walks around you need to repent. Part of the reason is of course they’re not repenting. They haven’t experienced the deep conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit of sin. So, they don’t feel the urgency for other people. I know for instance somebody, well I went to the dentist here like a year ago, right? And somebody in their office wound up having cancer, the lymph nodes. So, I’m sitting in the chair and they’re examining me. Hey, your lymph nodes are little vague, you need to have those looked at. Because why? They had discovered somebody in their office has cancer so they’re very sensitive to that and you’re alert to it.
Jacob: Yeah.
Timothy: Far as my lymph nodes, don’t anybody worry. I don’t have any cancer in the lymph nodes but anyway, like anybody’s worried. So, when you are sensitive to sin, when you’ve been convicted, when you’ve got the rich life in Jesus Christ, when you understand the dangers that people really are headed to hell, I’ve seen you go through this as we begin to dialogue and fellowship. I watch the Holy Spirit come to you and make these things alive. It gets beyond our discussion. There’s been a whole decade of laying that foundation, but the joy is watching God now make these things alive. I’m sure you’ll testify that if you took what you’ve been discipled in, what you’ve heard in preaching and all the sermons and the multitude of hours because you did the recording and all those things. It does not even come close. It does not compare. There’s no what am I trying to say? Type of touching or unity there when the Holy Spirit starts making these things live. Am I right or wrong?
Jacob: You’re 100% correct. So, like a cold just the regular human cold. But at some point, I almost wonder because I just been struggling and wrestling with things. It’s almost like there is a real physical like manifestation of the Lord coming to you and showing you things. And I was almost like is this in reverse? Like I don’t know. You know what I mean? And unfortunately, it was probably that I had to get a cold just so I would be weakened just so the Lord could talk to me, but you just feel squeeze. Like you physically feel squeezed and it’s yeah way beyond just words or it’s really hard to kind of describe. But that’s the only way. It’s almost like a there is like a physical manifestation of I don’t know, when he’s just like kind of working on you.
Timothy: Being crucified with Christ. Those aren’t words now. That’s just what’s happening. I dropped the words probably. You didn’t probably.
Jacob: It is.
Timothy: I know. I did the same thing. It’s like, no, no, there’s no probably about it and so absolutely. Yes. When he speaks, you hide. When Elijah’s on the mountain side and God comes by in the thunder clouds and earthquakes and yeah, he doesn’t. Okay, fine. It’s a nice event but the Lord wasn’t in it. When he comes with a whisper, oh he’s hiding. He’s going into the rock Jesus Christ. He covering his face because the Lord was in that. That’s what happens. That’s why when you preach the gospel to somebody and it’s an intellectual discussion. It just kind of wraps on that level and they come back and go, yeah, I really see your point and I really agree and I need to work on that. Let’s just say we get some semi positive.
Inside, I’m just shaking. No, it’s you reasoning it out. You you’re trying to co-op the words of Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit are standing there with a hammer in their hands and nails to crucify you and that you can feel that hurts. That goes deep. It divides bone from marrow.
People don’t want that or like all of a sudden well it used to be when people like would discipline their kids, okay? They’re not allowed to do the who anymore so dad’s coming with the proper instrument to discipline somebody. Well, you know what’s happening, right? So, you start bargaining the situation. And then whatever excuses, trying to calm everything down. In the same way we people see Jesus Christ come to them or he’s being presented to them and he’s got the hammer, the whip, all of the things are in place. It’s all going to come in on you and you’re going to feel and you know it’s coming so it’s like, oh yeah, yeah. I really agree I need to give up lust.
You’re right. I’m a liar. You’re right. I’m a pathetic, lying prosecutor that has sent many an innocent person to prison or I’ve taken those who are guilty and I force them to testify against themselves in such a way for crimes they didn’t do. I’m a conniver. Sorry, I’m getting sidetracked. The point is you see Jesus Christ coming to you but you refuse to repent because we’re trying to out maneuver him. We used to call that putting pillows beneath the cross kind of thing. Alright, so let’s go to Luke chapter 7 verse 30. Says, “But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for them”. You see that a lot talked about in the church. God has a purpose for you. Right Jacob?
Jacob: Oh yeah. It’s all about purpose and plan.
Timothy: Right, so you’re bribing people. The purpose of course is repentance. The purpose is brokenness. The purpose is getting rid of pride. The purpose is getting rid of disobedience. The purpose is sharing in God’s holiness which is not an easy thing to get to. So, but the purpose for them is he’s got a plan. He’s got a purpose you know. You’ll find meaning, all of that stuff. Where you find your purpose, where you find God’s plan is you have to go see John the Baptist first. And that’s the first beginnings of conviction. And I encourage everybody to go back and look at John the Baptist and see how he responds to the crowds.
I think we’ve covered it a little bit. But that’s where your purpose is found. But the Pharisees and experts in the law. In other words, all the Bible studies and the books you can find all these experts that have ministry forget it. You have you ever heard these guys say, go back and discover John the Baptist.
Jacob: No.
Timothy: Any of the books, any of the books go, yeah. this is a nice little commentary. How to find God, how to read scripture, how to understand scripture, how to be blessed with scripture really? And not one single time on any reference with any fire at all have I ever discovered currently, where the experts in scripture the Pharisees and those who do the law say, go to John the Baptist, because he’s going to start the process. Okay. I know it’s kind of a redundant question. But we’re talking John the Baptist. Not convenient. You got to go out to the desert. Not comfortable what he’s going to tell you. It’s going to lead to deep conviction but John is going to tell you flat out. Hey what I’m convicting you of and what I’m hammering so to speak or preaching to you won’t even compare, won’t even compare to the baptism of fire that Jesus Christ will bring.
Most people don’t want to hear this. The Pharisees don’t want to hear it. The experts in the law don’t want to hear it. Most people are still back in Rome living their daily life, cooking their bread, going to church, whatever it is they do. Then the few that do go out to the desert, they’re not greeted with, well, it’s really good to see you here. And I’m sure glad you’re here and our numbers have increased since last week. He says, what are you doing out here? Why are you here? Who warned you? What’s your purpose? It begins with why are you in church?
I’ll never ever get the opportunity I’m sure, but I’d love to come in to some mega church and start with John the Baptist and I’d post, why you hear? What are you doing sitting in these pews today? Did you really hear the Holy Ghost? Are you really prepared to be crucified with Christ? Do you want to hear things you don’t want to hear without whining and being a big baby and running off to persecute those who actually bring you the truth? I’m posing questions obviously that I know the answer to. But it says, they had rejected God’s purpose for themselves. Why? What’s the cause? I’ll pause, take a breath. Jacob, what is the cause?
Jacob: Because they had not been baptized by John.
Timothy: So, this is a baptism, this is not a sprinkling of conviction or well, I can kind of take John he’s a little fiery but over here they also preach the message of the cross and that’s pretty nice. No, no we’re talking an immersion into an experience with John the Baptist a shattering of our lives. We don’t have time again to go into but a leveling of our self-pity the taking down of our mountains and so on. Go see John the Baptist. You’re talking about an all too serious contemplation of what John is saying. Let alone what Jesus has said. It’s no wonder those who are baptized by John the Baptist were ready for Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ came to bring. You wouldn’t know it by looking at the church. I understand that. But Jesus Christ came to bring a baptism of fire upon disciples of Jesus. That’s why Paul writes, well let me stop. Jacob let’s go down, okay, so he rebukes the Pharisees and the experts in law, right? And we’re going to do a hop and a skip as we head over to first Thessalonians. Read verse 36 of Luke 7.
Jacob: 36, “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisees house and reclined at the table”.
Timothy: You have in verse 30 Jesus just massively rebukes the Pharisees and the experts. It’s an all or nothing thing, but he still sits down at dinner with the Pharisee. So, I don’t want anybody getting all puffed up and self-righteous in this kind of thing, because if that’s the case you haven’t experienced John the Baptist. You got something else going on. I’d sit down with well, let’s just skip a few names for the moment, but I’d sit down with the Pharisee if I was invited and Jesus is relaxing there. We won’t go any further with that at the moment, but I wanted us to emphasize how God moves among all circles to preach a message of repentance and it comes out with John the Baptist and it comes out with Jesus reclining at the table. That’s why persecution grows in magnitude. If I was a John the Baptist running around in camel hair and eating, you know, grasshoppers and all those kinds of things. Okay, yeah, it’s an outer norm character, right?
You can see why some people would persecute you not like that. But Jesus also goes and sits downs with the Pharisees with dinner and he’s at their picnics and he goes to their weddings, and that whole message of what Jesus is declaring is the one word “repent”. So, by the time he’s through with his ministry, it has come to a peak point where he’s going to be crucified by experts of the law, Pharisees and those who did not repent even though miracles happen. So, you can see how the persecution builds, so all of a sudden everybody’s going, oh well, every says it’s a cult. Everybody says he’s wicked. Everybody says he’s evil. So, it must be true.
Now it’s actually a sign you’re actually preaching the gospel and could possibly actually be living a Godly life. Because wherever you go, no matter who you’re talking to, no matter what actions God is working, the underlying thing that’s coming out and the first thing that’s just like right there is the word “repent”. How many people like that? You can get arrested in England for praying without saying a word and from an abortion clinic. So, you really think the world’s like in tune with. Yeah, you have freedom of speech to talk about repentance.
Goodness in the state of Washington if you’re a grandmother that owns a flower shop. Guess what? They bring in the full weight of the law to make sure your life is thoroughly destroyed. And again, I hope to bury that whole thing and reveal that for the corruption is later on. But we’ll see what God works. Anything on that Jacob?
Jacob: No.
Timothy: Then let’s move on to first Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 5. And go ahead and read that.
Jacob: “Because our gospel came to you not simply with words.”
Timothy: Hang on. I’m going to interrupt you. What’s it say? “Our gospel”. There’s lots of gospels out there but we’re talking about the gospel that Paul preached. The gospel of Jesus Christ. So, what does it look like when the true gospel goes out? Go ahead.
Jacob: “Because our gospel came to you not simply with words.”
Timothy: Hang on. I’m going to interrupt you again. It come, “not simply with words”. Not track. Not all kinds of nonsense. I’ll stop interrupting you here in just a minute, but not simply words. It’s just not talk. Now do you understand why people it’s not me they reject. It’s the Holy Spirit working but hopefully people can begin to see that if it was just words, it’s just one argument against another group. It’s just the conservative Christians against the liberal Christians or whatever. But we’re talking, “Not simply with words”. Go ahead.
Jacob: “But also with power with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction”. You know how we lived among you for your sake”.
Timothy: Alright, look at all the elements in this one sentence. It didn’t come simply with words. oh yeah, I mean that’s quite an understatement, but one with power really. The person speaking to me about their Christianity comes with power. Then on of power with the holy spirit, also the holy spirit is in it and not just power and the holy spirit but also what Jacob?
Jacob: Deep conviction.
Timothy: Deep conviction. You see why you got to go to John the Baptist first. If you can’t take John the Baptist, you’re not going to take the full gospel because John the Baptist is all superficial. It’s all outward. It’s a repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It’s outward things that we under our own power can do. We can go share our tunic with somebody or we can give to the poor. We can go do those things if we choose to do so, but we’re talking about a conviction from God that comes with power by the power of a holy spirit. Not just any spirit. These churches that talk about all the spirit of the Lord. I always look forward where’s the holiness? Where is the holiness and deep conviction on top of that? And it comes along with actually living the gospel.
Paul will say, “You know how we live among you for your sake”. He’s not living a righteous life to look good. He’s not saying, you know how I lived among you? I was holy and I was righteous and I was obedient and God was really with me and I was really blessed. Usually, you get all the flattering choir behind all our pastors this and he did this and he’s so great. He’s so fantastic. So, I’m going to pause there and ask the question for you, Jacob. When have you ever heard? Even from the people that fellowship and we have a love with one another and you’ve been with the church for a long time until it was totally disbanded by the state of Washington. When was the last time you saw them praising me like they praise the average church pastor?
Mid Point
Jacob: Well, you never got praise?
Timothy: Correct. “You know how we lived among you for your sake”. There’s no puff up about this. There’s no fair say kind of like look at my life. For one thing to praise me would have been to encourage me in what? The offense of the cross. And nobody wants to actually encourage that behavior, right? Very few. Am I making sense here?
Jacob: Yeah, you’re making sense.
Timothy: Okay. Verse 6 of first Thessalonians one says, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” So, the Lord’s message comes with deep power, deep conviction, you became imitators of us. Oh, guess what? They’re following a man. How evil and wicked is that? Paul must be a cult leader. You became imitators of us and of the Lord and you know, that Paul, he is so wicked. Who does he mention first, Jacob?
Jacob: The Lord.
Timothy: No, he says, you became imitators of?
Jacob: Oh us.
Timothy: Us and of the Lord. So, someone with a bitter root, a bad attitude, a persecuting attitude. They would come and go. See Paul’s talking about himself. Above the Lord. He puts himself before the Lord. Yeah. You get the idea right? So, the person you know, go ahead.…
Jacob: Oh, nothing other than I feel like nowadays when I see content online and pastors and this and that or whatever. I feel like that not as big of a no, no and the reason though of course is the more the church gets watered down right, the more you have these pastors that they don’t even preach a John the Baptist message. Then people go, oh he’s such a great man, we should be like him.
I’ve thrown that out there only because I feel like that’s you don’t even ever hear that about anybody about the whole don’t follow a man. And that’s because the leadership is so worldly everyone then says, oh great, we’ll be like him. And then it’s almost like twisted because then to be like, oh I’m just doing what my pastor does, but it’s yeah, I don’t know. You know what I mean?
Timothy: Well yeah, you’re actually bringing up a good point. I’m a cult leader because I tell people to imitate me as I follow Christ, because it’s a message they don’t want to hear.
Jacob: Correct.
Timothy: They don’t want to be crucified; they don’t want. So, then there’s something clear wrong whereas people follow quote unquote a man all the time. Everybody does. Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican. Even if it’s just themselves, which I don’t believe exist, they go into the mirror and they can say, I don’t want to follow man. Well, guess who you’re following right there, you’re following yourself and as far as I know, you’re a man. So, no, you bring up a very good point. The reason why that’s not a problem is because they preach a message that their flesh and their sin can embrace and hold onto.
Jacob: Yeah.
Timothy: So, and we see this right here in this passage. Verse 6. “In spite of severe suffering, you welcome the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” The message of the cross is simply this, and when I preach it is you’re not going to get your joy from the church. You’re not going to get the joy from fellowshipping with me. You’re not going to get any joy from actually following me.
That’s not where it comes from and that’s where most pastors and churches and fundraisers and all that kind of thing. People get their joy from belonging to a church or belonging to those that are white worship that’s not a problem. But to associate and I’m just using me for an example, because that’s a good example at the moment anyway. I’d rather be using a different example, but to say, okay, I want to fellowship with you.
Well, there’s a potential for a lot of suffering, there’s certainly the suffering from purified from sin that we’re talking about here. But it’s not like I’m Mr. Popular and that nobody wants to shut me up. It’s clear that that attempt has been going on multiple levels. So, it would take a lot and let’s use Paul here for an example. We talked about this yesterday, I think. Nobody joined Paul. There were very few people that actually served with him. He had plenty of brothers and sisters he fellowships with. But he would say, I have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. When you look at scripture, only one church shared in giving money to Paul and his ministry. That takes some serious contemplation. All the churches are standing in heaven and only one church out of all the churches Paul started actually shared with him. He writes that in scripture, by the way and I’m not going to take people to it right now. You can read it on your own.
That’s an amazing statement not only of his love for everybody that he held no bitterness against them. But it explains to sit down with Paul and go, Paul, I want to go with you on missionary trips and I want to hang with you. I hunger and thirst for righteous. That would be a big step. Big step. Alright, you welcome the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. As I’ve watched you go through your convictions and really, it’s God kind of crucifying. You’re kind of not in the moment of that kind of conviction. He also holds you up with some joy at the same time. And it’s not a joy that comes with me putting my arm around you going, oh Jacob it’ll be okay and I know you’ve got a lot of questions. I understand God’s very complicated. A lot of this stuff we can’t figure out. It looks like contradiction, but it’ll be okay. Just trust Jesus and go on. Am I Correct?
Jacob: Correct.
Timothy: Alright. Verse 7, “And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia”. You became a model. There’s nothing wrong with following a man who’s following Christ. There’s nothing wrong with following a church that sets the model example of what all believers should be. People need to see what Christianity is. They need to see people surviving the crucifixion with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. They need to see the deep conviction. The best thing we could do to bring our children to the Lord is for them to see us going through the sufferings but not grumbling, not complaining, not whining, having a joy from the Holy Spirit. Hungering and thirsting for righteous with gaining more and more self-discipline and more and more conviction and more and more holiness in God and the painful process that God brings that through and yet at the same time brings joy.
I’m going to overstate this, but you could skip all the little morning quiet times and if they just saw dad and mom living this message that’s far superior to all well certainly the vegetable tune type cartoons. If they saw this, they’d have a much bigger chance.
Jacob: Yeah.
Timothy: First Thessalonians 1:8 says, “The Lord’s message”. Are we getting the pattern here? Our message? The Lord’s message? Like I said people would just as a side note, oh he’s so self-righteous. He thinks he’s got the Lord’s message. Well, what do you want me to preach? A message you think I’ve got or the Lord’s message? We’ll get into why I was called a cult leader and why the church is called a cult somewhere down the future I hope in the Lord. “The Lord’s message rang out”. It’s not hidden where the message of the cross isn’t quietly put over here and so the slander just increases more and more. The more a church would live this and the more that it actually came out in a particular society or whatever, the more persecution. And it’s just because the Lord’s message is ringing out nobody can escape it.
Imagine, like I said I’ve talked about one of the prosecutors in King County dad started a church Downtown Seattle, right? And Seattle’s gone through his complete of that whole city both legally and physically. It’s just morally, legally, it’s totally botPaul dwelling pit. And yet somehow that church escaped all the persecution, not possible. In fact, on the one hand what a lack of love. You’ve got all this destruction going on and you’re not saying or doing anything that’s of any importance. You’re just scattering. You have a prosecutor that goes there who attacks the holiness of God. Who attacks the holy God, and you can’t deal with him, you can’t disfellowship with him you, can’t see what justice is.
So, “The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia– Your faith in God has become known everywhere.” Can you imagine the message of the cross, hating your own life, following the ground and dying, undergoing discipline in order to get the holiness of God. If there was actually a real group of people, I mean a church at that point living it, it would rang out and guess what you know what? They might be accused of being a cult. They may actually be run out of town. “The Lord’s message rang out”. We know about. “Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it.”
Most people have to tell me they’re a Christian, right? That most people have to put on the, I’d love to have the church with no sign out the front. It just has whatever scripture but doesn’t say Christian church. It would just ring out and they’d go, yeah, there’s those people. You have to go back to John the Baptist; you have to go back to the full gospel message. I know this sounds like a commercial but it’s not meant to be. If you want to get started, if you want to sit alone with the Lord and meditate, if you want to go out to the desert and really seek the Lord you begin can begin with the book “Even the Demons Believe”. Don’t even think it was a book. It’s just a paper written down on what the full gospel message is. Jacob, let’s go ahead and play that testimonial video.
Testimonial video: JF who lives in Brazil set up the book “Even the Demons Believe”. I would like to tell you that I’m doing chapter 7 right now. It’s the second time I’ve read the book, “Even the Demons Believe” and I think it’s an impacting book. Literally impacting. Let us say the first time you read it, you get shocked, outraged, and maybe sort of mad at the author. However, a second reading makes you go deep into your own spiritual life and church experiences. I presume it has gotten people exactly where Pastor Williams wanted them to be. Cornered and faced by their own attitude towards the almighty.
If you are interested in the full and complete gospel message before becoming a disciple of Jesus. Then the book, “Even the Demons Believe” might prove helpful. As the angel told the apostle Peter in Acts 5:20. “Go stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.’ The book “Even the Demons Believe will also guide those claiming the name Christian to test themselves. As the apostle Paul wrote in second Corinthians 13:5. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless of course you fail the test? The Consider Podcast, today’s events, Paulorrow’s realities. www.consider.info.
Timothy: Jacob, go ahead and read Luke chapter 3 verse 3.
Jacob: “He went into all the country and around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Timothy: We’re back to this is a baptism of repentance. Are we getting the idea that Jesus begins to say, repent the kingdom of God is here. He sends John the Baptist ahead of time saying, it’s a baptism of repentance. Again, I’m emphasizing the baptism. It’s an immersion in repentance, not giving up the one thing you don’t like. For instance, come to Jesus Christ you give up smoking or I don’t know. You’re addicted to porn or whatever it might be. I see a lot of people come to Jesus because there’s certain aspects of their life they don’t like. But we’re talking about a repentance here that is an immersion. Everything. What you think, how you act, how you live, just deep-down solid life changing. Nothing is untouched by a baptism of repentance.
When I came to Jesus Christ and started the baptism or repentance of John. In fact, it took a good solid year before I ever got baptized and Jesus didn’t know I was doing this at the time. But you’re cleaning up, you’re looking, you’re digging, you’re sweeping clean. Here’s one way probably to think about it. Suppose to the average believer or somebody you come to them and you go, Jesus is going to come have dinner at your house. He’s going to come visit. Would they start cleaning up their house?
Jacob: Oh yeah.
Timothy: Yeah. Unless they’re so self-righteous they think they’re okay. You start cleaning up and you go, beyond your best behavior kids and you really start going down the line because we got the son of God coming here to have dinner with us. That was even true when the churches that I preached in where they didn’t really like me just kind of showing up. Because there was always this underlying, well, I got to clean the house or do whatever it is they got to hide in the corners. But it is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It has to do with doing and acting. For the forgiveness and we’re going to see that here in a moment, because people tend to think the gospel of Jesus Christ is somehow totally different than what John is preaching and that’s just simply not true. It always has to do with repentance and always has to do with action and in obedience. Verse 4 says, “As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet.” Oh, guess what? He’s quoting there. What’s he quoting there, Jacob?
Jacob: Old Testament. Old law.
Timothy: Oh my. I’m laughing because I’m just picturing a lot of the church girls rebuking John the Baptist. Don’t you know the Old Testament was for you that’s whatever. “A voice of one calling in the desert. ‘Prepare the way for Lord, make straight paths for him.’” There’s a lot in that sentence. First of all, it’s the voice of someone preaching. Calling in A, the desert, you got to is inconvenient. It would be inconvenient to really sit down and talk about the message of the cross. Most people don’t want to give up the time and they’ve got a few little questions they would like answered and what about this scripture over here or this contradiction over here.
We’re talking about out in the desert. iPad aren’t going to work, cellphones aren’t work. You can’t get internet out there. It’s not all the comfortable food that you’re after. We’re talking about the desert. We’re not talking about the coffee shop in front of the church. We’re not talking about the potluck dinner. What are we talking about? Sand and desert and scorpions and the water.
Jacob: Heat.
Timothy: Heat. Thank you. Yeah, that’s a big one. Heat and then, that’s where you’re at and everybody’s around you is out there kind of together listening to this guy. So, what does he say? “Prepare the way for the Lord”. Got to contemplate. One simple message too. Just kind of over and over again. “Prepare the way for the Lord”. That’s how slow we all are. Myself included come to God. “Prepare the way. Prepare the way.” Okay. What are you saying? And then you come back with well you’re saying this over here and you go, no prepare the way. Oh, you mean this over here? No prepare the way. Or I do these. I pray over here. No, prepare the way. Our simple nature will try and escape out of this any other way. Any other church, any other message, any other person. But scripture says, “Make straight paths for him. Give him multiple ways to get to you.” It doesn’t say path. It does not say make a straight path for him. It says, make straight paths for him.
Every avenue of your life must allow Jesus Christ to get to you as quickly and easily as possible. It doesn’t matter what there’s one path for your occupation. There’s one path for your money. There’s one path for your home. I can go down the I don’t know all those paths I gave up a long time ago but they all led to Jesus Christ. How many people I know they might say, okay, yeah, yeah. I want to deal with this. This needs to be overcome and so they’ll kind of prepare a path but not all paths coming in and from a person’s life will allow Jesus Christ to get to you. Look at verse 5, “Every valley”. The dark corners of your life, the little depressions, the little the half lies, the white lies, the little bit of greed over here, the self-pity, the depression. Oh, life is meaningless, things are really going bad, you don’t know all the troubles I’ve been.
Or I’ll say to people, in John 12:25, Jesus says you got to hate your own life. Oh, I hate my own life. No, no, no, no. I’m not talking about your valley of self-pity and depression. Talking about something much deeper than that. “Every valley shall be filled in.” One way or another, it’s coming. You can either do it now before John the Baptist preaching or you can wait until judgement day when it’s too late. Every valley, every darkness, every small little nook and cranny, every aspect, every careless word in your life, every valley will be filled in. Look, it’s every mountain. Every pride that you boast about, every accomplishment that you do, all the goals you have, the successes that you do, from trophies, to little stars, to flattery, to talking people patting you on the back to all the great things that you’ve done in your life and all. And how you preserve society if you’re a prosecutor. How you’ve made, it’s kind of ironic. They’re always posting about how prosecutors are there to make us safe, right? In a safer society, right?
Jacob: Yeah.
Timothy: Are we more safe or less safe right now?
Jacob: So unsafe.
Timothy: So unsafe. Somebody’s messed up somewhere and it’s not me.
Jacob: Yeah.
Timothy: So, every mountain all that boasting and bragging it just, man, I go from weeping for them to being nauseated to like Lord just get me out of here. Because the evidence is they’re destroying everybody in society and yet they boast about it. Their mountain is a mountain of dunghill like Beelzebub. Alright, “Not just mountains but every little hill made low.” Okay, so I gave up all my big boasting mountains that I thought I had in Jesus or before I came to Jesu. What about all my little hills I’ve got? Well, I’m still good at that or this is how God made me or well, I’m blessed over here.
One of the aspects I see in this is when you start presenting the message of the cross to people, they don’t deal with the conviction that’s right in front of them. They usually go to, well, I’m still good over here and I’m still blessed over here and God is still with me there, so you divert. You’ve got this little hill that you’re holding on to that’s exalted above just the smooth path that would allow the humility, the brokenness and the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit to get to you. He goes on to say, and this is just John the Baptist, “The crooked roads shall become straight.” Look if you don’t straighten out your life now, he’s going to do it. But this is just John the Baptist.
We’re just taking the little crooked part of the road of your life. How you walk, where you go you need to go, well, this is the path I always walk on. This is always what it, this is just my life, this is who I am. Well, that crooked road because I can assure you it’s crooked, shall become straight. And what’s it say? “The rough ways smooth.” When I first as far as being baptized the rough way.
That’s just rough, that’s just a crude, man. I was like, no don’t go off on this violent extremism all these things. I’m talking about a deep conviction that comes with Jesus Christ. Crude and rough and tough and macho. You know where we were kind of taught to be that way. Of course, now I think the men are taught to be more like women, but we can get that’s just another crooked twisted path of thinking that’s going on. This baptism of John is what you have to go to first. And everything we’re looking at today by the way is just theoretical unless you allow God to do it, it’s just talk. It’s just talk.
Luke’s 3:6. I love this passage, “And all mankind will see God’s salvation.” Paul says, you know how we lived among you. They could see it. The first church had such a love that they had all things in common. The first church had such purity that an Ananias and Sapphire dropped dead in the church. There was authority for purity. You could see it. These churches that you’ll hear it in the news or this big, what am I trying to say here? Destruction into sin, right? Really? And nobody could see that coming? Because why? You’re not seeing any of the salvation, the Lord, the purity, the holiness, the righteousness, the crooked paths, the valleys. All those things are just not happening and everybody’s happy praising God. So does it take an Einstein or some great prophecy to go, this is going to turn south. It doesn’t. All mankind will see God’s salvation. The world saw God’s salvation namely Jesus Christ and what did they do to that salvation Jacob?
Jacob: They crucified it
Timothy: They crucified it. The only way that persecution actually becomes real in Jesus Christ if it’s because of righteousness’s sake. People see how you live. I’ve had among all the multitude of slanders. One of them will say, well, these all these bad things over here and these people disagree. There’s something wrong somewhere. And they’re just still looking. They don’t like what they see and so they think behind the scenes. Oh, there’s got to be something because the conviction is rolling there. We’re going a little bit long here. What do you think, Jacob? Should I just pause here and we pick up later?
Jacob: Yeah, I think we should pause.
Timothy: Alright, let’s roll it. We’re out of here.
Outro: This has been the Consider Podcast at www.consider.info where yesterday’s folly is today’s madness. In the beginning, the unrepentant sinners words are folly. At the end, they are wicked madness. Ecclesiastes 10:13. Judgement begins with the house of God. Therefore, let everyone who loves the Lord with an undying love pick up their cross and walk the talk. As Peter the wrote. “Therefore, prepare your minds for action. Be self-controlled”. First Peter 1:13-14. The Considered Podcast, examining today’s events and Paulorrow’s realities. www.consider.info.
End
The Consider Podcast
Examining today’s wisdom, folly and madness with the whole gospel
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